Simple Weight Loss Tips for Overweight Women

Being overweight nowadays isn’t alien. With all tastes of scrumptious burgers loaded with cheese, and all kinds of fast food just a call away from being at your doorstep, it’s not surprising how number of overweight people are shooting up everyday.

For women, however, it can be embarrassing to be overweight or obese. It’s always good to have your weight in control not just for appearance reasons, but more importantly for health reasons. Being overweight is the number one reason for cardiovascular disease. It is a huge risk factor along with many others, if not alone, for heart disease. Unhealthy lifestyle, such as consuming fats and carbohydrates more than the daily calorie requirement or sedentary lifestyle greatly contribute to obesity. The consequences of obesity are vast, it makes a person lazy, hinders normal sleeping patterns, and also makes them slow.

What can you do about it?
Dietary Modifications
When planning to lose weight, the primary thing to change is your diet. Fast food, fried food, foods crammed with unhealthy fats and sugars all makes you gain weight. The easy way to diet is to make a plan. The key to improve your diet in order to make it healthy is to keep your tummy full at all times. Being on a diet does not in any way mean you have to starve yourself. Do this: Eat 6 small meals a day. Why? Because this way you will not feel hungry unnecessarily and munch on unhealthy snacks.

Next thing to do is to eat more vegetables and fruits. Fruits can be more of an alternative to your regular unhealthy snacks like packet chips and creamy sugary donuts. These carry unnecessary calories. Avoid them.

When eating chicken, it’s best to grill it. Eat healthy omega 3 fatty acids found in salmonella. Not all fats are unhealthy. There are healthy fats that we essentially require in our diet to avoid consequences from deficiencies.

Eat an early dinner. You should stop eating at 8 pm max. The growth hormone released at night adds fat in your body. Hence its best to eat long before sleeping.
Exercise Regularly

Weight loss is 70 percent diet and 30 pecent exercise. You don’t have to go to the gym or an aerobics class to carry this out. You can workout in the comfort of your home. If you can go for a 20 minutes walk every day around the block, that’s good enough. You can also look up a cardio workout on YouTube and follow it. 20 to 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise is a really good kick start. You can slowly build up on it and make it more intense.
Other Lifestyle Modifications
Always take the stairs:

Every little step counts. Forget the elevator and take the stairs at most of the times.
Put an end to fizzy drinks:
They are loaded with sugars and carbohydrates and they greatly contribute to weight gain. Replace them with water as much as you can. Drink fresh juices when you crave a drink.
Stay hydrated:

Keeping yourself hydrated will benefit you with not just weight loss but also makes your skin glow. It makes you alert and helps you focus better
Go nuts with peanuts:

Make your life simple and just eat a handful of peanuts! This option is way healthier than a packet of chips or biscuits.

5 AMAZING FOODS TOc

 

Have you been feeling bloated lately? Do you feel like by the time you go to bed your tummy is twice of what it was when you woke up? Is your protruding tummy becoming a source of embarrassment for you? Do not give up. Beat your bloat, fight your indigestion and and boost your metabolism with these foods. 

1. ONIONS

Were you aware that probiotics promote the growth of good bacteria in your body? And also that prebiotics feed the already existing ones? Onions are prebiotic food; hence, when you consume such food, they induce the formation of butyrate, a wonder drug that increases insulin sensitivity in your body. By doing this, it accelerates fat burning. Now that summer has arrived, you can easily pop some onions on the grill. You can also drizzle them with olive oil, salt and pepper. Cook until golden and let the fat burn.
2. Leafy greens

Want to know the winners of the fat-burning battle? It is undoubtedly bok-choy, spinach, kale and the rest of the family of green leaves. They are not only crammed with digestion-helping fibers, but they also help enhance the diversity of healthy bacteria in the gut. Do not be put off by their individual taste. Use your imagination to incorporate the leafy greens in your diet to help burn belly fat. Eat a spinach salad for lunch, or add sautéed kale to scrambled eggs.  
 3. Garlic

You must be wondering “Won’t it be counterintuitive to feed microbiome foods with antimicrobial properties?” that is something to wonder about with garlic. But, studies have proven that garlic only fights off the bad bacteria, the ones that cause inflammation. It leaves the good bacteria strong and intact. Another pro with eating garlic is that it is jam-packed with inulin. Inulin is the fiber that helps with digestion and also stablizes blood sugar. You can stir garlic powder on your meals of fish and chicken, you can also chop some fresh garlic and add it to tomato-mozzarella salads.
4. Green Tea

This is a popular and a must component of people’s diets who want to trim their waist-line. It is a mild beverage that works wonders not just for your tummy but also for fighting inflammation in the body. It’s great benefits root from the flavinoids they contain. The flavinoids have anti-inflammatory properties. Green tea contains a special compound known as EGCG. This is the compound that helps burn body fat. drink it first thing in the morning and the last thing before going to sleep and look for alterations in your tummy inches.
5. Apple Cider Vineger

ACV is one of those condimental foods that you pass by at the grocery store but do not buy unless you need it for a recipe. That is unfortunate though, because one shot of ACV a day is just what you may need to get your body to work in the right direction. The hero of ACV is Acetic acid. Acetic acid is what boosts your insulin sensitivity, controls apetite and induces protein formation in the body that helps burn fat. - See more at: http://htv.com.pk/nutrition/5-amazing-foods-beat-belly-fat#sthash.QaRaWeNf.dpufACV is one of those condimental foods that you pass by at the grocery store but do not buy unless you need it for a recipe. That is unfortunate though, because one shot of ACV a day is just what you may need to get your body to work in the right direction. The hero of ACV is Acetic acid. Acetic acid is what boosts your insulin sensitivity, controls apetite and induces protein formation in the body that helps burn fat.

2. Leafy greens

2. Leafy greens

 ACV is one of those condimental foods that you pass by at the grocery store but do not buy unless you need it for a recipe. That is unfortunate though, because one shot of ACV a day is just what you may need to get your body to work in the right direction. The hero of ACV is Acetic acid. Acetic acid is what boosts your insulin sensitivity, controls apetite and induces protein formation in the body that helps burn fat.
If you couple these foods with fat-burning exercise, you will see much faster results. A 20 minutes of cardio and strength every day will do the job. The best exercise for abs and tummy fat is plank! Plank for about 2 minutes every day. Make sure your position is right while you are doing it. Your bottom should be on the right level and you should be consistent. If you want to burn lower tummy mass, look for plank exercises on youtube to guide you further.

2. Leafy greens

10 Reasons To Eat An Apple A Day

An apple is probably the most common and well-known fruit not only all over the world but, throughout all the ages. As a toddler learns the alphabets, they learn A for apple. Since, a small age we have been taught the goodness about apples and given numerous reasons to why we should eat them. Mother’s favorite saying to make their child eat an apple is none other than, “an apple a day, keeps the doctors away.”

The apple is among the most beneficial and to a great degree rich in cancer prevention agents, Vitamin C, and fiber, it makes for an extraordinary and fitting nibble. Apples have various medical advantages, and we give you 10 more reasons why you ought to eat an apple each day (other than to keep the doctor away).
1. Lowers Blood Sugar Levels & Protects Against Diabetes

Researches have shown that apples can decrease the level of sugar in your blood and ensure against Diabetes Type 2. In one study, members who ate one or more apples consistently were accounted for to have nearly 30 percent lower danger of creating Diabetes Type 2.

Apples are rich in fiber that helps improve blood glucose control. They also contain cancer prevention agents that help reduce the absorption of sugars. Moreover, apples are a worthy decision for somebody who is diabetic or prediabetes.
2. Prevents Cardiovascular Disease

In one study by analysts from Finland, the danger of death as a result of cardiovascular illness was 43 percent less in ladies and 19 percent less in men who ate more than 1.9 ounces (54 grams) of apples consistently.

3. Protects Against Cancer

In a research relevantly named “Does an apple a day keeps an oncologist away?” members who ate an apple a day or more were found to have a lower danger of malignancy.

