L-Arginine

Starving yourself can be the worst way to lose weight. Not only does this affect your health, it also slows down your metabolism to conserve energy. A slow metabolism means that the body will take longer to burn fats. This is the opposite of what is needed for weight loss. On the other hand, eating certain types of food can boost your metabolism and aid weight loss. These foods are high in nutrient value and low on fats. Let’s take a look at some of these types of food.

1. Grapefruit: Eating half a grapefruit a day can make you see a rapid fall in your weight. This fruit is not only rich in vitamins and proteins but also contains a compound that can lower the hormones that affect fat storage such as insulin. Grapefruit is also 90% water and hence satiates hunger faster.
2. Brown rice: Many people find it impossible to imagine a meal without rice. White rice may look nicer but brown rice is richer in fiber and healthier to eat. Brown rice also contains healthy carbs that burn fat and boost metabolism. Additionally, it has a low calorific value.
3. Salmon: Of all meats, salmon is the leanest and least fattening. This rich source of protein keeps the stomach feeling satiated for longer without adding fat to your body. The best way to eat salmon for weight loss is to grill it or steam it.
4. Green tea: Green tea is rich in antioxidants that help burn fat and shed calories. Green tea should ideally be had without milk or sugar and in this way it also keeps the body hydrated.
5. Nuts: Unroasted and unsalted nuts are a healthy snack that can help you lose weight. Nuts like almonds are rich in an amino acid known as Larginine which helps burn fat and carbs while working out. Pine nuts are rich in healthy fatty acids that subdue hunger hormones and burn abdominal fat. Pistachios are also excellent for weight loss as they are rich in fiber, proteins and healthy, unsaturated fats.
6. Oats: Oats is a key element in many weight loss diets. This is because oats are high in fiber content and keep you satiated for longer. Oats also aid in digestion and help in the elimination of wastes. It also absorbs fats and hence can lower cholesterol.
7. Dark chocolate: A little bit of dessert can actually aid weight loss as long as it’s dark chocolate. This type of chocolate boosts metabolism by burning fats and calories. It also helps curb the craving for sweets and salty snacks. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a dietitian-nutritionist.

Back pain (Low Back Pain) is pain felt in the lower back that usually originates from the muscles, nerves, bones, joints or other structures in the spine. It is a common complaint. Most people will experience low back pain at least once during their lives. Back pain is one of the most common reasons people go to the doctor or miss work.

Men and women are equally affected. It occurs most often between ages 30 and 50, due in part to the aging process but also as a result of sedentary life styles with too little (sometimes punctuated by too much) exercise. The risk of experiencing low back pain from disc disease or spinal degeneration increases with age.

SYMPTOMS
Symptoms of back pain may include:

•    Muscle ache
•    Shooting or stabbing pain
•    Pain that radiates down your leg
•    Limited flexibility or range of motion of the back
•    Inability to stand up straight

CAUSES
Back pain often develops without a specific cause that your doctor can identify with a test or imaging study. Conditions commonly linked to back pain include:

• Muscle or ligament strain – Repeated heavy lifting or a sudden awkward movement may strain back muscles and spinal ligaments. If you’re in poor physical condition, constant strain on your back may cause painful muscle spasms.
• Bulging or ruptured disks – Disks act as cushions between the individual bones (vertebrae) in your spine. Sometimes, the soft material inside a disk may bulge out of place or rupture and press on a nerve. The presence of a bulging or ruptured disk on an X-ray doesn’t automatically equal back pain, though. Disk disease is often found incidentally; many people who don’t have back pain turn out to have bulging or ruptured disks when they undergo spine X-rays for some other reason.
• Spinal degeneration – degenaration from disc wear and tear can lead to a narrowing of the spinal canal. A person with spinal degeneration may experience stiffness in the back upon awakening or may feel pain after walking or standing for a long time.

DIAGNOSIS

The diagnosis of low back pain involves a review of the history of the illness and underlying medical conditions as well as a physical examination. It is essential that a complete story of the back pain be reviewed including injury history, aggravating and alleviating conditions, associated symptoms (fever, numbness, tingling, incontinence, etc.), as well as the duration and progression of symptoms.

AYURVEDA MANAGEMENT

 Ayurveda refers this condition as ‘Kati shoola’. Kati refers to ‘low back’ (hip) and shoola refers ‘pain’. Kati vata or Prishta shoola or Kati graha or Trika shoola or Trika graha are other names or conditions mentioned in the classics. Vata is the predominant dosha causing these conditions and are categorized under Vataja nantmaja vyadhis.

NIRAMAY THERAPY
The treatment for Back pain or Kati shoola will be planned according to the presentation of the dosha predominance and underlying cause. Treatment may include Panchakarma therapies for Shodhana, internal medicines, external applications and advise on diet and life style modification.

Therapies like

• Abyanga
• swedan
• Dhanyamla dhara
• Podikizhi & Elakizhi
• Pizhichil & Navarakizhi
• Basti & Kati vasti etc are done according to the severity and nature of the disease. Therapies may range between 8 - 28 days and can expect maximum recovery with in this period. Duration may vary further based on the underlying cause.

The bean-shaped organ kidneys in our body is one of the most important parts that helps in eliminating waste products from the body and also for maintaining the hormonal balance. But due to various reasons such as stress or wrong diet, often the kidneys may face irregular working disorder.

