What are Simple Carbohydrates

Simple carbohydrates are sugars that break down quickly and therefore rapidly increase the sugar level in your blood i.e. get absorbed quicker. In comparison, complex carbohydrates are sugars that take longer to break up and enter and get absorbed slowly. As a result, you stay fuller longer because it takes time for the food to be completely digested.

What are Sources of Simple Carbohydrates

This is where the core of the answer to the question, are all simple carbohydrates bad, lies. Sources of simple carbohydrates include fruits, honey, fruit juices, cakes, candies, aerated drinks and ready-to-eat cereals.

Now, would you consider an apple to be as nutritious as an aerated soft drink? Would you consider a banana to be as healthy and nutritious as a slice of gooey cake?

And there’s your answer to the question: Are all simple carbohydrates bad? The answer is no – it depends on the source. Naturally occurring sources like fruits are necessary for the body’s healthy functioning. They provide various nutrients that keep the body healthy. Sources that contain a lot of refined sugar i.e. processed foods like aerated drinks and cake spike your body’s sugar levels and yet have no nutritional value.

Eat Fruits Not Cakes

Your body needs fruits for its nutrients and fiber. The simple carbohydrates also make a good pre-workout snack. That is why bananas have become almost synonymous with pre-workout snacks. On the other hand, cakes will never ever get that branding. And there you have it: The answer to :Are all simple carbohydrates are bad lies in their source.

Are All Simple Carbohydrates Bad? post of Healthy Living India | HealthyLivingIndia.org

When Packing and Carrying Healthy Snacks for the Office, Remember:

1. We’re talking about snacks as opposed to meals i.e. these are small portions to combat sudden hunger pangs and eliminate unhealthy snack temptations. They are particular useful if you follow the minimeal diet plan.
2. These are nutritious and keep you full longer even though they are not very large – making it convenient to pack and carry from home with you.
3. Portion control is important. Just because they are healthy doesn’t mean you eat 8 times as much either. All healthy snacks for the office should be portion controlled.

10 Healthy Snacks for the Office Day

1. 1 ripe banana
2. 1 grilled chicken patty – small
3. Flavoured yoghurt (natural flavours with no artificial sugars or preservatives)
4. Fruits – if apples, oranges, and pears – eat two
5. Fresh popped popcorn – most canteens have a popcorn machine.
6. 2 small cubes of paneer
7. 2 roasted chicken drumsticks
8. Almonds and walnuts
9. 4-5 Marie biscuits
10. 2 tablespoons of peanuts or 1 tbspn of peanut butter

All these healthy snacks for the office day are easy to pack in the morning, light enough to carry with you and will not spoil during the day. The biggest trick though is to ensure that you don’t carry them back home in the evening because you decided that a team pizza order sounds like a much better option.

Healthy Snacks for the Office Day post of Healthy Living India | HealthyLivingIndia.org

Healthy Cooking Techniques Must Satisfy All Three Requirements

1. Bad fat: The reason cooking techniques like deep frying are considered unhealthy is because they add extra fat and kills all nutrients that the body needs. Don’t buy into the marketing jargon either, deep frying will add extra calories, that too from bad fats.
2. Nutritive Value: Simply controlling calories is not enough, the food should be high in nutrients too. Eating a doughnut for lunch might only be worth 300 calories but not only will most of those be from bad fats, it doesn’t give you any useful nutrients i.e. no complex carbohydrates, no complete proteins and no good fat. They’re called empty calories because the are empty of anything the body needs.
3. Taste: This is especially for those who still believe that healthy cooking implies bland, tasteless food. Why would anyone do that to themselves? No one likes food that is tasteless and good healthy cooking techniques result in yummy food.

So What Are the Healthy Cooking Techniques Available to Me

1. Stir-frying: Little bit of oil, high heat and very little cooking time that retains all the flavour and nutrients of meat and veggies.
2. Steaming and Poaching: Both involve cooking with water. In the first, the food is kept in a perforated container, like a colander, and the steam cooks the food. In the second, the food is simmer-cooked in water. Using herbs and spices to flavour the food and water, you’ve got no-oil cooked, delicious food.
3. Grilling: Using a barbecue, stove-top or oven, grilling involves cooking the food directly over the heat source with very little oil. Chicken and fish are the best places to start if you are a complete fresher.
4. Baking and Roasting: Using the overm the former uses no oil and the second allows you to drain the fat out when cooking poultry or meat.
5. Spices and flavours: The biggest advantage Indian cooking has is the ability to use a variety of spices to flavour the food. In addition, herbs and seasonings add taste to the food allowing you to cut down on salt and oil, while retaining the nutrients.

What you will notice is that healthy cooking techniques work out easier than cooking some Indian curries that often require multi-stage cooking and can take upto a couple of hours of dedicated time to get right. Healthy cooking techniques take under 10 minutes and those that do require time, don’t require your undivided attention freeing you up to do other things while your food cooks. Remember, whether you’re trying to lose weight or just maintain your weight, exercise means nothing without a controlled and healthy diet. And that starts with healthy cooking techniques.

How To: Recognise Healthy Cooking Techniques post of Healthy Living India | HealthyLivingIndia.org

Logic – It’s the Calories

It’s not the food that piles on the fat, it’s the calories. Therefore, even though a banana is healthy, if you eat 20 a day, you will put on weight. Similarly the thinking is that reducing the unhealthy food consumption so that you are in calorie deficit (calories you burn – calories you eat) will definitely help you lose weight without giving up the foods you love. Therefore, the nutritionists logic is that if you need to consume 1500 calories a day, so long as you stay within that limit, you can indulge.

