DEPRESSION - An Insight & How To Overcome.

 

DEPRESSION - An Insight & How To Overcome.

Each year more than three million people are diagnosed with depression. Doctors say depression can be serious if left untreated but there are symptoms to look for it. As per psychiatrists, the clinical definition of depression is unnatural sadness. Patients often feel lonely, hopeless. and have a loss of interest. It is more severe in terms of intensity, it is more impactful, in terms of a person's quality of life and their ability to meet their roles and responsibilities and it is longer in duration. So, this is sadness, tearfulness, hopelessness, life isn't worth living, going on for days, weeks, and sometimes months. 

Doctors say depression is a common diagnosis affecting one in six adults. Women are more affected than men by a two to one ratio and that might have 25% of women experiencing depression at some  point in their lifetime and about 12% of  men.

Those going through depression experience difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much, a change in appetite, lack of concentration, and difficulty thinking. Initial symptoms are - the person either becomes abnormally calm, stays secluded , or suddenly becomes agitated on petty issues, gets hyper suddenly and screams on family members with no major reason, starts doubting on near and dear ones. Depression has significant impact on the ability for people to care for themselves, take care of other chronic medical conditions, so ignoring has a lot of consequences.

Depression is something that is becoming more and more common. A lot of us are under impression that it is a form of mental disease that just happens to people. This is far from the truth. Depression is clearly a sign of the fast-changing environment around us. The whole world is changing so fast  and our bodies can't keep up with it. In most cases of depression a person is simply  generating intense thoughts and emotions in the wrong direction that are working against them and that in many ways, 70% of all illness are self-created.

If you don't have very strong emotions, very intense thought , attachment about something or someone, you can not get depressed , thus you become strong enough to cause depression to yourself . The line between sanity and insanity is very thin. When you get angry you are pushing the line .... you are mad on somebody, no.... you are not mad on somebody , actually you are mad, that is the reason of your such anger expression. You are just pushing the boundary line of sanity towards insanity for a certain period of time and then coming back . If you frequently go on pushing this line and come back, then one day you will you see that you are not being able to come back, then you become clinically ill. Even if you get angry for a moment , then also for that moment you are ill. You think it's your right to throw tantrums on others, is it your right to get angry on people , do you think it is your privilege to get angry or get depressed so that you get attention from somebody, if you keep playing this  , one day you will not be able to turn back, keep crossing the line every day.. one day you will see you can not cross back. That day you need a doctor. 

Another instance is , when your child makes an insistent noise or rhythm continuously for a long time to get something he wants which you are not giving or do not want to give , and thus tries to hold your attention till you give him, then he knows by doing such action it is easy to get anything that he wants or can get attention, he will do that often till he grows, first with his parents , then friends , then his or her partner or loved ones. Now when by doing this when he does not get the thing or attention , then he becomes agitated and ultimately becomes victim to depression, as the feeling then gets in his mind that he is no longer loved and is an unwanted being. But, if in the initial stage he is deprived of in response to his such action, then he wont repeat it. 

In a professional life also when you get a name, fame, social recognition, money , lots of attention , and one fine day you find any one of these is no longer with you, suddenly you fail to cope with such a situation, making you get agitating, getting in some sort of vices or turn suicidal to keep that feeling away from your thinking or trying to run away from such a situation , and ultimately slide towards depression. So, we see that, in most cases of depression a person is simply  generating intense thoughts and emotions in the wrong direction that are working against them, it is basically self created and is actually a sign of a mentally weak person who can not face an unwanted or undesired situation.

Depression is basically a modern age disease . The average age of depression for the generation of people over the age of 60 is 10%, which when you think of it is pretty high. If you look at the generation who are 45 is just doubly at 20%. Now, if you see the generation who are around 25 years of age is 25%. If we assume this then at this rate it will be 50% or one in two people have experienced the state of depression when you reach the age of 60. This issue is caused by massive change in society today, because the generation of people who are currently 60 yrs old lived a very different life than those around 25 yrs old. They had no access to internet, smartphones , no instant services , no social media, instagram, facebook. It is certain that depression is caused by sudden change in environment .

So, what can we do to cure a depression ? 

Researchers all over the world conducted dozens of studies and came to conclusion that there are 7 factors that will determine whether or not someone will have depression throughout their life. These 7 things are the results of the massive amount of change that we have undergone in the last century.

1. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY - this is what we used to do a lot of, our body and mind are built to do such activity. Not so long ago , we were busy in the fields growing crops, in the woods hunting for food, on an average we used to exercise for at least 4 hours a day. Now think about your own life, how many hours are you exercising per day, most people have office jobs with actually no exercise, this creates a huge difference , this is how important is exercise in regards to treating depression.

How EFFECTIVE IS EXERCISE ? 

The best is Aerobic Exercise and Breathing exercises , it is not even lot of exercise you need to do initially, only about 30 minutes of brisk walking at least 3 times a week (Read my Blogs : Daily Walking; blog dated: 14-7-'20,  &  Daily Walking Or Jogging; blog dated: 15-11-'20) . In a study it was found that those who did aerobic exercise did much better than those who were prescribed Antidepressants . 

