Category Archives: Exercise

TREATING DIABETES

Your Diabetes didn’t just show up one fine day as Diabetes.

Your illness is your body trying to communicate to you that something is really wrong!

Your Diabetes is like a big, blinking NEON SIGN warning you – LOOK HERE. THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG HERE. This is a WARNING that there is an imbalance or a deficiency in your body that needs to be identified and serviced – just like that red, blinking light on your car’s dashboard when it too needs to be serviced.

In fact, your DIABETES once started as an imbalance or a deficiency which was left unidentified or untreated, and eventually progressed to DIABETES.

Now, here’s the big aha! moment:

Your DIABETES is being treated as a “symptom”. Meaning, the prescription medication, regular insulin injections, constant daily monitoring, etc. are all superficial treatments that treat the symptom itself, and mask the underlying cause which created the symptom, to begin with.

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And, if left untreated, without identifying the underlying imbalance or deficiency, your DIABETES will eventually progress into a disease more acute and damaging than the DIABETES itself. Such as heart disease. Or kidney disease.

The reason I’m clearing this up with you is so you can start to pay attention to these big, blinking NEON SIGNS.

  1. YOUR NUTRITION: Most of us are just throwing junk food into our bodies because we don’t have the time for anything else, or we’re driven by taste and convenience. But our bodies are paying the price.
  2. SLEEP: One day of inadequate sleep is more damaging than six months of inadequate diet.
  3. EXERCISE: Prolonged sitting – which we are all subject to at work – and couch potato-ism at home affects the body’s metabolism and leaves it unable to utilise glucose properly.
  4. STRESS: the stress hormones raise sugar levels. Chronic stress leads to chronically raised sugar levels.
  5. TOXINS: environmental pollution, food additives and even mental pollution damage your systems.

A systematic approach to all these factors, including mind body balance, is the only way the body can achieve balance and regain its lost health.

Natural Ways to Control Your Blood Sugar

It’s Ramzan, time for fasting and also for feasting! Sadly, often time to gain weight!

What if you’re diabetic? Here’s how to eat and still control blood sugar levels.

1.Increase Your Fiber Intake

Try to include both soluble and insoluble fiber in your daily diet. Berries, nuts, vegetables and beans like rajma and chowli are a great way to slip in the fiber daily. Aim to include 40 to 50 grams of fiber in your daily regimen for every 1,000 calories you eat. You may want to start measuring the foods you eat each day until you are able to estimate how much fiber and carbohydrates you are eating.

2.Reduce Your Net Carbs

A low-net-carbohydrate diet reduces the stress on your body, reduces inflammation and reduces the amount insulin required to use the energy from the food you eat. You’ll want to reduce the number of net carbs you eat, for most people this ranges between 50 and 80 grams per day.This is calculated by taking the grams of carbs you’ve eaten and subtracting the number of grams of fiber. In this way a high-fiber diet also helps you to lower the amount of insulin you need to utilize your food for fuel.

3.High-Quality Fats

When you reduce your carbohydrates, what are you going to replace them with? Your best alternative is high quality, healthy fats necessary for heart health, feeding your brain and to modulate genetic regulation and prevent cancer. The idea that fats are bad for you, is OUTDATED.

Healthy fats include:

Avocados Coconut oil Organic butter from organic grass-fed milk
Organic raw nuts Olives and Olive oil Grass-fed meat
Organic pastured eggs Palm oil

4.Exercise

Exercise helps your cells become  sensitive to leptin. This reduces your potential resistance to insulin and therefore your risk of diabetes.

5.Hydration

When you become dehydrated, your liver will secrete a hormone that increases your blood sugar. As you hydrate blood sugar levels lower naturally.

Stay well hydrated by monitoring the color of your urine during the day. The color should be light yellow. Sometimes your first indication your body requires more water is the sensation of being hungry. Drink a large glass of water first and wait 20 minutes to determine if you’re really hungry or you were thirsty.

6.Reduce Your Stress

When you become stressed your body secretes cortisol and glucagon, both of which affect your blood sugar levels. Control your stress levels using exercise, meditation, yoga, prayer or relaxation techniques. These techniques may reduce your stress and correct insulin secretion problems. Combined with strategies that reduce your insulin resistance, you may help to prevent diabetes.

7.Sleep

Enough quality sleep is necessary to feel good and experience good health. Poor sleeping habits may reduce insulin sensitivity and promote weight gain.

Diabetes is not a sentence! It’s easily reversed.

