How Yoga Helps Digestion

 

Maintaining a healthy digestive-system is an essential aspect of remaining fit and retaining a sense of wellness and wellbeing. As well assisting with the digestive-process generally, practicing yoga can also help to relieve the distress of digestive-disorders such as Crohn’s disease and Colitis. Engaging in yoga regularly can provide fast-relief for such conditions, and can also have benefits for many people, living with a serious illness or recovering from an invasive medical procedure or type of surgery.

 

Yoga can help aid the digestive-process through the application of breathing techniques and patterns. These can help the body to produce extra energy, which is helpful in removing the toxic materials that linger in the body following the consumption of un-healthy foodstuffs. The materials are also formed as the result of other factors, such as stress and leading an un-healthy lifestyle. However, there are several yoga-poses that offer great assistance to the process of digestion.

 

For instance – the Ushtrasana pose helps to reduce constipation by flexing the intestines and stomach so it can be more efficient at digesting food. This body-movement is also known as the “camel pose”. The Trikonasana position can produce similar benefits by stimulating the appetite to ensure you eat when you should and the Matsyendrasana technique produces a massage and manipulation of the abdominal organs involved in digestion, thereby making the process more seamless and efficient. As well as aiding the digestive process, yoga can also help to reduce body-weight and improve blood-circulation, as well as provide a desire to stay fit and eat healthily. A healthy diet can help to increase the body’s energy, and provide benefits that help inspire you to stick to it.

 

As these are all fairly complex poses, and need to be practiced in a very specific manner in order to guarantee success; it is important to seek professional guidance before attempting them.

 

Categories: body, digestion nbsp, digestive, digestive process, Healthy, nbsp, process, yoga

More than Food: Have You Tried the Holistic Diet?

A holistic diet is so much more than the food you have on your plate. This approach looks at you as a total person and gives you a healthy lifestyle in a package. Not only do you need to nourish your body, prevent chronic health concerns and increase your levels of energy, but these things can help you to create an overall sense of wellbeing. So how do you adopt a holistic diet?

Firstly, make sure your diet has a healthy balance of macronutrients like carbohydrates, proteins and fats. According to Neda Smith, the Co-Editor of Holistic Nutrition, not all carbohydrates are bad and you shouldn’t eliminate them from your diet. However, it is important to eat natural food in a holistic diet and to avoid processed foods. This means opting for fish, whole grains, vegetables, meats, fresh juices, herbal teas and coffee substitutes.

You also need to balance the macronutrients in your diet with the micronutrients, such as fibre, minerals and vitamins. This will help you to keep you body in optimising energy so that you reach high levels of physical and emotional wellness. The fibre will help you to digest your food, which is a vital component in the holistic diet. Experts in this complementary approach advise against cold foods and beverages – which are slow to digest – and instead recommend foods that contain probiotics or friendly bacteria, and chewing well before swallowing.

Emotional health is extremely important in a holistic approach to wellbeing. Sandra Caton, Editor for the American Holistic Health Association, explains that you need to be consciously aware of your thoughts, behaviour and feelings towards your family, friends and the people you interact with. You also should build up your respect for the planet in which you live. Go green and participate in community and neighbourhood “clean up” projects.

However, it’s not just your nutritional, emotional and environmental wellness that the holistic diet encourages; it’s your mental and spiritual health too. You can achieve spiritual wellness through various modes of attaining mental peace, such as yoga, simple meditation and relaxing recreational activities like reading or listening to music. If you incorporate all these things, you’’’ wake up with enough enthusiasm for the day ahead.

Categories: balanced diet, digestive, yoga

Fibre: What You Need to Know For a Healthy Diet

Fibre is important for your diet, helping your digestive system to work effectively. But it does so much more than just that – it helps to lower your cholesterol, aids weight loss and regulates your blood sugar levels. Studies have also shown that it can help to reduce the risk of some illnesses, such as diabetes, certain cancers and heart disease! Many people don’t get enough fibre in their diet, which can lead to digestive complications and constipation. If this is left untreated for too long, it can cause a health concern known as diverticulosis, which causes pockets to form along the intestinal walls. These can become inflamed and infected in severe cases, leading to extreme pain.

Diverticulosis is mainly caused through a lack of fibre in the diet, however there are other factors which contribute such as obesity, smoking, limited exercise and those over the age of 40. The main cause of this condition is due to the walls of the bowel becoming looser and losing strength, which puts pressure on the digestive system. This leads to the condition forming. Research has shown that eating certain foods like nuts and corn doesn’t impact the risk of developing diverticula, as previously thought – in fact, they can help to reduce the risk, particularly in men.

There are few symptoms for diverticulosis, which makes it difficult to diagnose, but you’ll notice feelings of sharp intense pain in the abdomen if you are suffering with a bout of it. Other symptoms include a fever, nausea and either constipation or diarrhoea. You can prevent the condition by drinking plenty of fluids each day and ensuring that you get enough fibre – this will help your body to move waste out of the digestive tract. In women, the recommended dose is between 25 and 30g, and up to 35g in men. Getting plenty of fruit and vegetables is the easiest way to pack your diet with plenty of dietary fibre, as well as nuts, wholemeal bread and seeds.

