Do you know its National Nutrition Week? Dr. Reetu Panwar, Gurgaon based Naturopath at our center Holistic Healing Point, talks about the power of four foods that you must include in your diet which can cure, prevent diseases and encourage a healthy mind and body.
Chia Seeds
Our Naturopathy doctor Reetu Panwar, sees a lot of benefits of consuming chia seeds into your diet. Popularly known as “sabja” in Hindi, have been around since 1500 B.C., and only recently have they started to regain popularity.
Read on to discover why chia seeds can be an easy addition to your diet.
1. Omega 3’s
Chia seeds have an incredible amount of essential fatty acids, especially considering their size.
2. Fiber
Chia seeds also have a high fiber.Great for feeling fuller longer and slowing the release of sugar into the bloodstream. Thus, keeping your energy levels stable.
3. Protein
Chia seeds provide 5 grams of protein per 2 tbsp. A simple way to add protein to your morning oatmeal or shake.
4. Antioxidants
Chia seeds also provide a plethora of vitamins and minerals, and as such, provides the body with a solid dose of antioxidants to help combat the high oxidative stress your body is constantly battling.
5. Weight Loss
Among the many benefits are weight loss. It does not spike blood glucose and thus no insulin spike occurs, which would otherwise drive glucose into your cells at a faster rate, resulting in an increased conversion to triglycerides – which is then stored in adipocytes (fat cells).
Chestnuts
What Is a Chestnut? Is It a Nut or Fruit?
Starchy, sweet, rich in flavor, chestnuts are popular edible nuts of the northern hemisphere origin. The nuts are native to the mountainous forests of China, Japan, Europe, and North America.
Interestingly enough, the chestnut is considered both a nut and a fruit. This is because fruits are technically defined as the product of a flowering plant, and most nuts fall into this category.
Chestnuts may seem like an average, everyday nut, but they have a number of important health benefits –
1. Improves Digestion
Chestnuts are high in fiber. Dietary fiber resists digestion as it passes through the gastrointestinal tract, which aids in the movement of food through your digestive tract. Fiber can also reduce constipation, promote satiety, stabilize blood sugar and help nourish the beneficial bacteria found in your gut.
2. Improves Brain Function
Chestnuts are plentiful in several B vitamins, including thiamine, vitamin B6, riboflavin and folate. These vitamins are essential to keeping your brain healthy and protecting against disease.
3. Prevent Diabetes
Foods that are high in dietary fiber, like chestnuts, are considered a low glycemic food, which means that they cause blood sugar to rise slowly as compared to high glycemic foods. This helps prevent the spikes and drops in blood sugar that can be dangerous for diabetic patients, and are often precursors to the development of diabetes in those currently unaffected.
4. Boost Immune System
The high concentration of vitamin C and other antioxidant compounds in chestnuts make them an ideal boost to your immune system.
5. Protects Your Heart
Interestingly enough, certain types of chestnuts have actually been shown to have a protective effect on your heart. This is partially because chestnuts contain antioxidants, which can reduce inflammation and improve heart health.
Chestnuts also contain potassium, an important mineral that could decrease some of the risk factors associated with heart disease.
If you suffer from heart problems, including a serving of chestnuts in your diet may be able to help reduce some of the risk factors of heart disease and keep your heart healthy.
6. Control Blood Pressure
When it comes to lowering blood pressure, few minerals are as essential as potassium. Potassium controls water movement within the body, and also functions as a vasodilator, increasing blood flow and releasing the tension on constricted blood vessels and arteries. This reduction in blood pressure can boost overall cardiovascular health and lessen your risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Curry leaves or Kadi Patta
Curry leaves or Kadi Patta is a staple in Indian dishes. Commonly used as seasoning and are natural flavoring agents with a number of important health benefits, which makes your food both healthy and tasty along with giving it a pleasant aroma.
Most people think that curry leaves just add flavor to the food and they throw the leaves away while eating their soup or curry. However, they are far more important than many people realize, and they offer a number of health benefits without any side effects.Now, let’s dig a bit deeper into the many health benefits of curry leaves –
Good for Eyesight
Curry leaves contain high amounts of vitamin A and therefore is good for eyesight. Vitamin A contains carotenoids which protect the cornea, the eye surface. Deficiency of vitamin A may cause night blindness, cloud formations in front of the eye and even loss of vision in some cases.
Skin Care
Curry leaves are also helpful in skin care. The juice or paste of the leaves can be applied to burns, cuts, bruises, skin irritations, and insect bites for a quick recovery and clean healing.
Helps keep anemia at bay
Curry leaves are a rich source of iron and folic acid. Folic acid is mainly responsible for carrying and helping the body absorb iron, and since curry leaves are a rich source of both the compounds it is your one-stop natural remedy to beat anemia.
Tip: If you suffer from anemia eat one date (khajoor) with two curry leaves leaves on an empty stomach every morning. This will not only help keep your iron levels up it will also help make you stronger and beat the symptoms of anemia.
