Bring in the happiness

Wellness bring in lots of energy for the day. It will make you raring for the day and help solving problems. Wellness also brings in the happy hormones in your life.

Benefits of Wellness Coaching

• Nutrition & Lifestyle – Real food. Better habits. Sustainable results.
• Weight Management – Healthy weight. Strong body. Confident you.
• Stress & Hormone Balance – Calm mind. Balanced hormones. Happier you.
• Energy & Wellbeing – More energy. Better sleep. Happier you.
• Mindset & Self Care – Heal within. Grow daily. Glow naturally.

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Customised nutrition

Busy lifestyle takes a toll on nutrition. Fast food and ultra processed food cause hormonal imbalance and further cause problems like bloating. Today, supplements have become a necessary part of your food but you will still need expert advice. Customised nutrition helps you begin with a start point.

Good food needs texture, smell and taste. That is where the fast food score high. Customised nutrition helps with tasty food every meal. It helps you to experiment with variation so that you do not have to endure the same food again and again.

Lifestyle Guidance

Lack of physical activity means that our body does not burn those calories necessary to keep the body healthy. If you do not have the time or the opportunity to exercise, lifestyle guidance is a must. A lifestyle guide is a trainer and a mentor who will attend to your daily needs.

It involves major and minor changes in your routine, activities and nutrition requirements. It will take care of your hormonal imbalance and leave you with enough energy for going through your day.

Woman Wellness is your right

Every woman has a unique body and needs. But does she get the attention she deserves?

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Definition of Gut – Medically gut refers to the entire pipe starting from the mouth where the food enters till it is discarded by the body. But specifically nowadays it is just the large intestine. The place in the body where gut bacteria reside.

Gut Bacteria – Did you know that there are 5000 different types of bacteria that have been found so far in the human gut. You can have a combination of many many types depending on what you eat.

Does gut bacteria only come from food? Yes, unless some technology comes in the future, the source of gut bacteria is only food, both good bacteria and bad bacteria.

Sources of Bad Bacteria – Street food, processed food, artificial chemicals in food products, chemicals and adulteration, all induce bad bacteria in the body. Carbs and Sweets eat up the good bacteria layer.

Role of good gut bacteria layer – Bacteria has been in our body since evolution. The layer of bacteria inside the large intestine completes the digestion process. It has a direct link to the brain and is often described as the second brain of the body controlling important things like feeling of hunger and mood.

Problems with bad bacteria – Bad gut bacteria eats away the nutrients from the food. They also kill the good bacteria and send all sorts of wrong signals to the brain confusing it.

How to recover good bacteria and place it in your gut – Fermented food is the best source of bacteria. Be sure that it is locally made. You do not need good bacteria from Switzerland. Home cooked food is the next step that you can take.

Pro Tip – Ekadashi fasting is a good way to reset gut bacteria, but always break your fast with home cooked food.

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There comes a time in your weight loss journey when you hit a wall where the numbers do not change despite the regime and routine. Here are ten ways you can take care of this stall and may you get over the problem in one way or the other.

Look beyond the water weight

The initial weight loss is the water weight which the body releases as soon as we start any kind of diet or exercise. So if the plateau has hit at one week time, that is the water weight. You will need to continue the routine for the next few days for results to show. It is just a waiting game of patience.

Increase protein intake

Anytime during your weight loss diet, you cannot reduce protein intake. Consuming more proteins help consume more calories. Digesting carbs is much easier and faster while protein digestion takes longer time. This also means that consuming more protein based food will help you feel full for a longer time.

Increase fiber intake

Just like protein, fiber takes longer to digest and helps you feel full. Fiber is the perfect balance for protein as far as ease of digestion goes.

Replace regular tea with green version

Green tea has powerful antioxidants which help boost immunity and help to lower the stress levels. If you have not made the switch, you can use this to help with the plateau.

Weight and resistance training

You can join a gym at any age and start with weight training. It will not straight way lead to weight loss but it helps with redistribution of weight from the waist to the muscles. This helps in overcoming the plateau.

Check your diet plan once again

Chances are that the diet plan given by your doctor needs some modification. So if all the above things have been taken care of, it is time to check back with your dietitian.