21 Nutrition Myths, Debunked by Science

Mainstream nutrition is full of nonsense.

Despite clear advancements in nutrition science, the old myths don’t seem to be going anywhere.

Here are 20 mainstream nutrition myths that have been debunked by scientific research.

Myth 1: The Healthiest Diet is a Low-Fat, High-Carb Diet With Lots of Grains

Several decades ago, the entire population was advised to eat a low-fat, high-carb diet. At the time, not a single study had demonstrated that this diet could actually prevent disease. Since then, many high quality studies have been done, including the Women’s Health Initiative, which is the largest nutrition study in history.

The results were clear… this diet does not cause weight loss, prevent cancer OR reduce the risk of heart disease.

Myth 2: Salt Should be Restricted in Order to Lower Blood Pressure and Reduce Heart Attacks and Strokes

The salt myth is still alive and kicking, even though there has never been any good scientific support for it. Although lowering salt can reduce blood pressure by 1-5 mm/Hg on average, it doesn’t have any effect on heart attacks, strokes or death.

Myth 3: It is Best to Eat Many, Small Meals Throughout The Day to “Stoke The Metabolic Flame”

Studies clearly disagree with this. Eating 2-3 meals per day has the exact same effect on total calories burned as eating 5-6 (or more) smaller meals.

There are even studies showing that eating too often can be harmful… a new study came out recently showing that more frequent meals dramatically increased liver and abdominal fat on a high calorie diet.

Myth 4: Egg Yolks Should be Avoided Because They Are High in Cholesterol, Which Drives Heart Disease

Cholesterol in the diet has remarkably little effect on cholesterol in the blood, at least for the majority of people.

Studies have shown that eggs raise the “good” cholesterol and don’t raise the risk of heart disease.

One review of 17 studies with a total of 263,938 participants showed that eating eggs had no effect on the risk of heart disease or stroke in non-diabetic individuals.

Whole eggs really are among the most nutritious foods on the planet and almost all the nutrients are found in the yolks.

Telling people to throw the yolks away may just be the most ridiculous advice in the history of nutrition.

Myth 5: Eat ‘Whole’ Grains

Wheat has been a part of the diet for a very long time, but it changed due to genetic tampering in the 1960s. The “new” wheat is significantly less nutritious than the older varieties and may increase cholesterol levels and inflammatory markers. It also causes symptoms like pain, bloating, tiredness, and reduced quality of life in patients with irritable bowel syndrome.

Myth 6: Saturated Fat Raises LDL Cholesterol in The Blood, Increasing Risk of Heart Attacks

Several massive review studies have recently shown that saturated fat is NOT linked to an increased risk of death from heart disease or stroke.

The truth is that saturated fats raise HDL (the “good”) cholesterol and change the LDL particles from small to Large LDL, which is linked to reduced risk.

For most people, eating reasonable amounts of saturated fat is perfectly safe and downright healthy.

Myth 7: Coffee is Unhealthy and Should be Avoided

Coffee has long been considered unhealthy, mainly because of the caffeine. However, most of the studies actually show that coffee has powerful health benefits.

This may be due to the fact that coffee is the biggest source of antioxidants in the Western diet, outranking both fruits and vegetables… combined.

Coffee drinkers have a much lower risk of depression, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s… and some studies even show that they live longer than people who don’t drink coffee).

Myth 8: To Lose Weight,  Eat Less Fat

Fat is the stuff that is under our skin, making us look soft and puffy.

Therefore it seems logical that eating fat would give us even more of it.

However, this depends entirely on the context. Diets that are high in fat AND carbs can make you fat, but it’s not because of the fat.

In fact, diets that are high in fat (but low in carbs) consistently lead to more weight loss than low-fat diets… even when the low-fat groups restrict calories.

Myth 9: A High-Protein Diet Increases Strain on The Kidneys and Raises Your Risk of Kidney Disease

Although it is true that people with established kidney disease should cut back on protein, this is absolutely not true of otherwise healthy people.

Numerous studies, even in athletes that eat large amounts of protein, show that a high protein intake is perfectly safe.

In fact, a higher protein intake lowers blood pressure and helps fight type 2 diabetes… which are two of the main risk factors for kidney failure.

Also let’s not forget that protein reduces appetite and supports weight loss, but obesity is another strong risk factor for kidney failure.

Myth 10: Full-Fat Dairy Products Are High in Saturated Fat and Calories… Raising The Risk of Heart Disease and Obesity

Eating full-fat dairy product is not linked to increased heart disease and is even associated with a lower risk of obesity.

