Spirulina, the so called superfood offers a lot of health benefits such better heart health, better diabetes management, weight loss and more. However, make sure that you buy high quality spirulina to enjoy these benefits. Side effects are also possible if contaminated Spirulina is consumed.
Though spirulina has been consumed in Mexico, Africa and the USA for centuries, it was only in 70s that Spirulina became available in the form of supplements. Today it is available in the form of Spirulina powder, capsules and tablets as well. There are many health benefits of Spirulina and by simply adding it your diet can make you healthier.
Spirulina-What Exactly is this?
Spirulina is a protein, vitamin and mineral laden algae. Not just that, it is also known to have ample quantities of flavonoids, polyphenols, carotenoids and antioxidants. A combination of all these ingredients make is a a powerful superfood that promises many health benefits and healthier heart is one of them. As cardiovascular diseases have become so common across the world, that anything that can provide relief in or lower the CVD symptoms are accepted without any doubt. That is what makes Spirulina a favorite of today’s health conscious generation as well as those of older generation.
No matter how much nutritionists emphasise that ghee causes obesity and causes many other health issues, the fact remains that health benefits of ghee are more than its so-called obesity causing properties. Ghee is clarified butter made from cow or buffalo milk, if you don’t know it already.
Pure Cow Ghee
8 Health Benefits of Ghee
Coming straight to the point, lets talk about how and why eating Ghee is beneficial. No doubt, ghee is a calorie dense food which gives an impression that it causes obesity. Yes, it does if you do not follow the rule of moderation. As I have mentioned in my various other posts that moderation is the key to good health. Anything beyond a certain limit is harmful. The same is true for Ghee. You can add a teaspoonful of ghee in your dal or apply it on your bread, once a day and not with every meal.
Ghee has healthy fat, which adds good cholesterol to the body.
It is one of the best natural immnity boosters.
It has butyric acid, which is known to be anti-cancer.
It is full of anti-oxidants making it a preferable anti-inflammatory agent.
It is good for skin as well. You can apply it on skin and see its effects.
Rich in vitamin K, it helps in calcium absorbtion and makes your bones strong
Ghee enhances taste especially of Asian food.
Relieves constipation
How much Ghee can we eat every day?
This is one of the most frequently asked questions about ghee. The answer is simple, 1 or 2 teaspoonful of ghee in any form can give you all health benefits. However, care should be taken that if you consume more than this quantity without burning the accumulated calories, then you will head for obesity. This is one of the most common mistakes of using ghee. The moment you lose track of moderation, you authenticate the already widespread misconception that Ghee is harmful.
Though various brands of high quality Ghee are available on the market, it can also be made at home.
From curing cold and cough to managing stress, Garlic works wonder for all. A humble natural herb that is a must for those with high sugar or bad cholesterol issue. In fact, 2020 is all about immunity boosting to stay safe from Covid19. Garlic helps you immune system as well.
In Ayurveda, Garlic is considered highly beneficial for curing various types of ailments. In fact, apart from ginger, basil leaves and honey, garlic is one of the most common herbs used by Ayurvedic practitioners. If you can eat garlic on a regular basis, preferably every day, then your chances of getting high blood pressure is very low. However, it is easier said than done. We are going to talk about some of the health benefits of Garlic in this post.
Garlic Peeler and Garlic Press
Garlic for Cholesterol Control
Garlic Health Benefits
Bad cholesterol or LDL is one of the most common health issues that cause heart disease and results in heart attack in most cases. You can easily control or manage your cholesterol level by eating garlic every day. It is pretty simple. All you need to do is eat one or two cloves of raw garlic on empty stomach every morning. The difference will be noticeable in just one or two weeks depending upon your exact health condition.
Garlic Health Benefit-BP Management
High blood pressure or high BP is nothing but a precursor to impending heart disease. The sooner you start managing your blood pressure effectively, the better. Garlic is a natural remedy for blood pressure control and management. This is one of the biggest reasons that Asian people are relatively less likely to develop blood pressure related issues, because they eat garlic in almost every vegetable. Garlic is a prominent spice in almost every Asian home.
Garlic and Immunity
It will not be out of context to mention that garlic is highly beneficial for boosting immunity especially during Covid-19 times. However, the best way to get the maximum immune boosting effect from Garlic is to chew it raw. Though cooked garlic or its supplements work fine, allicin released in your mouth after chewing raw garlic is more effective than all other forms. I’d suggest go for eating raw garlic every day.
