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Healthy Tips

Age Well Through Exercise

Exercise and nutrition are the keys to moving and functioning properly as you age

Muscle loss, commonly known as sarcopenia, is the loss of muscle mass with age. It is estimated that both men and women lose muscle mass at a rate of one to two per cent per year and by the age of 80 we tend to lose around 40 per cent of our muscle mass. This rapid loss of muscle mass can have negative consequences, such as the ability to move and function and there is a higher risk of falling down too.

Lack of physical activity, decrease in anabolic hormones, such as testosterone, and growth hormone, increase in age-related inflammation and decrease in protein intake can all lead to sarcopenia. There are two clinical ways to diagnose sarcopenia — measuring grip strength using a dynamometer (<16 kg for women and <26 kg for men) and muscle mass using DEXA.

Studies have reported that progressive resistance training and nutrition have been effective in slowing the loss of muscle mass. Here are a few recommendations to slow the rate of muscle loss in one’s middle age.

Perform progressive resistance training: Include movements that involve big muscle groups such as hip/knee/ankle/shoulder extensors and flexors. Keep the load low and gradually build volume, performing two to three sets of eight to 10 repetitions with control (technique is key, therefore supervision of a qualified coach will be important).

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Add progressive balance and coordination exercises: Mindful movements that are commonly seen in yoga, tai chi and pilates can be incorporated. But movements should be progressed gradually based on individual competency and the structure of the joints. Remember, everyone’s virabhadrasana (warrior pose) may not look the same due to the structure of the hip and pelvic joint and/or competency level.

Diet: Add enough protein, essential fats such as omega-3 in your diet along with important micronutrients such as calcium and magnesium. Make sure overall energy intake is adequate.

How to age well through exercise.
Several factors influence ageing. Physiological conditions (that is, not suffering from major illnesses and the ability to function without depending on others), social and psychological well-being can all play a role in overall quality of life. Over the years, many clinical trials have confirmed that exercise can be very effective in positively influencing the overall quality of life.

However, exercise is one aspect of the overall, bigger movement framework. So instead of having a set mindset regarding exercising, we should rather seek opportunities to move consistently well. Here are a few important movement strategies…

Explore different movements: Instead of relying on moving a set way to get your exercise dosage, try and include various movements. For example, some people get so obsessed with long-distance running and walking that they lose the opportunity to explore other movements. Learning new movement skills can help with cognitive brain development and also keep things less monotonous. In addition, there can be less wear and tear on the joints, provided movements are performed well.

Quality over quantity: Movements should be gradually progressed, emphasising on quality. Remember, it is better to be consistent rather than going hard for a month and then not doing anything the following month. Further, most injuries happen when we add too much stress too early, as a result the body breaks down. This can negatively impact the overall quality of life.

Measurements: Measurements such as calories burnt and steps count keep a track of our daily activities but one should not be obsessed with them. Many people tend to go through guilt trips when they do not exercise for a set duration of time. They do not realise that even if they break the total duration into shorter sessions throughout the day they can still get the same benefit.

For example, let us look at the popular 10,000 steps phenomena. The idea behind 10,000 steps is about making people move rather than about the exact steps. Therefore, whether someone does it throughout the day, in one session, or play a sport or practices yoga, they can reap similar benefits as long as the intensity is right. The 10,000 steps are more about heart and lungs and less about the tiny steps we tend to get obsessed with.

Source:   The Telegraph (Kolkata, India )

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Healthy Tips

An Ayurvedic Drink Is An Excellent Remedy For Indigestion

Nobody likes the queasy and disturbing feeling that comes with indigestion and a heavy stomach.
You hardly feel like eating or drinking anything, and are never in the mood to leave your house. In such time, Ayurveda advises that you eat light and clean sattvik food to make sure your digestive tracts get ample rest.


Ayurveda also suggests handful of herbs and spices that can help manage indigestion naturally and enable healthy and smooth digestion. Jeera or cumin is one such potent herb that is known to heal a variety of your tummy woes.
Watch: Diet Soda Could Be Wrecking Your Gut Health (Cooking Light)

Cumin is known to be as one of the oldest spices on earth. In her book, “Flavour of Spice”, Marryam H. Reshii writes that the spice is native to the Mediterranean basin, “It has been around for centuries. In fact, there is evidence that cumin was in use in parts of the world over 5,000 years ago. Cumin seeds were excavated at a site in Syria and have been dated to 2000 BCE”.

