Try whole grain food

Your body desires carbohydrates mainly for energy.

And the best source of carbohydrates and fibre is from whole grain food like oatmeal, whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta and brown rice.

Here are the advantages of whole grains in your diet.

Consuming two servings of whole grains daily lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Whole grain food helps to keep blood sugar and insulin levels under control. And better management of blood sugar and insulin will keep hunger at bay. Thus, by keeping hunger at bay, it helps in losing weight.

Including whole grain food in your diet

- Have a slice of whole grain bread instead of your white bread.

- select a serving of whole grain breakfast cereal in the morning. Substitute white flour with whole wheat flour in your regular recipes for cookies, muffins, fast breads and pancakes.

- Add brown rice, wild rice or barley in your vegetable soup.

- Snack on popcorn rather than chips on movie nights.

Drink water for good health

Regular intake of water is crucial for maintaining health

Most folks understand that up to seventy per cent of the whole body weight is water. Though it's gift in all elements of the body, it's a lot of gift in organs like lungs and brain and fluids like blood, lymph, saliva and secretions by the organs of the digestive system. The common belief is that we tend to feel thirsty solely when our body desires water. Whereas this is often true, recent analysis studies have indicated that there are many alternative indicators of inadequate water in some or all elements of the body. Ignoring these indicators will result in many major diseases. Most folks pay plenty of our operating hours in air-conditioned atmosphere therefore naturally we do not feel thirsty however that doesn't mean that our body doesn't want water. Lack of water will result in fatigue too. So, for your glowing health, drink enough water.

Water helps to maintain the moisture of the linings of the inner organs of the body. It maintains traditional volume and consistency of fluids like blood and lymph. It regulates body temperature.

It removes 'toxins' from the body

Water is crucial for regulating the traditional structure and functions of the skin. The body loses four liters of water on a daily basis. It is, therefore, necessary to replenish this volume by drinking a minimum of the equivalent quantity of water on a daily basis. Inadequate intake of water will result in dehydration.

5 Vegetables for good health

While everybody is aware of that vegetables are sensible for the body, most folks tend to still avoid eating them.

Consuming veggies needn't be a chore. With the large choice out there, you'll simply realize one to fit your tastes. Here we propose some high  vegetables which will do your health wonders.

Broccoli
Broccoli is taken into account a marvel food for its ability to assist prevent cancer. The vegetable is usually recommended for those with heart disorders and strokes. Being full of iron its ideal for anaemia patients additionally. Boil or steam your broccoli flowers gently and eat in order that they do not lose all the nutrients.



Cabbage
Whether consumed raw or cooked in an exceedingly dish, cabbage has several advantages. it's said to be nice for the skin and eyes as its filled with vitamin A. The phytonutrients fight against the free radicals. It conjointly helps with lung, abdomen and colon prostate cancer. Those curious about body building might want to eat cabbage as its full of iodine that's required for muscle development.

Bean sprouts
Sprinkled on salads or eaten as a between meals snack, sprouts are a good method of obtaining some nutrients. They're wealthy in vitamin C.Additionally they  contain vitamins A, B and E , calcium, iron, and potassium.

Spinach
If Popeye loved this food, you must be consuming it too. The vegetable contains carotenoid that facilitate prevent cancer. It is also loaded with vitamins like C and A that helps with good eyesight and glowing skin. The high level of potassium makes it terribly useful for top blood pressure patients. more it strengthens muscles and helps those littered with anaemia.

Lettuce
Depending on the range, the nutrients in lettuce vary. Romaine lettuce is alleged to be the foremost healthy one boasting of vitamins A, B, and C, folic acid, manganese and chromium. It makes for a superb salad because it is low in calories. Lettuce is additionally a decent supply of iron that helps with blood formation. It has magnesium, important for the brain and therefore the nerves.

Home made natural packs for your face.

We suggest some simple natural recipes for your face. 

How do you spend time at night before go to bed? Why do you make a face mask for yourself? Here are a few masks to help you treat and prevent a variety of skin problems, with ingredients you probably have in the kitchen now ... 

