Pro-Diet: Music can add a little magic

Pro-Diet: Music can add a little magic: Ever wondered why those spa's you visit always play that soothing music in the background which compliments the presence of your state...

Music can add a little magic

Ever wondered why those spa's you visit always play that soothing music in the background which compliments the presence of your state of mind? Yes its the music alright which also adds to that relaxed state. We are often so caught up stress that we may not even realize that it's taking over our mental state. You don't need to meditate deeply to get there, you just need 60 mins to feel free and let your mind at ease.

Sure there are thoughts in our mind always evolving even as we try to take a quick nap or just close our eyes for that quick reset. Stress surely enough is harmful to our bodies in today's modern lifestyle and the cortisol level in the human body needs to be maintained at its minimum at all time. Our constant addiction to social media has become a daily routine and a schedule we cannot resist to avoid because its just so flawlessly entertaining.

An interesting thing about cortisol in our system is that it is a steroid hormone that regulates a range of processes throughout our body which can be directly interrelated to our immune response and metabolism itself. If you are not in the habit of listening to music more frequently, don't worry as there are plenty of type of genres to listen to, that too just by streaming them through the internet. Lounge music is predominately the most effective type to enjoy as it can keep your mood lit with its relaxed calm soothing instruments. Give it a try and you wont regret it.

Though the sound of music this may not be directly related to our physical health, a well balanced state of mind is always one of the first steps to begin with when it comes to our mental well being, hence the rest of our workout falls right in place. Music does add as an assistant to all our daily activities. Its contributing to some extent and is the secret motivator to help us keep going through our daily tasks and more importantly staying fit.

10 daily habits that can make your lifestyle better

1. Drinking lukewarm water as soon as you wake up in the morning. While we are asleep the whole night our body gets dehydrated. This makes a big difference to the energy levels in the morning. Water at room temperature will also do.

2. Meditate for 2 mins. This reduces anxiety, enhances mental clarity and helps you remain calm. It’s a challenging thing. No jokes here but it sure is tough at the beginning since the first number of sessions of meditation will make you feel lost or even worse, overwhelmed. Most of the time you will have difficulty maintaining concentration, but if you clear these rounds with dedication you’re hooked in!

3. Brisk walk – everyday. Exposure to greenery is also good for health. It’s a mood booster plus an exercise. 150 mins of cardiovascular activities a week or 75 mins of cardiovascular activity. A walk can help if your heart rate is high enough. Test your heart rate using the Samsung app on your android phone.

4.15 minutes of other exercise –as we age, we tend to lose muscle mass and as well as bone density. We can slow that down and preserve our muscle mass and bone density by engaging in exercise. Don’t worry you don’t have to visit the gym for this, you can start with simple free weights and body weight exercises at home. Always take guidance from a professional person when doing this.

5. Eat something green every day. They offer a variety of vitamins and minerals. The easiest way to add greens to your diet is smoothies. One of the best methods to getting yourself to eat more greens.

6. Brightly colored fruits and vegetable. Eat the rainbow that is different colors which is equivalent to phytochemicals equivalent to different health benefits. Some can help with cancer prevention, some with liver and some with metabolism.

7. Listen to relaxing music every day - relaxing music helps the body reduce the stress hormone called cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone that is released during stress to help the body deal with whatever it is that is causing the stress.

Here’s another interesting thing. There has been studies on an enzyme called alpha-amylase that is found in the saliva. Alpha-amylase is important to your body as it kills unwanted bacteria and it helps break down the food that you eat. Scientists have conducted test on people listening to nature sounds and classical music. The alpha-amylase levels of people who listened to classical music went back to normal more quickly compared to the people listening to nature sounds.

8. Try to read and learn something new every day. It’s all about keeping your brain stimulated and engaged. As we age there is a natural decline in our memory. Mental stimulation can slow that down. Read a book. Fictious or non-fictious books, they both have their benefits.

9. Spend quality time with your loved ones every day. We all spend too much time on our phone in this digital era. Though we are physically present with our loved ones we are not really engaged with them and rather scrolling through our phone. This sort of satisfaction is unreal. Even cuddling with your pet or even your loved ones can help you release allot of oxytocin which is a love hormone or a cuddle hormone.

10. Turn off your phone 1 hour before bedtime. They emit something such as blue light and that is something that makes your brain think that its daylight. So, you brain thinks it’s not really bedtime and due to this it won’t produce melatonin very well. Just so you know melatonin is a hormone within the body and if it is too weak you could have other side effects which are not noticeable. Some people even end up abusing the process by taking melatonin pills.

We hope that you find these 10 tips useful and are able to practice at least a few of them.

To Lose Weight Eat More

Yes this title sounds ridiculous but hear me out. Our MBA program or work schedule doesn't allow us sufficient time to enjoy our meals since we wake up super early in the morning just to avoid the crazy rush hour traffic and leave late evening as work just doesn't seem to end. 

Our tummy goes without food for hours which only gives rise to more problems like acidity and constipation. It's not fun to work on those conditions...trust me, I know. But there's a simple solution to this. Increase the number of meal in-takes you have in a day. From the conventional 2 - 3 tiny meals you manage to fit into your day, I'm suggesting you have 5. And when I say meals, I'm not talking about a fancy 3 course preparation. Besides breakfast, lunch and dinner why don't you include a mid-morning and early evening snack.  Just the right time to refill from your early breakfast and quick lunch. I suggest fruits, nuts, kakkra, a sandwich or simple chapati with jam. I've been eating fruits for over 2 years now and haven't had a major acidity problem. 
 