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A glass of jeera water has been used as a fool-proof remedy to treat digestive issues. The experts say that it is thymol, a compound present in cumin, which stimulates the enzymes that enable better secretion of digestive juices.

Cumin is known to be as one of the oldest spices on earth:

According to the book ‘Healing Foods’ by DK Publishing House, cumin is rich in anti-inflammatory compounds and antioxidants. “It helps fortify digestive tract, relieving nausea, bloating and constipation”, notes the book. Ayurveda expert Dr. Ashutosh Gautam also agrees. According to him, “Jeera water helps get rid of acidity and bloating, and provides relief from indigestion. It acts as a painkiller and is especially beneficial in curing stomach ache and abdominal pain.” Cumin water helps stimulate the secretion of digestive enzymes and accelerates the digestion process, thus helping you fight gut issues.

A healthy digestion is also linked with weight loss. In case of poor digestion, the body is not able to absorb and assimilate nutrients properly, which further hampers the elimination of waste from the body. This may lead to slowing down of the metabolic rate, which makes it more difficult to burn calories properly.

How To Make Jeera Water at Home :

To make jeera water at home, all you need to do is to boil a few seeds of jeera (cumin) in water. Allow the solution to cool and drink it early in the morning on an empty stomach.
Try this natural Ayurvedic, low-cal beverage and say bye-bye to indigestion.
Related: 24 Ways to Shrink Your Belly in 24 Hours (Eat This, Not That!)

Source: NDTV

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Healthy Tips

Ketogenic Diet

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Benefits of Ketogenic Diet:

A ketogenic diet is a dietary approach that focuses on minimal carbohydrates, moderate amounts of protein and high healthy fat consumption — the three keys to achieving nutritional ketosis. In fact, it’s what is recommend for most people who would like to optimize their health.

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There are many reasons why you should try a ketogenic diet. It can be very beneficial for people suffering from chronic conditions, or for those who would simply like to be healthier. You’ll be excited to know that a ketogenic diet can help with the following:

Weight loss — If you’re trying to lose weight, then a ketogenic diet is one of the best ways to do it, because it helps access your body fat so that it can be shed. Obese people in particular can benefit from this method. In one study, obese test subjects were given a low-carb ketogenic diet and a low-fat diet. After 24 weeks, researchers noted that the low-carb group lost more weight (9.4 kilograms or 20.7 pounds) compared to the low-fat group (4.8 kilograms or 10.5 pounds)

Fighting inflammation — The human body can use both sugar and fat as fuel sources. However, the latter is preferred because it is a cleaner, healthier fuel that releases far fewer reactive oxygen species (ROS) and secondary free radicals. By eliminating sugar from your daily food consumption, you’re decreasing your risk of developing chronic inflammation throughout your body.

Increasing muscle mass — Jeff Volek, Ph.D., is a registered dietitian specializing in how a high-fat, low-carb diet can affect health and athletic performance. He’s written many scientific articles on this topic, as well as two books, and he explains that ketones have a similar structure to branched-chain amino acids that can be useful for building muscle mass. Ketones spare these amino acids, leaving higher levels of them around, which can help promote muscle mass.

Reducing appetite — Constant hunger can cause you to consume more calories than you can burn, which can eventually lead to weight gain. A ketogenic diet can help you avoid this problem because reducing carbohydrate consumption can reduce hunger symptoms. In one study, participants who were given a low-carbohydrate diet had reduced appetites, helping them lose weight easier.

Lowering insulin levels — When you consume carbs, they are broken down into sugars in your body. In turn, this causes your blood sugar levels to rise and leads to a spike in your insulin. Over time, you may develop insulin resistance, which can progress to Type 2 diabetes.

By altering your diet to a ketogenic approach, you can reduce your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. In a study published in Nutrition & Metabolism, researchers noted that diabetics who ate low-carbohydrate ketogenic diets were able to significantly reduce their dependency on diabetes medication, and may even reverse it eventually.

The Ketogenic Diet May Help Lower Your Risk of Cancer
Cancer is a devastating disease and is one of the leading causes of death all over the world. To make things worse, the medical profession has practically ignored evidence that indicates cancer as a metabolic and mitochondrial problem, causing conventional cancer treatment methods to fall short on their promises.