Garlic for Detoxification
It has been widely accepted and proven that garlic helps in detoxifying metal toxicity almost naturally. Again, the sulfur in Garlic is what stimulates liver to produce detoxifying enzymes in ample quantity. In fact, employees of a car battery plant were studied to see the effect of garlic. As they were exposed to lead constantly, regular consumption of garlic resulted in remarkable effect i.e. lead level in their blood dropped to 19% and many other symptoms such as headache and blood pressure were also reduced remarkably.
Garlic helps in curing cold and cough
I have mentioned in many of my previous posts that garlic, honey, ginger and basil leaves are highly effective in keeping you safe from cold and cough. Garlic’s sulfur content helps in absorbing trace element Zinc, which itself is a great immunity booster. Simply add a few cloves of garlic in hot mustard oil and eat them. The same oil can be applied on forehead and neck for relief from cold. This is the simplest method.
Garlic Beneficial in Stress Busting
On regular consumption of garlic, your adrenal gland’s response to stress improves. You fell less fatigued and stressed in addition to being able to fight viruses more effectively.
Garlic for Sugar Level Managment
Those suffering from diabetes or high sugar level related issue, must eat garlic on a regular basis. Allicin in garlic manages triglycerides naturally, which in turn manages sugar level to a great extent. Also diabetes often suffer from muscle pain, which is also manged well by garlic due to its anti-inflammatory properties. In fact, as sugar level is managed, it helps in weight management as well.
Do you want to reduce cholesterol? Is LDL or HDL good cholesterol or how much cholesterol in eggs is present. Read about all these and take a look at cholesterol lowering food list.
Want to reduce cholesterol? Why? Is low cholesterol the best solution for burning fat or are there any side effects? Then immediately comes the next question, how much cholesterol per day is required for the body and how much can be reduced. These are some of questions that are often not understood or answered properly. Lets take a look.
Is Cholesterol Good or Bad for Health?
Before answering whether it is good or bad, let’s quickly try to understand what cholesterol is. Cholesterol is a fatty substance required by our body in certain quantity. It plays a vital role in making and functioning of certain hormones. It helps in producing Vitamin D, deficiency of which can cause various health issues such as joint pain related diseases. It also helps in producing some substances that are necessary for digestion. So, we can safely say that cholesterol is good for health, but how much?
There is a lot of information available online and on other media suggesting that high cholesterol is the root cause of heart health or various types of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Though it is partially true, what really needs to be understood is whether it is LDL or HDL. If your LDL level is high, which is often the case, then you need to take action. If your HDL level is high, then you can relax.
LDL or HDL
Basically these are two types of cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). While HDL is good for overall health and LDL is bad for health, or simply put, high LDL level means your arteries start getting clogged. This is kind of onset of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) or the groundwork for heart disease to be visible later.
Hypercholesterolemia
A genetic disorder called hypercholesterolemia is a condition when the cholesterol level in the body is more than 2-4 times higher than average. According to a study, people suffering from hypercholesterolemia should try eliminating carb and not fat from their diet. Read the full report.
What is Normal Cholesterol Range?
Well, the total count of cholesterol consists of LDL, HDL and Triglyceride count. Triglycerides are also certain types of fat produced by our body by converting excess calories. Just like LDL, high triglyceride level is also considered bad for health. So, lets a take a look at healthy and normal cholesterol range.
Cholesterol Level By Age Chart- Normal, High and Borderline
How much cholesterol per day
Now comes the real question. How much cholesterol per day should you eat? As a general rule, if you are a healthy adult, then your daily intake of dietary cholesterol should not exceed 300 mg. If you are already suffering from heart disease, then the upper limit of cholesterol per day should not be more than 200 mg. Cholesterol is a waxy substance produced by the body itself and is found in animal products. Your body can and does produce as much cholesterol as is required for proper functioning of your body.
Cut down on sugar to reduce cholesterol
When you eat saturated fat and trans fat in excess quantity, then your liver is kind of forced to produced more LDL than is required. That is what causes the whole problem. Considering this, experts and doctors recommend that only up to 5-6% of your your daily calorie intake should come from trans fat. Simply put, an adult consuming 2000 Cal per day should not eat more than 10-13 grams of saturated fat per day. A simple and easy way to reduce your cholesterol level is to reduce sugar intake. This makes the task easier and saves you from calorie counting unless you keep on munching on fatty foot as a habit.
Eggs or No Eggs to Lower Cholesterol?
