Javed Ansari

    Carbohydrates are simple sugars or long chains of sugars which are linked together. Paradoxically, carbohydrates are the preferred fuel during exercise of high intensity but they are stored in extremely limited amounts in the body. This storage form of carbohydrate, called glycogen, is found primarily in muscles and liver. The glycogen in the muscle is used directly by the muscle which is being exercised. In other words, once its limited stores of glycogen are gone it cannot "borrow" from other resting muscles.

    Depletion of glycogen by the working muscles leads to severely impaired exercise performance, which at its extreme is known as "hitting the wall". This makes obvious the need to

    How much carbohydrate is enough? We often express recommendations in terms of percentages of total calories. Even recreational athletes probably need to obtain 55-60% of their daily calories from carbohydrates. Most people can do this if they consume 3 grams of carbohydrate per pound of body weight. However, seriously training athletes probably require 4 grams of carbohydrate per pound body weight, or 60% of their calories from carbohydrate. For example, a 150 pound person who is playing everyday, say, 2 hours per day would require approximately 600 grams of carbohydrate daily. This carbohydrate would provide 2400 calories.

Examples of high carbohydrate foods:

Breads	Cereals	Grains	Pasta	Vegetables	Fruits

    Timing for carbohydrate If the carbohydrate is to be taken during exercise it should probably be in beverage form. Beverages may be more quickly absorbed than solids and present less potential for stomach upset. A sports-type drink that has a concentration of 6-8% carbohydrate is likely to be easily absorbed during exercise. Most people can tolerate 1/2 cup to 1 cup of liquid every 20 minutes. This tolerance depends upon the individual and the type of exercise performed.

    To avoid hypoglycemia or low blood sugar during exercise, carbohydrate should probably not be consumed within 1 hour of the start of exercise. The best pre game strategy is to eat a light meal which contains 100 or so grams of carbohydrate 3-4 hours prior to exercise.

    In addition, one of the best times to provide carbohydrate to the body is immediately after a workout. Immediately after exercise the muscle is most avid to restore the glycogen it has used during exercise. Perhaps the best way to restore glycogen is to keep a drink which contains carbohydrate in your gym bag, and drink it prior to leaving the locker room or before you hit the shower at home. Alternatively, you can eat a high carbohydrate food, such as bread, bagels, pretzels, or fruit. The goal is to consume at least 50 grams shortly after exercise.

    By now everybody knows that drinking the recommended 8-10 glasses of fluids per day provides essential hydration for everyday activities. But during a vigorous workout, hydration is even more imperative. Without it, performance, comfort and concentration suffers. Approximately two-thirds of an adult's body consists of water which is an integral part of all your body cells and is critical to sustaining life.

    When we start to exercise we produce heat and our bodies soon reach boiling point after about an hour, as a safeguard we start to sweat which cools down the body and stops us from over heating (hyperthermia). Sweating not only leads to a loss of water from the blood but also electrolytes (such as sodium) which are essential if the body is to function efficiently. It is therefore essential that you drink fluids before an exercise session. Having said all that we must remember that during everyday activities like walking, washing up, cleaning the house, etc we also sweat and consuming regular glasses of water will keep the body in a hydrated state.

    A dehydrated body decreases the effectiveness of your training session by impairing your concentration and coordination, reduced coordination could cause injury, and this will mean an ineffective training session.

So what are the signs of dehydration ?

    Well, thirst is a very poor indicator of your state of hydration and by the time you feel thirsty you’re likely to already be dehydrated. Top up your fluid intake on a regular basis. Other symptoms include headaches, tiredness, dizziness and irritability. One quick method to monitor hydration levels is the pee test, as urine colour is a good indicator of hydration status. Ideally your urine should be virtually colourless. The darker the colour the more likely you are dehydrated. Think of your first pee in the morning which is usually a darker colour meaning dehydration, this can be improved by having a glass of water by you bed every night and topping up throughout the night.

    Sweat loss during exercise sessions vary dramatically between individuals and different weather conditions i.e. cold day, hot day, but as rough guide you should look to drink about 150ml of fluid every 15 minutes. However, a more accurate guide to your personal hydration is to weigh yourself before and after training , (preferably without clothes as clothes will be damp after a session and therefore weigh more), the difference in weight before and after is equal to the amount of fluid llost. If your weight is equal before and after, congratulations your well hydrated, if not drink more during training. Trial and error is the key here, if you weigh 1 kilo less this is equal to 1 litre of fluid that needs to be consumed.

