Category: Fitness

Mental health includes our psychological, emotional and social well-being. It impacts how we feel, think and behave each day. Our mental health contributes to our decision making process, how we cope with stress, and how we relate to others in our lives.

Emotional health can promote productivity in work and performance in general.

Little did you know, physical health and emotional health are intimately intertwined in what’s known as the mind-body connection?

Our chemistry and biology impact our mood and emotions, as well as thoughts and beliefs. With all of these factors combined, they play a major role in influencing our stress and physical health. If you’ve ever felt your stomach tighten up when you were anxious, you’ve experienced the mind-body connection.

This connection takes place via hormones and neurotransmitters. Studies have proven neural networks that connect the cerebral cortex to the adrenal medulla, which actives the body’s response in stressful situations. These findings illuminate how mental states, such as stress and depression, can influence organ function.

These hormones then can affect your immunity in the end via the PNEI axis that is the psycho-neuro-endocrinal-immunological axis.

When it comes to managing stress and anxiety, it is easier said than done. But it is not impossible.

Negative self-talk may show up in the form of cognitive distortions, or false thoughts that may lead to incorrect assumptions. They also may lead to negative core beliefs about ourselves. These negative core beliefs impact self-esteem, confidence, self-worth, and many other psychological concepts that protect us against anxiety or distress.

So number one thing that you can do here is visualization. Imagining or visualizing yourself being in your “happy place”—maybe picturing yourself sitting on a beach, listening to the waves, smelling the ocean, and feeling the warm sand underneath you.

It can be done with a recording where you listen to someone walk you through a peaceful scene. Or, once you know how to do it yourself, you can practice guided imagery on your own. 

Simply close your eyes for a minute and walk yourself through a peaceful scene. Think about all the sensory experiences you engage in and allow yourself to feel like you’re really there. After a few minutes, open your eyes and return to the present moment.

Just focusing on your breath or changing the way you breathe can make a big difference to your overall stress level. Breathing techniques can calm your body and your brain in just a few minutes. It summons your parasympathetic nervous system, also known as your rest-and-digest system, and helps stimulate relaxation to return everything to equilibrium. You take in more oxygen, your heart rate slows, and your mind starts to slow down.

Aromatherapy can help you to feel more relaxed by altering brain wave activity and decrease stress hormones in the body.

So whether you enjoy candles, diffusers, or body products, consider incorporating some aromatherapy into your day.

Poor diet can bring greater reactivity toward stress. Reaching for high-fat, high-sugar foods can provide a temporary sense of relief that adds to your long-term stress.

Refined carbs, like cookies and potato chips, can cause a spike in blood sugar. When your blood sugar crashes, you might experience more stress and anxiety.

Consuming a healthy diet can help you combat stress over the long haul. Foods like eggs, avocado, and walnuts support mood regulation and energy balance. 

On top of everything comes physical activity which is key to managing stress and improving mental health.

 Finding the best stress relief strategy for you may take some experimenting and practice

But it’s important to keep looking for the tools that will help you manage life’s inevitable ups and downs in a healthy way.

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We read numerous articles on the internet where there is a lot of emphasis on gut health in general.

This is not just about digestive health or specific gut issues but your overall health.

The gut microbiome represents the bacteria in our gut. These include both good and bad bacteria.

The good bacteria maintain a healthy gut flora while the bad bacteria damage it.

There are several studies which have proven the connection between our gut microbiome and brain.

This connection takes place via 3 pathways in our body. These include immunoregulatory pathway, neuroendocrine pathway and the vagus nerve pathway.

The immunoregulatory pathway includes the microbiota interacting with immune cells which affects the level of inflammatory markers namely cytokines and prostaglandins.

The neuroendocrine pathway includes the enteroendocrinal cells affects the function of hormones via the hypothalamic-pituitary axis and the central nervous system by regulating the levels of cortisol, tryptophan and serotonin.

The neurons of the myentric plexus inside our intestine are exposed to gut microbiota and regulate gut hormone secretion via motor neurons in the intestine. This intestinal nervous system forms connection with the vagus nerve.

Toxic metabolic bi-products like lactic acid and ammonia produced by the gut bacteria can pass through the vagus nerve and into our brain which its functions and ultimately our sleep.

This takes place primarily via intestinal permeability which increases when the barrier is damaged or leaking.

Cell division required for repairing a “leaky gut” occurs at night that is in the absence of light. That is why chronic blue light at night and a lack of sunrise circadian syncing exacerbates gut issues.

So maintaining a healthy gut via a nutritious diet is essential.

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Restless nights can become more frequent as we get older and our sleep patterns change.

Hence it is important to get enough sleep. 

You must have heard countless times that you need to regulate sleep to enhance your fitness journey.  But how do we do this? There are certain factors involved in this. 

Most of the time, it is usually medicinal therapy which is advised for people who have difficulty falling asleep. 

But there are natural ways in which you can set your circadian clock right. 

