Oats: The Best Healthy Snacks!

Oats: The Best Healthy Snacks!

Oats are edible seeds of the Avena sativa plant. These are one of the healthiest snacks consumed as oatmeal or rolled oats. Oatmeal is the perfect meal to start your day because it boosts your energy and has plenty of fiber to keep you full and satisfied. Oats are high in phytonutrients, beta-glucans, selenium, proteins, manganese, iron, thiamin and magnesium. By itself, oatmeal is low in fat and fairly low in calories. 

Oatmeal is also full of water-soluble fibers, which play a crucial role in making you feel full over a longer period of time. Studies have also shown that oatmeal reduces cholesterol, maintains blood sugar levels and fights against heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer and obesity. 

All types of oatmeal are healthful and low-fat, but steel-cut oats are less processed than rolled oats and are believed to retain more nutrients. Packets of instant oatmeal often contain more sugar than oats you cook yourself. Regardless of the type of oatmeal you choose to eat, be careful of what you add to your bowl. 

Choose skim milk to keep the calories low. Instead of sweetening your oatmeal with sugar, try berries or dried fruit, which also offer additional fiber and nutrients. For all the good reasons, this snack would certainly help keep a check on your weight too!

Stay Happy, Stay Healthy!

Health Tips for Kids!

As parents, it is difficult to ensure that the children are having a balanced diet that they need. Instead of worrying much, just include the following foods in kid’s diet, and rest assured that the child is getting the much needed nutrients essential for his healthy growth. Also, take down some of these dietary tips to keep a check on their diet and health.

Whole grain cereals like cornflakes, brown bread, brown rice, popcorn, etc are nutritionally high in dietary fiber, antioxidants, protein, dietary minerals and vitamins. Starting your child’s day with whole grain products will keep him full and active for a long time. A variety of Vegetables should be included in the diet as these are a good source of dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals. These can be consumed raw, boiled, steamed or stir fried in little oil. Avoid French fries or any other deep fried vegetables.

Daily intake of Fruits is known to reduce risk factors of some serious diseases in the long term. Providing with adequate amount of fruits is the best thing you can do to ensure your child’s good health. Fruits are best eaten fresh, do not cut and store them in refrigerator for long! Also, sodas and other soft drinks can be replaced with fruit juice at home.

Milk is one of the most nutritious foods rich in vitamins A, B12, D, protein, phosphorous, riboflavin, potassium, calcium and niacin. Milk and milk products should be a significant part of your kid’s daily diet. Eggs are a rich source of proteins, vitamin A, calcium and iron. Including eggs into your child’s daily intake in several preparations would add variety to the daily meals.

HealthTips for Kids!

• The diet of a child should be balanced and must meet his nutritional requirements. It should includes variety of nutritious foods offering plenty of proteins, vitamins and minerals and less of fat, sugar, cholesterol, sodium and calories. Make sure that diet of the child is light and easily digestible.
• It’s good to bake, roast or poach foods instead of cooking spicy, oily and fried foods for kids.
• Serve fruit and vegetable juices, vegetable soups and low fat milk instead of cold drinks, sweetened sodas and fruit-flavored drinks.
• Ice-cream and other desserts can be substituted with yogurt smoothies.
• For snacks in between meals, salads can be served with different delicious salad dressings.
• Drinking plenty of water keeps the body hydrated and healthy.
• Involve the child in activities like dancing, gardening and other sports of his interest.

Help the child to give up mental tension, anxiety, anger and fear so that they remain mentally as well as physically active.

Weight loss with Kitchen Herbs

Losing weight can be a lot easier if you spice up your food. Spices not only make your food taste good, they are also known to aid fat burning, boost metabolism, help you stay healthy and fight off other health risks. Spices help stabilize blood sugar by controlling insulin levels in the body. When blood sugar is stable, you are more likely to burn fat and not store calories as excess weight.

Spices are the best antioxidants and have powerful anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-fungal properties. For all the good reasons for health, why not add these top five fat-burning spices to our diet and ramp up weight loss as well. In the following post, learn about the spices that have been known to help in weight loss and get you to your goal in a healthy and happy way.

Chillies: Eating chillies can make you lose weight by stimulating the metabolism, improving circulation and warming the body. Chillies in moderate quantities induce 'Thermogenesis' that promote sweating, which is a cooling mechanism of the body to combat heat.

Capsaicin, a component found in chillies, is responsible for this effect as it stimulates certain receptors in the central nervous system to create the heat producing effect. Additionally, chillies help relieve nerve pain and boost energy levels as well.

Cloves: Cloves are another one of the spices that have been appreciated for their help in speeding up metabolism and increasing weight loss. Clove consumption is said to increase glucose metabolism, thus lowering blood glucose levels, helping the body regulate insulin levels & in turn keeps diabetes at bay. Also, cloves have antibacterial, antifungal and antiseptic properties. 

