Do you know that rural Japanese people are some of longest living people in the world? In fact, it is quite common for people living in Okinawa to exceed 100 years without suffering from any mental or physical illness. What makes them live healthy? Is there any secret Japanese diet they follow? Well, that is partially true, but there is no secret. They believe in their ancient health traditions, and diet is just part of that. What if you also followed their diet system? You’ll be leaner, fitter and more active than you currently are. We’ll also talk about a one week diet that can help you lose 3 pounds in a week.
Is ancient Japanese diet effective and practical in today’s world?
In ancient times, people worked in harmony with their bodies and the environment they lived in. This lifestyle helped them maintain their body lean, fit, muscular and strong. It goes without saying that if you are physically and mentally healthy; your ability to work and overall performance goes up. That is the secret of an average Japanese’s good health. Though discovered by chance, Japanese diet has been proven by modern scientists and researchers for its remarkable health benefits, including weight loss.
What is traditional Japanese diet
The traditional diet followed by Japanese people is almost next to a perfect diet that you can imagine. While the emphasis is on vegetables, seafood and rice, you will find a lot of varieties to suit your taste buds. The flavoursome Japanese food is one of the healthiest diets for overall health. Do not be disappointed if you are a chicken or meat lover. You have a lot of varieties such as Chicken Tariyaki or Beef Yakitori. However, you might be slightly disappointed if you are a sweet lover as a Japanese diet does not include desserts, pastries or sweets.
It depends on your preferences. If good health, mental alertness or physical agility is on your mind, then Japanese food is an ideal option. However, those preferring taste over health, should go for standard European diet. We do not mean that traditional Japanese diet is bland, but it usually takes time for westerners to get used to this diet.
Are you above 40 and thinking that developing hip flexibility or spinal flexibility at this age will not be possible? If yes, then read on. Hitting 40 is not an excuse to deprive yourself of good health, stamina and joint-pain free life you really deserve. However, what is important is to understand and choose quality lifestyle and diet plans that work. Flexible yoga, as the name suggests is what you can try for back and hip flexibility, which is what keeps your overall fitness in good shape.
What is flexible yoga?
As mentioned in one of our previous posts that yoga is not just a set of asanas or postures, flexible yoga is also not just about physical suppleness, but also covers mental health and calmness. However, we’ll keep the topic limited to physical flexibility for now. The basic idea behind flexible yoga is to develop suppleness in muscles and joints by using the most suitable set of asanas. As your spine becomes more flexible, you start gaining more stamina and overall better health. We’ll discuss mental flexibility or adaptability in our other posts.
Flexibility starts diminishing from childhood
Yes, it is often true because modern children spend so much time sitting or doing sedentary activities that their bones and joints start losing their flexibility quite early in life. It speeds up later as they choose sedentary jobs and stop doing even simple tasks such as climbing stairs (at least up to 2-3 floors) because taking elevator is easy and fast. However, what they don’t understand is that it is causing more harm than any good to their joints and overall health. In fact, children should be encouraged for outdoor activities.
Flexible spine-key to overall good health
Many of us do not realise how important flexibility of spine is. In fact, many yogis or yoga practitioners also believe that simply by keeping your spine flexible, good health can be achieved. Though slightly exaggerated, this is often true unless you are suffering from any special health condition which calls for medical treatment. There are various stretching exercises and yogic postures that work wonders for those suffering from stiffness of muscles and joints.
Are you on a keto diet and smelling like cat litter? This could be due to your keto diet, which has many health benefits. However, every good thing has some downsides, and keto diet is no exception. Keto breath or keto odour is simply an unpleasant side-effect of keto diet.
Smelly sweat and urine-side effect of Ketosis
Once you start taking a keto diet, your body starts undergoing several changes as it has to process carbless food. You body suddenly starts relying on fat and protein for energy, instead of using carbohydrates. This type of protein or ketones have acetone, which is exhaled in the form of smelly sweat and urine.
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.
In our last post, we talked about aging in general or the signs of aging and how to reduce them. Though it is true that aging cannot be stopped, it is also true that you are as old as you think yourself to be. It depends on your brain or thoughts. If you can think like a young mind, your body will respond accordingly and you’ll feel young. Here, the role or thought process of male or female brains comes into picture.
