Different Combination of Elements In the Body

If these five basic elements are maintained in proper proportion in the body, a proper metabolism is ensured and the body remains healthy. However due to heredity, eating and living habits more often than not, we disturb one or two of these elements and thus upset the metabolism and there is a predominance of three different types of combinations. Such combination of these elements decide our types-prakrutis. Aurveda, the Indian medical therapy, has divided people into three types:

1) Combination through excess of Earth +Water

2) Combination through excess of Fire + Air, and

3) Excess of Air element

This therapy advocates that while treating the patients, one must keep in mind their respective types. For those people having kapha prakruthi, milk will only create problems.

People, therefore, having bronchitis or asthma indigestion should avoid milk. For people with pitt prakruti, spicy food will enhance their problem. Therefore, what is good for one type could be harmful to another.

Kapha Prakruti

It is a combination of earth and water. These elements occupy the major portion of our body. Sweet foods and drinks when properly digested are reduced to saline and the blood becomes alkaline.

It sustains the body system, Increases vigor and there is a marked growth of happiness. It lubricates the joints of bones and keeps them working properly. However, this is possible when there is proper element of fire – heat in the body.

However because of lack of exercise, overheating, eating between the meals when not hungry, eating more indigestible foods like concentrated sweet-fried things causes problems of indigestion and fail to produce enough heat in the body.

This leads to increase in water content and reduction of heat in the body, resulting in problems like dullness, heaviness, increase in fats, common cold bronchitis and later on asthma, arthritis rheumatism etc.

The best way to cure the above ailments of kapha prakruti is to reduce the intake of undesirable foods, cold drinks and foods that only aggravate the problems. They should eat only light digestible food when hungry; avoid sleeping during the day and over sex. Even milk is harmful to them. They should also take physical exercises.

Pitta Prakruti

It is a combination of fire+ air. Excess of heat damages the working of brain – leads to acidity – ulcer, cold due to heat, skin problems, even sexual weakness, short temper and falling of hair.

Now, in modern times more anxiety – worries- eating more of fried and spicy foods- more exposure to sun, excessive use of antibiotics indulged in by people increases their problem. It is, therefore essential to avoid these habits as much as possible.

They should take sweet fruit juice as the first thing in the morning and have more fruits, sweet desserts after eating and drink more green juice.

Air Vayu Prakruti

This condition prevails when there is an excess of the element of air. People belonging to this category are more talkative and have day dreams. They need more sleep and have more gas trouble. These imbalances lead to fainting.

The tendency to eat heavy-oily foods- like fried and foods made out of gram etc. increases this tendency. People in such condition should avoid constipation and sleeping during day time, have more physical exercise so as to increase heat and circulation and should avoid unsuitable foods.

10 Ways to Exercise When You Don't Feel Like Exercising

Exercise. It's been endorsed by every major health organization in the country as one of the most beneficial things you can do for your body. One half hour of moderate physical activity a day is the key to better health, they say. The best diet in the world can only go so far in helping you lose weight. To really see the effects of changing your eating habits (in lost pounds and inches, that is), you need to rev up your body with physical exercise.

So why does the word bring a collective groan to dieters around the world? Maybe it's our mistaken impression that exercise is a chore, and a boring, painful one at that. Here are ten ways to exercise that should get rid of that impression for good, and make xercise something you can look forward to:

1. Take a walk through a favorite place. One half hour of moderately paced walking will burn 450 calories - and make you feel great. Make sure that you're wearing comfortable shoes, and pick a venue you enjoy. Try a walk around the lake, up and down the block or around the mall - your body doesn't know the difference.

2. Go out and play a game of tag with your kids. Making exercise a family activity turns it into fun that you share with them. Besides being good for your body, you're instilling good habits in them, and creating happy memories that will stay with them for life.

3. Go swimming. An annual membership to the local YMCA or YWCA is fairly inexpensive, and many have 'scholarships' and financial aid available. Swimming is great exercise - it's aerobic, low stress on your joints, and a lot of fun!

4. Join an exercise class. You can turn exercise into a social activity by becoming part of a class. Besides making friends, you're more likely to exercise if you're paying for it.

5. Get an exercise buddy. It's partly the same principle as joining a class - turn exercise into a social activity. In addition to that, making a commitment to a friend for a daily exercise date will make it far more likely that you'll stick to it.

