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Milk is one of the simplest forms of protein that can be consumed every day. About 100 ml of cow’s milk contains approximately 3 grams protein, 4 grams fat and 4.5 grams lactose or milk sugar. Today most people, young and old, are health conscious and follow an enthusiastic exercise regimen. Even young children are engaged in extra sports or coaching classes for some game or sport. This means more work out of the muscles, more wear and tear and muscle rebuilding. But in following such a lifestyle, the question is if this individual is consuming an adequate amount of protein to rebuild and repair these muscles.

Tissue and muscle building, maintenance and repair is a constant process, requiring frequent and adequate supply of protein. Inadequate consumption of protein leaves people feeling exhausted and their bodies unable to build and maintain muscle. Milk, however is one of the best sources for this protein and can be consumed every day. In fact, drinking a glass of milk or 2 to 3 cups of milk-based tea or coffee is a habit for most people. And if milk is not ingested directly, there are others who make up for it by consuming curd.

While these are a good source for protein, it is ideal to remove the cream or skim the milk as the fat in milk is of animal origin and can add too much fat and cholesterol to your body. (more…)

We all look forward to a bit of indulgence at parties and get-togethers, but after that,  most of us want to shift the kilos we piled on. So we head for the health food aisles in the supermarket and load up our trolleys with foods we think are lighter, leaner and diet-friendly. But are we just wasting our cash? Yes, according to nutrition scientist Professor Michael Lean, of the University of Glasgow, who has called for tighter food regulations to stop gullible shoppers wasting lot of money on ‘quack’ health foods that are useless.

Don’t Believe Hype

Although direct food claims such as ‘low-fat’ or ‘high-fibre’ must be proven, there are no controls on the use of vague terms such as ‘light’ or ‘lean’ or over using pictures of skinny-looking models on packets. Unfortunately, many of us are so desperate to be trim that we happily buy into a product’s weight-loss myth. Research by the Consumers’ Association found that nearly half of all shoppers say they’re prepared to pay extra for diet or healthy foods — so it’s no wonder some unscrupulous manufacturers are cashing in. (more…)

As refined and fast foods flood our markets, television screens and bodies, the natural, the raw and the fibre seem to have disappeared.  Fast foods have more disadvantages than advantages .Most parents complain that their children don’t eat fruits, salads or vegetables. The question is, do we eat them? Are they a part of our homes, diets or dining tables?

Trouble is that the answer to all these is ‘No’. Everyone’s buying and consuming what’s convenient, fast and tasty. It sure is easier to eat a chocolate or desert after dinner than wash and cut an apple or fruit. At the end of a long working day, there’s just no time or inclination to prepare a salad. Making rice or pasta or just ordering a pizza, is anyday easier than slogging out in a kitchen to make atta rotis.
But then, man was meant to eat both cooked and raw food, whole fruits and salads, and natural foods like grains of wheat, ragi, jowar, bajra, corn, oats and whole beans like channa , rajma, moong, mote, lobia, etc. These raw fruits and vegetables and unrefined grains and beans are packed with vitamins and minerals that help us keep well and fit and boost immunity. Also, the common question of  ‘how o lose weight with natural diet’ can be well found here.

Adults and children who follow a healthy diet regularly tend to fall ill less often. Moreover, the extra vitamins and minerals help the body processes to function more efficiently and smoothly giving a feeling of wellness, high energy levels and fitness that no tonic or pill can supply. (more…)

Most of us are familiar with lifestyle diseases like diabetes, heart disease and hypertension and have equipped ourselves to deal with them by adopting a more healthy lifestyle that includes a well-balanced diet and exercise. Of  late, however, there have also been reports of an increase in kidney disorders among people.Therefore, it is best to know about the various kidney problems, how they are caused, who is most likely to get them and how best to prevent kidney trouble. And if there’s a hereditary link to a disease, one should learn to delay its onset or manage it wisely if it has already set in.

In kidney disorders, the kidneys cease to function normally and waste products and excess water build up in the body, disrupting the chemical balance of the blood. The condition may take two forms:  acute kidney failure or chronic kidney failure.The first form of preventive defense is asking for blood urea and uric acid levels during routine blood tests as part of the general health check-up. Blood urea should be below 25 mg/dl, creatinine below 1.0 mg/dl, and uric acid below 5.0 mg/dl for women and below 6.0 mg/dl for men.

The treatment for kidney failure involves first reversing or slowing the damage, and then with treatment and diet control restoring the balance of the chemicals in the blood. And if the disorder is an offshoot of an existing condition like hypertension or diabetes, getting these conditions under control also stems the progression of the kidney disorder. (more…)

Cholesterol is a substance produced in the body that helps in the production of cell membrane and hormones as well as in the digestion of foods. It is mainly produced in the body, but about 15-20 per cent is consumed through food that we eat. Cholesterol attaches itself to protein in the blood to travel to cells and the combination is known as lipo-protein. Of all the lipo-proteins, the two most important ones are LDL and HDL.

Most of us are ignorant about cholesterol. The biggest confusion is in terms of good and bad cholesterol. There is a simple way to get rid of the confusion. Say HDL — high density lipo-protein — which is the good cholesterol can be called the happy cholesterol. It has a very important function of carrying cholesterol away from the heart. LDL is the low density lipo protein, which can be called Low or Sad because it functions in reverse order of carrying cholesterol towards the heart.

For a healthy body, it is essential to make sure that the value of total cholesterol in the blood is less than 200mg/dl. Also, that the value of LDL or low cholesterol is below 100mg/dl. On the other hand, we must ensure that the HDL or happy cholesterol is above 40mg/dl. (more…)