Health and Beauty: 11/20/17

Monday 20 November 2017

Health benefits of the humble turmeric

We are all so used to turmeric (haldi), that by now we’ve taken it for granted. Yet, haldi has such tremendous medicinal value, that this\ narrowly escaped being patented outside India.

Turmeric is a root that is as popular as ginger in Ayurveda. Many of its beneficial aspects are due to its active compound, curcumin. Curcumin has a profoundly anti-inflammatory effect on the body, and provides a good defence system against diseases.

Inflammation is the body’s reaction to toxic elements in our environment, such as water with heavy chlorine, air pollution, unhealthy oil (trans fats), stress, lack of sleep, and overuse of chemical aromas, deodorants, cleaning agents, etc.

This reaction can damage the skin and blood vessels, causing liver problems, arthritis, cholesterol blocks and various other issues. Haldi, therefore, makes a good preventive medicine. Here’s how:

For a healthy liver: A decoction of crushed and boiled turmeric and ginger root manages fatty liver, poor liver function and gall stones. Also, take milk thistle capsules twice a day for one month.

For arthritis: Rheumatic knee pain responds best to a vegetable soup with added haldi at dinner time. Also fast intermittently, taking only haldi-based vegetable soups at dinner. Avoid processed cheese, pickles and fermented and packaged foods.

Also use a topical paste made of haldi in a few drops of til oil, plus eucalyptus oil, with a pinch each of sendha namak and camphor. Apply on the joint and leave on for a few hours.

For your skin: To the age-old haldi and chandan paste, add a teaspoon of gram powder and a capsule of sea buckthorn oil.

For general well-being: A glass of haldi cooked in hot milk taken every night will take care of internal infections and inflammations.

NOTE: For true therapeutic benefits, only use organic turmeric root, and grind or crush it at home.

Drinking coffee may reduce liver diseases risk: study

Drinking coffee may reduce liver diseases: Drinking three to five cups of coffee regularly may reduce the risk of liver cancer and cirrhosis, according to a report. The report presented at the Royal Society of Medicine in London discussed potential impact of moderate coffee consumption on chronic liver disease, liver cancer and cirrhosis.“Liver disease is on the rise and it is important that we understand how coffee, one of the most popular drinks in the world, and diet affects the disease,” said Graeme Alexander, from the University College London in the UK. “Research suggests that coffee may reduce the risk of liver diseases and it is important patients have access to dietary information and advice from health care professionals in a manner that is easy for them to understand and act upon,” Alexander said.Meta-analyses have suggested that coffee consumption versus no coffee consumption is associated with up to a 40 per cent risk reduction of liver cancer, although this appears to be a dose-dependent relationship. Research from the US and Italy suggests that coffee consumption is consistently associated with a reduced risk of cirrhosis, with a potential risk reduction of 25-70 per cent, according to the report.Another research suggests an inverse association between coffee consumption and risk of chronic liver disease, with an average risk reduction of 25-30 per cent in low coffee consumers, and up to 65 per cent in high coffee consumers.

“Liver disease is a silent killer as often there are no symptoms until it’s too late,” Judi Rhys, from the British Liver Trust. Drinking coffee may reduce liver diseases. “Coffee is something that is easily accessible to everyone and regularly drinking it – filtered, instant or espresso – may make a difference in preventing and, in some cases, slowing down the progression of liver disease,” said Rhys.

5 Amazing Benefits of Drinking Green Tea for Your Skin

You must have heard about variety of health benefits of green tea but did you hear about its beauty benefits? Yes, it’s true that green tea also works well for you are concerned about your extrinsic beauty. Regular consumption of green tea will help you getting a very glowing and soft skin as it would eradicate toxins from your body replacing it with healthy minerals and vitamins. The amount of antioxidant present in it works in a wonderful way in removing all harmful oxidants in your body.