Of course, there are a number of medicines today and also medical treatments to cure various kidney diseases. But if you are not pretty sure of taking such treatments and wish to have something much secure, then trying the home remedies can be the best thing. Ayurveda has a list of remedies that help in curing such kidney issues.

Things To Avoid

1. Reducing Salt Intake: When the condition of the kidney is not feasible, consuming salt over it can make the situation even worse. If you are urinating, again and again, this means that your body already have an excess amount of potassium and the kidney failure is may be due to an abnormal balance of hormones in the body fluid. Hence, it is the best thing to take a low salt diet. Consuming frozen food items may also add extra salt to the body and hence an ideal practice is to go for fresh fruits, vegetables and meat items.
2. Lowering Protein Intake: Now, this is a tricky thing and you need to cross check this. There are many times when kidney problems take place due to the high amount of protein intake while some other times it takes place due to lack of protein in the body. So, lowering the protein intake can be done to cross check whether the condition is improving or not.

Remedies To Follow

1. Herbal Tea: Among various natural remedies that can be started to cure kidney ailments, one of the best one is to include herbal tea in the diet. There are a number of herbal tea options that can be included in your daily diets such as dandelion tea, blueberry tea and marshmallow tea, but the one that is said to affect the most is the green tea. Green tea is said to be high in antioxidant properties and hence they are great in curing kidney ailments.
2. Aloe Vera Juice: This one plant helps in curing a number of issues both externally as well as internally. Whether it is skin issue or intestine issue, aloe vera juice can be of great help. Aloe Vera has an anti-oxidant property and hence it is great in treating kidney infection and then curing the diseases of the kidney completely.
3. Water: This can be the simplest way to treat any kind of kidney problem. If you are in the initial stage of any kidney ailment, then the best way is to treat it with water. Drink at least about 6-8 glasses of water each day that will allow you to urinate more and hence the problem may get cured.
4. Yoga: Pranayam, suryanamaskar and meditation should be followed everyday. 

There are different medicines and also herbs available to treat kidney dysfunction. But these above mentioned can be the easiest methods of all. In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

For most us tattoos are a form of expressing their personalities. However, the things you identify with, in your teens may not be something you want to be associated with as you grow older. In some cases, a tattoo may not come out as you imagined it to be and this may leave you with a permanent adornment that you don’t like. Thankfully, though tattoos are permanent, it is possible to remove them. As with getting a tattoo in the first place, removing it is not as simple as it sounds and can be quite painful.

Here are a few things to keep in mind before opting to remove a tattoo.

1. Complete removal is not guaranteed: Not all tattoos are the same, the deeper tattoo ink is injected into the skin, the harder it is to remove. In many cases, tattoo removal may leave behind a faint shadow of the tattoo or cause permanent scarring.
2. How you got your tattoo made affects its removal: Professional tattoo artists have a steady hand and inject ink at the same depth, unlike amateurs who inject ink at varying depths. Thus removing a professional tattoo is easier than removing one made by an amateur.
3. It is painful: As when getting a tattoo made, removing it is also painful. The amount of pain felt depends largely on the location of the tattoo. In the case of laser treatment, this can be described as the feeling of having an elastic band repeatedly strike the skin. You could ask for local anesthesia or a numbing cream to be applied before starting the procedure to reduce the pain.
4. Multiple sessions are required: On an average 6-10 sessions are required to remove a tattoo. However, the actual number of sessions depends on a number of factors including the location of your tattoo, the number of colors in it etc. you will also need to wait at least 6 weeks between sessions to reduce the risk of side effects.
5. There are side effects: Some of the side effects you may notice after a tattoo removal session are blistering of the skin, bleeding, redness or darkening of the skin and inflammation of the tattooed area. These are temporary and should subside in a few weeks. However, darkening or lightening of the skin can last for up to a year. Scarring, burns and textural changes to the skin are other potential side effects. These can often be permanent. In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Anxiety" is a general term that describes a variety of experiences, including nervousness, fear, apprehension, and worry, that are common in several mental health disorders. While most of us have anxiety at some time, this is completely different from an anxiety attack or anxiety disorder. Normal feelings of nervousness, worry, and fear often have a known trigger (a major exam, money issues, or seeing a bug). But when you're having a full blown panic attack or anxiety attack, the symptoms — chest pain, flushing skin, racing heart, and difficulty breathing — can make you feel as though you're going to faint, lose your mind, or die. The reality is, you won’t. The key to surviving is to learn all you can about anxiety attacks and practice the skills you need to get through them.

According to the Mayo Clinic, signs of an anxiety attack include:

• Abdominal cramping
• Chest pain
• Chills
• Dizziness, light-headedness, or faintness
• Fear of loss of control or death
• Feeling of unreality or detachment
• Headache
• Hot flashes
• Nausea
• Numbness or tingling sensation
• Rapid, pounding heart rate
• Sense of impending doom or danger
• Shortness of breath or tightness in your throat
• Sweating
• Trembling or shaking

The causes of anxiety attacks are not well understood. Some traumatic life events can set off anxiety attacks if the person is prone to depression or anxiety disorders. Also, medical conditions and some medications may trigger anxiety attacks. Many believe anxiety attacks run in families with a genetic predisposition. In other words, if your mom and her sister had anxiety attacks, it’s likely you will, too.