How Healthy are Packaged Soups

Positioning of food products as healthy has become as fashionable as people joining a gym. Unfortunately most of these so called health products are not as healthy as the natural counter parts of these. For example packaged soups do not carry half as many health benefits of natural soup simply because nutrition cannot be stored for such a long time. Besides all the preservatives used to improve the shelf life of these perishable goods destroy the antioxidant qualities of the vegetables. The ingredients used are also of not the best quality, leaving the major content of the soup to be actually starch, sugar and sodium.

The vegetable content of any packaged soup is almost negligible besides containing depleted nutrients. Here are the three critical components of a pre-packaged soup that might be causing harm to your family’s health.

• Corn flour- the packaged soups have a very high amount of corn flour for a thick consistency. Some major health hazard of corn flour is that it raises the blood sugar content. It leads to the Yo-Yo effect which is harmful for one’s health. It further leads to fat deposition in the body, which makes one more hungrier and further leads to over eating. Corn flour leaves an adverse effect on the intestine.

• Salt- packaged soups contains very high amount of salt. This is extremely not recommended for people suffering from blood pressure or even those who have borderline blood pressure as high salt will increase their levels. Excess of salt causes is linked with osteoporosis, asthma, kidney diseases and stomach cancer sometimes; it also causes water retention and edema.

• Preservatives- in packaged soups amount of preservatives is also very high. Coal Tar Azo Dyes, sulfites, etc are some kinds of preservatives which are present in soups. Such kind of preservatives can also cause cancer and other health hazards.

Moreover all the nutrients in a packaged soup are in powdered form (dehydrated) and when these nutrients come in contact with heat, they lose all the essential vitamins. Besides these soups only contain empty calories that gets stored in your body and don’t get absorbed immediately as they are void of any nutrition. Most people tend to gravitate towards these products because of fantastic marketing, convenience and affordability of these products. Don’t be short-sighted and only think for now and not the larger picture of good health. The money that you think you are saving on buying these cheap products is actually adding to your medical bills later in life. Read more

Why Salt is Bad for Health

Deep fried foods and other processed foods are considered the most unhealthy foods that contain minimum nutrition and maximum calories that are responsible for weight gain & lifestyle related health disorders. What is often forgotten yet an important culprit behind weight gain & health issues is excessive salt consumption.

The daily requirement of sodium is 2300 mg, as per the Indian guidelines of dietary intake, which is got from 5 grams of salt. The most important mineral got from salt is sodium that has many health benefits like enzyme operation and muscle contraction and fluid regulation in the system. This requirement is easily met by the regular meals in the home cooked food.

It’s not about the regular salt content in the home cooked food but the consumption of extra salt through foods like Pickles, chutneys, sauces and ketchups, papads, chips and salted biscuits, savoury items, cheese and salted butter, canned foods (vegetables, dals & meats), bakery products, ready made soup powders, dried salted fish, smoked meats, chinese food. These were some of the obvious products but there are still some not so obvious pre-packaged products that might be harming you. Here is how  : to improve the shelf life of a food product preservatives are used. Besides many chemicals that are used to preserve food the two most common artificial or natural preservatives used are salt or sugar. Both are equally harmful for health if taken in large quantities over a period of time. Read more

List of Healthy Snacks

Are putting on weight due to snacking? We all know that eating at odd hours leads to weight gain. But how do you deal with hunger pangs without starving yourself. To answer one of the most common dilemmas of how to control snacking we have put together a list of healthy snacks alongside some not so healthy snacks. This is done to explain why you should be eating this and not that.

Before we move on to the healthy vs unhealthy snack list you need to understand snacks are just fillers or small bites. Most people eat snacks like a meal and thats where the problem starts. When one samosa becomes two or one sandwich becomes two sandwiches.

To elaborate a little bit more here are some points to note

While snacking eat slowly and enjoy every bite that you eat. Eating slowly makes you chew the food properly and eat less also. This helps you in managing portion and not over eating.

Don’t snack on empty calories even though you can manage the portion because it will add no nutrition and only calories.

You could choose low fat dairy, eggs, seeds and nuts, fruits and veggies as a snacking option.