Researchers from the American Association for Cancer Research additionally suggest the utilization of apples, which they accept can bring down the danger of getting pancreatic growth by as much as 23 percent.

Different scientists too have indicated that apples can secure against malignancies. Analysts at Cornell University have figured out how to distinguish numerous elements in the apple peel which battle off growth cells in the breast, liver, and colon.
4. Prevents Gallstones

Individuals with raised cholesterol level in the blood are at a more serious danger to creating gallstones. Specialists habitually suggest, gallstones patients and individuals with a more serious danger of gallstones, to eat fiber-rich foods such as apples. Another option is to drink apple and grapefruit juice blended with olive oil and Epsom salt to detoxify the liver.
5. Protects against Parkinson’s
Individuals who consume fiber-rich organic products such as apples have a lower danger of creating Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s is an ailment of the sensory system caused by the breakdown of dopamine-delivering nerve cells in the cerebrum.
6. Prevents Asthma

Apples are an excellent source of flavonoids, that may help lessen irritation in the breathing tract. Another motivation behind why they are useful for asthmatics is a direct result of phenolic acids present in them. These acids offer asthma patients to inhale all the more uninhibitedly, some assistance with reducing the requirement for meds.

In addition, eating apples is a decent approach to get your day by day Vitamin C necessity. Vitamin C diminishes aggravation in the aviation routes as well as keeps the lungs solid that helps ease asthma.
7. Strengthens Bones

As apples are an incredible source of calcium, they protect our bones and are beneficial for bone wellbeing.

Notwithstanding being rich in calcium, apples likewise strengthen cells that improves bone thickness, and additionally a compound called boron that also helps protect the bones, and phloridzin helps reduce th risk of osteoporosis.
8. Brighten Teeth
It appears eating an apple keeps a dental specialist away too. Eating an apple after dinners can help in disposing of yellow stains on the teeth. Apples are astringent and somewhat acidic, two qualities that offer it some assistance with whitening and wash down the teeth.
9. Detoxing the liver

Apple contains pectin, a cancer prevention agent intensify that has solid detoxification qualities. It evacuates abundance cholesterol, undesirable metals, and different toxins from the body. A 2-day apple quick (that is, apples and/or squeezed apple being the main nourishment you eat for 2 days) is an awesome approach to detoxify liver and promotes absorption.
10. Insulin Controllers

Apples are common controllers of insulin in the body. They manage the amount of sugar in your circulatory system by gradually discharging them to the circulatory system. Your cholesterol levels can be controlled with the assistance of apples.
 

An apple is probably the most common and well-known fruit not only all over the world but, throughout all the ages. As a toddler learns the alphabets, they learn A for apple. Since, a small age we have been taught the goodness about apples and given numerous reasons to why we should eat them. Mother’s favorite saying to make their child eat an apple is none other than, “an apple a day, keeps the doctors away.”
The apple is among the most beneficial and to a great degree rich in cancer prevention agents, Vitamin C, and fiber, it makes for an extraordinary and fitting nibble. Apples have various medical advantages, and we give you 10 more reasons why you ought to eat an apple each day (other than to keep the doctor away).
- See more at: http://htv.com.pk/nutrition/10-reasons-eat-apple-day#sthash.DPbR8xfA.dpuf

11 reasons why pomegranate is winter’s best gift

 

This beautiful red fruit does not have a crown on its top for no reason. The range of nutrients found in this plant is indeed unrivaled by any other fruit. Not only does it win by taste, color and odor but it gives your body incredible benefits and lowers risk for many diseases.

The fact that these benefits have been proven by research and are not merely the words of grandmothers makes it even better.
FULL OF NUTRIENTS

Pomegranate is the fruit of a shrub called punica gratum. While the skin of pomegranate is inedible, it is full of edible seeds called arils. Arils are eaten raw at its best, used to make pomegranate juice and processed foods. Pomegranates have a very impressive nutrient profile as mentioned earlier. About one cup of arils will give you:

    Fiber: 7 grams.
    Protein: 3 grams.
    Vitamin C: 30% of the RDA.
    Vitamin K: 36% of the RDA.
    Foliate: 16% of the RDA.
    Potassium: 12% of the RDA.

SUPPLIES VITAMINS

Pomegranate is also very sweet. One cup contains around 144 calories. You might want to keep that in check if you are on a low calorie diet. We are all aware of how badly our bodies need vitamins as it is produced within. Pomegranate is a great source of vitamin K and C along with folate that helps make new blood cells.
PROVIDES NECESSARY ACIDS

Apart from proteins and vitamins, another constituent of pomegranate worth mentioning is the plant compounds, punicalagins and punicic acid. These two are given credit for most of the benefits of the fruit. Puniclagins has strong antioxidant properties and is extracted from not only the arils but the inedible peel as well. The antioxidant properties of pomegranate beat green tea in potency by three folds.
BOOSTS IMMUNE SYSTEM

The antioxidants and vitamins in pomegranate give it most of its medicinal uses. It boosts your immune system, making your defense system stronger against bacterial and viral attacks. It is a super food for your skin and hair. Punicic acid is an omega 5 polunstaurated fatty acid that is known to have hand in regeneration and proliferation of body cells. This helps pomegranate give you a healthy glowing skin.
IMPROVES HEART HEALTH
Pomegranate is known to work like magic for heart health. It makes the arteries flexible which makes them more efficient in transporting blood to the rest of the body, which in turn helps reduce the work load on the heart. Pomegranate can also prevent artery blockage by reducing inflammation and reducing LDL (bad cholesterol) in the body. With all these effects combined, it is safe to say that pomegranate can play a great role in reducing atherosclerosis which is the leading cause of cardiovascular diseases.
CONTROLS BLOOD PRESSURE
Pomegranate is also known to keep blood pressure under control. It does this by allowing unrestricted flow of blood around the body.  It acts as natural aspirin and performs functions like blood thinning and prevents blood clots.
HELPS WITH DIABETES
While diabetic patients are advised to avoid fruits and take small portions, apple and pomegranate are the fruits that actually help maintain blood sugar levels.
REDUCES RISKS OF CANCER

According to a few laboratory tests, pomegranates may help reduce risk of cancer in both males and females. Pomegranate juice gets rid of free radicals from the body which are responsible for DNA mutation. Its soaring contents of anti-oxidants stimulate white blood cells to counterbalance toxins in the body in that way promoting a strong and healthy immune system.

Pomegranate is thought to induce apoptosis, a process where the cells kill themselves. Daily intake of a glass of pomegranate juice can reduce the growth of cancerous cells in prostate cancer. Furthermore it appears to block aromatase, an enzyme that converts androgen to estrogen. Estrogen is a hormone found predominanatly in women, which plays a crucial role in the growth of breast cancer.
LOWERS IRON DEFICIENCY

Iron deficiency is prevalent all over Pakistan, specifically in adolescents and teenagers. It leads to anemia, a disorder where there are not enough blood cells for the body and it lacks in oxygen transportation. Children who suffer through this might seem to get tired quickly and may not take interest in sports and academics. Being rich in folate, pomegranate helps cure anemia by producing new red blood cells. This also makes pomegranate an excellent cure for nose bleeds and eye sores.
HELPS WITH CONSTIPATION

Being rich in fiber pomegranate also helps bowel movements and constipation. It is also regenerates cartilage cells known as chondrocytes. This is the reason it helps in arthritis and joint problems. It also helps resolve kidney stones and erectile dysfunction in men. Regular in take of pomegranate juice may prevent on set of alzheimers disease.
FACILITATES ANTI-AGEING

Pomegranate juice is especially beneficial for skin health. It is an excellent anti-aging agent. Helps reduce fine lines and wrinkles. It also helps reduce dark spots and hyperpigmentation caused by sun exposure. The best part about this fruit is that it is good for all skin types. It hydrates the skin and causes regeneration and proliferation of new cells that help heal acne and acne scars.

