Indians value health and nutrition a lot, and without compromising on the taste. In this episode of Protein High, we shall list down some of your favourite dishes from the Indian cuisine that you probably didn't know are extremely rich in protein and minerals.

Let’s begin our list with the good old - Rajma

1. RAJMA - Made with red kidney beans, Rajma is a good source of plant based high quality protein. Apart from proteins, Rajma is also high on minerals like sodium and potassium and is an extremely healthy Indian curry. It provides around 230-240 calories, out of which 110-115 are from carbohydrates, 35-40 are from proteins and the remaining are from fats. Having Rajma with rice will help you get all the benefits of it. If you are extra concerned about the carbs intake, you can opt for brown rice instead. Rajma is also highly beneficial for people with blood pressure issues as it can help regulate blood pressure and also supports good heart health. In addition to this, red kidney beans are also very helpful for those trying to lose weight. They are considered as a powerhouse of iron, protein, fibres and vitamins and also play a big role in strengthening the bones and maintaining the blood sugar levels. It is also proven that Rajma can also prevent cancer in humans. God, can rajma be regarded as a superfood! Nothing new here, we always knew Rajma is perfect. Just cook it properly, angry rajma will make you gassy.

image source news18.com

Malaika Arora discusses whether or not she and Arjun Kapoor plan to get married and have "more kids" in the future. "Obviously you talk about these issues"

Starting on Monday, Malaika Arora's reality shows Moving in with Malaika can be found on Disney+ Hotstar. In the premiere episode, Malaika discusses her relationship with actor Arjun Kapoor and the reasons for the end of her marriage to her ex-husband Arbaaz Khan. Stars like Kareena Kapoor Khan and Neha Dhupia, as well as choreographer-director Farah Khan, made appearances in this episode to support their friend Malaika.

Farah probed Malaika about her private life, inquiring whether she plans to have "more kids" and "get married again." I don't know what the future holds for me," Malaika said. She continued, "Of course, these are matters that you discuss with your partner. You talk about these things all the time, right?

Malaika claims to be a 'hardcore romantic' whose only goal in life is to bring joy to both herself and her significant other. Not at all, actually. I am not resentful simply because I have been through a difficult life event like a divorce. I have a lot of emotions to process, and I don't think I could be with a better partner. Nothing I've done has been done in any way other than what I believe to be right, and having this man in my life is the single greatest source of joy in my life right now. I don't care what anyone else thinks or how they feel," she declared.

An entire writing team led by Brahmastra's Hussain Dalal has been credited, but the show has been billed as a reality show that will give her fans an 'unfiltered' glimpse into her life. Disney+ Hotstar will air the series on weekdays. From 1998 until 2017, Malaika and Arbaaz were happily wed. They're the proud parents of Arhaan. In 2019, Malaika and Arjun went public with their relationship.

image source indiatimes.com

Welcome back to the third instalment in this series about mental health disorders and their types. The last time we met we talked about the second type of mental disorders on our list - The Anxiety Disorders. In this article, we shall learn in depth about the next type - The Psychotic Disorders. The topic sounds really interesting and is often romanticised in the world of fiction. However, Psychotic Disorders are still disorders and are perhaps one of the most dangerous ones too. A psychotic disorder is an illness that directly has an impact on the human brain and interferes with the thinking and communication of a person.

Psychotic disorders affects a person’s ability to make good decisions and judgements,give an emotional reaction, communicate effectively, stay in touch with reality and behave appropriately. Some of the most common symptoms are being delusional and hallucinating. Delusions are false beliefs, that a person considered as true. Hallucinations are perceptions of things that don't really exist, like when you start seeing, hearing or feeling things that are not even present. Psychosis or Psychotic disorder can be caused by some drugs, brain damage, brain tumour, brain infections and strokes. In layman's language, psychosis is characteristically a type of disease that causes disruptions in the thought process of those affected, making it extremely hard for them to fully understand what's real and what's not. They have extremely weird, persistent thoughts and behaviour. 

Let us now discuss the different types of psychotic disorders : 

• Schizophrenia - The most common and recognised type of psychotic disorder is schizophrenia where people start seeing, smelling tasting things that are not real or present in real time. Schizophrenia symptoms are also qualified into three types -

1. Psychotic / Positive Symptoms -  where people start sending things, like danger or someone plotting against them when in reality, nothing is going wrong or in that direction. They're always very suspicious and often have audio visual hallucinations that are almost always negative and frightening for them.
    
2. Negative Symptoms - These are when people affected stop having emotions and energy. They start isolating themselves from others and have trouble expressing their emotions and feelings. They cannot relate to other people and therefore start losing their social life. They start losing interest in daily life activities and often question themselves about the point of living, doing basic things, going out, etc. Even simple tasks like taking a bath become hard for them and they need to be reminded to do these daily activities. They kind of give up on themselves, and let themselves go, start ignoring their self care even to an extent where they stop caring about hygiene. Most of these symptoms are also very similar to those of clinical depression or major depressive disorders.
    
3. Disorganised Symptoms - These symptoms are very similar to that of ADHD and autism. People might continue to move in a rhythmic pattern for a very long time or not move at all. They might even stop moving abruptly. They have trouble speaking clearly and mix up words and sentences quite often.

•  Schizoaffective Disorder - People affected with the schizoaffective disorder have the symptoms of both schizophrenia and mood disorders. In simple words, one experiences hallucinations and is delusional while also experiencing depression and mania. The basic difference between Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective disorder is that in schizoaffective disorder, the presence of mood disorder symptoms is higher and more prominent. In case of schizophrenia, the occurance of delusions and hallucinations is far more often and is the main symptom and event of the disease, while in case of schizoaffective disorder, the main role is played by mood disorders.
   
• Schizophreniform disorder - Exactly like schizophrenia, this type makes a person lose their touch with reality, it makes them delusional and also makes them hallucinate a lot. The only difference between schizophrenia and Schizophreniform Disorder is the mere fact that schizophrenia is chronic, might even last a lifetime while Schizophreniform  lasts for a limited period of time only, the average being 6-12 months.
   
• Brief Psychotic Disorders - A lot of times, people develop psychosis as a response to trauma or stress. It is like a reaction to an event that disturbed them very intensely, causing them to develop this part time psychotic disorder, having the same symptoms as schizophrenia and lasting for a short period of time. Usually, this lasts upto 1-2 months in people. The symptoms include hallucinations and delusions as in the case of every other type of psychosis.
   
• Delusional Disorder - In this disorder, patients start believing in false things that are very realistic, even if it is not real. For example, having the belief that one is affected by a particular disease because of a few common symptoms. Having occasional doubts about having a disease doesn't not fall under this category, but obsessively believing that you're affected by it is where the concern starts.
   
