Getting a toned body is hard work that requires dedication and commitment. And the one area people complain most about is the abdomen. While cosmetic concerns are the primary reason most people do hundreds of crunches and avoid foods that add to the tummy, there are greater health repercussions associated with a big belly. Which is why the belly has always been considered one the unhealthiest spots to have excess fat on the body.

Why is belly fat so bad?

Most people are not aware of the health hazards that high fat on the abdominal poses. Many experts believe that having a heavy belly is actually more hazardous then being obese or over weight.

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Leafy green vegetables are rich in fibre, prevent osteoporosis. Greens are almost completely carbohydrate-free and an ideal vegetable for diabetics. Try this healthy salad from Saroj Kering today!

Ingredients:
1 bunch fenugreek greens
10-12 white radish greens (tender)
1 small bunch fresh coriander leaves
1 sprig spring onion greens (optional)
1/4 cabbage, shredded coarsely

Method:

Clean, pick, fenugreek including thin tender stems.
Chop radish greens coarsely
Pick coriander leaves, including very tender stems.
Chop spring onion greens coarsely
Wash, clean, dab out all excess moisture of all greens.
Spread out on clean kitchen cloth, if required.
Mix all ingredients, serve with fresh curds, salt and pepper.

Add a chopped spoonful of red or green chillies to your food everyday to keep your metabolism high and to give you an extra burst of energy

Nutrition and Dietetics expert, Parvathy Radhakrishnan answers readers’ questions on nutrition. Get your doubts cleared and see them featured on our FAQ page every Wednesday.

This week’s answer:

1. Does wheat roti in lunch, wheat ravva(Upma) in dinner and neembu paani with honey in the morning and oil less dosa in breakfast and 30 minutes walking in the morning help in reducing LDL ?
my LDL is 149,
HDL-49
Triglyserites-109
Cholesterol-219
No B.P and No Diabetes
Kindly suggest breakfast/ lunch and dinner diet i am an eggarian only.
T.Vijayshankar

You are doing fine, but please also include couple of fruits like guava, apple, pineapple, orange, etc. apart from the diet, if you are smoking stop it and if you are overweight, reduce weight with diet and one hour of exercise.

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Natural or home remedies are very popular for various illnesses.

Every region has its own home remedies – some tried and tested, others mere hearsay or experimental, having come down to us over the years from our grandparents’ times.

Being in India, we have alternative cures and home remedies for illnesses as varying as a simple cold to cancer thanks to our herbs and spices, condiments and exotic vegetables handed down to us through the centuries.

Though these are not complete remedies by themselves, they certainly complement the benefits if used in conjuncture with a healthy diet and reduce cholesterol.

How to reduce cholesterol in the Indian diet

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Trying to get rid of a bad cough? Drink warm water through the day and have a teaspoon of honey to soothe your throat before bed.

Is laughter a kind of exercise? That offbeat question is at the heart of a new study of laughing and pain that emphasises how unexpectedly entwined our bodies and emotions can be. For the study, which was published this year in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, researchers at Oxford University recruited a large group of undergraduate men and women.

They then set out to make their volunteers laugh.

Most of us probably think of laughter, if we think of it at all, as a response to something funny — as, in effect, an emotion.

But laughter is fundamentally a physical action. “Laughter involves the repeated, forceful exhalation of breath from the lungs,” says Robin Dunbar, a professor of evolutionary psychology at Oxford, who led the study. “The muscles of the diaphragm have to work very hard.” We’ve all heard the phrase “laugh until it hurts,” he points out. That pain isn’t metaphoric; prolonged laughing can be painful and exhausting. Rather like a difficult workout.

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Dr Gowthaman, Medical Director, Dr Gowthaman’s Ayurveda Panchakarma Center, Chennai, answers readers’ questions on Ayurveda. Get your doubts cleared and see them featured on our FAQ page every Tuesday.

This week’s answers:

1. my wife is suffering inflammatory bowl disease syndrome for the last eight months. now we are using english medicine. kindly suggest ayurvedha medicine for the same.
regards

S. RAVICHANDRAN

Hi Ravi,

Its the specialty of Ayurveda. Ayurveda medicines, diet and therapies can bring back the normalcy in no time. Please take the following combination of medicines – Granyanthakam Kashayam – 15 ml + 45 ml of warm water – three times a day 30 minutes before food, Dadimashtaka Choornam 3 gm + Kaseesam (101) – 250 mg – Twice daily after food with buttermilk and Manasamitram gutika 1 tablet at bed time with warm water helps.

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Orthopaedics expert, Dr VV Prasad answers readers’ questions on bone health. Get your doubts cleared and see them featured on our FAQ page every Monday.

This week’s answers:

sir i have undergone a knee surgery after my accident in 2009 and three screws have been screwed in my right knee a bit diagonally , and
i am very fine and it is not paining at all, i can run well and even though squat well about 60-70 kg.

sir now the point is that , i want to know that when should i remove my screw as i want to feel normal once again.

your help will be appreciated and i will be honoured , please sir reply, i would be thankful to you
Randee Singh Sodhi
Dear sir when it is not paining we don’t advice screw removal. As such i think you are normal if you can run and squat.

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A bean commonly used in Indian cuisine has been found to be an effective weapon against the life-threatening condition sepsis.

Researchers at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research found that a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) protein, HMGB1, mediates inflammation.

Inflammation is necessary for maintaining good health – without inflammation, wounds and infections would never heal.

However, persistent and constant inflammation can damage tissue and organs, and lead to diseases such as sepsis.

It is a potentially life-threatening complication of an infection or injury, and occurs when chemicals released into the bloodstream to fight the infection trigger inflammation throughout the body.

The result is that organs become damaged, including liver, heart, lungs, kidney, and brain. If excessive damage occurs, it may be irreversible. Therefore, it is important to identify ways in which persistent and constant inflammation can be halted.

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