So what are you waiting for? Embrace the winter season by devouring as many pomegranates as you can and stay healthy automatically.
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Surprising Health Benefits of Lady Finger (Bhindi)

 

Available year round, lady finger (Aka Okra) better known by Pakistanis as bhindi- can be consumed for its many health benefits. This green, longitudinal ooey-gooey vegetable is used in multiple ways such as, to thicken soups, it can also be eaten sautéed, cooked in typical southern gravy, or even in pickled form. Lady finger is known as a nutritional power and has myriad health benefits because of the plethora of nutrients it contains including minerals, vitamins, fiber and carbohydrates. Check out some of the amazing health benefits of bhindi.
Helps you Lose Weight

Bhindi is low in calorie and is suitable for weight loss purpose. One cup of lady finger contains less than 30 calories along with 2 g of protein, 7.6 g carbohydrates, 0.1 g of fat, 21 mg of vitamin C, around 88 micrograms of folate, 57 mg of magnesium and 3.2 g of fiber. It’s high fiber content helps you keep full for longer avoiding you to over-eat at the table.
Alleviates Symptoms of Asthma

Okra is also rich in Vitamin C, known to alleviate symptoms of asthma. 1 cup of Bhindi contains 23 mg of  Vitamin C. A study conducted in 2000 in the journal thorax found that intake of fruits rich in vitamin C is a significant protective factor against wheezing especially in children and susceptible adults. This effect was seen even if the fruit was eaten one to two times a week.
Improves Digestion and Lowers Cholesterol

Rich in fiber, bhindi helps with two very common problems faced by people worldwide. One of them is Indigestion. Fiber helps increase bulk of stool by dissolving in water present in the gut. This helps with constipation and straining and makes excretion easy. Second problem that fiber can help with is High Cholesterol. Soluble fiber in gut absorbs cholesterol from food, prevents its absorption and eliminates it from the body. Another way cholesterol is reduced in the body by consuming bhindi is that it replaces any other fatty and high cholesterol food that you might eat. This was found by Harvard Health publications.
Helps Regulate Blood Glucose Level

Soluble fiber present in bhindi also helps regulate blood glucose level which is specifically beneficial for diabetic patients. In a study published in ISRN journal Pharmaceutics, researchers found that bhindi helped reduce the absorption rate of glucose from the intestines. This resulted in reduced glucose in blood. They immersed sliced bhindi pods in water and fed rats the solution and found the results stated.
Improves Immunity
Bhindi also contains antioxidants along with vitamin C. These constituents of bhindi act as immune boosters against harmful free radicals and also support the immune system. Vitamin C content further stimulates immune system to produce more white blood cells which basically help you keep healthy and fight any bacteria that has entered your body and prevent it from causing further harm and diseases. It also neutralizes free radicals that may cause certain cancers, acne and affect your general well being.
Prevent Kidney Disease with Lady Finger

A lot of kidney diseases develop from diabetes. Bhindi prevents kidney disease in two ways. First, in an indirect way by reducing blood glucose level; second by reducing kidney damage directly. In a study conducted in 2005 published in Jilin medical journal, researchers found that diabetics who consumed bhindi daily had reduced clinical signs of kidney damage as compared to those on diabetic diet.
Conception and pregnancy

Rich in vitamin A, B (1, 2, and 6) and C along with traces of zinc and calcium, bhindi is absolutely essential food for ladies who are trying to conceive. It is both beneficial for the mother and the fetus. It helps with indigestion during pregnancy, keeps the mother’s skin healthy and reduce fatigue. Bhindi can also be considered a supplement for folic acid which is crucial for brain and spinal cord development of the fetus in the uterus. However, lack of folic acid may cause severe birth defects.
Helps Get Rid of Dandruff

Apart from eating, lady finger is also used as home remedy for hair conditions. Transparent mucilage made from bhindi and water can be applied on hair. It brings back dull and dry hair to life by bringing its moisture back and makes it bouncy. It also helps with certain scalp conditions including dandruff.

Lady finger (Okra) has been a part of Pakistani cuisine for ages. You can enjoy it fried, boiled, curried or pickled. Dense in healthy nutrients, bhindi can be a great addition to any diet.
 

Types of Pickles and Their benefits

 

Being an Asian nation, it’s almost unnatural if we don’t enjoy having pickles along with our food. The pros of eating a zesty blast of flavor to enliven your main course sometimes ends up becoming a debatable topic against the cons of eating a staple that has a lot of sodium (salt). We cannot blame the recipe because the process of pickling any fruit or vegetable actually implies that we are preserving it for a period of time that extends it’s natural expectancy. So, if you really are a fan of having pickles and your argument rests on all the health benefits of our beloved seasoned ‘Achar’, it is still advised that we consume it in moderation. For my readers who just can’t wait to dig into the savory benefits of the extensively varied flavors of pickles all over the country; let’s begin.

Basically what goes on when you put your pickling gloves on; you create a preservative that has significantly nullified the naturally occurring microbes in the food which cause them to decay. This is achieved by fermenting the ingredients in oil, vinegar, salt or sugar.
1. Mixed Pickle

Manufacturers go in a pickle when they get set to create a “mixed” pickle. The vast array of ingredients involved in making the widely consumed pickle is ever changing. The commonly used fruits and vegetables involved in making mixed pickle include lemons, cucumbers, carrots, cauliflowers, mangoes and some seasonings like garlic, pepper, coriander, sugar and vinegar.

Mixed pickle is high on probiotic content (fermentation, pickling, yogurt are all now clicking in a chain seamlessly). This means that it will actually encourage the good bacteria in your stomach to grow which will lead to have a improved digestion. The pickle actually helps get the most good out of our food. It cannot be consumed in high quantity itself. It must be kept in mind that pickles that are high on probiotic content, contain a very high amount of preservative. But since we consume it as a flavor enhancing additive, the chances of getting blood pressure problems is low.
2. Mango Pickle

The beauty of fermentation is that you require no heat for the process to get going. Voila, no nutritional content of the ingredients ever gets lost when you make pickles. Mango pickles actually help in rejuvenation of the inner organs because pickles naturally contain antioxidants. Antioxidants as we all know help get rid of the free oxygen molecules in our body that may cause aging similar to corrosion of metal. Also, the nutritional benefits you can get when eating mangoes are directly inherited in their pickle. But, as always, it’s highly recommended to consume pickles in a moderate manner.
3. Cucumber Pickle

All the pickles prepared in vinegar help with diabetes control. The high amount of acetic acid (the content vinegar is made of) helps control the hemoglobin in our blood. This causes the excess calories to digest which helps monitor the sugar level of diabetic patients. But for this, only consume the pickles that do not have excess salt in them. Otherwise, you’re just trading one blood disease for another.
4. Gooseberry Pickle (Amla)

Your liver loves this one because the fermented version of Amla reduces ulcers, protects the liver from overall damage and as a result increases our overall immunity to diseases. Being rich in Vitamin K, they are particularly effective in boosting our body’s reaction to injuries. Our blood clots faster and the loss of blood is low. This is by far the best benefit of our almost daily consumed achar.
5. Lime, Chili and Lemon Pickles

Adding other fruits or vegetable in these pickles produce a staple that is high in fiber and actually helps you reduce your weight by increasing your metabolism. Consuming achar as a savory staple with your main dish allows the stomach to extract as much nutritional content from our food and at the same time boosts our metabolism and thus allows us to effectively burn off the extra calories without gaining any extra (much dreaded) weight.

5 exercises to relieve neck pain instantly

 

Whether you rested in a weird position the previous evening or you have been sitting and gazing rigidly at your PC for quite a long time, neck torment happens. What’s more, a kink in the neck is irritating and painful, as well as leads to migraines and upper back torment. To decrease the throbbing ache, attempt these five fantastic exercises. In the wake of taking a long, hot shower to relax the muscles, practice a couple (or all) of them for instant relief. If the pain doesn’t reduce and/or gets worse; consult a doctor as soon  .

