ORTHOREXIA – OBSESSION OF EATING RIGHT FOODS
HEALTH is the NORMAL STATE for all living organisms, including
man.
DISEASE IS AN ABERRATION. Disease requires medicine to bring
man back to health.
When diet is WRONG, medicine is of no USE.
When diet is CORRECT, medicine is of
no NEED.
SPECTRUM OF HEALTH
The topmost rung on the
ladder of health is that of VIBRANT HEALTH. This is attained by a select
few who venture very hard in the field of Elevated thoughts, regular
meditation, & Raja yoga. Saints, yogis, carefree uninhibited toddler
children, belong in this beautiful category.
One rung down takes us
to OPTIMUM HEALTH. People in this category are very much conscious of
their physical bodies & wish to stay in perfect shape most of their lives.
Actors, singers, musicians, athletes, fall into this category of mania for good
physique. They earn millions through the display of their bodies & skills.
They also spend at least two hours every day in the gym, rain or shine &
eat frugally exercising total discipline in all aspects of their living.
The next rung down on the
ladder of health is APPARENT HEALTH. We think we are healthy enough, but
realistically we are not. Mere absence of disease is not good enough for
us.
The lowest rung of the
ladder is Ill HEALTH. This is a serious matter, but the cause is very much
in our control if we choose to do so. If we hang onto this rung any longer, we
get closer to our graves sooner.
GETTING A GRASP ON
METABOLISM
ORTHOREXIA means an obsession with
eating foods that one considers healthy. A person systematically avoids
specific foods he believes to be harmful, hence this tool helps you out of the
predicament of selecting the most congenial ones. Right Nutrition is required to keep us
in a perpetual state of health. We need to pay attention to Nutrition
since it has its share of Must dos, should dos and Could dos. One of the Must
dos is to focus on the metabolism of Carbs & Sugar.
SUGAR IS FUEL FOR CELLS BUT A KILLER TOO
SUGAR is the basic fuel for all cells to function. Sugar is
required by every cell of the body. The cell allows sugar to enter only if it
is accompanied with Insulin. Thats the norm. Sometimes there is a metabolic
disorder. Either the Pancreas does not produce adequate Insulin, or the cells
do not accept Insulin. Either way, man suffers. The disease is called Diabetes.
Some diseases affect isolated parts of the body. Diabetes affects all organs
adversely. When cells do not accept sugar, the sugar gets left behind in
the blood. Sugar is required in the cells and is good for them. Sugar in the
blood is bad for an organism. The double attack on you is that the lack of
sugar in the cells makes you sick. The excess of sugar in the blood makes you
sicker. You have a compound problem on your hands. It may be hereditary. You
have no control over it. It may be triggered by varied circumstances, beyond
your control. There is no known cure for it. Treatment is not cure. Cure means
no more medication. You have only one way out. Focus on your nutrition. Focus
on what you eat. There are many aspects to focus on, but the number one place
must be given to the monitoring of your blood glucose. And how can you do that?
By controlling what you eat. How much you eat. What is the quality of the food
you eat. What is its Glycemic index and consequently how much is the Glycemic
load on the body. Recording your blood sugar and analyzing the results. And,
and then, modifying your eating habits. Watch the trend. The actual
reading is not so important. The trend will tell you how you can modify your
eating.
GLYCEMIC
INDEX & GLYCEMIC LOAD RELATIONSHIP
GI tells you how rapidly the food has
been metabolized into glucose. It is the speed at which the carbs have been
converted to glucose. GI is a number only. Pure Glucose is represented by the
number 100. GL tells you how much glucose you have consumed. GL represents
the quantity. It is also represented by numbers. GL should not exceed 100 in
one day. In nutrition, this is the only figure where all the world is
unanimous. The aim is to make us aware of a relation between what we eat and
the Glycemic Load of that food. Then
lead us to see the pattern & relation between the glycemic load and blood
sugar. It is a trend you must observe & take remedial action to bring back
the blood sugar to normal. The remedy, of course, is the change in what you
eat. Nature provides sugar in all foods. Yes. All
foods. Without exception, including bitter gourd. Even if you do not eat any
white sugar at all, you still consume sugar in the foods you eat.
The efficiency of your
metabolism is reflected by a parameter known as HbA1c. This test is
normally done in a laboratory.
It represents the average sugar that attaches itself to the blood. Blood cells
have a life of about 120 days, after which they die and are replaced by
new cells. So, we take the average for about 90 days. The test results are
shown in a percentage. From this percentage, the average is calculated. But we
can reverse the process and calculate the HbA1c from the average. We can record
the blood sugar reading and calculate the HbA1c from the average of the last 90
days.
BLOOD PRESSURE HAS THREE READINGS
The ideal readings should be U/L/PP: 140/80/40.
The Upper reading, U, indicates the pressure at which the heart
pumps the blood. It is this pressure that Sodium increases.
Sodium decreases the elasticity of the arteries. The pressure rises further.
