Foods and Habits those cause BLOATING

Bloating is just the gassiness and a feel that your belly look larger than usual. It is really a discomfort because it makes our waist area look awkward. Might be a concern of beauty and appearance.

Other thing we need to worry about is the heavy feeling and something like potbelly feeling. I hate it. It gives a feeling like I have gained 5 or 6 pounds immediately. This bloating is an obsolete enemy of both men and women. Some people feel bloated only occasionally whereas some people feel it most of the times.

Whoever it is, knowing the reasons can try to overcome it.

FOODS CAUSING BLOATING

• More amount of raw vegetables like brussel sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower in diet increases bloating
• Lentils, Legumes and Beans release more gas. This increases the chance of bloating.
• More number of grains and fiber may cause swollen belly.
• Artificial Sweeteners increases bloating
• Carbonated Drinks causes bloating
• Chewing gums cause bloating
• Baked foods like breads, puffs and cakes
• Some food items labelled low calorie or low fat have chemicals in them that cause bloating

HABITS CAUSING BLOATING

• Drinking 3 to 4 liters a day is a good and healthy habit.
• Drinking very less water causes water retention and it makes you feel bloated. 
• Lack of sleep results in improper digestion. That in turn leads to bloating of stomach. Usually, we skip sleep during examinations, work pressure, marriage, pregnancy and post-pregnancy. At that time, most of us feel bloated. Later, we recover. 
• Eating fastly. I too just exclaimed like you when I heard this. Yeah, eating fastly can definitely cause bloated stomach.
• Abruptly increasing the fiber intake. You need to start increasing fiber intake little by little. It cannot happen overnight.
• Drinking through straw causes gassiness.

OTHER MEDICAL CONDITIONS THAT CAUSE BLOATING

• Problems in stomach like dehydration, recovery after fever, infection and constipation
• It is common during menopause
• It is a premenstrual symptom
• Lactose intolerance and gluten allergy can cause bloating. This should be discussed with your physician and sorted out.

health tips

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How to make your GROCERY LIST healthy - PART 1

In this section we are going to see how should we select grains and pulses.

GRAINS

Wheat, Rice, Corn and Oats fall under the category of grains. Out of these, most of us don't buy wheat and grind it from mills. We just buy whole wheat flour directly from stores. So I don't mention anything about wheat. We also don't use corn, often. Majority of the population uses rice and partially oats. The list tells you how to handle them to meet healthwise and economically. Also I have asked you to include some millet. The quantity of millet is very less only. Nothing to worry about goitrogens.

Grains

we usually use rice, so do the following modification Buy some Brown Basmati Rice - say 3 Kgs Buy any two among the three millets to substitute rice(sadham) or idli dosas Little Millet or Samai - 500g Kodo Millet or Varagu - 500g Kuthiraivali or Barnyard Millet - 500g Regular Rice - Make it as Boiled(puzhungal arisi) Rice and better buy 3 to 5 Kgs lesser than your regular amount we usually use oats, so do the following modification Buy whole grain oats instead of quick oats. it will be actually the best option

PULSES

All kind of dhals and beans come under this category. We use urid dhal, moong dhal and toor dhal efficiently. But most of us waste the other bean items we purchase. We buy them in bulk, as they don't expire soon. But true to heart, most of us throw them out at the end of the year. So I am giving a suggestion to handle this.

Pulses

Make the following modifications Moong Dhal - increase 50% of regular amount Toor Dhal - - decrease 50% of regular amount Urid Dhal - - as usual Buy 200g of Black Urid Dhal (it is full of health) Buy 250g of any four bean items (you can make sundal, gravies or any kind of poriyal) Green Peas or Pattani Green gram or pasippayaru Blank Chick Peas White Chick Peas Black Eyed Peas Rajma Buy 200g of Horsegram (it helps to reduce cholesterol)

CEREALS

Most of us use breakfast cereals. The reason may be our laziness or busy schedule which keeps ourselves skipping breakfast. Although the cereals don't have anything healthy, something is better than nothing. So I would recommend using breakfast cereals. If you have more time to prepare things, better make a nice breakfast. At times if you are void of time, have cereals.