    Just a quick point on what fluids to consume, for most people, drinking plain water before, during and after an hours moderatively intensive training session is enough. But if your sessions are longer and or more intense you may need to drink a sports drink which will contain carbohydrate/electrolytes. If you’re a person who cannot consume plain water , you can top it up with juice, ensuring that your body is not only rehydrated , but also replenished with energy.

So if you want to get the most out of your training sessions:

    Increasing your water intake has many long term benefits for you, but initially you will be taking regular toilet breaks, this will soon settle down once your body gets use to the increased intake of fluids, and before you know it your body will be performing at the optimal level it was design for.

    I shall be posting articles periodically about all aspects of health and fitness, for any questions about this article or anything health/fitness related, please do not hesitate to contact me javed on 9820661648

     Fats are always looked at as a negative in a diet...well in almost all diets anyway, as Atkins tends to think that they are OK. The reason that most people try to avoid fats is that they tend to be less of a priority for your body to metabolize; the body would rather metabolize the carbohydrates and then Fat or Protein. Another issue with fat is the number of calories per gram, a gram of fat has 9 calories as opposed to Protein and carbohydrates which have 4 calories per gram. So your body is going to more than likely store any extra fat taken in as, well.

    So you should watch out for the fat in most cases. Still it is important to take in some fats, you body can not exist without any fats and in fact stores vitamins A, D, E and K in fat. These vitamins are required to maintain good health. One thing to be aware of is that these vitamins, because they are stored in fat can build up and be toxic…how toxic? Well I have not heard of anyone getting sick from them but without them you would surely get sick.

    Research has shown, because people who consume a high-sugar diet tend to consume lower amounts of fat and vice versa. If you think about this it means that your mind will look at a sugary or a fatty food in the same way and will crave both in the same way.

    Most people’s questions about fats are what kind of fat should they be eating to be eating healthy. There are three types of fat that comes from food. Saturated Fats, Polyunsaturated Fats, and Monounsaturated Fats. All three are found in foods that come from animals or plants, but the amount varies. As a rule, more saturated fat is found in animal than vegetable foods, where more polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats are found in vegetables than animal foods. Cholesterol is also found in foods from animals.

    Saturated fat is mainly found in foods of animal origin, but some vegetables also have large amounts. These are called saturated vegetable fats and are often found in processed bakery goods and nondairy milk or cream substitutes. These are: Beef, Brazil Nuts, Butter, Cheese, Chocolate, Coconut, Coconut Oil, and Lard

    As a rule of thumb when shopping, saturated fats are solid at room temperature. When you have a lot of saturated fat in your diet, your liver responds by making more cholesterol. This raises your blood cholesterol level. It is the most harmful type of fat you can eat.

    Polyunsaturated fats come mainly from plants. They are liquid at room temperature. Eating polyunsaturated fat can reduce blood cholesterol levels. Examples are Almonds, Corn Oil, Cottonseed Oil, Filberts, Fish, Margarine, Mayonnaise, and Pecans

    Monounsaturated fatsare mainly found in foods that come from plants. They are liquid at room temperature and can reduce blood cholesterol levels, but less than polyunsaturated fats do. They can, however, raise HDL cholesterol (the “good” kind of cholesterol)levels.

Examples are Avocado, Canola Oil, Cashews, Olives, Olive Oil, Peanuts, and Peanut Butter.

    Trans fats are what make vegetable margarines have a butter-like texture, and prolong the shelf life of packaged foods. The effects of trans fats are still not known, but it is believed that they, like saturated fats, cause blood cholesterol levels to iincrease. As we have learned over the last couple of years that trans fats can not be metabolized by our body so they are poisonous and very unhealthy.

For any questions about this article or anything health/fitness related, please do not hesitate to contact me javed on 9820661648

     The body needs a minimum amount of vitamins and minerals each day to remain healthy and function properly. A balanced diet normally supplies sufficient vitamins. However, serious disorders can still develop if the diet does not meet your body's needs. Symptoms of a deficiency in vitamins and minerals usually appear when the lack is already in a relatively advanced level.

