Vegetarian Diet for Better Health

Health is a major concern for most people but we only take it seriously when we know someone who is a victim of an unhealthy lifestyle or are affected by health disorders. Indian is the hot seat for two major lifestyle disorders diabetes and heart health. Diabetes is a lifestyle disorder and usually the main reason of people becoming diabetic is due to sedentary lifestyle, lack of exercise and physical activity and eating excess junk and unhealthy foods which affects the pancreatic functions.

Numerous studies on health have quoted that the cure for type II diabetes is removing the very cause of the disease which is a unhealthy lifestyle can reverse the disease. The chief cause of diabetes type 2  is excess weight from unhealthy diet and inactivity.

Chronic diseases not only inflict pain and cause health deterioration but their diagnosis is costly, time consuming and doesn’t provide full recovery at times. Also the stress and burden it adds to your life is less anticipated than the reality. Eating plant based vegetarian food products and eliminating meat and dairy products from the diet will considerably reduce the risk for chronic diseases like  obesity, cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.

According to new dietary guidelines emphasizing vegetarian diet that is nutrient-rich plant foods can enable modern populations to dramatically improve their health, dramatically reduce healthcare costs, while at the same time save millions of needless deaths from heart disease, strokes, cancer and diabetes.

Digging for reasons whether meat products which are considered to be a good source of protein along with dairy products could lead to chronic diseases. Also diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure are pre-cursory to heart diseases and health. Meats and dairy products are high in saturated fat which increases the bad cholesterol and decreases good cholesterol from the body. Consuming excess amounts of these products regularly can lead to accumulation of saturated fat on your visceral and body which increases your cholesterol levels in the body leading to chronic diseases.

Sodium in meats and dairy is high which increases the blood pressure which acts with high cholesterol further decreases the heart health. Overall if you see as the cholesterol and blood pressure keep rising to the danger zones it also effects the metabolism of the body. This slow down in the metabolic rate further aggravates the problem where calories that are not consumed get stored as fat in the body resulting in weight gain and other problems related to it.

Thinking practically one should avoid foods that are not healthy for the body. Switch to more vegetarian diet that has plants based food sources which are natural, healthy and keep you in good shape. Also many plant food sources are low in calories and fat free this helps avoid consuming any useless and saturated fat in the body. And if you are wondering that would a vegetarian diet that has plant food sources meet all your nutritional requirements including protein. The answer is yes, a vegetarian diet can meet your daily nutrition requirement intake that will not only make you lose weight but make your body healthier and stronger.

To get a vegetarian diet plan you can mail us at fitness@fitho.in or call 011-41040070 to speak to a dietitian now.

 

Diabetes Diet Plan

There are increasing number of people being diagnosed with diabetes caused by obesity also popularly known as Diabetes Type 2. Everyone knows that  the high blood sugar levels cause this problem. The most obvious management  for this is avoiding foods and beverages that have a high glycemic index and high glycemic load. Diabetes is a metabolic disorder where the body is unable to convert sugar into energy and there is insulin resistance where the body cant process sugar naturally.

The simplest and natural way to manage diabetes is through diet and exercise. What does this mean? It simply means that one needs to be more careful what they eat and ensure there is certain amount of exercise that is included in their daily routine.

Lets start with how to manage diabetes with diet. It is important to understand the difference between foods that quickly convert to provide energy and those slowly breakdown to convert into energy and don’t stress the blood sugar levels immediately. It is not only sugar that quickly breaks into energy in the body but also foods that have carbohydrates which have medium and high on glycemic index. We make it simple for you and have prepared a list of foods along with their glycemic index to help you choose better.

Eating in moderation helps in avoiding weight gain and accumulation of fat in the body. Stay as far as possible from unhealthy food for diabetics such as sweets, sugar, potatoes, sweet potatoes, packaged juice, white bread, pasta, sweetened cornflakes, fortified flour, fruits that are sweet, dates etc. These foods quickly breakdown in our body and increase the blood sugar levels. Instead add green leafy veggies, cruciferous vegetables, carrots, bitter gourd, garlic, bell pepper, lentils, fruits (citrus), oatmeal, brown rice etc to your diet that are low in glycemic index and help in keeping low blood sugar levels. Read more

How to Control Sugar Cravings

Need to eat sugar is triggered by our body. This is body’s naturally tendency to tell you that blood sugar levels are dropping and need to be replenished. Over a period of time this physiological reaction becomes psychological and we start to mistake this desire as need. This is when most of the trouble begins that traditionally transforms into weight gain and then eventually lifestyle diseases like high blood sugar & diabetes type 2.  Sugar cravings can be controlled and managed  with some effort.

Sugar is a carbohydrate and quickly breaks down in our body providing energy and releases happy hormone serotonin which makes us feel good and reduces stress and anxiety. The sweet taste of sugar is liked by most people from birth and indulge in eating them for sugar cravings. Sugar is also known to release endorphins also known as “happy hormones” that is the reason why we also crave them when we are sad or generally stressed.

How do we control this urge? First we should start with understanding what is your daily sugar intake and what are the main sources of it. Let us explain this through an example of the common sugar foods consumed by us on a daily basis like a cup of tea/coffee,  sweetened cereals like cornflakes, musselli aerated drinks or sweetened drinks like packaged juices & lemonade along with one or two desserts/chocolates through the day.