If your general fitness level permits, can also do some advance physical exercises (Read my Blogs : Must Do- Basic Morning Home Workout Routine For Men & Women Of All Age Groups; blog dated: 25-10-'20;  & Best Cardio Home Exercises -Beginners ; blog dated:16-8-'20).

Few very effective Yogic Breathing techniques (Pranayama),  like ANULOM-VILOM Pranayama (Alternate nostril breathing), SURYABHEDHAN Pranayama (Right nostril breathing) if practised regularly work wonders on those in the state of depression (For Anulom-Vilom Pranayama Read my Blog: PRANAYAMA; blog dated: 4-6-'20). 

Suryabhedan Pranayama : This is one of the important pranayamas described in the classical yogic texts. ‘Surya' means ‘Sun’, ‘Bhedan’ refers to ‘Piercing’ or ‘awakening’, thereby, stimulating and awakening energy within the physical and pranic bodies.

In its simplest form, Suryabhedana Pranayama is inhaling fully through the right nostril, holding the breath and then exhaling through the left nostril.

Sit in any comfortable posture- preferably cross legged , with your spine in neutral position, Take a few deep breaths, now using right hand, thumb out, next two fingers (index & middle fingers) folded and last two fingers (ring & little fingers) stretched, Left palm can simply rest on your left knee with palm facing upwards. Then, Very softly block your left nostril with the right ring finger (the aim is to block the air flow and not to push the nose to the other side with force), slowly inhale through your right nostril. Inhale gradually with the count of 4 (4 seconds of inhalation time) and without any force to the maximum. Then, Block your right nostril with the right thumb; release the lock on the left nostril & Exhale rhythmically with the count of 5 or 6 (exhalation time 5-6 seconds) from the left nostril -This is one round . Gradually, with extended practice, you should try to double your exhalation time  (count or seconds)  to your inhalation ( if inhalation count is 4 seconds , then exhalation count to be 8 seconds).

To start with , you can do 10 rounds, over time, practice can be extended to 10-15 minutes. But should not exceed 20 minutes of practice at one stretch as can cause imbalance in the breathing cycle. The preferable time of practice is on an empty stomach in the morning.

 

It makes your mind alert, perceptive and thereby, preparing you towards the path of meditation. Your Nervous System especially Sympathetic Nervous System is revitalized and blockages in the pathway of energy channels are removed. As it is energizing in nature, it is also recommended during stress & depression, to change the flow of tamasic energy to a vibrant one by increasing your alertness, concentration & bringing about changes for ‘Readiness for Action’.

Slow Deep Breathing with light Weight Dumbbells: This is another excellent breathing exercise for those suffering from depression. 

Take 2  light weight dumbbells (about 1 kg or One Ltr. / half Ltr. filled water bottles) as per your capacity in both your hands, bring both your arms sideways in line of your shoulders,with your wrists facing front, bend your arms in a way that both the dumbbells are in line with your chin (as shown in pic given below), then inhaling very slowly and gently raise both your arms just above your head, but do not straighten your arms above your head, hold your arms & your breath in that position for about 3 seconds, and then slowly bring both your arms down to the starting position while gently effortlessly exhaling with no noise. Always keep in mind to maintain a very slow rhythm.

Those who took Antidepressants were 3 times more likely to become depressed after one year followup. Exercise is so effective because of what it does to your brain , when you exercise , important nerve transmitters (hormone) like Dopamine and Serotonin have increased activity level , these are the same nerve transmitters cause depression when they are at low level. Also, these are the same nerve transmitters those the antidepressant drugs are targeting, these drugs also have other potential negative side effects . So, why to take such drugs when you can just exercise , look better and feel healthier .

2. MEDITATION: 

A general guideline for better results  for all those who  intend to practice meditation: 

a) Preferably in early morning or evening (Sandhya Kala).

b) Practice in a particular place facing East or North.

c) Have your own ASANA (small sitting mattress) , no one else to use it.

d) Wear a fresh washed loose dress.

e) Before you start , Chant some Divine Mantra  for 3-5 minutes of your like, for example : Aum Namaha Shivaya , Hare Ram Hare Krishna, or any of your choice  , or can even do a GURU VANDANA if you are initiated. If you have nothing to chant then just chant AOM in very slow pace : Aaaa, Oooo, Mmmmmmmmm (Mmm to be stretched).

f) Doing a BHAMRI Pranayam before start of meditation helps in mental calmness. This Pranayama also known as ad Humming Bee Breath, is a calming breathing practice that soothes the nervous system and helps to connect us our truest inner nature. 

Sit in a cross-legged position, close your eyes and breath deeply.Now close your ears with your thumbs, place your index finger just above your eyebrows and the rest of your fingers over your eyes, with your middle fingers of both hands apply very gentle pressure to the sides of your nose. Now concentrate your mind on the area between your eyebrows. Keep your mouth closed , breath out slowly through your nose with making a humming sound of "AAOOMMMMMMM". Repeat this process for 5 times. Important thing is that while doing this PRANAYAMA assume that you are being connected to all the positive energies of the cosmos.

g) Maha Sambhavi Mudra : Sitting in a cross-legged position, your back should be comfortably straight, whole body to be lose , with palms on your knees facing upwards in Gyana / Vishnu Mudra (where in both hands, the tip of your index finger touches the tip of your thumb forming a ring 👌). Then slightly raise your head upwards, focus both your eyes at a centre point between your both eyebrows (gazing point) & close your eyes, then slowly inhale (count of 6-8) & exhale (count of 8-10) through your nostrils, this should be very smooth and with no sound. You should fully concentrate on the air going in & going out , in other words fully concentrate on your inhalation and exhalation, so that your mind do not get engaged in some other thoughts. Maha Sambhavi Mudra is said to be one of the ideal posture for meditating.

3. OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS :

This comes in the form of fish oil is a must have supplement . 

Why is this so beneficial ? 

To understand this we need to understand our body's relationship with these essential fats (OMEGA-3, OMEGA-6). These are called essential fats because our body is unable to produce on its  own , we must get them from outside sources. 

OMEGA-6 fats are pro-inflammatory, found in grains and seeds , animals that eat them, or are fed them , or in foods cooked in them. While OMEGA-3 fats are anti-inflammatory, found in grasses, plants, algae, animals that eat them, fish, free range meat. 

The ideal balance for humans for OMEGA-6 to OMEGA-3 should be anywhere from  1:1 to 3:1 , most of our ancestors were able to maintain this with there natural based diets. But when researchers tried to look into modern day diet , they find out the ratio to be 17:1, that is modern generation is heavy on the inflammatory side , that is never a good thing because if we look at all the major diseases that pick the modern world like - cancer, heart disease, allergies , all these are inflammatory diseases. That is the reason scientist hypothesised that may be if we prescribed OMEGA-3 then the ratio can be fixed and combat all these problems, they conducted dozens of studies and found that not only those suffered depression feel better , but helped is helping those with variety of other diseases. 

Something very important to note is , if you do purchase fish oil supplements , you must refrigerate  it or will oxidize and become toxic for your body. Also, make sure the brand you are purchasing use some method to purify the oil, as now majority of fish are farm bred and contain many toxins.

4. SUNLIGHT- 

This is very important for 2 reasons - a) it deals with a special vitamin called vitamin D, it comes from your skin when it is exposed to sunlight , it is responsible for your bone health, immunity , and your muscle health. A lack of vitamin D will cause a variety of problems such as cancer, diabetes, and especially mental health. Vitamin D is actually becoming a very big problem now a days because most of us are spending more and more time indoors , in fact over 40% of people now have vitamin D deficiency to some degree, that is lot of people. b) it is something that you wouldn't expect , there is something very special about sunlight that normal indoor lights can not provide for us, sunlight is many many times brighter than indoor lights , it turns out that our body needs sunlight in order to set our body's internal clock right , what it does is make sure that you feel tired at the right time and make sure you get the right hormones at the right time (hormone regulation) , and make sure you feel sleepy at the right time (sleep regulation). All of these problems have shown in studies that these bears direct link to depression. We need natural and bright sunlight at least once a day to set this clock right. Research suggest just 10 minutes of natural sunlight is enough to be ok. 

5. Healthy Sleep -

Researchers found that disrupted sleep is one of the most potent triggers for depression. They found that people who slept at extremely abnormal times that deferred every single day were more prone to developing depression. This means if you are one of those who stays up whole night watching shows, playing video games, busy with your phone, working on laptops or computers , you fall into this category. Healthy sleep that translates about 7-8 hours of sleep . (Read my Blog :How to get a QUALITY SLEEP; blog dated  21-8-'20).

6. ANTI - RUMINATIVE ACTIVITY - 

Researchers found that the more you ruminate , which is essentially thinking about the past , the more likely you are to get depressed. In quantities it is fine, but with up rise of technology and internet more and more people are spending alone. The problem with spending time alone is you tend to ruminate a lot ... you think about something embarrassing that happened over a year ago, or how you were bullied when at 6th standard, or how your loved one behaved with you causing a fight , these types of thoughts get you in a state of depression., if repeated enough. In order to combat these it is suggested to find ENGAGING ACTIVITIES which covers wide spread of things like - group activities like sports and games, events ,  or solo activities like working on your art / hobby/ crafts/ projects. The main thing about finding these activities is that they should be exciting enough , so that you do not have time to think about the past. If you are engaging enough then at the end of the day when you are about to go for sleep then you wont spend an hour rolling on the bed thinking about so and so said something mean to you, you should be tired enough that your mind will be calm and you will quickly fall asleep.

7. SOCIAL CONNECTION -

This is the most important factor. We humans are social creatures, we always stuck in groups, ability to work as a team and overcoming any obstacle , this level of team work we spend majority of the day with other humans. This is not the case any more, most people now have no close friends , studies have shown that having close social network is vital for a healthy life . Bonding with humans releases certain hormones that reduces stress and anxiety. Social isolation will literally cause your brain to shrink . Socialising is simply that important. One of the main reason I believe social connection is a big problem now a days is due to lack of face to face interaction, you spend so much time on social media communicating that we barely spend any time face to face, the hormones produced in a online media communication is significantly different than the ones produced during face to face , humans need to be face to face in order to build long lasting trust and deep relationship, socialising and making friends requires tons of  practise and tons of calibration. Now a days we can hide behind screens and talk or text , so the ability to interact with somebody face to face is a skill that is rarely ever practised. 

