Are Myths Related to Foods True?

What should you eat and when? There is a whole lot of facts and fiction floating around simultaneously on the subject. All of us do have our share of myths that we blindly believe in.  We ask Shachi Sohal, Nutrition Expert at Dr. BLK Memorial Hospital  and Dr. S.V. Tripathi, Consultant Ayurveda at Moolchand Ayurveda Hospital on the subject to get a clear-cut picture. Read what experts have to say.

1.      CLAIM: Eating yoghurt at night can cause cold, arthritic pains.

Nutrition Expert:  To set the facts right common cold is caused by virus which travels through hand-to-hand contact. Yoghurt is an excellent food for your stomach, bones and overall health because of the presence of probiotic bacteria or lactic acids in it. Thank Turks thousand times who invented it.  In fact, yoghurt introduces healthy bacteria in your gut and improves your immunity which can stave off cold and flu. You can safely eat yoghurt anytime, during day or night, only thing to watch out for is that you shouldn’t mix it with meat products, especially pork or beef, because these two can’t be processed by the stomach when we have it in the same meal. Having yoghurt at night along with wheat-germ, granola or a bit of fruit will induce sound sleep. However, if the person is suffering from allergies, pneumonia or bronchitis it is advisable to avoid yoghurt.

Ayurveda Expert:  Ayurveda identifies three predominant doshas in each individual: vata, kapha and pitta. While traditional healing gives thumbs up to yoghurt, it recommends it in the day time.  If eaten in the evening or at night, yoghurt creates digestive toxins--ama--and clogs the channels of the body. But for arthritis patients yoghurt is off the limits even during the daytime, because of its acidic nature it can increase swelling of the tissues.

Status: If you are a healthy individual you can eat yoghurt any time, but you should try to have your last meal by 7.30 pm so that your body gets the time to digest food. Avoid frozen yoghurt and stay away from it, if you’ve arthritis.

2.     CLAIM: Warm water with lemon helps lose weight, keep constipation at bay and improves complexion.

Nutrition Expert: Lemon juice has vitamin C in it and when you have it with a warm glass of water in the morning you have hydrated your system and it makes your bowels move. Lemon is not only a vitamin C rich citrus fruit and an immune system booster; it also acts as blood purifier and improves the body’s ability to get rid of toxins. When taken regularly it acts as a tonic to the liver and stimulates it to fulfill its daily digestive and cleansing functions. Linking it with weight loss is stretching the idea too far and vitamin C is good for the complexion.

Ayurveda Expert: Lemon water is considered to be one of the best alkalizing drinks available. While lemon is very acidic, it turns to alkaline ash in the body, making the entire body system more alkaline. This is considered to be a more favorable state for better health. Many alternative health experts claim that an alkaline body is healthier and that most disease happens when the body is acidic. For this reason, drinking lemon water is attributed to better overall health.

Status: Continue doing, you’re not going to lose anything and certainly your body will benefit with 8 ounces of warm water and lemon juice.

3.     CLAIM: Eat fruits for dessert if you wish to lose weight

Nutrition Expert: You too solemnly cut an apple post lunch and dinner and have it feeling virtuous that you’ve restrained yourself from the calorie laden sweet or pastry. Folks, the verdict is out. To get the maximum advantage of the fruit, you should have it immediately after waking up, because it helps to raise your blood sugar levels gently, thereby starting your day on a gentle mode. Do not eat fruits along with other foods and avoid fruits as dessert.

         Ayurveda Expert: Fruits should be consumed before the meals.  As fruits are considered good appetizers; they are lighter and easy to digest, are an energetic source of energy and gives immediate energy. 

Status: Avoid it. Have fruits on an empty stomach and your bowels will move. Eat it in between meals and you get excellent low calorie snack.

4.     CLAIM: Rice is fattening and it’s a cold food. Hence avoid it if you catch cold.

Nutrition Expert:  A cup of cooked rice contains 200 calories. Rice is eaten in many countries throughout the world. Rice is great for energy. It's an excellent source of starchy carbohydrate, which we need to give us energy.  Low glycemic index in rice results in release of the energy into your body slowly and in even way. When you choose brown rice you increase your fibre intake thrice.  Whole grain rice contains all the grain’s nutrients. White rice, however, has been processed.