The active compounds in cloves, eugenol and isoeugenol, possess both anti-inflammatory as well as antioxidant properties.  Furthermore, cloves help maintain cardiovascular health, improve blood circulation, relieves flatulence and indigestion. These are also known to boost energy level and relieve stress.

Cinnamon: This ancient spice has one of the highest antioxidant levels of any spice. A study published in Diabetes care (2003) showed that 1/4^th  tsp to 1 tsp daily of cinnamon helps metabolize sugar up to 20 times better than without cinnamon, hence boosting the body’s weight loss ability as well as controlling diabetes! Because cinnamon balances blood sugar levels it has the added advantage of stabilizing mood and energy levels as well as lowering LDL and triglyceride levels. (but remember, cinnamin contains coumarin, a chemical which can lead to liver damage if consumed in large amounts). 

Turmeric: Turmeric is one of the popular spices of the Indian kitchens. It contains beta-carotene, an antioxidant that helps protect liver from free radical damage, while helping body metabolize fats by decreasing the fat storage rate in liver cells. Studies suggest that Curcumin, a yellow-orange pigment found in turmeric, has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which helps protect the brain against damage, slows down the development of Alzheimer and Parkinson’s disease and prevents heart diseases.

Ginger: Research studies suggest that ginger has fat burning and metabolism accelerating properties which can burn the body fat. Also, this fat burning spice has been found to contain satiating properties that helps keep a check on over-eating! Ginger tends to increase the pH value of stomach acids, thus reducing the rates of gastric secretions and accelerating the activity of the enzymes necessary for digestion. Furthermore, ginger reduces triglyceride and cholesterol levels and thus helps in improving cardiovascular health. It elevates the levels of high density lipoproteins and lowers the risks of stroke and heart attack by improving the blood circulation.

Black pepper: The main component of black pepper, piperine, is said to boost fat metabolism by inhibiting differentiation of fat cells in the body. studies suggest that piperine has anti-obese properties and reduces triglyceride, total cholesterol, VLDL and LDL levels, and increases HDL cholerterol. These results also show that piperine can help in weight loss and management. This kitchen ingredient is also beneficial in diseases like cholera, diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal problems.

Stay Healthy with Lemon!

Lemon (Citrus limon) is a bushy herb
known for its culinary & medicinal properties

Lemon can be used as an effective remedy against various health ailments such as high blood pressure, inflammation, hemorrhoids, kidney stones, varicose veins,  as a blood cleanser, diuretic and as appetizer. Lemon is a rich source of Vitamin C, that impart with its antioxidant properties. 

Natural Remedies with Lemon

In this post, find out how lemon can be effectively used in treating and preventing common health ailments:

Natural Remedies with Lemon!

1. To get rid of acne, prepare a paste by adding a tsp of Lemon juice to a spoonful of fuller’s earth & sandal wood powder each. let it dry and wash off after 20 minutes.
2. Drinking lemon in hot water with a teaspoon of honey is also an effective remedy against colds.
3. Lemon juice has astringent properties and is also used as a gargle for throat problems. 
4. To treat dandruff, add to a bowl of curd, a tsp of lemon juice & rub on the scalp. Rinse hair after an hour.  Also, massaging the scalp with a few drops of lemon juice mixed in coconut oil treats dandruff well.
5. To whiten teeth, rubbing a slice of lemon with a pinch of salt and baking soda helps attain the same.
6. An excellent poultice can be prepared by mixing a pinch of curcuma powder to a tsp of milk cream & 1/2 tsp lemon juice. Administration of the same would help ripen and heal blood boils without allowing them to become septic.
7. For skin pigmentation, rubbing lemon peel over pigmented skin, such as ankle and knee, lightens the area.
8. To relieve indigestion and constipation, cut ginger into small pieces and dip it in a cup containing lemon juice. Add black salt and leave it for two hours. This preparation can be taken after meals to ease the problem.
9. For weight loss, add to a warm glass of water, a tsp of honey & lemon juice each. take this preparation early morning. 
10. Lemon can also be used as a natural hair conditioner. Squeeze half a lemon in water and use the same to rinse hair after shampoo.
11. For the treatment of dehydration and diarrhea, lemon juice makes a good base for oral electrolyte solution. Squeeze lemon in a glass of lukewarm water and add a pinch of black salt. Have it twice daily to improve bowel movement.
12. To treat dark lips, apply a mixture of coconut oil and lemon before going to bed.

The Healing Herb of India: Lawsonia inermis (Henna)

The Healing Herb of India: Lawsonia inermis (Henna...: 
Heena (Lawsonia inermis, family: Lythraceae) is a much branched glabrous medicinal shrub distributed throughout India. It is chiefly cultivated in Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat. The bark, seeds, flowers and leaves of the plant are used in Unani and ayurvedic medicines. Henna is commonly known as Mehandi, Mehanti, Medhika, Medhini, Madyantika, Giri Mallika, Ban Mallika, Nakhranjani, Cypress shrub & Egyptian priven.