It has often been mentioned that egg yolk increases cholesterol level. There is another group of experts who believe that eating egg is healthy. Egg is one of the healthiest foods. So what is the truth about eggs? It is simple, strike the right balance. If you are eating eggs in breakfast, then go easy on fatty food at lunch. In simple words, a typical egg contains approx. 200 mg of cholesterol and 1.5 gram of saturated fat. So one egg a day is quite safe if do not eat more fatty food. Eating one egg a day does not increase the risk of heart disease unless you are diabetic. Read more. To make it more safe, experts believe up to 5 eggs a week is safe and healthy. Makes sense?
Cholesterol Lowering Food
Though symptoms of high cholesterol are not easily noticeable in early stages, you can be alarmed if you feel chest pain in left side, fullness or pressure in chest quite often, dizziness or slurry speech. Though medical attention is always recommended if pain is severe, you can start consuming cholesterol lowering food as soon as you notice any of these symptoms the first time. So, what are those cholesterol reducing food? Here is a brief list.
It will not be out of context to discuss if low cholesterol is bad or what are its side effects? Though low cholesterol is not so common, it is noticed in some people due to various reasons such as malnutrition, hyperthyroidism liver or kidney diseases. While the reasons can be many, the question is what are its effects on overall health. Though it is a matter of debate, some researchers believe that cholesterol makes hormones and Vitamin D, deficiency of which can affect mental health. Those suffering from low cholesterol can suffer from anxiety and even depression. Read the full report here.
An interesting fact about brain cholesterol is that brain has only 2% of body weight but contains 20% of body cholesterol. And brain makes all of its cholesterol. Read full report here. This report says as brain produces its own cholesterol, low level in the body does not impact its functioning, therefore low blood cholesterol does not necessarily cause mental health problems.
How much water should we drink while eating or can water be used for belly fat loss. Watch the video blow.
Belly fat loss with water hacks
Water has many health benefits such as weight loss, natural detoxification, constipation relief and more. However, many of us don’t know how to use water for health benefits such as weight loss, lowering blood pressure or overall fitness and metal alertness. People often ask, should we drink water while eating? Are there other water hacks that we can use for fat loss in 2020?
Lemon water for belly fat loss- an easy water hack
Honey with water for belly fat burning
Honey is perhaps the only eatable that doesn’t perish. In fact, there are reports that honey found in Egyptian pyramids are still edible. That explains the power, purity and health benefits of honey. Among many health benefits, weight loss is the most popular one in modern times. Belly fat can be burned by using water, honey and lemon. It is a simple recipe. Take a glass of lukewarm water, add a spoonful of honey and squeeze half lemon. Add the mixture properly and drink it the first thing in the morning. Avoid eating anything up to 1 hour after drinking this honey hack for fat loss. Notice the results in as little as 10-15 days. However, do not continue this for more than 15-20 days at a stretch. You can stop and start it after a gap of 15 days.
Warm water with Honey and Lemon for fat loss
How honey works for fat loss
Honey is a natural appetite suppressant, energy booster and immunity booster. If you take honey before going to bed, it starts burning fat in the early hours of your sleep. Honey is fat-free and a great substitute for sugar. In fact if you consume honey, your sugar cravings will vanish and your metabolism will speed up. You will also feel more energetic which will make you more active, and result in faster fat loss effect.
Water helps increase thermogenesis
This basically means that your body produces heat and boosts your metabolism, which helps in fat burning procedure. Read more about thermogenesis and a few other natural herbs that boost this process. Click the image below to find out how metabolism can be boosted up to 7.8 times by using simple tricks, tip and herbs in addition to water.
Herbal Hack for weight loss
Well, drinking water in enough quantity so that it can help you lose weight, is a matter of habit. You cannot expect overnight results by simply gulping down a few glasses of water. In order to notice some significant result, you must develop the habit to remaining hydrated, full and energetic. All of this is possible by working on your habits. Noom app can help you form healthy eating and drinking habits.
Do you eat raw chilli? if you don’t, then consider eating it a few times a week, if not daily. Well people in India and many Asian countries eat raw chilli everyday. And unknowingly, they reap many benefits of chilli including low or well-managed blood pressure. What really happens when you eat chilli is that your metabolism get a boost. It starts working faster, which kind of forces your blood circualtion to work better and more efficiently. Proper blood circualtion itself cures and regulates many health issues.
Chili and LDL or Bad Cholesterol
You may not have noticed that those who eat chilli or like spicy food, are often least likely to have a heart attack. And the reason behind this is chilli’s ability to offset the bad effects of LDL or bad cholesterol. I assume that you are aware that our body needs good cholesterol and must get rid of bad cholesterol for optimal health.
