Surprising Superfood for Daibetics - Potatoes

        Potatoes are always considered to be less consumed for the people of Diabetes because of its high Glycemic Index which will spike the blood sugar levels. Hence the Diabetics are always leery of eating these potatoes. A recent research conducted at Nevada University, its found out that far from being problematic potatoes have some essential nutrients that are beneficial for heart health in Type 2 Diabetics. A small group of people were asked to eat the baked potato with skin everyday while the other group of people were asked to eat white rice daily. The results were really surprising as the people who ate Potatoes had very less sugar spike compared to those who ate white raise. The former people who ate potatoes had improvement in body composition, waist circumference and resting heart rates. 

      Hence the properly cooked Potatoes are very good for people with Diabetics and I am the example for this as my sugar levels doesn't spike much when i eat Potatoes. This doesn't mean that you need to be Potato Couch. The regular exercise or medications are equally important for overall well being.

Protect Your Joints

      The bones, tissue, tendons, cartilage, ligaments and nerves are the major parts of the human body. An adult human has 206 bones and 350 joints. Over the period of time most people experience the stiffness and pains in the joints.

How to Protect your Joints?

Stay Active and Stretch Regularly - Exercises like walking, cycling, swimming, strength training, Yoga etc makes your joints strong and lubricated.

Watch your Weight - Losing just 4.5 kgs of weight can relieve 18 kgs of pressure on the knees thereby helping slow joint degeneration.

Eating Anti Inflammatory Food - A Low sugar, low fat, high protein like vegetables are best for musculoskeletal systems. These foods reduce inflammation thereby improving joint health. 

Good posture and Ergonomics - Wear supportive shoes while running or walking. Keep the computer screens at your eye level while taking the 5 minute stretch break between screen timings.

Wear Protective Equipment - The use of Knee pads, Wrist bands, elbow pads and ankle braces is recommended wherever necessary. 

Common Myths about Diabetes

        Diabetes is the most dangerous lifestyle disease bothering most of the people worldwide. Every other individual falls prey for this deadly lifestyle disease.

        Below are few myths that is bothering the people with diabetes.

• I don't indulger or eat the sweets and hence I would not get Diabetes - Remember that diabetes is not caused only by sugar but also the carbohydrates that we take is main culprit like Rice, Potato, Bread etc.

• Diabetes is Reversible with Treatment - Diabetes is an irreversible disease. While Type 1 needs life long insulin dependency, Type 2 can be controlled but cannot be reversed.

• Rice or Chapatis are completely Off Control - Whole Grains, Millets, Brown Rice should take over refined products and should be consumed in portion controls rather than binge eating.

• Young people do not get Diabetes - This disease is not limited to older generations and now spread across all younger generations as well due to Sedentary Lifestyle, Obesity and Processed food.

• Insulin Cures Diabetes - Insulin is needed to manage the sugar levels in the blood stream and not for curing diabetes. Its main function is to protect vital organs from excessive sugar.

• Once on Insulin no need of physical activities - This is a dangerous misconception that if Insulin is started then my organs and health is safe. Insulin is suggested only when the body doesnt respond to tablets or any other treatments.

Concussions - Causes & Symptoms

     We often hear the term called "Concussion" during some sporting events especially during Cricket matches. When a high speed bowl just hits the helmet or head, the game is halted for few minutes and Physio runs into the field to do a Concussion test.

     Inside the Skull of the brain there is a shock absorbing fluid protecting the brain. During Concussion, the brain bounces around in the skull, accelerating, decelerating or rotating. This creates a series of impact in the brain. The neurons in the brain are rattled and between those neurons there are axons - a thin fibre that transmits electrical impulse, stretches or breaks. This impact has severe affect on the blood flow to the brain and damages the energy producing mitochondria in the neurons. You can compare it with an earthquake within the brain. These are also called as Traumatic Brain Injury.

Symptoms of Concussion:

• Headaches
• Dizziness
• Nausea or Vomiting
• Feeling Pressure inside the head
• Blurred Vision
• Sensitive to Light or Sound
• Hearing a ringing voice
• Having Imbalance
• Feeling Drowsy and Lethargic.
• Brain Fog - Difficulty in Concentrating
• Nervous or extremely anxious
• Hard time feeling asleep.

Why doctors prescribe some medicines before food and some after food?

       The food which we take interferes with the absorption of many drugs. So the effective amount of drug that enters the blood from the stomach and reach the site of action is altered. Depending on the mode of actions the doctors prescribe them "to be taken after or before meals."

       Most of the drugs are known to irritate the stomach or increase acid secretion in the stomach leading to discomfort or pain in the stomach, chest burning and occasionally nausea and vomiting. To decrease these side effects some drugs are taken post meals.

     Most of the drugs are advised to be taken along with warm plain water. This is to avoid any possible reaction between the active compounds in the drugs and milk, or curd or tea.

      Some drugs does not cause any side effects while taking in an empty stomach and may need to be fuly absorbed by the blood stream. In such cases drug is advised to be taken before food.
                                                     

                                                                   Excerpted from an article in The Hindu 

  

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.