Pre-menopause age demands right kind of nutrition and care to avoid health risks like breast cancer, heart diseases, osteoporosis and so on. As the child bearing age passes, the production of hormone oestrogen also stops. The lack of female sex hormones oestrogen and progesterone in the bloodstream is manifested in the form of symptoms of menopause.

The female hormones also play a vital role in keeping the woman healthy by protecting her heart and by keeping her bones strong.

Heart Health

• You should not weigh more than the recommended weight of your age. So watch your calorie intake strictly.
• No to high fat.
• Check your cholesterol with fibre rich foods like oatmeal, fruits and whole grains.
• Include nutritious foods like flax seeds (omega 3, fibre, phytochemicals), and almonds (calcium, vitamin e, magnesium) in your diet.

Cancer

• Lose weight  by a strict watch on what you eat and how much.
• Eat a fibrous diet.
• Reduce alcohol consumption.
• Get an adequate supply of vitamins, folates and minerals.

Osteoporosis

• Ask your doctor about taking calcium supplements. You may need to increase the intake of calcium from 800mg/day during pre-menopause to 1000mg/day after menopause.
• Take vitamin D rich foods.
• Reduce the number of smokes.
• Exercise regularly.

Take care, ladies!

   You are no more in your teens. You might have already realised that life is not about giggling and shopping but a colourful bunch of responsibilities. Your needs have changed and so too your outlook towards life. As your needs change, your lifestyle unfortunately changes too. This is the time you got to hit back to a healthy lifestyle with enough exercise and right food to prevent lifestyle diseases and chronic disorders.

   Managing weight is not a difficult thing at this age. It is an age where you need to increase your level of physical activity and consciously reduce the food intake and fat calories. 

Control Fats to Maintain Required Weight

Early twenties up to late thirties is not a good time to eat less and work more. You need a good pack of steady energy to keep yourself busy and active 24/7. So eat wise and lose weight as early as possible.

• Consume less oil. ‘Oil’ does include all kinds of saturated oils. Ideas for cooking with less oil is not limited. Grilling, baking, poaching and steaming work well! Using a half portion of onion can help your food not getting stuck to the non-stick cookware.
• Stick on to low-fat dairy products for the adults while giving the children full milk products. Three servings or 600 ml of dairy products per day is ideal.
• Restrict your fat intake, as far as possible, to polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. Vegetable oil, nuts, fish etc. are great sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. Only 35 per cent of your calories should come from fats.
• It is the golden rule to limit your trans fatty acid intake up to 10 per cent of your total daily calories.

Watch your Carbohydrates

• Ideally, you should consume 3 or more servings (1 serving = approximately 28g) of whole grains a day.
• Cultivate the habit of having salads in your children as well.
• Be liberal with fruits, veggies and whole grains. This will ensure the much required fibre for your body.
• Eat enough of starchy foods for a healthy brain and muscles.
• Go for artificial sweeteners.

Everything Else

• Consume alcohol in moderation. Be aware that even alcohol adds up to your calorie intake.
• Preferably, only less than 2,300mg of salt/sodium should be taken in a day. Count your pickles, salt in the foods and processed foods.
• Since potassium plays a major role in preventing high blood pressure, building muscle and regulating our heartbeat eat bananas, mushrooms, potatoes and sweet potatoes with skin, dairy foods, green leafy vegetables etc. You will need 4.7 grams of potassium a day.

Eating calories and burning more of it will take time to show up on your body. Sometimes it doesn’t show up at all. There are other things than what or how much of food you consume in a meal that determines your weight. So what are they?

The Quantity, The Number And The Time of Your Meals

If you are inconsistent about the food you eat your body will be confused. If you have the tendency to skip your meals and eat in large quantities in odd timings your body will try to hoard the nutrients it receives. This may promote weight gain and work against your efforts to lose weight. You already know the importance of breakfast. In the same way, it is vital to take your meals in adequate amounts at the right times to assure your body of a steady supply of nutrients and in turn for a proper metabolism.