In countries where cows are grass-fed, eating full-fat dairy is actually associated with up to a 69% lower risk of heart disease.

If anything, the main benefits of dairy are due to the fatty components. Therefore, choosing low-fat dairy products is a terrible idea.

Myth 11: All Calories are created equal

It is simply false that “all calories are created equal.”

Different foods go through different metabolic pathways and have direct effects on fat burning and the hormones and brain centers that regulate appetite.

A high protein diet, for example, can increase the metabolic rate by 80 to 100 calories per day and significantly reduce appetite. In one study, such a diet made people automatically eat 441 fewer calories per day. They also lost 11 pounds in 12 weeks, just by adding protein to their diet.

There are many more examples of different foods having vastly different effects on hunger, hormones, and health. Because a calorie is not just a calorie.

Myth 12: Low-Fat Foods Are Healthy

When the low-fat guidelines first came out, the food manufacturers responded with all sorts of low-fat “health foods.”

The problem is… these foods taste horrible when the fat is removed, so the food manufacturers added a whole bunch of sugar instead.

The truth is, excess sugar is incredibly harmful, while the fat naturally present in food is not.

Myth 13: Red Meat Consumption Raises The Risk of All Sorts of Diseases… Including Heart Disease, Type 2 Diabetes, and Cancer

We are constantly warned about the “dangers” of eating red meat. It is true that some studies have shown negative effects, but they were usually lumping processed and unprocessed meat together.

The largest studies (one with over 1 million people, the other with over 400 thousand) show that unprocessed red meat is not linked to increased heart disease or type 2 diabetes.

So… don’t be afraid of eating meat. Just make sure to eat unprocessed meat and don’t overcook it, because eating too much burnt meat may be harmful. That means butter chicken is safe, chicken tikka could be harmful.

Myth 14: The Only People Who Should go Gluten-Free Are Patients With Celiac Disease, About 1% of The Population

It is often claimed that no one benefits from a gluten-free diet except patients with celiac disease. This is the most severe form of gluten intolerance, affecting under 1% of people. But another condition called gluten sensitivity is much more common and may affect about 6-8% of people. Studies have also shown that gluten-free diets can reduce symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, schizophrenia, autism and epilepsy.

Myth 15: Losing Weight is All About Willpower and Eating Less, Exercising More

Weight loss (and gain) is often assumed to be all about willpower and “calories in vs calories out.”

But this is completely inaccurate.

The human body is a highly complex biological system with many hormones and brain centers that regulate when what and how much we eat.

It is well known that genetics, hormones, and various external factors have a huge impact on body weight.

Junk food can also be downright addictive, making people quite literally lose control over their consumption.

Myth 16: Saturated Fats and Trans Fats are Similar… They’re The “Bad” Fats That we Need to Avoid

The mainstream health organizations often lump saturated and artificial trans fats in the same category… calling them the “bad” fats.

It is true that trans fats are harmful. They are linked to insulin resistance and metabolic problems, drastically raising the risk of heart disease.

However, saturated fat is harmless, so it makes absolutely no sense to group the two together.

Interestingly, these same organizations also advise us to eat vegetable oils like soybean and canola oils. But these oils are actually loaded with unhealthy fats… one study found that 0.56-4.2% of the fatty acids in them are toxic trans fats!

Myth 17: Protein Leaches Calcium From The Bones and Raises The Risk of Osteoporosis

Although it is true that a high protein intake increases calcium excretion in the short-term, this effect does not persist in the long-term.

The truth is that high protein intake is linked to a massively reduced risk of osteoporosis and fractures in old age.

This is one example of where blindly following conventional nutritional wisdom will have the exact opposite effect of what was intended!

Myth 18: Low-Carb Diets Are Dangerous and Increase Your Risk of Heart and Kidney Disease

Low-carb diets have been popular for many decades now.

Mainstream nutrition professionals have constantly warned us that these diets will end up clogging our arteries.

However, since the year 2002, over 20 studies have been conducted on the low-carb diet. Low-carb diets actually cause more weight loss and improve most risk factors for heart disease more than the low-fat diet.

Myth 19: Sugar is Mainly Harmful Because it Supplies “Empty” Calories

When consumed in excess, sugar can cause severe metabolic problems. Many experts now believe that sugar may be driving some of the world’s biggest killers… including obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer.

Myth 20: Refined Seed- and Vegetable Oils Like Soybean and Corn Oils Lower Cholesterol and Are Super Healthy

The truth is that several studies have shown that these oils increase the risk of death, from both heart disease and cancer. Even though these oils have been shown to cause heart disease and kill people, mainstream health organizations are still telling us to eat them.