    For instance, people who do not have enough of the vitamins A, B1 and B2 suffer from recurring tiredness, mental or emotional disturbances, loss of appetite and chapped lips, among others.

    The common causes of these vitamin deficiencies include poor eating habits, alcoholism, emotional stress, the improper absorption of vitamins and minerals (usually due to liver or intestinal disorders), the intake of medicines that interfere with the ingestion of vitamins and lack of exposure to sunlight.

    In our quest to get that "perfect" body, we actually tend to lose our focus on the real things that should matter to us, such as our health and well-being. Thus, we end up not only neglecting our insides but possibly our relationships with others as well. Cutting down on our daily calorie intake does not necessarily assure us of a slimmer waistline and smaller thighs. However, having our calorie-levels set way down low what dieticians actually prescribe is not only sheer shallowness but a cause a lot of ill effects on your health. From mood swings to fainting spells, our bodies tend to give out whatever "distress signals" it can think of just to tell you to stop that mindless way of dieting.

    When it comes to dieting, do bear in mind that food is not the enemy - it never was. It?s actually the way we abuse our bodies that can turn everything into a downward spiral. Stop obsessing about what you?ve eaten in a day (or the lack of it) in order to keep yourself fit and healthy you?ll actually need food (with all its vitamin and mineral content) to help you achieve this. Remember, do everything in moderation (especially in dieting).

    Unknown to the "anorexic community" who would rather die than actually eat, there are certain vitamins and minerals - that we can get from the right type of food which are actually essential how we?ll be able to convert these nutrients into energy rather than just store them into our thighs and bellies as fat. As much as we try to deny ourselves of the proper amount of food that our bodies need in order for it to run much more efficiently, we actually need a big lifestyle change and make sure to always keep in mind recommended daily levels of vitamins and minerals that our bodies need in order to be healthy and fit.

    Try adding papaya to your diet; it has many health benefits that will improve your overall health.

    If you are like me you've probably eaten a papaya without giving a second thought to the benefits of the papaya you're eating. You've probably just savored its sweet taste and butter-like consistency and left it at that. Sure, you now that papaya is a fruit; you rightfully assume it's good for you, but know that the benefits of eating papaya go far beyond the generic boost of vitamin C.

Papaya Contains Antioxidants:

    One of the benefits of eating papaya is that it helps to prevent cancer. Papaya is a rich source of antioxidants that the body needs to fight against cancer-causing cells. Vitamin C, E and beta-carotenes are antioxidants that prevent all kinds of cancers. So adding a daily serving of papaya to your diet may lessen your risk of developing cancer.

Papaya is used to Treat Digestive Disorders:

    Papaya is a great source of proteolytic enzymes that are very important in digesting food. The most important of these proteolytic enzymes found in papaya is papain. Papain breaks down proteins in food, allowing for better digestion. Papain is used in prescription of digestive enzymes to treat individuals with cystic fibrosis or pancreatic conditions; producing for them what the body cannot produce naturally. Eating papaya is also a benefit because papain taken orally treats less serious digestion disorders such as bloating and chronic indigestion. In these cases papain is extracted, dried and sold as tablets.

Papaya Boosts Male Virility:

    Another great benefit of papaya is to boost male virility. Papaya contains an enzyme called arginine which is known in the medically community to boost blood flow around the penis. Arginine boosts nitric acid in the body to relax the muscles surrounding the blood vessels tat supply the penis. These blood vessels then dilate and increase blood flow. A more concentrated form of arginine is used to treat erectile dysfunction.

Papaya Prevents Premature Aging:

    Many alternative medical practitioners believe that one of the benefits of papaya is to control premature aging. Papaya helps the body to properly digest food and when the body digests all the nutrients it needs, the body will remain vital for a long time.

Papaya is used as a Cleanser:

    Drinking a quarter pint (150ml) of papaya juice, cucumber juice and green bean juice in alternating hours for 12 hours can be a benefit to your colon. These juices work as potent natural cleansers when combined.

    Papaya is also rich in fiber, which travels through the body and binds itself to cancer-causing toxins in the colon. The fiber in papaya flushes out the toxins in the colon and so one of the benefits of papaya is that it helps prevent colon cancer especially, due to its antioxidants and its fiber content.

