Perk Up Your Life- Stay Healthy, Live Longer!

Stay Healthy, Live Longer!

To set up for success, and to lead a happy and longer life we need to boost up our energy levels, stabilize our moods and keep ourselves as healthy as possible. All this can be achieved by learning some basics and using them in a way that works for us. Let's learn more about this:

• Early to bed, Early to Rise! Studies explain that those who sleep on time stay active all day long. Also, it organizes their meals on time and cuts off the extra calories that people consume when they stay up late! This in return helps them fight weight gains. It is also essential to get an adequate sleep at night! A sound sleep is crucial to proper brain function. Any amount of sleep deprivation will diminish mental performance & alertness. 
• Start your day with a cup of coffee! Consuming two cups of coffee daily have shown to reduced chances of becoming depressed, as well as studies indicate its role in cutting off risk of strokes, some cancers of that of prostrate and melanoma.
• Check your diet! Develop healthy eating habits. Eat plenty of high-fiber foods such as fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains. Fresh fruits and green leafy vegetables are the foundation of a healthy diet as these are low in calories & rich in nutrients and fibre. Such a diet helps protect us against certain types of cancer and many other diseases. 
• Include Proteins in your diet! A diet rich in proteins makes us feel well-nourished and curbs the desire to munch on junk foods between meals. Eggs & dairy, nuts, seeds, beans, etc. are good sources of proteins. 
• Maintain potassium balance in the body! Potassium monitors blood pressure levels and reduces the chances of strokes. One can derive dietary potassium from foods such as bananas, avocados, raisins, apricots, fish, spinach, milk, yogurt, potatoes with the skin, nuts and seeds.
• Maintain an adequate calcium intake! Calcium is essential for healthy bones & teeth. Get your calcium from low-fat sources, such as skimmed milk, low-fat yogurt, etc. If you can’t get the optimal amount from your diet, go for calcium supplements.



Eat Fresh Fruits & Green Vegetables!

• Don't spend much of your day sitting down! Take standing breaks throughout the day, even if it’s as short as for a minute. Evidences prove that people who try this have lower cholesterol, ideal weight, normal blood sugar levels, controlled blood pressure levels, and fewer chances of cancers. Also, those who follow any form of exercise (even a 30 min. brisk walk, or yogic exercises) for at least five days/week have less chances of encountering diseases that of strokes, blood sugar, blood pressure and of that of various types of cancers.
• Drink lots of water! Drinking about 3 to 4 litres of water everyday keeps our body hydrated, improves digestion and bowel movements, and fights weight gain. As water has no calories, it controls hunger and helps maintain an ideal weight gain!
• Avoid alcohol & tobacco consumption! Excess alcohol consumption leads to a variety of health problems. Also, alcoholic beverages only add calories to your diet without supplying the nutrients. Smoking is injurious to health as its association is well established with various respiratory diseases and oral cancers.
• Cope up with stress! Dealing with stress is important as this culprit can hamper not only the work performance, but also affects us physically, mentally as well as socially. Remember, there is always more than one solution to a problem and we should be flexible enough to accept alternatives. A well-nourished & fit body can be more resilient to stressful conditions. Hence, a planned & nutritious diet can act as an effective stress-fighting tool.

Wishing All a Happy & Healthy Living!

Lose Weight The Natural Way!

Lose Weight Naturally!

A Chaotic & unhealthy lifestyle can have a poor impact on our health which may lead to increase in body weight or obesity, heart diseases & strokes, diabetes, hypertension & a weaker immune system. Of these, weight gain is becoming a matter of concern among the people. In the era of commercialization, we find various weight loss pills, anti-cellulite products and expensive fitness gadgets popping up on the internet and television screens, but these can only cause frustration and may prove detrimental to our health. Natural herbal remedies are safe and promising in reducing weight. Let's try some of such formulations for controlling weight in a healthy manner:

• Mix in a glass of lukewarm water, a tsp of honey with ½ tsp lemon juice. Drink it every morning and evening to lose weight.
• Pound a ginger rhizome & boil the same in water. Add to it, ½ tsp lemon juice and 1/4^th tsp black pepper powder. Have it when hot.
• Squeeze a lemon in a glass of bitter gourd juice and have it every morning.
• Having a tomato or two in morning is said to be beneficial in reducing weight.
• Boil about 10 gm of triphala (a combination of equal amount of Amla, Harra & Beheda powder in a glass of water for 10 minutes. Consume it warm in the morning.
• Consuming 2 cups of Green tea is also believed to shed excess fat.
• To keep a check on weight, soak a few leaves of Indian plum/ Jamun overnight. Discard the leaves & drink water in the morning on an empty stomach.
• Take ½ tsp of guggal powder, a tsp of ginger rhizome powder and mix in honey to make it into a paste. Administer it once a day to lose weight.

A balanced diet and any form of exercise plays a vital role in reducing as well as maintaining a normal weight. One should eat a diet good in green vegetables and fresh fruits. Some of the fat burning spices such as black pepper, long pepper, mustard, ginger, cinnamon and cayenne should be added to the meals or used in preparations. Fish like tuna & salmon are high in Lectin, a protein, which helps improve metabolism and aids fat loss. Reduce the intake of salt & carbohydrate rich, high calorie foods (eg. rice, potatoes). Having vegetable soup or eating papaya at dinner time is helpful in reducing weight. Eating a cabbage salad also helps reduce weight as tartaric acid, an ingredient in the vegetable is known to inhibit conversion of dietary sugar to fat. 

Eat Green Vegetables & Fruits

Along with diet, regular exercise is quite beneficial. Brisk walk, skipping a rope, jogging, aerobics, yoga and pranayam (yogic breathing exercises) are among few exercises that can be of help to attain a healthy weight. Also, one should eat slowly as it satisfies hunger with less food, thereby reducing calorie intake. Drink plenty of water (3-4 litres/ day) as it has no calories and reduces hunger. Losing weight isn’t a mysterious process… it’s a matter of burning more calories than we eat.