Archive for November, 2009

Loose weight by changing your eating habits

Sunday, November 1st, 2009

All of us eat food to get energy. If the energy is not used up then it is stored in the form of fat for future use. If this keeps on accumulating then you tend to grow fatter. This is the common belief which persists in the mind of a common man. But even after doing proper exercise you may be surprised to find that you do not seem to reduce weight. Have you ever given a thought for the reason for this? This is the time you look into your eating habit as the way you eat your food also has a high hand in the weight assimilation. Does not seem true? If you actually want to loose weight the two important things which you should have is the will power and a positive attitude. Just read on to see how the way you eat is a reason of your weight gain and how minor changes in your eating style helps you to lose weight.

Chew slower: In this busy life how much time do we give to ourselves to have our food? Generally we grub something while traveling or in the break, quickly and continue our work. We hardly chew our food. We have almost forgotten what we learnt in the primary classes—Chew your food properly before swallowing. If you chew your food properly your digestive system will start functioning immediately and you will feel satisfied with the little amount of food you have taken While on the other hand if you do not chew your food you will be wanting more amount of food to feel satisfied. .

Color me hungry: Some colors increase our appetite. You will find eating more if you eat in a brightly colored plate. The color of the kitchen will also stimulate your appetite. So go in for some light colored utensils and also have your kitchen colored with light shades.

Eat your food in silence: In this busy world, we make important decision and discussion over food. Whenever we want to make any dealings it is quite natural to go in for a lunch or a dinner and finalize the dealings there. But we never think of its side effect. While finalizing we get so engrossed in talking and do not pay attention to what we eat and how much we eat. As a result we eat much and add up to the calorie level. So we should eat in silence, concentrating on what we eat.

Be realistic: It is often seen that it is easier to constrain ourselves  70% of the time with your food plan every single day than just being perfect 3 days per week. Every individual is unique and his food pattern is different. This is said because there is a lot of a possibility for you not to be able to hold on to the nutrition plan you have set if you have not taken into considerations the nature of your food pattern.

Planning the meal: Every single meal which you take must have adequate quantity of protein as it is a well known fact that protein stimulates the metabolism and helps you to feel full. If enough amount of protein is not taken then you will end up eating a large quantity which will make your fight with weight a lot harder.

Do not over eat: Do not over eat. Once when you have a feeling that you are full,  stop eating. What ever is on the dining table do not touch it. There is a good old saying practiced in India   that you will not die if you eat less but are sure to die if you eat in excess. Changing your food habits to loose weight also includes the need to eat as much as is required and neither too much nor too less. Over eating will make you feel lazy and eating less will create a situation wherein you will have no energy left in you to do any work. So eating a proper amount of food is very essential

Control your carvings: Each and every individual have his own carvings when it comes for food. And it is seen he eats those food which he has carvings more than what he requires. Even though he feels full he helps himself with one or two servings of it. And this happens generally with those foods which are generally called as bad food when concerned with health point of view. In such cases it should be made a point to make extra effort to restrain yourself to have small quantities of that food which you carve for. It is really difficult but necessary.

Eat whole grains: Try to choose food with complex carbohydrates to simple carbohydrates as they will help you feel full for a longer period. Wild rice or brown rice is a better option to regular rice. Simple carbohydrates should be included in your diet but only in small quantities, if you are serious about losing weight.

Eat fresh fruits and vegetables: If you are in habit of taking juices then switch over to take fruits instead of juices as the juice secreted while digesting the fruits and vegetables helps in increasing the metabolism and there by burning up of the fat accumulated in the body.

Choose the least bad food: It may some time happen that you have to take snack or dinner at some places where you are compelled to take all those bad food ( bad related to health point of view) then choose the less bad ones for yourself. And make it a point to compensate it with the next meal.

Do not munch in between meals: Make it a point of not eating in between meals. At least have a gap of three hours in between your two solid intake of food. This will not only help you in digestion but also in losing your weight.

How beet root juice helps in increasing stamina

Sunday, November 1st, 2009

Want to increase Stamina?— Drink Beet Root Juice

Pounding on street for hours every day to gear yourself up for a marathon race? Stop a while. Have a glass of beet root juice. It is because it has been proved that drinking a glass of beet root juice increases stamina and allows you to do strenuous physical exercise for a longer period.

Research shows that the nitrate content in the beet root juice leads to reduction in oxygen uptake which slows the rate at which the person gets exhausted. Drinking juice regularly will help you to increase the stamina by 16 percent.   Reduction in the usage of oxygen is more in those consuming beet roots when compared to all other sources. This revelation will be of great interest to elderly people, athletes, and people with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.

But consuming beet root juice regularly is not free from side effects. It may lead to beeturia, a condition when urine turns pink or red due to the acidity level in the stomach.  In a study conducted by the University of Exeter, it was concluded that the group which was given beet root juice was able to cycle for a n average of 11 minutes, 25 seconds which was 92 seconds linger than when using placebo. The researchers are not sure if the nitrate in the beetroot juice helps to boost the stamina. However they suspect that it might be due to the nitrate turning into nitric oxide in the body reducing the oxygen cost of exercise. It is also found that beet root juice reduces the blood pressure.