Here is a quick list of a calories per serving:

Sugar coated cereals- 127 kcal (3/4 cup)

Tea spn of sugar- 20 kcal

100 ml aerated drink/soda- 37 kcal

1 chocolate- (plain Bar , 49 g of chocolate) 250 Kcal

Packaged juice-110 kcal (250 ml)

Energy drinks-152 Kcal (350 ml/one can)

All this roughly mounts upto 700 calories if you have one of each of these things listed. Incase you are looking to lose weight than you just require 2 tea spoons of sugar in a day. Besides processed sugar doesnt have any health benefits . Read here to know how it affects our health. Read more

Being Thin Does Not Mean Being Healthy

Increased body fat percentage and being overweight result in lifestyle disorders that cause heart disease, hypothyroid, diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure. Excessive saturated fat consumption increases the cholesterol levels in the body. Certain types of fat are bad for health and some are  equally important which are commonly referred to us essential fat without which the body will fail to absorb and process nutrition in the body. Read here to know more about this.

The distribution of fat varies between gentics and gender. Women tend to store more subcutaneous fat which is under their skin. Distribution of fat in women is generally in their hips and thighs area while men tend to store more fat in the middle area or the abdomen. Once the person enters adolescence the fat cells don’t increase in number instead they only increase or decrease in size. Its the male and female hormone that decide the fat deposit destination in the body. For example women with big bellies are considered  to have higher levels of testosterone ( male hormone) in their system that causes fat accumulation on the stomach. While if men have large hips its due to the high levels of estrogen (female hormone) in that body part.

We presume that fat people are more prone to metabolic disorder ( also known as lifestyle disorders) but a study by Ruth Loos at the Medical Research Council in the U.K. found that lean people with a specific genetic variant were equally at risk of diabetes, heart disease even though the reports confirmed lower fat percentage in the body. Read more

How to Manage Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is caused due to resistance developed by our body cells towards insulin produced by the body. This leads to a rise in blood glucose level as the cells natural tendency to absorb insulin as much reduces, preventing the body from using glucose effectively resulting in excess sugar levels in the body. Type 1 diabetes is genetic but Type 2 diabetes is a lifestyle disease most commonly caused by obesity. The good news is that because Type 2 diabetes is not genetic and can be controlled, managed and sometimes even be reversed completely.

Recent study on diabetes suggests that you could reverse your diabetes to normal. That means you could balance you blood sugar levels in the body. The study by Newcastle Magnetic Resonance Centre at Newcastle University in England says that eating less calories about 600 per day for three months could reverse the diabetes. In the study 11 people with type 2 diabetes for four years were put on a 600 calorie diet with leafy green vegetables and liquid diet which reversed the diabetes of 7 people.

At Fitho we believe that you dont have to go on such a strict low calorie diet that can damage your daily nutrition intake. Read here to understand what is a  balanced diet and how it is essential for our healthy well being. Diabetes Type 2 can be controlled and managed through healthy diet and exercise without reducing the calorie intake to such low levels. A person diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes needs a special diet chart that ensures that mostly food with low glycemic index should be included. Here is a list of foods that you must include and also avoid. Read more

Diet for Diabetics

Dealing with a therapeutic condition can be difficult. Managing the diet is of utmost important but it mostly comes at a cost of either following a very difficult routine or being given options that are unappetizing making it difficult to manage the condition through diet.

Diabetes is one such therapeutic condition where managing the diet is critical to ensuring that the insulin levels are in control. Diabetes is relatively easy to control with a help of correct diet and exercise program.

The rise in blood sugar is seen due to eating unhealthy, not exercising and consuming fattening foods. This can be managed or controlled by eating foods that slowly breakdown in the body and slowly release the glucose in the body preventing the blood sugar levels to rise quickly. These particular kind of foods are also known to have a low-glycemic index. Every diet program also needs to be customized your body type and physical needs. People that are more active require different calorie intake versus people who are not so active.

Some of the foods highly recommended for diabetic patients are vegetables like green peas, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, bitter gourd, garlic etc are some of the healthy options. Eat beans, green vegetables, chickpeas, dals etc which will keep you fuller and maintain blood sugar levels. Include fengureek, Basel leaves and some quantity of lean meat and fish.

Diet alone will not be as effective. Exercise fit for your physical ability and body type is essential to show results. If you find it difficult to get started then condition your self slowly to set a routine. Tell yourself everyday in the evening you will go for a walk, water your plants or just engage in mid intensity household chores. Slowly increase the intensity and explore activities that will keep this routine going. Better still you can even get together with your friends or family to play a light sport or go for a walk /jog in the evenings or early mornings.

Lastly maintain a strict routine for your meal timings. Even if you watch what you eat and exercise regularly but don’t care about your meal timings it can completely harm the momentum. Make sure you dont skip your meals and eat them at recommended intervals so that the body is able to function normally.

In case you find it difficult to get started on your own then you can get professional help. This can help you atleast get started on a routine and get you on track before you can independently take charge of your health  and adopt a healthy lifestyle for good.

Think Before You Drink!

You stay away from the most obvious signs of sugar in your food,. Avoid desserts, don’t take sugar in your tea/coffee. But sometimes you ignore the not so obvious forms of sugar that might be harming you. To start the damage control right away here are a few ways how sugar is finding way to your system.

Cola drinks(Regular and diet): The cola drinks are soda and added sweeteners and artificial colors present in it. The soda present in it increases the level of co2 in the body which results in the reduction of anti-oxidants in the body. It contains a high amount of sugar in it which is not good for the health Read more

Is Sugar Healthy

We all know sweets, chocolates, candies, ice creams and sweetened food contain high levels of sugar and therefore stay away from them as much as we can. Sugar is addictive and is also a good source of instant energy. Eating too much sugar is unhealthy and leads to excess fat storage and increase of insulin.

Although we limit ourselves from the most obvious forms of sugar there might be ‘sugar coated’ ways that you are consuming sugar. Here are a few example of not so healthy ways that we might be consuming sugar without really being aware. Read more

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