There were times when carbohydrates were considered as fitness, health and weight loss enemies. And then with so much information around and trends changing from day to day; one day they are healthy, the next they aren’t.
So, how do you know what to believe and what to not?
There is one fact that remains unchanged throughout is that our body needs all the nutrients in our diet. And protein, fats, and carbohydrates being a part of the major macronutrients, they are equally essential for our body to stay healthy and active.
When we talk about carbs, they are a much larger food group that goes beyond bread and pizzas.
Carbohydrates are the sugars, starches and fibres found in fruits, grains, vegetables and milk products, often maligned in trendy diets. The dietary fibres are also a type of carbohydrate found in foods such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. They are necessary to maintain a normal weight and healthy heart and to keep your digestive system regular.
The body uses carbohydrates to produce glucose which is the fuel that gives you energy and helps keep everything going.
So if we jump to the conclusion, carbohydrates are important for a healthy body and weight loss both. Let’s dig deeper and learn more about the myths surrounding carbohydrates.
Carbs make you fat
Yes, carbs are fattening. And if you are on to consuming calorie-dense foods like potato chips and soda, you will become fat. But carbohydrates are beyond soda and chips.
Instead, foods with complex carbs like whole-wheat bread, beans, and fruits contain more fibre and have lots of other nutrients which are important for maintaining a healthy weight.
Our bodies don’t need carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are of various types. Glucose, a type of carbohydrate, is important for the functioning of kidneys, liver, brain and every organ system in the body. The body uses glucose for energy and stores excess glucose as glycogen. This glycogen is used by the body during fasting or exercising.
This is the reason that the body needs glucose.
Low-carb diet is the best way to lose weight
With low-carb diets, people see fast results and therefore these diets have become popular. However, according to many pieces of research, long-term low-carb diets are not sustainable.
Low-carb diet cut out large groups of vegetables, fruits and grains which deprives the body of getting enough vital nutrients to manage the weight effectively.
On the contrary, low-carb diets can increase the risk of micronutrient deficiencies and constipation due to their low fibre content.
Fruits are high in carbs and should be avoided
Fruits are important as part of a healthy diet. Fruits contain fibre, which helps with weight control and digestive health, as well as many vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Fruit contains carbohydrates in the form of natural sugar, which is much different than processed sugars. Processed sugar is what contributes to weight gain and increases the risk of chronic diseases.
Thanks to on-and-off diets trends, the fruit has also gotten bad media. People often say that fruit has too much sugar in it. Yet, along with a natural form of sugar, called fructose, the fruit is full of nutrients that our bodies need.
Eating more fruits and vegetables have a lower risk of developing diabetes, along with other chronic diseases.
Carbohydrates are difficult to digest
Although certain categories of food are higher in fibre can make the digestive system’s work hard, all carbs do not fall under this category and therefore should not stop you from consuming them regularly.
Foods that have a higher content of insoluble fibre are more difficult to digest and can cause an upset stomach.
However, soluble fibres that are found in whole grains, bananas, and certain vegetables like cucumbers, can the digestive system back on track.
So, after clarifying these misconceptions around carbohydrates, jumping to the conclusion that carbohydrates are important for a healthy body would not be wrong.
We just need to know the carbs which are essential for our body like whole grains, fruits, and beans and are great ways to meet fibre, vitamin and mineral needs and maintain a healthy body.
A healthy diet requires all the nutrients in the optimum quantity as required for healthy functioning of the body. Any nutrient below or above the required amount can make this functioning, a difficult process.
Of all the nutrients that your body needs, protein is the most important for good health and fitness. Unlike the micronutrients like vitamins and minerals, protein is a macronutrient which is required in large amount to stay healthy.
What is Protein?
Protein is said to be the building block of a human body and is a component of every cell in the body including hair and nails.
Along with Carbohydrates and Fats, Proteins is one of the primary macronutrients that provides the most of the energy to the body. This macronutrient is made up of amino acids which a human body can produce on its own.
Importance of Protein
Besides building bones, and body tissues, protein plays an important role in metabolic reactions, immune response, providing energy to the body, assisting the body in cellular repair, forming blood cells, and more.