Ayurveda Expert: Ayurveda considers rice good for balancing pitta and vata. Ayurveda recommends rice for people suffering from high blood pressure and it holds basmati rice in high esteem. Soft boiled rice is particularly useful if you suffer from gastro disturbances.

Status: Like all good things in life, you can have rice in moderation if you enjoy good health. Diabetics need to seek their doctor’s approval.

5.      CLAIM: Avoid sour foods during your menstrual cycle.

Nutrition Expert: Eating sour foods can inhibit the flow of menstrual blood. Eating certain potent bitter roots, which are used for medicinal purposes (and not consumed as food) and are considered to be "hot," induces menstruation. Thus, they can be used t o regulate menstruation, especially for women with severe dysmenorrhea.            

 Ayurveda Expert: Ayurveda considers periods as ‘rekta moksha’ or blood letting, a process which purifies the body of the impure blood. Irritant foods like sour (pickles), chilly (mirch based food), curd, cold drinks, fast foods are not recommended during that period by Ayurveda.   A minimum rest of 1-2 days is recommended in this period and, running and extreme walking in this period is contraindicated.  It may cause uterine tumor, follicular cysts, PCOD and excessive bleeding.  Sour and pungent food irritate the tissue thus increases menstrual bleeding.

Status: Since many women feel bloated and get runs at the start of their periods, it makes sense to avoid acidic foods and fast foods that will be hard to digest. Stick to normal home cooked meals and try to be a bit relaxed during those two days.

6.     CLAIM: Eating ice cream or sour foods at night will give you cold.

Nutrition Expert: Cold virus is present in the nasal secretion of the infected person and it travels through hand-to-hand contact. The infected person is most likely to spread infection during the first three days of cold, say experts. There is no scientific evidence that eating ice cream will give your child a cold by itself, though it may aggravate a condition. However, eating ice cream may aggravate asthma.

Ayurveda Expert: This is a very common problem and is caused by aggravation of Kapha. It is also caused by weak digestion. When the food we eat is not fully digested it changes into ama. This mucus or ama reaches the respiratory system and causes cold or cough. All sour foods, ice creams, chilled drink can create allergen and swelling in throat.

Status: While there is no clear cut answer to it, you should avoid cold foods if you are prone to cold and cough at night.

Breeze through Summer

Did you know the skin is the largest organ on your body? This is the only part of the body that can absorb nutrients directly (now, you know why you should go for warm oil massage). It also implies that your skin is vulnerable to elements (read wind and the sun) and in summer, which is a time for skin show, your skin may complain. And the term skin extends beyond the boundaries of your neckline. Read on to rescue you from all skin woes that might come your way this summer.

Prickly heat is the mother of all skin problems that’s going to affect you in the summer. It happens because sweat, dead cells and dirt clog the pores of the skin. As a result itchy red rashes appear on the skin, more so at the folds of the skin. The treatment plan is quite simple. Bathe twice a day, preferably with antiseptic drops in the bath water. Apply a paste of baking soda on the affected area. Even prickly heat powders and calamine lotion will help relieve the itch. Prickly heat clears on own and there is not much you can do for it except keeping the skin clean and dry.

Close on the heels of prickly heat comes sun tan, sun burn which will distress your skin in summers. Sun tan is a preventive mechanism for our skin, by which the skin darkens in response to exposure to UV rays. Sun burn happens when you had an unplanned excursion in the sun and you were defenceless against the merciless rays of the sun. Sunburn happens more to seniors, children and people with sensitive skin. As a rule of thumb avoid venturing out in the sun between 11 am to 3pm. In case you must go out in the sun do wear broad hats, oversized sunglasses and sunscreen.

However, if you’ve developed sun burn it’s advisable to smear the affected area with Aloe Vera gel to soothe the inflamed skin. Slice open an Aloe Vera leaf spike and apply the clean gel on the affected skin. Calmine lotion too will relieve the stinging sensation. The skin may peel off after a two-three days and fresh skin will appear. Baby the fresh skin and keep it hydrated with a moisturizer and protected with a sunscreen. For Indian skin tone experts recommend sunscreen with SPF protection of 15 to 20. However, if you’re going to hills choose higher SPF and more importantly reapply the sunscreen. These days there are face wipes available with inbuilt sunscreen. Wipe your face clean with it after spending an hour or two outdoors and put the sunscreen once again. Cover the exposed body parts with calamine lotion or sunscreen, because your hands and feet bear the maximum brunt of the rays of the sun.