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet that in medicine is used primarily to treat difficult-to-control (refractory) epilepsy in children. The diet forces the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates. Normally, the carbohydrates contained in food are converted into glucose, which is then transported around the body and is particularly important in fueling brain function. However, if there is little carbohydrate in the diet, the liver converts fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies. The ketone bodies pass into the brain and replace glucose as an energy source. An elevated level of ketone bodies in the blood, a state known as ketosis, leads to a reduction in the frequency of epileptic seizures. Almost half of children and young people with epilepsy who have tried some form of this diet saw the number of seizures drop by at least half, and the effect persists even after discontinuing the diet. There is some evidence that adults with epilepsy may benefit from the diet, and that a less strict regimen, such as a modified Atkins diet, is similarly effective. The most common adverse effect is constipation, affecting about 30% of patients—this was due to fluid restriction, which was once a feature of the diet, but this led to increased risk of kidney stones and is no longer considered beneficial.

Adverse effects of ketogenic diet:
The ketogenic diet is not a benign, holistic or natural treatment for epilepsy; as with any serious medical therapy, there may be complications. These are generally less severe and less frequent than with anticonvulsant medication or surgery. Common but easily treatable short-term side effects include constipation, low-grade acidosis and hypoglycaemia if there is an initial fast. Raised levels of lipids in the blood affect up to 60% of children and cholesterol levels may increase by around 30%. This can be treated by changes to the fat content of the diet, such as from saturated fats towards polyunsaturated fats, and, if persistent, by lowering the ketogenic ratio. Supplements are necessary to counter the dietary deficiency of many micronutrients.

Long-term use of the ketogenic diet in children increases the risk of slowed or stunted growth, bone fractures and kidney stones. The diet reduces levels of insulin-like growth factor 1, which is important for childhood growth. Like many anticonvulsant drugs, the ketogenic diet has an adverse effect on bone health. Many factors may be involved such as acidosis and suppressed growth hormone. About 1 in 20 children on the ketogenic diet will develop kidney stones (compared with one in several thousand for the general population). A class of anticonvulsants known as carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (topiramate, zonisamide) are known to increase the risk of kidney stones, but the combination of these anticonvulsants and the ketogenic diet does not appear to elevate the risk above that of the diet alone. The stones are treatable and do not justify discontinuation of the diet. Johns Hopkins Hospital now gives oral potassium citrate supplements to all ketogenic diet patients, resulting in a sevenfold decrease in the incidence of kidney stones. However, this empiric usage has not been tested in a prospective controlled trial. Kidney stone formation (nephrolithiasis) is associated with the diet for four reasons:

*Excess calcium in the urine (hypercalciuria) occurs due to increased bone demineralisation with acidosis. Bones are mainly composed of calcium phosphate. The phosphate reacts with the acid, and the calcium is excreted by the kidneys.

*Hypocitraturia: the urine has an abnormally low concentration of citrate, which normally helps to dissolve free calcium.

*The urine has a low pH, which stops uric acid from dissolving, leading to crystals that act as a nidus for calcium stone formation.

Many institutions traditionally restricted the water intake of patients on the diet to 80% of normal daily needs; this practice is no longer encouraged.

In adolescent and adults, common side effects reported include weight loss, constipation, dyslipidemia and, in women, dysmenorrhea.

Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketogenic_diet
https://articles.mercola.com/ketogenic-diet.aspx

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Healthy Tips

The Art of Aging Gracefully

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Ageing occurs in all animals. In humans, it is believed to occur in part because stem cells stop regenerating damaged organs and the telomeres, or strands, in DNA shorten, and bits and pieces disappear. DNA is damaged and repair is no longer rapid and efficient. All these changes mean that the person becomes physically and mentally weaker.

How soon you age is both genetically and environmentally determined. You can be born with excellent genes but ruin everything by living in a polluted city and adopting bad lifestyle choices such as smoking, drinking, drug use and overeating (obesity).

The body starts to age around 40. Bones become weaker (osteopenia) and muscles deteriorate (sarcopenia). Almost half the muscle mass disappears by the age of 70. It is replaced by fibrous tissue and fat. This reduces physical strength, making one unable to lift even small weights, get up easily from a chair or climb a flight of 10 stairs.