Protein is a vital macronutrient for growth and development in young children as well.
Since protein is the component of every cell in our body, not getting enough protein in your diet can cause many health issues.
Sources of Protein
The amount of essential amino acids defines the nutritional value of a protein. The content of amino acids is different in different foods.
Animal products are ideally high-quality ‘complete’ protein containing all of the essential amino acids. Chicken, beef or fish and dairy products are all forms of animal protein.
Besides, soybean products, quinoa and amaranth also have all of the essential amino acids.
On the other hand, Plant proteins including beans, lentils, nuts and whole grains usually do not contain all the essential amino acids and therefore are considered ‘incomplete’ proteins.
People who follow a vegetarian or vegan diet usually have difficulty fulfilling their regular protein requirement. They need to choose a variety of protein sources from a combination of plant foods to ensure an adequate mix of essential amino acids.
Below is the list of food items which are high in protein:
- Eggs
- Almonds
- Oats
- Cottage Cheese
- Greek Yogurt
- Milk
- Broccoli
- Lean Beef
- Quinoa
- Lentils
- Pumpkin Seeds
Supplementing Protein to Fulfill Body’s Requirement
To help improve muscle protein synthesis and promote the growth of lean muscle mass, athletes and fitness professionals many times need to use supplements of the nutrients alongside their resistance exercise. In that case, protein powder is a popular nutritional supplement.
There are many benefits of protein powder:
- Improve muscle size and strength in healthy adults who perform resistance exercise training.
- Reduce muscle damage and improve muscle performance and muscle protein synthesis in healthy adults who perform resistance exercise training.
- Elderly people, people with a chronic illness, athletes and weightlifters may need to exceed the general protein intake on a recommendation.
Types of Protein Supplements
Whey Protein – Whey protein is a mixture of proteins isolated from whey, the liquid part of milk separated from the solid curds during the process of making cheese.
Whey protein provides enough amounts of the essential amino acids as required by the body to carry out the functions that proteins perform in the body. It is normally taken by people to improve athletic performance or meet nutritional deficiencies.
Once the whey is from curd, it is further processed to become whey protein powder that can be added to shakes, meals or protein bars.
Soy Protein – Soy protein isolate is naturally high in protein but very low in carbohydrates. This form of protein supplement has been shown as a source of lean, cholesterol-free and lactose-free protein which aids health needs across the lifespan.
Protein Isolates – Protein is extracted from whole food using heat and acid or enzymes to produce protein concentrates. These concentrates normally contain 60–80% protein and remaining 20–40% fat and carbs. On additional filtering, these fats and carbs are removed to form protein isolate powders which contain about 90–95% protein.
A healthy diet is crucial to maintain an active lifestyle. So, you must eat a variety of foods even to meet your body’s nutritional requirement.
Out of all the nutrients that your body needs, protein helps your body in repairing the cells and making new ones. It is also important for growth and development in children, teens, and pregnant women.
While protein is an important nutrient, other nutrients are equally important to maintaining good health. So, talk to your nutrition expert and ensure a healthy and optimum supply of all the nutrients in your body.
Another diet in trend, vegan diet focusses on plant-based foods and beverages and excludes all animal products. Vegan diet has garnered immense popularity in last few years.
Veganism means the completely removing all animal and animal-based foods from your diet. Apparently, if followed correctly, vegan diet can prove to be highly nutritious, effective weight loss diet which can also reduce the risk of chronic diseases.
However, it is not easy to go 100% vegan even for Indian vegetarians. Besides, there are many nutrients which lack in this plant-based diet like calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, fatty acids, iodine etc.
So, it is important to research and understand the pros and cons before shifting to vegan-only diet.
Advantages of vegan diet
- It aids weight loss
- It reduces the risks of serious diseases
- It is environmentally sustainable diet
- It encourages mindful eating
- It has more variety of foods
Disadvantages of vegan diet
- It may lead to nutrient deficiencies
- It is difficult to dine out with vegan diet
- It requires dedicated efforts
- It is difficult to meet the requirement of proteins
- It can prove to be complicated in following
Bottom line
You cannot expect miracles from vegan diet. It takes its own time to show its benefits according to your body.
