Food With Fat For Health Benefits

Fat has an important role to play in the smooth functioning of body just like how protein is important for muscle building, carbohydrates for energy and vitamins and minerals for other nutrition. The minimum requirement of essential fat for men is 2-5% and women is 10-12%, anything below which physical and psychological health would be effected. When one consumes fat more than the daily requirement it then it gets stored in the belly, thighs and all over the body. Fat helps in healthy cell function and keeps the skin healthy and stores energy in the body and provides 9 calories per 1 gm of fat.

Essential fat is required for brain functioning, bone marrows, central nervous system muscles and healthy functioning of the body

It provides cushion to internal organs of the chest and abdomen.  These essential fats are often confused with the bad fats that increase the LDL bad Cholesterol. Essential fats actually increase the HDL good cholesterol levels improving heart health and improves the flow of blood in the arteries.

Here is a list of Fatty foods for good health

 

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Stress Management with Food

Studies have correlated strong connection between food and stress. As we get busy and stressed, we tend to make poor nutritional choices which puts your body under further stress. Stress increases cellular activity and reduces the effectiveness of the digestive system leading to nutritional deficiencies and therefore a diet of nutrient dense foods needs to be followed.

So, a balanced diet is not only essential for maintaining overall good health, but can also affect your capacity to cope up stress. The key nutrients for combating stress are those that aid the adrenal glands, such as Read more

6 reasons why street food is unhealthier than you thought?

You’ve heard about how deep fried foods aren’t good for health because of the high calorie content, and not being heart healthy! Turns out, they are actually worse for your health, than you thought they were! See the 6 reasons

We told you if which chaat is healthiest. Most popular street foods are fried at some point: aloo tikki – kachori- aloo filled samosas- chole bhature – pav bhaji. Most of these are fried (which facilitates quick preparation), high in fat and sodium, and low in fiber, vitamins & minerals. Let’s show you how these foods are unhealthier than you thought:

Tran Read more

Is Indian food healthy

Most Indians believe that Indian food is among the healthiest cuisines in the world. No doubt, that it can be healthy, but is all Indian food healthy? To see what is healthy in Indian cuisine, and what is not, read on..

The Good:

- Indian food by its nature incorporates a lot of Read more

Eat Less Carbs- for Healthy Heart

Low-carb diets have been popular for years as a way to lose weight quickly. Aside from quick weight loss, the benefits of a low-carb diet include: increased energy, reduced sweet cravings, reduced mood swings and studies are showing a reduction on cholesterol, triglycerides level in the blood. Basically meaning a healthier heart! Read more about the study below.

Read below why Indians (and South Asians) specifically, should take more care of their heart health. And that the key, is keeping it low carb, not no carb! …

Indians should pay heed, as Indians are Read more

Reduce Cholesterol – Tips to Lower Cholesterol

High cholesterol levels are a very common health problem in India. The good news is that you can reduce cholesterol easily through a few changes in your life. Once you understand how to manage your cholesterol, it’s much easier to lower your cholesterol levels without drugs – as in lower your LDL cholesterol and raise your HDL cholesterol levels.

Cholesterol is needed for cell membranes and the production of hormones. So, it is produced by your body. The body makes what cholesterol it needs; the more cholesterol that comes from food, the less the body makes. An unhealthy diet may overload the body beyond its ability to regulate its cholesterol levels. High-density lipoproteins (HDL or good cholesterol) sweep the blood of excess fat and cholesterol while low-density lipoproteins (LDL or bad cholesterol) are the bad guys, because they can contribute to the build-up of plaque in arteries, and in turn clog your arteries. Similar to our body,

The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) recommends Read more

Coconut- High fat calories & healthy?

Coconut is commonly used in many Indian cuisines. Did you know that coconut contains more saturated fat than butter itself (by weight comparison). 1 cup of coconut contains 27 gm of fat of which 24 gm are saturated fat. Each cup accounts for almost 300 calories. In fact one cup of coconut contains more saturated fat that your daily recommendation. Considering the amount of fat that it contains and the resulting calories, you would think its unhealthy, and will clog your arteries.

But is it really. We don’t think so. Read on to find out.

Even though coconut is packed with saturated fat, it appears to have Read more

Does Cardiovascular exercise make you smarter

There’s plenty of research to suggest the cardiovascular exercise, like running, or any other cardio activity, improves your heart health, help you manage your blood pressure and lots of other health benefits. But in the past few years, research has taken benefits of cardio exercise to the next level. It suggests that performing cardiovascular exercise might actually make you smarter.