1. The Ultimate Side Stretch – To reduce stiffness in the side of your neck
 

1.Sit on the floor in a cross-legged position or in a seat with your feet level on the ground.
2.Extend your right arm by your right knee (if sitting in cross-legged position) or along the right half of the seat (if sitting on a chair).
3.Place your left hand on your head and gradually tilt your head to the left side.
4.Apply delicate weight with your hand to build the stretch.
5.Stay on this side for 30 seconds, then gradually lift your head up and repeat this stretch on the right side

2.The Neck Base Stretch – To relieve tension at the back of your neck -

1.Sit easily in a seat or on the floor.
   2. Sit backwith your hands clasped behind your head, with a tall spine, ground your hips solidly into your seat.
    3.Tenderly press your hands down toward your thighs, tucking your jaw into your mid-section.
    4.Hold here for no less than 30 seconds, and after that gradually lift your head up and discharge your hands.

3. The Dynamic Shoulder Shrugs – To relive tension between neck and shoulder blades


 

 This specific stretch joins extending with a typical muscle unwinding system also known as “Dynamic Muscle Relaxation”. It’s truly viable to unwind the shoulders and neck!

    1.Shrug your shoulders to your ears and hold firmly for 2-3 seconds, as yet keeping firmly turn your shoulders down (you ought to feel a stretch in the pectorals muscles or mid-section muscles) and afterward unwind them down into ordinary position.
    2.REPEAT 10 times at least for best results
4. The Peaceful Unwinding Stretch – To eliminate headache and drowsiness due to neck pain

Here’s an unwinding stretch for your neck and shoulders that can likewise relieve migraines and sluggishness.

    1.Get into Child’s Pose with your shins and temple on the floor. Stay here for a couple of breaths.
    2.Staying in the position, join your hands behind you in a twofold clench hand. At this point lift your hands as high as possible.
    3.Breathe in to move your weight forward and lift your hips off your heels.
    4.Stopped on the highest point of your head and extend your hands as near the floor as you can.
    5.Stay here for 10 seconds and afterward bring down your hips back to your heels.
    6.Stay here for 10 seconds and after that lift your hips up once more.
    7.Proceed with this cycle five or more times, then discharge into Child’s Pose with your arms on either side of your legs.


5. The Extraordinary Upper Back Stretch – To relieve tension between neck and upper back muscles

Crop the lower body

This extraordinary stretch chips away at the neck and upper back muscles.

    1.Stretch your arms out in front of you and rotate your hands in a way that your palms face away from one another.
    2.Staying in the position, bend over at the upper back.
    3.Make certain and flex your head (get your chin to chest) meanwhile.

Although a common nuisance, neck pains should be taken very seriously. Try avoiding postures that could lead to such a situation, for example using your laptop in bed. It’s true that finding the time to be concerned about postures is almost impossible but one has to do it in order to lead a healthy and pain-free life. These stretches can only help you with finding temporary instant relief but it won’t last for long especially if you continue to mistreat your body.

Sit on the floor in a cross-legged position or in a seat with your feet level on the ground.

Extend your right arm by your right knee (if sitting in cross-legged position) or along the right half of the seat (if sitting on a chair).

Place your left hand on your head and gradually tilt your head to the left side.

Apply delicate weight with your hand to build the stretch.

Stay on this side for 30 seconds, then gradually lift your head up and repeat this stretch on the right side

- See more at: http://htv.com.pk/fitness/5-exercises-relieve-neck-pain-instantly#sthash.Karzx3ZX.dpuf

5 Tips to Help You Lose the Pregnancy Weight

It is natural for a woman to dream about having beautiful healthy babies. However, it is also natural for her to cringe at the thought of accumulating all that weight during her pregnancy. Gaining weight during pregnancy is a nightmare and you can’t help but surf interne for the best possible way out! Yet as the days go by and as soon as you hold your baby in your arms for the first time, all your worries about weight and scars go away. Nevertheless, it is still an issue and it is best to pay attention to your weight as soon as you can instead of regretting it for the rest of your life.

Let’s face it, there is no magic involved. You just gave birth to another living soul so go easy on yourself. Just make sure you stuff yourself with a lot of stamina, patience, energy, and love instead of sugar! Going about losing weight with the help of a shortcut could be a cause of major complications on your health in the future. Therefore it is best to begin it with the thought that you don’t only need to lose weight but also need to stay healthy for your baby.

These five tips will help you lose all of that weight that you have accumulated in these nine miraculous months. Read them carefully and understand that everybody is different and therefore results will vary. It is also important for you to understand how much your body can take and then adjust the pace of this mission accordingly!
Respond To Your Cravings With A Healthy Option

Yes pregnancy made you lose control and cravings seem to have taken over but there is always a healthy alternate available. If not, then make sure you are taking care of your portions. If you want to order McDonald’s then you need to sacrifice the sidelines and just opt for the burger. Sweet cravings don’t necessarily mean that you chuck down a whole bar of chocolate or a tub of ice cream instead grab a fruit, yogurt or any fresh seasonal juice!

Utilize Your Free Time For Light Exercise

The baby is finally sleeping and you’re on your couch making up for the missed episodes of your favorite TV show. It might seem as the best option at this time but when you will look back a few years later with your belly hanging; it’ll give you a bucket full of regret. So move it! Stop sitting and make use of the time you have by doing some light exercise or walking. Slowly you can increase the pace or intensity but do make sure to consult the doctor.
Get Yourself Some Quality Hours Of Sleep

You only need to exercise for fifteen to twenty minutes every day. After that, catch up on some lost sleep with the help of a power nap right beside your baby. Getting proper amount of sleep is just as important for you as it is for your child. Lack of sleep has been claimed to be one of the many reasons women can’t lose weight after giving birth. Therefore, give your system some rest by sleeping; be it in odd hours.
Join Forums Or Groups Of New Moms
Discovering like-minded individuals is always healthy and even better is finding them stressing about the same problem. So join forums, clubs, pages or groups of women who have just recently become mothers. Motivate them and be motivated by them. It is always good to have a group of friends with whom you can share your worries, goals and plans. They won’t just listen to you but will also help because they will be going through or would have gone through the same phase.Stop Stressing
Stress will only make you gain more weight. No good has come out of stressing about issues that you have control over. Losing pregnancy weight is not impossible and is completely up to how willing you are to work on it. Thinking about your weight and the long journey ahead will only de-motivate you. It’s best to take it one day at a time; baby steps ladies!
 

Cousin marriages: A public health issue in Pakistan

Marriage is a universal practice in which a bond is formed between two individuals that is social, emotional, cultural, physical, and religious in nature. This marital union lays the foundation for the most basic social institution, the ‘family’ that is designed to rear the next generation with comfort.

Several factors are considered in choosing close or distant relations to form this union.

‘Consanguinity’, the term for cousin marriage (CM) or inter-familial marriages between close relatives, is derived from the Latin words, con – “shared” and sanguis – “blood”.  In such marriages, each partner shares genes of a common ancestor such as a grandparent. The practice is prevalent in South Asia and Middle East countries with rates exceeding 40% of all marriages.

It is important to discuss CM in the Pakistani context. Hafeez (2014) reported that around 82.5% Pakistani parents are blood relatives from first, second or third generations. Of these 13% are CMs and close relatives. In Pakistani culture CM is common, legal and even a respectable practice due to socio-cultural and economic reasons.

People accept CM being unaware of its associated health risks to their offspring and consequent hospitalizations, and serious psychological, social and financial hardship that may follow.  A study reported that Pakistani respondents did not accept the connection between CM and poor birth outcomes. The disabilities were attributed with the destiny and “will of God”.  This article will analyze the issue of CM; describe its causes, consequences, and recommendation using Leininger’s sunrise model.

