Healthy Crunch

Nutrition is the main aspect to consider for good health. You maybe burn out for hours in the gym or your aerobics class but all are futile without good nutrition.

Needless to say, you should always prefer a balanced diet. By a balanced diet I mean diet which has all the essential nutrients. Recall from your school education all the necessary nutrients. Carbohydrates, proteins, calcium, vitamins, minerals, fats (yes even fats are essential!) and fibers.

So, how to garner all these nutrients in your diet? There is a certain level of intake of each of the essential nutrients. Fats can be better kept at a minimum level. The intake of carbohydrates should be good (that’s where you get your energy from). Eat a lot of carbohydrates (obviously the food that consist it) and then work out hard. Protein intake should be abundant too. It adds on to your bone mass density. Calcium, mineral and vitamins too should be taken in an optimum quantity.

Now let’s zero down to specific food. For proteins you can rely on grilled chicken, chicken soup, pulses, cheese, and yogurt and so on. For your carbohydrates you can relish bread, wheat, rice and food made out of these. Milk, the complete food is high on calcium and gives adequate amount of other nutrients too. Fruits and raw vegetables are great on fibers, vitamins, anti oxidants main among other necessary nutrients.

Meditation is very beneficial for your health and if you practice it properly you can very well see the change in your lifestyle, work, progress, exams at the soonest. There is a notion about meditation just being done in a certain position in a certain place and so on. Let me tell you the facts now.

You don’t necessarily have to go to Himalayas for meditation or sit in a particular position for that. Understand the basic idea behind people saying so. It’s said because in a particular position or a soothing environment it becomes easier for you to meditate or concentrate. Ideally beginners must start that way. However as you reach the advanced level you realize that meditating is a way of life and you can do it anywhere and anytime, even while you are talking, dancing, eating or doing any other daily activity. Meditation typically is focusing your attention, your mind to a single point and to keep yourself calm in the bliss of self awareness. Keeping your mind completely blank is also meditation.

Try it and you’ll get a reality check of how weak you are when it comes to controlling your mind and concentration. It’s not as easy as controlling your subordinates!!

Massages can be sexy, soothing, refreshing all at the same time. What better way to get intimate to your partner than giving him or her, a relaxing and rejuvenating massage. Having a massage is one thing, but having it from your partner can be the epitome of dark romance.

So what are the things you need to do for that perfect massage? Firstly, nice places like a soft bed for your partner to lie down. An aromatic and enticing ambience with calmness and peace filled is a must. Scent the room with your partner’s favorite perfume and put on a light romantic music in the background (or some sweet and naughty talks from your side will do to!). Now start on, pick the spot, I needn’t say much about this. You very well know where to touch or just whisper in his or her ears to suggest a spot!

Now, the main massaging process (lest it be all romance and no massage!) is here. It involves compression i.e. just slight pressing of one hand over the other. Then you have friction wherein you anchor a small are like shoulders with one hand and press deeply and rub gently with the other hand. Stroking with your thumbs and fingers (at parallel position) provides great relief for both large and small areas. Kneading is ideal for fleshy area. Just lift the fleshy part and squeeze it with your palms.

Combine all the techniques together and you have a perfect massage!

Yoga is a very highly complex art. However, few simple posture of Yoga can make your body a better one to own. Yoga mainly concentrates on doing all the posture with utmost control over your breath and self awareness. It’s the unison of your mind and body!

In this modern world you may not find enough time to perform the various ‘asanas’ or postures of Yoga. Firstly to sit, in yoga you have three basic asanas. One is on the ‘padmasana’ in which you intertwine your legs and sit on your upper hips and lower buttocks. Your spine should be erect; in the same line as your head. The next posture for sitting is the ‘Sukhasana’ which is similar to ‘padmasana’ just that there isn’t the intertwining of legs. Next is the ‘vajrasana’ (this can be done in your office while working on PC). You sit the usual erect way but with your legs folded backwards than letting it down i.e. you sit on the thrust of your legs behind and lower buttocks. This posture helps you sit erect.

Standing and moving too need to be done with equal weight distributed to the various leg muscles and in constant control of your breath. Conquer your breath and you have conquered yourself.

Your hair adds on a lot to the way you look. Spruced up hair enhances your personality. Some simple tips can help in keeping good health of your hair.

We all know how hard summers are on our hair. Especially the girls out there don’t envisage you have the pretty look throughout the day similar to the one your mirror said when you were just about to leave for work or a hangout. The frizz hair can be handled to terms by using a post shower cream. One product that I would suggest is Phyto Page protective Sun Veil. Using shampoos for hair is essential Pantene V- Pro is my best pick for long hair. It keeps your hair smooth and gives a bit of sheen to it. Split hairs are always a problem with your long hairs, isn’t it? Herbal essence long term relationship split end hair protector should come to your rescue for $2.99. Don’t leave out scents. Your head sweats the most and your hair holds that sweat for long.

