Experts explained while they emphasized on the fact that hot and crispy fried snacks, sweets, carbohydrates-rich food as well as others similar should be avoided if we want to keep a check on our weight, yet do provide calories to our body. Even though most of us neglect having food items containing lots of calories, our body requires some amount of calories.

Annapurna Agrawal, nutritionist at Snap Fitness India explained that each and every individual has his own calorie requirement which would be on the basis of basal metabolic rate. If a person consumes excess calories than what he needs, he will undoubtedly gain weight at the he eating lesser calories will ensure loosing weight. She added explaining that our body requires 2,000 calories and if we eat 2,500 calories, the extra 500 will be converted into fat. If we are equipping to adopt healthy eating habits, then avoid junk food as it lacks essential nutrients like vitamins, minerals as well proteins and is high in fat and calories.

Manik Pande along with Meghana Surve, nutritionists at Talwalkars National Nutrition Centre, explained that we need to avoid all our favourite fried snacks and those curries that have a lot of fat and are cooked in a fair amount of oil which even warn against intake of carbohydrates. The nutritionists also explained that Carbohydrates actually convert into fats after they are consumed. The body stores this fat and this adds to our body weight. Grains and sugar, which are common feature of our diet, contain large amount of carbohydrates so you need to be careful as far as consumption is concerned. Hot summer season lets us enjoy sip of chilled sodas or even juices that instantly immediately us, on the contrary Pande along with Surve say it is better to stick to something healthier like water, lime juice and fresh fruit juices.

On the other hand, Agrawal said that the medicines usually help to eliminate diseases, on the contrary can also make us exceedingly heavier while she also mentioned that Anti-depressant medicines, birth control pills, allergy medications, as well as blood pressure medications may effect weight gain.

Image Source: Calories

(AW:Samrat Biswas)

US research has brought into prominence on Monday that men who consumed higher healthy fats from vegetables, nuts as well olive oil succeeding to a diagnosis of prostate cancer experienced superior survival rates than peers whose diets were unchanged.

The discovery in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Internal Medicine recommended that dietary improvements can be an important manner for minimizing the death risk among men who didn’t  experienced a spread in prostate cancer.

Furthermore, lead author Erin Richman a postdoctoral scholar in the University of California San Francisco Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics explained on the factor of consumption of healthy oils as well as nuts which seems to increase plasma antioxidants at the same time helps in reducing insulin and inflammation, which may discourage prostate cancer passing successively.

A noteworthy fact remain in actuality that the research study engaged 4,577 men experienced diagnosis accompanied by non-metastatic prostate cancer during the period between 1986 and 2010.

Image Source:  Healthy vegetables

(AW:Samrat Biswas)

Recent research declares that probiotics found in yogurt would help in amplifying a person's mood as they affect functioning of brain.

Earlier studies have revealed that benign bacteria affected the brains of rats, but none of the  research analysis have confirmed that the same happened in human brains.

Analysis states that those who consume yoghurt twice daily for a month exhibited change in  functioning of brain. Change was observed in resting brain activity and also in response to an 'emotional attention task', which was accomplished to monitor how the brain reciprocated to certain emotions, reports sourced from dailymail.co.uk.  

It is familiar that the brain sends signals to the (stomach) gut, due to which stress and other emotions can add to gastrointestinal symptoms.

Kirsten Tillisch of the University of California - Los Angeles's School of Medicine, who conveyed the study said that the observations  indicate that  some of the elements of yogurt  actually alter the way our brain responds to the environment.

Tillisch added that, if we consider the conclusion of this work, the ancient sayings 'you are what you eat' and 'gut feelings' convey a new meaning.

She further adds, we constantly hear from patients that they never felt anxious or depressed until they began to experience problems with their gut. The analysis also represents that the gut-brain contact is like a two-way street.

36 women aged between 18 to 53 were being recruited by Tillisch's team for the study.

These woman were assigned to one of three groups. One group were selected to eat yogurt with live bacterial cultures which included probiotic strains twice a day for almost one month. Other group was selected to eat a dairy product which does not contain living bacteria, and the third group was not assigned any of the dairy products.

The outcome exhibited  that women who consumed the probiotic yoghurt were found to have  reduced activity in the part of the brain that manages aspects of cognition and emotion, while woman who consumed  non-probiotic yoghurt or no dairy products  resulted in  either an increase, or  no change in activity.

