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http://www.womansday.com/article.asp...rticle_id=5976
10 More Good Reasons to Exercise
The rewards are even greater than you may have expected
By Denise Kessler
We all know that exercise can help lower our risk of heart disease, cancer and other illnesses. But let's be realistic. What really motivates us to squeeze fitness into our busy lives are the immediate payoffs: keeping our weight under control, or being able to carry a bag of groceries effortlessly up the stairs. But regular exercise does far more than help us stay fit. Research shows that it also keeps us going strong in a number of surprising ways. Find out what benefits are in store for you.
1. Feel more confident
Exercise may be one of the best self-esteem enhancers there is - and one of the easiest. After all, who can't make time for a 10-minute brisk walk? "Dozens of studies show that regular workouts can significantly boost confidence, no matter how fit you are," says Robyn Stuhr, director of the Women's Sports Medicine Center at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. "Women who exercise tend to develop a strong sense of accomplishment."
The keys to building confidence through exercise, says Stuhr, are to set reasonable goals, and to celebrate the new skills and strengths you acquire along the way.
2. Build brainpower
Aerobic exercise not only helps your body feel spry, it also quickens your mind. Being physically active increases blood flow to the brain, making your mind work more efficiently. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that regular exercisers scored better on word association and memorization tests than nonexercisers. Fit participants also proved to be faster thinkers than less-fit people their age. Regular exercise can also reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer's, a degenerative disease that impairs memory.
3. Stop cheating on your diet
New findings suggest that exercise may be the best antidote to binge eating, a problem often brought on by stress. When tension hits, many women reach for a sweet snack. But a study at California State University in Long Beach found that people felt less tense and more energetic after taking a brisk, 12-minute walk than they did after eating a candy bar. Katy Carlton, 32, a public relations consultant in Rockport, Massachusetts, is living proof of this. She discovered that taking a swim class or going for a walk with her son, Ben, lowered her level of stress. Once she got into the routine, she no longer needed to soothe tension with a bag of chocolate chip cookies.
4. Sleep better
The key to restful slumber may be as simple as taking a brisk walk four days a week. That was the finding of a study at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. The research showed that adults who walked or did aerobics for 30 to 40 minutes fell asleep twice as fast and slept longer than those who didn't exercise.
Consider how much regular walking and strength training helped Sandra Norris, 33, a sales assistant in Pasadena, California. "Not only do I require less sleep, the sleep I do get is more restful," she says. "I don't even need that afternoon coffee pick-me-up anymore!"
5. Get a creative boost
A study at Middlesex University in London, England, found that regular exercise may enhance creative thinking by increasing the flow of nutrients to certain areas of the brain. Faced with a major mental block at work? Do what Darien, Connecticut, writer Holly Gates Russell does. "I take a fifteen-minute brisk walk to the store. When I take an exercise break, I return to my desk feeling refreshed and ready to work." If you can't escape from your office, try a quick walk up and down the stairs, suggests Tamilee Webb, author of Workouts for Dummies. And be sure to stop at the water fountain to rehydrate.
6. Stand taller
Doing strength training and flexibility exercises that improve posture can increase your height by up to a quarter-inch in a mere 12 weeks. That's what researchers at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington learned when they were looking for ways to prevent osteoporosis.
And there's more good news. "Any woman who does weight-bearing exercise several times a week, such as brisk walking, can improve bone density in her spine, reducing osteoporosis risk," says Carleen Lindsey, a physical therapist who participated in the study.
7. Ward off colds
A little exercise can go a long way toward preventing a bad cold. To prove this point, researchers at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, asked formerly sedentary women to walk briskly for 35 to 45 minutes, five days a week, for 12 to 15 weeks. The result: The exercisers reported half the number of sick days of women who didn't walk. It worked for Karen Krause, 27, a physical therapist in Savannah, Georgia, who swims three times a week. "While others are plagued with colds during the winter, I get mildly sick once or twice a year."
8. Save money
Being fit can actually reduce your medical bills. A study at HealthPartners Center for Health Promotion and Research Foundation in Minneapolis found that people pay a price for inactivity, and that amount is even higher when people are also obese. Study participants with a low level of fitness paid an additional 10 percent of their annual health-care costs - or about $176 - each year. Obesity was associated with another 8 percent increase in costs, or an extra $135 each year.
9. Improve your hearing
What do you think would happen if you added two 30-minute brisk walks or bike rides to your regular exercise routine? Sure, you'd boost your cardiovascular health, but that's not all. Kathleen Hutchinson, Ph.D., and her colleagues at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, found that physically fit people who exercise regularly have stronger blood circulation, which may offer some protection against hearing loss. According to Dr. Hutchinson, 30 minutes of brisk walking, biking or other cardiovascular exercise several times a week may be beneficial.
10. Deliver on time
Studies have shown that pregnant women who do at least three hours of aerobic exercise a week improve their chances of on-time delivery. In addition, having stronger muscles may shorten labor time, according to Maureen Hatch, Ph.D., director of the division of epidemiology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, who directed a study of 557 prenatal women.
http://www.ruchihealth.com/health/health_eatingways.htm
10 Easy Ways to Eat Healthier This Year
by Lynn Grieger, RD, CDE
Try these 10 easy new habits and you'll be fast on your way to improved health.