Anti-ageing

Green tea is loaded with antioxidants that really help to improve the mobile renewal procedure. As a result the skin looks younger and healthier than before. Green green tea can reverse the style of lines and help to make dark sections disappear from your skin.

Sun protection

Drinking and applying green tea extract on the skin protects it from the harmful ultra violet rays. This is also incredibly useful prevent tanning.

Glowing skin

When the toxins and impurities usually are flushed out of the skin, it’s obvious your skin will appear brighter and lighter. For glowing and spotless epidermis, have green tea extract regularly.

Protects against skin cancer

Packed with loads of antioxidants, green tea helps in combating cancer. This is also true in case of skin cancer. Besides, green tea is additionally effective in protecting the skin from Ultra violet rays that result in melanoma or maybe skin cancers.

Fights acne

Green tea treats the epidermis by getting rid of all the unwanted toxins. As the toxins are flushed out, acne is cured and you attain a flawless and youthful skin.

5 grab-and-go healthy foods for women

Quick Bites

Low-salt popcorn is an excellent snacking options.
Almonds, peanuts, and cashews are great choices.
You can carry a few boiled eggs to work.

In today's bustling world, on-the-go snacking is inevitable. Snacking, at a time when the world is accentuating the importance of healthy food, definitely gets a bad rap. It is not easy to make a healthy snack because everything at the supermarket is labelled “healthy food” and such buzz words even when the truth is far from real.

Women, especially need to keep their health tank full and the easiest way to do that is to keep lots of mobile edibles. So, what are some grab-and-go fitness foods for women? Let’s help you find some healthy snacks that actually boost energy without giving a sugar crash and will also keep you satiated, maintaining calorie count.

Frozen fruits and vegetables

Frozen fruits and vegetables can be your food or go-to thing to graze on when you are hungry. They are nutrient dense and can be layered with other healthful edibles such as yogurt for a tasteful preparation. Cut-up carrots, celery and packaged beets can be great too.

Popcorn

Plain and low-salt varieties of popcorn are excellent snacking options. Apart from being healthful, you can flavour them with other nutritional foods such as nuts, grated Parmesan cheese and herbs.

Nuts and seeds

If you are a working woman, this is one of the best snacks for you. Almonds, peanuts, and cashews are great choices for snacks to be munched on during breaks. Easy to carry, nuts and seeds have an incredibly high nutritional value. Besides, you can add them to your rice preparations, salads and pastas.

Soy nuts

Soy nuts make a good snacking option; they contain far less fat and more protein than peanuts. Apart from protein, fibre, healthy fats, minerals and vitamins, soy nuts are an easy way to get isoflavones. Moreover, you can choose from different flavours, such as salted or paprika.

Boiled eggs

Eggs are inexpensive, one of the best sources of protein and are loaded with antioxidants and other essential nutrients. These satisfy hunger besides providing a foundation for muscle-building and even weight loss. Before leaving for work, carry a few boiled eggs.

When you don’t have the time leverage, these snacking options can save you. You don’t have to eat junk food just because you’re in a hurry. Keep your healthy eating plan on course with these on-the-go snacks.

Eating nuts makes you more intelligent, study finds

Nuts could improve brain function, which is linked to cognition, healing, learning and memory, according to researchers at Loma Linda University.

Pistachios were the best nuts for improving cognitive processing and learning, the study claimed. It also found pistachios could help people retain information for longer.

Sleep quality could also be improved by eating peanuts - which technically aren’t a nut because they grow in the ground, but were still part of the study.

All of the nuts tested were high in antioxidants, according to the researchers. Antioxidants play an important role in reducing the risk of infection, and improving heart health.

“This study provides significant beneficial findings by demonstrating that nuts are as good for your brain as they are for the rest of your body,” said the study’s lead researcher, Lee Berk.

He expected future studies to reveal that nuts played even more roles in the brain, and to the overall nervous system.

Pistachios had the greatest gamma wave response in the study, compared with almonds, cashews, peanuts, pecans and walnuts.