6. Play ball! Seriously. If your company has a sports team (softball, anyone?), join up. Or join a bowling league, volleyball team or other sports group that practices and plays regularly.

7. Get a trampoline. Mini-trampolines are easy to set up, store in small spaces and provide a stress-free surface on which to bounce, dance and have a lot of fun.

8. Go for a bike ride. Even leisurely bike-riding burns calories and exercises muscles that don't get used in regular walking. No need for an exercise 'routine' - just ride your bike to the store, or back and forth to work each day.

9. Take up a new active hobby. Would you believe that gardening is exercise? Bending and stretching and digging and weeding - half an hour of energetic work in your garden burns more calories than a brisk walk.

10. Challenge yourself. If you're the kind of person who thrives on competition, challenge yourself to meet a new goal each week. Walk one more block. Do six more sit-ups. Take the stairs each day instead of the elevator. Goal-setting to meet challenges is a great way to commit to exercise.

Diabetes and Weight Loss

Did you know that you can be 'just a little bit diabetic'? The condition is technically called 'pre-diabetes', and it is characterized by persistent high blood sugar levels. Pre-diabetes is a serious condition, though its symptoms may be so subtle that you don't notice them affecting your life. More importantly, it's an indicator that there is something seriously wrong with your body. Left untreated, over 50% of those diagnosed with pre-diabetes will develop Type 2 diabetes within ten years.

If your doctor has told you that you are one of the more than 16 million Americans who has pre-diabetes, the American Diabetes Association has some very good news for you. In March 2005, the ADA released the results of the multi-year Diabetes Prevention Project. In a study that followed thousands of patients across the nation who had been diagnosed with pre-diabetes, the Diabetes Prevention Project found that patients who lost a 'moderate' amount of weight reduced their risk of developing full-blown diabetes by over 58%. Even more encouraging, many of those patients had managed to reverse their condition, and their blood sugar levels were well within normal ranges.

This was a result that the researchers had not expected. Diabetes (and pre-diabetes) is the result of changes to cells in the pancreas that reduce the amount of insulin that they can produce. Doctors have always believed that those changes are irreversible. Now however, the research seems to suggest that losing weight with a healthy balance of exercise and diet can actually heal those early damages caused by diabetes.

Here's the even better news. Those results were achieved by people who lost 'moderate' amounts of weight - from 5-7% of their total body mass. In other words, if you weigh 200 pounds and have been diagnosed as pre-diabetic, losing just 10-15 pounds can more than halve the risk of developing full-blown diabetes, and may reverse your condition entirely.

Here are some healthy weight loss tips from the American Diabetes Association:

1. Keep your diet balanced. Eat a variety of foods in all food groups, with an emphasis on grains, starches and fresh vegetables and fruit.

2. Learn to eyeball portions. Portion control is far more important than restricting what foods you eat. A 'portion' of raw vegetables may be considerably larger than a portion of the same vegetables cooked. There are some handy reference guides on their web site at www.diabetes.org

3. Add one half hour daily of moderate exercise to your daily routine five days a week. This one single lifestyle change seemed to be the key to both weight loss and the beneficial effects derived from it. It was the single significant difference between the two groups in the study.

The results of the Diabetes Prevention Project only confirm what has been the best advice in dieting circles for years - losing weight with a balanced diet and exercise is the healthiest way there is. For more information on the diet recommended by the American Diabetes Association, visit their web site at www.diabetes.org

A Simple Plan for Weight Loss

The math is pretty simple. One pound of fat equals 3500 calories. Want to lose a pound a week? Then you need to consume 3500 calories less per week than you use. That's about 500 calories a day. By cutting out 500 calories a day from your normal daily diet, while keeping your activity level the same, you can lose approximately one pound a week.

All right - that doesn't sound like much, especially if you're more than 25 pounds overweight. Study after study has shown, though, that those people who lose weight gradually - at a rate of 1-2 pounds per week -are far more likely to keep the weight off and maintain a normal weight for a lifetime.