Is chilli good for heart?
In a way, yes because when blood gets pumped throughout your with a boost, you overall cardiovascular health improves, which results in better heart health. However, it doesn’t mean that you start eating more and more chili to cure your heart problem. That would be a lie and I have no intention to misinform you. So eat chilling in a controlled way.
Chili for Better Eye Sight
Have you noticed that your eyesight is weakening
Eating chilic can help. Being a rich source of Vitamin A, chilli improves your clarity of vision, and also reduces the risk of cataract and molecular degenerative diseases that usually start as we age.
Chili helps you feel happy or acts as an anti-depressant
The capsaicin present in green chilli releases endorphin, which is a kind of ‘feel-good’ secretion that helps you keep your mood calm, happy and positive.
Some experts belief that capsaicin present in chilli can prevent some types of cancer. It slows down or inhibits tumour growth. There is strong indication that chill has breast cancer preventing capabilities.
Though initially grown by Romans, Beetroot has spread across the world today. It is one of the many Beta Vulgaris plants of the Amaranthaceae family. One of its many varieties, is sugar beet which is used for producing table sugar. In Indian homes, beetroot is usually consumed as a vegetable or salad item. Being full of many medicinal properties and health benefits, beetroot is also a remarkable natural blood pressure lowering food. If you have high blood pressure, then consider making beetroot part of your regular diet, but make sure that don’t add salt to it. By adding salt, you can rob it off its BP lowering properties.
Beetroot
Beetroot plant grows to a maximum height of 1-2 meters. Its leaves are usually 5-20 cm long and are heart shaped. In addition to the most popular red variety, beetroot is also available in deep red-purple, white and yellow color. White beetroot is used for producing sugar whereas red beet is used for vegetable. Leaf beat or chard is one of its verities, which has been used as medicine by alternative health practitioners for centuries.
Low Calorie Food Beetroot
With very small amount fat and low calorie content, beetroot makes for a perfect health diet for those looking to lose weight. Full of phytochemical compound known as glycine betaine, beetroot works wonders for overall cardio vascular health. Being a rich source of B Complex Vitamins, folate and minerals such as iron, magnesium and potassium, it helps human body perform many body functions effectively.
Helps in fat absorption and reduces chronic inflammation
It speeds up muscle oxygenation that results in high athletic performance
Romans believed it to be an aphrodisiac because it improves blood circulation in genitals, and boosts your sex drive and performance.
Usage of Beetroot
Used as a common vegetable in many parts of the world, beetroot has an important place in Asian especially Indian kitchens and homes.
Use beetroot as salad
Have Beetroot juice regularly if you suffer from hypertension
Use beetroot as a food coloring agent
Enjoy beetroot pickle available in various forms and flavours
Use white variety for sugar production (At commercial level of course, not at home)
It is also used in making rum like distilled spirit
Agricultural surplus of sugar beet is also used to produce bio-butanol fuel in the UK. In order to produce 1 kg of this fuel, 6.22 kg of sugar beet is processed.
Beetroot Side Effects
Though there are no side effects of this natural herb, excess consumption may result in pink color urine or stool, which is completely harmless. Also beet greens and also the root contains oxalate which may be harmful for those who have been diagnosed with oxalate-containing kidney stones. As a general rule, you cannot depend on beetroot alone for all the health benefits. It should be a part of diet and not a substitute of meal either in the form of salad or vegetable. Therefore consume it in moderation and it will work like a super food.
Banana is a natural, convenient and easy-to-digest cardiac diet or heart healthy food for those who are looking to manage their heart health. Watch the video on how banana helps in managing heart health.
Banana to lower blood pressure
As banana is a potassium-rich food, it works wonders for those willing to reduce their blood pressure. Before explaining how banana reduces or balances your blood pressure, let’s take a look at how potassium works and it is actually potassium in banana that brings your blood pressure down.
Do you eat raw chilli, red chilli pepper or any of its different variants? If you do, then chances are that your metabolism is quite fast. However, that cannot be the only reason to assume that you are getting all health benefits of chilli. It goes without saying that the moment we talk about calorie burning, fat loss is obviously the next topic that must be talked about.
Health benefits of chilli
It has been noticed that those who eat chilli or spicy food are less likely to suffer heart attack due to the fact that chilli can reduce the bad effects of LDL or bad cholesterol, which is often the reason behind cardiovascular diseases. The main compound of chilli is capsaicin, which works wonders for inflammation control. As many risk factors of heart diseases are reduced, chilli can be called good for heart health.
