Health Care

On these power foods you’ll be healthy and won’t feel hungry as often. The more of them you eat, the better your body will be able to increase lean muscle mass and avoid storing fat.
1) Eggs & Whey
Superpowers: Building muscle, burning fat
Secret weapons: Protein, vitamins and B12 in eggs; protein, cysteine and glutathione in whey
Fight against: Obesity
Protein contains essential amino acids that build muscle and bum fat. Where whey scores over other muscle supplements (like soy) is that it has the highest amount of protein for the fewest number of calories, making it fat’s kryptonite. It’s also a good source of cysteine, which your body uses to build a prostate cancer-fighting antioxidant called glutathione.
The protein found in eggs has the highest “biological value” of protein - a measure of how well it supports your body’s protein needs - of any food. In other words, the protein in eggs is more effective at building muscle than protein from other sources, even milk and beef. Eggs also contain vitamin B12, which is necessary for fat breakdown. And don’t worry: Research shows that an egg a day will not raise your cholesterol levels.
2) Whole Grains and Cereals
(Brown rice, whole wheat bread, chapati, dalia, oats, ragi, bajrajowar)
Superpowers: Preventing your body from storing fat
Secret weapons: Fibre, protein, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc
Fight against: Obesity, cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease
There’s only so long a person can survive on an all-protein diet or an all-salad diet or an all-anything diet. You crave carbohydrates because your body needs them. The key is to eat the ones that have all their heart-healthy, belly-melting fibre intact. Wholegrain carbohydrates play an important role in a healthy lifestyle. Whole grains keep insulin levels low, which keeps you from storing fat.
Some whole grains and cereals are not just good for you but are also convenient. For ego breakfast cereal like oatmeal porridge, taken with other power foods like milk and fruit, can propel you through sluggish mornings.
Also, you can down a bowlful couple of hours before a workout to feel fully energized by the time you hit the weights, or at night to avoid a late night binge.
Additionally oatmeal contains soluble fibre, meaning that it attracts fluid and stays in your stomach longer than insoluble fibre. It also works like a bouncer for your body, showing troublemakers the door. For example, soluble fibre helps remove LDL cholesterol from your circulatory system.
Finally, preliminary studies indicate that eating oatmeal raises the levels of free testosterone in your body, boosting your sex drive and enhancing the body’s ability to build muscle and burn fat.
4) Nuts & Seeds
(Peanuts, almonds, cashew, walnut, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, watermelon seeds, tiI)
Superpowers: Building muscle, fighting food cravings, burning fat, boosting testosterone
Secret weapons: Protein, monounsaturated fats, vitamin E, niacin, folate, fiber, magnesium, phosphorus
Fight against: Obesity, heart disease, muscle loss, wrinkles, cancer
Despite their fat content, nuts are clearly out to help you. For one nuts are high in protein. For another the monounsaturated fats clear your arteries and help you feel full.
Research shows that people who eat just a handful of nuts daily as a snack, end up taking in fewer calories than those who don’t eat. They speculate that nuts - with their high fibre, fat and protein content – help suppress appetite, especially if washed down with water. About 20-25 peanuts daily is all that it takes to earn their multiple benefits.
5) Meat
(Lean cuts of red meat, chicken, fish, shellfish)
Super powers: Building muscle, boosting the immune system
Secret weapons: Protein, iron, zinc, creatine (lean beef and mutton); omega-3 fatty acids (fish); vitamins B6 (chicken and fish) and B12, phosphorus, potassium
Fight against: Obesity, mood disorders, memory loss, heart disease, even cancer
A classic muscle-building nutrient, protein is the base of any solid diet plan. Chicken breast is one of the leanest meats you’ll find, and it packs nearly one-third of your daily requirements of niacin and vitamin B6. Red meat (beef, mutton), another classic muscle-building protein, is the top food source of creatine – a substance your body uses to make new muscle fibers.
To cut down on saturated fats even more, concentrate on fish because they contain a healthy dose of omega-3 fatty acids as well as protein.
6) Beans and Other Legumes (dal, rajma, channa, chole, soy, peas, chowli)
Superpowers: Building muscle, helping burn fat, regulating digestion
Secret weapons: Fiber, protein, iron, folate
Fight against: Obesity, colon cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure
Beans are good for your heart; the more you eat them, the more you’ll be able to control your hunger. Low in fat, they’re packed with protein, fiber, and iron - nutrients crucial for building muscle and losing weight. Gastrointestinal disadvantages notwithstanding, beans serve as one of the key members of the Flat Abs Diet cabinet because of all their nutritional power. In fact, if you can replace a meat-heavy dish with a bean heavy dish a couple of times a week, you’ll be lopping a lot of saturated fat out of your diet and replacing it with higher amounts of fiber.