So how much exactly IS 500 calories? If you're going to reduce your daily intake by 500 calories, it helps to know what you need to cut out, right? Here's how easy it is to lose 500 calories a day:

• Use milk instead of cream in your coffee. Savings? 50 calories per cup.
• Skip the butter on your baked potato. Savings? 100 calories
• Drink fruit-flavored water instead of a 16 ounce soda. Savings? 200 calories
• Skip the Big Mac and have a salad instead. A Big Mac weighs in at a whopping 460 calories.
• A fresh salad with a light dressing? Less than 100! Savings? 360 calories
• Pass by the bag of potato chips. An average snack size bag of chips has over 300 calories. Savings? 300 calories
• Eat your corn on the ear. A 1 cup serving of canned corn has 165 calories.
• An ear of corn has 85. Savings? 80 calories.
• Switch to low-fat cream cheese on your bagel. Savings? 90 calories per ounce.
• Love those fries and can't give them up? Swap the skinny fries out for thick steak-cut ones. Thin French fries absorb more oil than the thicker, meatier ones. Savings? 50 calories per 4 ounce serving

If you'd rather look at losing weight from an exercise perspective, you can also lose one pound a week by upping your activity level by 500 calories a day. How easy is that to do? Take a look:

• Take a half-hour walk around the park. Aim for a pace that's a little faster than a stroll, but not fast enough to be breathless. Burn: 160 calories.
• Get out your bike and take a ride. Tackle a few moderate hills and aim for about five miles total. Burn: 250 calories
• Go dancing - and really DANCE. The longer you're out on the floor instead of at the table drinking up high-calorie drinks, the more you'll get out of it. Dancing that makes you breathless and warms up your body will net you a nice calorie savings. Burn: 400 calories for one hour
• Swimming is great for you, and a lot of fun, too. The water resistance means you burn more calories, and you avoid the stress impact on joints from aerobics, dancing or walking. Do a few laps at a slow crawl - if you can get up to an hour you'll be doing great! Burn: 510 calories
• Get out into your garden. An hour of gardening tasks that includes bending and stretching can burn up to as many calories as a brisk walk. Burn: 250 calories.
• Play a game of tennis. Hook up with a friend for a weekly tennis game and you'll be amazed at the difference. One hour of vigorous tennis is one of the best calorie burners around. Burn: 800 calories

It’s important to keep in mind that all exercise/calorie numbers are based on a woman weighing 130 pounds. If you weigh more, you'll burn more. Want an added bonus to burning calories through exercise? When you exercise, you build muscle by converting it from fat. Three guesses which kind of body tissue burns more calories - even when you're not exercising. You got it - your body uses more energy to maintain and feed muscle than it does fat.

For best results, mix and match food savings with exercises that burn calories. Do keep in mind that eating less than 1000 calories a day for more than a few days will convince your body that it's starving and slow your metabolism. Keep calorie ranges reasonable, and consult a doctor if you want a quicker, more drastic weight loss.

Steps To a Trimmer You

Want to lose 35 pounds a year without changing a thing about your diet? All it takes is 10,000 steps. No, that's not a typo. Just 10,000 steps a day can burn enough calories to take off 35 pounds in a year.

I first heard about the 10,000 steps when I took a vacation with my mother last summer. As we left the house that morning for a day of sight-seeing with my two boys, she clipped a pedometer to her belt. Periodically throughout the day, she checked it, and as I settled to relax on a park bench toward the end of the day she remarked, "I'm just going to walk around the park twice. I only have 500 more steps to go."

The secret is walking. By walking 10,000 steps a day, you can burn as many calories as you do when you do any of the following:

- Swim for 90 minutes

- Ride a bike for 70 minutes

- Play 10 holes of golf (without the cart)

- Walk 50 blocks

- Play soccer for 90 minutes

- Work for two hours in your garden

How do you fit in 10,000 steps? You can count every step you take during the day - my mother clips on her pedometer first thing in the morning and takes it off last thing at night. Add in extra steps to your day with any of the following suggestions:

• Park at the far end of the lot at the mall and walk to the stores.

• Leave your car at home and walk to work. Or park three blocks further away in the morning and walk the rest of the way.

• Walk the dog! He'll love you for it.

• Walk up and down the stairs instead of taking the elevator.

• Get up and get it yourself. Instead of asking one of your kids to fetch something for you, take a little walk. You'll be surprised how much those little trips add up.

• Go sightseeing. You'll surprise yourself by freshening up your perspective on your home town at the same time.