Talk to a nutritionist before shifting to vegan-only diet. They can suggest you to take dietary supplements to avoid any nutritional deficiencies.
Not every diet works for everyone. So everyone needs a diet customised according to their own body requirement. Similarly, following a vegan diet can also go wrong for some individuals.
Besides, any diet that involves eliminating a certain type of foods can be difficult to follow. Think and process!
Weight loss is not a very difficult process when you follow the dieting way. It’s a simple and straight formula – eat less and gain less. No food, no fat. However, during the process, you may achieve your desired weight but may not necessarily achieve fitness. Along with your desired weight, you also get dull skin, improper digestion, hair fall and weak body.
It is therefore very important to lose weight the right way. Besides giving you a slimmer body, the right way of weight loss gives you many other benefits.
But, what is the right way of losing weight?
The ideal way to lose weight is by eating the right food, burning the right amount of calorie. And that’s where the famous 80-20 weight loss rule comes into play.
What is the 80-20 rule for weight loss?
The 80-20 rule for weight loss gives 80% weightage to your diet and 20% to exercising and working out. However, this has mostly been mistaken the other way round giving 80% to exercise and 20% to food. But this is not true!
It is important to understand that without the right nutrition, your weight loss will do more loss to your body. And it is no big secret that nutrition plays a big role in your healthy weight loss journey.
According to the 80-20 rule for weight loss, nutritious diet and right exercise complement each other to give you the desired result. Eat right, burn right and let the both of it do the magic on your body. And of course, this is a scientifically proven method for a healthy and sustainable weight loss.
How to follow the 80-20 weight loss rule?
When we say 80% of weight loss depends upon what you eat, you need to understand what to eat in that 80%. This 80% should be the right combination of all the nutrients that your body needs including proteins, vitamins, fats, minerals, fibre and carbs.
How to ensure 80% nutrition in everyday meals?
Know what you feed your body with. Fill your plate each of the above nutrients in the right amount. Understand the importance of each of these and the role they play in your healthy weight loss journey.
- Proteins – Proteins are the building blocks of your body
- Minerals and Vitamins – Vitamins and minerals build immunity
- Carbohydrates – For a fully functional healthy body
- Fats – Healthy fats take care of your energy and functioning
- Fibre – Takes care of your gut and digestion process
To ensure you consume all of the above in the right amount, you can also take help of nutrition supplements that besides supplying the right amount of nourishment to your body, also aids in the weight loss process.
In nutshell
The 80-20 rule is important to achieve healthy body weight without compromising on fitness. On the contrary, this 80-20 weight loss formula manages your overall body fitness and with the right 80% of the food, you can lead a better active lifestyle.
Eating a well-balanced diet which is rich in nutrients will not only do good to your body but it will also affect how you feel. What you eat directly affects how you feel. Your food affects your brain and your brain decides your mood. So, your food decides your mood.
Besides helping you in keeping a healthy body weight and a healthy heart, a nutritious diet also helps to elevate your mood and feel good about yourself. According to studies, people who do not have healthy eating habits are more likely to suffer mental health issues like anxiety, depression etc.
Moreover, your emotional well-being is associated with some of the nutrients found in food. Nutrients like folic acid, tryptophan, omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium, vitamin D and B vitamins all help in mood elevation and are part of a healthy diet.
How your diet impacts your mental health
Although nutrition does not cure your mental health, studies and researches show the effect of healthy eating on a healthy mind. Let’s see how good nutrition impacts your mental health.
Nutrients are essential for brain development.
As the cliche goes, we are, what we eat. When you eat a nutritious, healthy diet, it gets converted into enzymes, brain tissue and neurotransmitters. These help the brain to transmit information and signals to other parts of the body. This is how a diet rich in protein and enzymes helps develop a healthy brain.
Nutrients improve brain cell connection.
A healthy diet rich in nutrients like omega-3s and zinc is responsible for changes in a brain protein which improves the connections between brain cells. Whereas, refined sugar and saturated fats harm brain proteins. So, it is important to keep a check on the consumption of refined sugar and saturated fats.
