What Happens When You Consume Excess Of Fibre-rich Foods.

Too much of anything is bad. This is a very common phrase that we hear every day.

Today, people are aware of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. Everyone is recognising the importance of healthy eating and exercising right. Our body is a machine which needs to be fuelled by the right kind of food for maximum efficiency.

Our body needs a balance of carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals, fats and fibre in order to carry out all of its functions. Carbohydrates are the main energy sources.

fibre-rich foods

Vitamins and minerals help carry out different functions of the body. Proteins are the building blocks of our cells and muscles. Fats are required for a smooth functioning of the body's chemical processes and fibre is important to ensure a smooth bowel movement.

It is important to consume the right amounts of each nutrient. Neither more nor less and that is what a balanced diet ensures of.

When people are on a diet, they tend to avoid fats completely and reduce their intake of carbs. Reducing carbs may result in fatigue and some amount of fats are required by our body in order to carry out its functions. Some people may also be consuming fibre-rich foods in excess, which may result in a lot of issues.

Fibre forms an important part of a healthy diet. It bulks up the bowels and results in its easy elimination. An average person requires about 20 to 40 grams of fibre every day. Eating more than that may create a lot of problems.

Here are a few side effects that you may experience when you are high on fibre-rich foods. Take a look.

1) Constipation:

Intake of fibre is required to avoid constipation. However, excess fibre does the exact opposite to us. Excess fibre absorbs all the fluids in the intestines, which leads to dehydration and the movement of bowels being restricted.

2) Diarrhoea:

Fibre is responsible for the speed at which your bowels move through the intestines. Too much fibre means more speed, which results in diarrhoea.

3) Stomach Bloating:

Bloating happens when our body tries to break down the food in the large intestine. Too much fibre is difficult to be broken down by the body and this leads to partial digestion. This is the main cause of the formation of gas and bloating.

4) Abdominal Pain:

Excess gas leads to pain in the abdomen area. When you are consuming too much of fibre, it becomes difficult for our body to break it down. This results in excess flatulence, which leads to expansion of the abdominal muscles and thereby pain.

5) Dehydration:

Fibre tends to absorb water from the intestines to bulk up the stools. Too much of fibre eventually absorbs all the water from the intestines and results in dehydration.

6) Intestinal Blockage:

This is happens when there is excess fibre and not enough water in the intestines. The excess fibre is not able to move due to shortage of water and hence this results in intestinal blockage. This is the worst form of a side effect due to having excess of fibre and this may even require a surgery to get rid of.

7) Difficulty In Absorbing Essential Nutrients:

Too much fibre can reduce the body's ability to absorb nutrients from the food, which results in deficiency. Too much fibre just mixes with the food and may not differentiate between waste and nutrients and tries to eliminate everything.

8) Acid Reflux:

Fibre in our food actually reduces the episodes of acid reflux. But too much of it is known to trigger the acid reflux. Too much fibre puts a pressure on the stomach and delays its emptying, which leads to acid reflux when the food stays for longer in the stomach.

It is important to know how much of your body actually requires each nutrient. Malnutrition or excess nutrition is both harmful for our body. Take the help of an expert to chart out a perfect balanced diet for you, so that your body is always able to serve you right by helping you stay fit and active.

10 Top foods that promote hair growth.

Foods that support hair growth come from a variety of food groups and the good news is, we can easily include them in our everyday meal plan.

Beans and Sprouts - Provides complete vegetarian protein equivalent to animal protein in quality.   Chickpeas has protein, zinc and vitamin B-6 required for healthy hair.  Zinc has a crucial role in building hair protein.

Soybeans and Tofu - Soy is an excellent source of protein for vegetarians.  It contains a considerable amount of Iron and Vitamin E. Iron is a critical component of haemoglobin, which in turn is essential in delivering oxygen to different tissues of the body. Vitamin E helps in the absorption of oxygen and increases the blood circulation to the scalp.

Almonds and Walnuts - These nuts are good sources of Iron and Vitamin E.  They also help to lower cholesterol.

Fish - Fishes are a good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin B-6, Protein and essential fatty acids (EFA’s).  EFA’s play a significant role in preserving healthy nails, hair and skin.