• Walk to the store. If you're just running out to pick up milk, leave the car at home and take a walk.

• Stuck on the phone? Walk and talk at the same time. You can easily do 2000 steps during a 15 minute phone call.

Don't worry about your speed - the idea is to get moving. In fact, doctors say, if you're puffing too hard to say hi to a friend, you're walking too hard. Slow down a little. At the ideal pace you should be able to carry on a conversation, but not belt out a song.

10,000 steps may seem a little daunting at first, but just keep in mind that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Lace up those walking shoes, and let's go!

10 Real Life Diet Tips

Are you tired of diet tips handed out by someone with apparently unlimited income and time? For some of us, it may just not be practical to spend half of our Sunday preparing carefully portioned meals for the rest of the week, or financially feasible to buy all our meals prepackaged in just the right portions. And there are those of us who cringe at the thought of weighing food to achieve 'optimal portion sizes'. Here are ten real life diet tips for the rest of us.

1. Eating out? Restaurant portions tend to be enormous, and if it's on the plate, we tend to eat it. If it's possible, order from the kid’s menu, where portions are more reasonably sized.

2. Keep healthy snacks around and easily accessible. A bowl of fruit on the kitchen table, a container of celery or carrot sticks in the refrigerator, or a couple of pop-open cans of fruit salad in your desk at work will help you grab for something healthy when those first hunger pains begin. In other words, you'll be more likely to grab something low-calorie and good for you if it's easy to eat.

3. Substitute frozen vegetables for canned. Canned veggies tend to be high in sodium, which you don't need, and low in real nutrition, which you do. Buy economy size bags with zip closures to make it easy to pour out a single serving for a meal.

4. Buy a vegetable steamer. Steaming is one of the healthiest ways to cook vegetables. The food retains nearly all of its natural nutrients instead of leaching it out into the cooking water. Even better, it makes your veggies taste great - which means you'll be more likely to eat them instead of filling up on fatty foods that pack on weight.

5. Never eat standing up. One of the easiest ways to sabotage your diet is to 'eat without thinking'. Treat eating with the respect that it deserves. Fix yourself a plate. Sit down and eat properly. You'll be less likely to just pop food into your mouth without paying attention.

6. Spread your meals out. When you eat three meals a day, your body tends to store whatever it doesn't need right that moment. By adopting a 'grazing' habit, you'll keep your metabolism working throughout the day. Have a small breakfast, a piece of fruit with crackers or toast at mid-morning, a light lunch and an 'after school snack' mid-afternoon. Just remember that you're breaking up the same amount of food into smaller meals, not ADDING more food into your daily diet.

7. Grab a fruit juice or flavored water instead of soda. Soda is nothing but empty calories. No nutrients, lots of sugar. Instead, grab a bottle of 100% fruit juice, or water flavored with a spritz of fruit.

8. Drink water. Even the FDA recommends at least 8 full 8 ounce glasses of water a day to keep your body working right. When you're dieting, you should drink even more. It's not just that full feeling - water helps your body digest foods properly and cleans out your system.

9. Can't afford a gym membership? Make a pact with friends to exercise together. Make a date at least three times a week to play volleyball, take a walk or spend half an hour doing something active.

10. Skip the potato chips. Fatty snacks fried in hydrogenated oil like potato chips contribute fat and calories and not much else. Instead, grab a handful of dried fruit or a cup of yogurt for the same amount of calories and a lot more nutritional benefit.

Don't Undermine Your Diet

Don't Undermine Your Diet Let's start this article off right. You are not 'going on a diet'. Our concept of 'a diet' implies a temporary change that will work miracles - if we're only strong enough to stick to it. That way of thinking is encouraged by decades of 'fad diets' that promised us quick, low-effort weight loss, if we just ate this one miracle food. I still remember the Cabbage diet, the No-Carb diet and the Banana diet, among others. Over and over throughout the last 40 years, diets that advocated eating by a strictly enforced menu have been proven ineffective, or worse, dangerous.

Going on a diet also implies that you will eventually go off your diet - whether you 'fall off' it, or return to 'normal eating'. The secret to losing weight and keeping it off is to create a new eating plan that will BECOME your normal eating. And this is the place that most of the popular 'diets' fail. Any diet that restricts your intake of ANY necessary nutrients too severely will ultimately fail you. In order to lose weight and maintain your weight loss indefinitely, you need to teach yourself to eat a balanced diet in portions that your body needs.