These are the 7 factors you have to keep in mind in order to combat your depression , these have really shown results time and time over, it is my advise to take these very seriously and move towards a healthy and joyful life.

                    

Would highly appreciate your valued views & suggestions on this blog, in the comment section below.

HOW TO LOSE BELLY FAT & REDUCE BODY WEIGHT FAST - A DIET GUIDE.

                                                  

HOW  TO  LOSE  BELLY  FAT  &  REDUCE  BODY  WEIGHT  FAST -  A  DIET GUIDE.

This blog is on how to get rid of belly fat and reduce body weight fast, both for women & men. If you struggle to lose belly fat or weight or want to keep it off to get the results you want, you have to understand the information  in this complete guide to lose belly fat and weight loss.

Why are there so many new diets all the time ? Nothing has changed , the human body that you have is the same genetic makeup as it was hundred thousand years ago. So, all you have to do is understand how the body really works and then know why it is doing the thing that's it doing. Only when you understand the mechanism, you will be able to create that weight loss and that fat loss for ever and it will be easy .

Why do we gain fat ?

Is it because we are eating too many calories ? of course it is, but that doesn't answer anything, the question is why would we eat too many calories, what is that determines that behaviour, two things that will help you to understand : 

1) Eat too often, & 

2) We eat wrong things.

Do you think this Bear is over weight ?  He may weigh 1000 pounds or about 453 kilograms, have huge % of body fat, but it is perfectly normal, he is healthy, mobile & functional, it can run faster than most of us ever could, he has the exact right amount of fat for that time in his life in his environment, he is following natural behaviour & his behaviour is dictated by Hormones .

But Humans may not weigh a 1000 pounds like a bear , but  as per a study 75% of  Americans are over weight and more than 40% are obese. Is that because of some genetic switch ? No, because we created most of these problems in 2 generations and after that the genetic makeup has remained the same and been successful in keeping our weight normal for 1000's of generations. Is it "will power" that kept us like that for so many years and then all of a sudden it was just gone...No, I don't think so, sure we had some food addictions, cravings, but the question is why is that ? 

Just like the Bear we are following the Hormones, they determine our behaviour, but unlike the bear we have developed unnatural Hormones, unnatural balance of Hormones, because the food that we are eating is not natural anymore. Every other animal on the planet eat its food from the nature that is appropriate for their species. Humans do not do that anymore.

We have been told of so many different things like this diet, that diet, calories and low fat, you have been told the wrong thing, this is not your fault but this do not relieve you from responsibility, from now on when you have access to correct information, you have to learn how your body works so that you can make those changes and be successful once and for all. 

1)  Eat too Often - 

there is a pattern or cycle of  FEAST & FAMINE everywhere in nature. Where we eat something and when plenty of food then we store the excess, so that there is plenty left over, when there is less we can FAST and burn through our reserves until we can eat again. For the Bear that cycle is of about 6 months, they bulk up for 6 months so that they can afford 6 months hibernation without eating at all.  

Of course humans don't do that, we can know for sure that our prehistoric humans did, but if we look at other species on the planet, we can safely say that our ancestors did not have 3 square meals and snacks every 2 hours through out the day. More likely they ate once or twice a day when lucky & when not so lucky they might go for 3 days without food. So there is a FASTING pattern built in to our metabolism. 

Modern humans , if lucky get 8 hours & 5 min, and that if we sleep a full 8 hrs. and it takes us 5 min. to find food when we get up. So, what we have done as modern humans - we eat & we store , then bypass the FAST and skip the BURNING , because you can't burn unless you fast , so our cycle is EAT and STORE & again EAT & STORE. It is not that you eat too much, you are supposed to eat until you are somewhat full or satisfied, don't have to stuff yourself . 

When you eat until you are somewhat full, that sends a signal to your body that you are safe and maintain the metabolism. When we try to eat less, then we are sending the body the message of deprivation and the body starts slowing down on metabolism. You are supposed to eat until somewhat full , but not supposed to eat 6 times a day, if we do eat 6 times then we get stuck in the cycle of EAT - STORE - EAT, we never get a chance to balance the cycle by EAT - STORE - FAST - BURN - EAT pattern. 

Types of food that we eat and that too 6 times a day invites to  rising of  blood sugar. We heard of BLOOD GLUCOSE , this is how it works and relates to fat and weight gain. Average person has 100 mg of glucose per decilitre = 3 grams for an average size person, or about  half a tea spoon of glucose at any given time, the body likes to keep it in a tight range, so that when you are fasting you might be at 80-85 mg, when after a meal it might be about 120 mg., if you eat whole food with protein like meat, good fats and non starch vegetables etc.. then they fluctuate very very slowly.  

A diabetic, or someone with insulin resistance has about 300 mg of glucose per decilitre = 9 grams, ie. one more tea spoon of  circulating glucose. This may not sound much, but you get enormous blood sugar spikes and when that happens your body goes into an emergency mode. This amount of blood glucose is very toxic to the brain, it ruins blood vessels causing micro vessel diseases, which is a cause for kidney failure and blindness. Further causes Neuropathy which is the leading cause for amputation. 