To get thinner, feel fitter, and live longer you need to eat more often. Yes, that’s right. Your eyes aren’t playing tricks. There’s serious science behind this message.
Researchers at Georgia State University developed a technique to measure hourly energy balance- that is, how many calories you’re burning versus how many calories you’re taking in. The study found that if you keep your hourly surplus or deficit within
300 to 500 calories at all times, you’ll best be able to change your body composition by losing fat and adding lean muscle mass. People with the largest energy imbalances (those whose calorie surpluses or shortfalls topped 500 calories from hour to hour) were the fattest, while those with the most balanced energy levels were the leanest.
If you eat only your three squares a day, your energy levels can dip. Your goal: 3 meals and 2 snacks. Didn’t we say right at the outset that this plan isn’t about deprivation?
In other words the Flat Abs Diet encourages you to focus on (not restrict yourself to) a generous market basket of food types to fulfill your core nutritional needs.
The foods listed in these pages are so good for you, that they’ll just about single handedly exchange your fat for muscle (provided you’ve kept your receipt).
Just follow these simple guidelines:
. Include two or three of these foods in each of your three major meals and at least one of them in each of your two snacks.
. Diversify your food at every meal to get a combination of protein, carbohydrates, and fat.
. Make sure you sneak a little bit of protein into each snack.
By alternating your meals with snacks (we’ve given you a ton of food suggestions) you’ll keep your stomach full, which will reduce the likelihood of a diet-destroying binge.
Finally, one meal a week forgets everything about good carbohydrates and good fats. Have whatever it is - pizza, payasam - that you miss the most. Think of this cheat meal as the carrot at the end of a good week of eating. Enjoy!

If you have a wound, ulcer, or burn requiring medical attention, there are many tried-and-true ways to fight infection and promote healing. But if you want to try the following points in mind.
. Sugar dressing is only useful in treating open wounds or burns. It will not work on abscesses or pustules that are covered with skin. An important point to note: Do not use on a bleeding wound as sugar promotes bleeding.
. Honey will work as well as sugar, provided it’s pasteurized. (This is to protect against microorganism like botulism spores that are sometimes present in honey, which can gain entry into the wound.)

Here’s how to start:

1. Unravel a 4 inch piece of gauze into a long strip and coat it with petroleum jelly (Vaseline). Place it around the outside edges of the wound, like a medhu vada.
2. Cover the wound with ¼-inch of sugar. (The Vaseline “vada” will keep it in place.)
3. Place a 4 inch sponge on top of the wound. Bandage it firmly but not too of the wound. Bandage it firmly but not too snugly with a cling dressing.
4. Change the dressing every one or two days. Remove, irrigate with sterile water, saline, or hydrogen peroxide, and pat dry and repeat steps1-3.

Farting, also known as flatulence, is the act of passing intestinal gas from the anus. A fart is a combination of gases (nitrogen, carbon dioxide, oxygen, methane, and hydrogen sulfide). The word fart is just one of many different terms used to describe the release of gasses from the human body. Other popular names for farts or farting include: gassers, stinkers, air biscuits, bombers, barking spiders, rotten eggs, and wet ones.

A fart smells the same to the person who delivered it and to the person smelling it. However, the farter probably smells it last because the fart is propelled away from the body in the opposite direction of the farter’s nose.

On average, a person produces about half a liter of fart gas per day, distributed over an average of about fourteen daily farts. Whereas it may be difficult for you to determine your daily flatus volume, you can certainly keep track of your daily numerical fart count.