The Dietary Fiber In Your Food

We have learnt that by eating fiber we get a fullness, clean our intestines and prevent constipation. Though fiber is carbohydrate it is hardly absorbed by the body. The nutrients are absorbed and the undigested fiber is excreted. Hence the recommendation on fibrous foods.

The Thermic Effect Of Your Food

You expend some energy/calories to bite, chew, swallow, digest, metabolize and store food. Dietary fat is easily processed in your body while proteins need more calories to be used up. That means proteins have the highest thermic effect of food (TEF).

The Glycemic Index

Glycemic foods are those which have an immediate effect on the blood glucose level. When more sugar (high glycemic foods) enters the blood stream in a faster speed more insulin is quickly needed to break it up. For those without diabetes it is not a big issue. What you need to consider is the fact that when you have more insulin in your body you don’t lose weight. Insulin and weight gain share a deep bond.

• Drink a lot of water and more of hot water. Sometimes you brain fools around making you feel hungry instead of thirsty. If you sip hot water it will curb your ‘hunger’ for water and make you fuller. Water also gets rid of toxins and excess calories.
• Eat smart and more of it. Low calorie foods are your saviours. Peppers, zucchini, celery and the lot are great for the start. They demand more energy for their digestion and you burn more calories without neglecting you general health. Do not forget to throw away starchy veggies like potatoes.
• Exercise in the morning as a must! Musicians practice as early as before sunrise. Meditation also works great if done at 4 AM in morning before the world wakes up. And so does physical work out. Rather than cuddling in the bed, get up and jump ahead in to the day. A few minutes of skipping, high knee lifts and the like can be highly rewarding.
• One of the easiest things you can do is to squeeze your butt as and when you can. Hold your muscles in for a few seconds and release. You can do this glute exercise even while working or doing your daily chores. Just watch your back, though!

• Genes and cells

Genes are the deciding factor for many of us. Fat genes are the culprit behind many of our obesity or weight gain. Some of us owe our fat to the fat cells which make us fat and heavy. Certain fat cells are fed by viruses like Adenoviruses which increase the risk of obesity.

• Mental Stress

We notice a weight gain when we have a tight schedule in the work place and don’t eat or sleep at the right time. Your routine necessarily changes your eating patterns and requirements. Scientists point out that tension and stress increase our desire for carbohydrate-rich foods which serve to appease the stress hormones.

• Lack of sleep

Weight loss encouraged when you sleep for around 7-8 hours a night. Lack of sleep affects your fullness and cause hormonal imbalances.

• Mom!

The lifestyle and health conditions your mother had while you were inside her womb can be a deciding factor of your health too. Fatty and unhealthy foods she may have had before conceiving you are found to have adverse effects on the developing baby’s health. Hence it is important for moms-to-be to eat and sleep healthy before they try to conceive.

Yet, there is no need for you to be disheartened. You can be fat and at the same time be fit. Lean and hungry looking people also fall prey to lifestyle diseases despite their having the right weight. Lean or fat, physical activity for half an hour a days, five times a week is ideal for good health.

MSG, Monosodium glutamate, can be a real reason for your weight gain and obesity. Used as a food addictive and flavor enhancer, MSG is a noteworthy ingredient in many popular processed foods. MSG is a sodium salt made from wheat gluten which was once mainly associated with asthma in some its consumers. When we eat out we are sure consuming a generous amount of MSG in its different variations and brand names. Food manufacturers may intent two things by adding MSG to their product: 1) flavor enhancement and the 2) temptation to eat more.

Its link to obesity is explained thus: MSG is a substance that can overexcite the neurons to the point of cell damage to cell death (excitotoxins). MSG is capable of creating abdominal fat and causing brain damage. Experiments show that it also increased the insulin in the pancreas of the rats. When more insulin is produced, more sugar is broken and you have a low sugar levels wanting to eat more.Ironically, you eat more MSG foods again and more insulin is produced repeating the cycle. If you get diabetes, the scene is then taken over by the drug manufacturers.You don’t have to believe that your favorite restaurant uses very little MSG in their preparations. But, remember that, we, humans are many times more sensitive than rats.