Lowers blood pressure
Vitamin A and C are considered good for heart health and muscles. Pepper boosts blood flow through your body and makes your cardiovascular system strong.
Chilli improves vision
Being a rich source of Vitamin A, chilli improves your clarity of vision, and also reduces the risk of cataract and molecular degenerative diseases that usually start as we age.
Works as anti-depressant
If you suffer from frequent mood swings and often end up spoiling your mood, then eating chilli may help. The capsaicin present in green chilli releases endorphin, which is a kind of ‘feel-good’ secretion that helps you keep your mood calm, happy and positive.
Chilli boosts immune system
Your weak immune system is often the reason behind frequent common cold and cough, allergies and similar issues. If you make chilli part of your diet, then you’ll remarkably boost your immune system.
Chilli-highly effective for preventing cancer
It has been proven that capasicin has the power to prevent the growth of cancer cells. It inhibits tumour growth. Medical News Today has cited that Capsaicin might actually have the ability to stop breast cancer. Researchers are at work to find out more about its anti-cancer abilities.
Good for cold, cough and nasal congestion
As chilli is full of beta carotene and antioxidants, your immune system gets a boost if you consume chilli on a regular basis. When your body temperature goes up after eating chilli, your immune system is triggered to fight cold, cough and nasal congestion. In fact, nasal sprays often contain capsaicin for fast effect.
Last but not the least, chilli or spicy pepper speeds up your metabolism, which results in fast calorie burning and reduced appetite. The combined effect of this is visible in weight loss. However, care should be taken in limiting the consumption of chilli to a comfortable level. Simply eating more chilli will not help you burn more fat.
Chilli or capsaicin based weight loss supplement
How about using a supplement that can offer you all health benefits of chilli in one or two capsules a day? In fact, this is an easy and effective way to burn fat without actually eating chilli, the taste of which is bitter, and is not liked by all. Capsiplex is one such weight loss supplement that works wonders for most people.
In fact, many celebrities such as Roxanne Pallett have used and endorsed this product after using it. The results are remarkable and you also get a 60-day risk-free guarantee if you buy if from its official site. Click the image above to order now.
Have you had a heart attack recently, and want to prevent further attacks? You guessed it right, we are talking about cardiac rehabilitation program, but not the conventional one. It is the natural version of it. Yoga based cardiac rehabilitation, which is neither expensive nor inconvenient. A study was conducted by Indian Council for Medical Research and Medical Research Council (UK). Its result was presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Session in Chicago.
Natural therapy for heart attack patients
The researchers studied 4000 patients who suffered heart attacks and were discharged from hospitals. The participants were asked to undergo a structured YogaCaRe programme as an alternative to or additional cardiac rehabilitation programme.
What is Yoga CaRe (Cardiac Rehabilitation)
As the name suggests, it is a care programme for cardiac patients who have had a heart attack. The programme consists of 13 yoga sessions, which include:
Lifestyle advice to be followed after a heart attack
Generic yoga plus modern lifestyle
The programme is essentially a combination of generic yoga and modern lifestyle practices that can be modified or improved for better health. As yoga can be practised by anyone following any faith or religion, the programme has been designed keeping in mind that it is suitable for all sects and faiths.
“The Yoga-CaRe Trial, the largest trial on yoga as well as cardiac rehabilitation, has shown the potential of yoga to be an alternative to the conventional CR programmes and address the unmet needs of cardiac rehabilitation for patients in low-and middle-income countries. It is safe, relatively inexpensive, does not need an elaborate infrastructure, culturally acceptable and improves quality of life.”
-Prof Prabhakaran, vice-president of the Public Health Foundation of India and principal investigator of the study. Read the full report here.
Benefits of deep breathing
I’d like to mention that despite breathing being the most essential body function, its importance is often ignored as it happens naturally. What really makes the difference is deep and conscious breathing, which we often don’t care about. Those who can make time for deep breathing every day realise and feel the positive difference due to:
Though taking deep breath in the morning hours is most beneficial, you can do it anytime of the day, as long as the air is fresh and not polluted. There are many breathing techniques, which we’ll cover in another post.
Deep breathing to lower blood pressure
As we hardly breath deeply, we usually don’t get the maximum possible benefits of deep breathing. Those with high blood pressure can notice remarkable difference in their blood pressure after practicing deep breathing regularly. All you need to do is make time, some 5-10 minutes every morning to breathe deeply.
