Powerpacked plan to make 2022, a year of Strength and Success.

2021, for most it is the year of transition towards either a new start or a restart or rejuvenation or even massive growth at some or other area of life, like physical fitness, emotional strength, mental health, spiritual wisdom and financial growth.

2021 is also the year of application what 2020 taught us.. to always be ready for any circumstances of life. 

According to me, achieving Optimal Health / Holistic Health is the solution for standing strong with whatever life offers. And "Journey towards Holistic Health and Fitness is a transformation and not just a simple change". 

What does that mean, e.g. If you lose weight with some diet plan, yes it's a change. But if you have not learnt nutrition principles or you have not adopted healthy eating habits and a healthy lifestyle, 99% time weight bounces back. So it's like water, it temporarily changes its state as per atmospheric temperature. 

But like milk, if it once transforms into curd it doesn't come back from its once acquired state. Our journey of health and fitness should be like milk, transformational and progressive. 

If you are doing same exercise, eg. Walking at the same speed, covering the same distance at the same time duration while listening to music or chitchatting for years can not be considered as exercise. The same way eating 2 roties with vegetables and dal in your lunch and dinner over the years doesn't take care of nutrition needs at different life stages. 

Transformation and Progression are important checklists in every area of life. Here I have tried to explain how to do it in the area of Health & Fitness. 

Let's divide progression into the following stages:

1. Who are at the decision-making stage:

Fitness discipline is not a vacation to plan during our free time. It's a daily habit, irrespective of your daily routine, just start it. 

Anyone should remove and can remove at least 30 minutes dedicated time slot 5 days per week or 60 minutes 3 days per week for exercise. 

Also doing nothing is better than doing incorrectly. Unscientific exercise will be ineffective as well as injury-prone. Take a consultation with an exercise coach for knowing customized exercise scheduling to make the best module as per your time and health need. Classical Yogasana is the best start for anyone from age above 5 or 7 years. 

Considering nutrition, start making a weekly log of the food you eat. Become aware of the food you eat, whether all food groups are getting included. You can also do a self-analysis about the reasons behind each meal or snack. 

For this, you may refer to my previous blog https://amtopmfitness.com/thought-for-food.html

Make sure to include specific nutrients as per life stage demands. E.g. calcium, iron-rich foods like ragi roti, til laddoo, dates, egg, chana jaggery snacks for growing kids. 

To take a decision for starting a fitness journey or to keep consistency, reading and listening to health and wellness information from certified coaches can be a very effective tool. 

Learning and practising pranayama would be helpful to regain inward focus to self that makes you prioritize health over other daily routines. 

2. Beginners: Who have started exercise 8 to 12 months back, now you must have learnt form and techniques of exercise. Now it's time to improve all components of fitness. 

If you are regular in your morning brisk walk, now it's time to start swimming or aerobics class. If you are gymming, then don't ignore improving flexibility by practising advanced yogasana. And if you are comfortable with classical yoga asana, then don't underrate the need for cardio and strength training workouts. 

Considering diet, after making sure about including optimal nutrients and all food groups, it's a time to improve body composition, metabolism and digestion by correcting food combinations, portions, proportions and meal timetable. Now it's also a time to adopt, holistically healthy eating habits like eating while sitting down on the floor with legs crossed (sukhasana), avoiding any digital and social distraction while eating, practising affirmation for mindful eating. 

We are what we read and think. Maximize input of self-help books, life coach vlogs daily to achieve health at all areas of life. 

3. Those who are recognised as fitness enthusiastic, who follow their fitness routine every week to the tee for improving their all components of fitness. Eg. Cardio, yogasana and strength training weekly. It's a great achievement already. Write down a goal with your respective class coach to do progressive overload every week, every month. Eg. In yogasana, I want to practice chakrasana, bakasana, improve my spine flexibility more to practice backwards and forwards bending asanas with right alignment. You can choose your area of improvement like balancing, twisting, etc. 

In strength training, it's about increasing weights and sets for the different exercises of different muscles. 

And considering a diet, optimal nutrition or performance nutrition or sports nutrition should be the target. Along with keeping up with meal discipline, increase key nutrients like calcium, protein, water, essential fats to fuel our active and fitness lifestyle. It's a time to introduce organic nutrition supplements like multivitamins, omega 3 fatty acid, etc

And start testing our fitness by playing some outdoor sports or go for trekking, so that urge of remaining discipline for improving our health will remain lifelong. 

