LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE

by Dr. Nitin Mehta

Elaborate spread of Diwali sweets, the champagne and the beer bottles will be a memory within next ten days. Its brand New Year but where is your brand new body? Here are ways to iron the kinks out of your everyday life and improve your health in 2007.

1.Clear your Clutter
If there’s too much going on in your life, its time to simplify your routines and responsibilities as well. Follow these steps:
Make a list of about 20 or so activities that make up your week.
Rate them: essential you love doing it; desirable, a kind of desirable and some thing you could do without, now cross out the last two and concentrate on the others.

2. Eat for energy
Feeling down and lack energy, try to get enough complex carbohydrates - wholmeal breads, grains, some good slow energy release energy foods – bananas, yogurt, to maintain blood glucose levels, iron – red meat, legumes to beat fatigue.
Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oils, flaxseeds walnuts could help the function of serotonin and dopamine – both feel good chemicals and so boost happiness.
Eat more roughage: To stay healthy, one needs 30gms or so of fibre/day, yet many consume about 65%of RDA. Simply introduce more fibre into your diet by choosing cereals that contains barley. Oats for breakfast, wholemeal bread for lunch and add an extra serving of vegetables to your dinner. Use natural muesli – contains whole grain oats and wheat germ, both good for digestion and energy.
Learn to identify and avoid saturated fats – that raises your cholesterol. On food labels often disguised under names such as palm oil, baking margarine, butter fat, lard, milk solids, coconut oil or cocoa butter. Many people assume low fat or no fat is the way to better health. But low fat products such as apple pie can be high in refined sugar, which only lowers yours white cells and therefore immunity. Avoid saturated fats - fried foods, full cream dairy products and processed foods such as biscuits and cakes. All these have the strongest associations with raising blood cholesterol and risking cardiovascular disease. .The skins of non-organic fruits like bananas, oranges you are likely to peel off , this peel takes the brunt of the pesticides and herbicides. So Pay a little more for organic produce you tend to eat whole with the skin.

3.Stop stress on the spot.
Office politics, difficult clients or queue rage, spend a few minutes slow breathing any time you feel stressed - concentrating more on the exhalation than the inhalation At home take to meditation easily you slip on some relaxing music and practice open eye meditation for 10 minutes. Sit opposite your partner or mirror and focus on the bridge between each other’s eyes / between your own eyes, main idea is to focus This technique draws tension to the surface. Watching the emotion reminds you to let go and clears the chatter from your head.

4. Spin for energy.
Spinning for a natural high if you’re feeling low. You’ll want to spin in a circle rather than lose control. Place your arms out like wings – or bend them slightly if you are short of space – with the palms face down. Spin in a clockwise direction and relax your eyes. Remember to breath normally through nose. It is advisable to start spins A day. And build up to 21 times. It’s a mystical number, beyond, which there is a reverse effect.

5. Book for a medical
Let’s get tough one out of the way first; if you didn’t have check up, book one before you go back to work Talk to your doctor about the tests you need and any other extra tests needed after giving family history
For women self examination of breasts every month after the period to check lumps or thickening and women over 50 can get a free mammogram every two years. Men need monthly self-examination of testicles too.feeling for lumps.
Ask the doctor to advise about Alzheimer’s risk, glaucoma [because it is symptom less], when to get a flu shot.

6. Raise your fitness
Calculate your body mass index [BMI] A healthy BMI is 20-25, it’s just one indicator of your wellbeing but risks of serious problems multiply many times if your BMI is 40. Gyms aren’t the only the only place to get a work out .On your daily stroll, which should last at least half an hour, take short sprints. Start walking or running on sand: it will zap 20-50 % more kilojoules than traveling at the same pace on the road or footpath. Set an hourly alert on your phone or computer to get up and move around. Sit up tall, draw your navel in and hold the contraction for 10 seconds – good for stability and heart rate. Try going to bed at the same time – preferably before midnight- and getting up at the same time in the morning. Your body likes routine, so you are likely to get a better night’s sleep. Plus you’ll get higher quality slow wave sleep [SWS], when the body produces the growth hormones needed for repair and healing. Find a new leash on life and warm up to gardening, both are reported to boost your overall health and mood. .

7. Update your first –aid kit.
You never know when you might have to play doctor / nurse for real. The kit should include Dressings, bandages, adhesive tape alcohol/spirit swabs, safety pins, tweezers and surgical gloves.

8. Stay positive.
An optimistic outlook often stimulates the production of T- cells, which boost your immunity. So next time stress bites, spend 10% of your time thinking about the problem and 90% on the solution. Don’t obsess over what went wrong – seek the positives and move forward. Here are some ways to work, play, sleep, eat and generally live well daily. With the smallest of changes you can become the guru of your own balanced life.

Work comfortably, workstations need proper fixing Your feet should be firmly on floor, computor screen should be 50-70 centimeters from your face and its center about one to two centimeters below your sight line.