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Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Health Journey

Nowadays, people have become health conscious. With the sedentary lifestyle, life has also become challenging health-wise. With the advancement of technology and the medical field,  no decline in health issues seems noticeable.
  1. Vitamin D: For the last two decades, the deficiency of vitamin D is heard quite often. Maybe it is one of the lifestyle blunders we are doing unknowingly i.e. following a fat-free diet. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin,  and lack of healthy fats in our diet makes it hard to absorb enough vitamin D in our bodies despite taking enough sunshine or vitamin D supplements. Vitamin D supplements should be taken during daytime for better absorption into the body. The excess of Vitamin D in our body is not good for our bodies either.
  2. Iron: Females usually suffer from the deficiency of iron due to monthly periods. Deficiency of iron is closely linked to hair fall as well. According to Ayurveda, vata dosha (the excess of air component) also causes hair fall. A regular good scalp massage for 6-months can help in thickening of hair as well as regrowth, some trials in research have shown encouraging results.
  3. Vitamin B12: The main source of Vitamin B12 is animal meat. So, the deficiency of Vitamin B12 is more prominent in those who are vegetarian or Vegan. It can store into the lever. This injection is given in the muscle.
  4. Magnesium: This mineral is easily gained or lost through our skin. So, a salt bath is a good source of Magnesium.
  5. Probiotics: For healthy gut flora or microflora in our body, people take probiotics pouches. But, we should not take probiotics more than 2-3 months at a stretch.  
  6. Wheatgerm
  7. Macadamia nuts: Highest fat content among the edible tree nuts; good for skin and hair due to its fat.
  8. Brazilian Nuts: Good for thyroid.
  9. Kombucha: Fermented tea
  10. Refresh Tears: For dryness and irritation of eyes.
  11. MgO7: Mag O7 works to break down and remove intestinal debris, helping to create a balanced, healthy gut. Through it's unique and gentle formulation, Mag O7 also works to break down intestinal build up and remove unwanted waste.

  1. Probiotic: I used to think that only eating healthy is enough for good health. However, it is partially true. No doubt, eating healthy is the first step towards a healthy body and living. When we eat the food, we first break down the food using our teeth, and enzymes present in our saliva also help to break down the food. It then is swallowed through the neck and goes down to the stomach through the food pipe. The stomach releases the acids (Jathar Agni) and a lot of enzymes that further break down the food. The stomach releases the enzyme called Pepsin, which helps break down the protein.  It next reaches the small intestine. Juices from the liver called biles help to break down the fat; also juices from the pancreas (insulin) and gallbladder helps to digest the food in the small intestine. Whatever food is not digested by the small intestine, reaches the large intestine where it absorbs the water and other useful things and rest is discarded as waste from the body. 
  2. Germs are like the invaders to our bodies. There are four major types of germs:
    1. Viruses: They thrive in living cells and cause diseases like chickenpox and the flu. To prevent it, get yourself vaccinated, or get shots or get an immunization. 
    2. Fungi: Microscopic organisms that can cause rashes and athletic foot.
    3. Parasite: That can cause diarrhea. For parasite cleaning, n alkali environment is required for stopping the growth of parasites inside our body. For this, people usually take Besan powder in Europe.
    4. Bacteria: That can cause infections like strep throat and pneumonia. In the case of a bacterial infection, a doctor can prescribe the antibiotics.
So, to assist our immune system, we can take dietary supplements with natural bacteria and yeast cultures that regulates the balance of bacteria in our intestine. We need bacterial and yeast strains for the healthy intestinal flora and intestinal mucosa, vaginal flora, oral and pharyngeal flora. (https://www.burgerstein-biotics.ch/) . It is advised that we should not take the probiotic for more than 3 months at a time. 

Endocrine System: They produce hormones. The pituitary gland is a very important part of our endocrine system. The thyroid gland produces hormones which regulate how our body uses the calories from the food we eat i.e. metabolism. Adrenal Gland: It releases hormones to handle emergency situations. Pancreas: It is the largest gland of our endocrine system and produces insulin. Reproductive Gland i.e. ovaries and testes: they produce the estrogen and testosterone 
The nervous system handles the adrenal.

Water bottles and water filters: Sometimes, I feel overwhelmed by the information and the modernization. In India, I have been brought up drinking the tap water. Then, we started using the filtered water and again shift came when we started using the bottled drinking water. Then, I heard about the BPA contamination, so further shift came with RO filtered water.

But, when I moved to Canada and Switzerland, I was amazed to see all the big grocery stores are stuffed with drinking water bottles. I asked many about this that why do we need filtered water bottles in developed countries where tap water is so pure and safe. Even I took a tour in Switzerland organized by the municipality about how water reaches in our homes and again asked this question why do I see so many filtered water bottles in the grocery stores when as they were suggesting tap water is so clean, refreshing and healthy. They said it is a big business and they can not comment much on this. It kind of satisfied my curiosity as Switzerland is a big capitalist country. 
But, lately, I come to know about the BPA and lead contamination in the drinking water while getting supplied through water pipelines. I only thought the water should be unpolluted but never thought the water supply pipelines made of PVC, brass and use lead as a stabilizer is of equal concern. Especially in Switzerland, where we take pride in saying that this house or building is 150-years old and so. So, it is quite possible that the water pipelines are made of old material and miss the recent guidelines, which results in water contamination. That is the reason that portable water filters and filtered drinking water is so common in the supermarkets.

Vinegar: It is acetic acid. While wine is ethanol. When wine is fermented with acetic bacteria, it turns into acetic acid.

Nature Love FOOTSPA: This natural therapy foot care treatment claims to promote healthy detoxification and helps to improve metabolism.

