Diet the Right Way

The word ‘dieting’ makes you visualize yourself bidding adieu to your favorite extra cheese burger or double chocolate cake and incorporating boiled vegetables and bland salads in your life! This is why we dread dieting so much. But actually we were not born with unhealthy eating habits. We craved for milk as babies and not carbonated drinks. It is because of all the food exposure that we had later in life which led us into unhealthy eating. And eventually we have no other option other than dieting!

Dieting is regulated intake of food to cut down extra calories in order to maintain or reduce your weight. This includes diet rich in healthy vitamins and minerals along with other nutrients. However, some people indulge in crash dieting which in turn ends up crashing their own health. This way of dieting can back fire some serious health issues such as malnutrition, weakness and low immunity. Hence, you have to diet for a healthy body too along with shedding weight.

Start With Some Mental Conditioning

The first thing you need to do before dieting is prepare yourself. If you start to diet in a haphazard way, you may end up losing interest soon. So, prepare a diet plan with the help of your dietician. Set an achievable target for yourself. Remember that your aim is to incorporate healthy eating habits in your routine and you don’t want to go back to square one after your goal is achieved. So make this regime as interesting as possible.

Welcome Fresh Veggies and Fruits in Your Diet

Fruits and vegetables contain some best diet vitamins. These vitamins not only boost your metabolism but also take care of the vital functions of the body. Being rich in fiber, these keep you full for long hours and also help to digest your food better. Also you get to add lots of natural minerals and vitamins in your diet. You must go for fresh fruits and vegetables as processed foods are loaded with sugar and are less nutritious as compared to fresh foods. Apples, bananas, watermelons, papaya, plums, grapes, peaches, avocadoes are some of the best fruits. For vegetables, avoid starchy potatoes and go high on beans, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage.

Say Hello to Whole Grains

Refined grains are low in fiber and nutritional value. Whole grains have more of essential diet vitamins such as Vitamin B and minerals attached to them. So swap your white rice with brown rice and white bread with multigrain one. Whole grains are rich sources of fiber and thus slow down the release of sugar in your bloodstream. This is highly desirable in dieting as instant dumping of sugar in the blood makes it difficult for your body to burn down the calories quickly. Look for whole grain variants in pastas, noodles and breakfast cereals too. Pop corns are a low cal way to include whole grains in your diet.

Stick To Small Portions

If you are hungry you tend to fill up your plate as much as possible in one go. This is the biggest mistake that you commit. As a result, you finish up everything that is on your plate not realizing that you are going overboard. Hence it is wise to serve yourself small portions of food. For this, use small bowls which fill up quickly and you don’t get tempted to take more. You may take several of such mini meals in a day. This will not only keep your huger satiated but will also improve the breakdown of food. Try to add more of B vitamins in your diet as they are major metabolism boosters.

Give Your Brain the Time to React

Overeating is the biggest reason of putting on extra weight and brain can help you deal with this problem. It just needs to be given more time! Confused? Actually, your brain takes about five minutes to make the stomach realize that it is full. So before you get up to take another serving, wait for a while. Your brain will automatically make you feel full and refrain you from taking more.

 Guzzle More Fluids

Ever noticed that you feel less hungry in summers? This is because the scorching heat compels you to stuff yourself with enough of fluids leaving hardly any space for solids. Follow this trick while dieting too. Water, juices, low cal shakes fill up your tummy and also provide you adequate amounts of vitamins in your diet. Some of the best diet supplements available in the market such as energy drinks and whey shakes, are also helpful to curb your hunger with minimum calories possible. Fortified juices are good sources of important diet vitamins and minerals.

Finally, along with all the above tips, you need to exercise regularly and sleep well to attain your desired weight. Believe it or not but a good sleep can help to bring down your hunger levels by curbing some hunger instilling hormones. So, the next time you feel like devouring a bowlful of potato chips, taking a nap would certainly be a good deviation.

Did You Know How Important Is Zinc For Your Body?

Are you up to speed when it comes to minerals and vitamins from A to Z? If yes, then it shouldn’t come as a surprise that zinc plays a crucial role in our bodies.