The latest research was conducted by University of Exeter and Peninsula Medical School and it was found that nitrate rich food could increase endurance. The effects of beet root juice on oxygen uptake was mind blowing as this could not be achieved by any other known means including training. So take in a glass of beetroot juice daily and increase your stamina.

Some other herbs which help you to increase your stamina are -

Ginseng - it is a popular healing herb. People take this herb to boost energy levels, improve memory, and lessen the effects of stress.

Ginkgo - Ginkgo Biloba has been used by Chinese for thousands of years to treat asthma and coughs. A latest study on this herb has revealed that it strengthens circulation and immunization of the body.

Ginger - This modified stem is used both as a flavoring agent and as a herbal remedy. It contains volatile oils and is a mild stimulant for heart and brain and may help ease learning. Ginger tea helps to stimulate appetite.

All about Swine Flu & its cures

Sunday, November 1st, 2009

What is Swine Flu?

Swine Flu or Influenza is a common disease found in pigs and they do not generally affect the humans. In the past it was found that any human affected by Swine Flu had direct contact with the pigs. The Swine Flu which has become almost an epidemic out break recently is quite different from the one deducted earlier. This is caused by a new swine flu virus and it is a contagious disease ,i.e, it spreads from person to person by contact. Thus it is being deducted in those persons who do not have direct contact with the pigs also!

In order to distinguish the virus from the one that infects the pigs, Swine flu virus that is found in humans is called as H1N1viruses. The World Health Organization calls it “pandemic (H1N1) 2009.” The current Swine Flu illness is called as “H1N1 flu” by CDC and the World Health Organization calls it “pandemic influenza A (H1N1).”

Symptoms:

The symptoms of the pandemic Swine Flu are similar to the common influenza, which includes fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue .Majority of the patients who are affected by Swine Flu face the problem of diarrhea and vomiting. In general it is seen that people who are affected by the pandemic swine flu are having at least two of the above said symptoms. However these symptoms are common and there is no need to panic if you find two or more of these symptoms in you. This does not mean that you be negligent towards it.  Unless and until the reports of the test does not arrive neither you nor your doctor can say if you are being attacked by pandemic swine flu or not. These tests are available in the State Health Departments.

How does the disease spread?

Swine Flu influenza is common among the pigs and humans who have direct exposure with pigs can have the disease. Now it has come out as an epidemic and is being transmitted from human to human in the following ways:

· Air: Swine Flu can become air borne if an infected person coughs or sneezes with out covering his mouth and there by circulating the virus into the air and any one who is inhales  this air is also infected

· Touch: If people touch any thing with the virus causing pandemic influenza and then touches his nose or mouth with the same hand is sure to get infected

Who are at severe risk by influenza?

  • Infants
  • Elderly people who are above the age of 65
  • People with liver and kidney problems
  • People with immune suppression
  • People with neuromuscular disorders, neurological disorders, blood disorders
  • People having HIV infections
  • Residents of chronic-care facility.

People in these groups should seek medical care as soon as they get flu symptoms.

Treatment of Swine Flu:

Pandemic Swine Flu virus is very sensitive to antiviral drugs like Tamiflu and Relenza and it is advised to take the drugs with in 48 hours of the start of the symptoms. However the vaccination for Swine Flu is not available at the moment. It is under consideration and is expected to be made by mid October. The patient affected by swine flu is kept in isolation so that it is not easily transmitted to other healthy person.

Precaution against Swine Flu:

You can prevent the Swine Flu virus from attacking you by taking a few precautionary measures. Some of them are listed below:

  • Wash your hands regularly with soap and water.
  • Have 6 feet distance with the person infected with the disease
  • Avoid touching nose, mouth or eyes as it is through these the disease causing virus enters the body.
  • Wear a N95 face mask if you are treating a diseased person
  • Always wear a mask while you go outside.
  • Breast feeding mothers, if infected, should stop breast feeding.
  • Disinfect the household surfaces by using diluted chlorine bleach solution.
  • Social distancing will help you have less exposure to the disease.

Some wrong notions about Swine flu:

As the deaths from Swine flu keeps on increasing, people develop wrong notions about the disease. Some of the common notions which are found among people are

  • Eating pork leads to Swine flu
  • Touching the infected person will spread the disease
  • Talking with the infected person will infect you too
  • Eating from roadside vendors will infect you with the Swine flu.
  • Getting wet in the rain will infect you with Swine Flu.

How severe is Swine Flu?

The seriousness of Swine Flu can be seen by the manner the World Health Organization has swine flu to be a pandemic. It considers the swine flu as a global emergency. Studies of the swine flu virus show that it is more infectious to lung cells, damaging the lungs completely. Scientists are watching closely to see the direction the new swine flu virus is heading — but health experts warn that flu viruses are very hard to predict