Egg - Eggs are an excellent source of protein that’s of high biological value and also contain about 1 mg of iron per egg.

Dark Green leafy Vegetables - such as spinach, methi, dill and amaranth leaves are foods rich in iron. Spinach and amaranth leaves also contain oxalic acid which decreases the availability of iron to the body. This can be overcome to some extent by eating vitamin C rich foods like oranges, cantaloupes, or green bell peppers in the same meal, which increases the absorption of iron.

Curd - Curd is everybody’s favourite - it is mild in the stomach, and one cup provides about 6 – 8 grams of protein. It can be taken plain, or topped with fruits to make fruit yoghurt. It can also be blended with fruits to make a smoothie.

Butterfruit -  is a good source of Vitamin C, K, B6, folate, dietary fibre, niacin, & pantothenic acid. Better known as avocados, they are rich in monounsaturated fats and omega three fatty acids, which are heart-healthy fats. (But limit the portion size to 2 tbsp per day, due to it's high fat content)

Dates & Raisins - They are high in Vitamin C, Manganese, Iron and Potassium.  Include them in small amounts in your meal plan for optimum health.

Silica: Silica slows down hair loss.  It is found in the outer coverings of potatoes, cucumbers, green and red peppers.  Bean sprouts too have a high content of silica, therefore include whole foods such as sprouts in your meal plan at least thrice a week.

Ways to kick away dry skin this winter

: It's everyone's dream to have dewy skin that tolerates the effects of chilly temperature and also bears all the desert like heat. 
Winter weather is for sure not fun for skin. If not taken care, the winter dry skin can lead to cracking and bleeding. Indoor heats further add to robbing the moisture from the skin and so do the calming hot showers.
With all these harsh attacks on skin, it is extremely important to indulge in the right skin care routine and also choose the products wisely. In order to efficiently do that, it is equally important to understand your skin first. One needs to know the texture of his or her skin, whether it's oily, dry or a combination skin. 
Once when you have understood the texture of your skin, you can now choose the products according to the need of your skin. 
We often go by the fragrances or the texture of the products while purchasing them, but the content in it is what actually matters. 
Dr. Rohit Batra Dermatologist, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital said, “If someone has an oily skin, gel based moisturisers are best to be used; wherein a cream based moisturiser or a cream based lotion should be used by the ones having dry skin.” When asked for suggestions for choosing the correct formula for skin, Dr. Batra added, “People with dry skin need to select products having liquid paraffin, sheer butter and coco butter and for someone who has an allergy prone skin should opt for moisturiser containing ceramides. People with combination skin should go for oil based rather than water based solution, as it is more likely to help your skin retain moisturiser in winter.” 
Skin care is not only restricted to superficial applications, but what one consumes also decides the health of your skin. 
Especially in winters one must take utmost care while selecting the right food options. Dietitian Deepti G Dua, Mutation Diet Clinic suggests everyone to ‘eat like a King!”
She said, “Winter foods have some good calories and great nutrition. One must consume a nutritionally rich diet or foods rich in omega 3 like fish, salmon etc.
One must avoid starchy and sugary foods as they not only bloat your stomach but also cause acne, eczema and causes wrinkles. Your winter diet should also contain omega 6 fatty acids and essential oils.”
“It is always better to keep your body warm the natural way, so one can consume ample nuts, almonds and peanuts as they are warm and contain vitamin D and iron. You can also add seasonal leafy vegetables, citrus foods having vitamin C as they have anti ageing properties.”
With beautiful skin and a healthy body, you can enjoy winter love. The combination of a balanced and required diet, and a glowing skin will surely make your winters less stressful and happy

Ten Benefits To Strength Training

The history of strength training has been around for decades, however schools of thought still believe it may be harmful for you (although this is changing for the better as science gets more advanced.) Contrary to the belief that weight training is bad for you, there are many benefits in which you could reap from following a well-structured and applied resistance-training plan. Below are 10 reasons why weight training is amazing for you:

1. Increased Cognitive Function -

Strength training has shown to boost your cognitive function. This is largely down to the fact that training with challenging loads enhances the neuromuscular system (all your muscles in your body and the nerves serving them) to be efficient, which translates on to the way our muscular system functions. As we age, cognitive function becomes susceptible to degeneration and so utilising strength training throughout your years will do wonders to offset diseases such as Alzheimer's and dementia.

