Nutrition

Part 2: Foods Rich In Antioxidants

Nutrition /

Hi friends, Happy Friday! Happy Guru Parab and Kartik Purnima too!

I am so happy to be back after a gap of two weeks. Was taking a pause with family and the added classes/studies for Certified Personal Trainer from American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) did not make it any easier. It is a lot crazy right now and I really want to insert a crying emoji for better effects but I don’t think I can do that on my laptop.

Anyways, how have you been? Hope life is going crazily good for you ?

Today’s post, the part deux of Antioxidants, has been long due. Do read the part 1 of the Antioxidants Series here if you missed it or need to recall something. In it, we already understood what are free radicals, what is oxidation as well as oxidative stress and, what exactly are antioxidants.

There are several factors that can shake the balance of free radicals/antioxidants and cause the oxidative stress. These factors could be:

  • Pollution
  • Smoking, drugs and alcohol
  • Radiations
  • Poor diet choices
  • Stress
  • High blood pressure
  • Infections such as bacterial, fungal or viral
  • Excessive intake of minerals like copper, zinc, iron, magnesium as well as of Vitamins C and E
  • Exercising too much

Antioxidants are essential for our survival and we need to support our body in keeping this balancing act, strong. Without antioxidants, major damage would happen to our body and it won’t survive for long!

How?

Do not worry much. It is not possible to completely avoid the damage done by oxidative stress. However, there are things we could do to minimize their effects on our body and ensure a disease free, long, healthy life.

One way is through our diet. Antioxidants are found abundantly in various foods, apart from being produced in our body on its own. Make sure to have a healthy, well-balance diet and include the foods below in it:

  • Rajma (kidney beans)
  • Dark leafy greens – spinach, methi, kale, broccoli, tomato, bok choy, lemon grass
  • Beans – broad beans (sem fali)
  • Beetroot, carrot, olives, onions, garlic
  • Amla (Indian gooseberry), lemon and other citrus fruits
  • Berries – strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, goji berries
  • Cherries, prunes, stone apple (bael fruit), avocadoes, bananas, pomegranate, apricots, grapes
  • Nuts
  • Cocoa or dark chocolate (80% and above cocao content)
  • Artichokes – steaming them ensures the best antioxidant content
  • Red or purple cabbage – 4 times the regular cooked cabbage due to the red pigment anthocyanin
  • Microgreens
  • Barley flour (bajra)
  • Turmeric
  • Vitamin E, C and melatonin

Antioxidants are easy to add to the diet. There are so many options to suit all budgets and tastes. You don’t even have to calculate much, there are two simple rules:

  1. Add a variety to your diet
  2. Add colours (preferably in veggies)

Other than diet, there are a few other ways to decrease the oxidative stress in our body. These are:

  • Care for the environment and the Earth. Doing our own small bits towards reducing pollution and wastage of resources go a long way. Being mindful of our actions and their consequences to the planet/animals/humanity in general, keeps us happy and safe too
  • A regular exercise routine at moderate intensity works wonders
  • Quitting smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke, both
  • Quit or reduce alcohol consumption
  • Do not overeat and keep a routine for meals/snacks
  • Reducing our exposure to chemicals, pesticides, cleaning agents etc helps
  • Sunscreens help and I, personally struggle with this one…I always forget to put it on and these days, I have been trying to be mindful for it ?
  • Adequate sleep – differs from person to person but 6 hours of good sleep is adequate for most of us
  • Stress management

In the end, the important thing is to take care of yourself, your loved ones and Mother Earth. We will automatically be taken care of!

It is also time we start paying Mother Earth back for all that she gives us so patiently…to help us live and thrive even if we choose to do nothing in return. Not fair to give her nothing in return, wouldn’t you say?

Hope you found the series on antioxidants useful and it gave you food for thought…and some actual food ideas! Do join me on Instagram for regular updates on Health, Nutrition, Fitness and Motivation, here:

https://www.instagram.com/healthcoach_smita/

Till next Friday,

Love, Health & Peace

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Count Your Fibre Too!

General Health, Nutrition /

Hi friends, happy Friday!

How was the week that went by? It is the last day of 2021 today and I wish you a very happy, healthy and peaceful New Year. Have you made any new year resolutions? Do share 🙂

I haven’t made any for the last 3 years. I am too impatient to wait for the new year to start on a resolution or something new ?. I did make one about having one fruit every day, the last time I made one. My diet then, seriously lacked fruits and thankfully, I have managed to stick to it till today.