• Psychosis caused due to substance abuse - Now this is a whole different topic. We might need a new series to fully understand substance abuse and its consequences but one of the most known effects of substance and drug abuse is that of addiction. Addiction is the dire need to do something that your body has become habitual to. It could be of anything, people these days are addicted to technology for example. However, drugs and alcohol are the big sharks in the world of addiction and abuse. When your body starts accepting drugs, the drugs slowly get you addicted to them and then leaving becomes an issue because even attempting to leave drugs after getting addicted will lead to withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms have a wide range of bandwidth. They can be as simple as sweating and having a headache, but they can also be as bad as having scary hallucinations, being afraid at all times. The thing about drugs is that your body, once addicted, needs it at any cost and so it will do anything to make you consume your drugs, no matter how hard it is on you. Therefore, every heading under any type of physical or mental disorder will always, always have a separate area strictly for the role of drugs and alcohol abuse, and the case of psychotic disorders is no different.
   
• Psychotic disorders due to a medical condition - A lot of times, people may face the symptoms of schizophrenia because of brain damage or brain tumour. Therefore, psychotic disorders can also be a result of some physical disorder as well.

Well, the psychotic disorders are indeed very scary, the bad part is that almost one in every hundred individuals are affected by one of the psychotic disorders. That means one percent of the entire population is actually suffering from Psychosis and that is really terrifying to think about. The good part is - with the advancement of medical sciences and the continuous strive towards finding the cures of all these scary diseases, doctors now can treat all types of psychosis and people can get out of their sufferings. In most cases the disease gets completely cured, while in other cases the patient might need to continue to take the prescribed antipsychotics to stay and feel safe.

That is just about the information that we have time for today. We will be back to discuss with you the next two categories of mental disorders - The Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. 

image source askapollo.com

Last time, we discussed how mental illnesses have been categorised into 7 different types, and we discussed the first category of mental disorders - the mood disorders. In today's article, we shall consider the next type - Anxiety Disorders. Anxiety is something that every individual has been through, at least once in their lifetime. Whether you are a student in middle school, or world’s youngest selfmade billionaire Kylie Jenner, anxiety spares no one. But when does this feeling turn into a disorder? What are its types and what it is like to live with anxiety disorders, we shall discuss in this chapter of mental disorders. 

Having said that anxiety is a part of our everyday life, we understand how every person we know, every person there is, has moments when they feel anxious and fearful. However, in case of a patient diagnosed with any one of the anxiety disorders, these anxious episodes are far more repetitive and intense. And during these episodes, they reach the absolute peak of their anxiety or fear within a few minutes. Anxiety is usually accompanied by hyperventilation, increased blood pressure, trembling and other such symptoms that we shall be listing down further in this blog. But before that, let us first understand the different types of anxiety disorders and their symptoms. Starting with - 

• Agoraphobia - Simply put, Agoraphobia is the fear of places and situations that could trigger one's anxiety and cause one to panic. People anticipate a panic attack and fear it to an extent that their normal functioning gets harder. The usual fear that these affected individuals have is the fear of their panic or anxiety intensifying in a place or situation where they wouldn't have someone to aid them or help them come out of. People with this disorder are often scared to leave the house alone, crowds, enclosed spaces like elevators, movie theatres, etc. These individuals also have a fear of using public transport. Agoraphobia can extensively hamper your ability to socialise and build any relations whatsoever and therefore it is advisable to get medical treatment for it.
   
• Panic Disorder - We have heard a lot of people talk about getting panic attacks, for example, our bollywood queen - Deepika Padukone herself is one of the patients of panic disorder. Individuals suffering from this disorder have frequent panic attacks that can be characterised with nausea, shortness of breath, hyperventilation, sweating, feeling doomed, chills, shaking limbs, increased blood pressure, heart palpitations, chest pain, etc. Usually these attacks have no trigger, they happen frequently and might look completely out of the blue to the unversed. People usually avoid doing anything that could possibly trigger someone’s panic and fear, best described as the fear of being in fear.
   
• Selective Mutism - Most common in children when they are unable to speak in front of a crowd or in a public setting because of anxiety but can talk perfectly in front of family and close ones. This might hamper with their confidence levels and also limit them from socialising and making friends, and also in some cases lead to other anxiety disorders as they grow up
   
• Social Anxiety Disorder - Also known as Social Phobia, is often confused as mere shyness of a person but it is deeper than what it appears to be. Social anxiety includes fear, nervousness and avoidance of people and situations, on the daily, with the fear of being judged negatively and thoughts about embarrassing or humiliating oneself in front of other people. Some of the emotional and behavioural characteristics of a person having social anxiety disorder are: 

• Intense fear of interacting with other individuals
• Avoiding situations where one can attract a lot of attention, that is the fear of being the centre of attention in any situation.
• Anxiety because of overthinking about an event that might cause fear or anxiety.
• Reluctant while doing or speaking something in front of people in the fear of being judged and getting humiliated.
• Feeling uncomfortable in social settings

 Substance Induced Anxiety Disorder - This type is caused by exposure to alcohol or other substances like drugs. This feels like any other form of anxiety and can have similar symptoms like sweating, increased heartrate, muscle tension, excessive worry and increased irritability.

Just like mood disorders, anxiety disorders too can affect one's personal and professional life. Therefore it is extremely important to take them seriously and get medical attention. Some of the causes of anxiety disorders are : 

• Trauma - People with some sort of unhealed trauma often tend to develop anxiety. Children that are severely beaten up at home or bullied at school often grow up to be really anxious and under confident. Therefore it is extremely important to treat children with kindness, especially when they are little because their childhood shapes their entire personality, and what they believe they can or cannot achieve in life. However, going through some traumatic experience even during adulthood will cause anxiety if the trauma remains unhealed.
   
• Personality - There are a total of 16 personality types and a few of them are more prone to anxiety than the others. For example people with INFP and INFJ personality types are extreme overthinkers, INTJ personality type is often liked to perfectionism therefore also more prone to anxiety, people belonging to the ENFJ and ESFJ are often termed as people pleasers, therefore opinions of others matters a lot to them. Thus, it is scientifically proven that some personality types are naturally prone to developing anxiety disorders.
   
• Mood Disorders - People with mood disorders almost always have more anxiety and are more likely to develop an anxiety disorder.

• Drugs and Alcohol
• Genetics - People who have close relatives that have or have had an anxiety disorder in the past can also develop anxiety disorders.
• Anxiety Caused due to a Medical Issue - Also one of the most common causes of anxiety in adults, when they are diagnosed with a disease that that they believe is either incurable, or will heavily affect their physical, mental or financial condition.

