Say “NO” to Processed Foods

While taking a tour of the grocery store or supermarket, what catches your eye the most? Is it the flavored fruit juices or cooked spaghetti’s? Or the refrigerators stuffed with different kinds of cured meats such as salami, sausages, or meat loaves?

The processed foods happen to be everywhere and it is not that easy to resist your temptations. However, you must understand that when food is processed, it becomes less healthy and less nutritious. From pre-cooked meals to frozen dinners, salad dressings, bacons, sausages, processed deli red meats, ice creams, and even frozen vegetables are crammed with various additives and preservatives.

According to a survey, Americans eat more of packaged and processed food as compared to fresh food. Although most are aware of the ill effects of consuming these processed food items.

Then why do people eat processed foods? Why are processed foods in such a great demand?

Today everyone is super busy in their packed schedule and don’t have time to cook meals. Unfortunately, there is a tremendous increase in the number of families counting on processed foods, while only few families opt for conventional cooking with fresh food items.

Since, processed foods are easier to store, inexpensive, have less preparation time, and are convenient, most people opt for processed and packed foods.

Although it is really hard to deny these ready-made foods, are they really worth it? The impact of these processed foods on health is quite staggering when consumed on a regular basis.

These synthetic foods are full of fat, coloring agents, and many preservatives. These preservatives contain:

• Sodium or Salt: Salt or other sodium compounds are added to the processed foods during preparation or processing for flavor or preservation. Excessive amounts of sodium can lead to many health problems such as high blood pressure, overweight, and obesity; strong risk factors for various heart diseases
• Nitrates: In processed foods, nitrate preservatives can promote atherosclerosis and lower glucose tolerance; this could result in higher risk of heart disease and diabetes

Preservatives and additives are generally used to sustain safety and prolong the shelf life of food. Heavy tampering and devious modification are done by manufacturers to make these foods alluringly delicious. However, during processing of foods, essential vitamins and enzymes are destroyed which are required by our body to thrive, hence these foods become detrimental to human health. One of the recent study revealed that preservatives present in the processed foods, increases the risk of Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD).

We all can change our lives with some planning and commitment. Although, we all have spent years doing damage to our body, it’s never too late to fix this damage by switching our diet. The alluring taste of these processed foods is not easy to avoid, but some measures need to be taken to make our lives better. Here are some tips to avoid these processed and packaged foods:

References

1. Micha R, Michas G, Lajous M, et al. Processing of meats and cardiovascular risk: time to focus on preservatives. BMC Medicine. 2013;11:136.
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/sodium.htm. Accessed on August 12, 2013.

How to De-Stress and Achieve True Health with Meditation

“Meditation is the Medication”

Have a hectic lifestyle, ignoring health, became conscious, and joining a gym. If this sequence of events sounds familiar, give a pat on your back. Good job on taking the right step towards better health. But, wait a second, ever thought about your mind?

Without a glitch, you may be managing innumerable number of tasks to balance the frantic lifestyle today. Whilst managing everything one rarely pays any attention to the chaos that builds up inside. On the outside, things may be looking good, but then what is the reason for that lurking stress and anxiety?

Let’s look at the following few situations:

• Does being trapped in a traffic jam bother you to the extent that it spoils your mood for rest of the day?
• Are you troubled by the way anger controls you, rather than you controlling your anger?
• Do you feel tensed and sometimes depressed, due to no major reason at all?

If you answered yes, you are not alone. Today, many of us feel stressed and anxious by the constant pressures of this hectic lifestyle, without realizing how deeply it is affecting us. These daily, seemingly small, events have a dual impact - on your body as well as on your mind. Yes, agreed that life combats us with some situations we have no control over, but we should learn how to respond in these situations. We should learn the art of controlling what’s going on inside - in our mind. It is a well-known fact that the root of many chronic illnesses is in the mind. So by learning to manage your mind, you can reduce the chances of some of the serious chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure, heart problems, stress, anxiety, depression, etc.

The art of attending to your mind is “Meditation.” Although it has been practiced for thousands of years as a part of spiritual and cultural traditions, it now finds way to treat many neurological disorders, stress related conditions, and other diseases. It’s now a Complementary and Alternate Medicine (CAM) therapy suggested by Healthcare Providers (HCPs) all over the world. The 2007 National Health Interview Survey revealed that some 20 million US adults use meditation for health purposes.

