Be your natural self
Something for the whole family
Fast results without side effects
  123

Archives

WHOLE MILK AS WEIGHT LOSS FOODS

By Team Wellzee | August 29th, 2014 | LEAVE A COMMENT

We are all looking our for good weight loss foods all the time. There are various foods being put forward as good for losing weight or having less calories. One such food is milkThere is a lot of confusion around milk over the last few years. There is a milk bashing lobby which has emerged without understanding the value and nutrients of milk.

Milk is not only wholesome, but it is a complete meal by itself and does not make you fat. Milk does not cause lactose intolerance in more than 99% of the population. Also, this is more prevalent in the Caucasian races and others do not seem to have this problem. Even then, it has been seen that it is the hormones and chemicals in the milk which is causing the problem and not the milk itself. Milk is one of the most easily digestible substances and nutrients are absorbed fast by the body. It is energy and nutrient rich and a complete food by itself. 

Skimming milk takes away a lot of the nutrients from the milk. When we skim milk through artificial processes, nutrients are lost. Pasteurization and homogenization are two other factors responsible for lowering milk quality. So just for removing a little bit of fat, we are making milk unhealthy.

Contrary to belief whole milk is more nutritious than skimmed milk or powders. Whole fat milk contains only a maximum of 4% to 5% fat for every 100 ml. For anything to be considered high fat which can seriously add to your weight the percentage of fat has to be at least 15% to 20% and above per 100 ml. Concentrated dairy products like cheese and butter are the culprits and not milk. Also, we do not have too much milk. At most, we may have 2 to 3 small glasses in a day (around 500 to 600 ml). This does not add in any significant way to fat in the body. Even the fat that we do get is ‘good fat’. 

We need to start thinking logically as well. We are fine having cheese and butter, baked breads, sweets, chocolates, pastries and ice creams, foods loaded with gravy, fried foods, pizzas and other junk food. However, we do not have milk which has negligible fat compared to the above mentioned foodstuffs? So when we are looking at weight loss foods, we should consider whole fat, natural milk

Further, we anyway do not guzzle milk all the time. Even 2-3 glasses of milk are not going to impact you at all. On the contrary, you will get essential nutrients and calcium in a natural form. If you still want to reduce the fat content of milk then, rather than skimming it, add around 10% to 20% water to the milk. The impact of fat will be minimized. So forget weight loss foods. Start eating healthy and add whole fat milk to your balanced diet plan.

STOP DIET DRINKS ITS THE BEST WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT

By Team Wellzee | August 28th, 2014 | LEAVE A COMMENT

We all know that sugar is not good for health. Avoiding sugar is the best way to lose weight. If we want to sweeten our food and drinks it is better to do so with a little bit of jaggery or honey rather than processed sugar. These days, we also get herbs like stevia which are better than sugar. Even cinnamon has a sweetening effect and is also good for health

With this growing awareness of the ill effects of sugar, a lot of people are having drinks and colas which contain artificial sweeteners. We feel that having drinks which contain sugar substitutes will help us to remain slim or healthy in a safe way. Some have also taken to having such drinks even if they do not have any health problems thinking that it will help us to maintain or reduce weight. People are selling this as a body of fast weight loss tips. But the reverse is actually true.

Sugar substitutes have long term side effects on health. Some of them cause a build up of cholesterol and some trigger strokes or heart attacks. Some of the chemicals used actually help cause diabetes. There are new extracts and chemicals which are constantly being launched, each once claiming to be safer than the previous varieties. But the fact remains, that these are still chemicals and we cannot know the side effects till after a few years. 

Sugar free and diet colas and soft drinks contain artificial sweeteners. Other sugar free drinks also contain such artificial substitutes and sweeteners. You may temporarily feel satisfied with them but the brain quickly sees through this ruse. The brain sees through this and at some stage the body will require a genuine intake of glucose or other sugary elements. Without realizing, you will land up having foods which the body can use to convert quickly to glucose. This is because the body needs glucose as it has an important role to play in providing energy and keeping your metabolism active. We cannot deprive the body for too long by using tricks. 

