WORLD HEPATITIS DAY

6 Lesser Known Tips To Treat Via Nutritional Therapy.

Hepatitis refers to an inflammatory condition of the liver tissue. The most common cause of hepatitis is viruses, but other possible causes include autoimmune diseases ( three times more common in women than in men), toxins, certain medications, heavy alcohol use, other infections and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E. In particular, types B and C lead to chronic disease in hundreds of millions of people and, together, are the most common cause of liver cirrhosis and cancer.

General Nutritional Considerations In The Treatment Of Hepatitis

 The American Liver Foundation states that eating an unhealthy diet can even lead to liver disease as such hepatitis recovery can be complemented via nutrition. While most of the nutritional therapy via diet is widely known such as adequate water intake, avoiding alcohol and fatty foods, regular exercise, here are our tips off the beaten path to complement recovery:

Enjoy Carbohydrates –A high carbohydrate diet is recommended to meet the increased energy needs. If too much protein is consumed and not enough carbohydrates, the liver will be forced to use protein as an energy source. This is an unwise and inefficient use of protein, as protein will be diverted from its primary job of building cells and tissues. Furthermore, this will put undo stress on the liver, as it is more taxing for the liver to convert protein into energy than it is to convert carbohydrates into energy. Sufficient calories are to be provided to maintain weight or address weight loss (at least 30 calories per kilogram of body weight. A liberal intake of complex carbohydrates so include  whole wheat , rice, cereals etc.

Additionally, the use of a powdered high chlorophyll beverage such as the cereal grasses are an excellent addition of calories as well as being nutrient dense with cleansing & detoxifying properties.
Focus on  Vitamins/Minerals and antioxidant Nutrients: Many of the B vitamins have been shown to be deficient in hepatitis and other liver diseases especially B-12 and folic acid (So include fish, milk products, soy products, avocados, beans, lentils, beans and peas etc ). It is important for their immune support and healing effect on the liver, several antioxidants have been shown to be depressed in patients with hepatitis ( So include carrots, apricots, mangoes, spinach, berries, lean meat etc.)
Focus on Vitamin C and Selenium rich foods- Studies have demonstrated important aspects of treatment with vitamin C including immunomodulation action, decreasing the duration of the disease (tomatoes, spinach, broccoli, brussels sprouts etc).As for selenium Japanese researchers investigated the relationship between selenium, Hepatitis C and insulin resistance. They found that the degree of selenium deficiency correlated with the amount of liver damage in patients with chronic Hepatitis C. In addition, they concluded that selenium deficiency was likely a factor contributing to insulin resistance in affected individuals. So try to include  brazil nuts, broccoli, onions mushrooms leeks, garlic, whole grains, egg yolks, tuna etc.

Wheat and Gluten – In some cases , gluten can be highly inflammatory; thus adopting a gluten-free diet can be beneficial to liver. The inability to properly digest and process gluten creates a chronic state of inflammation which leads to “leaky gut” syndrome. This allows toxins and pathogenic organisms to infiltrate your blood, presenting a chronic toxic overload to your liver. The long-term outcome of this is often non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, the “gateway disorder” that can progress to other more serious liver diseases. At this point, liver enzyme levels will be elevated.

Milk thistle: It’s available in capsules and other forms. Milk thistle may have some restorative properties, suggests research. Some studies have found that milk thistle improves liver function in hepatitis and cirrhosis patients.

RAINPROOF YOUR DIET THIS MONSOON SEASON

Everyone is heartily welcoming the monsoons after the hot summer spell this year, but be sure to keep in mind about the risks of cold, flu, viral fever, etc also that comes with the rains. The fluctuation in the weather leads to high humidity that causes the gut or digestive system to be weak and sluggish and thereby several health risks such as food poisoning, indigestion, flatulence, diarrhea, dysentery and cholera. A healthy and balanced diet is the key to fight these monsoon ailments! 

Fruity power: Eating fruits help restore energy so opt for apples, mangoes, pomegranates, and pears. They contain large amount of vitamins which are useful to fight against disease and keep the body healthy.

Healthy Tip: 

A lot of dirt tends to get accumulated on fruits and vegetables so ensure to wash them with warm water before use.

Hot Soups: Soups are friendly and good for the rains. They help fight diseases like cold, flu and rejuvenate your body. They also improve your digestive system and provide energy needed to work and be fit.

Healthy Tip: 

Avoid too much salt as it leads to high blood pressure and water retention. Adding a dash of garlic to the soups can boost the body’s immunity.

Herbal Teas: Replace your coffee, tea with herbal teas that contain basil leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, fennel seeds and ginger. This helps fight infections such as cold, flu and headache.