The benefits of meditation are manifold. It is an essential practice for mental hygiene. A calm mind, good concentration, clear thinking, improved communication, blossoming of skills and talents, an unshakeable inner strength, healing, the ability to connect with inner source of energy, relaxation, and rejuvenation are all natural results of meditating regularly. The role of meditation in enhancing individual performance, leadership, and productivity is also well documented. In summary, meditation helps you have better emotional, mental, and physical well being. A National Center for Complementary and Alterative Medicine (NCCAM) study suggests that eight weeks of meditation may have an effect on brain function that persists even after someone has stopped meditating.

A will to have a quiet mind, a silent place where you can be at ease, a correct posture with mindfulness are the only essentials for a meditation practice. You can choose any of the different techniques of meditation that you believe will give you maximum results. With the loads of benefits meditation offers, you should resolve today to manifest it as a practice in your daily habits. Just 15 to 30 minutes of this practice would be sufficient if you want to reap the benefits. In today's world, where stress catches on faster than an eye can see or the mind can perceive, meditation is no more a luxury, but a necessity.

 Happy meditating!

IControlMyHealth Editorial Team

References

1. Exploring the Power of Meditation. http://nccam.nih.gov/about/offices/od/2010-06.htm. Accessed July 27, 2013.
2. Meditation: An Introduction. http://nccam.nih.gov/sites/nccam.nih.gov/files/meditation.pdf. Accessed July 27, 2013.
3. Meditation Training Program Shows Brain Effects Even Outside a Meditative State. http://nccam.nih.gov/research/results/spotlight/110112. Accessed July 27, 2013.
4. Meditation. http://www.artofliving.org/in-en/meditation. Accessed July 28, 2013.

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SMOKING kills your HEART

Last summer a new employee joined our organization. He was young, passionate, focused and one of the most delightful people in our office. One day, he suddenly fainted after having severe pain in his chest. We all were in a state of shock and immediately rushed him to the nearest hospital. After the diagnosis, doctor told us that his LDL cholesterol hovered around 185 mg/dL, and he is at a higher risk of having heart attack. I was dazed to see that at such a young age of 25 years, how a person can have high cholesterol levels and a risk of heart attack!

Later on, I got to know that he was also a regular smoker that put him at a higher risk of having high cholesterol levels and heart attack. Cigarette contains a harmful chemical known as “nicotine” that not only harms your lungs, but also gets absorbed in the bloodstream and is carried throughout your body. It damages the thin lining of blood vessels making them more prone to accumulation of fatty deposits such as LDL cholesterol. This results in buildup of fatty plaque that can harden and narrow the arteries. Further smoking can spark off these plaques to burst, which blocks the artery and finally results in heart attack.

Apart from raising your cholesterol levels, nicotine also stimulates the release of certain chemicals, which can raise your blood pressure. It also reduces the insulin production that further increases your risk of type 2 diabetes. Regular smoking may even cause impotency in men, as it causes blood vessel to constrict, which can result in erectile dysfunction.

Unfortunately, even after high level of awareness about the harmful effects of smoking, people continue to smoke. Not only my friend, but if we look around whether it’s our family, our friends, in office, or in public, it seems like someone or other is lighting up a cigarette.

There are several reasons due to which people start smoking at a young age. For some, it’s a fashion statement, while for others it creates a kind of “looks cool” perception. Besides, peer pressure can be one of the major reasons that can lead a child into this bad habit. Once the child starts experimenting with tobacco, it is very opportune for him or her to wave other peers into smoking as well.

Not only children and teens, but also adults are ambushed in this vicious circle of smoking. In many work places, people try to bond well with their bosses and thus smoke together. They believe that it increases acceptance by adopting such a habit in the office culture.

Stress is part of life and for many smokers cigarettes are their best friends when they are stressed out. A single puff of nicotine reaches the brain within about 10 seconds and elevates the mood. Hence, smokers become addicted to it and lighten up the cigarette to reduce their stress levels.

The health hazards that come along with smoking are definitely not worth it. Why not take a stand, and resolve to quit it. Although it’s a lot easier said than done, to quit smoking one requires lot of willpower and support. Here are the kick-starts, which can help you channelize your efforts:

Get started, overpower smoking, before it overpowers and overwhelms your health and your life.

Your Partner in Health,

IControlMyHealth Editorial Team

Learn more about

Heart attack

High Cholesterol levels

High blood pressure

Type 2 diabetes

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