Try intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting is neither a diet plan nor it is exercise routine. It is change in lifestyle by starting with reducing the eating window to a slot of five to ten hours. By allowing the body to fast, you get a chance to burn off all the stored fat.

Combine intermittent fasting with low carb diet

If the carb ultimately get converted to calories and then later to body fat it is a good idea to go for a low carb diet. If you have hit the wall, you can try this option to push the scales further.

Give up alcohol and tobacoo

Individually there might not be anything harmful about intoxicants, but with your weight loss journey, these two will be the greatest contributors. If you are into social drinking, give it up totally and if it is out of habit, you have to work harder over it.

Stress management

The final piece of the puzzle is stress. It is one of the major causes for weight gain. So if there is a road block anywhere on your weight loss journey, you can check if stress is working against you. Stress management techniques are personalized and you will have to work upon them on your own. Of course professional help is always a good idea.

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Pollution and how to fight it

A good quality home air filter is a must which will make sure that at least when your child is home, he or she can start the healing process with dust free air. Take special steps to keep the home clean and do not let dust accumulate. The best time to open the doors and windows is early morning. Choose the house in such a way that lots of morning sunlight streams in the house.

If getting up early is healthy, there is enough reason for everyone to sleep early. Indian house holds consider it a fashion to sleep late leading to lack of sleep for children and yawning faces going to school. Sleep deprivation is the main cause of low immunity. Avoid going for weddings which end up with late night dinner and bad quality food. To help with immunity consume anti oxidants rich food like seasonal fruits. Do not overdo fruits which have high quantity of sugars like grapes, mangoes and lichees.

While an occasional eating out is not a problem, it is the fast foods you have to keep a strict eye on. Fries and Burgers are a strict no. Late night food orders should also be discouraged including the late night cravings for something salty and fizzy.

Taking the obesity pandemic headon

While the above measures work both for air pollution related ailments and obesity, you need to go the extra mile for overall health. Induce a health routine for yourself to begin with. Both parents need to go out for a jog, gym and one outdoor games like badminton or tennis. Swimming is always a good idea too. Switch to a healthy and fit life to inspire your children.

One a week, at least, go for an outdoor activity like hike or nature trail. Go outside the city in the country side and breathe in the fresh air. If a hill station is accessible, try out that option first.

Children wearing glasses early

A high carb and fast food diet creates bunching of Red Blood Cells. These cells are designed to be flexible so that they can reach in the tiniest of capillaries. One of the tiniest capillary is the optical nerve. A switch away from fast food should help with this. Also a developing child needs more outdoor and natural light to get better vision.

Another more serious problem is due to the increased screen time. TV, Video Games, Mobile Games, Social Media, etc means that your child is spending a large amount of time in front of one screen or another.

Conclusion

While I know that situation is bad, I would still not recommend options likes supplements or such medicines. A healthy diet and active lifestyle can reverse most of the issues faced by children today.

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Analysing the problem

Hysterectomy leads to an immediate drop in levels of estrogen and progesterone. This forces an unnatural menopause in the body. The onset of menopause and the stress of the surgery combined can create several problems.

Combined effects of menopause and hormonal imbalance sometimes lead to even greater problems than the original one for which the doctor recommended removal of the uterus.

Effects can be wide ranging from sleeplessness, irritation, breathlessness and overall low energy levels.

There is a constant bone breakdown and replacement with new material. This balance is maintained by estrogen. Removal of uterus and the hormonal imbalance results in higher risk of bone damage by fracture.

Arteries and Veins are required to be flexible. Estrogen plays a great role in this so once estrogen level drops, there is a risk of heart related issues. Estrogen also protects brain cells. You will have small phases of memory loss due to drop in estrogen level.

Lack of estrogen encourages the build up of fat in the body, especially surrounding the waist. Post hysterectomy, it is strongly advised to keep some physical routine like walking or gym along with some activity to keep your brain in a working state. You can even start a new hobby.

What I began with

In case of my client, there was no follow up with the doctor after the surgery. She was facing problems related with body and muscle ache almost five years after the surgery.

Second thing I suggested her that we should work upon the calcium, magnesium and iron intake and if needed take supplements too.

But before all that she has to do some tests, only after which I can suggest a diet for her. It is now upto her to take the next step.

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She has sleep related issues which led to taking sleeping pills to tackle the anxiety related issues. It was ultimately her health concerns that brought her in contact with me.

