Health Topics
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Healthy Living
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| Fit as a fiddle |
| Dr Shikha Swaroop |
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Is your extra flab giving you sleepless nights? Worrying will only deepen those frown lines. The magic mantra lies in a balanced diet and a careful exercise regime. |
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Do you get up every morning and head straight to the weighing machine? Does the reading of the scale make you go berserk? Relax! All you need to do is to take a re-look at the measures you have been taking so far.
Crash dieting will eventually crush you
Whenever your weighting scale shows an upward swing, you decide to starve yourself. Skipping breakfast and meagre lunch becomes your daily routine. This is a very wrong approach. Starving yourself will make you binge on food more. Introduce the change in your food habits gradually to reap the benefit. Crash diet will only lead to extreme nutritional deprivation. This type of weight loss is temporary and eventually proves to be harmful for your emotional and mental being.
Aishwarya Rajan, Nutritionist and a freelancer with the NutriBenefits says, “While, looking for instant result, one tends to opt for crash diet. The oral effects are not visible initially but one suffers from wrinkled skin, loss of hair and low energy level at later stage. The cumulative effect can be seen in irritable temper, mood swings, lethargy and low blood sugar level. The low blood sugar level in turn increases the cravings for sweets and leads to increased consumption of chocolate and coffeeâ€. Says Aishwarya, “The best way to lose weight is to have a balanced diet, proper exercise (cardio-exercise) increase the amount of water consumption. One should go for 3 to 4 servings of vegetables and fruits everyday. Fruits and vegetables supplement the body with the minerals and vitamins. A cup of milk should also be taken. People who are unable to digest lactose can replace it with Soya milk which is an excellent source of protein and isoflavones and vitamin B complexâ€.
Perk up your mood with a good breakfast
Start your day with a good breakfast. A general belief that skipping your breakfast will help you to cut down calories is not true. Studies have revealed that breakfast eaters have lower BMI ratio than breakfast skippers. Body mass index (BMI) is measure of body fat based on height and weight. A complete diet is essential for your body to function properly. Include plenty of vegetables, fruit fish and eggs in your diet. One of the best options for healthy breakfast is sprout. It is a tremendous source of nutrients and is known to have curative ability. Sprouts like alfalfa soybean contain concentrated amounts of phytochemicals (plant compounds) that can protect us against disease. Studies on canavanine, an amino acid analog in alfalfa is effective in cancer preventions. Plant estrogens in sprouts aid in bone formation and increases density which helps to fight osteoporosis. Alfalfa sprouts contain, Saponins( chemical compound) which helps in lowering the level of bad cholesterol and fat. Says, Aishwarya, “Sprout is a good source of nutrient. People who cannot digest sprouts can steam it and take it with a dash of lime. Adding lime to the sprout increases its Vitamin C content and helps in Iron absorptionâ€.
Sprouts have active antioxidants that prevent DNA destruction and protect you from the ongoing effects of aging. A low-cab soup can be a fabulous choice to start your day. Dr Haresh Sidhwa, Consultant Internal Medicine, MBBS, M.D, Fortis Hospital, Vasant Kunj says, “The old saying Eat breakfast like a King, lunch like a Prince and dinner like a pauper fits the bill as far as managing your weight is concerned. One should have heavy breakfast which will keep you going through out the dayâ€. He also avers, “A proper diet should be accompanied with 30 -40 minutes exercise or brisk walk. It is best to avoid alcohol, red meat, sweets, and butterâ€.
Eat right, feel bright
Try avoiding high-fat and high-carbohydrate food like cookies, pancakes and chocolate bars. Instead heap your platter with nuts, low fat cereals, bananas, peaches, apricots, apples, pears, or salads. These fruits and nuts will not only help you to get rid of junk eating habits but also give your body the much needed nutritional fill of vitamins, minerals and protein. Try avoiding high-fat and high-carbohydrate food.
On diet Dr. Sidhwa suggests, “Have heavy breakfast, it will increase the metabolism accompanied with light dinner. Avoid alcohol with dinner and replace fried fish with the baked one. Completely shun trans-fats and be careful about saturated fats consumptionâ€. |
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