Anxiety might not look so dangerous on its own, but can cause various issues inside one's body and also tamper with their personal and professional life. It can limit their ability to socialise and build social or even professional relations. Therefore it is extremely important and advisable to consult a professional and get treatment for these disorders before they get out of hand. That's all that we have for today. In the next update, we shall discuss in detail the third category for mental disorders - Psychotic Disorders

image source onlymyhealth.com

One of the most complex creations of the almighty has to be that of the human brain. Whether it is about the physical structure, or the functioning, the brain’s complexity is unmatched, probably one of the reasons why it is almost impossible to fully understand the human mind and its shenanigans. Over the years however, dedicated scientists and doctors have been able to understand it a little better than we could before, but still we are far from knowing everything.

Therefore, understanding mental health completely is an arduous journey that human beings are striving to get ahead on. Doctors have divided mental illnesses into 7 broad categories, and today we shall be discussing these categories in detail over a course of 4-5 articles.

Starting with one of the most common mental and psychological disorder type today -

• Mood Disorders
  As easy as the name sounds, this category of disorders consist of emotional and mood based prolonged emotional distortions that are often not in alignment with the current circumstances of an individual. In usual cases, a person is often more irritable, emotionally down and low on emotional energy.

Some of the most common and well known disorders under this category are - 

•   Major Depressive Disorder - Commonly known as Depression. Depression is a psychological disorder that causes persistent sadness and loss of interest and energy in the affected individuals. Clinical depression affects the overall thought process of a person along with their behaviour over a prolonged period of time. It is not just a wave of sadness that you can expect a person to snap out of. Prolonged sadness can only be termed as depression if it has lasted for at least more than 4-6 weeks. Some of the most common symptoms of depression are - 

• Feeling sad, tearful and hopeless for the most of the day, everyday.
• Abnormal food habits - either reduced appetite with extreme weight loss or unexplainable increase in cravings that result in overeating.
• Physical problems for no particular reason, for example back pain, severe headaches, chest pain, etc
• Extreme lack of energy - not being able to do even the basic day to day activities, like getting off the bed, taking a shower, etc.
• Issues related to sleep - Insomnia or Hypersomnia
• Increased irritability - Having sudden anger outbursts, being annoyed by smallest inconveniences.
• Frequent and repetitive thoughts of death, suicide. Attempting suicide once or various times.
• Slowed thinking and not being able to concentrate or make decisions.
• Heightened anxiety, agitation and restlessness 

• Bipolar Disorder - Also called as Manic Depression causes extreme, uncontrollable mood swings, extreme highs - known as mania and hypomania, and extreme lows - severe depression. In this case, during the times the person is going through mania or hypomania, a person may feel euphoric and extremely energetic, but when they feel low, they are extremely down and irritable. Unfortunately, bipolar disorder lasts a lifetime, but can be kept under control by taking proper medications and treatments.

There are 3 main types of Bipolar Disorders -

1. Bipolar I Disorder 
2. Bipolar II Disorder 
3. Cyclothymic Disorder

We shall discuss them in detail some other time.

• Persistent Depressive Disorder
  This type of depression is a long term continuous form of depression and is also widely known as dysthymia. This usually lasts for years and hinders your daily activities, social relationships and your overall functioning.  A person with Persistent Depressive Disorder finds it very difficult to even feel positive during good situations and big events in their life. Since this is a long term disease, the symptoms might come and go in different magnitudes and degrees. However, the symptoms don't usually leave for more than 1-2 months in a row. It usually begins at a very young age, sometimes during childhood or early teenage years and lasts for a very long time. However, this type of depression is often regarded as less intense and therefore less harmful than Clinical Depression or the major depressive disorder.

• Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder 
  Abbreviated as DMDD most commonly. We all have seen extremely irritable, young children. Chances are that they are suffering from the Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder. The symptoms for this disorder go way beyond that of a simple moody child. It is characterised by extreme irritability, anger, and frequent, intense temper outbursts and one should opt for medical treatment for their child in case of this disorder. It can tamper a person’s quality of life and performance in academics and other school activities. It can also disrupt relationships with one’s social circle, including family, friends and schoolmates. Children with disruptive mood dysregulation disorder find it taxing to participate in activities or even socialise and make friends. Having DMDD also increases the risk of developing depression or anxiety disorders in adulthood.
   
• Premenstrual dysphoric disorder
  We have all told and heard jokes about girls being cranky while menstruating. The terminology often used while describing any periods related behaviour issue is Premenstrual Syndrome, often abbreviated as PMS. Now, it might not seem very serious, but a more advanced type of PMS is the Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, also abbreviated as PMDD. PMS usually, the symptoms limit themselves to physical issues only like bloating, headaches, tender breasts, but in case of PMDD, the effects are also mental. Women with PMDD characteristically become extremely irritable, anxious and depressed one or two weeks before the onset of their menstrual cycle. These symptoms of mental annoyance are also accompanied by the physical symptoms of PMS. The irritation goes away a few days after your periods begin, but it might still be strong enough to negatively affect your life.

Having discussed some of the most common Mood Disorders today, we will be back with the next category of mental disorders - The Anxiety Disorders.

Living in a country like India really spoils your taste buds, especially when you grow up to be a health freak and have to eat healthy foods, like salads, and suddenly everything tastes so bland because your tongue is so used to the flavourful Indian cuisine. We have totally been there (kinda still are!) and so we present to you, this new series, where we bring to you protein packed, flavourful Indian recipes to satisfy the inner health enthusiast in you, while still keeping that spoilt brat happy.

Starting with one of India's most favourite breakfast items - Idli.

Regular Idli, on its own, provides us with 2-3 grams of protein, 2-5g fibre, 6-10g of carbohydrates; 1-5 mg iron, and minimal amounts of calcium, folate, potassium, and vitamin A, depending on the ingredients used. It also provides around 35 to 40 grams of calories in total. This is the nutritional value of a single, plain regular sized idli. However, since we are focussing on increasing the nutritional content, we shall be making its nutritionally superior cousin - Moong Dal Idli!

Lets start with what you need -

• 2 cups of Skinned Moong Dal - There are two types of Moong Dal available in the market. We require the yellow coloured one that doesn't have the green cover. It looks like this.

image source onlymyhealth.com

We ranted and taught you about the eating disorders caused due to body image issues, but did you know, there are many such eating disorders that are in fact, not related to body image at all? Of course, you do! We mentioned them in our ED blog before and we also promised to write another article on the different Non body image related EDs. Well guess who believes in keeping their promises. We certainly do! Here are a few eating disorders that have got absolutely nothing to do with what a person looks like.

• Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder or AFRID – AFRID was recognized as a different disorder only in 2013, therefore reporting the exact numbers of people suffering through this disorder is almost impossible. However, research show that almost 23% of the people diagnosed with an ED undergoing treatment are in fact affected by this eating disorder. The causes of this type of disorder range right from the fear of choking to literally anything. Sometimes, some affected children develop strong repulsion against certain textures, tastes, etc. They develop a list of “safe food” that keeps getting smaller and smaller with time. This might sound like a fussy or picky eater, however, there is more to this behavior than just being picky. Of course, by this we don’t mean all picky eaters have AFRID. Some kids are just fussy around food, doesn’t mean you should be worried about an eating disorder. The worry starts when there’s an obsessive fear or dislike towards most edible things, not eating anything apart from the items of the safe list. Some of the symptoms include abrupt weight loss, hair loss, weakness, nutritional deficiencies, dependence on nutrient supplements, etc.
   
• Pica – People diagnosed with Pica consume nonedible substances like ice, soap, clay, buttons, hair, chalk, etc. However, eating something out of curiosity does not mean you’re affected by pica. For it to be Pica, the behaviour must continue for at least for one month. There are no known causes of pica, however, sometimes a lack of iron, iron or any other nutrient can be related to pica. For example, anaemia, caused by iron deficiency, is one of the known causes of pica in pregnant women.
   
• Rumination Syndrome – In this eating disorder, people spit out consumed food, chew it again and then swallow it again. This food doesn’t taste like vomit as it is not digested and is therefore not acidic. This rechewing of food is unintentional and repetitive too. The cause for this disorder is also not very well known, but the recent studies have given proofs that rumination disorder can predict PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder) in most cases, and there are theories about it being a response to trauma.
   
• Orthorexia – This is when a person has an extreme obsession with eating healthy. In contrast to this, in most cases, orthorexia leads to malnourishment, loss of relationships and poor quality of life. These individuals often obsessively try to cleanse their diet, slowly restricting themselves from consuming many food items, simply with the aim of being healthy. They trust very few food groups as pure and healthy like in most cases organic foods, vegan diet, fresh and raw fruits and vegetables are only considered fit for eating. This is done with little or no intention of losing weight

Eating disorders caused by body image issues are more recognised and prevalent in today's world. However, one must not forget these silent, ignored EDs either because many of these can lead to conditions that might prove to be fatal in the long run. We will be back with yet another discussion on wellness very soon. Till then, stay healthy 💕

image source privatespace.com

With the growing influence of social media, one of the biggest concerns around the lives of teens and young adults is the increase in cases of body image issues. The rapid advancement of technology has given the field of modelling and photography the access to  tools with unexceptional editing and photoshopping abilities, which has given them the power to imitate perfection.

Perfection, however beautiful to look at, cannot exist in reality, but it does influence the way our audience looks at us and at themselves, increasing one’s expectations from their own body. When these expectations are not met, it leads to a lot of insecurities and body image issues that, if not dealt with immediately can lead to many mental and psychological issues. One of such being Eating disorders.

Before we begin listing down the most common types of eating disorders, let us first understand what an eating disorder actually means. Unlike the general conception of the term, eating disorders have little to do with food and more to do with the psychological state of a person. One of the root causes of an eating disorder is the extreme obsession with body weight and body shape, that a person may develop on their own, or due to the negative influence from outside. When our brain consumes information that sets a particular belief about what an ideal body is, we tend to carry that belief around and compare our physical body with what our belief says, and thus starts the obsession. But we’ll keep this discussion about the causes of eating disorders for sometime later. Right now, let's look at the two most common types of ED caused due to body image issues.

1. ANOREXIA NERVOSA
   The most common type of ED is Anorexia Nervosa, and it is also the most recognised one. Mostly common amongst the women, this ED is concerned with having extreme obsession with weight loss and being skinny. The affected individuals, however underweight, view themselves as overweight and fat. They tend to skip meals frequently and monitor their weight regularly. In certain extreme cases, these individuals tend to avoid certain types of food, or deliberately induce vomiting in order to starve their body to reach their desired weight. It is to note that not everyone affected by Anorexia is necessarily underweight. Anorexic people can have normal body weight or even be overweight. What makes anorexia evident, is the unhealthy obsession with weight loss and taking drastic steps to achieve the same.

Types : a) Starvation - the individual starves their body, skips meals, avoids a certain type of food that are known to cause weight gain, etc

b) Binge Eating & later Ejecting - In this case, the affected person eats food in large quantities and then uses different ways to compensate for the food intake. They do so by inducing vomiting, taking laxatives, over exercising, etc

Common Symptoms : 

1. Drastic drop in weight - 
2. Avoiding food/Types of food
3. Inducing Vomiting/Taking Laxatives
4. Excessive Exercising
5. Are often in denial about being excessively underweight
6. Extreme fear of gaining weight
7. Irregular eating patterns

If not cured can result in : 

1. Thinning of bones
2. Brittle and thin nails and hair
3. Hair Loss
4. Infertility
5. PCOS

1. BULIMIA NERVOSA
   Another wildly popular ED is bulimia nervosa. In this case, the individuals affected consume large amounts of food per sitting, as if on “auto-pilot” and they do not have control over their consumption. Each eating session goes on until the person is in extreme physical pain. What’s common between Bulimia and Anorexia nervosa is the fact that after every binge, the individual tries to compensate for the “calorie intake” by again indulging in forced vomiting, use of laxatives and other metabolism increasing drugs, over exercising, etc.

Common Symptoms : 

1. Frequently overeating without having any sense of control
2. Extreme fear of body gain
3. Indulging in different purging methods

Not just Eating Disorders, but many other psychological diseases can attack a human because of body image issues, like body dysmorphia - where the affected individual develops an obsessive hatred towards one part of their body. What makes this even worse is the fact that body dysmorphia is chronic and worsens with time and age. Therefore it is essential to regulate what is being fed to the minds of our future. In Norway, influencers, advertisers and models need to get approval from the government before posting or sharing any photoshopped or tuned image on social media. They are required by the law to declare any type of modification on their photos using a ministry-approved label. Something we can definitely learn from the Norwegian Government. We’ll meet again soon! Until then, stay healthy, stay fit ♥️

Breathe in, breath out vats. This is going to be one heck of a ride. Today, we shall focus our energy on the science and secrets hidden inside the human body, but before that, let us first understand what Ayurveda actually means. In literal translation, Ayurveda is “the science of life”. It is one of the oldest forms of medical sciences that originates from the land of culture and gods - India. It is said that the physician of gods, Dhanvantari, was bestowed with this gift of ayurveda by the creator of the universe himself - Bramhadev. Ayurveda believes in the holistic healing of a person’s body, meaning, it sees health as a combination of three factors - Physical, Psychological and Spiritual well being.