Does female brain age slowly?
According to recent studies and a report published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, female brains age slower than male brains. It is a great news for women, because now they can proudly claim to be mentally younger than their biological age.However, in some women, metabolic rate declines very fast around menopause, which may lead to Alzheimer’s disease.
An assistant professor of radiology and neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, says “Females had a younger brain age relative to males,”
We have covered metabolism a lot in our previous posts, but they mainly focused on physical metabolism. What about mental metabolism? The metabolism for your brains is what is responsible for your learning abilities and creativity.
This is quite noticeable in girls from the early age. Girls usually start speaking much before boys of the same age. The same is true for development of their creative skills, which develop more as girls start maturing. This is partially due to the structural difference between male and female brains.
You must have noticed that girls in general speak more than boys. The reason behind this is that they have verbal centres on both sides of the brain. Males have verbal centre only on the left side.
When was the last time you learned or did something new? Don’t remember? Then chances are that you have signs of ageing and you are looking for ways to reverse the signs of ageing. Though you may not like it, the irony is that nobody can stop ageing as far as the number of years are concerned. However, the good news is that ageing has a lot to do with what and how you feel about yourself and not the number that get added to your age every year.
It won’t be out of context to mention that an 86 years old can feel as young as a 25 year old by believing that age is just a number. What really matters is how old your consider yourself. Here is a nice video by B S Patil Patil .
Bylahalli Raghunath Janardan 86 Old Marathon runner, the oldest cyclist , a role model for those who start feeling old after crossing 40 years.
Is age really just a number?
Well, I think yes, as long as you can defy the signs of aging associated with that number. In order to do that, you need to keep growing every day instead of aging every day. Sounds unrealistic? It is not, if your think realistically and act accordingly. Read on.
Here are ways to grow to reverse the signs of aging
1.Learn something new every day
What exactly is your passion? If you haven’t thought about it, then it is still not too late no matter how old you are. Have you ever watched a kid enjoying the beauty of ordinary things such as cycling, running, playing or chasing butterflies? They enjoy these activities because they learn something or simply have fun by those activities. Why can’t you learn something new and enjoy that experience as an adult? What is stopping you from learning. Obviously, you need not run after butterflies. It can just a be a new word, a new language or any other activity/hobby you are passionate about.
2.Get out of your comfort zone
If you have already learned something new, don’t stop. Either upgrade your skill or learn something new, if you have reached your comfort level in doing that activity. Bottom line is that you must be active mentally and physically by every possible means. By trying to come out of your comfort zone, you are actually learning or doing something new. This keeps you energetic, and eliminates the signs of aging.
3.Meet more people, make friends
Have you noticed that politicians, media professionals and social activists often live longer than those spending their whole time doing a 9-5 job? At the core of this longevity is their interaction with different people every day. Every time you meet or speak to a new person, your mind is actually processing something new such as the name of the person, his/her issues that you are talking about and more. As they often need to meet them again, they remember their names and issues. Meet more people, make friends, not just online friends but other friends you can meet quite often.
Are you not good at remembering names?
If you believe that saying that you are not good at remembering names is a cool way of showing that you are cool, then is it a sign that your mind doesn’t want to accept anything new. You are in your comfort zone, unwilling to learn something new. In other words, you are aging now.
4.Quit smoking, if you do
No matter how much kick or high you get from smoking, it essentially weakens your learning abilities and triggers negative feelings after the initial kick fizzles out.
5.Cut down on alcohol
Well, I have mentioned in one of my previous posts that it is widely accepted that drinking alcohol is good for heart health. However, it does not mean that you need alcohol to keep healthy. In fact, quitting alcohol is what is recommended if you want to slow down aging process.
6. Physical fitness helps in reversing the signs of aging
The internet is full of tips, tricks and methods to remain fit. Choose what suits your body type the best. What really matters is fitness no matter what method what you choose. Physical fitness gives you energy, strength and zeal to try and learn new things.
How about spending just 90 minutes a week to discover new you and to slow the aging process to a crawl? Grab Old School New Body by Steve and Becky Holman if you want to look a decade younger.