Therefore, it has been found that by completely avoiding sweets or sugar by having diet drinks, the brain will start craving for high fat and high calorie foods. So you may not have sugar but you may start to crave more of junk food and baked foods or fried foods. This makes you feel hungrier and gets you to eat more. So drinks with artificial sweeteners can actually make you fat. The other aspect to be kept in mind is that soft drinks have zero nutritional value. These are just a combination of chemicals, water and empty calories. Various ill effects of soft drinks on teeth and the stomach have been shown through various studies.

This is not the best way to lose weight. So if you want to manage your weight, stop having diet drinks. Instead satisfy your craving by having small pieces of a sweet dish or chocolate or lightly sweetened tea. This is a much better strategy to adopt than having sugar free or diet drinks. Also put in place a balanced diet plan for weight loss.

BEST WAY TO EAT VEGETABLES

By Team Wellzee | August 26th, 2014 | LEAVE A COMMENT

We are all aware that is essential to eat vegetables. Vegetables are the most healthy source of nutrients, minerals, vitamins, fibre and some carbohydrates. In addition they also play a medicinal role at times. Vegetables are good for overall metabolism and and weight loss. Mental health improves when we start substituting non vegetarian food with more of vegetables.

However, most of us mistakenly believe that it is raw vegetables and salads which are to be consumed. We also feel that vegetables cannot be cooked in a healthy way and are portrayed as being boring. In fact, it is just the opposite. Vegetables can be cooked to make them very tasty and also healthy. It is just that we do not know how to cook them. Either we eat them raw or we overcook them. Both these methods are not correct. Eating raw vegetables all the time has some associated health problems over the long term and may cause some gastrointestinal tract related problems or even indigestion. In addition, the risk of picking up infections and bacteria is much higher in food which is not cooked. 

Therefore, it is essential to eat cooked vegetables. Raw salads once in a while are fine. These are also good as an accompaniment at times. But most of the times it is essential cook vegetables properly. Cooking has three main benefits:

a) Cooking enhances the effectiveness of vitamins and micro nutrients and releases them for effective use.

b) Cooking ensures that the body absorbs most of the nutrients from the vegetables. Just having nutritious food is not enough. Absorbing it in the right way and in larger amounts is the key to eating well.

c) Vegetables which are cooked well have minimal amount of unwanted bacteria or germs as they get killed or neutralized. Therefore, we always say that heat your food well before you eat it. This is as much for taste as it is for hygiene.

The best way to cook is very simple. Add a little cooking oil of your choice in a pan. You could also use clarified butter (ghee) or butter. Do not use margarine. Heat the cooking medium and lightly saute the vegetables till around 70% cooked. If you like them crunchy, then you may cook them less. Make sure you do not overcook your food or use too much cooking medium. 

Cooking in this fashion has some good benefits:

– Some amount of fat is required to increase absorption of antioxidants, nutrients and vitamins from the vegetables. Adding some cooking medium aids this process as fat is a carrier for such nutrients.

– Better absorption, lubrication, assimilation and elimination. This ensures keeping away from problems like constipation, sounds in the stomach, unwanted gas, fissures, etc.

– Cooking vegetables will also ensure that you kill unwanted germs. Your food becomes safe, healthy and tasty. This is because cooked food always tastes better than raw food. 

Learn to eat healthy and opt for an online balanced diet plan.

 

SALT, CALCIUM AND WEAK BONES

By newblog | August 19th, 2014 | LEAVE A COMMENT

One of the biggest health concerns these days is calcium deficiency. Why this is a cause for concern is that low levels or reducing levels of calcium lead to bone density loss, thus weakening them. Till now this was mostly considered to be a problem affecting ladies. However, it has been seen that men are fast catching up and there may be a new generation of men who will have a calcium deficiency problem in the same proportion as women.