Healthy Tip: 

As excessive intake of coffee and tea dehydrates body fluids they aren’t preferred. So, herbal teas are the best option.

Spices and Herbs:  Neem, turmeric powder and methi seeds help in preventing infections. The leaves of tulsi are an antidote for fevers which occur during the rainy season.

Healthy Tip:

Drinking milk with the pinch of turmeric powder will help you to keep away from throat infection, cough, cold and fever.

Snack Time: Opt for yogurt, curd and almonds as a part of your diet. They improve your digestive system and also almonds help you keeping fuller.

Healthy Tip:

Opt for foods which are grilled, steamed or baked to avoid cramps. Avoid raw foods in monsoon.

MEN'S HEALTH WEEK- Nutritional Guidelines for Men

Family, career and favorite sporting teams often rank high on the list of priorities in men’s life but in doing so, they often overlook their own health. The choices they make now can affect health and well-being in the years to come, so it is important to establish a healthy lifestyle, including healthy eating habits today. Busy schedules and new environments can lead to unhealthful eating habits such as skipping meals or snacks, eating nothing but fast food, overeating, and drinking excessive amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages or alcohol. Along with inconsistent eating patterns, young men may experience weight gain or a lack of energy.

In fact, men are 24 percent less likely than women to have visited a doctor within the past year, but they are 28 percent more likely than women to be hospitalized for congestive heart failure and 32 percent more likely than women to be hospitalized for long-term complications of diabetes, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

With numbers like this, men have some unique health needs and “Nutrition is key in helping men of all ages live healthier, fuller lives. Being healthy is not based on just being absent from disease but also being mentally, socially, physically and spiritually healthy, where diet plays 80 percent of the role. So here are a few pointers which men’s should keep in mind so as to lead a better and healthy life.

• Eat Breakfast Every Day: The first meal you eat in the morning truly "breaks the fast" and gets your metabolism moving for the day. Don't skip it!
• Intake of snacks: A mid morning and mid afternoon snack will help you avoid overeating at meals and alleviate energy lows throughout the day (roasted seeds, roasted makhanas etc.)
• Good Protein: Protein promotes muscle growth and overall health and dietary protein is the most important factor in preventing and reversing the excessive loss of lean muscle mass.(A 2013 Abbott-supported study shows that HMB can help older adults prevent muscle loss when on periods of bed rest lasting up to 10 days (HMB is a protein-related compound that encourages your muscles to use the protein you eat more efficiently).  So introduce complete protein sources including fish, lean meats, seeds , eggs and dairy etc. into diet which will keep blood sugar levels optimum and will make you crave lesser for sweets.
• Get More Vitamins C and E- Heart disease is the number-one disease affecting men—According to a 2015 meta-analysis in the British Journal of Nutrition, consuming healthful nutrients, including vitamins C and E (two of the most potent antioxidants), can help lower levels of inflammation and oxidative stress to help reduce wear and tear on your coronary arteries ( walnuts, oranges, grapefruit and leafy greens, citric fruits ).
• Cut down on saturated fat and add healthy fat– Reduce  intake of biscuits, cakes, pies, pastries, chocolate and cream and eat healthy heart unsaturated oils such as rapeseed,avocados, almonds, canola oil, olive and sunflower oils and spreads made from them for cooking, salad dressings and spreading. The omega-3 fatty acids naturally found in seafoods like  salmon is  helping in reducing  inflammation that has been linked to obesity, dementia, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. A Harvard Medical School meta-analysis shows that eating approximately one to two 3-ounce servings of fatty fish a week reduces the risk of dying from heart disease by 36 percent.
• Limit intake of refined carbohydrates: Refined carbohydrates such as white breads, muffins, pastries anything made with flour will spike the blood glucose instantly leading to weight gain. Opting for more whole grains is key for managing weight, reducing the risk of Type 2 diabetes and even supporting brain function. Insulin resistance, which results in excess sugar in the blood, my increase the brain’s levels of inflammation and potentially contribute to the injury of blood vessels within the brain. Damage to those blood vessels is an important contributor to cognitive loss, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
• Check Your Vitamin D Levels- Vitamin D aids in both muscle and bone health to keep  strong through the years. It also  promotes a healthy immune system, being insufficient in this vitamin D can compromise immune. Our tip to you: Get checked it today! Vitamin D is a silent epidemic with symptoms being so unambiguous that it very easily goes unchecked.
• Calcium-   Young men need 1,000 milligrams of calcium each day for bone and tooth health. Young men do prior to age 30 is crucial to having healthy bones for life. Food is the best source of calcium. Aim for three servings of low-fat dairy products, such as milk, yogurt or cheese every day but source it right like A2 milk.
• Eat Vegetables and Fruit- Making healthful choices to fuel a young, active mind and body starts with balance. By eating well now, you can lessen  risk of health-related problems later.
• Iron-Rich Foods- Iron is important for energy. You likely can get enough iron by eating iron-fortified cereal, leafy greens , spinach, pumpkin seeds, quinoa etc.
• Zinc rich foods- Zinc as this nutrient plays an important role in sperm and semen production, or male fertility so introduce seeds, nuts , dairy products, eggs whole grains , chick peas, mushrooms etc.).
• Exercise: Include some form of exercise daily: Exercising for 180 mins/week can help to reduce insulin resistance, especially when coupled with a limited intake of refined carbohydrates. For e.g. Yoga, swimming are some of the best form of exercises. To build muscle, strength train with weights or resistance bands at least two to three times a week. Our tip to you: If you are trying to lose weight, more exercise DOES NOT mean more exercise…it means looking smartly at your food choices, your alcohol intake, your sleep, your stress levels, your sugar and the consistency of your exercise program.
• Don't go overboard with healthy foods- While we all got aware and conscious about the health some started overdoing nutrition. While fiber is good for health but having in excess leads to bloating, and prevents the absorption of minerals such as iron, zinc, magnesium, and calcium. proteins being good for increasing muscle mass and optimum functioning of hormones,having too much can put a load on the kidney,Nuts and seeds has anti-ageing properties, prevents atherosclerosis but in excess it can increase ones cholesterol levels.