Breakfast Cereals
Make the following modifications Buy some regular corn flakes for kids. If you could afford, use kelogs special K, but use it only twice or thrice a week Buy some whole grain oats cereal and make honey bunches of oats, yourself Never buy flavored oats or cornflakes. They have sugar syrup in them I feel making cereal bars is better than buying cereal bars

grocery list

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How to make your GROCERY LIST healthy - General Topics

I consider certain things, when I write up the monthly grocery list. First and foremost, HEALTH. Then the season and seasonal availability of the things. Then the COST and the TASTE of my family members. This is really a vast topic. I cannot simply say include this and exclude that. So I am giving it in 4 sections under 4 posts. Each post will describe each section.

• Part 1 - Grains, Cereals, Pulses and Legumes
• Part 2 - Flours, Spices and other readymades
• Part 3 - Snacks, Oil, Fat, Dairy and Poultry
• Part 4 - Vegetables and Fruits

If you are someone who never try to prepare a list and then go for a shopping, please excuse me. This post is definitely not for you. If you are health conscious and someway economic, you must need a prepared list. Only if you have such a list, you could help yourself. Otherwise, you will just grab and go whatever you find in your eyes.

The list I am going to give you is in Indian style. You also have a little items added for making your child happy. Also you have some items to include for making international dishes that are healthy, at home. My list will also give an outline on the following things

• What should you include in your list and why ?
• What should not be included and why ?
• Cost cutting and cheaper options
• Eating seasonal and local foods

Once I finish all the topics, I will provide a full list as a pdf. You may modify it as per your taste and start using it. Let us see the topics in next post.

grocery list

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Zumba Dance Workouts for Weight Loss -

What is Zumba Dance ?

Zumba involves dance and aerobic movements with a musical background. You could read more about the zumba dance and its history from wiki. LINK TO WIKI. It is interesting.

How is it useful in weight loss ?

It is a cardio workout. It burns 500 calories in an hour class, average. It relieves us from stress and thereby helps to overcome stress eating.

What are the other benefits ?

• It is good for heart and we all know that.
• It improves coordination and mental health. It refreshes brain.
• Many people feel relaxed after zumba workout. The music and dance might be the reason behind it.
• This dance and music gives some sort of happiness and this relieves us from stress.
• We develop a routine, while going to the class. It is like spending a few minutes for us. People who get bored of exercises feel good with this zumba dance.
• Mostly we do this dance in groups. We develop friends. We become social. We get a way of relaxation. It increases the positive energy in us and make ourselves active throughout the day.
• As it relieves ourselves from stress, we get a good sleep at nights. That is really the best benefit, I would say.

Zumba Dance Classes

In most of the towns, there are certified professionals conducting Zumba dance classes. You might check with your friends and find the class nearby. It is really good to go to the classes. Going to classes is the best way, I say. It develops a lot of positive thoughts and positive energy.

How can you perform this dance from home ?

• If and only if you don't have time, money or a class nearby, you can do this workout at home. You will be able to get all the health benefits by going to classes only.
• You should dress appropriately. You should wear tracks and a good pair of shoes. That is the proper way. 
• Strict yourself to a regular time. If you are convenient at 11.00 am, do the workout at 11.00 am everyday.  Perform the workout for minimum 30 minutes and 3-4 days in a week. 
• Better gather a few friends and do this happy workout with their company. It will be joyful. But remember not to spend most of the time in talking and chatting.
• Make use of some videos in youtube. You could download the videos and store it in you laptop. Also store some audio music files in your phones. First learn the dance steps from video and then practise. After a week of time, you will be able to do it just listening to the music. The next two weeks, you will develop yourself to practise without videos. At this stage, you should check for the next video and start the new session.

Some useful videos - Zumba Workouts for Weight Loss (added a few new videos too )

BASIC

50 MINUTE WORKOUT

HINDI SONG - CHIKNI CHAMELI

HINDI and ENGLISH FUSION - JAI HO

TAMIL SONG

TAMIL SONG

Exercises at Home

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