Power of Gratitude and Your Health

I decided this morning to take a break from talking about diets, food plans, disease,cells,  exercise, sleep, super foods, antioxidants, water and everything to do with enhancing health or perfecting body weight.

I want to talk about the power of gratitude. So powerful is this technique , that it is being used in the cure of serious diseases like cancer, depression, obesity and can be applied to the most common cold, cough, fever or body flu.

It can help you achieve the body you want, that perfect weight and rejuvenate the health in your trillions of cells.

Today, instead of focusing on all of the above, focus on what you HAVE, in regards to your health.

Be grateful and offer thanks for - 

The use of your arms and legs

Your eyesight, sense of smell, hearing, sense of touch.

The fact that you have the ability to work out.

The fact that you have the availability of good , clean food and water.

The fact that we have a very special gift, that is the gift of a new day and a chance to make our health better.

The fact that billions and billions of cells in your body are working to keep you alive.

That you have energy to get through the day

The fact that things are easier for our generation in terms of foods, exercises, knowledge availability and variety.

The fact that even if we are sick, we are alive and by being grateful for that, we will heal.

When we constantly complain or talk negatively about our health and weight, all we do is make the situation worse by attracting more negativity.
We create enormous stress in our cells and minds and that prevents us from achieving our goal.

"The degree that you are grateful for your health is the exact degree that your health will magically increase,
and the degree that you are not grateful for your health will be the exact degree your health will decrease.

being grateful for your health ensures that you will continue to receive more health, and at the same time it eliminates stress and tension in the body and mind.
Scientific research studies have shown that stress and tension are the root of many diseases. Studies have also revealed that people who practice gratitude heal faster." ( Rhonda Bryne)

When we are grateful for our bodies, health and lives, we will not continuously abuse our bodies with alcohol,
smoking, junk food , drugs and medicines. We will do it all, but in moderation, out of respect of our bodies.
Anything other than that is being disrespectful and ungrateful for the gift of our body and life, and it will deteriorate.

Don't think ' Fat thoughts'. If you think you are fat, you will be. Instead focus on and offer
gratitude that you have the ability to get fit and focus on picturing yourself at the weight you want to be.
Offer thanks after every workout you do, or every clean meal you eat, as each of those things are a step forward to get you to your ideal weight.

Most people create a disease or a problem in their minds through negative thinking, fear, lack of belief and stress

Give thanks before and after every meal, bless it to make you healthy, to nourish your cells and to keep you at your ideal weight.

You can eat an ice-cream with an extremely negative attitude, that it will make you fat, that your
nutritionist told you not to eat it, that Madonna or your fav Bollywood star don't eat it to maintain
their figures and it will make you fat. But try eating it with gratitude, love and enjoy every bit of it,
being thankful for the taste, for the people who made it, for the ability to afford it, and you will not put on weight.
It's true and you should try it. You will be a happier and healthier person. 

Each of us have the opportunity to be grateful for some part of our health and even the
technique of offering ' thanks' in advance, for example if you want to get slimmer,
you offer thanks in advance that you are slimmer, you offer thanks in advance for your cholesterol levels to come down,
you change your ' shift' to a new dimension, which makes you feel super powerful, in control and happier,,and what more, you achieve what you want.

Start practicing  gratitude right now. Example:Offer thanks for your eyes, since you can read this mail.

I offer thanks for the ability to write, share and have so many people read my mails.

With Gratitude, 

Eat These Vegetables and Burn Fat

Yes, it's true that some vegetables really expedite weight loss. This is
because these vegetables act as natural metabolism boosters, and remember,
weight loss is all about your metabolism.

The faster your metabolism, the faster your body is able to break down
calories and burn fat. If you have a slow metabolism, your body take longer
to break down calories, which can lead to weight gain.

Before we discuss the list of vegetables, let's quickly look at 3 ways to
boost up your metabolism.

1) Eating fiber rich foods and food rich in antioxidants.

2) Exercising regularly boosts your metabolism ( especially weight bearing
exercises like weights, running, plyometrics and core synergistics)

3) 7 hours of sleep ( so your body has time for hormone balance and
production as well as time to rest, recover and repair.

Here are the best vegetables that expedite weight loss -

Broccoli
Spinach
Cabbage
Cauliflower.

Have the broccoli steamed, in salads, stir fries or vegetable preparations.
Don't boil or cook to long. Can be consumed raw but preferably not in the
monsoons

Spinach should be washed well, steamed, pureed or cooked. Do not boil.