Read on to know more .. Read more

Why lose weight- 5 reasons

Most people start a weight loss plan for aesthetic reasons to look good. But beyond that, excess weight is literally a menace to your health. Besides making you fat, large amounts of fatty deposits can cause havoc on your body’s internal systems.

By Indian government obesity guidelines, People who are Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25 or greater are clinically termed obese & have a much higher risk for many major illnesses. This is due to a genetic Indian risk of diabetes & heart disease. For most of us, obesity sounds like something foreign, but to be over a BMI of 25, is for example, anyone with a height of 5 feet and weighing over 58.2 kg, 5 feet 6 inches & weighing over 70.5 kg, or 6 feet tall and weighing over 83.6 kg.

Check the table below to see if you fall into the obese category. The height is in inches, the weight is in lbs.

Surprisingly, many people fall into the high risk category. Here are few reasons why you definitely have to lose weight: Read more

Heart Health Indian Women- Go Red Sari and Fitho

At Fitho, we believe in improving health and fitness levels for Indians across the world. Indians are prone to hypertension and diabetes. Indians are also genetically prone to more harmful belly fat, that puts us at a higher risk for heart disease and other disorders. We have tied up with Go Red Sari initiative to promote heart health among Indian women across the world.

About Go Red Sari: This initiative has been created for the Asian Indian women, in order to alleviate heart health issues. By working with the women, we will also reach our secondary target population of men. Women within the Asian Indian society, manage the health and well being of the family and often neglect their own health for their family. Our goal is to help women become aware of their health, especially that of the heart, and learn positive behaviors to better it. Through Go Red Sari, we aspire to make every woman and her family live healthier and longer lives.

About Fitho: Fitho helps Indians get fit. To get free tips on health, fitness and weight loss, specially for Indians, sign up for our newsletter:

Did you know that high carb foods can cause Heart Attacks?
And you might be obese according to the new Indian health guidelines?

If you need to lose weight, get on a healthy weight loss plan, with a balanced diet and an effective exercise routine. We even provide a personal manager to help you stay on track, and answer any questions. If you need more motivation, try our personal trainer program. On any of these programs, besides losing weight, you will be fitter, look better and be healthier. Isn’t that the point of weight loss?!

High Carb Foods can cause Heart Attacks

A new study from Tel Aviv University showed what happens in your body when you eat high-carbohydrate foods. And the results show that eating too much bread might be bad for your heart…

Researchers fed healthy volunteers one of four meals: cornflakes with milk, a pure sugar mixture, bran flakes, or a placebo (water). (We’ve told you before, that cornflakes are not good for you. Clearly sugar is unhealthy) Then they monitored what was happening to the patients’ arteries in real time.

The result: People who ate high-sugar foods (cornflakes and pure sugar mixture) showed a sudden thickening of their artery walls for several hours—which can worsen the effects of heart disease by stressing your blood supply. In extreme cases, it could even loosen a clot, potentially causing a stroke or heart attack.

So, not only do foods with high carbohydrate content like cornflakes and sugar result in potential heart attacks, but are also foods that make you fat! See the list of unhealthy high carbohydrate foods, that you should avoid.

Avoid the carb-overload foods that put stress on your arteries: among the worst offenders are cornflakes, white bread, French fries, and sugar-sweetened drinks, even orange juices. See this list of healthy snacks. Carbohydrates aren’t the only enemy. Watch your consumption of these high sodium content foods.

Are you obese? New Indian obesity guidelines here

Studies predict that India will be the global diabetes capital by 2050 if the abdominal and lower limb obesity and metabolic syndrome are not arrested. Alarmed by reports, the Health Ministry has reduced the cut-off for body mass index (BMI) to 23 kg/m2 to fight the battle against obesity. If your BMI is over 23 kg/m2, then you are considered obese. The global standard for BMI is 25 kg/m2. So, someone considered not-obese by most international standards, might be obese in India!

BMI is the ratio of the body weight in kg versus height in m2. Understand how to find your BMI here. We think its wrong to judge obesity by BMI- read here to understand why.

The guidelines were released jointly by the Health Ministry, the Diabetes Foundation of India, the All-India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), Indian Council of Medical Research, the National Institute of Nutrition and 20 other health organisations- Those with BMI of 25 kg/m2 will be clinically termed obese (as opposed to 30 kg/m2 at the international level) and those with BMI of 32.5 kg/m2 will require bariatric surgery to eliminate excess flab.

Along with the BMI guidelines, they have also released guidelines cut-offs for waist measurement at 90 cm for Indian men (as opposed to 102 cm globally) and 80 cm for Indian women (as opposed to 88 cm at the international level).