That means it was the best nut for boosting brain function, perception and for remembering as much information as possible.

Peanuts, meanwhile, had the highest delta response, which is liked to natural healing, a healthy immune system, and deep sleep.

Walnuts had the most antioxidants per nut, which could help to prevent cancers developing, according to the National Cancer Institute.

The findings were revealed after the scientists analysed people who ate the six different types of nuts. Their brains were scanned to measure the signal of brainwaves, and nine parts of the brain were analysed for activity.

Previous research has shown nuts benefit the body in several ways.

They help to protect the heart, fight cancer, reduce inflammation and slow the raging process.

Meanwhile, earlier this week it was revealed that eating a handful of nuts twice a week could slash the risk of developing heart disease by almost a quarter.

Nutritionists wanted the daily recommended intake of nuts to be raised, to reduce the risk of chronic diseases, they said.

Foods that fight Cold and flu during Rainy Season

Chicken soup

There's a reason your mom always had a bowl of this at the first sign of sniffles. Not only does chicken soup provide the fluids you need to help fight off viruses, but it also reduces the inflammation that triggers symptoms and leads to more colds.

Citrus fruits

Vitamin C, most commonly found in citrus fruits, is an antioxidant that can reduce cold symptoms by 23 percent, studies have found. A review of 21 studies found that just 1 to 8 grams (1,000 to 8,000 milligrams) of the vitamin will do the trick, which you can get from supplements or from citrus fruits, red bell peppers, broccoli, brussels sprouts, butternut squash, papaya, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes.

Honey

Honey is often touted as a cure-all for everything from burns (put raw honey on a burn as soon as possible to speed healing) to cuts and scrapes (honey's natural antiseptic properties allow it to work a bit like hydrogen peroxide). Because it coats your throat, it's a great cold- and flu-friendly sore throat reliever, and its antioxidant and antimicrobial properties help fight infections from viruses, bacteria, and fungi.

Are You Sleeping On Your Stomach? Then, You Must Read This!

So, is it actually bad to sleep on your stomach? The answer to this is - yes! Sleeping on your stomach can turn out to be taxing for your back and neck.

This can lead to a poor sleep and discomfort throughout your body. If you're pregnant, you need to be specially careful about your sleeping position.

Many stomach sleepers are known to experience some kind of a pain. Whether it is the neck, back or the joints, this pain can determine there is something not right about your sleeping posture.

More pain means that you're likely to wake up in the middle of the night and feel less rested in the morning.

How Does Sleeping On Your Stomach Exactly Affect You

Sleeping on your stomach places a strain on your back and spine. This is because most of your weight is in the middle of the neck. Hence, this can make it difficult to maintain a neutral spine position when you're sleeping.

Stress on the spine can increase the stress on the other structures in the body. Since the spine is a pipeline for your nerves, spinal stress can cause pain just about anywhere in your body.

You might also experience tingling and numbness as if parts of your body have fallen asleep. Sleeping on your stomach can also affect your neck. It puts your head and spine out of alignment, as you tilt your head to the side while sleeping on your stomach. Overtime, neck problems can arise due to this.

What Can Sleeping In This Position Do To Your Body?

Sleeping in this position for prolonged hours can cause a herniated disk. This can cause a rupture of the gelatinous disk between your vertebrae. When this gel bulges out from the disk, it can irritate the nerves.

If you're pregnant, then you've got to be extra careful. Of course, it's almost as impossible to sleep on your stomach late into your pregnancy, but you'll have to avoid it early on. The extra weight around the middle can increase the pull on your spine.

So, after reading this, we hope you try to get rid of this behaviour of sleeping on your stomach once and for all!

Antibiotics, boon or bane?

