Tips for having the 'right' breakfast

The importance of having a healthy and nutritious breakfast is largely understood by most people with a rising number of lifestyle and health-themed channels and magazines highlighting breakfast as the day’s most essential meal. 

However, what constitutes the right breakfast is still a grey area, engaging different sorts of viewpoints that can often be confusing. This is an attempt to resolve the issue with simple, effective and easy-to-understand tips.

Processed Carbs Are Sinful

Most processed foods ranging from the standard loaf of bread to crunchy cookies, sweet buns and instant noodles do little good. A breakfast is supposed to satiate your hunger for several hours so that you don’t snack in between meals. Secondly, it should provide sufficient energy so that you don’t feel de-energized at your work. 

Processed foods, loaded with de-fibered cereals and lots of refined sugar, don’t meet either of these criteria. Firstly, processed carbohydrates tend to cause a spike in your glucose levels as carbs can be converted into glucose quickly. However, this sugar spike slumps rather soon since glucose is quickly routed to the body’s energy storehouse. This causes a sugar craving or hunger pang which initiates a cyclic chain of craving more sugar and food.

Thus, you should avoid:
• Excess of Jams/Sauces/Sweetened spreads/Chutneys
• Fruit juices to which glucose or sugar has been added
• Cakes

Load-Up On Proteins Even If You Are Not A Gym Junkie

The onslaught of diet fads like the Atkins Diet and wronged perceptions about gymming hard has made people either too obsessed or wary of proteins. To feel energetic throughout the day, your breakfast should contain a more than average amount of protein. Metabolism of protein takes longer, ensuring that energy is released constantly. The traditional recommendation of having a glass of milk was probably based on this logic. However, the quality of milk has depreciated considerably in the last, few years. You need to seek better, more promising sources of protein. Choose egg whites or whole eggs as they contain one of the purest forms of protein found in the animal kingdom. If you are a strict vegetarian, choose sprouted dals, cottage cheese or paneer or a quick glass of lassi made from low-fat curd. Soybean in the form of soy milk, soy flakes or boiled soya chunks tossed with some green chilli and tomatoes is a tasty, vegetarian protein choice.

Add Fiber & Nutrition In The Easy, Time-Saving Manner

The biggest reason why breakfasts are either unplanned or ignored is that the morning rush leaves little time for us. However, you can easily overcome this hurdle by choosing some smarter, time-saving sources of nutrition. For instance, dry fruits including all types of nuts, almonds and walnuts are an enriching source of macro-and micro-nutrients, including essential vitamins and trace minerals. You can add these with ease in your sandwiches, rolls or just chew them even as you exit your
house in a hurry.

Make Smarter Replacements

These tips are directed towards making healthier, more nutritious breakfast choices.
This includes:
• Using honey instead of jam and other sugar-sweetened spreads
• Choosing low-fat milk over full-cream milk
• Choosing low-fat butter over traditional butter
• Using honey as a sweetener instead of sugar
• Opting for whole-grain, oatmeal or multi-fiber breads over white bread
• Eating fresh fruits instead of processed/packaged juices
• Choosing cornflakes made from high fiber cereals like bran and muesli over conventional cornflakes

Top 5 Dinner Meals That Will Get You Good Sleep

For remaining mentally sharp and productive throughout the day and for ensuring that you are emotionally balanced, having a sound night-time sleep is critical.
Rather than seeking help in the form of chemically-formulated sleep medications that are often addictive and are known to have serious side-effects, it is better to opt for natural aids. The safest and probably the most undemanding solution to all your sleep problems is food. Following are Five Dinner Meals that will help to optimize your overall sleeping pattern and halt your progress towards serious complications due to sleep deprivation such as insomnia:

1. Whole-wheat Rotis with Potatoes

Most carbohydrate sources, particularly those rich in complex carbohydrates, like whole wheat are recommended for ensuring better sleep. This can be easily used for dinner by opting for whole-wheat flour. Rotis made from such flour help to promote sleep by stimulating release of insulin. This hormone is a stimulant for ensuring that tryptophan is directed towards the brain. Here, tryptophan is metabolized into serotonin which in turn is the primary biochemical for establishing a general feeling of wellness. It fights stress or anxiety-induced sleep disturbances. Ideally, these rotis should be combined with at least one potato-based dish. Potatoes are known to breakdown the acids that interfere with the metabolism of tryptophan.

