healthfitnessnwellness

I love swimming but I think swimming is not for me. Everytime I have waded into water, I have landed with some serious illnesses.  Hepatitis A I was small and in school when my father decided to take me swimming along with him. He was good in swimming and diving. I accompanied him for a few weeks. But I developed fever, yellowish discoloration of urine and yellow sclera. I was diagnosed with hepatitis A.  An analysis of the possible causes was done. I used to never eat or drink outside. My parents were very strict on it. For school, I used to carry boiled and filtered water from home in a plastic water bottle. I used to have home cooked food at school lunch time: bread butter, bread milkmaid, bread jam or rice with curd. Then from where did I contract the bad virus? Further investigations pinpointed to the swimming pool as the likely cause of my illness. I recovered slowly with my parents' love, care and nutritious diet. But my return to the swimming pool was halted. Dad too s...

Food is for nutrition and to provide the body with energy and vital nutrients. Names of foods help us to know what the likely ingredients might be in it. But often, we notice that food names are misleading. They can fool a person into buying only to realize that it did not meet their expectations and imagination. For instance, take the example of samosa. An ideal samosa is refined wheat flour (maida) wrap with mashed potatoes and boiled peas inside. And when we say paneer samosa (cottage cheese stuffed fried dumplings), the picture that comes to our mind is of a wrap of refined wheat flour dough with paneer inside. But to your disappointment, you will find that these samosas are nothing but the normal samosas with mashed potatoes with or without boiled peas and just 1 small piece of cottage cheese at one corner!!! If we talk about rusks, most of these are made of refined wheat flour or maida which is not healthy. Maida is stripped of all the vital nutrients such as fiber, vitamins,...

You might have wondered sometimes as to why do they say: "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." This is an old English proverb. Its origin dates back to 1913 when it was coined. This was based on an old Pembrokeshire proverb of 1866 that stated that consuming nutritious foods like apples wards off illnesses and keeps you healthy. Therefore, doctor visits reduce.  How effective is this proverb in the modern age? The answer is not simple. Because times have changed. But we do know that fruits and vegetables are healthy for the body. They contain a lot of nutrients that assist and promote optimal health. They have phytonutrients that reduce inflammation, help bowel movements, decrease blood pressure, minimize blood sugar rise, lower blood cholesterol, control weight, reduce risk of chronic diseases and cancer, and give a feeling of well -being. They are rich in healthy carbs, vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, phytonutrients, and some like avocados have good fats in them as wel...

Fruits are delicious, nutritious and provide instant energy. The water content varies. During summer, you need more water and fruits can provide it. Which are the watery fruits good for summers  Know the water content of fruits in percentage: A. In alphabetical order   1. Apple, Whole unpeeled 83.90  2. Apricot  86.35  3. Avocado 74.27  4. Banana 74.26  5. Blackberries 86 6. Blueberries 85 7. Cantaloupe 90 8. Carambola (Star fruit) 91 9. Cherries 90 10. Cranberries, dried 12 11. Dates, whole 23 12. Figs, dried 28 13. Grape 81.30  14. Grapefruit 90.89  15. Honey dew 90 16. Kiwi, raw and peeled 83 17. Lemons, raw and peeled 89 18. Mangoes, whole and peeled 82 19. Nectarine 86 20. Orange 86.75  21. Papaya 89 22. Peach 87.66  23. Pear 83.81 (73-88 depending upon the variety) 24. Pineapple 87 25. Plantain, raw 65 26. Plum 85.20  27. Prunes, dried 32 28. Raisins 15 29. Raspberries, raw 87 30. Rhubarb 68 31. Strawberries 92 32. T...

  Sugar and its ill effects Sugars are monosaccharides or disaccharides that are present naturally in fruits or available as sucrose or refined sugar. They add sweetness to foods. But studies have revealed that excessive consumption of sugars is bad for health. It causes weight gain and chronic diseases in the long term.  Sugars are simple carbs. Each gram of it provides 4 calories. But eating them leaves us yearning for more. It's capacity to make you feel full is limited. Hence you tend to overeat foods containing them. This leads to weight gain, overweight and obesity.  Drinks to avoid in migraine In the first two hours of eating sugars, you feel energetic. You are alert and your mood is uplifted. You feel energetic. But after that comes the crash. As your blood sugar normalizes, you feel tired and fatigued. You get headaches, feel sleepy and there is an increased urge to urinate.  Moreover, sugar can increase heart diseases, cause body inflammation and atheroscle...

 Chinese restaurants are present worldwide. But do you know that some of the popular Chinese food dishes served in these restaurants are actually not authentic. They are not eaten in China and they are not traditional Chinese foods. Which are these foods?  Chinese restaurants and their Chinese food dishes Chinese restaurants globally serve a lot of Chinese food dishes. But some of these are not Chinese. No one in China eats those dishes. And they are actually just a westernized version of the Chinese dishes in order to cater to the wider appeal. They are entirely new or just modified versions of the original Chinese foods.  In China, diet is mostly plant based with little meat. Whereas, the Chinese foods in American Chinese restaurant usually meat heavy and sweeter and more fried. These 5 Chinese dishes are not known in China.  General Tso's Chicken Not found in China. This is fried chicken with sweet to spicy taste. This is high in calories and saturated fats as wel...

 Manchurian thorn is a medicinal tree. Its bark and roots have therapeutic uses. What are the indications of its use? What are its safety concerns? Manchurian thorn Manchurian thorn is actually a tree. It has medicinal use. Its bark and roots possess therapeutic properties. Its scientific name is Aralia mandshurica or Aralia elata. And it belongs to the family Araliaceae. It is a small shrub growing in eastern parts of Russia, Northern China, Japan, and Korea. Its other names include Angélique du Japon, Aralie Japonaise, Espino de Manchuria, Manchurian Angelica Tree, and Mandschurische Aralie. Its orally consumed for weight loss, weakness, tiredness, stress, depression, headaches, and as a stimulant, immunostimulant, and an adaptogen.  Its mechanism of a tion is unclear since there are very few studies on this product. A limited studies have shown that Manchurian thorn combined with Engelhardia chrysolepsis causes weight loss by elevating the levels of a body enzyme that helps...