Gut Health - Habits & Gimmicks

        The Gut is a very prominent part of the human system and there is a saying that all the diseases starts from the Gut. So keeping gut healthy is very essential part of modern life as many people face this issue around the globe.

Factors affecting Gut:

• High Stress
• Frequent Dining Out
• Heavy intake of Vegetable or Refined Oils.
• Irregular Meals
• Binge Eating
• Recurring Gut Complaints
• Lifestyle diseases like diabetes and blood pressure.

Tips for better Gut Health:

• Usage of Oils - Repetitive usage or heating of the refined oils releases compounds that can damage the gut lining resulting in Inflammation. Replace Refined Oils with Ghee, Coconut Oil and Olive Oil is the best option.
• Excessive Dairy Products - The enzyme Lactase depletes due to over consumption of dairy products that leads to bloating, cramps and loose bowel. Reduce the Dairy intake especially the Milk if you have Lactose intolerance.
• Gluten Free Products - Gluten present in Wheat, Barley and Rye grains are trigger points for gut health. They interact with intestinal lining through Zonulin triggering Leaky Gut. Try using Gluten Free Products.
• Overuse of Antibiotics - The intake of excessive antibiotics strip away the beneficial bacteria from the gut compromising gut diversity. Hence try to avoid or limit the usage of antibiotics.
• Eating balanced meal - There is a saying "Breakfast like a King, Lunch like a Prince, Dinner like a Pauper". If we follow this rule out gut will be healthy.

Quick Gimmicks:

• Having Dinner Early especially before 7 PM
• Including Leafy Vegetables and Fruits in diet.
• Including Protein in every meal
• Chewing the food thoroughly
• Stopping food when the stomach is two-third full.

Salt intake - Kids effects

       Salt is a very important ingredients of any cooking. Without salt the food doesnt taste as it is. Table Salt is the most important type of salt that we use in cooking. Table salt is 40% Sodium which is essential for few body functions. However, too much intake of Sodium or salt is very risky especially to the Kids.

       Kids around the globe consume a lot of salt on daily basis. Hamburgers, French Fries, Potato Chips, Popcorn & Pizza are few food which kids consume a lot. That puts them for heart risks at later stages of life. These foods are not only tasty but have added sodium to it which makes you crave for it. Even the Ketchup used has higher content of sodium in it.

      Researchers found that more than half of the salt consumed by kids comes from the store-bought packaged foods like Breads and Cold cuts which adds to the sodium overload. All this added salt can raise blood pressure in kids which slowly leads to the heart problems. Today every 1 out of 9 kids have elevated blood pressures whcih can be controlled by lesser intake of salts.

Quick tips to avoid salt intake:

• Try adding spices to the food instead of salt for taste.
• Eating fruits and veggies more than the packaged foods.
• Cutting back on packaged foods.

If the kids want to be active in schools or if kid is an athlete and wants to run faster then they have to keep the blood pressure under control. By changing the salt intake habits kids can lead a better life.