8 natural face mask best for you 

Cucumber mask (for dry skin) 
Mix a small cucumber roots with a cup of oatmeal and a tablespoon of yogurt characteristics. Apply a thick layer of the skin and let it in 30 minutes. Then wash with warm water and leave to dry. 

Honey mask (for all skin types) 
Apply a thin layer of honey to the room temperature moderate to moist skin, and stay that way for 5 minutes. Carefully washed with warm water, then with cold water, then use a towel if it is still stick. 


Yogurt mask (for oily skin) 
Mix a half cup of yogurt for yeast. Apply to face in the circle for such of 5 minutes, then rinse with warm water. 

Banana mask (anti aging) 
Crushing a ripe banana until it is smooth and apply a thin layer on the surface. Leave for 10 minutes, then rinse with warm water and pat dry. Your skin is soft and smooth! 

Avocado mask (for all skin types) 
A ripe mashed avocado until creamy smooth it, then apply a thick layer on the surface. While waiting 15 minutes to dry the mask, you can add two pieces of cucumber on the eyes. Rinse with warm water, then cold water and leave dry. 

Oatmeal mask (for oily skin) 
Mix two tablespoons of unprocessed oats with a medication spoon of salt (baking powder - baking soda), then add a little water to make it more dense. Apply through circle on moisture the skin then rinse with warm water. 

Lemon juice mask (for all skin types) 
This mask helps reduce the dark marks on the skin. Mix half the lemon water with egg white. Then apply a thin layer on the surface. When dry, it will be a little bit hard, leave it overnight then rinse with warm water in the morning. 

Banana and yogurt mask (for dry skin) 
Crushed 1 / 4 ripe banana, then mix with half cup of yogurt and a teaspoon of honey. Apply a thin layer on face and leave for 10 minutes then rinse with warm water. Your skin will be moisturized and smooth.

Eat purple cabbage for great skin

Apart from lending itself to salads and main dishes, purple cabbage with its anti-oxidant properties also works wonders for the skin

This is a salad lover's delight! Thinly cut strips of purple cabbage with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar or Greek olive oil can create a fun, healthy dish. Purple cabbage is also pickled and added to stir-fries!

Health benefit: Cabbage is a great store of vitamin C and vitamin K. The rich deep colour of this vegetable is
due to a high concentration of anthocyanin polyphenols (strong dietary antioxidants, possessing anti-inflammatory properties), making it have even more phytonutrients than a green cabbage. A few studies also show that anthocyanins may help reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes and certain types of cancer. It is rich in anti-oxidants which makes skin supple and clear.

How to store: Keep the purple cabbage in a plastic bag and place it in the refrigerator. It will stay fresh for up to two weeks.

Hot yoga, a rage among fitness freaks

Hot yoga, that refers to yoga practiced in an exceedingly heated surroundings, is gaining popularity.

The room temperature throughout 'hot yoga' sessions usually reaches until ninety to one hundred and five degrees. The speculation behind it's that hot yoga helps the body to sweat out toxins whereas permitting the practitioner to securely achieve deeper poses.

While it offers health advantages and a way of well-being, individuals practicing hot yoga, particularly beginners, ought to take bound precautions, in keeping with Diana Zotos, a licensed yoga instructor and physical therapist within the Rehabilitation Department at Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan.


"Yoga of any sort is physically difficult, and also the heated surroundings of hot yoga makes the apply particularly demanding,"

"The heat makes individuals feel as if they will stretch deeper into poses and might offer them a false sense of flexibility. This may result in muscle strains or injury to the joint, together with ligaments and cartilage."

Individuals over forty who haven't done Bikram yoga could also be at bigger risk of injury, and he or she counseled they familiarize themselves with it before attempting a category.

"There are several books and videos that describe this vogue and might demonstrate the poses and techniques."

"Since categories are created of a similar twenty six poses, individuals will become accustomed to them beforehand."

Beginners should keep in mind that poses would force an explicit level of leg, core and higher body strength,and balance.