Keeps your blood sugar levels under check – fights diabetes
If you suffer from diabetes, curry leaves are the best natural method to keeping your blood sugar levels in check. Apart from that curry leaves are known to help improve digestion and alter the way your body absorbs fat, thereby helping you lose weight. Since weight gain is one of the leading causes of diabetes, curry leaves treat the problem right from the root.
Tip: To help keep your blood sugars under check you should ideally add curry leaves to all your meals. Alternatively having fresh leaves on an empty stomach everyday can also help.
Lowers cholesterol and protects you from heart disease
Packed with antioxidants, curry leaves prevent the oxidation of cholesterol that forms LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol). This in turn helps in increasing the amount of good cholesterol (HDL) and protects your body from conditions like heart disease and atherosclerosis.
Strengthens the organs of your stomach and helps with digestion
Curry leaves are known to be carmative in nature and help greatly in digestion.Once ingested it helps the stomach digest food well and flush out the rest.
Reduces congestion in the chest and nose
If you suffer from a wet cough, sinusitis or chest congestion, curry leaves is a very effective home remedy to relieve the symptoms. Packed with vitamin C, A and compounds such as kaempferol that is a very potent anti inflammatory, anti bacterial, anti fungal, decongestant and antioxidant, curry leaves can help loosen up and release congested mucous.
Tip: To relieve congestion take a spoon of powdered curry leaves and add a spoon of honey to it. Make it a paste and eat this solution twice a day.
Hair Care
Curry leaves have always been known to help in preventing greying of the hair. But these are also very effective in treating damaged hair, adding bounce to limp hair, strengthening the shaft of thin hair, hair fall and treats dandruff.
Tip: To help strengthen your hair and fight dandruff, add the juice of curry leaves, to 100ml of coconut oil. Heat this oil till it turns blackish and apply it to your scalp regularly.
Aids in maintaining oral health
Gum problems, toothache and bad breath are often the most annoying health conditions. It has been a practice in India since ancient times to chew Curry leaves daily to maintain good oral health. The essential oil extracted from these leaves are rich in vitamin C, calcium, folic acid and zinc.
Tip – Adding 2 drops of this oil in a cup of warm water and using it as a gargle aids in strengthening the teeth and gums and gives a long lasting freshness in your breath.
Amaranth
Amaranth is still relatively obscure in many places these days. The seeds of the Amaranth have been valued for thousands of years by the indigenous people of Mexico and Central America due to its beneficial diet and health properties. The entire Amaranth plant has many proven health benefits. While it has been exported all over the world these days, it is still primarily used and consumed in Central America. This God’s Golden grain has many proven health benefits –
Rich in protein
We have read in school that protein is the building block of the body. And then, we forgot about it. It’s time to remind ourselves about the importance of this nutrient. Amaranth is plant protein, it is healthier than most other proteins that are regularly consumed by humans. This creates better, longer lasting energy and metabolic functionality.
Helps fight Inflammation
Amaranth is a great tool you can use to fight inflammation. And more importantly, it treats inflammatory conditions like arthritis and gout. This is especially true in the case of osteoarthritis
Makes Your Bones Stronger
Regular consumption of Amaranth can help improve your bone density because it contains a concentrated amount of calcium. In fact, few other vegetables contain as much calcium as Amaranth. This makes it a superfood in regards to making your bones stronger, which will prevent health problems like osteoporosis in the future. Without calcium, your bones will begin to demineralize and keep you from being as active when you are older
Good for the Digestive System
Amaranth is also good for your overall digestive health, on a variety of different fronts. There is a high fiber content to the plant and grain, resulting in easier digestion of food and smoother uptake of other minerals you have consumed at a meal.
Strengthens The Heart
Amaranth is also known to improve or maintain heart health, for many different reasons. For one, the high amounts of fiber and phytosterols lower cholesterol levels overall by reducing the unacceptable cholesterol in your cardiovascular system. By doing this, it also lowers blood pressure and reduces the risk of ailments like atherosclerosis.
Controls Blood Pressure
Studies suggest that fiber and Phytonutrients in amaranth help in lowering the blood pressure. It effectively tackles with cholesterol, inflammation and blood pressure thereby it is good for heart health.
Builds immune system
Another health benefit of Amaranth is that it boosts the immune response of the body as it has potent content of necessary vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. You can consider taking amaranth if you have poor immunity.
Energy Booster
While some vegetables and grains lack in essential amino acid, amaranth has good amount of lysine which helps the body to absorb calcium. Thereby it is very good for building muscles and producing the energy.
It is very important to understand the benefits of the food we consume in our everyday life. However, we don’t really know do they affect our health Just including these foods in your daily diet can go a long way in maintaining a healthy, disease-free life.
– Dr. Reetu Panwar
Get in touch with Dr. Reetu Panwar – at +91 – 95607 39885
For a detailed understanding of your problem, you can also visit the clinic – Holistic Healing Point. Sector 47, Gurgaon.
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