It keeps the gut full of healthy bacteria good for the brain.
Our gut is filled with millions and trillions of good bacteria that fights with the bad germs and keep our immunity high. These bacteria keep a check on inflammation in the body which affects your mood and mental well-being.
A nutritious diet for the brain works the same way as for heart-health or healthy weight management. High-fat or processed foods or a diet high in sugar does the same harm to the brain as they do to the heart and body weight. Go for a diet rich in nutrition like vegetables, whole grains and fresh fruits.
Here are some of the nutrients that can help keep good brain health:
- B vitamins – Deficiency of Vitamin B12 triggers brain inflammation. Similarly, deficiency of folate may trigger low moods.
- Iron – Deficiency of iron also called anaemia may cause depression.
- Omega-3s – Omega-3 fatty acids improve memory, mood and mind.
- Zinc – Zinc helps in fighting stress. Deficiency of zinc may lead to depression.
Therefore, it is important to focus on your diet and nutrition intake for better mental health.
Our heart is one such body organ which is working around the clock, throughout the day without us knowing. This is the most important muscle of our body since it is responsible for supplying both blood and oxygen to all the other organs of your body. So, it stops working, we stop living!
If we do not provide proper care to our heart as it needs, our body may face serious problems. It is therefore important to understand the conditions that affect your heart and the habits and follow a lifestyle to prevent or manage these issues.
Taking the right action in time will help you keep your ticker in top shape.
The food you eat and the lifestyle you lead can do a lot to keep your heart health under control. Irrespective of the fact that whether you are suffering from any heart-related problems like high cholesterol, high blood pressure etc., you still need to make healthy changes to your daily habits to keep your heart healthy and lower the risk of heart disease in future.
It has been known that eating certain food increases the risk of heart-related problems. Still changing your food habits is also not that easy. When you know which foods to eat more and which foods to limit, you’ll be on your way toward a heart-healthy diet.
Here we are sharing some tips on how to fine-tune your lifestyle and eating habits for better heart health.
Eat healthy
Limit your intake of red meat and sugary foods and drinks. Eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products and nuts.
Besides improving your heart health, healthy food will also help you in shedding some weight and lower your cholesterol.
Even if you are eating a good amount of food, it might not suffice your requirements of the nutrients that your body needs. It is important to eat a variety of nutritious foods from all the food groups. Include food which is rich in all kinds of nutrients including minerals, protein, whole grains etc. and lower in calories. These foods help you control your weight, cholesterol and blood pressure and in turn maintain a healthy heart.
Check on the amount
How much you eat is just as important as what you eat. Do not overload your plate. Eating slowly until you feel stuffed. Eating more (even if it is a healthy option) can lead to eating more calories than your body needs.
Control your portions by taking a smaller plate than usual. Keep low-calorie, nutrient-rich foods in a large portion while high-calorie, high-sodium food in smaller portions. This strategy will help you stay in shape, keep your diet optimised and your heart healthy.
Keep moving
Getting and staying active not only reduces your risk of developing heart disease but it can also be a great mood booster and stress buster.
A 150-minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity in a week or a 30-minute of heart-pumping activity 3 to 4 times a week can make your heart achieve the fitness it wants. You can also opt for brisk walking, bicycling or swimming.
Check your intake of unhealthy fats
It is imperative to limit your consumption of saturated and trans fats to manage the cholesterol level in your blood and lower your risk of coronary artery disease. A high blood cholesterol level can increase your risk of heart attack and stroke.
Even when you have several risk factors for heart disease, there are things you can do to improve your chances of avoiding it.
Eat healthy, exercise, and stay happy!
Weight gain is usually considered not so positive making people fat or even obese. However, sometimes, gaining weight is equally important for overall health and well-being. When being overweight or fat looks like a universal problem for every one in three individuals, in reality, being too thin can also cause many health-related issues.
Invariable, body fats have a bad reputation and are mostly taken as a problem. But, not all fats are bad. It is important to have fats in your body for it to function smoothly.