 People refer to ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods, but there are no good and bad foods, only good diets and bad diets. Eating a variety of food from the core food groups, in the right balance, is what healthy eating is all about.

WOMAN'S GUIDE THROUGH LIFE STAGES

Health is defined as well-being of physiological, mental, social, emotional, and spiritual dimensions.
Women's health is always compromised as they give first priority to the family.
We need to understand that how today women do not prioritize themselves and affect their health and how making health their first priority will help them and their family to lead a happy life. There are several factors which affect a female

• Different stages of her life.

Adolescent
* Menstrual hygiene
* Polycystic ovaries
* Early childbearing and abortion
* Undernutrition and anemia

Reproductive age 
* Unwanted/unplanned pregnancy
* Anemia
* Pregnancy complications

Post reproductive age 
* Hormonal changes pre/post menopause
* Tendency to gain weight
* Osteoporosis
* Osteopenia
* Depression
* Breast cancer

• Key factors to wellness

Deep Relaxation:- Walk bare feet on grass, meditate 15 minutes before sleep.

Proper Hydration:- Have a good water intake, include infused waters in daily routine.

Optimum Nutrition:- Do not avoid any food group. Include antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables.

Adequate Sleep:- Try having a sound sleep of 7-8 hrs.

Exercise:- Choose exercise regimen what suits best your body (Yoga/Dance/Zumba/Aerobics)

Me time:- Allocate at least 30 minutes in a day for yourself (do what you love)

                                                                                                 Inputs by Nutritionist Mithila Gupta

THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE FACTS

The science behind the facts:

1. Avoid eating fruits post meal, eat them in between meals like mid day or evening.
Why: There are more than a few reasons behind this one

 A large main meal generally contains a mix of macronutrients such as carbs, fat and protien. While fat and protein digest slowly- carbs digest relatively quicker. Depending on what you ate and how much you ate the food slowly gets broken down and sent into the blood stream to all the waiting organs that require energy. Once this is taken care off the excess energy (or calories) are then converted to fat.
Eating a fruit with your meal increases the odds of this conversion happening as you are adding a carb to and already carb-ed up lunch/ dinner. In addition to this carb on carb complex- you generally arent your most active self post meal.Which means any excess sugars or carbs will quickly buildup in the blood stream with nowhere to go.
Other reasons to avoid eating fruit post meal is based in ayurvedic principle that states eating fruits with  larger meals delays the digestion time causing the fruit to break down in the stomach and ferment while it waits. This fermentation process then causes GI discomfort such as gas ,bloating etc- while simultaneously losing precious nutrients etc that would otherwise be digested better on.


2. Avoid eating mix of fruits at one time. If you chose to eat a fruit eat Any or max 2 different fruit at one time. Avoid Fruit platters and fruit chat.

