Fighting Obesity - An Ayurvedic Way

Definition of Obesity
Excess amount of body fat is Obesity.
Excess weight of muscles, bone, fat and water in the body (like body builders and athletes) is Overweight.
Over weighted persons are at increased health risk than normal persons. They are more prone to chronic diseases like heart diseases, type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, and few types of cancers.
Is fat necessary to our body?
Certain amount of body fat does the following function
1. Heat insulation.
2. Absorption of shock.
3. Storage of energy. Etc.
Ayurveda describes the functions of body fat as
"Medaha sneha swedaudhrudatwam pushtim asthyancha"
This means in normal conditions the body fat keeps the body moisturized, causes sweating, gives energy to body (by storing energy) and nourishes bones. (By protecting them from shock)
Distribution of fat
Women have more body fat than men. In women usually the fat accumulates around hips giving them a pear shape. In men it accumulates around belly giving them an apple shape. The obesity related problems start when fat accumulates around waist.
In ayurveda the distribution of fat is described as follows:
Medastu sarvabhutaanamudarenvasthi thishtathi
Ata evodare vriddhihi prayo medaswino bhavet
Fat gets deposited in and around belly in all living beings. It is also present in bone. Hence when a person becomes obese his stomach bulges out.
And also the characters of an obese person are described as
"Medo mamsa ativriddhatvaachalasphigudarastanaha" which means the hips, belly and breasts of an obese person sag and sagged parts flap as that person moves. An obese person will not be active.
Causes of Obesity
When a person consumes more calories than he burns then the excess calories get stored in the form of fat causing obesity.
1. Genetic factors-Obesity tends to run in families. If parents are fat then the offspring also show a tendency to accumulate fat. Even the diet and lifestyle habits which are practiced in family also contribute to obesity.
2. Environment. - A person's eating habits and the level of physical activities a person has also contribute for excess deposition of fat. When a person eats food containing more calories and has a sedentary work then the calories consumed are more than calories burnt. The excess amount calories are stored as fat.
3. Psychological disturbances.- There is a tendency to over eat in response to negative emotions like boredom, sadness or anger. This leads to obesity.
4. Binge eating disorder.
5. Diseases and conditions like Hypothyroidism, Cushing's syndrome, Depression, and certain neurological problems lead to overeating which in turn leads to accumulation of fat.
6. Medicines such as steroids and some antidepressants may cause weight gain.
Causes of obesity according to Ayurveda
The causes of obesity are very clearly explained in ayurveda. The following reasons which are mentioned in ayurveda increase the deposition of fat.
Avayamadivaaswapnashleshmalaaaharasevinaha |
Madhuroannarasaha prayaha snehamedhovivardhati ||
According to ayurveda the causes of obesity are defined as:
1. Avyayama: Not exerting physically
2. Divaswapna: Sleeping in afternoon.
3. Shleshmala Ahara Vihara: The diet and life styles which increase Kapha
4. Madhura Annaha: Consuming sweetened foods.
Health risks due to Obesity
Obesity leads to the following problems.
1. Type-2 diabetes
2. Heart disease.
3. High Blood pressure.
4. Stroke
5. Few types of Cancers
6. Gall stones
7. Liver diseases
8. Osteo arthritis.
9. Gout
10. Infertility
11. Irregular menstruation in women.
According to Ayurveda the obese persons are more prone to the following diseases.
1. Diabetes.
2. Kidney related problems.
3. Hepatitis.
4. Low libido.
5. Low energy levels.
6. Skin problems.
7. Fistula
8. Piles.
9. Filariasis . etc
Tips to reduce Obesity
1. Determine with the help of your physician how much weight has to be reduced.
2. Set several short term realistic goals .
3. Reward yourself each time you make progress (Not food items)
4. Even small weight losses have shown to be beneficial.
5. Make gradual changes in eating habits.
6. You will lose weight when you burn more calories than you consume. Hence eating less and being more active help in losing weight.
7. Sound eating habits keep you out of putting on weight.
8. Stay motivated to lose weight.
9. Slow weight loss is the safest and most effective. ( one to one and half pound per week).
10. Gradual weight loss, promote long term loss of body fat.
11. A person who is moderately active needs daily, 33 calories per kg of body weight to maintain his weight .
12. Reducing calories intake by 300 per day and increasing the physical activity to burn 200 calories per day results in weight loss of 400 Gms per week.
13. To satisfy basic nutritional needs eat a variety of foods every day. Choose from each of the five food groups milk, meat, fruit, vegetable and cereals. Balanced food plans encourage making wise choices about everyday food choices. This type of diet helps to stay at your proper weight for life.
14. Allow for an occasional treat.
15. Evaluate your eating pattern.
16. Try to cut down on foods high in fats and sugar.
17. Most successful weight - loss plans stress on reduction in both calories and the amount of fat eaten
Physical activity:
1. Determine the type of physical activity that suits your life style.
2. Regular aerobic exercise like brisk walking, jogging or swimming, is a key factor in achieving permanent weight loss and improving health
3. Health experts recommend exercising 30 minutes or more on all, days of the week for maximum benefits. The exercises should be moderately vigorous to be most effective but not exhausting.
4. Incorporate few simple measures to burn calories effectively. Like- taking an after dinner walk, using stairs instead of escalators or elevators, parking the car farther away to have a longer walk etc.
5. Exercises also improve sense of well being ,decreases stress and decreases appetite in some.
Ayurvedic tips to reduce Obesity
Numerous tips to reduce obesity have been mentioned in ayurveda. The following ayurvedic tips help you to reduce the obesity.
1. Very good exercises. Exercises like brisk walking, jogging, playing out door games etc help to reduce weight.
2. Physical and mental exertion. Exerting physically like doing house hold works, walking to distant places to bring groceries, vegetables etc, walking long distances to bring the child back from school, walking to working place, climbing stairs etc are types of physical exertion. Exerting physically as much as you can help to burn more calories. Mental exertion like worrying or involving in finding solutions to problems also restrict food consumption in some and there by reduces the intake of calories.
3. Having srex frequently is also a good physical exertion.
4. Consumption of honey. This is advisable for non diabetic patients. Consuming 2 tea spoon of honey with a glass of herbal tea which includes weight reducing herbs help a lot in weight reduction. Honey along with these herbs scrapes and dissolves the Kapha and medha (body fat).
5. Sleeping for less hours. Avoiding sleeping in afternoons help to increase the burning of calories. This avoids slowing of basal metabolic rate.
6. Avoiding the food and beverages which increase kapha and medha. The foods which increase kapha and medha are sweets, sweetened drinks, large quantities of carbohydrates and oily food.
7. Consuming wheat products than rice products help to reduce obesity.
8. Using Green gram and horse gram help in reduction of kapha and medha.
By Dr. Savitha Suri