Next time you dine out, make sure that your food is MSG-free. Never hesitate to ask for the ingredient list from your restaurant if you feel suspicious and never dine in there if they do no give you one.

Curcumin is a polyphenol found in turmeric that not only gives it its invincible yellow stain but also is responsible for the anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory properties of the spice. Turmeric can further lower the blood sugar levels and blood cholesterol levels.

Curcumin when ingested is readily absorbable for use in the body. Curcumin can increase the flow of bile thereby increasing the body’s use of cholesterol. Thus cholesterol levels are lowered and more bile is used to breakdown more dietary fat.

Fat is directly responsible for our weight gain. And body fat grows when new blood vessels form to feed them (angiogenesis). Experiments conducted on mice show that curcumin can prevent angiogenic acitivity, the growth of blood vessels.Two groups of mice were given a high fad diet of the same quantity and one group was supplemented with a dose of curcumin. Those fed with curcumin did not gain weight and showed very less expansion of fat tissue.

But alas! Scientists still cannot ascertain curcumin’s positive effects on human fat. Keep an eye open for a new finding that may help you lose weight as easily by eating a spoon full of turmeric!

Stop and Think!

• Before you decided to lose weight what was it that influenced you? A nagging wife or self realization? You failed probably because you were not motivated enough. If you were, then nothing could have held you back. Once you start your weight loss plan you have to be consistent and practice it very religiously. There is no going back. Think about all the nice things you will be able to do once you shed all the unnecessary pounds. Always visualize yourself positively to keep away from temptations.
• Discipline yourself. Remember the small notepad that carries the list of all your dietary intake. Don’t jump from sodas to water in a day. You may feel more tempted on the third. Replace colas with diet sodas and from there to plain sodas or lime juice or water.
• Have a good estimate of the calories you consume everyday. Do not hesitate to cut down if you see a horrible rise. Yet, there is no point in gulping a sugarless tea or a coffee with a sweetener. You deserve at least a good beverage once a day! But make it a point to reduce the sweet intake and cheese and skip deserts and milk shakes.
• If you can skip red meat, all the better. But you don’t have to. Choose only lean meats and less of starchy vegetables like potatoes.
• Work harder on your diet if you feel that you are not up to it. Spend some time on a sunday browsing healthy recipes for the whole of the coming week.
• If you can’t do aerobics, go for a gentle relaxing walk. You definitely need some air after a busy day.
• Be patient and have confidence in yourself. You will notice that the more you shun down your favorite foods the more appetizing they become. Remind yourself that you are not going to cheat and that those things are always going to be there. you can have a bite once you achieve your goal.
• Take it easy on yourself. Rome was not built in a day. Well, that does not mean it took centuries. You need to stick on to a plan which is not harsh but realistic.

Have you already made plans for spring? Here is a quick idea. Plan a weight loss program at home all by yourself with nothing else but fruits.

In India, the onset of summer is marked by a jubilant sale of Lassis (version of buttermilk) and Tharbooj (Watermelons). The green exterior and the juicy luscious red interior of the water melon make an appetizing contrast. It not only serves your thirst on a sunny day but also aids your health.

Watermelon contains Arginine, an amino acid which can aid weight loss and prevent obesity. Without the risk of any side-effects, it can also promote lean tissue growth and muscle gain in the body. Arginine is beneficial for the stimulation of the biochemical process of muscle protein synthesis and to reduce serum concentrations of branched-chain amino acids. Red plants, seafood, seeds, algae, meats, rice protein concentrate and soy protein isolate are all good sources of arginine.

Lycopene, an antioxidant present in water melon is a vital component to good health as it is seen to prevent the threat of cancers. Water melon is devoid of any fat or cholesterol and is abundant in vitamins A, B6, and C. It further aids your heart health and disease prevention by his other components like potassium and vitamins along with fruity fiber.

For a healthy body and a sound heart, you need to eat 2-5 cups of fruits a day. Water melon forms a important part of the agricultural sector of the USA. Why not make the best that is available in plenty?