The sunrise model describes the socio-cultural, economic, religious, educational and political factors that may influence a person’s health. All these factors leading to CM can be found in Pakistan and affect the health of the progeny of a CM couple. Firstly, families think that husband and wife will easily adjust due to familiar relationships; it is considered a means of promoting family ties and transmission of cultural values in the next generation. Moreover, the wife is more likely to be supported by her in-laws in times of need.

Secondly, financial issues, marriage arrangements are made easier to handle, and property is retained in the family. Thirdly, it is thought to be a protective factor against divorce. In Pakistan CM is generally observed in extended families, people of low socioeconomic status, rural background, and low levels of parental education.

Additionally, marrying in kin is also considered a part of faith in some religions found in Pakistan. CM is also seen as a way of settling abroad, in developed countries. As Shaw (2014) found, Pakistani families who lived in UK used CM to help their relatives to enjoy the benefits of education, occupation and good living standards because they were committed to their kin living in Pakistan.

It is important to understand that culture and health are interrelated; cultural norms can highly influence a person’s health, behavior and decision making and ultimately determines health outcomes. Studies suggest that CM may have genetically detrimental effects. The mating of genetically related individuals contributes to the transmission of genetic material that is similar in nature and may carry disease traits.  It allows less common alleles with recessive traits to become phenotypically expressed.

A study conducted by Zakar, Zakar and Aqil (2014) indicated a strong relationship between first-degree consanguinity and the risk of small size birth and neonatal death. Furthermore, congenital anomalies, and autosomal recessive disorders such as thalassemia, cystic fibrosis, atrial and ventricular septal defects, cleft lip or palate run in families due to CM.

Moreover, CM was not found to protect women from any form of abuse: sexual, physical or psychological. This violates several human rights including a right to respect, freedom of choice and expression.
RECOMMENDATIONS

Leininger (2002) suggested three transcultural care decisions and actions: cultural preservation, negotiation, and restructuring. In tackling the CM issue, negotiation and restructuring can be done at the individual, family and community level, using platforms such as health centers, religious centers, guiding units, and schools to educate people on effects of CM.
CULTURE CARE RESTRUCTURING

A health care professional should be non-judgmental and avoid imposition of his/her own values on others while providing information about CM and its risks. However, restructuring of harmful practice regarding CM in Pakistani society will be based on the scientific facts. People should be informed that the law in many countries does not allow cousin marriages. This law can be adopted in Pakistan; however it is difficult to eradicate this ancient custom completely from the society.

Therefore, premarital and preconception counseling should be arranged to help the couple decide. Premarital screening tests should be arranged for all CM couples in health facilities. If the test is positive, couple should be clearly informed of the consequences. Present policies of premarital screening like thalassemia in Pakistan should be promoted by health professionals. Certain stereotypes and stigmas are attached to premarital screening in Pakistani society.

People refrain from going through the process of premarital screening as they believe that they do not have any disease. Therefore clarifying such myths is necessary to preserve health of offspring.  Since Pakistan is predominantly a Muslim country, a hadith related to CM can be used to restructure cultural norms. This hadith encourages marriage outside the kin as Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) stated that CM causes weakness in off spring.
CULTURE CARE NEGOTIATION

In case of already present CM, genetic screening can still be suggested to couples while planning for the next pregnancy.  If the mother is pregnant, identifying CM through history is important. In the case of CM and existing pregnancy, the mother should be asked to have timely screening for fetal congenital defects through Alpha Fetoprotein blood test, ultrasound and other recommended tests.  If positive for these tests, she should be given the choice of legal therapeutic abortion.

Moreover, suggesting effective family planning methods such as intrauterine devices, hormonal injection and pills can be recommended (International Planned Parenthood Federation, 2015). Adoption is another option, which is also a common cultural practice in Pakistani extended families.

Hence, to prevent the negative consequences of CM, health professionals, community workers, schools and non-governmental health agencies in Pakistan can take an active role in educating the public about the implications of CM. In addition, appropriate health policies can be developed so as to avoid poor health outcomes associated with CM.

About the author: Azaina Aijaz is a Year III BScN student at the Aga Khan University, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Pakistan. She has been a recipient of merit scholarship for two consecutive years and expecting to get scholarship for Year III. She is also a member of Sigma Theta Tau International – Honor Society of Nursing, Indianapolis, USA.
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Top 7 Health Benefits of Eating “Kishmish”

 

Raisins or Kishmish are teeny tiny little packets of energy. Usually used to garnish sweet dishes and desserts; however, smart people consume them more often and they have good reasons to do so. Although they seem dry and boring, these minions of food are rich in nutrients and minerals, and benefit our body more than we can think.

Here are a few things kishmish can be used for:
1. Help Cure Anemia

Raisins are rich in vitamin B-complex and iron. These are important in formation and maturation of the red blood cells. It is highly recommended for women and boys undergoing the growth spurt to make raisins a part of their diet.
2. Improved Eyesight

Raisins are rich in polyphenolic phytonutrients. These chemicals help reduce antioxidants that tend to weaken the eye sight. Vitamin A and carotenoids are also found in raisins. They are well known to combat color-blindness. So if you or someone close to you has weak eyes, let them know that raisins can help them a great deal!
3. Keep Cancer at Bay

As mentioned earlier, Polyphenolic phytonutrients are found in raisins. These antioxidants trap the free radicals and kill them; hence preventing cancer. Free radicals are what basically spur the metastasis which causes abnormal growth of cells.
4. Help against Constipation

The fiber in raisins is insoluble; it swells in the presence of water. They have a laxative effect and help against constipation.
5. Strong Bones

Micro nutrients are the nutrients that are required by the body in a very small amount. One such micro nutrient is Boron. Boron is important for the absorption of calcium. A lot of us take adequate milk and calcium products but they are not properly absorbed; one reason why so many people have low calcium levels. Consuming a bunch of raisins daily with a glass of milk would make it easy for the calcium to be absorbed.
6. Ease Dental Problems

Streptococcus Mutans and Porphyromonas Gingivalis are the two most common bacteria in the oral cavity. They cause dental caries (cavity) and swelling and bleeding in the gums. Raisins have anti bacterial properties that help fight against these pathogens.

Raisins also contain a certain amount of calcium that help strengthen the enamel. When eating raisins, the longer they stick to your teeth, the better, because that ensures extended contact of Oleanolic Acid with the teeth, increasing the preventative powers against bacterial growth. Along with it’s role in maintaining bone health and osteoporosis treatment, the boron present in raisins keep in check the growth of oral germs and also promote strong teeth.
7. In Pregnancy

Raisins’ ability to help with eye sight and bones strength is also important for pregnant women. They help with the baby’s eye sight and make the bones stronger.

Dried grapes have a large amount of glucose content which give a lot of energy. Raisins also help with absorption of vitamins hence it should be taken by pregnant women regularly. Raisins strengthen the immune system that weakens during pregnancy. Add “Kishmish” to your diet and reap it’s many benefits.
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7 easy ways to drink more water daily

We all know the importance of drinking a minimum of eight glasses of water a day. It is emphasized everywhere, from our homes to our bottles of mineral water. Staying hydrated is one of the foremost requirements for a healthy mind and body. According to research, nearly half of us are not properly hydrated at most times.

Staying hydrated and drinking adequate water is essential for our everyday performance, mood, and the quality of our skin, hair and nails. While eight glasses of water may not seem like a difficult target, it is quite unreachable once you make a conscious effort to actually achieve it.

