5 Foods For a Glowing Skin.

You have tried every possible cream and treatment in the world that promises you a healthy glowing skin but still end up looking like a dried peach; trust me I know how it feels. I was one of those kids whose adolescent years were masked by insecurities and acne, and although I have reached an age where these things should be passé, they are anything but! It’s true that beauty comes from within, and while there are a lot of reasons like stress, hormonal imbalance, genetics etc., there are some things that you can definitely do (food wise) to improve the health of your skin. These are my top 5 foods for a glowing skin:

1. Sardines: These little swimmers contain great amount of omega 3 fatty acid that has an anti-inflammatory effect and can greatly uproot the main cause of acne, i.e inflammation. The oil in the fish also restores elasticity in the skin and makes it suppler. Don’t loose heart if you are a vegetarian. You can opt for Flax seeds or walnuts, which are also a good source of omega 3 fatty acids.

2. Green tea: In a study published in the ‘Journal of Nutrition’ in 2011, people who drank green tea daily for 12 weeks had skin that was more elastic and smooth, and had one quarter less sun damage when exposed to UV light as compared to those who didn’t. The catechins in green tea, which are high in antioxidants, boost the blood flow and oxygen to the skin, which makes the skin even more radiant.

3.  Tomatoes: The antioxidant ‘lycopene’ in tomatoes improves skin’s natural SPF thus protecting the skin from sunburn (though they cannot replace sunscreen for a complete protection). Lycopene also help combat acne and reduce blemishes. Tomatoes also contain good amount of Vitamin A and C, which act as great antioxidants. Tomatoes have also proven to be helpful in preventing skin cancer to a certain degree. Now that’s one superfood for skin!

 4. Soy: People who consumed soy or soy products, like soy milk, tofu, tempeh etc., as part of their daily diet, developed fewer fine lines and had improved skin elasticity. This is because of the ‘isoflavones’ present in soy that stops collagen from breaking down which prevents skin from sagging. So bye bye wrinkles and hello younger skin!

5. Brown Rice: If you see the packaging of most beauty creams, you’ll likely find ‘ceramides’ as one of the ingredients. These are lipid molecules that help keep the moisture of your skin intact. Brown rice is one major source of ceramides. When you consume naturally occurring ceramides, these get incorporated in the outer layer of the skin and help it remain hydrated.

Water was an obvious contender for the list above and it goes without saying that drinking enough water is important for maintaining a healthy skin. Along with this it is important to have a healthy diet low in junk food as nothing kills a beautiful skin more than unhealthy fats going in your system. Try and exercise everyday even if it is just for 15 minutes. Along with other benefits, exercising helps regulate hormones in your body and people with hormone related skin issues can greatly benefit from this simple lifestyle change. Exercising also leads to sweating, which opens up the pores and helps remove toxins from the body.

So with the power of these 5 super foods and some useful tips, I hope you get that flawless looking skin soon! If you have any more suggestions from your own experience, do share in the comment section below!

Why aren’t the dietitians going out of business?

I have been thinking about the topic for my blog for a long time. Lets see, weight loss… soo passé. Obesity… even new borns know about it. Benefits of sea food… now even a 5 year old can say omega 3 fatty acid without stuttering. I felt defeated. I have been thinking since then- do we know too much about food now? Everyone you meet these days has some kind of special insight to give you about the new ‘blah blah’ diet he/she has been following and how miraculously it has worked for him/ her. Everyone seems to be ready to pin point on how many calories the pizza, that I am digging on, contains; or how its bad to have solid meals after 7 o’clock at night; or how having 5 meals a day is important; or how avocado is the new magic food and so on. But if we already know so much, why aren’t the dieticians going out of business? 

Its simple. While we know what the general guidelines are, we don’t know how to tailor them and practice them according to our body. And that’s when we need the dietitian who can alter our food choices for us.

I also have another philosophy. I do feel that we know a bit too much about food and are now finicky and picky about little things. Look at our forefather; they didn’t have access to so much of detailed information about each and every food stuff. They didn’t know what is whole grain bread or what happens if you have the yolk of the egg as well, or why you should avoid rice at night.

My advice, keep it simple and easy. Have home cooked meal as much as you can. If you are a horrible cook, even better, dig on raw foods! Walk till the mall. Go vegetable shopping with your wife/ mom. Drink water instead of Cola. Take time out and relish a heavy breakfast and enjoy it; make it look pretty with colourful fruits, juice, slice of bread, egg some nuts etc. It is ok to have a meal after 7, if you keep it light. And importantly, allow yourself a treat once in a while. You are not alive to punish yourself to death.

I know a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but trust me having a lot of knowledge and not knowing how to use it, is probably a bigger danger. So go back to basics and keep it simple.

Love, Relationship And Fat!