Lets further explain it with an example on how to control your calories better if you are on a weight loss routine. A man weighing 80 kgs and 175 cms would approximately require 2000 calories in a single day. To break it further he would have a daily quota  of 250 calories for 2 snacks in a day. While a women weighing 50 kg and 5 feet 2 inches would require approximately 1400 calories in a day and 175 calories each for snacking twice in a day. This means you can divide your snack for once during mid morning and once in the routine evening. But remember snacking includes your tea/coffee/coke/lemonade etc! Read more

Indian Diet for Weight Loss

Fad diets mostly don’t focus on a balanced diet for  weight loss. For instance take low calorie diet. Here they cut off the carbohydrates so that the body outsources it energy from burning fats. Well if the body does take energy from fat then what about the vitamins and minerals from carbohydrates which are fruits, vegetables, cereals and legumes. This kind of diet leads to extreme fatigue and poor nutrition.

To lose weight you need to eat healthy and not stop eating. Our bodies have a daily nutritional requirement for it to function properly. Instead of depleting the body with this nutrition try to ensure you eat a balanced diet.

Most of the popular fad diets have been discovered or created by Americans or Europeans. The food types are obviously different than that of an Indian diet. But this doesn’t mean that a regular Indian diet is unhealthy. There are many regional healthy food options available in our diet. We will help you discover easy to cook, delicious & healthy recipes based on Indian cuisine that will help reduce weight fast.

Some healthy Indian Diet Options for weight Loss

Khicdi: Dal(Split Pulses) and rice cooked together and generally  eaten with a combination of curd. This indian diet is simple with least spices except salt, turmeric and some herbs for aroma. It contains protein from dal, carbohydrates from rice and is easy to digest and light for the stomach.

Besan ka cheela made of gram flour is usually eaten in combination with curd is a instant, nutritious, low calorie, protein rich recipe ideal for breakfast and snack time . Cheela can be a part of weight loss diet since it is low in calories and also a part of muscle building diet since it is high in protein. Make sure its made in minimal oil and cooked on a non-stick. Read more

Weight Loss for Women

There could be many reasons behind women gaining weight like sedentary lifestyle, emotional reasons, theureupatic reasons,  eating habits and the love for chocolates. If you are a woman and looking to lose weight then here are tips to make you understand the body psychology.

For healthy lifestyle it is important to get all the daily nutritional requirement like protein for muscles and hair, carbohydrates for energy for the work that you do, good fats like omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids and goof fats for normal growth along with vitamins and minerals for various bodily functions. On the other hand to maintain a healthy and fit outer appearance it is important to balance the food intake and and body requirement and not starving the body with its nutritional requirements.

Diet: Women are fond of food and love gossip munching which unrealisingly makes them consume hundreds of calories through different sources. Our bodies require a certain number of calories, in order to manage the weight the calorie intake has to be monitored, again not missing on the nutrition. Read more

Exercise to Drink More Water

Inspite of knowing that water is good for your body, many of us find it difficult to drink water. … We have something that can help. Did you know exercising makes you thirsty? So if you are unable to kick out this bad habit of drinking less then maybe adding an exercise routine can help you get more water in the system.

But why does exercise make you thirsty?
First, during workouts we sweat … losing water and salt which causes the imbalance of fluids and electrolytes in the body. Our body naturally counters this internal reaction by triggering thirst. If you are feeling thirsty post workouts, its because you have worked hard and have lost water and salt through sweat.

As 70% of the body composition is water, after workouts and wear and tear the body goes into repair mode and requires water for speedy recovery. Water helps carry nutrients and helps remove toxins and wastes from your body.

Sometimes we don’t pay enough attention to the body signals and drink enough water resulting in dehydration.

Here are a few tips to maintain water levels and avoid dehydration
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Is Navratri Food Diet Healthy?

During the nine days of Navratras, many Indians observe certain fasting rules, or follow certain dietary pattern or refrain from eating certain foods, as a cultural practice. Now, its great to have cultural practices and to follow them, but we wanted to discuss the broader health aspects behind them, and how they can be really leveraged to get the health benefits. Let’s first look at Navratras from a broader cultural perspective.

The practice of abstaining from food or certain foods is of course to show your respect to the Gods, but there could be a hidden health angle to it, helping you detox your body, improve your immunity and overall health. Let’s show you how

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Raw Vs Cooked Food- Which Is Healthier?

Ever wondered that why is it that we eat some foods raw and some that we cook before eating. The health myth around it is that cooking the food kills bacteria and it is not safe to eat it raw. Firstly not all foods can be eaten raw for eg. meats. Meats can’t be eaten raw as it might contain the bacteria borne by the animal itself and need to be boiled and cooked to free it of the bacteria. Secondly its completely healthy to eat raw or slightly cooked vegetables as not only that they are healthiest in their natural form but each of these vegetables have distinct flavors that can only be tasted when eaten raw. Overcooking the vegetables kills the enzymes present in it making it not so nutritious and good for the health and digestion.