An equally important skin concern that mingles with hygiene problem is the body odour. We all have body odour but the sweat is going to magnify it. Keep underarms clean and use antibacterial soap every day. Pour a few drops of EDT in a mug full of water and splash it all over you when you finish bathing. Allow it to dry on your own. Wear a bit of powder on the skin folds. Wear perfumes or deodorants and a pleasant fragrance will envelop you.

Summer is all about minimalism. Wear cool cottons, floral, pastel prints, little makeup, a lot  of sunscreen and breeze through it.

Top 10 Ways to Delete Stress

Almost all our health concerns stem from two factors: genes and our capability to deal with stress. While we all would love to wish away stress from our lives, in the actual world this is not possible. Hence, we got to learn to cope with stress so that it doesn’t cause a dent in our physical and mental well being.  Archana Darshan cues you on top 10 techniques to delete stress (executive style)

1.      Be proactive. The first step towards defeating stress begins with planning. You should have a general idea about what all you’ve to do during the week at work and in personal life. Procrastinating and leaving everything to the last minute will multiply stress. In fact, use ‘post-it’ notes to remind you about your daily chores and get a blackboard in the common area of the house where you instruct everyone to write their requests. The requests could range from reminders for medicine to lunch menu options, but it’s going to reduce your stress factor.

2.      Take one thing at a time. Multitasking is the buzz word these days. We wish to accomplish hundred things in an hour, but all this multitasking is making our brains go haywire. When you are in midst of something important, it’s necessary to take a break from mobile phones because they disrupt your attention span and ultimately you end up spending more time on the designated task.

3.      Divide and rule. This works for deleting stress too. Divide your day in an hour slots and fix a task for each hour. When you’ve a deadline by which you’ve to accomplish a job, you end up doing it faster and thereby save time for something as crucial as indulging yourself with those special ‘me moments’.

4.      Sleep on it. Yes literally and metaphorically. There is no need to do everything the moment it is spoken by the family or answer each email the moment it lands in your inbox. Ignore requests if you do not find those convincing enough or until there is a persistent follow up about it.  Lack of sleep causes stress. Instill sleep hygiene and go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. The eight hours that is spent on sleep allows us to use the remaining 16 hours productively. Hence, never skimp on sleep to accommodate dispensable priorities, like watching TV, partying at night etc.

5.      Stay posted. Stress is too much of a burden to endure all alone. Talk to friends, colleagues and relatives about what is bothering you. May be with their help and experience you will stumble at a solution.

6.      Learn to say no. Many a time, we are stressed because we are clearing up mess created by others. Be specific at work and at home about responsibility sharing. Delegate ownership of tasks to reduce your stress levels. At times you may need to put your feet firmly down for a plea, but it is necessary to maintain your sanity.

7.      Delegate. Doing everything all alone tantamount to going crazy and multiplying stress levels. Hire people to work for you who are better than you in their respective departments. Indulge them, ignore their eccentricities if the need may be but hang on to them, because they will make your life simpler and provide you with peace of mind and the thing called ‘time’ for yourself.

8.      Train new hires. You can’t expect people to give their best the moment they join. You got to groom them, train them and review their performance. This may sound time taking, but it’s going to free up your mind of responsibilities that can be handled by others.

9.      Best practice sharing. At times we think that we’ve learned everything that is there to know on how to handle stress and still we can’t get a handle on it! Isn’t it a time for review of our strategies. By hook or by crook, you got to keep stress under control. See, what other people are doing to bust stress and you may discover new methods like running a marathon, hiring a masseur, drinking water every hour, going to vipassana camps. The choice is yours and it depends on the intensity of your stress levels.

10. Most importantly you should accept Murphy’s law. If anything has to go wrong, it will go wrong. Stop crying over the spilt milk because you can’t do anything about it and tomorrow is just another day.

Besides, these top tips you just can’t underestimate the need of wholesome nutrition, a high quality multivitamin and exercise to keep you healthy. When you are healthy, you’ve energy to take on the world.