Some foods make your gas more potent. As  bacteria in the colon ferment indigestible bits of food, smelly gas results. Sulfur rich foods such as cabbage, cauliflower and beans and the sugar substitute sorbitol (found in gum), produce a particularly pungent odor. People who swallow a lot of air fart more than people who don’t. This can be cured somewhat by chewing with your mouth closed. Nervous people with fast moving bowels will fart more because less air is absorbed out of the intestines.

Drinking a half cup of cranberry juice a day can help cut the smell; it contain phytochemicals that suppress the odor causing bacteria. Other foods with deodorizing ingredients include yoghurt, parsley and mint leaves.

So, you want to catch the eye of that sexy little aerobic instructor. For starters, ditch the muscleman tees and go with the preppy or sporty look. Leave something to the imagination: You don’t need to strut around your stuff all the time, for heaven sakes. This means only slightly fitted, plain cotton T-shirt. Sober colors – navy, gray, or white – lend a more mature look. If you have run a marathon in the past 2 years and have the T-shirt to prove it, put it on. Legs should be covered by sweatpants or by shorts that stop just above the knee – no higher. Keep socks short and white. No exceptions. 

Tobacco + Alcohol = Two poisons that feed off each other. That’s the verdict of Duke University researchers, who say that even a little alcohol can increase the pleasurable effects of nicotine. In their study, 48 smokers drank either booze or a placebo beverage and then lit up. Those who drank alcohol felt calmer and found their smokes more satisfying than those who had no hooch. Nicotine stimulates brain pleasure receptors, and “alcohol has been shown to prolong the activation of those receptors”, says Jed Rose, M.D., the study author. If you want to kick the cigs, lay off alcohol for the first few weeks, when nicotine withdrawal symptoms may be at their worst. You are more likely to suceed in giving up the habit.

HAVE FUN, BURN FAT- Joining your kids in a game of Dog- and-the-Bone can be beneficial as certain gym workouts, according to a new study in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness. Just 20 minutes of playing soccer and dodgeball raised adult’s heartbeats to 88per cent of their maximum and burned 160 calories, researchers found; half an hour burned 240 calories-about the same as a moderate bike ride. The games were more than enough “to produce training effects and benefits from physical activity,” says study coauthor Philip Watts, Ph. D., of Northern Michigan University. 

SIZE MATTERS - Being bighearted can be a good thing-unless excess pounds are the cause, Risk of a ballooning heart wall and related irregular beats was 50% higher in obese people compared with those at a normal, healthy weight in a 14-year study of 5,300 by Harvard researchers. Overweight may cause the heart’s upper left chamber, the atrium, to stretch out and develop a too-rapid beat that’s out of sync with the rest of the heart, the scientists say. The condition, called atrial fibrillation (AF), raises stroke risk by four times and doubles the risk of death. Best way to prevent an enlarged atrium: Maintain a normal weight throughout life.

BITE THIS - Vitamin D, already known for boosting calcium absorption and bone health, may also help keep your gums healthy.
The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Looked at data on 6,700 Nonsmokers, ages 13 and up, from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination survey. Those with the highest blood levels of vitamin D were 20% less likely to show signs of gingivitis- gums that bleed on probing-than those with the lowest levels.
The results do not necessarily mean vitamin D is responsible for healthier  gums, cautions study author Thomas Dietrich, DMD, DMD, MPH, of Boston University’s Goldman School of Dental Medicine. But vitamin D has recently been shown to have possible anti-inflammatory benefits, which might explain its association with reduced inflammation and bleeding between the teeth and gums. The researchers are now testing this theory with an intervention study.

GUT REACTION - Vanderbilt University researchers have found that 10-15 minutes of giggling and hearty laughter can burn as many calories as in s medium square of chocolate. To gauge the energy expended by laughing, the Scientists shut 45 volunteers in a metabolic chamber and had them watch comedy clips on TV. The specially designed room measured how much oxygen the laughers breathed in and how much carbon dioxide they exhaled.