The basics of Ayurveda comes from the belief that everything in the universe is made up of five elements, that are - the sky (Akaash), water (Jal), earth (Prithvi), fire (Teja or Agni) and air (Vayu). When these elements are compounded together, they give rise to three doshas, namely - vata, kapha and pitta, something you might have heard of in the advertisements for Ayurvedic medicines, but are not quite sure what they actually mean. No worries, because Beauty High is here to your rescue. Now according to this medical science, these three doshas are responsible for your overall well being and personality. Every human consists of these three doshas in different ratios, that vary from person to person. You can get your doshas checked by an ayurvedic practitioner, if you want to, but we can give you some information to better understand these terms, and maybe help you even analyse your own dosha.

Starting with Vata.

Vata is the combination of Vayu and Aakash. Having the characteristics of its main elements, Vata is often represented as cold and dry. The season that represents this dosha is autumn and the people with high vata possess the characteristics of a highly energetic and creative personality. These people are naturally on the slim side of the size scale and are often more prone to mental health issues, eating disorders, insomnia, digestive and circulatory problems. In order to maintain a healthy lifestyle, a vata-dominant person must know how to manage distress and maintain a proper daily schedule. These individuals must also keep their bodies warm and avoid being in extreme cold temperatures.

Next comes Kapha.

Kapha’s main elements are Prithvi and Jal, and it is often described as cold and steady, just like water. The people who have a higher ratio of kapha are characteristically strong and caring. They are often seen as the reliable ones, ready to support others in tough situations. They take mature, well thought of decisions and have the least amount of negative emotions. They are also more prone to weight gain, hypersomnia, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Even after being the ones with the least amount of negative emotions, a kapha dominant person is more prone to depression. For maintaining good health, these individuals must practise regular exercising and always maintain a warm body temperature. They also need to maintain a proper sleeping routine and avoid over resting.

image source wecapable.com

It’s 2022 and the World is changing rapidly, abolishing old beliefs, and setting up new traditions, normalising and prioritising holistic individual wellbeing. The past has seen society equate being healthy with physical fitness and being clear from all types of physiological diseases. However, with the advancement of technology, now everyone has access to information and every ounce of knowledge is just a click away and this has resulted in a major change in the way we look at health and fitness. People are now understanding health is a bigger term with many sub categories that doesn’t just restrict itself to one’s physical wellbeing. Human brain and body are very complex structures with thoughts and emotions that play just as much a role towards your health as the physical wellbeing. You are your healthiest self when you are physically, mentally and emotionally well. 

So what is emotional wellness? To put in simplest words, being emotionally well means being able to deal with life’s circumstances with ease, and successfully handle the stress while adapting to the constant changes and testing times. The National Center for Emotional Wellness defines the term as an awareness, understanding, and acceptance of your emotions, and your ability to manage these effectively through challenges and change. Your emotional wellbeing affects not just your overall health on its own, but also damages your physical and psychological wellbeing in the long run. 

However, emotional health has still not gained enough support even during these times and very few know how to deal with emotional health issues or how to maintain their emotional fitness. But fret not, because we are here to help you. Here are 7 tips on how to manage your emotional health in today’s world –

1. Optimum Amount of Sleep – We can’t stress this enough! The first step towards any kind of fitness is to ensure that your body gets the amount of rest it needs and deserves. Sleep helps you think more clearly, have quicker reflexes and focus better; which in turn affects your overall functioning, resulting into less stress and more productivity. Adults need 7 or more hours of sleep each night, while school-age kids need 9–12 hours, and teenagers need 8–10 hours. Many studies have also shown that sleeping after 11PM on a regular basis results in a drop of Dopamine levels inside our bodies, so staying up late at night is actually also pro-depressive. 
2. Practice Gratitude – We get it! Sometimes, life just sucks, and you really don’t have the energy or even the thinking to be grateful for something, but here’s what we do. Start small – Express your gratitude towards the small moments in life, each time someone makes you smile or even stays by your side on a rough road, be thankful for having that. Gratitude stimulates our brain to secrete Dopamine – the pleasure chemical of our body – that makes us happy, and thus healthy. Other feel good chemicals like oxytocin and endorphins are also released when we practise gratitude. 
3. Exercise – Moving your body is just as important as relaxing it. In todays day and age, while most jobs require us to constantly sit in one place, staring into a big wide screen, we often don’t get enough exercise that our body needs for proper functioning. Just 30 minutes a day of walking can boost mood and reduce stress by, you guessed it – by releasing our feel good hormones!
4. Diet – you can’t talk about health without talking about nutrition – Maintain a balanced diet, chew your food properly and understand what food has what effect on your body. Certain types of food products might cause bloating or trouble while sleeping – study your patterns and plan your meals accordingly. Listen to your body, it's never wrong. 
5. Breathing Exercises – Practise deep breathing and consciously observing your breath. Breathe in through your nose for about 4 seconds, hold for 3 seconds and then exhale through your mouth for around 5-6 seconds. Do this especially in moments of distress to instantly release stress and feel better.
6. Social Connections – Humans are social animals and therefore we need social connections to thrive. Establish better relations with people around you and do not hesitate to ask for help whenever necessary. However, it is advisable to set boundaries and know what triggers your emotions negatively – cut off people that drain your energy and adversely affect your emotional health.
7. Self Appraisal – It is so important to sometimes just pat your own back, even if it is for the smallest things. Reflect on your day at night and appreciate yourself for what you achieved and got done, instead of focusing on what was not. 

Inculcating these 7 vital factors in your daily routine will change your life tremendously and improve your overall physical, mental and emotional health. And for additional tips, we are always here 😉

image source anveya.com

Hola Amigos! It's a great day to learn about self care and an even better day to start implementing it in your life, so, we present to you some ways how you can take care of your biggest supporter and your number one fan - You!

Now, let's be honest, the only person who fully understands you and knows you truly is yourself. You have been through every situation that you have been through, you have felt every emotion that you have felt and even when everyone else was far away, you still had you. The only person you can always count on, without a doubt, is YOU! Therefore it is essential to always, always make yourself feel loved and cared for, even if you yourself are doing it, because honey, you deserve it. Starting today, we shall be listing down ideas for you to take inspirations from, in order to start your self care journey!

❁ AFFIRMATIONS ❁

Everyone knows how our mind controls our body and our emotions, but not a lot of people are aware that our mind, our body and our emotions are actually co-dependent. That means, if your mind can control your body, your body can control your mind as well and the same goes for your emotions. Therefore, in tough situations, we can trick our mind to feel happier by just positively affirming.