An essential trace mineral, zinc is found in abundance in human body. It is involved in the production of about 300 enzymes and is important to perform a number of body functions, ranging from production of DNA to damaged cell repair. That’s not all zinc also helps us to sleep better at night, which again provides a host of other additional benefits.

So How Does Zinc Make Things Happen?

With so many zinc vitamins and zinc supplements at your local health store, you may find yourself wondering about the importance of zinc for the body.

Zinc earns its strips by supporting immune function in order to fight illness, promote healthy cell growth and development and also helps ensuring a proper sense of taste and smell. Other benefits of zinc include:

  • Bone formation: Zinc is used by enzymes for the production of collagen and alkaline phosphate (ALP), both of which are essential for bone formation. It is also used in the production of calcitonin, a hormone used to inhibit breakdown of bone.
  • Thyroid formation: Zinc is used in the production of a hormone (TRH), which signals thyroid to make thyroid hormones. It functions by converting the proteins we eat into amino acids to power the thyroid hormone production.
  • Cell replication: Almost 30% of zinc available in cells is found in the cell nucleus. This means, zinc is involved in DNA formation and also helps in replication of cells and proteins required by the body.

How Important Is Zinc For Immunity?

Zinc is an extremely important mineral in the first line of defense for our bodies. The first line of defense is mainly represented by the physical barriers, including skin and mucous membranes lining the inside of our bodies. Zinc is essentially present in the mucous secretions of the respiratory system and also on the surfaces of throat and lungs.

Zinc has an antimicrobial effect, which helps in killing inhaled viruses and bacteria before they get a chance to attack the immune system. It is also secreted in the saliva along with mucous membranes of the digestive system to destroy the ingested invaders.

The benefits of zinc don’t just end there – zinc is also used to support white blood cell production. It helps activating the B and T cells, which are needed by the immune system to fight off viruses and bacteria.

Antioxidant benefits of Zinc

Zinc helps in protecting the cell membranes against the oxidative damage caused by other metals, such as copper and iron, present inside the body. It also forms an essential part of an important antioxidant in the body, called as superoxide dismutase, which is used by liver in order to bind toxins to be removed from the body.

Are You Aware Of Zinc Deficiency Symptoms?

Deficiency of zinc in your body can be the leading cause for:

  • Stretch marks
  • Poor sense of smell and taste
  • White spots on nails
  • Acne
  • Anorexia
  • Poor growth
  • Hair loss
  • Chronic diarrhoea
  • Poor wound healing
  • Poor night vision
  • Dry skin

What Can Lead To Zinc Deficiency?

It should be noted that zinc absorption is significantly impaired by high quantities of iron, calcium and copper. Phytates that is commonly found in corn, wholegrain, legumes and rice is another factor that reduces zinc absorption. High perspiration, oral contraceptives, diabetes, caffeine and stress are other contributing factors that reduce the body’s capacity to absorb zinc.

How to Maintain Proper Zinc Levels?

Animal proteins, such as lamb, eggs, beef and chicken can help you maintain healthy zinc levels inside your body. Nuts, legumes, tofu, green beans, mushrooms and avocado also constitute rich sources of zinc. In case of severe zinc deficiency, you can also add high quality zinc supplements to your diet.

How Does Zinc Help Your Body?

One of the most essential minerals for our bodies, zinc plays a crucial role in performing various cellular functions. It is extremely vital for hair, skin and eye health and also for supporting cognitive functions.

However, the most observable effect of zinc is its impact on your immune system. According to research, zinc has proven benefits to effectively fight off symptoms of cold.

Zinc Benefits for Women

According to research, sufficient intake of zinc may help women ward off symptoms of PMS. Zinc is extremely essential for pregnant women as its deficiency may greatly increase the risk of low birth weight. Also, the lactating women transfer zinc to their babies to help them grow faster.

Zinc Benefits for Men

Zinc is directly related to the natural testosterone production in the body. Testosterone is the hormone that is largely responsible to make up everything in a man, right from facial hair to musculature. It also plays an essential role in preventing the production of estrogen in males.