Here are a few tips on why to eat this and not that

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7 Essential Nutrient Checklist

Some nutrients are important for healthy living and play a important role in daily body metabolism. We eat nutritious food most of the time, but are you meeting your daily requirement? Most of the health problems are due to the imbalance of the nutrients.

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How to Reduce Water Weight

Do you feel bloated sometimes from water retention, and wonder how to reduce your water weight and get rid of bloating? Many people experience the problem of bloating which is an increase of water storage in the body due to some foods and health conditions. Bloating leads to increased weight, bloated feeling and overall feeling heavy. Read on to what causes water retention and know how you can reduce water weight.

Reasons for water weight

- High level of Sodium in your body.
- Excess of sugar intake increases the hormone insulin. High level of insulin makes it difficult to get rid of sodium.
- Some medications can make the body store sodium resulting in bloating.
- PCOS, hypothyroid, menopause and other hormonal imbalances.

Tips for reducing water weight Read more

Reading Nutrition Labels Correctly

Nutrition labels are supposed to tell us how healthy or unhealthy a food really is. Some of us read them, many don’t. But if you read them, are you reading them correctly? Reading nutrition label can help make wise food choices but knowing how to read the nutrition fact label can be complicated without the right guide. So, let us show step by step how to correctly read the nutrition label:

Step 1- Start with serving size
At the top of the label are the serving size and the number of servings per container.  Serving sizes is the amount of food that is typically eating in one serving indicated by cup or number. Serving sizes differ on each food label and may not equal the serving size you normally eat. If you Read more

Tips to get lean, become slim in 3 days!

Ever wanted to look leaner and fitter instantly- for the beach vacation, the New Year’s eve party, a cousin’s wedding, or the big date! We have tips for you to look thinner, slimmer, leaner and better instantly. No, its not an optical illusion.

Whether you have 3 days, 7, 10, 14 days, 2 weeks or 1 month, you can use these tips to look thinner for the big day.

Eat less Salt: Go easy on the salty snacks, like namkeen, chips, high sodium pickles, pretzels and processed foods that are high in sodium. Extra salt is added as a preservative in foods. Salt contains sodium and high sodium foods cause water retention in the body. Water retention can make you look bloated. So, skip the chips and go for the fresh food.

Easy on the Carbs: Most diets are high in carbohydrates, sugar and fat. Some amount of carbohydrates and fat are good for the body but at the same time its important to  moderate the consumption of such foods in the diet.  Best way to keep your carbohydrate intake in control is by knowing the difference between good and bad carbs. Most common form of carbohydrates in our diet are wheat, grains, maida, rice etc. Removing carbohydrates  from your diet mostly reduces the water weight, which comes back as soon as you eat regular food again or even drink enough water . That’s a trick used by Atkins and other no-carbohydrate diet plans. Fitho does not recommend no-carb diets, as they can have side-effects like ketosis, bad breath, etc. What you need is a weight loss plan that helps you lose weight and keep it off.

Run: Yes, go for a run. Running helps you burn calories, and suppresses appetite hormones. If you are used to walking then add a little bit of jogging in intervals. Running/jogging helps you burn more calories & tone up faster than walking in the same amount of time!

Do Push-ups/Squats: You dont need a long list of exercises to get started. Push-ups and squats is the secret to the most effective exercise which requires only 15 minutes of your time and the results will make it look like you have been spending serious time in the gym. Both are fantastic exercises to burn fat, tone arms and legs  in no time.

Love Pickles? Watch that waist

Yes, pickles can make you look fat! Read on to find out

Pickles are an integral part of diets in many cultures across the world, including India. All sorts of fruits, vegetables, and even meats are pickled in India. They are usually made by marinating in oil (or lemon) and with a bunch of spices in them, along with a lot of salt. They have high salt content, since it helps to preserve the pickle. The high salt content, while it adds a lot of flavour, also increases the concentration of sodium in the food.

High consumption of pickles, increases your sodium intake and thus the sodium concentration in your body. Sodium helps to maintain our blood pressure and perform other integral functions, but increased sodium concentration can have negative effects. Besides increasing your blood pressure, it also increases water retention in the body. Water retention makes you look bloated and heavier than you are.

Besides the high sodium content of pickles, many of them are made in lots of oil, so it adds to the calorie count. Sodium increases water retention, but all those extra calories can increase fat retention! (bad, bad)

So, next time you dig in to those pickles, go easy with the second helping.