Today’s post is on fibre. I have written on it earlier also. On my cake labels, I mention fibre also along with calories, protein, carbs and fats. Someone wondered why I mention fibre, hardly anyone does. And right there I knew that I have to write on fibre again.

It might be highly under-rated especially when we calculate macros but for our body, it is very important. Right now, it is clubbed under carbohydrates but I am pretty sure that soon, it would occupy its own place of honor as the 7th major nutrient group.

What is fibre?

We associate fibre with easy bowel movement and that’s all, right? This is so far from the truth!

The world is now waking up to gut-flora and friendly bacteria. Words like probiotic and prebiotic are now gaining momentum. Till now, we associated intestines with just digestion and bowel movement.

Today, we know that our intestines are way, way more than just that! It is like a second brain out  there, in our gut!

Dietary fibre is the indigestible part of the plant-based foods such as cereals, veggies and fruits. It is included in carbohydrates group of macronutrients. So, basically any carbohydrates that we can’t digest, are fibre. Fibre:

  • Helps in keeping our digestive system in good shape
  • Relieves constipation, helps in IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and prevents hemorrhoids
  • Helps in heart-diseases management
  • Lowers LDL, the bad cholesterol
  • Reduces risks of certain types of cancers such as bowel and breast cancers
  • Helps in weight management and obesity
  • Helps in diabetes management – by keeping sugar-levels in check
  • Helps in hormonal balance
  • Helps in keeping the gut-flora flourishing and this alone leads to huge benefits in terms of overall health, including mental health (sounds strange, right?)
  • Reducing inflammation in body and supporting immune system

Types of Fibre

There are two types of fibre, depending upon their solubility in water. Most foods contain both the types in varying ratios.

  • Soluble – Soluble fibre absorbs lot of water and bulks up our stool for easy movement as well as in slowing down of digestion. Can be metabolized by the good gut bacteria. Good sources of soluble fibre are:
  • Bran – from oats, barley
  • Fruits and veggies
  • Legumes, lentils, bean etc.
  • Soy milk and soy products
  • flaxseed
  • psyllium
  • Insoluble – Insoluble fibre does opposite of what soluble fibre does. It does not absorb water and it actually slows down the time that food spends in our intestines. Good sources include:
  • Bran – wheat, rice and corn etc.
  • Peels/skin of fruits and veggies
  • Wholegrain foods
  • Nuts and seeds

Then there is resistant starch which is not really fibre but works like it. This is also very important for our gut bacteria. Out gut-bacteria thrive on it and convert it into short-chain fatty acids. These fatty acids are super-important for our cholesterol levels as well as bowel health. Good sources of resistant starch are:

  • Potatoes
  • Bananas – unripe
  • Lentils
  • Unprocessed cereals and grains

How Much Fibre In A Day?

The recommended fibre intake for adults is 25 gm for women and 30-38 gm for men. For children, depending upon their age, it ranges from 18g to 28 g, boys needing a bit more than the girls.

Fibre is important for everyone and even more so, for older people since their digestion tends to slow down with age.

It is not difficult to achieve these figures provided we add these to our diet on a daily basis:

  • Wholegrains and wholegrain products such as breads, atta etc
  • Breakfast cereals such as – oats, wheat, barley
  • Quinoa, chia seeds, fresh coconut, dark chocolate, popcorn
  • Adding more veggies and fruits to our diet especially apples, pears, berries, bananas, beetroots, carrots, sweet potatoes, methi and other leafy vegetables as well as green beans
  • Eating peels and skins with our fruits and veggies, whenever edible
  • Adding legumes – pulses, beans, chickpeas and lentils
  • Adding dried fruits and nut in our diet (in moderation) such as almonds, pistachios, walnuts, pumpkins/sunflower seeds

In The End

  • Make sure to consume lot of water while upping your daily dietary fibre intake
  • Make sure to increase your dietary fibre intake slowly to avoid any abdominal discomfort
  • Very high-fibre diet (40gms or more) are linked to various nutritional deficiencies as well
  • Fibre supplements should only be taken after consulting with your doctor or nutritionist

Hope you found today’s post useful. Do join me on Instagram for more such info, on this link

https://www.instagram.com/healthcoach_smita/

Happy New Year once again and till next Friday,

Love, Health & Peace

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Seeds 101

Nutrition /

Hi friends, happy Friday!

How was the week that went by?