Today it's a time where, thinking strong, living strong and being physically strong are real beauty and smartness markers. Success icons are highly prioritizing activities that keep them physically fit in their daily planner. Let's aim the same. 

Wishing you improve this strength in 2022.

Empowering Immunity

Todays most hyped word and most used tool of marketing is “IMMUNITY”. It is so misused, that even ice-cream has got immunity variety. Golden latte (turmeric smoothie), chyavanprash icecream, immunity cocktails are some of the examples. 

But the point is, the immune system is a complex network of cells and organs that superfoods like turmeric, tulsi, chyavaprash are functionally powerless unless the whole system has optimal cellular health.

So when we understand, what the whole immune system is and how it works, we will be in a wiser position to take care of our health lifelong rather than only applying temporary or seasonal practices (gharelu nuske).

Our immune system is responsible for helping to eliminate invaders and infectious organisms (bacteria, microbes, viruses, toxins, and parasites) from the body before they can harm us. The main components of the immune system include: Lymph nodes carry the infection-fighting cells to different parts of our body whenever necessary. When our body is fighting an infection, this is why our lymph nodes become enlarged and may feel sore. The spleen contains white blood cells that work to fight infection and helps to disposes of old or damaged blood cells. Lymphocytes include small white blood cells  B-cells and T-cells originate in the bone marrow that plays a huge role in defending our body against disease. B-cells mature in the bone marrow itself make antibodies that attack bacteria and toxins while T-cells help to destroy infected or cancerous cells. T cells travel to the Thymus to mature. A high white blood cell count referred to as leukocytes and means that our body is fighting off an infection.

When a virus or bacteria invade our body and begin to reproduce, this normally leads to symptoms of a sickness. For example, the bacteria that causes strep throat releases a toxin that causes inflammation in our throat. Detecting and eliminating viruses and bacteria before they can start reproducing is a role of the immune system.

Apart from this advanced level of defence we also have first layers of defence barrier that separate our inner organs from the outside world. These include skin, the walls of gut and the linings of lungs. Various secretions, such as mucus, tears, stomach acid and sweat, have antimicrobial properties, to make our body free of germs before they have a chance to get inside. 

If you have not understood this theory, that’s okay but it shows this is so complex and vast  system.

Here I would like to give an example of any nation’s defence system. I think it also developed from our body’s defence mechanism. From an internal defence system like state police to border security at ground level, sky and sea level, the nation also has an intelligence system. And every system is powerless without each other and without their respective technology and tools. The same way our body’s defence system is a power full with the right synchronicity with related organs.

After understanding the levels of the immune system, let's understand what are factors (technology and tools) required to empower this.

Factors affecting Immunity:

1.Sleep Cycles

The body releases proteins called cytokines only during sleep. (Cytokines are a large group of small proteins that are secreted by specific cells of the immune system and are very important in cell signalling for immunity) The immune system is influenced by the sleep-wake cycles of our circadian rhythms. Studies suggest that while we’re sleeping we have decreased levels of the stress hormone cortisol, (cortisol suppress immune function). For a healthy sleep cycle refer to my blog http://amtopmfitness.com/healthy-sleep-for-healthy-life

2. Nutrients From Food

Studies show vitamins C, A, E, B6 and B12 and minerals like iron and zinc are important for the maintenance of immune function. Most important is protein for the formation of immunoglobulins i.e antibodies.

3. Obesity: Obesity is associated with low-grade chronic inflammation. Fat accumulation deteriorates healthy cell functions. Obesity has also been identified as an independent risk factor for the influenza virus, possibly due to the impaired blood circulation and functioning of T-cells. 

4. Emotional Health

Another challenge that weakens our immune system is STRESS. Hectic work schedules and abundant daily responsibilities can leave us exhausted. When we’re stressed, the immune system’s ability to fight off antigens is reduced. That is why we are more susceptible to infections.

The stress hormone corticosteroid can suppress the effectiveness of the immune system (e.g. lowers the number of lymphocytes).

Stress can also affect the immune system by raising blood pressure.