Below is a list of common diet mistakes that will undermine your attempts to lose weight.

Ø DON'T restrict your intake to less than 1000 calories a day, unless you are under the supervision of a doctor. Restricting your intake that severely can lead to serious health complications. It also will convince your body that it's starving and slow your metabolism so that it conserves your stores of food. In other words - your body will kick into gear to hold onto your fat so you don't starve to death.

Ø DON'T cut out one or more entire food groups, including fats. Your body needs an adequate intake of all nutrients in order to stay healthy. In every food group there are 'good' and 'bad' choices for weight loss. Stick to the good ones, and you'll see your weight dropping without compromising your health.

Ø DON'T fast for extended periods without medical supervision. For the same reasons that you shouldn't restrict your intake of calories to less than 1000 a day, you shouldn't embark on a fast that lasts more than 48 hours without a doctor's supervision.

Ø DON'T purge. Purging, whether by emetics, diuretics, vomit-induction or laxatives robs your body of more than the nutrients that you're getting rid of. It's unsafe at any speed. You can end up with far worse problems than a few extra pounds.

Ø DO see your doctor before starting a serious diet. He or she can recommend a visit to a nutritionist to help you design a common sense weight loss plan that will naturally evolve into a healthy eating style that will last a lifetime.

Start Losing Weight Today!

“I'll start my diet on Monday”. How many times have you told yourself that? “Right after New Years', I swear. Tomorrow”. Are you tired of hearing yourself say the same old excuses day after day, month after month, year after year? If so, listen up! Here are five things you can do to start losing weight today!

Activate.

The most important ingredient in your weight loss plan is exercise. If you think that's a dirty word, it's time to clean it up. Exercise is just what you do every time you move. Starting today, resolve to activate your life. Leave the car keys behind and walk to the corner store.

Race yourself to get your housework done in ten minutes less time (because the more vigorous your movement, the more calories you burn). Get off the elevator one floor early and walk up the stairs. Every extra active thing you do will burn calories - and the more calories you burn, the more weight you'll lose.

When you're ready to really activate, get a physical workout designed with your interests in mind. Join a gym, take up a sport, or walk 10,000 steps a day. But don't wait until you think you can do it all. Just take a few extra steps today.

Motivate.

Grab a pen and notebook and start writing down all the reasons you should lose weight. Don't stop till you get to ten, at the very least. Here are some suggestions:

1. I’ll be healthier - losing as little as 10 pounds can decrease your risk of heart disease, diabetes and a host of other weight-related illnesses.

2. I’ll save money. Super-size costs more - whether it's an extra $2 for the nightgown you want or having to travel first class for the seat space.

3. I’ll be able to keep up with my kids. It takes energy to keep up with kids, and extra weight saps your energy. Lose ten pounds and see how much better you feel.

4. I’ll get back into my favorite jeans.

5. I’ll find souvenir t-shirts that fit anywhere I go.

Cogitate.

Got your ten reasons? Don't stop writing. Keep that pen and notebook with you all day and write down every single thing you put into your mouth. Just for one day. You'll be surprised at all the 'unexpected' calories you catch yourself eating. The last two French fries on your son's plate. The two bites of chicken you tasted to make sure of the seasoning. The 'just one bite' of your husband's ice cream cone.

The handful of potato chips you snagged from the bowl on your way by. Write down every single bite for one day to make yourself aware of all the food that you didn't even realize you were eating. Once you find it, you can start cutting it out.

Educate.

Take a trip to the Internet and visit these educational sites:

The American Heart Association

The USDA Food Pyramid

iVillage Diet and Nutrition section

The Diet Channel

The South Beach Diet web site

The Atkins Diet web site

The Mayo Clinic web site's Diet and Nutrition pages

Educate yourself about healthy diets and weight loss, and find a diet that you believe you can live with for the rest of your life. It's the only way that you'll lose weight and keep it off permanently.

Salivate.

If you think that diet food is boring, find a good low-fat cookbook and start re-educating your taste-buds. Healthy, low-fat, low-carb cooking is delicious - prove it to yourself with a recipe for dinner. While you're at it, pick one for tomorrow night, too. You can start your diet AGAIN

tomorrow!