1. Honey, I shrunk the food! Unfortunately, the opposite has happened: Portion sizes have grown to T. rex dimensions, increasing our waistlines, and the risk of developing heart disease and diabetes. To combat the trend, shrink your portions by using smaller plates, asking for a small ice cream cone, beverage or sandwich instead of a large, splitting restaurant entrees with a friend or ordering a lunch-size portion even at dinner and vowing to never supersize.
2. Pump up the volume. Choose low-fat, high-fiber foods whose lower calorie density fills you up without filling you out. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes are high-volume foods that not only help trim your waistline but also provide nutrients essential for health.
3. Add to your meals -- fruits and vegetables, that is! Add one fruit or vegetable to every meal, and you'll be on your way to lower blood pressure and improved health. Try grapes for breakfast, raw broccoli with low-fat dip with lunch and fruit salad with dinner.
4. Drink up. Get a water bottle and carry it with you everywhere you go. You'll find yourself drinking water while you're driving, at your desk, during meetings and watching TV. Drinking water instead of coffee, soda, fruit punch or other sweetened beverages saves calories as it keeps your body functioning optimally.
5. Go meatless. Eat a meatless meal at least once each week -- two or three times if you're feeling adventurous! Choose a bean tortilla, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, veggie burger instead of hamburger, chili with beans instead of meat, or a tofu stir-fry. You'll consume less fat and saturated fat, plus increase your fiber intake!
6. Breakfast with champions. Studies show people who start the day with breakfast cereal have higher intakes of vitamins and fiber and lower intakes of fat and saturated fat. For the healthiest cereal, choose one with at least five grams of fiber and no more than eight grams sugar per serving. Pour on skim milk for a double bonus!
7. Must-not-see TV. Stop eating meals while watching TV or snacking during your favorite show. Research plus common sense tells us we eat more when we're watching the tube.
8. Make friends with Charlie and his pals. Water-packed tuna, salmon and mackerel are loaded with omega-3 fatty acids that protect our heart and cardiovascular system. Experts recommend eating these types of seafood twice each week.
9. Say "moo." Calcium not only builds strong bones, it also helps reduce blood pressure. Get adequate calcium by drinking milk, enjoying yogurt or low-fat cheese, or trying a calcium-fortified orange juice. If soy or rice milk is your beverage of choice, make sure it's fortified with calcium.
10. Brown bag it. Instead of buying lunch every day, or worse yet, skipping lunch altogether, pack your lunch at least one day each week. Make a sandwich with whole grain bread, low-fat meat, and lots of veggies like dark green lettuce, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, and grated carrots. Add a piece of fresh fruit or a container of no-added-sugar mixed fruit or applesauce. Satisfy your sweet tooth with yogurt or fat-free pudding and your need for crunch with pretzels or baked tortilla chips. You'll save money and eat less fat, salt and sugar.
Having too much or too little of a vitamin or mineral in your system can lead to hair loss.Quote:
Originally Posted by Raghu
Vitamin A:Antioxidant that helps produce healthy sebum in the scalp.
Food sources: Fish liver oil, meat, milk, cheese, eggs, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, apricots and peaches
Vitamin C - Antioxidant that helps maintain skin & hair health.
Food sources: Citrus fruits, strawberries, kiwi, cantaloupe, pineapple, tomatoes, green peppers, potatoes and dark green vegetables.
Vitamin E - Antioxidant that enhances scalp circulation.
Food sources: Cold-pressed vegetable oils, wheat germ oil, soybeans, raw seeds and nuts, dried beans, and leafy green vegetables.
Niacin (Vitamin B3) - Promotes scalp circulation.
Food sources: Brewer's yeast, wheat germ, fish, chicken, turkey and meat.
Vitamin B6 - Prevents hair loss, helps create melanin, which gives hair its color.
Food sources: Brewer's yeast, liver, whole grain cereals, vegetables, organ meats and egg yolk.
VitaminB12 - Prevents hair loss.
Food sources: Chicken, fish, eggs and milk.
Minerals:
Copper - Helps prevent hair loss as well as defects in hair color and structure.
Food sources: Shellfish, liver, green vegetables, whole grains, eggs, chicken and beans.
Magnesium - Works with calcium to promote healthy hair growth.
Food sources: Green vegetables, wheat germ, whole grains, nuts, soy beans, chickpeas and fish.
Calcium - Essential for healthy hair growth.
Food sources: Dairy, tofu, fish, nuts, brewer's yeast, beans, lentils and sesame seeds.
Kanya_kris,Quote:
Originally Posted by kanya_kris
Many many thanks 4 the info, sorry I did not reply 2 your post b4, cos i just saw it now1
I have seen Tofu, being a high source of Protein, is Tofu available like paneer cubes???
thanks again
Hi all
Though tamarind has medicinal properties I am told it also induces body heat.Is it true?Should tamarind intake be reduced cos tamarind is extensively used in SI cooking right?
Regards
Sowmya :)
not very sure,Sowmya... but I don't use tamarind frequently as I've seen many ayurveda practisioners suggesting to reduce it for many of their patients...not sure if it's coz it'll react with the medicines given or it's generally not that good...
Does tamarind cause body heat?,,,till now i was thinking it helps u cool down :huh:
Hibiscus is a very good hair tonic...both inside and outside :) hibiscus leaves paste is very good for hair wash and drinking hibiscus flower water is also good for ur hair
just put some hibiscus petals in water, leave it overnight and drink it the next morning
apply creamy yogurt on ur hair and scalp , 1/2 an hour before washing...it controls hairfall