Fibre: What You Need to Know For a Healthy Diet

Categories: condition, diet, digestive, diverticulosis, fibre, risk

Fibre: What You Need to Know For a Healthy Diet

Fibre is important for your diet, helping your digestive system to work effectively. But it does so much more than just that – it helps to lower your cholesterol, aids weight loss and regulates your blood sugar levels. Studies have also shown that it can help to reduce the risk of some illnesses, such as diabetes, certain cancers and heart disease! Many people don’t get enough fibre in their diet, which can lead to digestive complications and constipation. If this is left untreated for too long, it can cause a health concern known as diverticulosis, which causes pockets to form along the intestinal walls. These can become inflamed and infected in severe cases, leading to extreme pain.

Diverticulosis is mainly caused through a lack of fibre in the diet, however there are other factors which contribute such as obesity, smoking, limited exercise and those over the age of 40. The main cause of this condition is due to the walls of the bowel becoming looser and losing strength, which puts pressure on the digestive system. This leads to the condition forming. Research has shown that eating certain foods like nuts and corn doesn’t impact the risk of developing diverticula, as previously thought – in fact, they can help to reduce the risk, particularly in men.

There are few symptoms for diverticulosis, which makes it difficult to diagnose, but you’ll notice feelings of sharp intense pain in the abdomen if you are suffering with a bout of it. Other symptoms include a fever, nausea and either constipation or diarrhoea. You can prevent the condition by drinking plenty of fluids each day and ensuring that you get enough fibre – this will help your body to move waste out of the digestive tract. In women, the recommended dose is between 25 and 30g, and up to 35g in men. Getting plenty of fruit and vegetables is the easiest way to pack your diet with plenty of dietary fibre, as well as nuts, wholemeal bread and seeds.

Fibre: What You Need to Know For a Healthy Diet

Categories: condition, diet, digestive, diverticulosis, fibre, risk

It’s a common misconception that exercising needs to be a lengthy and time consuming endeavour, but this is not always the case. There are smaller steps you can take that will provide you with effective results. One of the first things you can do to make changes to your lifestyle is to take care of your stomach – eating more slowly and making sure you sit down to eat can help to ensure your digestive system has time to work properly. If you are in a hurry and have no choice but to eat on the run, opt for a smoothie packed with nutritional ingredients such as fruit and probiotic yoghurt. Make sure you use as much of the fruit as possible and as little of the juice, and make sure you have plenty of protein in it. If you want to add some healthy fats, you could also add nuts or seeds. If you’re hungry during the day and want a snack, be sure to choose wisely. Make sure that your meals throughout the day are healthy and wholesome, so that you have less need to snack, and opt for fruit, vegetables or nuts throughout the day if you’re a little peckish ­– if you are going to eat nuts, choose unsalted varieties to make them healthier. Eating a healthy diet is one part of making positive changes to your lifestyle, but the other is to eat in moderation. This means eating three filling but nutritious meals a day, eating them slowly and stopping when you feel full rather than finishing the food regardless. A healthy lifestyle encapsulates every element of your body, and that includes your mind. It is important for a calm and positive outlook to relax and relieve stress, so put time aside to switch the phone, turn off your computer and take a break. This time will allow you to recharge your batteries and focus. Finally, one area of a healthy lifestyle that often gets overlooked is keeping hydrated. Most people don’t drink enough water and this can be seriously detrimental to your health – it helps your body to work more efficiently and helps to improve vitality. If you’re thirsty, chances are you’re already dehydrated so drink little and often throughout the day to replenish the water you lose. How to make small changes that see big results

It’s a common misconception that exercising needs to be a lengthy and time consuming endeavour, but this is not always the case. There are smaller steps you can take that will provide you with effective results.

One of the first things you can do to make changes to your lifestyle is to take care of your stomach – eating more slowly and making sure you sit down to eat can help to ensure your digestive system has time to work properly. If you are in a hurry and have no choice but to eat on the run, opt for a smoothie packed with nutritional ingredients such as fruit and probiotic yoghurt. Make sure you use as much of the fruit as possible and as little of the juice, and make sure you have plenty of protein in it. If you want to add some healthy fats, you could also add nuts or seeds.

If you’re hungry during the day and want a snack, be sure to choose wisely. Make sure that your meals throughout the day are healthy and wholesome, so that you have less need to snack, and opt for fruit, vegetables or nuts throughout the day if you’re a little peckish ­– if you are going to eat nuts, choose unsalted varieties to make them healthier.

Eating a healthy diet is one part of making positive changes to your lifestyle, but the other is to eat in moderation. This means eating three filling but nutritious meals a day, eating them slowly and stopping when you feel full rather than finishing the food regardless.

A healthy lifestyle encapsulates every element of your body, and that includes your mind. It is important for a calm and positive outlook to relax and relieve stress, so put time aside to switch the phone, turn off your computer and take a break. This time will allow you to recharge your batteries and focus.

Finally, one area of a healthy lifestyle that often gets overlooked is keeping hydrated. Most people don’t drink enough water and this can be seriously detrimental to your health – it helps your body to work more efficiently and helps to improve vitality. If you’re thirsty, chances are you’re already dehydrated so drink little and often throughout the day to replenish the water you lose.

How to make small changes that see big results

Categories: consuming, digestive, stomach