They just don’t get it… when we replace real foods with processed fake foods, we become fat and sick.

Myth 21: Eating a ‘Healthy Diet’ is enough. Supplements are not necessary

This is a very common belief among the population, and the tragedy is that the medical community contributes to the spreading of this lie. The reason is that as doctors, our teaching of Nutrition during medical studies is almost non-existent. So for all practical purposes, your doctor is no better than your grandma when it comes to nutrition. In fact, grandma’s knowledge, backed by tradition and culture, is often accurate.

WHO recommends that all adults take a MultiVitamin supplement daily. Vitamin D levels are inadequate in the majority of the population.

We know that micronutrients like vitamins and minerals are part of vital reactions in the body, without which the body cannot function effectively and gradually succumbs to illness.

So targeted supplements can be literally life-saving.

Be Informed. Stay Healthy.

From Kris Gunnars, BSc |

How to Do the Perfect Squat

 Squats are a full-body fitness staple that work the hips, glutes, quads, and hamstrings, and sneakily strengthen the core. Squats may help improve balance and coordination, as well as bone density .

How to do the perfect Squat:

The Bodyweight Squat

1. Stand with feet a little wider than shoulder-width apart, hips stacked over knees, and knees over ankles.

2. Roll the shoulders back and down away from the ears. Note: Allowing the back to round (like a turtle’s shell) will cause unnecessary stress on the lower back. It’s important to maintain a neutral spine throughout the movement.

3. Extend arms out straight so they are parallel with the ground, palms facing down. Or, if it’s more comfortable, pull elbows close to the body, palms facing each other and thumbs pointing up.

4. Initiate the movement by inhaling and unlocking the hips, slightly bringing them back. Keep sending hips backward as the knees begin to bend.

5. While the butt starts to stick out, make sure the chest and shoulders stay upright, and the back stays straight. Keep the head facing forward with eyes straight ahead for a neutral spine.

6. The best squats are the deepest ones your mobility allows. Optimal squat depth would be your hips sinking below the knees (again, if you have the flexibility to do so comfortably). Pro tip: Squatting onto a box until the butt gently taps it will be a reminder to squat low.

7. Engage core and, with bodyweight in the heels, explode back up to standing, driving through heels. Imagine the feet are spreading the floor (left foot to the left, right foot to the right) without actually moving the feet.

Squat Snafus (and How to Fix Them)

Mistake No. 1: Not dropping down low enough

The fix: Take a slightly wider stance, which allows the body to stay steady while it squats deeper, and engages more muscle groups. It’s easy to want to squat just low enough so the thighs are parallel with the ground, but squats can be much more effective when we drop as low as possible (the hip joint lower than the knee joint) while still maintaining good form, Greatist Expert and trainer Dan Trink says.

Mistake No. 2: The knees drift inward

The fix: Turn the toes out (between 5 and 20 degrees, to be technical) to keep knees from caving inward. Knees should track in line with both the ankles and the hips to help avoid injury and get deep in the squat.

Mistake No. 3: The body leans too far forward

The fix: Put most of your weight in the heels when lowering into a squat. The weight distribution will help keep the torso upright throughout the entire movement rather than causing you to teeter forward. It will also help keep the hips back and down, outside of the heels. Think of spreading the floor apart by driving outward through the back/outer portion of the heel.

Mistake No. 4: Descending too quickly

The fix: When weight is added, moving too quickly could increase chances of injury. It’s okay to explode with power when returning to a standing position (so long as the body remains controlled), but sitting into the squat should be a little slower to maintain proper form.

Mistake No. 5: Not warming up

The fix: Warming up is important before taking on such a complex move. It’ll help prepare the body’s joints and muscles for movement, and might even help prevent injury once heavy lifting gets underway. Jumping rope, rowing, and doing bodyweight squats help prep the body for movement. If squatting with a loaded bar, start with an empty bar and add weight slowly.

Thanks to Erica Giovinazzo for demonstrating the movements.

Thanks to Greatist, posted as is.

How to Do Intermittent Fasting


If you’ve been wondering how to do intermittent fasting, this is your go-to guide.

Intermittent fasting is possibly the least expensive and at the same time, the most powerful healing method available to us.

Every religion has an element of fasting—whether it’s the 30 days of Ramadan or the various one day Hindu fasts. Our ancestors definitely knew what they were doing.