 Also, cut down on the numerous cups of tea or coffee you take to just get through the day. Calm down, tea lovers...I'm one of you. But I realized the more tea I had the more I felt uneasy. Too much tea or coffee on an empty stomach doesn't do anything to improve your productivity. 

So all you need is 10 - 15 mins to satisfy the hunger and keep your tummy happy and functional.

The last thing that should be on your mind

Starving yourself due to Stress?

Just the word brings on a rushing of my heartbeat, a tightening in my chest and upper back, and a strain in my neck and mouth ulcers. These are the signs of stress for me. When my stress level gets high, I might feel a pulse in my left temple that is alarmingly out of my control and a pit in my stomach.

Work life or preparing for an MBA degree is no cake walk. With countless deadlines and expectations, its easy to fall into the Stress Trap and ever so difficult to get out. We skip our meals or lose our appetite when we find the pressure closing on us causing us to break. None of this is healthy nor is it sane.

During stress, our level of cortisol and adrenaline, hormones prepare us for reacting under an imminent threat. This response is useful not just for escaping from a physical attack, but also for handling non-life-threatening challenges that come our way.

We propose a few tried and tested techniques to reduce your stress levels and allow you to be more productive without harming yourself.

Tip 1: Pause. Breathe. Repeat. Stop for a second from the madness that stress brings you and just breathe. Shut out all the white noise and take a moment for yourself. Calm down.

Tip 2: Be focused on the now. Spend less time on “what ifs” and “how come” and just live in the moment.

Tip 3:  Question your thoughts. Your thoughts aren’t always right. In fact, they are rarely right, especially if they make you feel bad. Whenever a negative thought arises, take a step back, and look at if the thought is true.

Tip 4:  Make time for hobbies. The beauty of hobbies is that it is something we enjoy doing. Keeping aside just 30 mins a day for our hobby is enough to keep the stress at bay. It may be dancing, singing, painting or reading. Whatever it is, it is something to look forward to.

Tip 5: Talk. Just talk. It could be a colleague, a friend, a family member or even your manager. But nothing works better then just talking it out and having that weight just lifted from your shoulders. As funny as this sounds, talking to yourself also helps. As long as you play good cop, bad cop. Hehe.

Try these simple yet effective tips and get back control in your life. Don’t fall victim to stress when the power to control it lies in your hands.

Gotta love those green leaves !!

HEALTH BENEFITS OF GREEN LEAVE VEGETABLES

Green leave vegetables are very nutritious and easily available throughout the year, most of us neglect this particular food group but it sure does have a lot in store for us when it comes to health. For instance it is rich in lot of vitamins and minerals. It is very low in calorie, it gives good amounts of fiber and it also has small amount of Omega 3 fatty acids. Especially when we talk about dark green leafy vegetables these are a super rich source of beta carotenes.

Beta carotene is very good anti oxidant; it helps us to fight against the disease, increases our immunity and also helps in proper eye vision. Apart from this, beta carotene also helps to improve skin tone and gives us beautiful looking skin. Beta Carotene has good amounts of folate in the form of folic acids, so folates correct the anemia persons suffering from folic acid deficiency tend to have anemia so that can be corrected. For pregnant ladies this will be supplemented with good amounts of folic acids. Usually we require 150 micro grams of folic acids but a pregnant lady would require at around 500 micro grams. This particular physiology group of pregnancy is in high demands of green leafy vegetables so try to give them more leafy vegetables.

Apart from Beta carotene and folic acids green leafy vegetables have good amount of vitamin C especially when you consume them as raw form. All we need to do is wash them clean and chop them into small pieces and add it to raita or whipped curd. You can even add it into any salad or soup so as to get a good amount of vitamin C while it is still  fresh.

Green leafy vegetables are very rich source of soluble and insoluble fibers. We try to discard the stems and stalks of green leafy vegetables and tend to use only the leaves but there are good amount of calcium in stalk of spinach and iron content in the mint stems rather than mint leaves. We need understand stalks or tender stems are more nutritious then the leaves, so before consuming we need to wash them thoroughly in running water.

It releases you from constipation, it keeps your sugar under control also binds with the body fats and these fats will be removed in the stools of the body. 

Too busy in your life ? Lets make some time to live better

If there’s one thing that keeps a doctor away – besides apples, of course – it’s exercise

When it comes to exercise, for most people the question isn’t whether you should do it, but how much basic activity you need to perform in order to improve your health.

Before we get into the basics, it’s important to stress that exercise goes well beyond six-pack abs and better fitting jeans. Regular workouts can improve health, happiness, productivity, boost energy during and outside of work hours. Regular exercise has also been shown to reduce sickness, lower stress, and boost brainpower (Before you know it, regular visits to the gym may translate to a raise). Now you can better incorporate fitness into your busy work life.

Whether you are are student or an employee of a company or even a CEO, does not mean you cant perform a few exercises. Time can be made for everything through the right determination. Starting off your day with a few light exercises can help you come a long way when it comes to concentration level and attentiveness at work or college. 

In the meantime your body gets other benefits. Example one of the major benefits of doing squats on a daily basis is balance. Squats helps in improving balance of your body posture when in motion and also strengthens your calf muscles.. Lets have a look at some of the basic exercises that will promote a better lifestyle for you!