Fats are those nutrients which are broken down by the body and are stored as energy in the form of calorie for the body to consume as and when required. This energy is used by the body to function, heal and grow. Therefore, fats are important nutrients that are responsible for the energy supply to the body.
Being underweight increases the risk of age-related muscle wasting and dementia. Thus, it is necessary for underweight or too thin and skinny people to gain weight.
However, it’s not as easy as it looks!
Gaining weight the healthy way is an extremely tough task. This is because the stomach size of a ‘thin’ person is small and increasing appetite is a challenge.
Besides, a thin person with the right appetite would still not be able to gain weight. Also, many a time they end up gaining unhealthy fat, which is even more harmful to the body than being thin.
Therefore, the right way of gaining weight is a daunting task and one of the primary concerns for the skinny ones. The weight needs to spread evenly in the body and not only get accumulated in the abdominal area.
Reasons for being underweight:
- Wrong eating habits
- Long gaps in between meals
- Poor selection of foods
- Improper amount of calorie in and calorie out
- Malabsorption of foods that is being eaten
- Prolonged diseases
- Eating disorders like anorexia nervosa or bulimia
To have optimum weight is important. Moreover, gaining weight the right way is equally important. Gain weight by eating the right nutrition and not by hogging on unhealthy foods. It will save you from being prone to diseases like diabetes or thyroid.
When you indulge in unhealthy eating, you are creating a nutrition deficiency, which can eventually lead to lifestyle diseases.
How to gain weight healthily?
It is very important to understand your body before starting your weight gain or weight loss journey.
- Know the root cause of your problem.
- Know why your body needs to gain weight.
- Consult 8 Fitness Tips wellness expert or nutrition expert to analyse your body.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind if you are on the journey to healthy weight gain.
Exercise
Exercise and working out is not only for those who want to lose some kilos but it is equally important for those who want to gain some healthy weight to become fit. A mix of cardio, weight training and flexibility enhancing exercises regularly can help gain weight and build some healthy muscle mass.
You can also indulge in some heavy weight lifting workouts like squats, presses, pull-ups, dips etc. which helps in increasing lean body mass. These exercises help in engaging multiple muscles while triggering your hormonal response systems.
Healthy diet
Your body requires the right amount of proteins, fats and carbs. Before you head to the market to stock up on some dietary supplements, which promises weight gain in no time, remember that many of these dietary supplements are full of synthetic nutrients. These may help you gain weight temporarily but ruin your health in the long run. Therefore, consult a health or nutrition expert before consuming anything.
Besides, any supplement will only help when they are consumed as per the requirement of the body. So, it is always advisable to get the right guidance before buying.
Our body needs healthy fats since unhealthy fats will only deplete our health. Include healthy snacks like nuts, dry fruits, fruits, dry snacks like roasted chana in your diet to gain weight healthily. Besides, you can try protein-rich foods, foods rich in fibre for best benefits.
Moreover, it is important to increase the size of your appetite gradually.
Increase protein intake
Protein helps in maintaining a healthy body weight with lean body mass. It is the building block of a human body. If your body starves of proteins, it will never be able to achieve its healthiest best.
Including tofu, paneer, chicken, and vegetables like spinach will help you get through with your daily protein consumption.
Set your weight gain goal for a perfectly toned and curvy body at the right places. Gaining weight around your abdominal area is of no help but a thing to worry and work on. So take help of experts and start your weight gain journey under the right guidance.
Remember, the process can be prolonged. Therefore, it is important to remain patient.
For the past few years, there has been a new trend in eating for weight-loss and diabetes that has been doing the rounds – eating smaller portions more frequently. While this trend has become an approved topic of conversation, certain people would like to understand the rationale behind it. How eating less more frequently can help improve your health?
Whether you are on your weight-loss journey or trying to control your blood sugar or ensure proper nutritional intake, small meals a day is what your doctor, fitness coach or dietician prescribed.
Together with a good exercise routine, eating 5-6 times a day can transform your body into a lean, toned, fat-burning machine.