Fat weighs more than muscle, so perceived weight gain often makes people go on a diet. Unbalanced nutrition, without the recommended amount of protein (0.8 grams per kilo of body weight) aggravates sarcopenia. Many people in India have diabetes. Insulin resistance increases with lack of muscle mass, resulting in poor diabetic control.

Sometimes, people take protein drinks, powdered supplements and vitamins in the belief that they will somehow reverse muscle loss and ageing. With the exception of Vitamin D3, folic acid, Vitamin B12 and iron supplements ( if necessary), most megavitamins and supplements are not needed.

Walking, jogging, cycling or swimming for 30-40 minutes a day six days a week works for cardiovascular fitness. Unfortunately, all the muscles are not used during these exercises. To offset wasting, neglected muscles also need to be worked out.

Housework and cooking are exhausting but not exercise. Women need to do aerobic exercise and weights to keep themselves physically fit.

Both men and women should train with light weights three times a week for 20 minutes to prevent osteopenia and sarcopenia. Before starting, get medical clearance. Get a professional trainer to teach you the proper technique.

Mental slowing can be tackled with mind games, new skills and memorising poetry and books.

Yoga provides a workout for the entire body, strengthens all muscles, improves posture and balance, and prevents falls. We need to go back to our roots to stay fit and healthy, and age gracefully.

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1.ALWAYS THINK POSITIVE

2.NEVER SAY PAST WAS GOOD AND PRESENT IS BAD

3.ALWAYS ACCEPT THE CHANGES

4.NEVER GRUMBLE FOR ANYTHING

5.TRY TO LOVE LONELINESS ENJOY IT WITHEN

6.DO MEDITATION DAILY

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Healthy Tips Herbal Beauty & Body Care Herbal Care

Banana Peels are most Useful

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This is probably one of the most common fruits that we don’t really relish it as much. But before throwing the banana peel into the bin, read this post to know its benefits. It will give you amazing results.

The flesh of the banana is rich in many nutrients and carbohydrates. It is high in vitamins B6, B12, magnesium and potassium. The sugar content is the highest when the banana peel turns black.

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The top benefits of banana peels:-

1.For Sparkling Teeth:

Rub the banana peel every day for a week on your teeth for about a minute. This actually results in teeth whitening, which can cost a lot of money otherwise.

2. Removes Warts:
The banana peel helps in removing warts and eliminates the occurrence of new ones. For this, simply rub the peel on the affected area or tie the peel overnight on it. This is one of the simplest ways to use a banana peel for the skin.

3. Eat Them:
Banana peels can also be eaten. You can find amazing Indian recipes that use banana peels. They are also used to tender chicken.

4. Cures Pimples:
Just massage banana peels on your face and body for 5 minutes every day to cure pimples. The results should be visible within a week. Keep applying the peels till the acne disappears.

CLICK TO SEE  HOW ACNE  IS TOTALLY CURED BY BANANA PEEL :
Treat Acne & Other Skin Conditions With Banana Peels

5. Reduces Wrinkles:
The banana peel helps to keep your skin hydrated. Add an egg yolk to a mashed banana peel. Apply this mixture on your face and leave it for 5 minutes. Wash off after 5minutes.

6. Pain Reliever:
Apply the banana peel directly on the painful area. Leave it for 30 minutes till the pain is gone. A mixture of vegetable oil and banana peel also helps in pain relief.

7. Heals Psoriasis:
Apply the peel on the psoriasis affected area. The banana peel has moisturizing properties and also reduces itchiness. It will quickly heal psoriasis and you can see noticeable results within no time.

8. Heals Bites By Bugs:
Massage the peel on the mosquito bites to get instant relief from the itching and pain.

9. Shoes, Leather, Silver Polish:
Rub a banana peel on shoes, leather, and silver articles to make them shine instantly.

10. UV Protection:
Banana peel helps in protecting the eyes from the harmful UV rays. Make sure you leave the peel under the sun before rubbing the banana peel on your eyes. It is also proven to reduce the risk of cataracts.

CLICK TO SEE  : 16 Ingenious Ways To Re-Use Banana Peels

Resources:
https://www.stylecraze.com/articles/amazing-benefits-of-banana-peels/#gref

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