Emeran Mayer, another member in the team, revealed that what we consume changes the way our stomach bacteria splits the food particles.

He further suggested that specific probiotic strains in yogurt additionally includes some health benefit facts such as stress, relieving anxiety, and other mood symptoms.

He also added that changing the composition of gut bacteria would lay path to treatments for chronic pain disorders and also to symptoms of brain conditions such as Parkinson's,  autism,  and Alzheimer's disease

(AW:Chitra)

A study has brought into prominence while it revealed the fact that natural spicing with ginger in actuality can deal more critically with asthma medications an treating it effectively.

Scientists were known to have discovered that components included in the peppery root conversed with medicines known as beta-agonists in order to relax down the airways. Due to  the fact that addition of ginger compounds to the drugs were found to have excelled the relaxation of airway smooth muscle tissue samples during laboratory tests were undertaken.

Researcher Elizabeth Townsend, from Columbia University in the US further explained that these compounds may provide additional relief of asthma symptoms when used in combination with beta-agonists. While furthering to explore the reasons as well as understanding the mechanisms by which these ginger compounds affect the airway, they would be able to justify the prominence at a higher degree of the use of these therapeutics in diminishing asthma.

While knowing more, Asthma gets charged due to fact that the bronchial tubes gets tightened up that carry air in as well out of lungs. While the American Thoracic Society 2013 conference in Philadelphia was the place where this discovery was known to have been presented.

Content Source: Articles on  asthma

Image Source: Asthma and ginger

(AW:Samrat Biswas)

The authors of a U.N. report published on Monday said that the health benefits of consuming nutritious insects could help fight obesity even though another prevalent factor remain unhidden that even a thought of eating beetles, caterpillars as well as ants may give us a feel of the creeps which would also make us perceive that approach imperceptibly.

Causing intense shockingness when we hear that more than 1,900 species of insects are eaten around the world, chiefly in Africa and Asia, yet people in the West generally turn their noses up at the likes of grasshoppers, termites as well as other crunchy diet.

Spot Lady Bird - Beetle

The authors of the study by the Forestry Department, part of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), explained the fact that many insects contained the same amount of protein and minerals as meat added to more healthy fats generally recommended by the doctors as balanced diets.

Scientist Arnold van Huis from Wageningen University in the Netherlands, one of the authors of the report stresses on the factor that in the West they have a cultural bias, at the same time they think that insects cannot be good due to the fact that insects come from developing countries. While Eva Muller of the FAO added that restaurants in Europe were starting to offer insect-based dishes, presenting them to diners as exotic delicacies. Furthermore, Danish restaurant Noma, for example which has been crowned the world's best for three years running in one poll, is renowned for ingredients including ants as well fermented grasshoppers known to be giving aid in the costly battle against obesity, which the World Health Organisation estimates has nearly doubled since 1980 and affects around 500 million people.

A Caterpillar

The report mentioned that insect farming was likely to be less land-dependent than traditional livestock and produce fewer greenhouse gases while it would also ensure business and export opportunities for poor people in developing countries, especially women, who are often responsible for collecting insects in rural communities.

A live grasshopper

 

Fermented grasshoppers

Now, coming to another creepy fact while we find Van Huis saying that barriers to enjoying dishes such as bee larvae yoghurt were psychological, during a blind test carried out by his team, nine out of 10 people were known to have preferred meatballs made from roughly half meat besides half mealworms to those made from meat.

So, which one is your favourite?

Content Source:DNA
Image Source: Nutritious Insects

(AW:Samrat Biswas)

A very less importance is given in the field of health for mental health in comparison to physical health.  The policies to be adopted for the improvement in this direction are not considered as in the case of physical health.  Not only mentally retarded but also the drug addicts and drunkards are a loss to the society.  A Government policy to bring them back to the main stream is very much needed on the grounds of humanity and also to increase the resources of the Country.  

A policy made in this direction approved by the Cabinet of Kerala State today is commendable.  The policy suggests that the treatments for mental illness should start from the primary health centers making the mental hospitals and the Dept. of Psychiatric Medicines referral centers by upgrading them.  

The policy also suggests proper care should be taken in the treatments.  A research in this field should be encouraged for the prevention and cure of mental illness.  An awareness program among the general public about the mental illness also was suggested in the policy to be initiated.  