This plant has been used since ages to dye skin, hair, finger nails, leather, silk and wool. In several parts of the World, Henna is traditionally used in various festivals and celebrations. People also cultivate Henna as a Hedge plant. 
Read more at http://thehealingherbsofindia.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-healing-herb-of-india-lawsonia.html

Health Benefits of Spinach

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is a vigorously growing dioecious, erect biennial herb of the family Amaranthaceae. Though the herb is a native of South west Asia, today it is widely cultivated in North America, Europe and Asia. Spinach has a high nutritional value and is extremely rich in antioxidants, especially when fresh, steamed, or quickly boiled. Its leaves are rich in carbohydrates, proteins, fats, fibres, magnesium, manganese, folate, copper, zinc, niacin, selenium, sodium, potassium, sulphur, phosphorus and omega-3 fatty acids. It is also a rich source of vitamins A, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin E and vitamin K.  Recently, opioid peptides, called rubicolins have also been found in spinach. Spinach contains 4 times more of beta-carotene and 3 times more of lutein than broccoli. 

Spinach is said to be a protective food against Cancer. Consuming spinach in meals is said to inhibit tumor growth and keeps body normal from undergoing mutation. It is also known to be beneficial for those suffering from diabetes. Having half a cup of spinach leaves juice before meals twice daily is helpful in controlling diabetes. Owing to high Vitamin A content, the herb is protective against eye diseases. Anemic patients must consume this herb in diet as spinach is a good source of iron, and thus, prevents anemia. Because iron is a component of hemoglobin, which carries oxygen to all body cells, it is also beneficial as energy food. 

In conditions such as arthritis, osteoporosis, migraine headaches and asthma, spinach is helpful in combating the ailments owing to its anti-inflammatory properties.  Another of the benefits of spinach is that it's good for the heart. In addition, folate is good for a healthy cardiovascular system. Its antioxidant vitamins help reduce free radicals in the body & maintain healthy cholesterol levels in the blood. Magnesium, another mineral found in spinach helps to lower high blood pressure (Hypertension). Spinach has a laxative effect and is wonderful in Weight loss diets.

Herbal Remedies for Cough and Cold

Herbal Remedies for Cough and Cold

Cough and cold are the most common of all health ailments that usually develop due to seasonal changes. While cough may be caused by inflammation of the larynx or the pharynx, the common cold is caused by the infections of the respiratory tract. Natural remedies along with some changes in diet and lifestyle prove to be effective in relieving the condition of cough & cold. Here are some of the tried and tested herbal kitchen remedies to treat cough & cold -

• While preparing tea, add powdered 2-3 black pepper, ginger, a clove bud and a few basil leaves to the preparation.
• A tsp of turmeric with a 1/4 tsp of carom seeds & honey can be taken with hot water to treat cough and cold.
• Boil about 5 clove buds in a cup of water. Make it into decoction and have it with honey thrice a day as an expectorant.
• Take equal amounts of powdered cumin, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom and mix well. Sniffing this formulation induces sneezing, thus, opens blocked nose due to cold.
• To cure cough and cold, mix turmeric powder and salt in equal amounts and take a tsp of the same with warm water.
• For bronchitis, mix powdered clove buds, ginger and black pepper in equal proportions. Half tsp of the same should be administered with honey twice a day.
• Take 1/4th tsp powdered black pepper and add sugar to it. Have it with clarified butter to treat all types of cough.
• Mix a few drops of clove oil and garlic in honey. Take this formulation before retiring to bed. It is said to be beneficial in spasmodic coughs during asthma, bronchitis and tuberculosis.
• Grind together equal amounts of ginger, dried basil leaves & black pepper. Add a little honey so as to have a consistency to make it into pellets. Suck these pellets thrice daily to treat cough and cold.
• Chewing a clove with common salt is said to provide relief from cough.
• For cough, crush betel leaves and make its paste in water. Apply the same topically over the chest.
• Having a tbsp of onion juice with equal amount of honey taken twice a day is said to treat cold.
• To treat cough and cold, massage the chest with warm clarified butter (ghee) with a pinch of salt for few minutes followed by a steam inhalation.

Cure Cough and Cold with Herbal Remedies

The patient should eat a light diet including fresh fruits, green leafy vegetables and grains. Vitamin C rich fruits (lemon, orange, sweet lime, strawberries, etc) are extremely effective in treating cold and cough. Salt water gargles prove to be quite effective for soreness of the throat. The patient should reduce the intake of cashew nuts, walnuts, almonds, ground nut, sugar, pickles, spicy, canned food, candies, chocolates, cold drinks and ice-creams. The intake of fluids should be increased to keep body hydrated.