Now lets say that, you follow the recommendations, not following the snacks here, you eat 100 mg of carbohydrate 3 times a day, 4 hrs apart. You can't use 100 mg of carbohydrate until you eat again, so you might be able to use 50 mg., so at least 50 mg has to be stored. Lot of times people say carbohydrate is the preferred fuel, because the body has to use in case of emergency to keep the glucose out of the blood stream. When you ate 100 mg, all of that glucose has to get into the blood stream before it gets into the cells, this has to happen in a relatively short time period, because even a tea spoon can shoot your glucose to 300 mg. The extra carbohydrate that you can not use before the next meal has to be stored.

How does the body store ENERGY & why does it do that ?  

There are 2 types of energy that it can store - CARBOHYDRATE & FAT (protein). In your muscles you have protein storage , this can't be used in a extreme emergency, we have a very poor ability to store carbohydrate, your muscles can hold up to 1,600 calories  & your liver can store up to 400 calories. We store calories for survival, we need energy for movement, to generate heat & to think, move, we need those signals from the brain to control movement and metabolism. If you are using about 2000 calories for survival and relied totally on carbohydrate, then you can live just for one day, that means any time a human did not have food for a day then we would be wiped out, that is why we store fat, as fat is much more efficient form of storage. We can store 90 times as much, which is 1,80,000 calories which can keep us alive for 3 months, drinking nothing but water, your body figures out the difference. 

This is not the event for a over weight person , a 180 lbs. or about 82 Kg. person with 28% fat is not a super slim athlete person but also not an over weight person, this fat came primarily from glucose. The body can store any excess energy as fat, but it is the excess glucose that readily stored and converted to fat. If you start building up too much fat, and then have the desire to lose some of that fat then you cannot burn fat if you go on adding carbs, if you put more carbs in before you burnt the previous ones, you can never get to lose that fat. The other thing is, if your insulin is high which is again a result of those carbohydrates, in the presence of high insulin you can not burn fat because your body is busy in making fat, your body can not make and burn fat at the same time.

While we do want to reduce overall carbs, not all carbs are equally bad. A plant is made of glucose, and if this glucose get into our blood stream then it will trigger insulin at much higher degree than protein or fat would, but if we take bread as an example- 75% of it is net carb or pure starch, this starch is going to get converted into glucose, here have 3% of calorie from fat, 12% from protein & 85% from starch or glucose .  Two slices of bread if we eat which is 28 gm., couple that with some jam, some orange juice, some sugar in the coffee, then it is easy we get about 100 gm. of carbs in one meal.

Now, lets look in an example of non-starch vegetable like cabbage - it has 3% net carbs of its weight, 12% of calories are from fat, 36% of calories from protein & 52% from carbohydrate. The ratios between that of bread and cabbage are very different , the carbs are not as dominant , they are much lesser than in the bread and also here it is absorbed much slower. Also, you cannot eat a cabbage that much as bread, you can easily have 2 slice of bread (28 gm.), but will find it hard to eat 28 gm. of cabbage. So, here we see the 2 factors - QUANTITY & SPEED - how much you are eating & how quickly you are putting them in. We can now be sure that, cabbage is safe & bread is not. 

INSULIN - basically it unlocks cells, you eat something it turns to glucose, that goes to blood stream, but it is no good to you until it goes in the cell, cell is a metabolic machinery that will use this glucose as energy. The cell turns some of the glucose to energy and turns the rest of it as fat. If we have a normal blood sugar (80-120 mg/dl), here insulin required will be very moderate, so have a low insulin response and remain insulin sensitive, that is a healthy place to be.

In case of diabetic, with 300 mg/dl of blood glucose, we will have huge spikes of glucose, when glucose is high then we need a huge amount of insulin to push the glucose from the blood stream to the cells, with that amount of insulin going and if we eat every 4 hrs., then the insulin doesn't have time to come to base line, before we load up more carbs. So, carbs are the things that drive insulin - high insulin , but the frequency amplifies it. As the insulin gets higher and higher, it works less and less , as a result the body has to make more insulin as the cells don't respond any longer & thus we have insulin resistance. 

INSULIN RESISTANCE - 

purpose of  fat cells is to store fat. This cell can grow more than any cell in the body, in it's shrunken stage it is about 10 microns, but it can grow in diameter 20 times, because it is a spherical structure, so it can grow 8000 times with fat, that's its capacity. When we start pushing the limit of that capacity then it is not a healthy fat cell anymore, it becomes inflamed - we have stuffed it so full that it starts leaking, now is where we get all of these metabolic problems (Syndrome X) of insuline resistance - diabetes, cardio vascular disease , stroke, dementia, and the list goes on... .

2) Eat the wrong things - 

Let us look to the historical prospective of what we have been eating. If we go back to 100,000 years, then 100% what we ate were from nature, unprocessed and unmodified, just like every other species on the planet, we ate meat, vegetables, nuts , tubers - we used to hunt, dig up or pick , just like any other species. Then about 8000 years or so we started agriculture, we ate mostly whole food, the grain was probably processed to some degree, but certainly not bleached or hybridized. We might be also using some oils, like naturally easy squeezed oil, may be olive oil . 