2. Increased Functional Strength -

Increasing your capacity to get daily activities and tasks done is something strength training can help you with. Developing the ability to pick things up, put them down, push and pull them is exactly what strength training should be about. If done correctly, these primal movement patterns can be enhanced with strength training. It can make your life easier as you become accustomed to being stronger for life's daily tasks.

3. Better Body Composition -

Strength training is a perfect tool to torch body fat and builds lean muscle. The combination of stimulating and growing active metabolic tissue and working energy systems, which burn a vast amount of calories, is a perfect recipe for body composition goals. Strength training worked in this fashion using challenging loads over moderate rep ranges will not only burn fat during your workout but also up to 72 hours after.

4. Increased Metabolism -

As a result of enhancing body composition and developing muscle mass through strength training, an increased metabolic rate is also associated. This is similar to putting a bigger engine in a car, more petrol required. If you're like me and you love your food then this benefit is good news. Eat more without putting on fat. WIN- WIN!

5. Anti-aging -

As mentioned in my previous article

'It's Never To Late To Start Strength Training'

strength training has numerous benefits in reducing the ageing process. Strength training is by far the best remedy for reducing aging and it trumps any cosmetic surgery or supplement.

6. Increased Pain Relief -

Utilising strength training in a smartly formatted training program can do wonders for your posture and function. What this does in turn is reduce the amount of pain that is associated with dysfunctional joints and muscles seen with poor postures. Have a professional assess your current posture and devise a training plan that not only increases your fitness abilities but also rehabilitates your posture. Lets face it, a stronger body is a more functional one and a more functional body is less likely to be riddled with pain.

7. Increased Immunity -

More muscle mass and a better firing neuromuscular system points towards us having a stronger immune system. Strength training does not only make you stronger physically, but it enhances your physiology making it more robust. This ties in with point 5. As we age we leak strength, cognitive function and immunity, so keeping our bodies strong from the inside out is an important component to a healthy, longer lasting body.

8. Strength Training Supplements Cardio Vascular Training -

Keeping the heart healthy is of our upmost importance and so working your ticker during some form of cardio vascular training is very beneficial. Strength training on the other hand complements CV, helping us stay strong enough to deal with various activities. Running for example is a popular form of CV training but many find it difficult as joints hurt and lower backs twinge. Strength training can help us deal with these sorts of impact injuries and this leads me on to point 9.

9. Incredible For Sports Performance -

Strength training is incredible for sports performance and that's why many, if not all athletes have some form of strength and conditioning coach and program to follow. Strength training allows us to develop our force outputs and so we can translate this to our sporting tasks. For example, developing a squat in the gym can translate into increased jumping and sprinting performance. This is because it enables us to begin to generate more force into the ground. Moreover, because strength training makes us more robust, it should reduce the chances of injury significantly.

10. Gender Friendly -

Strength training is for everyone. It can be seen as very male dominated but this really is untrue. Females will see tremendous benefits when taking part in strength training. Thankfully now, the stigma of weight training being just for men is fading and a rise of female influencers promoting a strong and healthy attitude towards body image and weights is growing. Gaining a large amount of muscle mass and looking bigger is often a worry for most women. However, females will not build a large amount of muscle due to their hormonal balance but will see great physical benefits when taking part in strength training activities.

5 Great Things You Didn’t Know Milk Could Do.

1. Protein 

With 3.4g per 100ml, the drink is a strong source of protein. In milk, there are two types of protein, casein and whey. “These are important for cell and muscle structure, but also needed for making enzymes and hormones,” advises Travers. 

2. Iodine

This mineral is “a trace element found in seawater, rocks and some types of soil,” according to the NHS, and adults need 0.14mg of it daily. As the British Dietetic Association (BDA) states, an average serving of cow’s milk contains 0.05-0.1mg, although this can change with the seasons, with higher levels in the winter. As to what it does, you need it for “proper thyroid function which, in turn, is responsible for metabolism, nerve function and growth in children,” advises Travers. 