"The heat issue additionally puts additional strain on the guts and challenges endurance. That being said, individuals ought to be of fine cardiovascular health; have healthy hip, knee, spine or joints; should not have balance or neurological issues; and should have a general tolerance for excessive heat.

Anyone who has hypertension, low blood pressure or heart disease sit down with their cardiologist before attempting hot yoga.

Breastfeeding cuts childhood obesity risk

Epidemiologist Tessa Crume, Ph.D., MSPH, and fellow researchers tracked ninety four youngsters of diabetic pregnancies and 399 of non-diabetic pregnancies from birth to age thirteen.

They evaluated the influence of breastfeeding on the expansion of body mass index (BMI), an indicator of childhood obesity.

"There are vital perinatal periods for outlining obesity risk, pregnancy and early infant life," Crume said.

"We checked out youngsters exposed to over-nutrition in utero owing to a diabetic pregnancy to work out if adolescence nutrition may alter their risk of childhood obesity," she explained.


Children of diabetic pregnancies who were breast-fed had a slower BMI growth as they grew older than those that nursed but six months. an identical pattern emerged for youngsters of non-diabetic pregnancies.

According to Crume, researchers apprehend that youngsters exposed to diabetes or obesity throughout gestation are at higher risk for childhood obesity and metabolic diseases. currently they apprehend there's a second vital chance to normalize BMI growth by encouraging mothers to breast-feed for a minimum of six months, the time counseled by the Academy of Pediatrics.

"Breast-feeding support represents a crucial clinical and public health strategy to cut back the chance of childhood obesity," said Crume.

She hopes the analysis can additional encourage mothers to breast-feed, particularly those that experienced a diabetic pregnancy.

The analysis appeared within the latest edition of the International Journal of Obesity.

Papaya recipes for your skin

Papaya is  a wonderful  fruit  with  vitamins, minerals and protein . Both ripe and raw papaya can be used to rejuvenate the skin. Ripe papaya is good for exfoliation of the skin and brings about newer looking skin and generally suits all skin types.

Recipe for skin rejuvenation:
1/2 cup ripe papaya pulp, 1/4 cup coconut milk, 1/4 cup of oat flakes. Run the mixture on your face and neck gently for about 5 minutes. Wash off with water and notice the glow for yourself.



Recipe for skin glow:
1/2 cup ripe papaya pulp, 4 tsps orange juice, 4 tsps carrot juice, 1 tsp honey or glycerin. Mix the above ingredients and apply or massage the pack all over the face and neck.

Regular applications of the above two-treatments can do wonders to the face.

Clove: The wonder spice!

Clove has lots of healing properties...

This tiny little spice has many curative properties. Traditionally cloves are used as a table spice and mixed with chillies, cinnamon, turmeric and other spices in the preparation of curry powder.

 Clove oil is used in  medicine and dentistry. Cloves help stimulate sluggish circulation and thereby promote digestion and metabolism. In Chinese medicine, it is used for vomiting, indigestion and other related problems. If you are feeling stressed then, boil some water with basil leaves, mint leaves and clove and use this water for black tea.

Toothache

Clove oil, applied to a cavity in a decayed tooth, also relieves toothache.


Digestive disorders

Cloves  boost digestion. Licking the powder of fried cloves mixed with honey is effective in controlling vomiting. The anesthetic action of clove helps in dealing with stomach pain and stops vomiting.

Cough

Chewing a clove with a crystal of common salt eases expectoration, relieves the irritation in the throat . Chewing a burnt clove is also an effective medicine for coughs.

5 Foods to look fabulous at 40-plus

Five foods...
To help you look fabulous at 40-plus

Eggs: They are rich in vitamin E, which helps your body absorb calcium better, which is vital for strong, youthful teeth and bones.

Dates: They're a great source of vitamins A, B and C, and help digestive health - so they reduce a bloated stomach.

Almonds: Packed with wrinkle-fighting vitamin E, snack on a small handful every day (no more than nine or 10 at a time).

Berries: All colourful berries (from blueberries to strawberries) are full of antioxidants that protect the body against ageing.

Avocados: Full of antiageing vitamins C and E, they help keep your skin looking peachy and plumped up.