“The Indian body composition puts them in high risk for diabetes and hypertension (read more here). The guidelines—with revised statistics—will benefit the additional 15-20 per cent (60-80 million) of the Indian population who can now be clinically termed obese under the revised measurements,” Anoop Mishra, director and head, department of diabetes and metabolic diseases, Fortis Hospitals, New Delhi and Noida, said releasing the guidelines.

The study says one in every three Indians has high triglyceride (bad cholesterol) levels and 30-70 per cent has low levels of HDL (good cholesterol). For every 10 extra kilograms above the stipulated body weight (measured according to height), life expectancy of a person reduces by three years- the report said.

By the new obesity guidelines, every second person in Delhi fulfills the criteria of obesity or has excess abdominal fat and nearly one-fourth of the adolescent population in the capital has Syndrome X or metabolic syndrome, that heralds the onset of heart diseases and diabetes.

So, what are planning to do, to avoid obesity?

To really lose weight, get on a proper weight loss plan. Or see any of our customized fitness plans, likepersonal training, diabetes management, hypothyroid, pregnancy weight loss, and more..

Fatty, unhealthy diet negatively affects your sex life

We’ve told you how fitter people have better sex, but an unhealthy diet can affect your sex life too in more ways than one! And not in ways that thrill your partner.

A fatty diet can lead to cholesterol build up in your arteries, reducing blood flow to all parts of your body including your privates, and thus reducing arousal. Every 1 point increase in your total cholesterol correlates to an 1.5 times greater risk of erection problems.

If you are on an unhealthy diet, then you probably have more fat deposits in your body. This is more bad news for men, since higher fat deposits in the male body is correlated to lower testosterone production- the male sex hormone. A substantial increase in fat deposits can affect the hormonal balance and can increase estrogen in the male body. Increase of estrogen production in the male body is related to growth of male breasts and other feminine features. Read our previous article on how to reduce male breasts, or fatty deposits in your chest area.

Did you know that drinking alcohol also lowers testosterone? And it promotes the production of estrogen, the female hormone in the male body- read here to know how alcohol gives you man boobs.

In our next article, we will tell about what you can do to get fit to improve your sex life. Till then, start watching your diet and alcohol intake.

Recipe- Make unhealthy Samosas Healthy

Samosas are the ultimate moral war in the unhealthy world of Indian snacks. They are irresistible, but so unhealthy. If only there could be healthy samosas, life for many would be easy.

Well, we have some good news- a recipe for you to make healthy samosas. We still haven’t found a place where you can get healthy samosas, but we can tell you how to make them healthier.

The maida (refined flour) used for the crust acts inside your body the same way sugar would. It has a high glycemic index, so it spikes your blood sugar, and promotes fat storage. Read here for details. So, you know, even samosas are not sweet, they’re not good for diabetics.

Then, the samosa is deep fried, so the outer crust absorbs all the oil and gets loaded with calories. To further drop its health quotient, the unhealthy samosa is stuffed with potatoes that are cooked in oil and fat!

But worry not, Fitho is here to your rescue. Make the following three swaps in the samosa recipe, and your samosas will be much healthier.

- In the dough, instead of using only maida (refined flour), mix in equal amounts of atta (whole wheat flour). So, the samosa will still retain its flaky and crisp crust, but will have more fiber, protein and vitamins.

- Instead of deep frying them, bake them in an oven. This saves all the calories and your heart from all that saturated fat and cholesterol.

- Instead of the same potato stuffing, use other veggies like peas, carrot, cauliflower. You can even stuff them with any kind of cooked meat, and turn up their protein content.

So, make these swaps in your samosa recipe, and load up on these samosas! For more healthy recipes, click here

Margarine is unhealthy?

Margarine is often used as a substitute for butter since its made from vegetable oils that do not contain saturated fats. Sounds like the perfect heart healthy food! But not all margarine is good for you.

Margarine is produced using a method called hydrogenation, which results in unhealthy trans fats. Some types of margarine contain high amount of trans fats, which can be even more harmful than saturated fats.

Several studies have linked trans fats to coronary heart disease. Trans fats raise bad LDL cholesterol and reduce good HDL cholesterol. Since trans fats don’t occur naturally in nature, our bodies don’t know how to deal with the effectively and can affect crucial cellular reactions.

Eating trans-fatty acids in margarine, vegetable shortening, and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils is also linked to increased cancer risks, inflammation, and accelerated aging and degenerative changes in tissues.

So, if you want something buttery to spread, we suggest butter. But consumed it in moderation because of its levels of saturated fats. Or have some peanut butter

Like peanut butter? Check out these yummy and healthy recipes- dessert and smoothie.

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