 Uncontrolled stress can influence our sleep patterns, our mood, our dietary intake and our physical activity levels. All of these factors are associated with immune system function. 

5. Sun exposure (not harmful UV rays) 

Our body produces vitamin D when exposed to the sun. Sitting in the sun early morning  (not more than 10 -15 mins) can offer multiple benefits mainly activation of T cells and B cells. 

6. Gut Health

A healthy gut requires a healthy balance of gut bacteria. It is responsible for better digestion and intestine health. The good bacteria in the right quantity can also boost immunity and help in preventing potential autoimmune diseases. You can add probiotics like yoghurt to your diet for better gut health.

7. Exercise

Right exercise helps to strengthen the lungs to flush virus, bacteria out from the lung’s air pipes. This reduces the chances of getting a cold, flu. A brief rise in body temperature during exercise prevent bacteria from growing. Exercise also reduces stress hormone level. Research also shows the increased circulation of lymphocytes during and post-exercise. Aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity for three days a week.

             So after understanding all this Physiology, it is clear that consuming only hot water, turmeric milk, tulsi kadha are not at all enough for improving immunity. Cellular health of immune organs and thereby immune system is dependent on mental, physical and emotional well being in total.

            If there is peace and discipline at the nation's internal system (state level) then only border security has meaning to work at its best. It is again Holistic.

Thought for Food

In my dietetics course, we had the first chapter talking about the definition of food. Today I think all preliminary school boards also have chapters on food and nutrition.

Food is the substance ingested by an organism and assimilated by the organism's cells to provide energy, maintain life, and stimulate growth (Physiological functions). 

           You will wonder why today I'm talking about these basic definitions which even smart kindergarten kids also must be knowing.

Definitions, why? 

Although we have learnt definitions and laws at our schools, the law of physics or maths, but we have forgotten to apply or remember when we required it most.

   So this blog is about remembering what is food and its functions. And when we reiterate these notes we can start to understand whether we are applying them correctly or no.

Whether it's a unicellular organism or multicellular organism every one needs food for its living.

       Unicellular organisms like algae, fungi survive on nature as well as on multicellular organisms like plants and animals.

Plants need sunlight, water and oxygen as food, whereas animals eat plant and animal as their food.

Man is an evolutionary product of an animal.

But as mankind progressed, the functions of food is not limited to just body survival.

      Food is then used for fulfilling his psychological and social needs also.

Being a social animal it's obvious, but maintaining balance for using food for its different functioning should be an unwritten law.

But today food malfunctioning is a big problem globally and audit is a need of time.

Let's see what are the Psychosocial Functions of food:

From cooking food to eating it, many people use food for different feelings.

It's used to offer prayer to God. For some cooking is a therapy for boredom as well as for seeking attention.

Some eat too much or some lose their hunger in stress as well as in joy. 

Food is also a token of love and affection towards family.

Or it gets used to show anger eg hunger protest. Food is also a tool for pleasing boss/clients towards professional sales and promotion. 

     As a social being food has been an expression of love, friendship and happiness at religious, social and family get-togethers.

       Now here I want to add one more function of food that is eating unrealistic and fad dieting food for achieving unrealistic body parameters. 

After understanding different purposes, benefits, functions and reasons for food, now it's simple to understand which are our Primary Motivating Factor (PMF) while eating our next meal. Or maybe we'll remember last Sunday's romantic dinner. Or can realise why we ate yesterday two-three pastries at one go. Or why since three-four days don't feel like eating.

Relax....take two-three deep breath. That's ok.

It's past. For a mindful future, take a diary and start noting down your PMF while you eat. 

And let's do an audit every week and month.

While we doing this introspection, If you find PMF is physiological functions, you are on track, but if you feel psychological or social reasons are happening consecutive 4-5 days and these episodes are coming frequently, then there is a need for discussion with the health counsellor/coach.

If psychological and /or social reason as PMF for eating food continues, there are 150℅ chances that he/she will be either undernourished or overfed. His /her body composition gets disturbed, the synchronicity of body functions gets mismatched and it further leads to more adverse psychological & social eating. E.g. anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, alcohol addiction, smoking, etc. 

So before eating become a habit of fulfilling a psychological and social needs, discuss with a coach to... 