If you have low self esteem, you don't feel confident in certain situations, you can simply affirm - “I feel confident” over and over and you will start feeling confident. Saying kind and positive things about yourself will make you feel better and happier, which in turn can also increase your productivity or sometimes even improve your mental or physical health depending on what you tell yourself about yourself. You can in fact test this codependency of the mind, body and emotions by a simple experiment. Next time you are feeling lonely and sad in your room, just force yourself to hysterically start laughing for no reason. You will start feeling significantly better within a few minutes.

My personal favourite routine for this technique is the one that I have stolen from one of the tiktok beauty and skincare gurus - Gabriela Chase (@gabschase on Youtube). In her morning and night skincare routine videos, we see her look straight in the mirror and dramatically say these words - “I am a baddie, yes it is true. I am a baddie, there’s nothing I cannot do.” She tries to really exaggerate her confidence, and the whole setting has a hint of comedy to it, but in my opinion it is a great way to uplift your mood at the start of the day and give you that little kick of confidence that you need to go through your daily routine.

❁ YOGA ❁

Before I begin to list down the innumerable benefits of yoga that you have one hundred percent read before, I would like to point out how my country India introduced the concept of Yoga to the world. It is illegal to talk about yoga and not take a moment to be proud of your country. Anyway, yoga is known to reduce stress levels and also stimulate your brain to produce chemicals beneficial for you like your feel good hormones. It is said to shift your brain from the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) to your parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS).

Our sympathetic nervous system is the one responsible for our fight or flight response to situations that might put us in some sort of danger. While this is needed, our mind’s definition of danger can be as small as seeing a known face in the crowd. With a little training, we can calm our brain down, so it triggers our SNS only when it has to. Our PSNS is responsible for the function of feeding and breeding, or rest and digest. Therefore,  In order to calm down your body and start responding more in place or reacting, or sometimes even over reacting, we need our PSNS to take us over most of our daily situations. In other words - Yoga can help you tame your mind. And a tamed mind, means less drama and a happier life.

❁ TREAT YOURSELF ❁

Do you remember when you were younger and your parents would take you out for a little treat when you did something good, or were just simply feeling a little low? Well, why did we stop doing that? You can still give yourself a little treat for even small achievements, or when life isn't being easy on you. Even if it is as simple as going out for an ice cream alone, or making a bowl of maggie for yourself, give yourself that little push to make yourself feel better.

Sometimes, parents give their children a little treat for no reason as well. I am giving such parental examples because if parents do it, it means it is approved by the holy gods of law, right? Yeah, we ain't teaching anything illegal in this magazine. So go out, go buy yourself a drink or make one on your own. Make yourself feel loved and appreciated. Buy a chocolate, buy a packet of chips, or make yourself a fancy drink, maybe even dalgona coffee, maybe make some mac and cheese, maybe even just a sandwich you really love. Who is stopping you? Just do it ✔

❁ DANCE THERAPY ❁

Moving your body in general releases endorphins and other feel good hormones in your body and dancing has the same effect as any other form of workout. Therefore, dancing your heart out is one remarkable way to boost your mood, sweat a little and feel amazing. In addition to that, dancing is incomplete without music (seriously, if you dance without music please get some medical attention. It’s hazardous.) and music is also a well known mood boosting component, so double the points for this combination. To the shy, non dancers who can't dance to save their lives, we know what happens behind closed doors honey. Don’t make me open my mouth.

❁ READ ❁

Oooh, I see, you are already onto this one hah! Anyway, read the benefits of reading now. First and most importantly, it makes you smart and intelligent, so people will look up to you and respect you for your knowledge and wisdom. It improves your word power, brings you a little closer to being Sashi Tharoor.

No, no amount of reading will ever make you Sashi Tharoor. Anyway, back to our point, reading can be used as a form of entertainment. When you are reading a story, your brain can create visuals and you can always customise your imagination based on what the author is saying, it is like producing a movie minus the costs and efforts. Reading also improves the quality of sleep, don’t laugh, you doze off while reading too.

That's all we have for this Sunday, we will be back next week with another set of really helpful self care ideas that will put you in the right mood, set a positive tone for your day and help you become a better person with a better life. Adios Amigos!

image source pronamel.us

Hello, how are you doing?

Well, let's skip the basics and start a new series! New Year is around the corner and the one thing common about everyone’s new year every year are the broken resolutions, and we understand how stressful this can get. But fret not dear student of Beauty High, we are here to help you with a few tricks to stay on track with your resolutions and plans for 2023. Today we shall be talking in terms of one of the most common resolutions, that we are sure you put on your list every year but give up within the first few days. You guessed it right…

⏰ WAKING UP EARLY ⏰ 

Not us giving you credit for what we have already mentioned in the title of the blog XD.

Anyway, every year, with the newfound motivation of finding a new version of yourself with the beginning of a new year, we all decide that we have had enough. Enough of our parents taunting us at all times, enough of being considered a loser, enough of not being able to be THAT girl, enough of excuses, enough of laziness and enough of all the drama. It is time we strive towards perfection and fix our life. I am not made to suffer like this, I am made to run the world. The world is not ready for my transformation yet.  The world will see the power of the new, effortlessly beautiful, and unstoppable me. I shall wake up before the sun has risen and meditate, workout, shower and take over the world. Yeah, for like two and a half days. 

Anyway, to turn your two and half days to at least a week or two (we know you too well, don't we?), we have created a list of ways to make your waking up early journey a little easier.

Starting with our list now :