3. Potassium

An ice-y glass of milk is high in the mineral potassium (the one that you normally associate with bananas) and it’s “important for the regulation of blood pressure and nerve function,” says Travers. There’s an estimated 132 mg per 100ml of whole milk and 3.500mg per day is the recommended amount for adults from the NHS.  

4. B12

Another bit of milk magic. “If you eat meat, fish or dairy foods, you should be able to get enough vitamin B12 from your diet,” is the official NHS advice on this vitamin. Travers says: “It’s used in the production of DNA and the proper functioning of nerves. Also, it’s important for red blood cells.” 

5. Calcium

Fine. It’s the obvious one. But we’re still going to drill into what calcium is good for (other than bones, duh.) “As well as being what gives bones strength, it’s used for electrical processes in the body,” says Travers. You get 120mg in 100ml of milk, according to the BDA – so drink up. 

5 Food And Drink Mistakes You’re Making Post-Workout

5 Food And Drink Mistakes You’re Making 

Post-Workout

Whether it’s sweaty spinning or an outdoor HIIT session, everyone is swapping the gym for the latest hardcore exercise class nowadays.

We know our burpees from our hill sprints, but we’re still in the dark when it comes to the best ways to refuel after sport. Do you need to cram in protein straight after cardio? How much water should you be drinking post-exercise?

We spoke to sport and exercise nutrition expert Chris McLeod, to get the lowdown on five nutrition mistakes we commonly make post-workout.

Not drinking enough water after a workout 

Hands up if you’re guilty of not drinking enough water post-exercise. Yep, us too. You might think a quick swig after hopping off the treadmill is enough, however glugging after a sweaty cardio session only replenishes around 70 per cent of the water that you’ve lost.

So how do you measure how much to drink post-workout? Chris has a handy tip. “Weigh yourself before and after a gym session. Look to drink the difference seen in grams as millilitres of water – plus half that amount again. For example, a weight loss of 500g during a workout would mean you should drink 750ml of water.”

Avoiding carbs because ‘it’s un-doing all of the good work’ 

Protein is the golden boy of post-workout snacks, but carbohydrates are a crucial part of a balanced diet, too.

“Don’t be scared of carbs,” says Chris. “Gym-goers have had the importance of eating protein after a workout blazed into them, but carbs are just as crucial. They bolster waning blood sugar levels, increase the potency of a protein hit and, most importantly, replenish our energy stores.”

“If you watch your diet and exercise regularly, you don’t need to worry about your body turning carbohydrates into fat.”

Rushing to get your protein in within 30-minutes of a workout 

Always hurrying to protein-up within 30-minutes of a workout? Don’t stress.

There’s no critical timeframe for consuming protein after exercise. “You have as much as 24-hours after you hit the gym to optimise muscle protein synthesis, sometimes even longer,” says Chris.

“So don’t worry if you forget to bring a post-workout shake in your gym bag. Just have a good protein hit when you get home.”

Choosing a man-made protein shake over natural protein 

Protein shakes have their place, but they aren’t the only way to stock up after a workout. “Milk is often overlooked as a natural alternative to protein shakes,” notes Chris. “It’s an inexpensive, natural source of protein and carbohydrates.”

So next time you reach for the shake, consider swapping it for the white stuff. Arla Protein milk has all the goodness of your usual litre, but with 30 per cent more protein* than standard skimmed milk – that’s 20g of protein per serving.

Not eating a good, balanced breakfast 

Everyday should start with a solid breakfast. That bowl of cereal or breakfast bar just won’t give you the protein your body craves after a hardcore HIIT class.

“Optimising the number of protein hits you eat per day will help speed up recovery and allow you to train at a high intensity again sooner,” suggests Chris. Choose a balanced breakfast option that ticks all the boxes.

Once you’ve enjoyed a good, healthy breakfast, you’ll be set up perfectly for the rest of the day.

*Contains more protein than standard skimmed milk based on a market average. Claim based on 450ml serving.