- Find a reason behind the reason. Changing perspective and applying the right solution for a problem. You will be happy lifelong rather than getting temporary pleasure /satisfaction from food. E.g if you can't say no to friends for outside dinners because of low self-esteem or having need of social acceptance, take the help of a counsellor for personal growth. If you are munching chips while watching TV /getting bored, it's time to adopt new skills or spend time on some hobby. 

- If you are craving sweets or Chinese food, there must be a deficiency of nutrition. Take help from a nutritionist to plan out healthier meal plan. 

- Find a healthier alternative in different circumstances. Spending quality time by having a morning walk rather than having late-night dinners with a spouse or making some painting /craft for loved ones rather always cooking for their approval. 

- If certain eating situations are unavoidable eg sales executive meetings, look for smart healthier options to eat at social events. 

Our mind and body are so closely knitted together that, the effect on either of it shows reactions on the other one. 

Graph of eating for physiological need has to be 99% every week. Change in the graph is a signal to seek the right solutions. 

 When the application of food is right, the body can enjoy food also long life. 

          Praying God or showing gratitude towards provision of food for body needs, is the simplest solution for the right application of food.

Healthy Sleep for Optimal Quality Life

Sleep is Most Effective yet undervalued routine in our  Life. 

Even if we eat perfectly healthy, and doing regular exercise but if there is no sleep/rest, we can not have a optimal health. 

If we are doing great in career, but that is not letting us to have sound sleep at night, it's an alarm that we need to spend most of money later for physical as well as mental illnesses. 

Sleep is the best, most economical and in hand solution to improve Digestion, Metabolism and Immunity. Sound sleep at night hours helps in cellular cycle and growth- (wearing off dead cells and forming new cells). This is the important process for healing, faster recovery of all body tissues, organs and organ system. 

Simple example to share here is our mobile battery. Can you continuously work on mobile or lap top without charging battery. And if you are working with its electricity connection on, can you touch the instrument. It's hot, right. There are maximum chance that battery will burst out. 

It's same thing with our body, body cell is like battery and we have millions of cells. We need to give them their space. 

And if we don't give, it leads to blood pressure issue (disturbed electrolytes balance), rise in body temperature, hormonal imbalance, mental confusion, mood swings, food craving. 

What is Healthy Sleep routine: Sleep after three hours of our last meal of the day. Sleep 8 hours before sunrise. 

I.e 10pm-6am is the right timetable. 

Afternoon nap of 15-20 minutes is also very important. 

Solution:

- Post sunset meal should be easy to digest. 

- Take shower and get fresh. 

- Massage foot with ghee, coconut oil. 

- Gentle massaging the temples, neck. 

- Practice Pranayam. 

- Practicing yogasanas like shashankasan, hastpadasan, makarasan, shavasan are very effective. 

- Switch off from all digital screens. 

- Read religious /spiritual / self help / and academic books after dinner. 

- Listen to Mind soothing instrument music / classical music/ sound therapy mantras. 

- Supplements  ginkgo biloba is useful for healthy brain functioning

- Banana, milk with nutmeg powder and kesar are helpful to secret mind relaxing and happy hormone, serotonin. 

Precautions:

- Don't consume caffeine, alcohol, nonveg, fried food post sunset. It disturbs digestion and thereby sleep. 

- Reduce long afternoon nap. 

- Avoid watching and discussing scary, negative, thriller, crime things before bed time as they will have strong impact on subconscious mind. 

So in short, don't underestimate power of healthy sleep cycle. Sound sleep is a sign of happy mind and pure soul.

Healthy Lifestyle Modifications for Woman

International woman's day is coming in two weeks, there are so many glamorous as well as education events happen then around the world. But that time men jokingly say, woman's day is every day.

                  Indeed its everyday and that's why, necessary "healthy lifestyle should be practiced daily for that everyday celebration of womanhood." What's say girls? 

Here is a checklist to consider for that healthy lifestyle modifications-

Key Nutrients:
Woman should include all macro as well micro nutrients. But considering emotional and physical demand, she should definitely include proteins, calcium, iron, omega3 fatty acids and vitamin D every single day. 

Key Yogasanas:
It's observed  that today thyroid gland issues, hyperacidity, ovarian cysts, anxiety are increasing in women. Considering this, Yogasanas like bhadrasana, paschimottanasan,  ushtrasan, shashankasan, vakrasan should be practiced daily.

