Food - On - Need

You 'ARE' what you 'EAT'

How Does Food Impact Health?

The food we eat gives our bodies the "information" and materials they need to function properly. If we don't get the right information, our metabolic processes suffer and our health declines.

If we get too much food, or food that gives our bodies the wrong instructions, we can become overweight, undernourished, and at risk for the development of diseases and conditions, such as arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease.

In short, what we eat is central to our health.

The nutrients in food enable the cells in our bodies to perform their necessary functions. This quote from a popular textbook describes how the nutrients in food are essential for our physical functioning.

 "Nutrients are the nourishing substances in food that are essential for the growth, development and maintenance of body functions.  When nutrient intake does not regularly meet the nutrient needs dictated by the cell activity, the metabolic processes slow down or even stop."

In other words, nutrients give our bodies instructions about how to function. In this sense, food can be seen as a source of "information" for the body.

Thinking about food in this way gives us a view of nutrition that goes beyond calories or grams, good foods or bad foods. This view leads us to focus on foods we should include rather than foods to exclude.

Instead of viewing food as the enemy, we look to food as a way to create health and reduce disease by helping the body maintain function.

Why should I care?

The nutrients in food give our bodies the information and materials they need to function properly. But our daily diets may not always be providing all the information our bodies need.We all know that we need to get a basic balance of nutrients every day, but we may not be aware of the standard nutrients needed for the body to function.

Moreover, some of our processed foods, junk foods include chemically-altered fats and sugars that may be giving our bodies the wrong signals.

The Functional Medicine Perspective

One component of Functional Medicine focuses on how diet impacts health and function. When Functional Medicine practitioners examine the role of nutrition in chronic disease, they look at multiple systems, such as the digestive system, the immune system, and the detoxification system, because of the interconnections between those systems. For instance, because 80% of the immune system is contained in the gastrointestinal system, a person's issues with immunity could be related to faulty digestion.

Functional Medicine maintains that chronic disease is almost always preceded by a period of declining health in one or more of the body's systems.

One of the ways Functional Medicine seeks to address declining health is to provide the foods and nutrients needed to restore function. This is a cost effective, non-invasive intervention that aims to stop the progression into disease.

Example of Cardiovascular Disease

When taking a nutritional approach to health and disease, it is important to understand that one disease might have multiple causes, and one underlying dysfunction might cause multiple diseases. Cardiovascular disease may be among the clearest examples of this concept.

Researchers have shown that the development of heart disease can be triggered by multiple factors. These factors include insulin resistance, elevated homocysteine, oxidative stress, elevated cholesterol, hypertension, heavy metal toxicity, stress, and inflammation.

Each of these factors can be influenced by nutrition and each, in turn, impact our nutritional needs.

To conclude, food with correct nutrients can be the medicine to your body if taken with care. As I always say FOOD is MEDICINE. Take Care.

Cinnamon - A Spice - Boon to the humankind

Cinnamon is a spice that is made from the inner bark of trees called Cinnamomum.These days, cinnamon is cheap, available in every supermarket and found in all sorts of foods and recipes.

There are two main types of cinnamon:
Ceylon cinnamon: Also known as “true” cinnamon.
Cassia cinnamon: This is the more common variety today, what people generally refer to as “cinnamon.”

Cinnamon is made by cutting the stems of the cinnamomum tree. The inner bark is then extracted and the woody parts removed from it. When it dries, it forms strips that curl into rolls, called cinnamon sticks. The sticks can be ground to form cinnamon powder. The distinct smell and flavor of cinnamon is due to a compound called cinnamaldehyde. It is this compound that is responsible for most of cinnamon’s powerful effects on health and metabolism.

Cinnamon is a popular spice. It is high in a substance called cinnamaldehyde, which is responsible for most of the health benefits.

Cinnamon is Loaded With Antioxidants :  Antioxidants protect the body from oxidative damage caused by free radicals. Cinnamon is loaded with powerful antioxidants. Cinnamon is so powerful that cinnamon can be used as a natural food preservative. Cinnamon contains large amounts of highly potent polyphenol antioxidants.

Cinnamon Has Anti-Inflammatory Properties : Tea With Cinnamon and Lemon - Inflammation in the body is incredibly important. It helps the body fight infections and repair tissue damage. However, inflammation can become a problem when it is chronic (long-term) and directed against the body’s own tissues. Cinnamon may be useful in this regard, because studies show that the antioxidants in it have potent anti-inflammatory activity. The antioxidants in cinnamon have anti-inflammatory effects, which may help lower the risk of disease.