2. Spinach Combined with Low-fat Yogurt

Whether consumed with whole wheat chapattis or brown rice, spinach is a recommended dietary sleeping aid. Most leafy green vegetables like spinach are a rich source of iron that is vital to neutralize a common sleep deterrent referred to as Restless Legs Syndrome. This condition is actually a form of subdued hyperactivity or an anxious reaction to any persistent thought that prevents onset of sleep. A recommended combination with spinach is having low-fat yogurt. This is a proven source of magnesium and calcium. These two micronutrients are essentially sleep-supportive minerals that promote deeper, more relaxing sleep. Eating yogurt with spinach is also recommended to ensure that absorption of iron is comprehensive.

3. Beans With Flax Seed Rotis

Beans in form of kidney beans are a rich source of B vitamins including Folic Acid, B6 and B12. These are vital, sleep vitamins, i.e. they help in regulating the sleep cycles and assist metabolic process related to serotonin. This is why vitamin B supplements are commonly recommended to people diagnosed with insomnia. Flax seed or Alsi is commonly used as a fiber and nutrition resource in the form of flax seed oil or as a flour ingredient. A bit of grounded flax seed should be added to the whole wheat flour. Flax seeds are enriched with Omega 3 Fatty Acids that help to fight-off sleep disturbances like stress by aiding the complete absorption of serotonin.

4. Cauliflower/Kale (Javi) With Whole Wheat Rotis

Many green vegetables are a natural source of Tryptophan. Among these, Kale or Javi is recommended for dinner. Javi also contains biochemicals that fight-off anxiety. When combined with tryptophan-boosters like whole wheat bread or rotis, it acts like the perfect sleep-promoting meal. If you cannot find Javi in your area, you can use cauliflower or cabbage.

5. Cooked Lentils With Brown Rice

Carbohydrate foods that are high in fiber tend to aid the gradual release of Tryptophan, ensuring that the stress-fighting capabilities of Tryptophan are sustained over a longer period. Among these high-glycemic foods like Brown Rice are recommended which can be combined with cooked dals. Lentils are another high-tryptophan food item. These are easy-to-digest and also provide the body with essential proteins.

7 Foods that Burn Fat

Body fat is an ugly truth of life for most Indian men. Our lifestyle is such that it becomes almost impossible to avoid it. Just sweating out in the gym day and night is not enough to reach your goal of losing your body fat when your mother is busy feeding you the butter-laced aloo ka parantha. Along with a healthy workout, food also plays a crucial role in reducing body fat.

Here are 7 foods that help in burning fat.

1. Eggs

Eggs are known to be high in protein which burns fat faster than other fatty foods. It also contains Vitamin B12, 8 minerals, iron, calcium and other macronutrients, which aid the body in metabolizing fat.

2. Fish

Instead of reaching for your chicken curry next time, try opting for fish. Like eggs, fish is also a protein-rich food that burns more fat while being digested instead of carbohydrates or fats. They also contain Omega 3s which prevent the build-up of stress chemicals that induce fat abs especially tuna, salmon, mackerel, swordfish and flounder.

3. Green Tea

Green tea is almost like a magical drink that has the power to keep most health problems at bay. It keeps those extra inches away by preventing fats from getting absorbed by the body. Drinking a cup of green tea everyday goes a long way in helping you achieve a healthy life.

4. Oatmeal

Oatmeal not only helps in cutting down the fat content but its rich fiber content helps in the reduction of cholesterol. It also stays for a longer period in the stomach which takes care of your hunger pangs. However, its better to opt for a natural sweetener like honey instead of sugar.