What next? A slight talk on etiquettes now- keep your hair combed elegantly no matter what the styling is and tidy. Using of stylish hair bands can be handy here. Go easy on color and don’t just try out everything on your lovely natural crown.

Fitness equipment has almost become a necessity as no one really pushes oneself in the efficient ground exercises. You may just perform better with fitness equipment than on yourself with ground exercises like pull ups and pushups.

Two fitness equipment that you may find worthy to buy are-

1. Treadmill – Treadmill are the ideal cardio workout you can have at your home. Yes, walking out or jogging would be simple, but that won’t offer you varying speeds that compel you into working out harder and better. Besides, do you have the time to hit out on the road always? You may find it odd to walk out late nights!
2. Rower – Rower is another good option for cardio. These are comparatively cheaper than treadmills. It works on the entire body and can be used effectively for weight training too. Various exercises can be tried out on your rower each concentrating on a particular part of your body.

The two fitness equipments are suggested for a better cardio, thus better health and fitness. If you desire hefty biceps and bulky chests you need to opt for heavy weight training. Anyway! Concentrate on staying fit and healthy!

Your eyes are as much as delicate as their beautiful. It needs special attention and care just like any other beautiful thing or person desires. More number of people are reported to have an increasing number of vision problems.

Few common vision problems are:

1. Myopia.
2. Hyperopia
3. Astigmatism

You must have heard about it somewhere in your high school science classes, didn’t you? These are refractive problems i.e. an error of the eye wherein it fails to focus the light on itself. Ideally the light should always focus directly on the retina of the eye.

Myopia is a problem wherein the eye focuses the light in front of the retina. Generally, people with myopia have a cornea that’s steeper than normal. Blurry distant vision should be your signal about myopia.

Hyperopia or farsightedness unlike myopia results when the light is focused behind the retina. The cornea here is flatter than normal. The symptoms include difficulty in watching objects near to the eyes coupled with eye strain and headaches while trying to do so.

Astigmatism leads to distortion in the areas of vision. The cornea is oval in this case.

Other common vision problems are color blindness and CVS (Computer vision syndrome).

Exercises are a must in everyone’s life. Any light form of exercise like walking for an hour too can create wonders to your health and fitness level. Busy life, hectic schedules, a bit of laziness I know you have several excuses for not exercising. Other than the usual walking, jogging here are two simple exercises by which you can get a rigid lean body. These are ground exercises (mostly done as warm up before heavy weight training):

1. Pull ups – Pull ups is a very good and engaging exercise. It works on your shoulders, your chest, and your arms and slightly on the rest of your body; after all it involves you lifting the entire body with the support of your palms. It’s a bit difficult for beginners but the more you do the better for you. Start up with a simple 3 and 5 gradually raise it to 10-15 and then vie for any number in the number system!
2. Pushups – This one two works on the entire upper body. Great for chests and arms. This involves you taking your entire weight horizontally down and then back with the support of your palms.

But the exercises ought to be done in the proper manner unless you want few damaged tissues and muscles. Both increase your stamina and strength. Have a control over your breath while doing any exercise.

Ergonomics typically is the study of the relationship and their working environment. These days most of them have a sedentary working environment and thus a sedentary lifestyle. You are no exception I assume. Even if you are not, I am sure you too aren’t completely relieved by body ailments, hand on your heart, are you? All the back pains, neck jerks, dizziness and other lifestyle problems can be handled well by tweaking with ergonomics.

Here are few simple do’s (I wouldn’t call it techniques rather a proper way to life!) that should get rid of your reiterating body ailments. This is said on the basis of ergonomics of an average working person.

Your posture!! This is the most important of all. Don’t bend on your PC, stop stooping while you walk and keep that shoulders and back erect as much as possible. It’s tough I know, but an initial conscious effort will make it a habit soon. While standing male sure your hips, shoulders and your head are in the same line. Stand dividing equal weight to all the muscles. Further quit smoking, eat healthy, work out aptly and sleep well.

Health and fitness is beyond just body building!

Eating disorders are mental disorders that affect a person’s eating habits so much so that it affects his or her physical health. So, are you one of them? Or you are aware of any dear ones with eating disorders? Well, eating disorders are really hard to get rid of, but it’s not impossible!

One of the major reasons for eating disorders that are on the rise these days is the intake of excessive junk food. Unhealthy foods are addictive and addiction as we know has both the body and mind involved. Eating food with addictive substances like sugar and salt makes you prone to eating disorders gradually.

Steps to reduce eating disorders are:

1. Avoid all the junk food. Be away from food that’s unhealthy.
2. Opting for medication is necessary in complicated cases. The treatment involves a strict diet, medication and psychotherapy.
3. Master Cleanse or the’ lemonade diet’ can be practiced for good results.

Of the most required is not the treatment but the individual’s willingness. Family and friends should flank the person and motivate him or her in a positive manner. So, now you know how to get rid of eating disorders. It’s a gradual process; do not lose patience after any initial changes.