Our ancestors ate whatever was freshly available.

But often they couldn’t find anything to eat, and their bodies adapted to be able to function without food for extended periods of time. Today, we still have this same biology – we haven’t evolved at all.

And, if anything, fasting from time to time is more “natural” and healthier than constantly eating 3-4 (or more) meals per day.

So let’s look at some of the questions people have about Intermittent Fasting.

1. What is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting is a way of eating where you eat for a short period and then you don’t eat for a longer period. It’s not so much about what you eat but rather about when you eat.

When you don’t eat, you give your body time to spend more of its energy on internal healing and repair—which that cannot happen if it is constantly working on digestion.

2. Who should do it?

Intermittent fasting is for anyone who wants to optimise their health, to lose weight, to lose their belly fat, to improve immunity and to improve their clarity of thought.

It is relatively easy because you are not starving and nor are you changing your food preferences. At the same time it is completely safe.

3. What Are the Benefits of Intermittent Fasting ?
Longer Life Span:

Studies show that animals age slower and live longer when they consume fewer calories. This can be achieved by eating less each day, or by fasting on intermittent days. Eating less every day, on the other hand, is like starving and the body will kick in the starvation response, ie, it will conserve fat, making it very difficult to lose fat.

Balanced Hormones:

Fasting helps lower blood sugar and insulin levels, and leads to an increase in human growth hormone. These help in losing weight, maintaining muscle mass, and reducing the risk of insulin resistance, diabetes, and heart disease.

Faster Weight Loss:

Many studies have shown that both people burn more fat and lose weight with intermittent fasting.

4. Why is Intermittent Fasting Effective?

It helps reduce oxidative damage, inflammation and optimizes energy metabolism. This helps the body deal with stress better.

During fasting, the body breaks down and ‘eats’ damaged proteins and cellular debris, a process called autophagy. So this is like cleaning up the house – keeping the house clean and shiny.

5. How does Fat Burning happen?

Not providing the body with food for some time forces it to access its fat stores for energy, leading to fat loss.

6. What are the Types of Intermittent Fasting?
Alternate Day Intermittent Fasting:

You eat one day and then fast the next. It can be slightly difficult to sustain.

16/8 Daily Fasting:

You fast for 16 hours and eat for 8 hours. So for example you eat an early dinner at 7 pm and then you skip breakfast the next day and eat lunch at 1pm. And the you can eat for next 8 hours, ie until 9pm.

You can do this every day or twice a week, depending on your need, your health status and your willingness.

It doesn’t matter when you start your 8-hour eating period. You can start at 8am and stop at 4pm. Or you start at 2pm and stop at 10pm. Do whatever works for you.

24 hr fast

You fast once or even twice a week. Fasting on a predetermined day makes it easy to follow, as it does not require a decision each time. Having religious sanction makes it easier, as followed by Hindus on various days of the week.

Whichever type of intermittent fasting you choose, it works and also gives you flexibility with your diet.

You don’t need to be extremely strict with what you eat but don’t be lax either.

7. How to Start?

To start, you can simply delay your meal by an hour beyond the regular time. And increase daily till you reach the desired interval.

8. What Should I Eat After My Intermittent Fast?

Once the fasting period is over, simply go back to normal eating. No compensation, no reward and no binges.

You will find yourself spontaneously choosing to eat healthier foods during the eating windows.

9. How does Intermittent Fasting Affect My Blood Sugar?

Intermittent fasting is a great way to get your blood sugars under control. But if you are taking pharmaceutical drugs to control diabetes, you are at risk of developing hypoglycemia. You need to see a doctor trained in Intermittent fasting to guide you.

10. Can I Exercise When Intermittent Fasting?

Yes you can. Both during the fasting and during the Eating windows. In fact, high intensity exercise during the fasted state will accelerate fat loss. tre

11. Why Do I Get Hungry When Intermittent Fasting?

Well, you’re not eating any food so naturally you may feel hungry. But if you hear your stomach rumbling, that is just ‘housekeeping’ – or cleaning of the intestines.

Hunger pangs usually reduce after your first 2-3 fasts as your body adapts.

12. Can I Drink When Intermittent Fasting?

Yes you can drink water, bone broth or green tea. No calories.

13. Can a hypothyroid person choose intermittent fasting?

Yes they can.

Intermittent fasting helps the body stabilise blood sugars and hormones, as it mimics ancient eating patterns on which our biology is based.

And another benefit? You don’t have to prepare food so frequently! The kitchen can take a rest!

Stay Healthy.