Five things...that just won't help

Smoking: Puffing away speeds ageing internally and externally.

Alcohol: Booze is one of the biggest agers, it dehydrates skin (causing wrinkles), slows your metabolism and causes fat deposits around your waist.

Sugar: Refined white sugar breaks down the collagen in your skin, which speeds up the appearance of wrinkles.

Stress: Studies say that stress and anxiety speed up cell ageing. Lesserstressed women always look much younger.

Fizzy drinks: Preservatives in some fizzy drinks can leach calcium from your bones making them prematurely age

Indian herb that spices up sex life

A herb used to add flavour to Indian curries can also spice up our sex lives, according to a new study. 

Researchers found that men taking fenugreek can boost their sex drive by at least a quarter.

Sixty healthy men aged between 25 and 52 took an extract of the herb twice a day for six weeks.

Their libido levels were monitored using a scoring system to assess any changes after three and six weeks.
www.healthtipslive.com

Within six weeks, their scores had soared by an average of 16.1 to 20.6, a 28 per cent rise, reports the Daily Mail .

Meanwhile, another group of men taking dummy pills saw their scores fall.

Fenugreek seeds contain compounds called saponins which are thought to stimulate production of male sex hormones including testosterone.

The tests were carried out by researchers from the Centre for Integrative Clinical and Molecular Medicine in Brisbane, Australia, who said: 'This study has demonstrated that there was significant improvement in sexual function and performance following treatment.'

Tonsils

Tonsils are small glands which are an important part of the human immune method. The condition of infected tonsils is also often called tonsillitis. Persistent sore throat is the prime indication of some abnormality in the proper functioning of the tonsils. Viral infection or bacterial infection can be of the main reasons behind infected tonsils. Infected tonsils later on lead to swelling, inflammation & pus formation on the surface of the tonsils. These stages of infected tonsils depend on the type of tonsil infection.There are types of infected tonsils or tonsillitis, which are - acute tonsillitis & chronic tonsillitis. Acute tonsillitis is a sudden onslaught of irritation which regularly leads to inflamed tonsils. It usually affects children & lasts for about a week or so. While chronic tonsillitis is a resultant of recurrent tonsil infections. If neglected, such recurrent infections fail to reply to medical treatments. Chronic tonsillitis is primarily known to cause infected tonsils in adults.

Skip your way to health

Are you worried about all those bulging tyres around your almost non-existent waist? Desperate to lose them and are wondering how? Well, just get a skipping rope! 

Experts say that skipping can prove to be extremely beneficial for you - an hour of skipping will burn off over 1000 calories. And the best thing is that you don't need to enroll yourself into an expensive gym to get going. It can be done in the comfort of your home, at the beach or in a nearby park. So, go on, lose it! 

-If you are doing it for the first time then begin slow. Gradually increase the amount of time from a few minutes daily to around 20 minutes. 

-Your shoulders, arms, legs and abs get a good exercise. 


-Skipping is an amazing cardio workout - it allows your body to burn fat more effectively. 

-Skipping increases coordination between your feet and hand movements and also improves your agility, reflexes, posture and flexibility. 

-If you are regular with this then it will increase your endurance levels. 

-Skipping is known to strengthen bones. 

-Bored to skip alone? Get a friend to accompany you. Make sure there is great music too pep up your workout. 

-Avoid getting tired faster - change your skipping style every half and hour.

Daily dose of chocolate to lower BP

Next time, when you reach for that bar of Hershey's, know that it only takes a bite or two of chocolate to get the benefits.

A new study has suggested that a daily bite of chocolate could bolster your workouts, reports theNew York Daily News.

Scientists gave a group of mice a twice-daily dose of purified form of epicatechin, cacao's chief beneficial compound. These mice outperformed the group of mice who had not been given the chocolate-y supplement, according to researchers at the University of California, San Diego.

The cacao chemical also increased the physiological response in the test group's leg muscles.

Dark chocolate in tiny amounts has also been shown to lower blood pressure.

Green tea could lower bad cholesterol

Green tea may be effective in reducing 'bad cholesterol', a study has found.