Unfortunately – It’s the Value of Calories Too

But if you are someone who needs to lose a lot of weight then you are not just cutting out calories, you are replacing them. In other words, if you need to introduce fruits into your diet, you won’t do that if you’re busy eating a plate of samosas (yes, even if you’re eating just one instead of two). A plate of samosas notch up more than 400 calories – almost 25% of a 1500 daily calorie requirement – making it impossible to eat healthy and nutritious food without going over the limit.

And look to go beyond the calorie argument too. Food that is rich in saturated fats is never good for you. Food that don’t give you complete proteins or carbohydrates or good fats are a complete waste. These foods, though within the calories limit, aren’t giving the body the nutrition it needs to survive resulting in lethargy, irritability, drowsiness, weakness and a one-way ticket to lifestyle diseases.

Adopt All the Ideas of Healthy living – Not Just the Convenient Ones

A person leading a healthy life that includes daily exercise, eating controlled portions and getting a a balanced diet won’t think twice about the occasional indulgence. The reason is that one day genuinely would not matter and given his regular daily habits, it’s quite okay to indulge. If you noticed, there were at least 5 different things that count as a healthy lifestyle – moderation and controlled portions were just one of them. Healthy living isn’t a buffet where you can pick and choose what you like. It’s more of a set lunch where you you get set portions of everything and you have to finish everything on your plate.

Moral of the Story

Context matters – While it is true that you can eat anything you want in moderation, the rule doesn’t apply if you need to lose weight and get healthy. The rule also doesn’t apply for foods that are of no nutritional value. Eating empty calories every day may not put on weight but will damage your health. Healthy living is a combination of factors that sometimes include the odd indulgence. But you need to follow all the combination of factors so that you can enjoy the odd indulgence.

You Can Eat Anything You Want – In Moderation post of Healthy Living India | HealthyLivingIndia.org

Are You Eating Too Much Salt: Health Risks of Answering ‘YES’

Your body needs salt for proper functioning. Too little salt causes muscle cramps and dizziness. Too much sodium consumption has been linked to:

• Stroke and cardiovascular disease
• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Ulcers
• Heartburn
• Osteoporosis
• Gastric cancer

Now, obviously eating too much salt does not give you heartburn – it’s a combination of factors. Usually people who eat too much salt have a lot of other poor dietary habits too – like eating too much junk food, too much fried food, not exercising and not controlling their portions. It is this combination that results in these lifestyle diseases. Those who watch their salt intake tend to lead healthy lifestyle and tend to eat right, workout regularly and control their portions.

Are You Eating Too Much Salt: Yes, What Can I Do About It?

1. Get more fresh fruits and vegetables in your daily diet (cutting sodium can be balanced by increasing potassium)
2. Stay away from processed and packaged foods including fast food, packaged snack and ready-to-eat meals that use sodium as preservatives.
3. Cook your meals at home to control the salt intake. You don’t have to cook a fresh meal every day but if you cook your own food, you will be able to control the salt.
4. Get rid of the salt shaker at the dining table to avoid any temptation.
5. Experiment with other tastes like lemon juice, herbs and spices which flavour the food and reduce the need for salt.

Changing a YES to a NO to the question “Are you eating too much salt” won’t automatically make you a healthy person either. Lifestyle diseases are called that for a reason – lifestyle chances include better nutrition, portion control and a regular exercise routine. Lifestyle changes also start with small steps. And what could be smaller than 1 teaspoon making this the ideal first step towards healthy living.

Are You Eating Too Much Salt? post of Healthy Living India | HealthyLivingIndia.org

What is a Cardio Workout Then?

An elevated heart rate sustained for a minimum of 10 minutes at a stretch is counted as a cardio workout.

No mention of calories burned. Therefore a cardio workout is not limited to a treadmill anymore – jogging, swimming, cycling, running and skipping are all cardio workouts. The key measure is intensity. An increased heart rate will cause calorie burn and fat loss. And a real cardiovascular workout is the only way to strengthen your cardiovascular system.

How Do You Measure a Cardio Workout?

The rule of thumb is, courtesy the US CDC is:

• It’s a moderate-intensity aerobic activity if you’re able to talk, but not sing the words of your favourite song.
• It’s a vigorous-intensity aerobic when forget singing, your heart rate is so high and breathing so fast that you won’t be able to get more than a few words out at a time.

The Only Measure if Your Heart Rate:

I have come across fitness trainers who say things like “You should walk a minimum speed of 6kmph for fat loss.” Statements like these by themselves are completely false because:

1. For starters, exercise alone doesn’t burn fat, it has to be supported by a healthy diet.
2. Fat loss through cardiovascular activity comes from an elevated heart rate. This comes from different speeds based on your fitness levels. A 6kmph speed might be challenging for a beginners but would be very easy for a fit person – who would have to push himself much harder for the same benefits.

Therefore, forget about the calories. As mentioned, you burn calories by ironing but that does not make it a cardio workout. The only aspect of a cardio workout that you should consider is the elevated heart rate. By increasing and sustaining a higher than normal heart rate, you will strengthen your cardiovascular system and along with strength training and a healthy diet, definitely lose fat in a healthy way.

Cardio Workout – Is Burning Calories Enough? post of Healthy Living India | HealthyLivingIndia.org