1. Jump Out Of Bed - As crazy as it sounds, just force your body to jump out of bed as soon as you hear your alarm go off. This will wake your body up and you will find it harder to slack off back to sleep.
2. Set 2 Alarms - One can be right beside you while the other should be across the room. Keep the alarm tone of this second alarm something really obnoxious and annoying so you have to force your body to get out of bed.
3. Drink Cold Water As Soon As You Wake Up - Drinking cold water can wake your body up immediately and refresh you instantly, therefore you will not go back to sleep.
4. Set A Bedtime - Adults need about 6-8 hours of sleep for a healthy functioning of your body and therefore sleeping on a fixed time everyday, almost and giving your 6-8 hours of rest, will make it easier for you to wake up on time as well.
5. Plan Out A Fun Breakfast - If food is something you really look forward to, this is one of the best ways to be genuinely excited to wake up early in the morning. 
6. Schedule Your Most Important Activity Early In The Morning - This will force you to wake up, even if you don't want to because you need to complete a task.
7. Plan Your Day Ahead - The night before you go to sleep, plan out your day beforehand and list down all your to dos. This way you will be more motivated to wake up early.
8. Keep Your Curtains Open/Open Your Curtains Immediately After Waking Up - The light from the sun will wake you up. Even if the sun hasn’t risen, the light from before the sunrise is also enough to wake up your eyes.
9. Plan Out Your Outfit For The Next Day - Before you go to bed, plan out an outfit for the next day. Keep your accessories and things ready. This way you are more likely to look forward to waking up early and getting out of bed, in order to see yourself in your chosen fit sooner.
10. Use Your God Gifted Personal Alarm - Ask your mom for help. Disclaimer : We do not take responsibility for any physical or E-M-O-T-I-O-N-A-L D-A-M-A-G-E that this tip can potentially cause.
11. Reward Yourself - Appreciate yourself and set goals, on achievement of which, you shall give yourself a reward. For example, making a cause and effect plan like - “ if I am able to wake up at 6 everyday this week, i will buy myself an ice cream. Or for every week you follow your routine, you deposit some money in your gift fund that you can redeem at the end of the month/year. The more consistent you are, the bigger reward you can get for yourself.
12. Make Your Bed Immediately After Waking Up - This way you will be demotivated to go back to bed before its bedtime.
13. Listen to Loud, Enthusiastic Music - Your brain will immediately energise your body and get rid of all hints of sleep because of the high intensity of the songs.

Here are our 13 tips for you to get your ass out of bed early! We will be back before you even notice, with our expert opinion and recommendations to help you achieve your desires this new year! Till then, stay safe, stay motivated!

image source freepik.com

Throughout the years, we have been taught the importance of exercise, and its role in maximising one's lifespan. In recent years however, we've also witnessed many known individuals losing their lives while exercising or working out in the gym. The latest being Indian model and Pageant Trainor - Alesia Raut's actor husband Siddhaanth Surryavanshi, who shockingly died on 11th November 2022 while carrying out his routine workout at the gym.

Another very famous name that got added to this list not too long ago was the Indian comedian Raju Srivastava who suffered a mild heart attack while running on the treadmill around three and a half months ago. He lost his battle of life a few weeks later in AIIMS, New Delhi. This makes us wonder, what went wrong and why are we suddenly seeing the hike in such cases. With Siddharth Shukla and Puneeth Rajkumar also being a part of the list, experts have started to see a pattern. And we're here to discuss the same. 

• Age :
  Quoting the founder-chairman of Bangalore-based Narayana Health - Dr. Devi Shetty - “ Every 40-year-old Indian male is a heart patient unless proven otherwise.” He further explained how looking healthy on the outside doesn't necessarily mean the person in question is actually healthy. As in the case of the laughter challenge performer Raju Srivastava, whose family claimed that he never had any signs of cardiac issues before in his life, Mr. Devi explains how being an Indian is a risk factor in itself and how people, especially men, should be careful while deciding their workout routines. 
   
• Health Conditions :
  It's not unknown that a lot of health conditions weaken the body, making it lose a certain amount of its physical abilities. People are advised to consult a doctor before joining a gym or starting a workout plan after being struck by these diseases. Some of the ailments that we're talking about include Covid-19, Asthma, Bronchitis, and other related respiratory diseases. Our respiratory system is highly responsible for the proper functioning of our cardiovascular system, which is why one must have healthy lungs to be able to handle high intensity workouts. An example for this type is the sudden death of actor Siddharth Shukla, who went into a cardiac arrest last year. According to the doctors that studied his case, the reason behind his heart attack was in fact joining a gym a few weeks after recovering from Covid-19. His body is said to have not recovered fully, which is why it couldn't take the physical pressure and he suffered a heart attack.
   
• Drinking :
  Now, drinking in limits occasionally is sure healthy and also very relieving in stressful situations, but the keywords here are limits and occasionally. Addiction or abuse of the same increases the level of alcohol in your blood that damages the liver.  The human body is all connected by blood, and a damaged liver is bad news for the heart. According to Dr. Howard Monsour,Chief of Hepatology at The Methodist Hospital in Houston, People who have any form of liver disease are more likely to die from a heart attack than those that don't. So as much as we don't condemn taking a little sip of rum every once in a while, control and balance is what we advise. 
   
• Smoking :
  As discussed earlier, for the heart to function ideally, one must have strong and healthy lungs. One way that does not ensure good respiratory health is smoking, obviously. Now unlike drinking, no amount of smoking is actually healthy, unless you want to listen to  a cigar business owner. The heart pumps the deoxygenated blood into the lungs where it gets oxygenated and then returns back to the heart for getting pumped to the rest of the body. Now in simple language, smoking makes your lungs weak and unclean. So the deoxygenated blood that reaches it gets contaminated, which makes it unhealthy for the heart. 
   
• Knowing your body's limit :
  In this day and age where social media decides your success and worth, people often forget that not every body is the same. Your body is different from your mother's, that literally gave birth to you, so comparing it with someone on the internet and striving to achieve that body structure is just calling for trouble. Working out to be healthy is one thing, and it's a good thing, but working out to achieve a particular body structure is not just unnecessary but also dangerously unhealthy. The reason why most of the famous people dying like this are actors or other people in the showbiz is that they obsess over achieving the perfectly ripped body, and a lot of times, your body is just not made for it. Over straining your body is only going to make it give up, so learn to know your physical limits. 
   
• Diet :
  Diet is that one pointer that you'll find in any health related discussion. As stated earlier, you can't talk health without talking nutrition. Our body needs proper nutrition in order to perform our daily activities. Having said that, we need to realise that in order to carry out high intensity workouts, we need to provide our body with more nutrition. Look at it this way, you own a car, you can drive around the neighbourhood with just a few litres of fuel. Now, if you need to drive yourself to another city in a different corner of your state, you might have to fill in the entire tank. If you don't, your car might stop abruptly, mid way to your destination. The same goes with your body. Food is fuel for the living organisms, and without fuel nothing can function. So balance the amount of output you desire by putting in the amount of input required. 

The output of anything always, without any exceptions, depends heavily on the input provided to the system, and the case of human body is no different. There’s a famous saying – You are what you eat – that could be used to explain this relationship between what we give to our body and what it gives back to us. Food is often seen as the fueling source for the human or any living body to function, but it has more roles in our functioning than just that of a fuel. For example, a car doesn’t distinguish between bad fuel and bad fuel. As long as what’s going in is fuel, it functions. But in case of the human body, our body reacts differently towards the different types of foods. You might have noticed how eating a certain something makes your skin breakout, or your stomach bloat unusually, or even make you feel lazier and inactive. That’s the power of food in our lives, and therefore, it is important to feed our body good quality, nutritious food that can help it grow and glow. One of the concepts under this vast topic is the balanced diet.