Top excuse that makes you age faster
No time- I am afraid, that is not true. Nature or God, if that is what you’d prefer to say, has not done any partiality in allotting time to every individual. All have just 24 hours every day to enjoy, feel sick, stay happy, complain or crib. It is just a matter of your choice or priority that you spend your extra time on.
I have no time to do anything extra
Then you’d pay the price by falling sick, aging fast or simply getting depressed. Have you noticed that we eat our meals and do all our routine activities no matter what, within those 24 hours ? Why cannot you make time to do little activities that keep you happy or help you grow? In fact, I’d say that learning something new every day is the easiest way to keep growing, which will slow down your ageing process.
A 68 year old, perfectly healthy person keeps learning to stay fit
It would not be out of context to mention a few things about my conversation with a 68 year old person learning how to drive. I cannot forget the glow on his face when he proudly said that he could not learn how to drive due to many factors and circumstances during his youth, but he enjoyed learning this simple art or skill at the age of 68. On digging deeper about his life and experiences, I found that he has no blood pressure, diabetes or heart ailments. What keeps him healthy are his ability and inclination to keep learning new things. He further told me that he learned more new things after he retired than what he learned during his working life.
Do you feel sleepy in office quite often? Is it because of the fact that you don’t sleep properly due to extra workload? Do you have any sleep related medical issue? If none of these is your problem, then what could be the reason behind feeling sleepy in office?
First and foremost, I must say that 7 to 8 hours of sleep is required by all adults. If your total number of sleep hours is less than that, then you must change your sleeping habits. Though I agree that sleeping habit cannot be changed so easily, it is worth a try. You will notice a remarkable difference in your overall energy level and performance.
Do you prioritise your sleep?
It is startling that only 10% of American adults prioritise their sleep over other activities, despite being aware of the fact that sleep is highly important for overall health. As per NATIONAL SLEEP FOUNDATION’S 2018 SLEEP IN AMERICA® POLL, that among U.S. adults with excellent sleep health, nearly 90% say they feel very effective at getting things done each day. Read the full report.
Obesity makes you feel sleepy
This is a no brainer. If you are obese or overweight, you will find it difficult to do physical activities. This will prompt you to find alternatives or to avoid doing them at all, whenever possible. This makes you more obese and worsens the situation. In fact, the more you fight your initial reluctance to get involved in physical activities, the easier it will be for you to overcome your sleepiness.
Slow metabolism behind sleepiness
Well, the real issue that makes you lazy and sleepy is your slow metabolism if you don’t have any sleep related issue. In order to boost your metabolism, you need to understand why your metabolism is slow.
Constipation
Are your bowel movements not regular or do you feel constipated often? This is one of the most neglected digestive problems. Constipation is the root cause of more than 15 diseases and obesity is one of them. When your digestive system is not able to digest food properly, the undigested food gets deposited in your colon. Initially, it results in bloating and flatulence, but later, the deposited food start producing toxins giving rise to many ailments including cardiovascular and heart issues.
Dehydration
Are you not drinking enough water? No matter how busy you are, make sure that you drink 8-10 glasses of water every day. Please note that you feel thirsty when your body needs water to keep its basic functions working. Dehydration starts much earlier. So, do not wait for feeling thirsty. Drink water whenever you can.
Sedentary lifestyle
As an IT professional, you cannot change your job profile to keep yourself physically active. However, what you can do is, avoid automated options if you can do certain activities manually such as taking the stairs instead of elevators, cycling to work if time permits or gardening on weekends. These activities will make you more active and healthy.
Hypothyroidism
Thyroid gland regulates many functions of our body, and metabolism is one of them. When your thyroid gland does not produce enough of these hormones, you are referred to as suffering from hypothyroid, which drains your energy, and you feel tired and sleepy.
Ways to combat sleepiness at work
Take a break every ninety minutes. Just take a walk, spend a few minutes with one of your colleagues you haven’t spoken to for weeks. Or simply drink a glass of water by walking to the cafeteria or coffee machine/water dispenser area.
Look away from your computer screen every 15-20 minutes. Simply looking at an object away from your screen will relax your eyes, and you’ll feel less tired than usual.
If you cannot keep awake, then start a conversation and continue it for a few minutes. This will energise you and keep sleepiness at bay.