Key strategies for Stress Management:
Reading spiritual books (different than religious books) and self help books improves our consciousness about life's true happiness and peace of mind, we learn to respond than react. (Reacting is emotional, responding is emotional intelligence).
       Learning pranayama is a must todo list for every woman for her both emotional and hormonal balance. (This secret is coming from my own benefit).

Considering above all keys, Health and Nutrition Coaching should be a "must" priority and best investment to ease the process of following them. 

Especially for - Teenage Girl, Before Planning Pregnancy, Working Mother, Menopause stage. 

Why it's so important:
-By Nature:-Right from teenage to elderly age, woman constantly goes through different bodily transformation, hormonal changes. 
- By Society and by herself:- Woman has to perform many responsibility at home front to take  care of every need of her children, spouse, elderly parents and inlaws, taking responsibility of kitchen and other housekeeping chores. 
- By herself and by increased economy need:- Woman needs to work for income for her own Identity, life purpose and most of the time to meet family's financial need. 
           These all responsibilities demands high from woman both physically, emotionally. Therefore her Nutrition & health needs special attention.

Key Points of Nutrition Coaching:
-Tips to Simplify life,  -Customized+Flexible+Nutritional Meal Plan, 

-Guiding on uncertainty in daily routine, 

-Guiding Mind body relaxation practices.

Benefits:
- Gets partner in fitness journey. 

- Refocusing and Prioritizing on her own health.
- Bone strengthening, Improving haemoglobin, stamina and immunity.
- Healthy Transition at different Lifestages.
- Controlling hair fall, joint pain, skin ageing.
- Looking and Feeling youthful lifelong. 

Write-up By Dietitian Prachi M. 

Contact- 9969326096

Stress and Its impact on Body and Body Diseases

                   What is Stress and Its impact on Body and Body Diseases?

There is one story telling that when one King complains about all sorrows and troubles he has, on which one saint advises him to wear a happy man's shirt. But king's servant visit all kind of wealthy people but finds it difficult to find one happy people among those. They finally find one simple looking man who  sitting on river bank with just one pair of clothes, but was happy to give away that last shirt to king saying he is happy and content with whatever he has. Moral of the story is subjective person to person. 

          Although this story is very old but the situation is still the same. We look for happiness outside and peace of mind as end product of the process. 

With similar complicated thoughts, I decided to start studying Indian wisdom of yogic practices to acquire knowledge about holistically healthy mind and body. Whatever i learnt in course...i can say is just the preschool level of entire yogic philosophy but yet it can have positive impact for whole life. Learning is still going on. But thought of pen it down which can be useful at basic level for all of us to understand mental and physical interaction and it's effect. And also discussed solution to improve Holistic Health.

        Today metabolic and digestive diseases are at peak, in Western countries people use terminologies like "epidemic of obesity", "Diabesity", “occupational diseases”,           “syndrome x”, chronic fatigue syndrome. These are also called as psychosomatic disorder (Mind and Body Disorder).

And common reason among them is Stress, Both physical and mental. 

           So this writeup is actually from notes I talked earlier which can give us understanding of vicious cycle of diseases and how to break that cycle. 

Let's go through these points. 

- Stress is a maladaptive response pattern and characteristics of person to his overpowering and perceived psychological, sociological, psychobiological and bioecological demands.. 

According to yogic perspective, stress is produced when environment interacts with kleshas (The third śloka of the second chapter of Patañjali's Yogasūtra explicitly identifies Five Poisons: अविद्यास्मितारागद्वेषाभिनिवेशाः पञ्च क्लेशाः॥३॥) ; cittavrittis produce and when these cittavrittis get powerful leads to stress. 

(Checkout images for better understanding..) 

 

-Modern concept says, environment stimulate stress depending on personalized genetic makeup. Therefore heredity is important to consider while talking about stress. 

Heredity is a genetic predisposition to behave in certain way. We have some inborn qualities by which we react or respond to outside factors. 

Some respond violently, while some accept and try to solve problem. This may be called as fight or fly response. 

-Stress in simple language is an emotion produced when environmental factors (outside circumstances) interacts with genetically predisposed factors which find it dangerous or threat. 

-It important point to note here, different people react differently at same situation. 