Solution

There were two separate issues which I had to deal with one by one. Firstly she was worried a lot. She believed that eventually this lack of sleep issue will cause serious health problem which might even result in life threatening complications.

With sustained counselling, she eventually overcame this fear. While sleep is very important for good health, lack of sleep is not going to kill you, even in the long term. Chronic stress might kill but lack of sleep due to chronic stress can be dealt with slight changes in food habits.

The next round was advising her a few lifestyle changes.

Getting ready to sleep – the food and the shutdown routine

Sleep is a planned activity, especially in case you have a sedentary lifestyle and if you do almost no physical work the whole day.

While most situations, a heavy meal should automatically put you to sleep, this might not always work.

So what does work. The magic mineral for inducing sleep is Magnesium. It helps relax muscles in our body and simulates the secretion of melatonin, the sleep hormone. It also helps in production of Serotonin which is the ‘feel good’ hormone. A happy mood helps you to sleep well. Magnesium lowers the levels of stress hormone, cortisol. By working together with GABA, magnesium helps in changing the state of the nervous system from fight-or-flight to rest-and-digest. Magnesium helps in absorption of Vitamin D.

While this might sound a lot, in fact, magnesium is one mineral which in involved in about 300 processes in the body and it is an essential nutrient because our body does not make it and it has to come in by food.

Suggested magnesium rich food

Soaked pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, almonds and walnuts help in sleep but you need to shift the timings to late afternoon. Most of us eat soaked nuts in the morning after leaving them overnight. Soaking helps remove the phytic acid and tannins. It also helps remove chemicals and impurities on the outer layer of the nuts. Water soaking gives a smooth texture to the nuts and make them softer and easier to digest.

Traditional Indian Green vegetables are the best way to take in any minerals. Nature has provided magnesium in abundance. Do not overcook the vegetables in oils and masalas. A light sautéed should help preserve the minerals.

Avocados and potatoes are packed with magnesium.

Dark Chocolate should be at least 70% dark. It is a rich source of magnesium.

Important lifestyle changes

Do not attend weddings which serve food late night. If you need to attend, let the hosts know in advance that you are not going to have dinner. Have your dinner before going for the wedding. The harsh lights and loud music is not at all helping to sleep better.

If your family is habitual of eating late, try to take your food early and then join them for a meal but just sip water.

Switch off the mobile at a designated time of choice like 9 pm or 10 pm and use a bed side alarm clock to see the time.

Change the lights from bright white to soft yellow.

Stop consuming any sweet or sugary product before going to sleep.

Instead of a regular pastry switch to a good quality brand which gives pastry of dark chocolate.

Be determined to sleep better

As a woman, I always tell everyone, we put everything before self. Family first. So you need to be determined to make this work and get the lifestyle changes done, no matter how difficult to odds.

The post Understanding sleep issues in a women and how to sleep better first appeared on Healthy life with Manju Mohan.

The thyroid gland produces certain hormones that are very crucial  for the proper functioning of almost all organ systems in the body. When issues arise within the thyroid, whether from disease, hormonal imbalances, or cancer, it can have widespread effects. Thyroid hormone (TH) regulates metabolic processes essential for normal growth and development as well as regulating metabolism in an adult.

FUNCTION OF THYRIOD HORMONE:

1. Thyroid hormones Influences  the basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is the rate at which your body uses energy while at rest.

2. Thyroid hormone helps in Body Temperature Regulation. An overactive or underactive thyroid can lead to feelings of being excessively warm or cold.

3. Thyroid hormones helps in contraction of heart  and can influence blood pressure and heart health.

4. An imbalance of thyroid hormone  can lead to problems like osteoporosis over time.

5. An underactive thyroid can make the digestive process slower leading to issues like constipation.

Thyroid Regulation:

The thyroid gland is regulated by thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH).

The production and release of thyroid hormone is regulated from pituitary gland involving the hypothalamus. Your brain gives signal to pituitary gland to release thyrotropin-releasing(hormone (TRH). This TSH stimulates the thyroid gland to produce T4 and T3.

If the thyroid produces too much or too little T4 and T3, it can lead to hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid) or hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid), respectively. Both conditions can have significant health implications and require medical attention and lifestyle modifications.