Take a nap, if you can
Modern work culture encourages achieving end results and timely delivery. This simply means that it often doesn’t matter how you manage your work. If you work smartly, you can definitely save 15 -30 minutes for a power nap, which will boost your performance even more. However, care should be taken that you don’t violate the standard work ethics at your workplace by managing your power nap smartly.
Long-term solution to overcome sleepiness
As already mentioned above that slow metabolism, obesity and lack of physical activities are the root causes of fatigue and sleepiness, if there is no other medical issue. So,we can safely say that taking steps to speed up your metabolism to lose weight is the most effective way to remain alert, active and healthy.
Want to try a metabolism booster?
Why not start with cleansing and detoxing your body first? This will help your body prepare for weight loss. In fact, you’ll start noticing the difference as soon as toxins are flushed out of your body. Though there are many home remedies and methods to detoxify your body, you can try a few options that combine the benefit of home remedies and tested formulas. The Forskolin 250 and Detox Pure combo is one such formula that works wonders for those looking to boost their metabolism and burn fat simultaneously.
The current offer comes with a 60-day money back guarantee and is shipped across the world. Read more about Forskolin.
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.
If you believe that working late until past midnight and getting up early in just 5 hours is a smart way to manage things, then think again. You must be paying a heavy price for it. You don’t realise when sleep deprivation kicks in. However, its symptoms can be noticed in your behaviour, inability to handle difficult situations and unnecessary anger. Lack of sleep is more common than you think. In fact, most people don’t realise that they are suffering from lack of sleep until the situation becomes really serious. We’ll take a look at lack of sleep symptoms and remedies.
Lack of sleep-Symptoms
Do you have difficulty concentrating on work at hand or do you feel tired in the office all day? Once in while, you may feel tired if you party whole night or stay awake for any reason and come to office the next day. However, do not take this tiredness or fatigue lightly if you feel so quite often.
Here are symptoms of lack of sleep
Feeling sleepy or drowsiness all day
Frequent mood swings
Increased anger
Inability to handle difficult or slightly stressful situations
Increased negative emotions such as anxiety and sadness
How to minimise or reverse the effect of sleep deprivation
Avoid stressful situations– It simply means that you must not commit more than you can deliver. Try to finish your work before the actual deadline to avoid any last-minute rush or stress.
Do not keep your cell phone in your bedroom– It has been proven that waves emitted from cellphones interfere with our sleep waves. Though some people remain unaffected by keeping their phone in their bedrooms, others start suffering from lack of sleep. Keep your phone away while you are sleeping.
Waiting is better than rushing– Always try to reach your workplace before time. This will be less stressful as waiting is easier and less stressful than rushing.
Take power naps– 15-20 minutes of power naps at your workplace can work wonders for you. Though at most workplaces, a 15-20 minute nap should not be a problem, make sure that you manage it tactfully i.e without causing any harm to your job. You can often work more effectively after taking a nap, than working in a drowsy state.
Take coffee when you really need it– Caffeine will help you fight sleepiness effectively, so make sure that you take coffee when you really need something to maintain your alertness. Also, do not consume caffeine late in the evening as it may interfere with your night sleep patterns.
Sleep music
Do you remember lullabies your grandmother sung to you to make you fall asleep? While those are meant to make a child sleep, somewhat similar is the purpose of sleep music, which is fast catching on. It has been scientifically proven that music with a rhythm of about 60 beats a minute helps people fall asleep. Essentially, this type of music slows your heart rate, lowers your blood pressure and relaxes your muscles. These are the pre-conditions for sound sleep. The effect of sleep music help many people sleep quickly and for a long duration.
Sleep meditation
Those who want to get to the root of the problem by going the extra mile, may try sleep meditation or Yoga Nidra. Many people believe that sleep meditation and deep sleep are the same. They are different. During deep sleep, your consciousness is suspended, while during sleep mediation you are completely relaxed, but your conscious mind is at work. Practising this technique will help you achieve natural sleep effortlessly.
In one of my previous posts, I talked about intermittent fasting for those who can do it effectively. Another effective and relatively easier way to burn fat is to eat one meal a day for weight loss. I tried this method for 15 days and noticed a remarkable difference, i.e I lost 2.02 pounds almost effortlessly in two weeks. So we can safely say that by eating one meal a day or OMAD as it is popularly referred to across the web, you can lose one pound a week.