Cabbage and cauliflower preparations should include turmeric and spice. The
combination of turmeric, cauliflower and cabbage is essential to prevent
cancer. Use turmerics with these vegetable preparations, easy on the
coconut.

Always add a dash of virgin olive oil to any vegetable preparation, because
Vitamins in these vegetables are ' fat soluble', which means that they need
oil or fat for the nutrients to be absorbed from the vegetables, into our
body.


Take a look at these four vegetables, they can actually all be combined to
prepare a bowl of salad. Add a balsamic dressing, roasted pine nuts and
mixed beans ( gazebo, pinto, black eye, kidney) and some freshly chopped
tomato and capers and you have en extremely healthy salad which will help
you lose weight.

Or simply cook it Indian style. If you have come up with an innovative
recipe to utilize these vegetables, feel free to share it.

Magical Garlic - Nature's Cure

In India, we use a lot of garlic in our cooking. It's a good thing, and
today, the west is slowly adopting this practice. This is due to the
numerous health benefits that one can reap from this simple looking clove.

Garlic has been used for it's medicinal properties from the early days.
Here are some of the benefits of having garlic in your food plan.

Coughs and Colds

Bite into a clove or two of raw garlic and you will get instant relief from
the sniffles. garlic gives a boost to your immunity, helps you fight of
infections promptly.

Rich in Antioxidants

You remember my mail on antioxidants. Garlic is rich in them. They fight
cancer, they prevent the growth of cancer cells, they reduce cancer cells
if they already exist and research has now proven it's wonder work in
relation to tumors.

Heart Disease:

Right from improving your bad cholesterol levels (LDL) to boosting your
good cholesterol levels (HDL), garlic also keeps your arteries healthy and
clean. It is known to reduce hypertension, by thinning your blood and
making it easy for your heart to pump blood thru your arteries. It keeps
them clean of plaque as well.

Smokers:

Smokers know that constant smoking will stiffen their arteries. Garlic is
known to help over here, but it is not the solution. The solution is cut
down on your smokes and eventually STOP.

Infection:

Garlic has anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. It helps your body
fight infections and protects it against allergies.

Impotence:

Garlic has been categorized as an aphrodisiac.It aids in blood circulation,
keeps the veins and arteries healthy and strong and helps with impotence.

Pregnancy:

Garlic is known to help with 'weight-gain' for babies.

You see, the list is endless, besides being linked with improved memory
function and stress reducing benefits, garlic continues to be a wonder
food.

When you cook garlic it may lose some of it's important properties and
enzymes. So add it to the end so it's subject to the least amount of heat
for the shortest period.

Eat it raw, though many don't because of the bad breath it causes. Steam
it, roast it, saute it. Get creative, but add garlic to your food plan. You
get garlic tablets in the market which are easy to carry around and they
don't cause bad breath.

IMP: In all cases check with your doctor before increasing your intake. if
your due for surgery or if you are on high blood pressure medicines, garlic
may have to be limited because of it's thinning effects on blood, so please
run it by your doc for the dosage.

Healthy individuals are known to take up to 6 cloves a day.

Natural, Inexpensive, High Quality Protein and Health Drink? Must Read

About a month ago i had the privilege of doing a workshop on ' Building Healthy Lifestyles' for the YPO chapter in Kolkata, India.

There is never a session i do, that i go away from, without haven't learnt something new from the state, country or participants.

One of the participants spoke about a drink made from ' sattu' that the locals drink, that keeps them high on energy and healthy through the hot summer months.

The next morning i met with a couple that spoke of the same drink and were kind enough to make me a glass of delicious ' sattu' with coriander and black salt.
They graciously packed me some bags of ' Sattu' to carry back to Mumbai.
On the way to the airport, i had already begun my research on ' sattu' and the driver pointed out various stalls
along the road where the locals would stop by for a quick glass of this drink.
I had the driver stop at one of these stalls and engaged in an interesting conversation with the man in charge.
I learnt of the health benefits of this drink that has been famous to states in the North of India for generations
and used as a natural cure for several diseases as well as a high value, nutrient dense staple food.
I picked up several packets more to bring back with me. What got my interest levels up were the key words, Protein, Calcium, Fiber, Iron and magnesium.

For many of you who don't  know me, i have the reputation of ripping a product apart, studying and researching on it in detail, testing it in labs for authenticity and nutritional values and then sharing it with everyone i can, after using it myself.

' Sattu' is your equivalent to a ' WHEY PROTEIN SHAKE'. Made of roasted channa ( gram) flour,
this composition is one of the highest sources of vegetarian protein and a quality that is most easily absorbed by the body.