Chennai: Antibiotics are miracle drugs for sure, but there are also side effects associated with the indiscriminate use of these drugs that can potentially be life-threatening. This Antibiotic Awareness Week, doctors emphasise the importance to educate people about the use of various antibiotics available. The intake of heavy dose antibiotics that are freely dispensed at the pharmacies without prescriptions from doctors can prove to be poisonous, as regular use of antibiotics makes the body resistant to the drugs.

“Pharmacists have become doctors and people flock to such stores in case of mild fever, cold and cough, and buy antibiotics over the counter. However, these ‘doctors’ do not check the dosage or the course of the drug needed as per the medical condition of the patient, which makes the body drug resistant. In case of these ailments later in life, doctors have to prescribe stronger medication to cure the patient”, said Dr Kapali Neelamekam, senior consultant, gastro and minimal invasive surgery, Fortis Malar Hospital.

Doctors state that the human body itself has a doctor, a hospital and a drug store within as White Blood Corpuscles act as soldiers to keep away bacterial infections, but pumping in of antibiotics by an individual disrupts the inbuilt capability of the WBC to fight back, reducing the immunity of the body.

“Indiscriminate use of antibiotics will render the body with low immunity, making an individual depend on antibiotics, which is more dangerous. Various body organs, including liver and lungs, apart from digestive system, can be harmed due to antibiotic abuse. Organ failure is a common problem due to overuse of antibiotics”, said Dr Kirushna Kumar, consultant gastroenterologist, Meenakshi Mission Hospital.

Dr Kirushna Kumar adds that regular use of antibiotics can also hamper the growth of brain cells, as antibiotics also disturb the balance of body systems due to the chemical reactions as they act on infection—causing microbes. People also use old prescriptions of antibiotics for similar symptoms, even though the actual diagnosis can be ‘dangerously different’.

Antibiotics are believed to be an incredibly valuable tool when facing serious bacterial infections, but the trend has been to overprescribe antibiotics, and that trend is leading to very serious consequences, as overuse of antibiotics can be life-threatening and needs to be controlled.

Internet medication can be dangerous
Self-medication using the Internet has become a common practice of the people and this has led to use of antibiotics, without prescriptions. Regulation of drugs based on its medical value and potential for abuse by enforcing classification of scheduled drugs is not practised. “A large section of general population takes antibiotics for viral fevers, cold and coughs even when these drugs are not required, damaging their digestive system also. There are no regulations on usage of antibiotics and ban on some medicines remains only on paper. Today we can get these drugs at many pharmacies, even without a prescription”, said Dr R. Shanti, member, Doctors' Association for Social Equality.

Beware before you pop in a paracetamol
The increasing abuse of most commonly used antibiotic, paracetamol is
causing concern. People pop in paracetamol tablets just at the thought of ‘feeling feverish’ unaware of the fact that it can even lead to liver damage.
“Paracetamol poisoning, which is the indiscriminate use of paracetamol and paracetamol overdose could cause serious liver damage. In the UK, the most common cause of acute liver failure is paracetamol poisoning. We don’t have as many cases of paracetamol poisoning in India currently, but the practice is not very uncommon. The liver can take a serious hit even for a dose of 2-2.5 grams per day if it is in a borderline condition”, said Dr M. Selva Kumar, consultant, Liver ICU, Apollo Hospitals.

Coffee, tea, or Red Bull: what's the healthiest way to get your caffeine fix?

Caffeine makes the world go round, or so we believe. In the UK, we drink approximately 55 million cups of coffee per day . Without it, we'd be drooling over our keyboards using matchsticks to prop open our half closed eyelids.

Last month, two studies showed that a single cup a day reduces the risk of dying early from any cause, and dramatically cuts the chance of death from digestive problems. Whoever said all news is bad news?

However, coffee and more precisely the caffeine within it, is a psychoactive substance, can be highly addictive and has a profound effect on our brain functioning. Clearly, it can have adverse effects, which is why Rhiannon Lambert, Harley street nutritionist and founder of Rhitrition.com, says she tells clients with depression or anxiety to refrain completely. "However," adds Lambers, "for the athletes I work with, caffeine can be a very useful tool. For example, it can have both an adverse and a positive effect on weight management."