Papaya Prevents Heart Attacks and Strokes:

    The antioxidants in papaya prevent cholesterol from oxidizing. When cholesterol becomes oxidized it forms plaque in the blood vessel walls that can eventually build up and cause a heart attack or stroke.

Papaya is magical fruit for your health and skin:

Papaya is magical fruit for your health and skin. It is an excellent source of proteolytic enzymes that are very significant in digesting meal. You will get Papain from the enzymes. As a matter of fact, it is effective to break down proteins in your food and treat cystic fibrosis. Therefore if you have problem with digestion system, you can eat it.

In a daily health, it works wonderfully on supporting the immune system to prevent flu and colds. It is good to treat digestive disorders. Furthermore, it also helps in preventing acne since when papaya is used as a face pack it can open the pores of face. It provides great amount of vitamin C, vitamin A and vitamin E. they are extremely great antioxidants that is beneficial for your health.

Papaya provides Papain that is effective to help breaking up dead skin. It will make your skin fresher, cleaner and more glowing. It is an excellent source of fiber that is really beneficial to decrease high cholesterol levels. It helps avoid the oxidation of cholesterol therefore it becomes great herbal medicine to treat stroke, heart attacks and atherosclerosis.

For health in marriage, consuming papaya is effective to increase male virility. It can be consumed to heal colon cancer. Many advantages you can get through papaya, therefore you should balance your diet with this fruit. As a matter of fact beta-carotene, vitamin E and vitamin C are effective to heal inflammation. It is also good for treating rheumatoid arthritis, asthma and osteoarthritis. Get many advantages by consuming papay.

If you are a diabetic and find that every time you eye that delicious mango or banana, you are met with frowns from your relatives, then there is just the fruit for you in the form of papaya. With its deep orange pulp and a butter-like consistency, this fruit of the Gods it is a rich source of antioxidant nutrients such as carotenes, vitamin C and flavonoids and what is more it also happens to be the only fruit that does not kick up your sugar levels after consumption.

A native of southern Mexico, Central America and northern South America, the papaya or pawpaw as it is called on the islands happens to be an ideal fruit that should make it to the menu of every diabetic individual. A bowl of thinly cut slices of the fruit before breakfast is an ideal way to start your day.

Nutrient count

Papaya is rich in carotenes, vitamin C, flavonoids, the B vitamins, folate and pantothenic acid as well as the minerals, potassium and magnesium; and fiber.

How does papaya benefit diabetics?

Papaya has a low glycemic index of 59 and hence is not going to play any role in shooting up your blood sugar levels. Glycemic index is the measurement that indicates how fast a particular food increases your blood sugar levels. Fruits like mango, banana and grapes are high glycemic index foods as they instantly impact blood sugar levels.

However papaya is different and also helps in better digestion of food due to the presence of an enzyme called papain.

Benefit of Watermelon

Watermelons: - are low in calories and very nutritious. Watermelon is high in lycopene, second only to tomatoes. Recent research suggests that lycopene, a powerful antioxidant, is effective in preventing some forms of cancer and cardiovascular disease. According to research conducted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, men who consumed a lycopene-rich diet were half as likely to suffer a heart attack as those who had little or no lycopene in their diets.

Watermelon is also high in Vitamin C and Vitamin A, in the form of disease fighting beta-carotene. Research also suggests that the red pigmented foods provide this protection. Lycopene and beta-carotene work in conjunction with other plant chemicals not found in vitamin/mineral supplements. Potassium is also available, which is believed to help control blood pressure and possibly prevent strokes.

Benefits and Features of Beetroot

Diet/Nutrition is the key ingredient of a cardiac rehabilitation program. A carefully designed diet/nutrition plan can prevent a heart attack and/or to avoid its recurrence. The key is to eat whole foods and a predominantly vegetarian diet, consisting mostly of fresh vegetables and fruits, whole grains and nuts and seeds.

Eat vegetables and fruits in raw or minimally cooked condition to preserve the enzymes. Whole grains should be soaked first to break down the phytic acid.

During the first week following a heart attack, take several small meals low in salt. Avoid cold fluids. Cauliflower, asparagus and carrots are good. They are easily tolerated, low in salt and provide important vitamins, minerals and trace elements.