Junk Food Facts - Why Eating Junk Food Just Isn't A Good Idea

If your diet consists mainly of junk foods, you are not feeling well. In order to feel your best, you need to provide your body nutritious foods on a daily basis. In order to sustain your health and protect your organs against diseases, you have to provide your body needed vitamins and minerals.
Your body depletes it's store of certain minerals daily and these minerals must be replced by the foods that you eat.
Most Americans derive 20% of the calories they eat from junk foods. Substituting nutritious fruits or vegetables, or even whole grain food items for sugary snacks would be a start toward a healthy eating plan. Carefully chosen healthy snacks can add to good dietary habits.
Most Americans are undernourished and feel tired, rundown, and depressed. Most adults are not functioning at their peak capacity. Fast food is the dinner of choice for most Americans. The busier our lives become, the harder it is to take the time to prepare healthy meals. The tighter our schedules, the harder it is to make healthy food choices--and stick to them.
Ten years ago the majority of money used to buy food in the United States was spent to prepare meals at home. Today over half of the money used to buy food is spent at restaurants -- mainly at fast food restaurants.
When we fail to eat the proper foods our bodies will start to break down. At some point, our nails, and hair start to lack the shine of youth. Our hair and nails may become weak and brittle. We may even start to develop skin problems.
Nutrients are substances that play a role in health. For example, vitamins and minerals are nutrients, as are fats, protein, and carbohydrates. Nutrients are in foods and can also come from dietary supplements.
"More than 30 percent of men and more than 40 percent of women take a multivitamin/mineral supplement. The doses provide 100 percent of the Daily Value (DV) of most nutrients are common in these supplements."... The Diabetes Association.