Now, when we get into the last 50 years or so, we have turned everything upside down, now hardly anything that we eat is unprocessed or no whole food any more. We eat now - white flour, sugar, plant oils, all processed with harsh chemical and high heat, artificial flavours, artificial sugar, artificial colours etc., So, these are non-food, no food any more. We come from a genetic makeup where we used to get fed, but not fed any more. 

An experiment was done on mice and rats to find out what to be fed to get them too fat and as fast as possible. Now, what would be the diet be- 15% calories from protein, 45% calories from fat and 40% from carbohydrates was the diet formula that was used, but if you convert this combination to human scale then it will be about 200 gm. of carbohydrate in a day, 100 gm. of  fat and about 75 gm. of protein per day.... A standard modern human diet is same as this. Surprisingly, they tell you to eat lots & lots of carbs, ultimately you end up having junk food and have an obese population. You just stand on the side of a road in any city of your choice and just watch and count how many people pass by with a bulging tummy.

On the contrast, in a Ketogenic diet or low carb, high fat diet - where you get 15% protein, 80% fat and 5% carb (20 gm. a day). This profile is distinctly different from the previous pattern. 

DRAWBACKS OF LOW CARB HIGH FAT DIET - 

the only drawback is UNFOUNDED FEARS = MYTH, because very few people understand this. We have been conditioned and programmed for so long that we think we are supposed to eat more and more carbohydrate because the fat in the body comes from the fat we eat, its just not how it works. Always you should remember that you can not burn fat when your insulin is high because of high carb intake. 

If you are insulin resistance then fats are very healthy as long as they are healthy fats. Often we hear that saturated fat raises cholesterol and cause clogged Arteries. This notion also restricts many from having high fat diet. When we study the research, there was some research from early 1950's & 1960's very old research that suggested -  may be some relationship between cholesterol and heart disease, it wasn't a causative relationship, but it was an observational. But in every study since then there was no co-relation whatsoever, but if we look at the insulin resistance then there is a very strong co-relation to heart disease, diabetes, stroke & Alzheimer's, even to cancer.

If you eat good quality fat while reducing carbs, then your insulin is going down, even if your cholesterol goes up, it is irrelevant, it has no bearing on heart disease. One exception is, you might have heard about good cholesterol and bad cholesterol, actually all are good unless they are damaged and oxidised, now this is a risk of heart disease, but that does not come from cholesterol, it is the insulin resistance and the oxidative stress that damaged the cholesterol that it became harmful. 

KEEP IT SIMPLE - 

It is not at all that complicated  to LOSE BELLY FAT & REDUCE BODY WEIGHT FAST, the hardest thing we have to do is to un-learn all of the stupid things that you have learnt in last 50 years  about - Cholesterol, Calories, & Saturated fats . 

- Eliminate sugar.

- Eat till you are somewhat full.

- Reduce carbohydrate.

- Eat meat, veggies & good fat.

- Stop processed food.

- Eat healthy Fat.

- Eat less often. 

- Keep insulin low and eat whole food. 

Thus learn what actual real food is and make it your life style......for you to STAY HEALTHY & JOYFUL for long.

Would highly appreciate your valued views & suggestions on this blog, in the comment section below.

10 FOODS TO AVOID FOR YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM.

 

10 FOODS TO AVOID  FOR YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM.

By now we all know that IMMUNITY has never been more important than it is right now. How much power you have over the strength of your immune system when a wave of infectious disease  sweeps around the world, your diet and life style could make all the difference between falling prey to it or thriving, it all starts with knowing what NOT TO EAT.

Every one has a immune system, but in different people it works differently , it is your over all capacity or ability to defend yourself against foreign invaders , it is not a one single system, it is every part of your body, the strength and energy all working together. 

All the Pathogens are opportunistic, pathogen is something that can cause disease , opportunistic means they take advantage of any kind of weakness , if your armour isn't up to speed then they will break through and going to take advantage of that. Yeast, Fungus, Bacteria, Parasites, Virus (Corona, Flu,....) or any sort of foreign invader. It does not mater what any of these pathogens are, they all are trying to find a weakness & take advantage of it. So , our job is to take care of the body , strengthen it and give it all the resources.

First of all we want to give a support - Food - essential nutrients, building blocks , proper Rest- for recovery ,  state of Peace because that is the only time your immune system will work properly. Then we want to cut back on Interference, we want to reduce the things that make it harder for the body to put it's energy at defending itself. Here we are actually indicating about STRESS - emotional stress , physical stress or anything in life for which you have to expend energy to deal with, and TOXINS. Food falls in two categories - either something to support you or acts as an Interference.

If we look at the average  FATALITY RATE - people over the age of 80 have a fatality rate of about 15%, if we go down to people 10 years younger then it will drop under 5%, and those under 60 the fatality rate is close to 0%. So, what we understand from these statistics is that those under 60 have a survival rate of 39-111 times better , the difference is your IMMUNE SYSTEM. It is the same pathogen but it is about the different level of defence . 