The policy wants that proper training programs to the doctors should be imparted at free of cost even if they come from public or private sector if they show their willingness to undergo the training.

AW-SriJa

Most of the people today feel it is difficult to loss their weight, for good health and to reduce diseases it is necessary to loss extra weight.

Here listed tips which will helpful to the best possible chance in achieving your weight loss.

1. Stop drinking energy drinks and drink plenty of water: Energy drinks are the major sources of added sugar in our daily diet. Body need water to absorb nutrients from food transport them around the body and flush away our waste products.

2. Reduce the amount of eating: Actually we dont need that much of food daily, less amount of food and eating slowly is good way to lose weight.

3. Have healthy breakfast: Try to have a breakfast that includes protein, calcium and vitamins. Poached eggs, or egg whites,served on toast with baked beans andgrilled tomatoes are a perfect choice.

4. Eat variety of foods: The more variety of foods like salads and vegetables that taste great.

5. Prefer Home made food: Don't prefer out side foods, it is best to start prepare food yourself with your own interest and spend some time in kichen. You can make food at home with good taste.

6. Be active everday: Body movements burns fat. The amount you burn will depend on how often and how long you are active. Set a plan to do some form of activity each day, even just 30 minutes. Do something you enjoy.

7. Snacking: A common downfall of people who are trying to lose weight is unhealthy snacking, we all do it. Not having potato chips or chocolate in the cupboards is a start to not being tempted.

8. Set Mini Goals: Set yourself a mini goal for the week.

9. Feedback: It is important that we all receive encouragement and positive feedback; otherwise we don’t feel good about ourselves.

10. Exercise regularly: Exercise for some time daily helps to loss extra weight

Summer is finally here guys to test you patience and suck your energy in the form of sweat. While people search for ways to beat out stress in summer, some are really not sure whether to go with ice cream in the scorching heat or not. Yes, digging teeth into the chunks of creamy ice cream layers is undoubtedly a refreshing thing for sure! But then guys, the doctors said that ice cream would really not beat the heat but will add up the heat, which is something like rubbing salt in the wounds.

So, then what's ideal to take in summer especially when you are out and feeling thirsty to the core. In this case, we would first suggest you not to drink water or cold drink immediately after coming into shade. Wait for a while and then take cold water if possible. It's always advisable to refrain from cold drinks. Also try and avoid oily food, meat and masalas as they would only make you feel more thirsty. If possible, try drinking sugarcane juice and eat lots of water melon.

That's it friends! Follow these small things when you step out to ensure that you don't become a victim of sun stroke!

(AW Phani)

'What to eat?' this is the biggest question for us, everyday... who is not a foodie? It is just that the taste glands and mode of eating, the dishes cooked and the list of favorite dishes differs from you and me.

You know, it seems there are around more than 200 varieties of food items, vegetables and eatables that can either be cooked or ate raw, available. And we end up choosing not more than 15 varieties among these, in our daily meals.

This way, continuing the same routine and almost every day, eating the same vegetable o dish, we will get bored of eating vey soon and our reduced appetite will also reduce our energy levels, causing ill health.

So, just not restricting yourself to certain variety of food, try eating something new... the next time you go to the market to buy vegetables try something like broccoli, that you have only hear off and never dared to cook and eat and the next time you go to eat out at the restaurant, try ordering something new instead of having a look at the complete menu and ordering the same old regular dish.

This way, you will not only try eating something new but your body also gets the needed proteins and vitamins, for you to live healthy and be happy.

If you want to get relieved from your stress within 5 - 10 minutes, here are the quick tips;

Stretch your body. This does not mean you should do yoga or something. Turning twisting your head in both the directions each 10 times, slowly, just standing up and stretching your body, hands are helpful for you to feel relaxed, immediately.

Sit for a while at a calm place, close your eyes, think nothing, take a deep breath and exhale. Do this for 10 minutes and you can feel as if much of burden and stress is reduced from you.

Day dreaming is not a bad idea. Instead this will reduce some basic stress and would help you to gain back your cool self. You can dream about what all you want to achieve, like you have got what you want, you went for a vacation to your favorite hill station in winter with your loved ones, you have a great time and there is nothing left out to be achieved. Positive thinking will ensure your dreams to come true and this dream will make you relax and resume to work with some more energy.