Benefits of eating small frequent meals
Here are the major benefits of eating 5-6 times a day:
- It keeps you energised.
- You feel less hungry.
- It reduces your cravings for unhealthy food items.
- It controls blood sugar levels & insulin production.
- It reduces body fat storage.
- It increases and maintains lean muscle mass.
The only rule behind this way of eating is that every meal you eat should contain lean protein, good carbs, and healthy fats in about a 40:30:30 ratio.
Here’s how small meals can help you in sustaining a healthy and fitter lifestyle.
Weight Loss
Eating smaller portions more frequently can prevent the development of becoming overweight or obese.
According to research, people who eat only two or three large meals over a day tend to eat more calories than people who eat smaller portions of five or six meals. This goes as when you eat your breakfast at 8:00 am and lunch at 1:00 pm, your stomach is hungry for almost 4 hours at a stretch. This makes you consume more calories than are necessary to help satiate your hunger or what your body requires. This increased calorie intake is the reason your body gains the extra weight.
Decreased Chance of Nutritional Deficiencies
Eating 5 meals a day may help to ensure you’re getting all of the vitamins and minerals that you need to keep your body in proper working order. Research has found that people who eat several meals through the day tend to vary their diet more than those who simply eat two or three large meals.
Getting the proper amount of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients are essential both for good health in people of all ages and genders.
To summarize, when you eat smaller meals, say five meals a day, you are less hungry and do not overeat, you feel more energised and have a more positive outlook. Smaller frequent meals enable more stable blood sugar and less craving for unhealthy foods.
Tips for eating small healthy meals frequently:
With all said and done, it is important to understand that these smaller meals must be healthy and full of nutrition. Here is how you can ensure this:
- Ensure protein or fibre in every meal.
- Eat a reasonable portion.
- Try eating with your hands to ensure optimum portion size.
- Plan your meals beforehand
- Take help of professionals to ensure optimum nutrient intake and right meal size.
Are you looking for a meal plan that suits your objective? Want a meal plan that can control your hunger, make you feel full and energized? Looking for a meal plan that can help you lose weight? Looking for delicious and convenient meals that will help you achieve your goals?
If you are looking for expert advice to help you plan what to eat and when to eat, talk to our nutrition expert today!
What you eat reflects on your skin. Yes, we have said this before, and we are repeating it!
Healthy eating not only benefits your fitness and weight loss goals, but it also works on your skin, hair and overall looks. So, for healthy glowing skin, eating right is very important.
Whatever you put up on your face, how much ever you visit the beauty salons, unless you feed your body well with the right amount of required nutrition, no beauty product, no salon can bring the radiant glow on your skin.
Nourishing your body from inside gives a healthy, radiant and youthful skin outside. Holistic nourishment involves a properly balanced diet which should include the right amount of proteins, vitamins, minerals, fats, carbohydrates etc.
Here are the top essential nutrients required for glowing skin.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A supports collagen production, a protein that provides structure to your body, including your bones, skin, tendons, and ligaments. The vitamin also controls Keratin production (a substance that makes up most of our skin cells) and helps keep skin strong and healthy.
It supports the skin’s immune system and promotes natural moisturising. Vitamin A keeps the skin hydrated and gives it a radiant glow. It also helps in promoting and maintaining healthy skin layers dermis and epidermis.
Vitamin A is readily available in a wide range of food sources including pumpkin, sweet potato, eggs and leafy greens. Very rarely, it needs to be supplemented to keep up with the required amount.
Vitamin C
Like Vitamin A, Vitamin C also supports collagen production and healing processes in the skin. Collagen and elastin are destroyed by free radicals, leading to the development of wrinkles. Vitamin C is an antioxidant which fights against free radical damage that causes premature ageing. Getting enough Vitamin C will therefore keep you young and glowing.
Vitamin C can be obtained from a balanced diet and rarely need to be supplemented. Citrus fruits including lemons, oranges and berries are a rich source of Vitamin C. It is found in many vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower etc.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E, along with Vitamin C, protects the skin from the damaging effect of ultraviolet (UV) rays. It improves the texture of the skin, slows down the conversion of soluble collagen into insoluble collagen thereby slows down the ageing process.