 ‘Oh I used to be like a cane stick before this husband thing happened. Marriage ruins it for you’… ‘You

know you should really enjoy being skinny till you are single’… ‘Oh so you can fit in a size 26 jeans? Wait till you get hitched!’  I was literally sick of hearing nonsensical bullshit like this, until I realized this is not completely nonsensical and bullshit! People say you bloat up after getting married. Some say it’s your casual attitude towards your body, coz hey you have got a guy to marry you and now who do you really want to show of a body hugging little Black dress to, right? Some even suggest the theory that it’s the change in routine and food that makes you bloated.

Nevertheless, we women love to blame everything on hormones; Mood swings, anger, slapping boyfriends, Back stabbing best friend, everything. It’s our safest and the best mouth shutting excuse to anyone. In this case these hormones might actually be the real culprit. It is true that post marriage there are lot of Hormonal changes that take place in the body. Apart from gaining a husband for life, gaining weight can might just be another side effect of marriage.

While I am no doctor to prescribe meds to control your husband…I mean your hormones, these are some of my suggestions for food stuff that you can munch on to keep you balanced, and also few stuff that you should avoid:

1. Proteins (produce hormones): Hormones are essentially protein derivatives, hence it becomes imperative to consume substantial amount of proteins in order to keep the hormonal production house ready and going; coz woman, you are gonna need a lot of them! Soaked beans, lentils, fish, sprouted pulses are sources of clean proteins (sans bad fat). They also are good sources of Omega 3 fatty acid.
2. Avocados (good fat): They're rich in healthy fat that helps our body absorb and use nutrients They are also full of fiber, potassium, magnesium vitamin E, B-vitamins, and Folic acid - all essential for maintaining hormonal balance in the body.
3. Antioxidant rich veggies (protect your body): Look for anything dark green in color. Broccoli, spinach, asparagus etc. also bright colored veggies like bell peppers, tomatoes, red, purple cabbage etc. are good sources of essential vitamins. Do not over soak/over cook these veggies though, else you will lose out on all the vitamins that they are known for.
4. Avoid Foods with High glycemic index: Ok that’s a fancy word which diabetics are well versed with. But all it really means is that not all carbohydrates are made equal. Some carbohydrates produce glucose faster in the blood than others. These are the ones that are our enemies. If you are carbohydrate addict, stay away from potatoes, rice, white flour, bread, rice, corn flakes etc.(not to mention sugar and its products of course)
5. Water:  This sneaky little neutral item always finds it's way in all my posts. And that is for a reason. Keep yourself hydrated well enough to flush out all the toxins and to keep your hormones diluted in the blood!

The list can be exhaustive, but I would keep it crisp. Our bodies have an incredible ability to heal and be in balance, when given the nutrients they need to flourish. So love generously but eat wise!

The Man Friday of Rains!

Everything about the rains is just so beautiful! The cool weather after the scorching heat, the wind in your hair, the little drops of water trickling down on the cheeks, the trees swaying in happiness, little kids hoping in the puddle, young couples entrenched in the moment of love..everything about the rains makes you fall in love with it. The last thing you ever want to happen is to fall sick and miss all of it, and unfortunately this is the first thing that happens to most of us :) 

What we forget is that while rains bring a lot of relief from the heat, it also makes our body highly susceptible to infections.This is majorly because the air around us becomes moist and humid, which makes the environment very conducive for infectious germs and micro organisms to breed multiply and spread around. The best way to prevent getting bed ridden is to build your immunity and let your body's defense mechanism take care of you.

Ascorbic Acid Or Vitamin C is the easiest way to make sure that your Body is well guarded and Immune to most of these common infections and illnesses. Its the Man Friday of Monsoons! Vitamin C being an anti oxidant, also helps in preventing carcinogenic cells to multiply hence reducing the risk on cancer in your body. And since we are talking about anti oxidants, say hello to a young and beautiful skin too!;)

Recent studies show that a dose of 500 mg per day is required to take care of an adult body requirement. This is way higher than the RDA prescribed 75-90 mg / day. So unless you are having enough portions of raw fruits and vegetables in your diet, It is recommended that you take supplements of Vitamin C. Also, being a water Soluble nutrient, it can very safely be consumed even in a little excess as any additional amount will get passed out from your body in the form of urine. So don't worry, it is the safest nutritional supplement :)

Some quick tips to pump up vitamin C in your diet-

•  Include a lot of Fruits and vegies in your diet, specially raw. But make sure you clean them well before eating coz hello, its the season of germs. 
• Include- Indian Gooseberry(amla), Lemon ( you can use the juice to sprinkle over food preparations), orange, bell peppers, Guava, Kiwi, Cabbage family, Papaya and Strawberries.
• Do not re- heat, over heat and over cook food. This leads to lot of wastage of essential vitamins, especially water soluble vitamins.
• Do not throw away the water after boiling vegetables. Use the water in the preparations or use it in soups.
• Try to keep the length of the vegetables in salads as long as possible. Chopping the veggies finely make them loose their vitamins more easily. Also cut them just before you are about to eat them
• you can opt for Vitamin C supplements if you think you are not doing justice to your dietary consumption.

So stack up on that Vitamin C this monsoon and don't let your sneeze ruin a romantic moment :) Stay healthy, stay happy!