And those benefits apply to the general worker, too. Caffeine puts us in a state of alertness; a coffee before a meeting can raise your game, helping you to concentrate and decreasing your mental perception of how hard a task can be. It also makes us more productive as a workforce, as an MIT study from 2010 proved.

So, what's the best way to get that all-important caffeine hit? Should you sip it from tea or slam it in the form of a pull? Here, we weigh up the different sources of caffeine readily available in your work's canteen.

Comparison:

Coffee

“Studies show that regularly drinking tea or coffee reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes," says Dr Lucy Chambers, senior scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation, "but try to avoid adding sugar as this increases the risk of poor dental health and weight gain."

As previously noted, coffee drinkers are putting themselves in a good position for a series of conditions that can creep up on us in our later years. For example, coffee drinkers have up to an 84pc lower risk of developing cirrhosis, a condition in which the liver is damaged.

Another plus for the black stuff is its weight loss credentials. Coffee boosts your metabolism, so it is often used as a stimulant before exercise to put the body in an energy-burning state. However, at the same time, the beans cause your body to increase the rate at which it secretes cortisol, which can lead to overeating and weight gain.

Coffee is also strong – often containing twice or more times the caffeine content of tea. And as too much caffeine can cause anxiety, the coffee drinker is encouraged to proceed with caution.

One last point is worth making here: coffee from the high street varies wildly in caffeine content. One cup might contain 90mgs, another 180mgs. The current daily safe limit for most people is set at 400mgs, so it's easy to see how you can 'OD' if you don't choose your cup carefully.

Builder's tea

A strong tea probably has around 50mgs of caffeine, so you need to drink roughly double to get the same hit as a cup of coffee.

One obvious benefit of doing so is the milk you get in the process. While coffee is often consumed black, builders tea should be nice and milky – and therefore pumped full of lovely nutrients. Here, a word of caution: full fat milk can have hidden, unwanted consequences, says Chambers: "Adding milk provides you with calcium, iodine and B vitamins, but choose lower fat milks to reduce the amount of saturated fat in your diet”. Saturated fats have proven to raise the 'bad' cholesterol in your body, while putting you at higher risk of heart disease.

Interestingly, the caffeine in tea acts very differently in the body to the caffeine in coffee. "It's not as fast releasing as the caffeine in coffee," explains Lambert, "so you don't get that sharp high that people get from coffee. The caffeine interacts with the amino acid L-theanine in tea so that when it hits our brain it sends it into relaxation mode."

This means that even though tea doesn't have as high a caffeine content as coffee, it is possibly a lot better option when you're stuck in a stressful situation at the office.

Energy drinks

Roughly speaking, a can of Red Bull has about the same caffeine content as a cup of coffee – but it also has around 10 grams of sugar.

“Energy drinks can provide a lot of free sugars (the type of sugars that we all need to cut down on), so try to opt for the sugar-free versions," says Chambers. "Some energy drinks have added B vitamins, but you can get these from foods such as fruit and vegetables, wholegrains, lean meat, nuts, pulses and lower fat dairy foods, which are more nutrient dense and an important part of a healthy, balanced diet”

There are also often a lot of additives in energy drinks. One of which is taurine, which has an antioxident role, can help heart health, and is associated with relaxation. "Some people suggest taurine can be more of a sedative than a stimulant," reveals Lambert, "so it could actually slow your brain's activity rather than speed it up."

Green tea

Health gurus and Buddhist monks love this hot drink in equal measure, and it is number one on our list if you need a comfortable and safe caffeine buzz.

The caffeine content varies depending on the leaf, but is often around the 70mg per cup mark – somewhere between builder's tea and coffee.