Let us look at different ways drinking optimum amount of water every day can be made easier.
DRINK A GLASS OF WATER FIRST THING IN THE MORNING

Set your routine as such to drink a glass of water first thing when you wake up in the morning. Yes, also before your cup of tea or coffee. This will restore your fluids lost overnight, and kick-start your early dose of hydration.
RUN A MID-DAY HYDRATION CHECK

One way to check your hydration level is by checking the color of your urine. If it is darker than lemonade, know that you are dehydrated. Among other goals, set a goal to have clear urine by 3pm. It might sound a little weird to have a goal of that sort, but it will be more beneficial – the effects of which will make themselves visible soon after. If your urine isn’t clear at this time, then make sure you drink better and work better at keeping yourself hydrated the rest of the day.
ADD NATURAL FLAVOR TO WATER

Who said water has to be boring and taste the same each time? You always have the option to make water more interesting. Your option include adding a burst of flavor with sliced fruits like lemon, orange, lime, pineapple, berries, grapes and cantaloupe.
ALWAYS KEEP A WATER BOTTLE WITH YOU

Keeping a water bottle with you at all times is a great way to keep reminding yourself to stay hydrated. It depends if a half liter or one liter bottle is more feasible for you to carry. Make sure you keep a count of the number of refills you will be needing. A liter is roughly three ounces. If you weigh 120 pounds, you might have to refill a one-liter bottle two to three times a day.
REPLACE ANY OTHER BEVERAGE WITH WATER (AS MUCH AS YOU CAN)

While sodas, coffee and other beverages can be tempting, remember to remind yourself about the healthier option… which is always water. You do not need to be hard on yourself. Bring about a change slowly and gradually so that it is permanent, rather than an alteration that is difficult to maintain and is short-lived. Cut down the number of sodas to one per day, and for the rest of the times replace it with water. That way you will be saving yourself from about 240 unnecessary calories, extra sugar and also from dehydration offered by some of these drinks.
REMINDER SET-UP

It can be easily forgotten – the task to keep hydrating yourself. In a busy schedule, one only remembers to drink water when thirsty, but by that time they are already dehydrated. An easy way to remind yourself is to set a “hydration reminder” on your phone.
END YOUR DAY WITH WATER

Before sleeping, remember to drink a glass of water. This will help you stay hydrated overnight. If you prefer a hot beverage, have lukewarm water with some lemon.

6 Ways to Improve Digestion

 

Digestive problems have been a common trouble. It’s not only bad for the stomach, having a poor digestive system influences the entire body negatively. It starts showing on your skin in the form of acne and wrinkles; and gives your face an un-fresh look. It weakens the bones and muscles; which causes difficulty in movements. Poor digestion also effects the brain and hormones; it effects your mood, concentration levels, sleep patterns and your state of mind. Along with these things, if your digestive system is not working up to the mark, you can have problems in reproductive organs; which include irregular menstruation and low sex drive among other things.
Here are some tips to improve your digestion.
1. Fiber

“Fiber is your friend” they say. They are right. “A high-fiber diet helps keep food moving through your digestive tract, making you less likely to get constipated,” says Maria Adams, MS, MPH, RD, a registered dietitian in Marblehead. It also helps prevent diverticulitis, irritable bowel syndrome and other bowel related problems. Fiber makes you full faster and also prevents you from over eating. It gives your brain the signal of ‘fullness’, hence you don’t stuff yourself with unnecessary food.
2. Broth

Grandma always got us a bowl of warm broth or yakhni every time we fell sick. Broth is loaded with nutrients, amino acid proline and gut soothing gelatin. It soothes the digestive tract and improves absorption of nutrients. That is why it is always good to have some soup as an appetizer before a meal. Also if you add a good amount of vegetables to your soup, you are doing yourself a fovor by having broth and fiber in the same meal!
3. Ginger Tea

We often take ginger tea for throat ailments, turns out it’s also great for your tummy. Ginger prevents cramping in the abdomen by relaxing the smooth muscles of your abdomen. Ginger also stimulates saliva, bile and other digestive enzymes to help quicker digestion of food and an increased rate of metabolism.
You can make ginger tea by adding a tea spoon of grated ginger in one cup of water and boil it for a while. You can also make some in bulk and sip it all day.
4. Chew Properly

The process of digestion starts in our mouth. Mechanical digestion is extremely important for good digestion. One must take a while and chew well on food before swallowing. Don’t gobble your food. This practice should be inculcated in children from childhood.
5. Apple Cider Vinegar
Before a meal, having one table spoon of apple cider vinegar in a glass of room temperature water increases the acidity slightly; making digestion better. ACV is also great for cutting down fat.
6. Probiotics
Sounds complicated, but it’s really not. Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that are good for your digestive health. These bacteria are important to keep your digestive system working. Yogurt is a great source of probiotics, one of the best! This is why it is recommended to eat yogurt during stomach problems. Sour pickles are also rich in probiotics.

5 Ways to Manage Stress

 

Whenever human body encounters a task or challenge that would take sizeable amount of strength, our body releases certain hormones that heighten our senses to increase efficiency. However, through evolution of humans into hunters and gatherers, this rapid surge in energy and elevated reflexes must be channeled towards real physical exhaustion. Otherwise, the amount of these hormones remains elevated in our bloodstream and that does all sorts of harmful things to our body. The results are catastrophic and they include, sleep deprivation, exhaustion, prone to diseases and the most common, headaches, to name a few.

Obviously, this cannot be allowed to continue and we have to make sure that our body doesn’t build up high levels of cortisol (commonly known as stress hormone). But there is one thing most of us don’t know about and that is cortisol can actually result in two different reactions, based entirely on what we do, right after it is dispersed by our adrenal glands. If the outcome of this outburst is something that is related to muscle activity, then this mechanism of our body is the most beneficial to our wellbeing by managing our blood pressure, improving our immune system, converting protein into fuel to provide a surge of energy to tackle the challenge that invoked the release of the hormone.
However, if we fail to turn this sudden burst of energy into work done, then the hormones dispersed into our blood stay dormant and build up gradually resulting in chronic diseases, gaining weight (especially around the belly area) and high cholesterol to name a few. Although we cannot monitor the amount of cortisol and adrenaline in our blood by ourselves, we can follow a standard set of activities to make sure that all the systems in our bodies are functioning optimally and nothing causes distress for us in the long run. For that we can indulge in these 5 very easy and healthy activities listed below.
1. Increase Your Intake of Vitamin C

Research shows that nothing beats high level of cortisol as effectively as Vitamin C. The Vitamin can be considered an essential part of stress management. For students cramming for exams or any stressful academic feat, a diet constituted of citrus fruits would increase their attention as well as the quality of their work. Along with this, Vitamin C also prevents loss of weight that particularly effect students or people who usually work till late hours.
2. Reduce Caffeine
Yes, your beloved cocoa drink isn’t actually helping you cope with stress. Infact, even a single cup of coffee can raise your cortisol level dramatically. What actually happens for people who drink caffeinated drinks daily, your brain picks up the cues for incoming caffeine and dulls your senses such as making you feel tired and less concentrated to compensate for the incoming boost. This mix up of hormones inside our body is very dangerous for us in the long term, thus, it is highly recommended that you slowly start cutting down on your coffee intake.
3. Work Out

For a few poor souls (like me), even thinking about being overweight triggers stress which usually ends up with us being depressed about our weight and appearance. Fear not, because the built up amount of stress hormone in our bodies can be tackled even by varying our breath pattern as in some yoga routines. Exercise is a powerful tool against nasty stress hormones that cause us to gain weight and distort our diets in the first place.
4. Sleep on Time

For all the tough cookies who feel as if they can easily manage those all-nighters, deprivation of sleep is one of the root causes of high cortisol. It doesn’t matter how we feel when the horizon starts to light up, being awake through the entire night automatically triggers our brain for something very strenuous (attempting to finish the TV season within a week still counts as the bad kind of stress!). After the excessive release of hormones in our bloodstream, the lack of physical activity for as much as 6-7 continuous hours; well by now you can imagine what it would lead to. Our bodies crave for food because naturally the brain assumes that we have done so much work to compensate for the huge amounts of cortisol released which end up causing all sorts of adverse effects on our body.
5. Think Clearly and Positively

Perhaps one of the complex (yet extremely effective) way of coping with stress is to revamp our thought process about certain things that can potentially lead to high stress. For example, when we think about the assignment due next week, we usually care less about it. Continued procrastination causes our brain to kick up the priorities of important tasks which ends up in a muddled mess of priorities when compulsory actions pile up on each other, which further reduces our efficiency and concentration.