When we talk about % , then we are talking about statistical population , but when it comes to you or an individual , then you decide where you fit, because there are lot of 80,90 and even 100 yr old who survived & their survival rate was about 100%. So, never look at statistics they will scare you , but understand what you can do about it.

FEAR:

Every time we are dealing with anything unknown and people are dyeing , we are in lot of fear. We do not want to trivialize this, we want to get over irrational fear. You should understand what the real risks are and what you can do to protect yourself . It is not about age , as mentioned earlier lot of people over 80,90, 100 have been infected and survived the CORONA virus. We should respect others , how they chose and you chose to conduct once life , but most of all start understanding and start influencing the power you have over your immune system. 

RISK FACTOR:

 Age is often sited as number one risk factor in disease, whether it is CORONA or flu, the elderly die the most. What is that about age that makes you susceptible. Ageing people are more prone to degeneration , they have lived long and have more time to degenerate , but some old people are not very degenerated, they have brain shrinkage, nutritional deficiencies because with age , with degeneration they reduced the production of Hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes, now the food they eat they are absorbing fewer % of the nutrients, from the food they eat - getting nutrition deficiency.  Their metabolism slows down , their ability to repair and recover and make immune cells go down. But most of all the older people get is more DRUGS , as per an USA health journal - on an average 65 year old in US is on over  half a dozen drugs & drugs interfere and suppress function in the body , though they treat the symptom but make you less healthy.

 SYNDROME X :

Also known as metabolic syndrome - insulin resistance , diabetes, high blood pressure , obesity, & so on. What these have in common are they are insulin resistance. High chronic level of insulin do is they cause a certain congestion  , there is an imbalance between what you put in your body & what you burn and get rid of. With insulin there is too much storage & you don't keep up with the elimination phase and now you get congestion & toxicity . Insulin resistance is also associated to inflammation & oxidative stress . 

The real risk factors are not age or metabolic syndrome , the actual risk factors are degeneration, brain shrinkage, nutritional deficiencies, insulin resistance and all these different items make them up , and all of these things are those that you can influence.

FOODS THAT ARE DANGEROUS FOR YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM :

We will ask two questions about food -

A. What does it provide ?

As we want to support our body , so need to give it essential nutrients , amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins & minerals etc. Does your food provide any of that ?

B. Does it interfere ? 

Does our food have anything that makes it harder that creates inflammation or insulin resistance or any of those things ?

Here are the 10 foods or categories of food in reverse order :

10. Anything in excess is a burden , 

This could be alcohol , a tea spoon of alcohol is not a toxin, but a cup of alcohol is a toxin, it is more than a liver can process in a day, depletes you of nutrients and puts enormous stress on your liver. 

Meat, there is nothing wrong with meat, but if you have trouble digesting it , if your digestive track can only process so much in a given time , then more than that amount is a burden. It doesn't matter what you eat , may it be alcohol, meat , vegetables. If you have a hard time tolerating raw vegetables then that's a burden, it unbalances something in you if you do not tolerate well. If you have problem with raw vegetables then cook them , there are some people who do great on raw vegetables , there are some who can't. 

Also, huge meals - if your digestive track has a limited capacity to process food at any given time , then a huge meal can be a big burden.

9. Anything you are sensitive to is a problem ,

there is a saying - "one man's food is another man's poison", if any food is good for me does not mean it is good for you also.

Also, get over the notion that "Supposed to" be good for you, we hear this so often. If it is reacting with your body or has a sensitivity to that food , it causes inflammation then it is a poison for you. Some common items are like - shrimps, dairy products, peanuts, corn, soy,... and modern wheat specially .

8. Dairy , 

it is so common that very few people can tolerate it well, but it makes a difference by what type it is - the reason many can not tolerate is because it is pasteurised and homogenised , that is- it's harshly processed , they changed it from its original form. But if you ferment it - now you are bringing back some of those enzymes & some of those bacteria that help you digest , that help to contribute to the digestive track. Also, high fat is better, if you eat something like butter , it has lot of good fat and the protein that are the problem are only in fraction of that. Still if you are sensitive , you can have clarified butter or Ghee. You can have curd- sour cream , yogurt of good quality , not the sugary & flavoured kind . Avoid regular milk and skimmed milk, they cause a whole lot of problems than people realise.

7. Avoid Plant Oils ,

also called vegetable oils . These has been sold for the last 50 years as healthy , but they are the opposite - they are made from the seed , grain and beans , lagoons , they are very inflammatory because they are high in omega sixes which again is a not a bad thing in itself but when we are supposed to get a 1:1 ratio and get a 20:1 ratio then it is pro inflammatory. Because how they are processed they become toxic , a lot of these don't have a lot of fat in them so have to apply lots of pressure , heat and strong chemical like solvent to extract the oil from them as a result they become very toxic. Also because of the processing they are empty calories , nothing left in this food that your body needs , no essential nutrients , no vitamins, no minerals , it's as bland as sugar , exceptions are coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil, because they are high in fat so do not take much heat, or pressure , no chemicals or solvent , you just squeeze them a little bit and out comes the oil. Further more , coconut oil is saturated which is very stable and extra virgin olive oil is mono unsaturated also very stable. So, they will stay fresh for weeks and months without refrigeration . So, these two are excellent alternatives and also have some nutrients.