Green tea contains antioxidant compounds called catechins, which many studies have tested for their effect on cholesterol even though the studies have been small and had conflicting results.

For the new study researchers at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona,California, pooled the results of these clinical trials, involving a total of 1,415 adults.

Participants in the trials consumed green tea beverages, capsules, or placebos daily. Benefits were found among people who had high cholesterol levels at the beginning of the study.

However, the researchers still sound a word of warning.


"If someone is already taking medication for their cholesterol, they should stick with it and not try to trade it for green tea, either capsules or the beverage," CBS news quoted study author Dr. Olivia Phung as saying.

According to the study, the use of herbal supplements like green tea is only one of the strategies to lower cholesterol, along with medication and lifestyle changes.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

Switch to olive oil for better health

Indian households should completely switch to olive oil as a cooking medium as its nutritional value is very high, it is rich in monounsaturated 'good' fats and, when used daily, can bring instant and easy wellness to a family's diet, celebrity chef and noted cookery expert Nita Mehta says. 

"Even though we have such a wide range of olive oils in our market, people don't seem to use them because of their mental block that the flavour of olive oil doesn't gel with Indian flavors," Mehta said at the launch here Satuday her latest book, "Indian Cooking With Olive Oil". 

"This is, in fact, a misconception because there is a grade known as olive pomace oil which is neutral in taste and so does not affect the spices and flavouring that Indian cooking is all about," she added. 


"Moreover, olive pomace oil is resistant to heat for long periods of time, so this is the grade to use when we need to cook masalas for long as the other olive grades do not have a very high smoking point and so 'break' and ruin the taste of food. Olive pomace oil gels well with tandoori dishes as well as curries. Paranthas and biryanis cooked in olive oil are mouth watering. Even frying in olive pomace oil gives crisp, non-oily food," Mehta noted. 

The book was jointly released by V.N. Dalmia, chairman of Dalmia Continental, which owns Leonardo Olive Oil, the No.1 brand of olive oil in India in the edible segment and Ugo Astuto, the Italian embassy's deputy chief of mission. 

Published by SNAB Publishers, the cookbook features many exciting recipes, from innovative broccoli peanut kebabs to traditional bhagaare baingan, from healthy Zucchini oat crunches to the decadent gulab jamun, all made healthier with olive oil. 

"Most recipes in this book use pomace but since contemporary Indian cooking has so many varied flavours and aromas, we can also use the intermediate grade of olive oil, called "pure olive oil", for light sauteing. This gives a different dimension to the food," Mehta said. 

Olive oil is universally acknowledged as the healthiest cooking medium and, increasingly, Indian kitchens too are switching over completely to this medium. 

"It's high time this happened, since lifestyle disease in India is fast becoming a national emergency. India ranks No.1 in the world for number of cardiac patients. Thirty-one percent of urban Indians are either overweight or obese. One hundred million people in India have high blood pressure. Over 40 per cent of urban Indians have high lipid levels. India is the diabetic capital of the world," Dalmia noted. 

"The greatest benefit of olive oil is that it fights coronary heart disease. Olive oil has the highest content of monounsaturated "good" fats (no less than 80 per cent) amongst all edible oils, which reduce bad cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides. 

"At only 10 percent, it has amongst the lowest percentage of saturated 'bad' fats, which increase bad cholesterol. High MUFA content in olive oil has been found to prevent high cholesterol, fight heart disease, and help in the prevention of diabetes as well as cancer," he added. 

Massage helps speed up muscle recovery

A brief 10-minute massage helps reduce inflammation in muscle, a new study has found.

According to Justin Crane from McMaster University, as a non-drug therapy, massage holds the potential to help not just bone-weary athletes but those with inflammation-related chronic conditions like arthritis or muscular dystrophy. 

While massage is well accepted as a therapy for relieving muscle tension and pain, the researchers delved deeper to find it also triggers biochemical sensors that can send inflammation-reducing signals to muscle cells. 

In addition, massage signals muscle to build more mitochondria, the power centres of cells that play an important role in healing. 