Cinnamon May Cut the Risk of Heart Disease : Cinnamon has been linked with reduced risk of heart disease, the world’s most common cause of premature death. It reduces levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, while HDL cholesterol remains stable. Cinnamon dose of just 120 milligrams per day can have these effects. It also helps in reducing blood pressure. By taking care of total cholesterol and blood pressure in the human body, cinnamon helps to risk down the chances of heart attack.

Cinnamon Can Improve Sensitivity to The Hormone Insulin : Insulin is one of the key hormones that regulate metabolism and energy use. It is also essential for the transport of blood sugar from the bloodstream and into cells. Cinnamon can dramatically reduce insulin resistance, helping this incredibly important hormone to do its job. By helping insulin do its job, cinnamon can lower blood sugar levels.

Cinnamon Lowers Blood Sugar Levels and Has a Powerful Anti-Diabetic Effect: Cinnamon Powder - Cinnamon is well known for its blood sugar lowering effects. Apart from the beneficial effects on insulin resistance, cinnamon can lower blood sugar by several other mechanisms.
First, cinnamon has been shown to decrease the amount of glucose that enters the bloodstream after a meal. It does this by interfering with numerous digestive enzymes, which slows the breakdown of carbohydrates in the digestive tract.
Second, a compound in cinnamon can act on cells by mimicking insulin. This greatly improves glucose uptake by cells, although it acts much slower than insulin itself.

The effective dose is typically 1-6 grams of cinnamon per day (around 0.5-2 teaspoons).

Cinnamon May Have Beneficial Effects on Neurodegenerative Diseases : Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by progressive loss of the structure or function of brain cells. Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease are two of the most common types.

Cinnamon May Be Protective Against Cancer : Cancer is a serious disease, characterized by uncontrolled growth of cells. Cinnamon acts by reducing the growth of cancer cells and the formation of blood vessels in tumors, and appears to be toxic to cancer cells, causing cell death.

Cinnamon Helps Fight Bacterial and Fungal Infections : Cinnamaldehyde, the main active component of cinnamon, may help fight various kinds of infection. Cinnamon oil has been shown to effectively treat respiratory tract infections caused by fungi. The antimicrobial effects of cinnamon may also help prevent tooth decay and reduce bad breath.

Cinnamon May Help Fight The HIV Virus : HIV is a virus that slowly breaks down the immune system, which can eventually lead to AIDS if untreated. Cinnamon extracted from Cassia varieties is thought to help fight against HIV-1. This is the most common strain of the HIV virus in humans.

At the end of the day, cinnamon is one of the most delicious and healthiest spices on the planet. It can lower blood sugar levels, reduce heart disease risk factors, and has a plethora of other impressive health benefits.

Spices - Add them - Feel Happy

Think Globally. 

Today, I and my collegues, after our tiring fisrt half, sat together to have our lunch. We were very hungry and wanted to just finish our food. We opened our tiffins and started having our lunch quietly. One of my collegue had got paneer muttar and it was super spicy and tasty. I was able to see the change in our mood after we had a bite of that. You know what actually made the difference in the lunch enviornment? they were the spices in her food. Yes Friends!! Spices!! They are the mood boosters and energisers to your body.

Spicy Food is the boon to the Indian Cuisine. Most of the Indian spices help in the daily maintenence of the digestive juice secretion. The indian food is cooked with help of various spices like cinnamon, cardamom, coriander, cumin, mustard, Aesofitida, ginger, many more. These spices, almost all of them, help in secretion of the gastric juices when consumed in a proper proportion and so it also stimulate the appetite. 

Coriander seed oil has a soothing and cooling property in the gastro intestinal tract.

You can make functional teas to ease the symptoms of indigestion, such as gas, bloating, pain and diarrhea, or constipation or add spices while cooking.

Ginger cleanses and heals the digestive tract, with help of honey and lime.Cumin helps in healthy digestion and removes natural toxins from the GI tract. 

Cinnamon also shows various benefits - Blood Sugar Control - Several studies have found that Cinnamon has properties that help those with insulin resistance. It is therefore very popular with Type 2 diabetics who take it to control their blood sugar variations.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) – As a digestive cinnamon dramatically reduces the uncomfortable feelings associated with IBS especially the bloating. 

Anti-oxidant and helps in weight loss.

Cinnamon apparently has the effect of thinning your blood thereby increasing blood circulation. 

Increased blood flow generally boosts your metabolism which is why it may be helpful in weight loss.

However, please note the consumption of these spices varies from people to people with various health, BMR, and medical history. So kindly consult before consuming in a big amount and on regular basis.

I shall share my views and discuss on various spices one time each with all the details in my further blogs.