 

E. G

Sudden loss of prestige may lead one person to end his life on other hand another one accepts the fact that and  gets ready to restart from zero. 

So what is the difference between them. Modern concept call it as perceptions of each person towards the situation. 

- Although we can't change our genetic makeup but good news is that we can change our perspective. 

 

Studying Yogic philosophy gives comprehensive awareness and helps to understand & accepts realities. When this coupled with yoga practice, like “Kriyayog” we can start looking into ourselves, our life purpose gets clear, mind start becoming calm and quiet. 

So, even though our heredity is weak, we can remain stand still with right and improved perception.

 

 Patanjali yogsutra (pys)in its text stating kleshas (refer image above) are root cause of all problems. Let's understand how it affects: 

#Avidya mean either lack of perception or malperception (perception=awareness)and it's main cause of other four kleshas. 

#Incorrect perception about self leads to either underestimation of self or overestimation of self ie ego. 

#This further leads to possessiveness/slavery of sensory attachment, Jealousy, insecurity. And ultimately all insecurity have fear of death. 

 

All these kleshas are interconnected and when they get stronger and  interact with environment (physical and social), they develop chittavrtti (pramanit, smriti, nidra,,viparyay, vikalp) and make them stronger and influential enough for you to lose your original identity (self, life purpose) and leads to stress.

 

There are four stages of Stress leading to Psychosomatic Disorder:

(Points are explained along with two metabolic disorders as an example ie PCOS and Type 2 Diabetes)

When Chittvritis starts overpowering us, we enter into 

1. Psychic stage. This is where occurrence of nonclinical symptoms like anxiety, mood swings, eating disorder start appearing. 

It's very critical and important stage, but often gets ignored. 

Here you may develop emotional/ psychological challenges like feeling irritable, feel like staying alone, gets short tempered, sleep apnoea, hunger pangs. Irregular menstrual cycle, prediabetes where these emotions problems are common. 

Instead of only looking for temporary solution like popping medical pills,alcohol intake, smoking, crash diet; If you identify such issues and learn to develop healthy habits, lifestyle modifications, acquire yogic practices like yam- niyam, shatkriyas, asanas, pranayama; can 100% reverse the problem. 

 

2. But if we overlook psychic issues, after a period of time we go to psychosomatic disorder (mind body disorder). E.g. PCOS, Type 2 Diabetes.These disorders may remain with you lifelong. 

Relief may be possible by dedication towards healthy habits and yoga practices, one can control disorder at this stage only. E.g. blood sugar remain at control in diabetic person, in PCOD further ovarian cyst formation can be prevented, interval between two menses cycle can get reduced. 

 

3.Person who is not getting serious about his health and ignoring symptoms, enters into somatic stage where complications are noticeable. 

E.g. Type 2 diabetic person develops diabetic foot, body swelling and he compulsorily needs to take insulin injection. 

A woman having PCOS, starts developing acne, facial hair, obesity.    A Personal health coach is very important at this stage to develop healthy habits and avoid further complications. Coach is must because at this stage person is emotionally incapable of self care discipline. 

4. But if person misses out prioritize health even at Body level,

 Next stage is at organ level. Mostly organ failure. E.g. diabetic person needs the removal of diabetic foot, develops diabetic retinopathy, diabetic neuropathy. Woman with PCOS may lead to infertility. 

At this stage nothing but organ replacement, clinical/surgical procedure becomes necessary for life. 

And all this further aggregate stress not only at emotional, physical level but also at financial and social also. This aggravated stress may lead to another psychosomatic cycle e.g uncontrolled type 2 Diabetes leads to Hypertension or Kidney failure, while PCOS leads to Type 2 Diabetes and then this cycle becomes difficult to break.

 

              Long story short, Learning and daily practices of Pranayama, Yogasana, Yogic Diet principles, Yam and Niyam (rules of good conduct towards self and society), shatkriyas (shudhhikriya like kapalbhati, jalneti) under professional expert is a need of time for living holistic health. We then start finding happiness within us and start any thing with peace of mind.

 

Dietitian - PRACHI M.

Contact:9969326096

I'm Postgraduate in Nutrition and Dietetics, working in the field of Nutrition Coaching and Diet Planning since year 2007. I have also completed 220 hours teachers training in Yoga Philosophy and Practice from kaivalyadhama.