Sourdough Bread: This bread is better than regular bread because it is made by fermented starter than the standard baker's yeast. Therefore, it could be easily digested and causes no or less bloating after eating.


Pregnancy: Old wives' tales

There are certain fruits that one should avoid during pregnancy like papaya and pineapple because they may induce labor pain or cause miscarriage.

Infancy: Zincovit Drops are very popular for the infants and ensures infection free infancy. I did not have any idea that infants do need to take the multivitamins and minerals until a friend of mine requested me to bring a bottle of Zincovit drops for her daughter.

One should not drink green tea while pregnant because green tea has too much of caffeine in it.

Montessori Mama

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Why life is so challenging

We read and talk so much about positivity and empowerment, the grass is always greener on the other side, blah blah blah, does that really encourage us. Sometimes, we fear that we must not lose hope in the tough time, sometimes we fear for our closed ones that they should not give up in the challenging times. It reminds me of the Bollywood movie Sainik, which portrays this thing so eloquently.

We have made our world so structured, those who do not conform to this structure seem left out. When humanity started its journey, it was all about survival. Things developed, progress happened, science, business and economy boomed, but I wonder what was for this all progress.

I agree medical science is so advance, so have become our health conditions so complicated. Social media has grown exceptionally, so is the case for depression and loneliness. Our life has comfort, but no security, no peace of mind. Air, land, oceans, space, everything seems compromised. There is so much pollution everywhere, not only our physical world, rather our spiritual and religious world has also become corrupted and shallow.

Another thing is that we always keep thinking either about the past or future and it keeps our mind always occupied. As our body needs rest, our mind also needs rest. And, meditation is one such tool that keeps our mind relaxed and gives us control over our own thoughts so that we can keep the negative or unwanted thoughts at bay.


Thursday, August 30, 2018

Ayurveda

The basis of Ayurveda is balancing of Vat, Pit and Kafa dosha.
Depression and syndromes are the most commonly heard term these days. In this series, I will consolidate all the information I have heard or read various sources, books, magazines, newspapers, and youtube or the internet.

Vat dosha symptoms:

  1. When our body is too dry and cold.
Weather: I always heard that winter's gloomy weather affects our mood. But, knowing this much is not enough. Then, I pondered little further and came to know that it has a proper scientific grounding behind it. In winters, days are shorts, dry, cold, all these environmental conditions exaggerate the Vata dosha in the body. Due to this, we also start feeling gloomy i.e. difficult to fall asleep, feeling worried, irregular digestion, etc. It again confirms the point that our body and mind are connected.  


Depression:
When something bothers us or compels us to overthink over something, and we find ourselves kind of paralyze to take any action, nothing motivates or excites us, then this causes stress and may lead towards depression.

According to Ayurveda, when our body has vata dosha i.e. too much air, then it leads towards the brain. Too much thinking makes our brain dry and tensions the brain muscles, and finally causes depression. Depression can happen to anyone, it is a myth that only grown-ups are caught into the trap of depression. Teen depression is not uncommon these days. So, a good head massage is very helpful for rejuvenating our brain's nerve system as well as 3 drops of Almond oil into the nostrils.

Ek anar so bimar: Anar is tridosh nashak i.e it could be used for curing vat, pita or kaph dosha. However, it is cold in nature and also should be avoided by people who already are suffering from loose-motions.

Thursday, July 26, 2018

My experiments with Swimming and Bicycling

I learned swimming a decade ago and now I am revising my skills on my own and with friends by practicing in the lake or pond. I will keep you updated step by step process which I followed and observed while these practice sessions.
  1. Sculling: keep your palms open and all fingers held close to each other without any gap. Move your hands at 45 degrees under the water without disturbing the surface. The wrist should straight and stiff, without any bend.
  2. Floating on your back: do the skulling, keep in mind do not disturb the water surface. and keep your toes together and pointed out.
  3. flutter kick: toes pointed out and kicking one after another. The only foot can come out while kicking, but knees should always be underwater. Hands should be up backward and touch the ears, this is called the streamline position. 
  4. Lungs filled with air always add to the buoyancy
  5. For back float: bring your shoulder blades back, tighten your stomach, engage your rib-cage. ear in the water
  6. finning:
  7.  Eggbeater kick: circling the water with legs, one leg in clockwise direction and another in anticlockwise direction.
When you are beginner learning swimming, you might need the assistance of some personal floating devices (PFD) like a kick-board, floating dumbles etc.

When you go swimming in the pool or in open waters like a lake, sea, ocean, then there are a few things that we need to understand:
  1. There might be a water snake
  2. If there are green or blue fungi on the surface of the open water like a lake, so avoid better going into it.
  3. If the pool is not clean and clear, not go swimming in it.
  4. If the outside temperature is very high, so there is a high probability that the water in the open pool or lake would be equally warm, and it attracts some kind of flies, so better avoid going into the water.
Bicycling: When you are in Europe, you need to experience the riding the bicycle. And, if you are in Switzerland which is surrounded by the Alps and small hills here and there, then a bicycle with gears is a must.

Exercising and gym

Being healthy not only makes you look and feel good, it is the gateway to a happy life. There are various ways that can keep you healthy and happy.


  1. Walking/Hiking/Trekking
  2. Running/Jogging
  3. Exercising in the gym
  4. Cycling/biking
  5. Sports
  6. Swimming
  7. Strength training
  8. muscle training
  9. weight training
  10. resistance training
  11. dumbles
  12.  Pilates: muscle relaxation and strengthening
  13. PIIT(Pilates intense interval training)
  14. Yoga: muscle flexibility
  15. BBP(belly, legs, buttocks)
  16. CX WorX: An efficient workout that strengthens the entire trunk area and activates the deep muscles.
  17. kickboxing/TosoX
  18. BodyPump