Dt. Tania

Tips To Stay Healthy This Summer

The fuel that enables your body to function and supports all your activities is food. Following a right diet and having healthy eating habits can help in preventing as well as treating a number of diseases that may affect you badly. On the other hand, poor dietary habits and food choices can have adverse effects in the long-term. 

Food has a direct relationship to physical health, know how they are related:

1. The nutrients that you get from a balanced and healthy diet keep your brain active, and your heart and muscles working. They also help in building your bones, muscles, and tendons in addition to regulating body processes like blood pressure.
2. It supplies you with energy so that you are able to carry out your daily activities with ease. From strength to coordination and agility to speed, your food is the source of power for all these levels of performance.
3. Having a healthy diet ensures your body movements are executed with minimal effort. In contrast, a poor diet can make each of your body movement an effort that is filled with strain, stress and pain.
4. The consumption of fruits and vegetables, as well as whole grains, enables your body to function properly and not suffer from energy spikes and breakdowns that a carbohydrate and sugar-rich diet may bring about.
5. Having foods that are high in trans-fats such as cookies, pies, cakes or doughnuts and saturated fats such as red meat, butter or cheese alongside fatty meats puts you at risk of developing major health diseases that can affect your physical well-being.
6. The consumption of foods that are rich in unsaturated fats such as fish, nuts and vegetable oils protects and restores your body.
7. Eating a balanced diet ensures you don't gain extra weight, thereby lowering your risk of developing diet-related health problems, such as obesity and high cholesterol, etc.  
8. Following a healthy diet plan ensures you don't end up with eating disorders like bulimia, anorexia and binge-eating disorder that are detrimental to your physical health. 

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

As much as you would like, an ice cream can't help you cool down in the scorching heat of this summer. Although one may argue that one feels just fine after an ice cream, the truth is that it's only temporary. Cooling foods are what you should have as they help to cool heat and cleanse toxins from the body.
Here are some of the foods that help cool down your body naturally:
1) Cucumber - Not surprisingly, being 'cool as a cucumber' actually holds true. Cucumbers are fruits that help keep the body hydrated. Keeping your body cool during hot days is vital to your health as it can help prevent a number of complications such as heat strokes and dehydration. Munching on cucumber slices and hummus is a good way to beat the heat and stay cool.
2) Watermelon - This quintessential beach fruit is yet another one which would help you beat the heat. This seasonal fruit acts like an internal air-conditioner, and is rich in water, helping in reducing body heat to a large extent while keeping you hydrated.
3) Peaches - Peaches are not only delicious but are very rich in vitamins A and C, which help in keeping your body cool. Besides, these vitamins also help in maintaining healthy skin and provide useful calories to the body.
4) Apples - Apples are fruits that help to fill you up and cool down your body at the same time. They contain about 4g of fiber and around 95 calories and are enriched with a soluble fiber called pectin, which stops hunger and helps in shedding weight.
5) Pineapple - Along with banana, cucumber, and some other fruits, pineapple helps to make a healthy smoothie. These ingredients have cooling properties, which hydrate the body and help to clear the heat. Also, pineapple contains an enzyme called bromelain, which reduces inflammation in the body.

Calcium is an essential mineral that is required by the body for various functions. It is used for building and maintaining strong bones and teeth. It is also used in the cardiovascular and nervous systems for preventing all kinds of health conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, lyme disease, etc.

It is, thus, extremely necessary to have calcium-rich foods as a part of your daily diet. Dairy products constitute as the primary source of calcium on an everyday basis. Of these, milk and curd are the two most important. But in case, you're wondering which one of the two is better for you, read on to find out.

Calcium content:
There has been much debate about which is the better source of calcium - milk or curd. In very simple terms, milk ranks higher than curd in terms of calcium content. 100g of milk contains around 125mg of calcium, whereas 100g of curd has a lower calcium content of approximately 85mg. So if you really want to up your calcium intake, milk will be a better choice.

Other health benefits:
If one is to take into consideration other health benefits provided by these two food products, curd takes the lead by a landslide.

Following are the known benefits of curd:

1. It is far easier to digest.
2. It is a suitable dairy product for those who are lactose intolerant.
3. It cleanses the digestive tract.
4. It prevents infections of the stomach and intestines.

In the end, it's for you to decide what your body needs more. If it requires more calcium, choosing milk would be wise; but if you cannot digest milk, opting for curd will ensure you get a healthy dose of calcium along with scores of other health benefits.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

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