5 ways to Whiten Your Teeth with Natural Ingredients

 

We might not admit it but having yellow or pale teeth is one of the nightmares anyone could go through. It’s natural to feel weird and maintain distance with anyone who has yellow or discolored teeth. One of the major reasons why some of us cover our teeth in front of the camera is because we are scared of our discolored teeth being captured in a still. We’ll be made fun of and it will be a topic buzzed about.

Our teeth are the first thing anyone notices about us. You can’t talk to anyone without opening your mouth and revealing your teeth to them. White teeth are a sign of good health and proper hygiene. You may have heard that first impression is the last impression. If you want to have a positive impression that lasts for a while then it’s important to don’t show up teeth which seem like they haven’t been brushed for a while.

Now that we have established that no one wants to have yellow or discolored teeth, it is time to give away five ways to whiten your teeth with natural ingredients. These remedies have been tried and tested over the year and are bound to surprise you with sparkling results. Celebrities nowadays spend heaps of money over dental care and whitening their teeth. You on the other hand can make use of these five ways and save yourself from spending all that cash on a trip to the dentist!

Check out how!
Save Up An Appetite For Strawberries

Yes, strawberries are natural whiteners. Strawberries contain malic acid and Vitamin C, both proved as elements that can bleach away stains and bring back your sparkling smile. All you have to do is eat one whole bowl of strawberries but make sure that you properly chew them so that the strawberries are in complete contact with your teeth. Another way is to mash strawberries into a mixture that can be brushed twice or thrice a week. However chewing them is known to have given a larger chunk of positive results.
The Super Effective Duo Of Baking Soda And Lemon

Although both of these ingredients are known to have positive results on their own but together they can give a mind blowing effect. The end product of using these two ingredients together is a dazzling smile that is bound to skip a few heartbeats. Just use a teaspoon of baking soda and squeeze half a lemon in it. Mix it well till the mixture forms bubbles and then brush it onto your teeth. The only downside of this mixture is that if you leave it for more than a minute then it is acidic enough to erode your teeth’s enamel.
Ever Heard Of Oil Pulling?

This is an ancient Ayurvedic treatment and is basically used for oral health. Although oil pulling itself can whiten your teeth, it is said that using coconut oil can actually speed up the process. Oil pulling has no side effects and you can very easily make a habit out of it. Every morning take a spoonful of coconut oil in your mouth and keep swishing it between your teeth for around 5 to 10 minutes. However, do not swallow it and make sure you rinse your mouth properly with clean water after spitting it out.
Apple Cider Vinegar

Another way to whiten your teeth as if you’ve just gotten some expensive professional treatment done. ACV is known to be a natural whitener and stain remover. Consistency is the key in this remedy. You might not notice anything for a while as the results are not instant but they sure are long lasting.
Simply Brush Your Teeth

This is the most simple and natural way ever. Save your teeth from turning yellow by making a habit of brushing them after you eat or drink every time. Keeping up with your oral hygiene can not only avoid discoloration but also reduce it. Make sure you keep switching your old toothbrush for a new one and limit your daily intake of coffee and tea.

12 Amazing Uses Of Lemon Peels

 

There are so many “when life gives you lemons” quotes and all are valid (Even though we humans are already throwing, squeezing, slicing, peeling and pretty much doing everything to the bright citrus filled fruit). So ladies and gentlemen grab your lemons because it’s time that you are going to find that after making that delicious and much needed lemonade in hot seasons, the amazing sauces for pretty much everything edible, these marvelous yellow spheres still have some use left in them (excellent resilience from something easily produced even in home soil).
1. Cleaning Dishes and Tough Stains

Lemons (both peel and citrus) contain an impressive ability to remove stains, even the ones that are so tough that they make us cringe. Ladies, you can easily clean your dishes, coffee pots, even clothes that have got those nasty tea stains. You can combine the lemon rinds with your everyday detergents to gain that extra strength for those extra resilient stains.
2. Deodorize

Lemon peels are strong deodorant agent which can help you rid away of any trapped odor in cutting boards, ovens (along with removing the stains inside oven) and your hands! Rub lemon peels over the surface to remove any lingering odor like the smell of onion or garlic. The magic yellow peels will make your hands and surfaces smelling fresh again.
3. Whiten Teeth
Yes folks your organic yellow helps you beat the highly unwanted yellow shade your teeth may acquire! As it turns out, citrus helps retain the strength of our teeth and since lemon peel is such an amazing stain remover, your teeth will instantaneously becoming whiter. Note: Avoid using this remedy frequently because high amount of citrus might damage your enamel and gums.
4. Facials

The inside of lemon peel, when rubbed onto facial skin and allowed to dry over a period of 10-20 minutes, lightens age spots and skin tone altogether and sunburns. You can repeat this remedy everyday till desired results are visible.
5. Lemon Zest

Grate lemons for lemon zest which is an amazing ingredient in bringing that zesty flavor in your dishes and sauces. Lemon zest can also be frozen and easily reused. Lemon zest can also be used in smoothies, shakes and tea.
6. Fragrance

Not only will lemon peel allow you to remove all the nasty odor in your utensils and dishes, they can also be used as air fresheners by simply burning the fresh or dried peels along with some wood to produce a characteristically delicious lemon scent all over the place.
7. Deter Cats

The citrus found in lemon is an amazing cat repellent (unless you have a cat as pet). For anyone who wishes to ban cats from littering in garden areas or wandering around inside the house tearing apart the flower pots, you can put lemon peels in the soil to repel any unwanted feline visitors.
8. Homemade Vitamin C powder

Heat dried lemon peels on a piece of paper to 200⁰ C to destroy any live enzymes that may be present and grind the peels to produce your very own homemade Vitamin C powder. You can use this powder to produce variety of facial masks and essence for dishes.
9. Removing Rust
The nasty rust marks left in your shower by any metallic can, that rusted due to prolonged exposure to moisture can be removed by first spreading salt all over the rust marks and then rubbing them with a half cut lemon (which still has pulp inside) and rinsing that area thoroughly.
10. Ant Deterrent
Placing lemon rinds over by ant burrows and window sills allows your home to be insect free until a more permanent solution is sought.
11. Reduce Cholesterol
Adding lemon zest to your drinks allows you to lower your cholesterol levels and at the same time help you lose weight. A healthy diet maintained with regularly drinking ginger tea with lemon zest added or boiled along with lemon peels, can kick start your fitness train.
12. Furniture Polish

You can soften your elbow skin which may have become dry and damaged during the winter by using a half cut lemon with baking soda sprinkled over it; now push your elbow into the lemon as if juicing it for several minutes. After that you can rinse and dry for instantaneous results.

What Mint can Do to Your Body Inside Out?

Mint, known as podina locally, has several uses from being used in the kitchen to various cosmetic products to flavoring. It has remarkable medicinal properties which were discovered 100 years ago. All of us have used mint at some point in life either in our tea, chewing gum or mouth freshener. However, mint has more important benefits than just being used for flavoring and mouth fresheners commercially and domestically.