Vegetable oils, peanuts, various plant seeds, olives, broccoli, spinach and asparagus are rich dietary sources of vitamin E.
To get the required amount of Vitamin E, you can also consider supplementation. However, it is always advisable to take expert advice since overdose of Vitamin can be harmful.
Vitamin B Complex
Vitamin B Complex means different forms of Vitamin Bs including Vitamin B-3, Vitamin B-5, Vitamin B-6 etc. All the B Vitamins are essential for healthy skin.
Vitamin B7 (biotin) is one of the most important vitamins found in the skin. Lack of this vitamin can cause itchy and scaly skin. Bananas, eggs, oatmeal and rice are a rich source of biotin. The human body can also produce its biotin.
Vitamin B3 (niacin) helps the skin to retain moisture. Therefore creams containing niacin help your complexion look plumper and younger. Niacin also has anti-inflammatory properties. It helps in soothing dry and irritated skin.
With the help of Vitamin B Complex, the skin regulates cell turnover and sebum production. Besides, it also helps in utilising the Essential Fatty Acids, efficiently.
Meat, eggs, seafood, nuts and seeds are some of the sources of Vitamin B. However, the vitamin can be tricky to get from diet alone and often needs to be supplemented.
Zinc
Zinc is another essential skin-friendly mineral required for optimal skin health. The deficiency of the mineral can be determined if you have acne-prone skin. It is therefore advised to take zinc supplements if you are suffering from acne, eczema or any other inflammatory skin condition.
Healthy Fats
Fats give a glow to your skin! Avoiding fats in your diet can make your skin dry, wrinkles and dull.
However, it is important to focus on monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats from plants and avoid unhealthy fats for healthy skin.
Nuts, seeds, avocados and fats from fish are all types of healthy fats. They help your skin stay moist, firm, and flexible.
Polyunsaturated fats also help in blocking a chemical which can cause growing and spreading of skin cancer. Omega-3 fatty acids are a kind of polyunsaturated fat. Our body needs to build cell walls but cannot make it on its own. which your body can’t make but needs to build cell walls.
Protein
The proteins our body consumes are turned into amino acids, the building blocks of the body. It is then reused to make collagen and keratin. Amino acids also help slough off old skin. Some amino acids are antioxidants that protect skin cells against UV rays and from free radicals.
So, in a nutshell, we can say that proper nutrition is the key for glowing skin. The nutrients listed above will give a healthy and radiant glow to our skin besides keeping our body and mind fit.
When you begin your weight loss journey, the first thing that you do is to note your weight since this is the benchmark that you keep to mark your progress.
However, when you start exercising for weight loss, you burn calories, lose fat and build muscle. Ironically, a kg of muscle weighs the same as a kg of fat.
So, how do you measure?
It is important to understand that both fat and muscle are necessary for a healthy body. So in the case of fat vs. muscle there can be no clear winner. It is the balance of the two that really matters.
Technically fat has a greater volume whereas the muscle fibres have a greater density. This means, a kg of muscle takes up less space and looks smaller than a kg of fat. So you may see differences in your body composition, strength and energy, but not on the number on the scale.
Also, fats cannot be converted into muscles. Muscles grow when you put them to work. No exercise, no muscle. On the contrary, they will decrease in size, slowing your metabolism and increasing your fats.
Muscle boosts your metabolism and is therefore important for your body and overall fitness. They burn more calories even while at rest. So, if you have more muscles, you will burn more calories and eventually not accumulate extra fats.
Muscle surrounds the bones and works to strengthen them and reduce the risk of bone injuries.
Another benefit of developing muscles is an improvement in your core strength and balance.
Muscles improve your blood circulation, digestive health and the overall health of all your organs by being continuously engaged in calorie burning activity.
When you understand the difference between muscle mass and fats and work towards balancing the both, what you achieve is a better body definition.
It is only possible when you follow the two-dimensional process of weight loss and fitness – right diet and right physical exercise.
So, follow the diet that is right for you, do regular exercise and focus on overall fitness rather than just the scale.