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Most people who plan to lose weight and start a weight-loss regime (including diet), wonder whether they need to cut out all added sugar from their food intake in order to lose weight.

Sugar by itself does not contain fat in its chemical composition. And when it is consumed along with coffee or tea, and milk and curd, it does not register as fat in the body and thus is irrelevant to the ‘lose weight, quit sugar’ stuff . It comes in as carbohydrate food, which is immediately used as energy. Similarly, if you have a couple of teaspoons of jam, jelly or honey, the sugar is used up as energy. However, if you eat candies, with sugar content equivalent to about 3-4 teaspoons of sugar or take 300 ml of a soft drink (roughly 7 tsp of sugar) the excess sugar is converted to fat.

In short, as long as you are not diabetic you may safely consume 3-4 teaspoons of sugar every day, distributed through the entire day, and still lose weight. Moreover, giving up sugar completely and substituting it with a sweetener is not recommended, as they can have harmful side effects even though they say that such artificial sweeteners help to lose weight. What you could do, though, is give up sweet treats like cakes, ice cream, candies, pastries and other sweets instead. (more…)

There are several common beliefs associated with the right diet plan for a diabetic person. Trouble is, not all are true. There are some who believe that all vegetables and fruits are ideal to keep blood sugar levels under control which even help in weight loss, while others maintain that maida (all purpose flour) and rava, being derivatives of wheat, are safe food items. Some even avoid rice, but eat rice flakes instead.
Eating right is essential for any person with diabetes melitus, because certain choices of food can significantly reduce sugar levels.

Any food item high on fibre content is the best choice. For example, wholewheat, broken wheat and atta are better choices than maida, rava, sevia, noodles, pasta, etc. Since the skin of wholewheat is difficult to digest, the body has to work harder to digest it, bringing the blood sugar levels down. Similarly, wholewheat or atta chappati, wholewheat bread and wheat puttu are better than rice, idli, rice puttu and rice flakes (aval), which are made of fibee-less polished rice. Ragi puttu, ragi dosa, ragi porridge, oats porridge and cornflakes are better food options for a diabetic than rice items.

As for a vegetarian diet – vegetables and fruits, diabetics should pick those that are high on fiber and low on starch. For instance, all greens, cabbage, cauliflower, okra, beans, brinjal, (more…)

A lot of youngsters and teenagers are now using artificial sweeteners instead of sugar on a regular basis. Sweeteners are also consumed in large amounts in the form of ‘diet drinks’. Sugar-free chewing gum, chocolates, ice creams and jams also find many takers. Some believe consuming sugar-free products will help them reduce weight. Some just get into it out of peer pressure. On top of that, many nutritionists and fitness centers recommend it as well.

It has been scientifically proven that sugar substitutes have many harmful side-effects. Some of the compounds used to produce these sweeteners are also used to prepare various medical drugs. So it is like popping those medicines daily in large amounts. Imagine the impact on your body if you do this continuously for months or years. Also, many of the compounds in sweeteners have been found to stimulate the formation of cancerous tumors in certain organs. Some chemicals used in these substitutes have been proven to cause damage to the kidneys.

Using sugar substitutes is not the solution to obesity. The best way by which one can  lose weight is by finding a way to get rid of excess fat in the body. Brisk walking and regular outdoor activity will help you lose weight and stay fit. Practicing a safe and healthy diet goes a long way towards shedding those extra kilos. It’s also important to cut out (more…)

The primary thing to do for treating diarrhoea is consult a doctor. There are different types of organisms which cause diarrhoea and it isn’t possible to destroy them by just drinking light coconut water or lemon tea. They have to be treated with proper medication. Otherwise they will grow rapidly in the stomach and lead to bigger problem which will require prolonged medication.

Here are some dos and don’ts which needs to be followed during diarrhoea:

Milk should be avoided as far as possible for at least 48 hours. If only milk needs to be fed to the child, make sure to dilute it with boiled water. Light tea may also be good. Best is to consume milk only in the form of curd or buttermilk for two days. For breakfast, toasted bread or idli dipped in curd can be given. Salt and sugar may be added to the curd.

The reason for avoiding milk is that it is an ideal medium for bacteria and other organisms to grow and the infection inside the body will increase instead of being controlled and destroyed. On the other hand, curd has bacteria which can fight the organisms causing the infection. Non-veg food should be avoided completely for atleast 48-72 hours. Non-veg food again is the ideal medium for organisms to grow. (more…)

Losing weight and staying fit is top priority for most people and today, there are several workout and diet options available that will help you get to that goal. You can either hit a gym or dance class or even invest in a personal gym at home to burn the calories. At the same time, though, it is important to stick to a personalized diet plan that best suits your requirement.

Before embarking on an exercise or diet routine, it is essential to figure out what you want for your body. Are you looking at losing weight or building muscle mass? Because each of these requires a different strategy.

HOW TO BUILD MUSCLE

If you are already at an ideal weight and want to build muscle, focus on strength training exercise, weights, stretches and some yoga as well at least three to four times in a week.

To build muscle mass quickly, the workout should be supplemented with a good diet. The diet must include at least three meals with a perfectly balanced mix of carbohydrates and proteins. You may consume extra protein in the form of skimmed milk or egg white. Also remember that daal should be an integral part of lunch and dinner. (more…)