Thursday, January 24, 2008

Everlasting Youth - Everlasting Happiness

All of us wish to hold on to youth and the energy and zing associated with it. We all crave for it. But are we doing enough except applying a brighter make-up and dyeing grey hair? Maybe not. Don’t you think you should get moving?
Here are a few ways with the help of which we can stay young for a long, long time to come!

Know Your Body
Before we start exercising to shed flab, we should find out the root cause of the problem so that we can win the battle of the bulge. The excess flab may be due to poor metabolism. Our appetite is controlled by hormones produced by our body and certain chemicals produced by our brains. We should strive to balance our hormones and consume omegas, pumpkin oil, hemp oil, flaxseed oil as they help reduce fat.

Check Inflammation
Inflammation is our body’s natural reaction to injury or infection. Inflammation may sometimes lead to weight gain, which gives rise to lethargy, high blood sugar levels and hormonal imbalances. This can be checked by consuming naturally processed grape seed extract (an excellent antioxidant), green tea extract and mineral extracts.

Combat Oxidative Stress
Oxidative stress can occur either due to a decrease in antioxidant level or due to an excess of free radicals or both. If the living condition surrounding us is polluted or unhygienic, we are working in stressful conditions and not drinking enough water, we might be victims of oxidative stress. It can cause cellular damage, thus accelerating wrinkling and hair loss and might also result in diabetes and weight gain. To combat this, we should increase intake of colorful plant food, green tea and herbal tea to fight it.

Watch your Thyroid
Thyroid is the master metabolic regulator. Its malfunctioning leads to a gamut of problems like depression, anxiety, infertility, pregnancy complications, dry skin and hair, high cholesterol, heart trouble, joint pain and menstrual irregularities. Consume cabbage, sweet potato, corn and pearl millet to boost thyroid functioning.

Liver and Blood
To detoxify our liver, we should consume soy protein, whey water, broccoli, pomegranate, phytonutrients and grape seed extract.

Watch What You Eat
Keeping a watch on what exactly we are eating is extremely important to our overall well being. We should ban processed food from our diet and go for natural foods. Organic extracts should be consumed on a regular basis. Consume all plant food colors possible in a balanced manner.

No Ill Feelings
Hatred or ill feelings towards others reflects on our face. If we delete the bad memories, we would regain a childlike state of happiness.

Keep the Child in You Alive
Never get into the comfort zone. Never think that there is nothing else to do. We should keep the child in us alive by constantly indulging in meaningful activities that makes us happy. Keep on developing new hobbies.

Focus on De-Stressing
Stress can arise from three factors.
Genetic Disposition: We may be prone to certain genetic disorders like diabetes and hypertension. We should be very cautious about such problems and be aware of every minute change that our body displays. If our family history confirms such genetic tendencies, we should be very regular with our check-ups.
Lifestyle: Lifestyle disorders arise from negative habits like smoking, consumption of alcohol, watching too much TV and not eating on time. These result in stress. We should abhor these habits and focus on being physically active which would help in burning calories and staying fit.
Environment: Our offices, our homes, the pollution, our relationships etc. creates our environment. We should try to find out what exactly is pulling us down and then try to find a solution by talking to our peers and well wishers. Always try to look at the brighter side of things.
When under stress, the adrenal gland in our body produces cortisol, a hormone that increases our blood sugar and insulin levels and slows down the burning of fat. Stress increases inflammation which causes weight gain around the waist. We should fight stress by trying to keep our mind free from negatives.

Friends
Friends who really care, are life long assets of an individual. They have the ability to make things better for you just by their physical presence beside you. Just by taking a look at their smiling faces, you would have a feeling that your worries are fading away.

Chuck the Routine
Life is not just about getting up in the morning, doing the same old stuff all day and then going off to sleep. Instead, listen to some heart warming music, watch a dance performance or go for a drive. Set aside time for daily exercise and relaxation. Do some stretching initially followed by deep breathing for five minutes and then meditation. This goes a long way in relieving mental stress.

Sleep Tight
Lack of sleep reflects on our face. It makes us age faster. We should try to sleep for at least six hours every night. And don’t forget to dream big!

All the Best.






Author: Vaishali Parekh

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