The essential fatty acids found in unrefined, cold-pressed nut and seed oils such as flax seed oil are useful to keep the arteries clear. Use flax seed oil daily as a dressing on salads, mixed into mashed potatoes, or in any other dish that does not require heating. (Use extra virgin cold pressed flax seed oil.) The essential fatty acids omega 3 alpha-linolenic acid and omega 6 linoleic acid are known to reduce blood cholesterol.

Avoid red meat, shortening, margarine and commercially processed foods. Red meats contain saturated fats. Shortening, margarine and commercially processed foods are rich in trans-fatty acids. Saturated fats and trans-fatty acids are found to be the major cause of heart disease. Get your protein from fish or from vegetable products such as soy. Fish contains unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids that reduce blood cholesterol.

Eat plenty of magnesium rich foods such as tofu, wheat germ, broccoli, potatoes, spinach and chard to help regulate heart activity.

Garlic lowers cholesterol and triglycerides, prevents thrombus formation and lowers blood pressure. Eat three fresh cloves daily. You can add it to your salad.

Include almonds, brewer's yeast, grains, and sesame seeds in your diet.

Enjoy onions frequently. Onions (especially red onions) contain valuable antioxidants. Chop them and allow them to stand for ten minutes before cooking for optimal benefit.

Add kelp and sea vegetables to your diet for necessary minerals. Drink fresh vegetable juices.

Cayenne pepper lowers cholesterol, dilates arteries, increases blood flow to the coronary circulation, and inhibits blood platelets from collecting. One teaspoon of cayenne in a cup of water at the onset of a heart attack will help relieve it. Incorporate it in your cooking.

Walnuts: Researchers have found that eating just an ounce of walnuts a day (about seven nuts) may reduce the risk of a heart attack by 8 to 10 percent.

To strengthen the heart, take one teaspoon of honey, dissolved slowly on the tongue, three times daily for a few weeks. (Skip this if you are a diabetic.)

Diabetic food

People may tell that it is very difficult to control the Glucose levels without medication. But it is possible with dietary restrictions and lifestyle changes.

The following are the some of the important tips to control the blood sugar levels.

Diet

Diet is the first thing comes to mind when we talking about reduce the blood sugar levels. Take less carbohydrate and foods must have low glycemic index with moderate levels of protein and fiber. And take very a small amount of food, avoid bulky eating of meals.

Drinking Water

Drinking water can also helps in reducing the diabetes sugar levels. Diabetics are advised to drink plenty of water daily. And it doesn't mean drinking any other fluids like soft drinks, coffee, and tea. Just take plenty of water everyday.

Eating fruits

Eating fruits should be preferred rather taking other bulky meals, taking fruits which has citric acids helps to reduce the weight so that the blood glucose levels are in control. Rose apple, Apple, Grapefruit, Orange and all citrus fruits are really helpful to reduce the blood sugar levels.

Exercises

Exercises are really important in order to control the diabetes glucose levels. Playing games like badminton can do the magic of reducing the blood sugar in quite a small period of time. Asanas also helps to reduce the blood sugar, walking and light jogging helps a lot for circulation, this controls the blood sugar and maintain in a steady state.

Herbal tea

Instead of taking ordinary tea or coffee herbal tea helps the diabetics to lower blood sugar levels. A natural herbal tea acts like a blood sugar blocker, it usually known as Green tea. It will manage and keeps the blood sugar and control them in consistent levels when we take food are snacks which has the lot of Glucose in it. Don't take this as advantage and take too much of Glucose contained food. This green tea should be taken many times a day, and 3-4 times are advisable.

Avoid processed foods

Avoiding all kind of processed and tinned foods helps control the blood sugar levels. And avoiding foods which gives lot of weight also helps to control blood sugar levels. And artificial sweeteners which usually used in fruit juices must be avoided. Always take fresh and cooked foods that also with lower glycemic index.

Vegetables that can be consumed in larger quantities by diabetics are:

Cabbage, celery, lettuce, fenugreek leaves, mint, spinach, amaranth, bitter gourd, ash gourd, eggplant, lady’s finger, French beans, cauliflower, cucumber, drumstick, turnip, snake gourd, ridge gourd, radish, onion stalk and pumpkin.