As you know, “Nutrition Works” is the name of my own Nutrition Label under which I have a chocolate-cake (and another lemon-cake in pipeline) which many of you have ordered multiple times and loved. Most heartening was the fact that the kids love it too. This proves that we don’t have to feed our kids (and ourselves, of course) all the unhealthy ingredients of a commercial-cake just because they like it. They like the healthier version, just fine too.

The week was exciting for me as after cakes, I have launched the second product which is a “Seeds Bar”. These seed-bars are handmade fresh on order, with clean/premium/natural ingredients and have no added sugar or oils. It is high in protein, good fats and fibre…good carbs too!

Today’s post had to be about seeds. In our daily diet, seeds are majorly missing. How many of us eat seeds on a regular basis? Nuts, we still manage but seeds, hardly. We forget to consume these little precious nutrition-dense nuggets that the nature has provided us with so magnanimously.

Let’s get acquainted with seeds today. And then you can add some to your diet if you want. However, make sure the type or quantity doesn’t have any medical contradictions and it aligns with your goals, if you have any.

What Are Seeds?

Seeds hold all the ingredients to start a whole new life some day, provided the conditions are right. That’s how full of wholesome nutrition they are. Nutrients such as:

  • Fibre
  • Good fats
  • Antioxidants
  • Vitamins
  • Minerals

When they are included in our diet as a part of well-balanced meal, they can help us in multiple way. Depending upon what and how much we eat, it can help us in many things such as:

  • Blood sugar control
  • Cholesterol
  • Digestion
  • Blood pressure

There are many seeds available for human consumption today. We have access to local as well as imported seeds. Our traditional Indian diets always included seeds such as sesame, pumpkin etc as per our seasonal and medicinal requirements.

Since it is not possible to cover all the seeds of the world here, let us today discuss 4 seeds that are highly popular and easily accessible for us. These are:

  1. Chia seeds
  2. Flax seeds
  3. Sesame seeds
  4. Pumpkin seeds

Each of these is a compact powerhouse in itself. Though every seed might not suit everyone but most of us can benefit from these for sure, in moderation and as a part of a well-balanced diet.

  1. Chia Seeds: Coming to limelight a few years back, these small black seeds are not to be confused with Indian basil/sabja seeds. Chia is Quite high in fibre and good fat especially Omega-3 (ALA form). It is also a very rich source of B1, manganese and magnesium.

Apart from this, chia seeds are high in polyphenols which is a potent antioxidant. With all these benefits, and as a part of well-balanced diet, chia seeds can effectively:

  • Improve sugar levels
  • Improve cholesterol
  • Reduce heart concerns
  • Increase satiety meaning can keep us full for long

2. Flax Seeds: Also called sometimes linseeds, flax seeds are also high on fibre and Omega-3 (ALA) however it is best to eat them roasted and ground. Flax seeds are also powerful antioxidants and can help reduce LDL levels when used as a part of well-balance diet.

Lignans, a kind of polyphenols found in flaxseeds especially is a phytoestrogen though it can help men also in certain cases. Other than this, flaxseeds can help with:

  • Sugar levels
  • Heart risks
  • Cholesterol levels
  • Reduces risk of certain cancers

3. Sesame Seeds: My favorite seeds (mostly because of til laddoos) and quite high in another lignan called sesamin, may effectively help with a lot of things including:

  • Estrogen concerns
  • Cholesterol concerns
  • Inflammation in body
  • Arthritis
  • General health and fitness

4. Pumpkin Seeds: Pumpkin seeds are rich in good fats, phosphorus and certain other minerals. A varied nutritional profile in pumpkin seeds can help in:

  • Reducing risk of bladder stones and other urinary discomforts
  • Improving menopausal symptoms 
  • Certain cancers
  • Helping with enlarged prostates
  • Lowering of blood cholesterol

There are a lot of other seeds available in market today such a basil/sabja seeds, hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, pine seeds, poppy seeds etc. Even quinoa, wild rice and pomegranate (fruit) are seeds. These are easy to add to our diet as a part of salads, smoothies, bars etc. Just make sure you use in moderation and avoid any medical contradictions.

Hope you found today’s post useful. It skims the surface of seeds but that was the whole idea today. In case you wish to join me on Instagram, for regular stories on Health, Nutrition, Fitness and Motivation…here is the link:

https://www.instagram.com/healthcoach_smita/

Till next Friday

Love, Health and Peace

Seeds 101 Read More »