60 grams ( 4 tbsp) of this roasted flour will give you 19.7 grams of high quality protein along with - 

Calcium and magnesium ( a fantastic combination as magnesium helps calcium get better absorbed into the body)
This makes it excellent for bone health and prevention and treatment of osteoporosis

Super healthy for growing children and adults

Iron ( Iron deficiency is a leading problem and can cause severe health issues.
Taking iron supplements can sometimes be too toxic to the liver and cause constipation) Natural iron is best.

Excellent source of fiber. All of us know that fiber cleans out the colon and stomach, prevents and cures constipation and aids fat loss and energy levels.

Most of you will be thinking that ' Sattu' will cause a lot of gas just like channa ( garbanzo beans/chickpeas) do, infact it's just the opposite.
Ayurveda states that in this form ( sattu) people with gas will be relieved.

Aids fat and weight loss

Excellent for strong sexual health

Natural colon cleanser

For elderly people, sick people, bed ridden people, people recovering from serious diseases or surgery, sattu will build their strength and muscle mass rapidly.

I was not surprised, just overwhelmed, as once again i discover that Nature has provided it all to us.

We just fail to discover because we got caught up in the trap of marketing and media.

This is my new protein shake or better still, health drink. 4 tbsp with water OR chaas ( buttermilk) sometimes i add pepper, sometimes, roasted cumin ( jeera) and sometimes cinnamon.

20 grams of protein. I have one in the morning and one post work out, sometimes even another one as a mid evening snack, because this glass of 'Sattu' fills you up and provides you more than sufficient protein

You feel lighter, more toned, less bloated ( some whey proteins cause temporary bloating) and you know whats in your glass,
unlike the numerous ingredients that you may not even understand on the jar of a whey protein.

The person at the stall also said you can add jaggery to make it sweet. It's an excellent summer drink, extremely cooling for the body.

Here's the best part.

100 grams sattu bag will cost you Rs.10. 

3 glasses a day will cost me Rs.18/- and 2 glasses even less, but putting the cost aside,whats more important is that i know the quality of protein and what's going into my glass.

If you blend it,it's better as it may tend to form lumps if not stirred well.

Add some lemon to it and you can't go wrong.

You should be able to purchase this online across India.

Make the change and spread the word. The aim is to move from processed to natural.

Cinnamon Magic And Your Health

I completely believe in the healing power of natural foods and spices. Early civilizations probably depended completely on various foods and spices for cures.

Here's why i strongly promote the use of cinnamon in our daily lives.

I love food as much as i enjoy finding ways to get away with eating certain foods without putting on weight or destroying cellular health. That’s where the use of Cinnamon comes in.

Cinnamon reduces bad cholesterol, triglycerides and has an amazing effect on controlling blood sugar levels and irregular spikes in blood glucose post a meal, making it an excellent remedy for diabetes.

Cinnamon is an insulin substitute in Type II diabetes. Cinnamon itself has insulin-like activity, increasing the effectiveness of insulin. Cinnamon also has a bio-active component that has the potential to prevent or overcome diabetes. It also increases vitality, balances energy, improves the digestion of fruits, milk, and other dairy products and helps reduce bloating and gas.

Doses as small as 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon per
day can provide improved insulin resistance, which in turn decreases
heart disease risk and also helps with weight control.

I suggest consuming ½ tsp of cinnamon powder post a high calorie meal ( or add it to your lemon water).

If you want to have a dessert, try adding some cinnamon to it. This will prevent a sudden spike in blood sugar levels that would otherwise occur due to the sugar in the dessert.

Sprinkle some over your bowl of fruits.

Sprinkle some over your ice cream

Add it to your food.

Brew a cup of cinnamon tea ( boil water with green/black tea leaves, or even without tea leaves, add cinnamon sticks, a clove, pour and add 1 tsp organic raw honey).

Many of us have warm water with lemon post heavy meals and upon wake up. You can add ½ tsp of cinnamon to this mix as well.

I especially suggest this for people with diabetes. Try having this after your meal and recording your sugar levels post. You will be amazed with the reading.

I enjoy Starbucks, because it’s the only coffee shop I know of which has ground cinnamon available for use by the customer, so I don’t feel that guilty when I order a Frapp, because I can just sprinkle a dose of cinnamon powder over it, knowing that it will take care of the blood sugar levels to some extent.

Moderation is key.

This does not mean a cinnabon now becomes a healthy option for you. A cinnabon has 144 grams of sugars and carbs and is 730 calories and won't do anything good for you.

Explore different ways to add cinnamon to your daily food plan and add value to your health and lifestyle.