One of the most important reasons for low calcium is not lack of calcium rich foods but it is something entirely else. It is having excess of salt. The recommended daily salt intake is 1.5 gms to 2.0 gms per person. However, it has been found that most of us consume between 3 gms to 6 gms per day. Why this is a problem is simple. Increase in blood pressure is a known effect of excess salt. However, it has been seen that individuals eating more salt are prone to osteoporosis and kidney stones. This information becomes very relevant as we eat a lot of processed, packaged or outside foods which are high in salt. In most cases we consume high quantities of salt without realizing it. The net result is reduction of calcium and weakening of the bones.

Why does this happen? The body gets rid of excess sodium through urine. But due to higher processing load required by the kidneys, the latter also process and starts throwing out calcium. So the more salt the body needs to throw out, the more calcium it throws out as well. What this means for us is simple, more salt equals less calcium.

Get rid of packaged, processed and junk foods which are all high in sodium content and protect your bones. Eat fresh and natural foods as far as possible. When you cook make less use of salt and do not use half pre-cooked meals or TV dinners. If you want to have a healthy diet, opt for our relevant balanced diet plan or ask for a customized diet on  http://www.wellzee.com/diet-consultation

IMPROVE MEMORY WITH SLEEP

By newblog | August 16th, 2014 | LEAVE A COMMENT

Everyone likes to have a good memory throughout life, including in old age. Memory loss problems is something we would not like to have at all. There are various memory related products and solutions being sold. Some are programs, some are therapy linked solutions and some are over the counter pills or herbal products. Most of these are packaged well and may or may not work in all cases. The pills, herbal products and over the counter medicines are definitely not the solution. Yoga for seniors is one way to tackle this problem for senior citizens, but what about the younger population?

One of the best solutions for increasing memory power in all age groups is sleep. Adequate sleep of at least seven hours a day is required not only for the body but also the mind. Sleeping early and sound sleep for seven to eight hours helps to relax the body, replenish the cells, conserves energy and helps the internal systems to function properly. These are some of the benefits of sleep from a physical point of view.

From a mind point of view, good sleep leads to reducing stress, managing situations better and becoming mentally more productive. Sleep also helps us to remain calm and focused. The best meditation is achieved when we sleep well and dream less. So sleeping is also a habit which needs to be cultivated. Once we follow this, our mind functions better.

One more aspect has been added to this by researchers. Sleep is required for memory consolidation. Which means what you have absorbed and registered in your brain requires to enter the brain’s ‘database’. If you sleep less, then this consolidation gets blocked, resulting in some memories getting lost forever. Even cutting short your sleep for 2-3 hours a day will impact you. So start worrying less about deadlines, reduce late nights and start sleeping well for at least seven to eight hours.

In case you have problems sleeping well, you could opt for our sleep management program  http://www.wellzee.com/stress-program-details/sleep-management

JOB STRESS CAUSES EARLY AGEING

By Team Wellzee | August 7th, 2014 | LEAVE A COMMENT

All of us have faced work related stress at some point of time. Some of us continue to be in a constant state of stress or anxiety due to work pressures. Stress is caused due to deadlines, long working hours, travelling or erratic eating habits. Since we now spend most of our time at work or travelling for work, it is important to manage stress levels through online yoga.

We all know it is not good to be stressed about work but it is inevitable. But we should become more aware and serious about this issue. Why is it becoming so important to do something about this aspect of our work life?

It has been found that job stress makes you old and sick before your natural time. Work stress shortens telomeres which are associated with degeneration and diseases. Telomeres are the protective covering for chromosomes and their shortening has been found to be connected to cardiovascular diseases, Parkinson’s, Type 2 diabetes and cancer.

What role do the Telomeres play? They ensure that the messages reach the chromosomes correctly. So they are not only the protective covering, but they are also the ‘communication channel’ for the DNA. They shorten with age and eventually die. However, some of the cells shorten before time and do not die but start malfunctioning. The malfunctioning may change even our original genetic structure. They send the wrong messages to chromosomes causing genetic errors and damage.

Therefore (as an example), it may not be in your genes to get diabetes. However, the shortening or malfunctioning of the telomeres will change your genes to make them prone to diabetes. The same holds true for all other diseases including cancer. The study was done by a team from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.

So there is clear proof now that any level of job stress can cause damage. To protect yourself, opt for one of our stress management programs or counseling.