The heart must increase the effort to make the blood reach the brain and
all the capillaries. The immediate effect is that it can cause a burst in the
circulatory system or a stroke in the brain. In the long run it will lead to a
heart attack, a stroke in the brain or chronic kidney disease. A low systolic
pressure causes inadequate blood flow to the heart, brain and other vital
organs.
The Lower reading, L, is the residual pressure during the time that
the heart rests. Sodium increases this too, but not that much. But reduction of
sodium in the body by salt excretion, caused by high Potassium, is directly
related to lowering diastolic pressure. Potassium leaches Sodium out of
the body, effectively reducing the sodium, thus lowering BP, diastolic more
than the systolic.
Pulse Pressure. It is the
difference between U and L. It’s ideal value is 40. It is important
because a higher or a lower pulse pressure than normal means that your
heart and or your circulatory system are in danger. Any reading above or
below 40 is an early warning, much before the actual danger strikes. Therefore,
pay heed and monitor this aspect carefully. A reading of 40 means your heart is
working optimally. A reading higher than 40, wide pressure, means either your
heart is working harder, or your arteries are less flexible or both.
Either way, they increase your risk of heart and circulatory
problems, especially heart attack or stroke. A reading lower than 40, Narrow pulse pressure, means the circulatory system does not have adequate
pressure. It can cause heart failure due to decreased pumping, blood loss,
due to decreased blood volume, aortic stenosis due to reduced stroke
volume, and cardiac tamponade due to decreased filling time.
SALT IS SERIAL KILLER
SODIUM & POTASSIUM RELATIONSHIP
Sodium and Potassium are complementary
bedfellows. Sodium regulates the amount of water outside the cells. Potassium
regulates the water inside the cells. The two maintain a balance for the
proper functioning of the metabolism. A ratio of 1:3 is essential. A
little higher than that would be even better. Our grandfathers had a ratio of
more than 1:10. Sodium rules and when in excess, determines the bad
effects, immediately, daily. Although 500 mg is adequate for a human for a day,
the world over, the advice is to consume no more than 1500 mg per day. If you
cross 2300 mg per day you have stepped into toxicity. High Potassium does not
produce immediate side effects. It affects the heart in the long run. 3000 mg
per day per adult is considered adequate. Anything more than 4700 mg per day is
too much. Most people consume too much Sodium and too little Potassium. Sodium
should be between 1000 mg to 1500 mg. Potassium should be
between 3000 mg to 4700 mg. They are
two important ingredients of our diet. They control the fluid balance of the
body. Excess Sodium will cause Constipation,
Water retention, Hypertension and an increased heart rate. Potassium will improve
the peristaltic action of the intestines, cure constipation, leach sodium
out of the system, bring down hypertension and remove the excess water from the
body. Their ratio is critical for the efficient functioning of the human
body. We must consume at least four times more Potassium than Sodium.
EFFECTS OF SODIUM & POTASSIUM ON
METABOLISM
High Sodium intake, by itself, as
a standalone actor, will cause High BP, Constipation, Dehydration,
Water Retention and consequent Weight Gain daily. Effects of high sodium
on one day last for about 4 to 5 days. One or all these symptoms will make you
feel sick.
Low Sodium will become evident when there is Nausea, Fatigue, Headache,
Weakness, Twitching, Muscle Cramps, Hypothyroidism,
Hypoglycemia, Excessive sweating and Mental Delirium.
A correspondingly high Potassium intake will lessen the bad effects
of high Sodium. It leaches out excess Sodium and excretes it through the
urination process. But, high Potassium, by itself, is manifested by Nausea,
Weakness, Numbness, Paralysis, Arrhythmia, Bradycardia, Cardiac arrest,
Tingling in the extremities and slow week irregular pulse. Kidneys may be
damaged by an overdose of Potassium.
And how can one get an overdose. Simple, by an overdose of coconut water.
A low Potassium intake will lead to Arrhythmia, Water retention, Muscle
Cramps, Chronic Arthritis, High BP, Discomfort in Chest and Weakness.
Bottom line, if You want to be cheerful & active,
reduce SALT & increase POTASSIUM.
CONSTIPATION /
EVACUATION
Normal health
means at least one complete bowel motion every day. Complete means complete,
period. You must feel that your colon is completely empty. Constipation
occurs when you eat too much salt aka Sodium. Your body sucks up water
from your intestines to help compensate for the extra salt in your
bloodstream. This is one way your body works to bring its salt concentration
back to normal, but unfortunately, it leads to constipation. Chronic
constipation causes fecal impact, which in turn causes ulcers, colitis or
obstruction to colon and finally cancer. It can be fatal. Am I trying to
scare you? Yes, I am.
WATER REFENTION
& WEIGHT GAIN
When we eat too much salt, the body retains the extra Sodium which increases
the amount of fluid in the body, outside of the cells. It bloats the body and
there will be swelling. If you retain water, you will gain
weight. Hrexia.com is the most sophisticated
tool to keep you away from the grave if you choose to.
ROHIT KHANNA IN-CREDIBLE
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