 While most people consider fruits a super healthy food ( which they definitely are) they also forget that fruits are an easy way to load on up simple fast digesting carbs. All carbs are basically combinations of simplesugars strung together (carbo) +  with water (hydrate)
When these break down sugars and water are released into the body.
Now as you can imagine not all fruits have the same level of sweetness (i.e: Sugar!) eg: mango vs sweetlime or cherries vs a guava
Each fruit has its own GI (glyceamic index - which is basically the way the fruit influences how much your blood sugar goes up - how fast + and how much) which further adds to its GL (Glycemic Load- that is how the food overall contritbutes to the total amount of carbs )
Now to avoid getting into the complicated thick of things- the main reason behind mixing too many different fruits is to avoid raising your blood sugars in a complicated manner. Too many different fruits of varying GI's can confuse the stomach and also cause it to release a lot of gastric juice that again can destroy the delicate nutrients contained in them (as per ayurveda) and once again lead to fermentation tract.
Lastly you wouldn’t mix sugar with sugar would you? Then why a tonne of fruits? The body cannot diffrentiate between table sugar and natural sugar once they are broken down they are all the same chemically to the system- with the major differences coming from things like fibre vitamins etc.
However if your blood sugar goes up beyond a certain level--- and that sugar has no place to go--- it will once again be converted to fat. There are ofcourse exceptions for people who have depleted muscle glycogen stores (like athelets, runners, etc) but for most of us with desk jobs and 20 minutes of elevated heart rate on our evening walks- having fruit salads could be a easy way to gaining fat.

3. Eat local seasonal fruits and avoid imported fruits like purple big grapes and New Zealand apples 

Eating local is so good for you for a number of reasons:
-Foods indigenous to your area and locality are easily recognised by your digestive tract and are thus easier to break down and absorb without being treated as a foreign particle and raising red flags in your gastro intestinal system ( hello food allergies and intolerances!) you may have even noticed these signs and sympotms but thought nothing of it. Indicatiors include gas, bloating etc.
-Eating locally reduces the chances of having fruit that have been transported with chemicals or may have been stored for a long time before it finally gets on your plate. In this waiting periods a lot of vitamins can be lost as certain delicate biochemical compounds cannot withstand time, heat and oxidiation.
-Locally grown fruits are also less likely to have been subjected to genetic modification as simple farmers don’t have much access to these things.

DIET TO LOSE LOVE HANDLES

Love handles not only look unsightly but cause discomfort when fitting into clothes. Many people struggle to lose love handles by cutting down on meals and exercising vigorously, with little or no results. The key is to eat the right food and follow the right diet plan to permanently lose those bulges at the side of your waist.

Here are some tips to knock off those wobbles:

• Avoid snacking at night especially on weekends because we don’t do much activity at night. Since there’s no consumption of energy, the excess sugar results in fat storage under the skin.
  
  
• Cut down on cookies, chips and candies because they contain high saturated fats that cause fat in the body.
  
  
• Reduce alcohol consumption as it contains no nutrients and its all fat, which generally works its way to your belly, sides and back.
  
  
• Clean your shelves off canned, processed and refined foods and instead stock up on vegetables and fruits.
• Feast on high fiber foods such as oatmeal, beans and whole grains. Foods high in calcium such as almonds and low fat dairy are also recommended.
  
  
• Include citrus, ginger and green tea in your diet.

Gut Recharge Guidelines.

Supercharge your gut with our guidelines.

These guidelines have to be followed for minimum 5 days. These guidelines will help in reducing inflammation around the gut and improve efficiency to digest, assimilate and absorb the nutrients, which will improve your immunity, reduce cravings, bloating, water retention and much more.

Here are our Nutribullets for the next few days:

1.   Include Prebiotic Foods:
Banana, homemade ghee and white butter, coconut oil, boiled potato,  rice, sweet potato in your diet.
Suggest start your day with banana, cook only in ghee or white butter. a

2.   Include Probiotic foods:
Home-made curd, water-based pickles, traditional buttermilk, carrot kanji, idli, dosa , dhokla, sanna’s, handvo and any fermented food products for next 5 days. Make sure not to use eno or baking soda in dhokla or idli. a

3.   Include anti-inflammatory foods such as turmeric, ginger, fatty fish or fish oils, walnuts, coconut oil, beetroots, celery (less than 5cm stalk more than 5 will aggravate), basil seeds (sabja), chia seeds. a

4.   Avoid Highly Processed / Packaged Foods- anything factory made or that comes out of a packet.
(Such as Sausage, Deli-Meats – pepperoni, ham, salami, Pasta, Biscuit, chips, Namkeens, even diet bhels, sevs etc.) a

5.    Avoid Sugars and Artificial Sweeteners. a

6.    No Milk – however fermented milk products such as buttermilk, dahi or any other variants are allowed. a

7.    Avoid Alcohol. a

8.    Avoid Chicken. a

9.    Avoid unnecessary Antacids/ Supplements. a

10. No raw foods post 4pm this includes salads, raw veg and fruit. Instead eat yourvegetables stewed or steamed.