Fast Food And Obesity:The Hidden Connection

Is there a connection between Fast food and obesity?

The answer to the above question is a big yes! Research scientists say that:

"fast foods increase the risk of obesity in regular consumers by encouraging intentional overeating."

Fast food and obesity are closely linked. Studies have shown that fast foods are very high in energy density (the amount of calories different foods contain weight for weight) and these high density foods can cause people to accidentally eat more calories than they need.

A typical fast food meal has an energy density 150% more than an average traditional meal. A fast food meal contains many more calories than a similar-sized portion of a healthy meal.

Many supermarket ready-meals and convenience foods are also very energy dense. To stem the tide of obesity, it's important that we don't just swap one unhealthy meal for another.

Fast foods also contain high amount of sodium(salt), oil, refined sugar and refined flour which are no good to the body. This combination of the foods is the most health harming and causes obesity.

Ayurveda medical science says that refined sugar causes obesity, acidity, dental cavities, osteoporosis, high cholesterol levels, migraine, kidney deseases etc. and leads to metabolic disorders.

Fried fast foods cause acidity and indigestion. Refined flour is made by removing the outer cover of the grain. This reduces the nutritional value of the grains by removing fibre. Foods deficient in fibre give rise to constipation and irregular bowel habits.

Many diet and weight loss programs which advice fast foods for weight loss are greatly mistaken in their approach.You are advised to always keep away from such fad diet plans.

Health and weight loss can be easily achieved by following a healthy weight loss program which recommends lots of health foods like fresh fruits,vegetables etc. in your daily diet.

By Rajesh Shetty

Fat Burning Secrets - Your Weight is Not that Important

That's correct folks. Your weight is not that important. Your body fat percentag Ignore warning e is. What is body fat percentage? This is part of the composition of your body. Your body is composed of muscle and bones etc which makes up your lean body mass. Your body then has fat. The percentage of your total mass which is pure fat is called your body fat percentage.

Most people when they start a fat burning weight loss regime tend to concentrate on a goal weight. They focus on getting to this weight and don't realise that body composition is much more important.

Your body fat percentage is a much better indicator of your health. There are different recommendations for body fat percentage levels, but the following come from the American Council on Exercise.

An example of how body fat percentage is a much better indicator of health rather than something like BMI would be "fat skinny" people.

Say I am a woman who weighs 70kg and I am 168cm tall. My BMI of 24.4 tells me that I am in a normal weight range. I then go and measure my body fat percentage and the percentage of my body which is pure fat is 33%. This shows I am actually at risk. I have too much fat compared with lean mass on my body and so I am actually at risk even though BMI tells me I am normal weight range.

The same can go the other way say I am a male body builder who is 193cm tall and weighs 115kg. Of course this weight is muscle! My BMI would tell me that I am obese and yet when I do my body fat percentage testing I have a percentage of 8%. This actually means I am in the athlete class and not at all obese.

Focusing on body fat percentage rather than total mass is a much better option when setting goals. It is a much better indication on where you are health wise. The other reason is that muscle weighs more than fat and so sometimes when you build more lean mass you will see a gain on the scales which is actually good because it means your body fat percentage has dropped and you are healthier and leaner. Your muscles just weigh more!

An example of how body fat percentage is a much better indicator of health rather than something like BMI would be "fat skinny" people.

Say I am a woman who weighs 70kg and I am 168cm tall. My BMI of 24.4 tells me that I am in a normal weight range. I then go and measure my body fat percentage and the percentage of my body which is pure fat is 33%. This shows I am actually at risk. I have too much fat compared with lean mass on my body and so I am actually at risk even though BMI tells me I am normal weight range.

The same can go the other way say I am a male body builder who is 193cm tall and weighs 115kg. Of course this weight is muscle! My BMI would tell me that I am obese and yet when I do my body fat percentage testing I have a percentage of 8%. This actually means I am in the athlete class and not at all obese.

Focusing on body fat percentage rather than total mass is a much better option when setting goals. It is a much better indication on where you are health wise. The other reason is that muscle weighs more than fat and so sometimes when you build more lean mass you will see a gain on the scales which is actually good because it means your body fat percentage has dropped and you are healthier and leaner. Your muscles just weigh more!

By: Laura Milczarek