6. MARGARINE ,

 Now we get all of the bad stuff from plant oil plus it is partially hydrogenated , that means they have taken the plant oil harshly processed and devoid of any nutrients and nuke it with hydrogen and thus change the chemical composition from liquid to a solid , but in the process they create the molecule that has never ever being created in nature before , it is completely foreign and don't have the enzymes , we don't have the machinery to deal with this in our body , it is a poison, a toxin. 

5. Chemical additive ,

avoid chemical additives, also known as poison , these are added to food to make it so unattractive to living things, that not even moles wants it, not even bacteria , not even fungus want it . These poisons are labelled as "GRAS" (Generally Regarded As Safe) , they have been approved by experts , may be these are the same experts who told us Margarine and vegetable oils are safe things . They only see "This much wont kill you" , but there is no amount that's natural to human body , it harms in the long run.

4. Artificial Sweeteners ,

the Aspartame, the Saccharine and the Sucralose . If you check the fine print on the package you will find written  Acesulfame Potassium (ACE-K) , all of these are pesticides , they were in the process of developing Neurotoxins to kill little bugs , when they found out that these could taste sweet , then they modified a little bit and turned them into artificial sweeteners . Even if you don't die from it, but do you think your immune system likes it, I would suggest you avoid it. This artificial sweetener is only good for as an ant killer. 

3. Grain,

the reason being it's starch , 80% by weight in most grains is starch which is another form of glucose , within minutes it's starts breaking down to glucose, being absorbed in your blood stream and raising blood glucose and insulin and driving metabolic syndrome . Also, grain is a very common allergen, one in particular is modern wheat . The ancient wheat is not so bad, they grow the modern wheat with Glyphosate which is the pesticide and it is hybridised . 

2. Processed Food ,

these wrecks your immune system , as it has preservatives, flavourings that has chemicals that stimulates your taste buds. When they process it they remove all of the actual flavour from the food and then they trick you in eating it by putting back addictive chemicals that trick your brain making you think that there is actually some flavour here. It contains sugar, very frequently which is a drug and are depleted, there is nothing left in these processed food that your body needs - essential amino acids, essential fatty acids , vitamins , minerals, etc. They add in some synthetic vitamins to make it look that it has nutrients , which is pretty garbage. The basic problem is we don't understand what food is. Every other species on the planet eat food which either directly  grew from the planet or eat something that ate something that grew on the planet, this is the circle of life. But, in the last 50 years humans have changed into eating processed food, this is not FOOD, of course you can survive on it for months or years or decades you can not thrive and strengthen your body. 

1. Sugar ,

this is the number one thing to avoid to improve your immune system . The worst thing about sugar is that it contains Fructose , and fructose directly interferes with your immune system , it interferes virtually with every metabolic reaction in the body , but specially liver , it clogs up the liver, it is a liver poison. It effects in the same way as alcohol , but its disguised  because every one knows to avoid alcohol , but go on feeding these processed food. We do not give alcohol to kids but give them processed food. Foods like high fructose corn syrup has 55% fructose , sugar has 50% fructose , dried fruits have 15-35% fructose , while fresh fruit has just 3-8% fructose. 

If you are healthy and have a super clean liver which is rare and don't have insulin resistance then you can probably eat a fruit or two several times a week and you will be still fine . But if you have insulin resistance , if you are obese , you have fatty liver then you have most likely ruined your carbohydrate tolerance , you can not deal with these any more. You have to be much more strict to reverse the process towards a clean liver.

You must have seen all the campaigns during a pandemic - may it be CORONA or flu , there is so much talk about how to protect yourself during a pandemic , but there is never any talk about how to change your immune system , here is where you can change your risk by reducing it by 100 times .

How to reduce risk by 100 times :

1. Cut Sugar & all of the foods we mentioned above.

2. Eat Real Food ,

food that do not take you  to insulin resistance. You don't need special foods for the insulin resistance diet. In a nutshell, eat less unhealthy fat, sugar, meats, and processed starches , and more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fish, and lean poultry. 

3. Exercise ,

not only physical exercise , but also breathing exercise , it activates the body, stimulates the brain , improves circulation , it is an excellent way to strengthen your immune system.

4. Sleep, 

get enough quality sleep, because when you are sleeping you are allowing your body to reset, allowing your nervous system to calm down ,putting your body into a healing state . Without adequate sleep if you are living with a continuous stress then you will not allow your immune system to do what it does.

5. Meditation ,

this is something that lot of people know is good but seldom try it thinking it to be too hard . Please take this seriously and learn how to meditate . There is no other way that you can do, that can have a greater impact on your quality of life, immune system, on your health , on your vitality, your joy . Meditation is more than just relaxing , this is about rewriting your whole genetic expression, it is about rewiring your nervous system where it functions better automatic.  

Would highly appreciate your valued views & suggestions on this blog, in the comment section below.

Do read my Blog dated, 6th. Dec, 2020 : 

A POWERFUL BREATHING TECHNIQUE - INCREASES LUNG CAPACITY & IMPROVES IMMUNE SYSTEM - (with demo video).