Common Autoimmune  thyroid conditions include:

• Hashimoto disease: An autoimmune disorder in which TSH levels are extremely high
• Graves’ Disease: An autoimmune disorder in which TSH levels are extremely high

The post Understanding Thyroid first appeared on Healthy life with Manju Mohan.

Feeling cold – Iodine defiency

Feeling warm – same

White tongue – This is caused by an overgrowth of candida. It happens because candida dominates the other bacteria and yeast in your mouth robbing nutrition and creating all sorts of other problems. The main cause definitely is a deficiency of probiotic. But the other reason that the overgrowth is promoted is due to the excessive consumption of sugars and carbs which feed just the candida.

Bloating – lack of stomach acid

Muscle weakness – low sodium

High BP and high heart rate – low potassium

Excessive yawning – Iron deficiency. Best source of iron is red meat.

Anxiety and shortness of breath – Vitamin B1 deficiency. B1 is required to energise the mitochondria in the cell so that it can produce energy. Eating more refined carbs and sugars raises the demand of B1 which is why you are deficiency of this vital vitamin.

Twitching of eye muscles – Because the blood becomes excessively alkaline, there is a calcium buildup because the blood cannot transport calcium that well. Calcium buildup on the nerves disturbs the signal transmission. Remedy is the build up acid levels in the body by drinking apple cider vinegar.

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Kidney problems

Either there is a physical injury to a kidney like in case of an accident or there is a progressive degradation of a kidney over time. The latter is called Chronic Kidney Disease or CKD in short.

Chronic Kidney Disease is a condition when the filtration mechanism inside the kidney gets damaged and no longer able to filter waste and excessive water from the blood.

As a disease it can happen over a period of years. There are no early signs of kidney damage as the work of the damaged portion of the kidney can be carried out by the undamaged portion.

A damaged kidney cannot be repaired. The damage is permanent.

How to measure kidney damage

Kidney efficiency is measured in terms of Glomerular filtration rate or (GFR). It is a simple blood test and works as an estimate of the efficiency of the kidneys. The other is a urine test which measures albumin. There should be little or no albumin in your urine. If it is there, means your kidneys are leaking protein from the blood.

The first and early visible sign of kidney damage is frequent urination especially at night. This is followed by at a later stage frothy or foamy urine and swelling of legs, especially the feet area. Fatigue, tiredness and lack of energy to do even the basic things usually is another key sign.

How does the kidney gets damaged, the real reason

Not too much information is available on the internet about the cause of CKD. But a little bit of research points towards the usual suspect, metabolic syndrome.

Sugar acts like sand paper inside the arteries. Too much of sugar and carbs keeps glucose levels in our blood high. Why does this happen? To understand this we shall go into the structure of a Red Blood Cell or RBC.

It is the responsibility of a RBC to carry oxygen from the lungs to different parts of the body. Oxygen is required for generating energy at the cellular level. RBC is like a disk which bends in the centre. This provides red blood cells to become flexible enough to enter into the tiniest arteries which are called capillaries. One of the tiniest capillary is the retina of the eye. The presence of glucose in the blood leads to the RBCs sticking to each other and forming bunches of these cells. The RBCs lose their flexibility to enter into capillaries. Insufficient blood supply starts damaging the skin tissues hindering their repair and resulting in darkening of skin especially around areas like neck.

This bunching of RBCs also leads to inflammation in the inside of the artery wall further leading to plaguing of the artery. Inflammation actually causes a tear in the inside of the artery. Liver dispatches cholesterol to plug the gap and help the artery wall to heal itself and fill in the gap. From here on it is a race against time to heal the tiny arteries of inflammation and the cholesterol trying to repair it. Cholesterol is actually trying to heal things but it is labeled as the villain because it was found at the crime scene.

Coming to the kidneys, the capillaries inside the kidneys are really very tiny. Bunching of RBCs moving inside the tiny walls of the capillaries in the kidney creates a lot of damage to the tiny and sensitive blood vessels which filter the blood within the kidneys. The presence of excess blood glucose keeps damaging the blood vessels slowly over a period of time.

As metabolic syndrome takes shape all over the body, the increase in blood pressure accelerates the damage.

Once metabolic syndrome kicks in, the danger to kidney gets real.

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