Health benefits of mint include:
Digestion

Digestion

Mint has served to be a great appetizer and used in lots of side lines with food. Using mint with food helps clean the palate (roof of the mouth) where food gets stuck. Once in the gut, it helps with digestion of the food. Green tea is also recommended in case of inflammation and indigestion. This is because aroma in mint stimulates glands of the gut to secrete enzymes that break down and start absorption of the broken food into the blood stream. In eastern world mint is used in chatnis, raita and salads.
Nausea and Head Ache

The strong aroma of mint also helps with nausea and headache. Nausea due to motion sickness, pregnancy and altitude sickness is what mint helps with. Freshly crushed mint leaves or mint flavored chewing gum are used to help with nausea and stomach ailments. Mint based balms are pharmaceutically used topically on forehead and nose for headache. It can also help in temperature rise and inflammation associated with headaches and migraines as it Is a naturally soothing substance.
Cough and Respiratory Tract Disorders
Asthma and common cold often cause respiratory congestion. Aroma of mint helps clear congestion due to its cooling and soothing effects. It also gives relief from irritation which causes chronic coughing. Aerosol inhalers are said to be less potent for asthma, as well as less environmental friendly than mint based inhalers.
Lactation

Lactating females often face problems as suckling by the baby causes severe damage to the nipples and breast. Studies prove that mint oil can be really helpful for cracked and painful nipples that occur due to breast feeding.
Depression and Fatigue

Mint acts as a stimulant through your olfactory senses. Simply smelling mint can help elevate your mood and restart your brain to make it function at a higher level. Mint oils are helpful if you are feeling depressed, tired, sluggish or just not willing to continue with your work. A popular way of using mint oils as a soothing agent is putting a few drops onto the pillow and allowing it to work overnight.
Skin Care

Not only mint oil is a good antiseptic and anti pruritic, mint juice is equally useful as a great skin cleanser. Mint juice from fresh mints can be applied directly on the skin as a mask as a cure for acne and pimples. It has soothing effects on skin that helps with irritation, itchiness and pruritic properties of pimples from mosquito and other insect bites such as bee sting, wasps and hornets. Anti inflammatory effects of mint help bring down swelling. Another benefit of mint aroma is that it is unappealing to insects that can prevent further bites.
Memory Loss

A recent study found that mint is associated with alertness, cognition and retention of memory. According to the study people who chewed mint gum more frequently had higher levels of memory retention than those who did not. This finding has given us yet another reason to pop a mint gum or fresh mint leaves in.
Weight Loss

Mint also helps lose weight without disturbing nutrient balance of your body which is one of the healthiest ways of losing weight. Mint basically helps utilize fats in the body which prevents fats from your diet to be stored in your body and contribute to weight gain.
Oral Care

Oral cavity houses lots of bacteria that are closely associated with the stomach and food that we eat. Therefore, it is important to maintain pH balance and good bacteria culture in your mouth. Mint helps freshen breath and inhibits growth of harmful bacteria in your mouth that can cause bad breath and cavities. Pakistanis in rural area use mint leaves as teeth cleaner. It is rubbed directly on gums and teeth. In modern times, mint is used in mouth wash, tooth paste and chewing gum for oral health and fresh breath.
Other Benefits

Apart from being used in mouth washes, tooth pastes and inhalers, mint is used worldwide in culinary art. Drinks and foods having mint as an ingredient such as mint cooler and mint lemonades are enjoyed in summers as they cool you down. They are full of relaxing flavors.

It is also used as first aid for burns traditionally and used as treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. If you feel saturated and tired by all this information, just pop a mint gum in your mouth to improve the activity of your brain and get t
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Eggs are best for a filling kids breakfast, says study

If you’re not sure which is the most filling breakfast to give your kids on a morning a team of US researchers might have found the answer, finding that eggs are a more filling way to start the day than a breakfast of cereal or oatmeal.

The study, by the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and published in the journal Eating Behaviors, looked at which breakfast kept children fuller for longer – protein-rich eggs or a grain-based breakfast such as cereal or oatmeal.

They recruited 40 children aged 8-10, and asked them to eat one of three 350-calorie breakfasts – eggs, cereal, or oatmeal – once a week over a three-week period.

The children were asked to eat all of the breakfast, and after finishing were also asked to play games with the researchers, before eating lunch, of which they could eat as much or as little as they wanted.

During the morning the children were also asked questions such as “How hungry are you?” and “How much food do you think you could eat right now?” During the rest of the day, the children’s food consumption was recorded in a food journal by parents.

At the end of three weeks, the researchers found that children who ate the eggs breakfast (scrambled eggs, whole wheat toast, diced peaches, and one percent milk), ate less at lunch time, reducing their energy intake by 70 calories, roughly equal to a small chocolate-chip cookie, and 4% of a child’s daily caloric needs. Eating more than the caloric needs regularly, even by a small amount, can cause weight gain and possibly obesity.

However although the team found that the protein-rich eggs breakfast left children feeling fuller for longer, and therefore eating less at lunchtime, this protein-rich meal only affected what the children consumed at mid-day, and not later on in the day.

And despite eating less at lunch, the children did not report less hunger, surprising lead author Tanja Kral, “I’m not surprised that the egg breakfast was the most satiating breakfast,” said Kral. “What does surprise me is the fact that, according to the children’s reports, eating the egg breakfast didn’t make them feel fuller than cereal or oatmeal, even though they ate less for lunch. We expected that the reduced lunch intake would be accompanied by lower levels of hunger and greater fullness after eating the high protein breakfast, but this wasn’t the case.”
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Why Are Almonds Great For Your Heart?

Nutritionists around the world agree that almond is one of the healthiest foods. Almond is a seed of the fruit of the almond tree. This delicately flavored seed is available throughout the year and is most fresh around mid summer as its season reaches at its peak. Packaged almonds are easily available at any drugs store. The shell is usually already removed in packaged almonds.
Almonds are Rich in Good Fats

Nutritionists have also labeled almond as a high fat food. Then why do they have it on world’s healthiest foods list? Well this is so because almonds are packed with not just any fats, but monosaturated fats. This is the fat that is good to maintain an optimum heart health. However, polysaturated fats increase LDL (bad cholesterol) in the body. Increased LDL means more chances of it lodging in arteries and obstructing blood flow to vital organs in the body. It can cause a heart attack if it happens to coronary arteries.
Almonds Reduce Risk of Heart Disease

Monosaturated fats are also known as good fats and found in olive oil as well. Several studies have proved that consumption of monosaturated fats reduces risk of heart disease. Researchers studied data from Nurse Health study and found out that replacing monosaturated fats with saturated fats as in red meat and dairy products helps reduce the risk for heart disease by 45 percent. Similarly, carbohydrates can also be replaced by monosaturated fats for risk reduction by 30 percent. In addition to cholesterol lowering effects of almonds, another way it can reduce heart disease is by its antioxidant action. Almond owes its antioxidant effect to Vitamin E.

Almonds are Loaded with Minerals
Almond is also rich in essential minerals including magnesium and potassium. Both of which are great for heart health especially for people suffering with hypertension. Most hypertension patients take calcium channel blocking drugs to reduce their blood pressure. Magnesium is known as natures own calcium channel blocker. In presence of magnesium, arteries are able to relax and resistance to blood flow is decreased, this directly reduces blood pressure. Improved blood flow also increases rate of transport of oxygen and nutrients in the body. Absence of magnesium following a heart attack can lead to inflammation and free radical injury to the heart.
Almonds for Blood Pressure and Diabetes

Potassium is a mineral that plays an important role in nerve transmission and muscle contraction including cardiac muscles. Almonds provide your body with 162 mg of potassium which helps protect against high blood pressure and atherosclerosis.
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Significant increase in blood sugar occurs right after a meal. This sudden surge in blood glucose level can cause free radical cholesterol damage and can be a reason of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This is the reason doctors recommend low glycemic index diet to diabetics and to patients predisposed to heart disease. Almonds taken with meal appear to decrease glucose surge after meal. Almond also helps in free radical damage as it has antioxidant properties. This was proved in two different researches viz Jenkins DJ, Kendall CW, Journal of Nutrition and Jones AR, Kendall CW, Metabolism. -

Almonds Help Lose Weight
Although rich in fats, almonds can help reduce weight even in obese patients. international Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders published a report that proved that people who consumed almonds daily for six months had significant reduction in BMI, waist circumference and body fats as compared to those who ate low calorie carbohydrate diet.

Diabetes and increased weight both are risk factors for heart disease. Almonds are directly and indirectly beneficial for your heart. Not only almonds, nuts such as cashew, walnut, pecans and chest nuts are great for your heart. Make them a part of your mid meal snack or have it with your meals to make most of its benefits on glycemic index of your food, blood pressure and body fat.
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