"The main thing, and what is novel about our study, is that no one has ever looked inside the muscle to see what is happening with massage, no one looked at the biochemical effects or what might be going on in the muscle itself," Crane said. 

"We have shown the muscle senses that it is being stretched and this appears to reduce the cells' inflammatory response. 

"As a consequence, massage may be beneficial for recovery from injury," he said. 

For their study, the researchers followed 11 men in their twenties. 

On their first visit, the men's exercise capacity was assessed. Two weeks later, the men cycled on a bicycle for more than 70 minutes, to a point of exhaustion when they couldn''''t cycle any more. They then rested for 10 minutes. 

While resting, a massage therapist lightly applied massage oil to both legs, and then performed massage for 10 minutes on one leg using a variety of techniques commonly used in rehabilitation. 

Muscle biopsies were done on both legs and repeated 2.5 hours later, after which the researchers found reduced inflammation in the massaged leg. 

Crane admits being surprised that just 10 minutes of massage had such a profound effect. 

"I didn't think that little bit of massage could produce that remarkable of a change, especially since the exercise was so robust. Seventy minutes of exercise compared to 10 of massage, it is clearly potent," Crane said. 

The results hint that massage therapy blunts muscle pain by the same biological mechanisms as most pain medications and could be an effective alternative. 

"Given that mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with muscle atrophy and other processes such as insulin resistance, any therapy that can improve mitochondrial function may be beneficial,"Mark Tarnopolsky, professor of medicine for the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, who oversaw the study, said. 

The study has been published in Science Translational Medicine.

A-Z of weight loss

A 
Avoid alcohol: You booze, you lose! Alcohol increases your levels of the hormone leptin, which in turn makes you crave sweets.Don't want to be branded a teetotaller? Order a glass of Sauvignon Blanc - 119 cals per 5 ounces. 

B 
Breakfast: A good breakfast with fibre and protein will keep you full till lunchtime and help you avoid bingeing. Opt for multi-grain cereal, lowfat curd or fruits to kick-start your metabolism. 

C 
Cortisol: Prolonged stress leads to high levels of cortisol which makes you crave junk foods. Solution: deal with long-standing stressors. As for short-lived ones, treat yourself to an oil massage. 


D 
Density: Go for grub with an energy density of two or less. To calculate this, simply divide the calories by the weight in grams (per serving). Stay at it and watch the pounds melt faster. 

E 
Eat at regular intervals: Go no longer than five hours between meals. Several small meals through the day lead to a better metabolism and greater control over binges. 

F 
Fructose: Ditch the artificially sweetened juices and sodas and get your fructose from natural sources such as fruits. Because natural fructose is kinder to your waistline. 

G 
Gum: Chewing on gum helps cleanse the mouth of bacteria, satisfies a sweet-tooth and reduces your urge to eat. The next time you feel the urge to reach for a biscuit packet, try a piece of sugarless gum instead for a zero-calorie treat. 

H 
Heart-healthy foods: Overweight people face a greater risk of heart disease. So, switch to olive and vegetable oils. Fill up on omega rich foods like walnuts and fatty fish. Choose non-fat dairy products and lean cuts of mutton and skinless poultry. 

I 
Insulin: The amount of insulin you secrete may dictate your diet. High insulin secretors shed more weight on a low-carb diet and less on a lowfat/high carb diet. Got a jelly belly? You secrete excess insulin and could benefit from fewer carbs. 

J 
Journal: Write down everything you eat and you could cut your intake by 1,000 calories a day. Food journaling may seem boring but goes a long way in making you aware of what you eat and thereby helps you shed pounds. 

K 
Ketosis: Ketosis refers to the point where your body runs low on carbs and burns fat for fuel. Therefore, ketosis jump-starts a diet. Restrict carbs and lose more initially. Later, allow yourself wholegrain cereals and roti, in moderation. 

L 
Low blood sugar: This is often the reason for between-meal cravings especially for sweet. When it strikes, reach for naturally sweet foods such as fruits and accompany it with a little low-fat dahi for a healthy dose of protein.