“Green and black teas contain polyphenols, such as flavanols and flavonols, which fine tune the functioning of cells and can protect against chronic health problem," says Chambers.

Lambert is also a fan, explaining the myriad of health benefits the drink provides: "Green tea releases in the blood stream very slowly, even compared to breakfast tea. There's a tea called matcha tea that people should be paying attention to. It's like having a little immunity boost with the energy boost and it's all natural."

Win, win.

Chocolate Bar

One secret caffeine fix is the humble chocolate bar, which can contain about 10mg of the stimulant. Sure, that's not as much as a cup of coffee or tea, but it might be enough to keep you awake at night, if you've eaten it as a treat late in the day.

Lambert suggests eating milk chocolate late in the evening if you really need some choccy gratification, as it is lower in caffeine than the darker stuff. However, that comes with its own downsides, as milky chocolate is often higher in processed sugar content.

If you're having your treat earlier in the day, dark chocolate is the way to go. "Dark chocolate is high in the compound flavonoid, which is an anti-oxidant," Lambert reveals. Studies have also shown dark chocolate to help lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease. A bar every now and again wouldn't go amiss – but do keep an eye on the back of the packet, as studies show that your chocolate has to be 75 per cent plus in its cocoa percentage to get any of those health benefits.

Pro Plus

Pro Plus has the advantage of the user knowing exactly how much caffeine is available in each tablet. Each pill contains 50mg of caffeine – the equivalent to half a cup of coffee – and adults are advised to take no more than two at a go, so that 400mg ceiling isn't in threat (as long as you stick to the guidelines, of course).

While it doesn't contain sugar, it does contain sorbitol, which is a sugar substitute found in most diet soft drinks. Sorbitol is difficult for the body to digest, so it can lead to feelings of nausea and diarrhea.

Pro Plus also contains magnesium stearate, which has been linked to skin issues and can cause liver toxicity in large doses.

6 reasons why eating cherries is scientifically good for you

Not only are they delicious to eat, it turns out that there are plenty of health benefits to snacking on a handful of cherries.

Berries are quickly gaining a reputation as a health cure-all, but we often overlook these little red wonders because of their associations with rich desserts and sweet cocktail garnishes.

Luckily for us, cherries are currently in season in Europe - so there’s no better time to pick up a punnet on your lunch break.

Here are 6 incredible and surprising rewards that come hand-in-hand with this amazing superfruit.

They can reduce blood pressure

A published this week found that drinking cherry juice is as good as taking drugs at reducing blood pressure. People who drank 60ml of cherry concentrate, diluted with water, saw their blood pressure drop by 7 per cent within three hours, according to scientists at Northumbria University. This was enough to slash the risk of a stroke by 38 per cent or heart disease by 23 per cent.

They can reduce inflammation

Tart cherries contain two powerful compounds, anthocyanins and bioflavonoids. A recent study in the found that cherry consumption reduces several biomarkers associated with chronic inflammatory diseases. According to scientists, cherry juice can also ease joint inflammation for people who suffer from arthritis and gout.

They're a good source of vitamin C and fibre

150g of cherries contains a whopping 25 percent of your daily recommended amount of vitamin C and over two grams of fibre.

They can improve brain function

Want to keep your brain in top top shape? Eat cherries - have shown that cherries can even reduce symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease.

They’re a great post-workout snack

Cherries can reduce muscle damage and the painful, stiff feeling the day after an intense workout. This is because they are chock full of anthocyanins, powerful antioxidants that contain anti-inflammatory properties.

They can help you to sleep

Cherries are a natural source of melatonin, a hormone that helps control sleep. A study published in the found that, specifically, tart cherry juice can improve sleep in adults affected by insomnia.

A handful of fresh cherries in the summertime are a natural gourmet delight, but if you want to harness the antioxidant power of cherries on a regular basis, then cherry juice concentrate is a good option that can add a super-nutritious, all-natural kick to your morning smoothie.