So what are the tools to optimise sleep?

The first is light. Exposure to light (photons) is critical for getting optimum sleep at night. How does this work? When you expose to early morning sunlight, the rays reach your retina inside the eye and release cortisol. It is a stress hormone but this particular release of this hormone is released in a good way.  This sets a timer for melatonin release approximately 15 hours later. Melatonin is an important sleep hormone which regulates sleep. 

Next is temperature. Cold temperature exposure is important to regulate sleep! How? Jumping into a cold tub or shower for 1-3 minutes in the morning releases adrenaline which wakes you up.  There are certain neurons in the brain which act as a thermostat. When the brain senses that the external body surface is cold, the body will decide to store heat inside the body thereby increasing the temperature. 

Moving more in the morning will also get your temperature to rise. Moreover, it’s been found that exercise can be just as powerful as sunlight when it comes to engaging your circadian rhythms. Primarily this is because it releases melatonin.

Last but not the least, timing your caffeine intake affects your sleep more. Having caffeine right after you wake up leads to an “ afternoon crash”. So delaying your caffeine intake by a few hours after waking up will help in avoiding this afternoon crash. Although you will feel a slight dip in energy, it will be less comparatively.

Timing your food also plays a major role, in regulating your sleep. You should try to eat at the same time each day. Moreover, it’s best to consume heavier meals earlier.

Stress can throw off your circadian rhythm.  So identify your stress triggers and eliminate them. For example, if you’re anxious about an upcoming presentation, write down why you’re so worried. Seeing your thoughts on paper can help you develop ways to resolve this problem!

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It’s important not to cut salads out of your life altogether. Dumping a bunch of dressing on your salad is a decent start in transforming it into a meal that you’ll enjoy from beginning to end. 

However, you will probably pour in dressings which might not be good for your weight loss journey. Not only this, people tend to pour it in a quantity which can lead to adding on unnecessary calories despite salads being “healthy”

Wouldn’t your weight loss journey be easier and more fun if you liked your food? 

So how do we get the best of both worlds?

If you’re just starting, you just need to explore some healthy salad ideas and find the ones that work for you!

Experiment with the flavours and textures of your salads and learn how to make them taste amazing. 

So here are some ideas to get the same. 

Add some life to your greens with some fruit! You can add sliced strawberries, peaches, or pineapple for a start.

All fruit tastes great with greens and tends to pair well with vinaigrette. 

Although this is a great option, make sure you don’t go overboard with the fruit. Although they are healthy and have a lot of micronutrients and satisfying to taste, you need to check your macronutrient levels and caloric intake. 

Add some grains such as brown rice, quinoa, and millet. They lend a nutty flavour and indulgent texture while also increasing some protein intake at the same time. Especially if you are a vegetarian, this is a great option for you. 

Cook your grains as you normally would and throw half a cup of them right on top of your salad before you add the dressing. 

Legumes like lentils are also heart-healthy choices for salad toppings.

Another hack is you can marinate the salad ingredients that you want to combine with your greens. For example, soaking some diced mushrooms in teriyaki sauce or garlic. Let them soak for at least 30 minutes before adding them to your salad.

Spice up your salads! If you prefer a savoury salad, spices are the way to go! You can put them in your dressing or toss them right into your salad just before eating. 

Make it colourful! Have you noticed that even if you are not interested in a particular food item, it looks aesthetic you feel like trying a bite? It is a visual stimulus!

Add colourful vegetables, and spice them up with flavours. Use a variety of cutting techniques like chopping, dicing, and mincing to create a variety of textures to enjoy

Last but not least if you still don’t like the taste or texture of your salad, you can blend it all up! Add your food to a blender and create a smooth texture. 

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Testosterone is the most important male sex hormone. It is the hormone which produces male sexual characteristics in men and is also responsible for overall health. 

Low levels of testosterone can affect body composition and can also cause weight gain.

Low levels of testosterone also affect sexual function, causing reduced sex drive, fewer erections, and infertility.

It is natural for testosterone levels to decline as a person ages, but some steps can slow down this process.

Here are a few ways in which you can boost and maximize your testosterone levels 

1. Manage stress levels- prolonged stress levels cause an increase in catecholamines which have been associated with lower testosterone. 

2. Start lifting heavy. All forms of exercise may increase your testosterone levels. However, weightlifting and high-intensity interval training is proved to have the most benefits

3. Consume the right sources of fat. Cholesterol is an important precursor when it comes to testosterone production. 

However, consuming the wrong sources and quantities can lead to hepatic and cardiovascular issues later on. 

So consuming healthy fats, especially omega-3-rich fatty food like fish and nuts is important. Avoid fat sources which increase LDL(low-density lipoprotein) in our body. 

4. Get enough good quality sleep- sufficient good quality sleep is associated with higher levels of testosterone.

5. Supplementation- Zinc supplementation along with vitamin D supplementation is beneficial for testosterone levels, especially in

cases of infertility

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