We all studied the meaning and importance for maintaining a balanced diet in school, at many levels. The one chapter that kept repeating itself every year was – nutrition and balanced diet, but how many of us can confirm that we fully understand the concept and have inculcated the same in our daily lifestyle? Stop lying. We see you! Anyway, we are taking you back towards the basics of eating a nutritious balanced meal today, because giving three exams every year for almost 5 years of your life didn’t seem to have enough impact. Let’s Start.

What does the term “Balanced Diet” even mean?

You are a person, that has a body different from all others. The amount of every type of nutrient that your body needs depends on your gender, age, lifestyle, and the amount of physical activities you are involved into. Incorporating all these nutrients in your meals in adequate quantities is what balanced diet is all about.

What are the different types of nutrients?

The three most important types of nutrients are:-

1. Carbohydrates – These are the main source of energy for us. Carbohydrates are sugar molecules that our body breakdowns into glucose, which, is what gives us energy. If you want to know the entire process, we will make sure to write about it very soon but let’s focus on its significance for now. We have all heard our friendly neighborhood influencer talk about low carb diets, but what exactly are carbs and what food products they compose? Well, a large portion of everything you have ever eaten consisted of carbohydrates. Right from the roti your mom makes to the potato fries you order online, everything is carbs. There are total 3 types of carbohydrates:

1. Sugars – This is the simplest form of carbohydrates, as it is the easiest to break down and provide energy. As simple as it sounds, sugars mostly include anything and everything sweet, however, not all sugar containing products are necessarily sweet. Desserts, chocolates, processed foods, soft drinks, candies, fruits, and vegetables are some of the examples for sugars.
2. Starch – These are complex carbohydrates that are broken down into glucose through different stages. For example – the saliva in our mouth breaks down the starch into maltose – also known as double sugar. This maltose later gets converted into glucose. Some of the examples of food products rich in starch are – potatoes, whole grains and certain vegetables like peas and corn.
3. Fiber – this is also one type of complex carbohydrate type. Most of the fibers are indigestible, therefore, inculcating more fiber in your diet will ensure you to have better metabolism and also prevent you from overeating. Fiber also helps our body in maintaining the cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Some of the examples for fibers are nuts, fruits and vegetables, and whole grains.

Going on a low carb diet can be healthy, but before doing so please always consult a dietician. Low carb means lesser nutrients and fibers, which might be harmful for your body.

2.  Proteins – Carbohydrates and fats are often ignored by people because they are seen as nutrients that result in weight gain. However, the one type of nutrient that almost everyone gives importance to is proteins. In school language, proteins are the body building nutrients, no doubt they are the most respected ones. Now what a lot of people don’t know is the fact that proteins also play a major role in weight loss and metabolism for your body. How? Well, studies have shown that proteins make you full even when taken in little quantities. This is due to the fact that proteins can reduce your appetite by reducing the levels of hunger hormone ghrelin. We also have a secret for all you flat tummy aspirants, make sure no one’s eavesdropping because this might just change your life. Having a high protein diet can help you get rid of your belly fat. Yes, all you need to do is reduce the portion of rice and increase that of meat and vegetables. Other than weight related benefits, proteins also helps you gain muscle mass – that gym freak at your office doesn’t talk about his protein powder all day for no reason. And you, little midnight snacker, you can prevent the guilt by having more proteins in your diet too. Why? Because proteins prevent food cravings, including midnight snacking. We will need a separate book to write about just proteins. They are simply amazing!

3. Fats – Fats are what get stored in the body, for emergency energy needs. They are like your savings, not for now, but for the future. In extreme cases when your body doesn’t receive food for immediate energy production, fats are what come to your rescue. Now that doesn’t mean… No bro keep the fries down. When we say fats, we mean healthy fats. Some of the sources of healthy fats are – cheese, dark chocolate, whole eggs, seeds, and nuts.

Apart from these three types of nutrients, some of the other important nutrients are –

• Minerals – Like potassium, sodium, calcium, etc. We need these nutrients for bone health, skin health, eyes etc.
• Vitamins – these are organic compounds that are either fat soluble or water soluble in nature. There are 13 types of vital vitamins, as stated below –
  • Vitamin A
  • Vitamin C
  • Vitamin D
  • Vitamin E
  • Vitamin K
  • Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)
  • Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)
  • Vitamin B3 (Niacin)
  • Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid)
  • Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)
  • Vitamin B7 (Biotin)
  • Vitamin B9 (Folate)
  • Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin)

Incorporating these in your diet in right amounts will change your life, health, and appearance drastically. Your body only reflects what you give it. Make sure you give it the best.

image source freepik.com

Growing competition and comparison in the environment has brought distress to an all time high, and people are dealing with poor mental health, now more than ever. Terms like ‘fitness’, ‘health’ and ‘spirituality’ have been trending for quite a while now but very little is known about these terms and by very few. Fitness is often associated with gym and workouts for example, while health is often seen as one's physical wellness. Being healthy itself has become the root cause of stress in many people. Sometimes we just need to stop and take a deep breath. One of the most commonly suggested methods to combat mental health issues and stress is meditation. 

The term meditation is often feared and avoided by people, especially youngsters, because of the general misconception about it being over complicated and hard to practise. However, meditation is easy and really stress relieving and can be perfected over time with practice. The purpose of meditation is to dive deeper into our conscious awareness and to learn how to focus and improve our attention and concentration abilities. It has numerous benefits that shall be discussed further in this piece, but first let us take you through the basic steps of meditation for beginners. 

How to Meditate (For Beginners)

Meditation is easy. Start by believing so. Step 1: Find a quiet spot, where you will not be disturbed for as long as you plan to meditate and sit down. You can sit with your legs crossed, or kneeling down. You can also sit in padmasana or vajrasana. Sit down as comfortably as you can because you are required to stay in this position for as long as you wish to meditate.

Step 2 : Set a timer. As a beginner, we recommend starting small. Just 5 to 10 minutes of dedication is a good start to your meditation journey.

Step 3 : Take a deep breath. Breathe in. Breathe out. Focus your attention on this process. Your conscious mind should be focusing on your breath.

As a beginner, your mind will wander off after a few breaths. Your job is to bring it back to focusing on your breath, as soon as you realise that it has wandered off. Be kind, don't be harsh on yourself when your mind loses its focus.

Step 4 : When you're done, slowly open your eyes (if they were closed) or lift your gaze and start noticing your surroundings. Start observing everything around you.

And that's it. You've successfully completed your first meditation session. Your job is to focus your mind on your breathing and when it wanders off, you're supposed to bring it back towards your breath. That's it, that is the practice.

With regular practice and dedication, your concentration window shall improve and you'll start to notice how your mind takes longer to wander off to another thought while meditating.