5. Dairy Products

Dairy products are rich in calcium which is very effective in burning fat and even preventing its formation in the body. The amount of calcium in a person's body indicates how easily one gains fat. The more calcium present in your body, the easier it is to burn all the excess fat.

6. Berries

Berries, as we all know, are fiber-rich fruits. Raspberries are said to contain 8 grams of fiber in a cup. Strawberries have lower sugar content than other fruits while also being rich in in Vitamin C, which boosts metabolism in the body.Berries also have another component called pectin which force the fats to release their fat cells.

7. Green Vegetables

Green Vegetables have been tried and tested in their various health benefits. You should stop trying to shrink away from adding them into your diet as they have the power to reduce your waist size. Amongst the green vegetables, give special attention to spinach, cabbage and beans. Including a lot of salads into your everyday meal plan means getting closer to reducing the body's fat absorption.

Tips for Having the RIGHT Breakfast

The importance of having a healthy and nutritious breakfast is largely understood by most people

with a rising number of lifestyle and health-themed channels and magazines highlighting breakfast as the day’s most essential meal. However, what constitutes the right breakfast is still a grey area, engaging different sorts of viewpoints that can often be confusing. This is an attempt to resolve the issue with simple, effective and easy-to-understand tips.

Processed Carbs Are Sinful

Most processed foods ranging from the standard loaf of bread to crunchy cookies, sweet buns and instant noodles do little good. A breakfast is supposed to satiate your hunger for several hours so that you don’t snack in between meals. Secondly, it should provide sufficient energy so that you don’t feel de-energized at your work. Processed foods, loaded with de-fibered cereals and lots of refined sugar, don’t meet either of these criteria. Firstly, processed carbohydrates tend to cause a spike in your glucose levels as carbs can be converted into glucose quickly. However, this sugar spike slumps rather soon since glucose is quickly routed to the body’s energy storehouse. This causes a sugar craving or hunger pang which initiates a cyclic chain of craving more sugar and food. Thus, you should avoid:
• Excess of Jams/Sauces/Sweetened spreads/Chutneys
• Fruit juices to which glucose or sugar has been added
• Cakes

Load-Up On Proteins Even If You Are Not A Gym Junkie

The onslaught of diet fads like the Atkins Diet and wronged perceptions about gymming hard has made people either too obsessed or wary of proteins. To feel energetic throughout the day, your breakfast should contain a more than average amount of protein. Metabolism of protein takes longer, ensuring that energy is released constantly. The traditional recommendation of having a glass of milk was probably based on this logic. However, the quality of milk has depreciated considerably in the last, few years. You need to seek better, more promising sources of protein. Choose egg whites or whole eggs as they contain one of the purest forms of protein found in the animal kingdom. If you are a strict vegetarian, choose sprouted dals, cottage cheese or paneer or a quick glass of lassi made from low-fat curd. Soybean in the form of soy milk, soy flakes or boiled soya chunks tossed with some green chilli and tomatoes is a tasty, vegetarian protein choice.

Add Fiber & Nutrition In The Easy, Time-Saving Manner

The biggest reason why breakfasts are either unplanned or ignored is that the morning rush leaves little time for us. However, you can easily overcome this hurdle by choosing some smarter, time-saving sources of nutrition. For instance, dry fruits including all types of nuts, almonds and walnuts are an enriching source of macro-and micro-nutrients, including essential vitamins and trace minerals. You can add these with ease in your sandwiches, rolls or just chew them even as you exit your
house in a hurry.

Make Smarter Replacements

These tips are directed towards making healthier, more nutritious breakfast choices.
This includes:
• Using honey instead of jam and other sugar-sweetened spreads
• Choosing low-fat milk over full-cream milk
• Choosing low-fat butter over traditional butter
• Using honey as a sweetener instead of sugar
• Opting for whole-grain, oatmeal or multi-fiber breads over white bread
• Eating fresh fruits instead of processed/packaged juices
• Choosing cornflakes made from high fiber cereals like bran and muesli over conventional cornflakes