How to get fit and healthy

Today, Asthma is a common disease that affects many people. The number of people affected by Asthma is now increasing all over the world. In the United States, over 22 million Americans have asthma.

So, what exactly is asthma? Asthma is a chronic, inflammatory respiratory disease that makes patients to find difficulty to get air in and out of the lungs. When a person is affected by asthma, the breathing tubes (alveolar tubes) become sensitive and inflamed. The muscles around the airways tighten and become narrow, thus making it difficult to breathe fresh air in and exhale air out.

The most common symptoms of asthma are wheezing, constant coughing, and chest tightness during the cold weather and shortness of breath.  Things like smoking, pollen, environmental pollutions, etc can trigger asthma.

Well, how can you treat asthma? Breathing exercises have become a very popular solution to reduce Asthma. Researchers from the UK University found that breathing exercises reduces the severity of asthma and improves quality of life with the help of anti-inflammatory medication treatment.

Effective breathing exercises commonly followed are:

• Pranayama (A Breathing exercise in Yoga)

• Buteyko (A Russian method of breathing exercise)

Pranayama: The regular practice of Pranayama helps us breathe deeply from the stomach. Pranayama is the art of breath control.  The word ‘Prana’ signifies’ breathe’ and ‘yama’ means ‘control’. Thus, the word Pranayama can be understood as “Control of breath”. There are four stages of breathing in pranayama.

1. Inhalation

2. A pause before exhalation

3. Exhalation

4. A pause before inhaling again

Repeat these four steps fifteen to twenty times. With the regular practice of Pranayama you can reduce asthma disease.

Buteyko: Buteyko exercise will reduce and control asthma and other respiratory disorders. In Buteyko techniques, you must inhale through the nose (not mouth), and exhale for as long as possible. You can repeat the process for 5 to 10 minutes and achieve better results.

Alcohol is a part of everything, from family dinners to parties, and business deals. We’ve heard that drinking alcohol helps you gaining weight. Well, this is true. Do you know how? Like any other food or beverage, alcohol contains calories. The average twelve ounce beer has around 130 calories, a 5 oz glass of wine contains 115 calories, and a 11/2oz shot of 80 proof liquor contains 100 calories. So if you consume too much wine, you will automatically gain weight.

Do you really think that gaining weight with over consumption of alcohol is good for health? The answer is no, as alcohol contains empty calories, which means it provides very little or no nutritional supplements like minerals and vitamins which are necessary for good health. Alcohol consumption has been linked with cirrhosis, cancer in liver and stomach, fertility difficulties, heart attacks etc.

Studies have shown that, alcohol stimulates food intake because it increases your blood sugar levels which makes you feel hungry. As a result of this you may gain weight. So Alcohol is not considered a necessary component of a healthy diet. It is better to follow a healthier way to gain weight. Most experts agree that having regular meals, especially breakfast, are important to gain weight.

Eat healthy food frequently. Exercise regularly to keep fit. Some thin people think that exercise is not effective for them. This is not true; exercise keeps your metabolism high. Remember that eating alone is not sufficient to be healthy, so exercise regularly as well.

According to a research, consuming a moderate amount of alcohol may protect against Coronary Heart Disease and type-2 diabetes. It is still not entirely clear how alcohol reduces the risk of CHD and diabetes. But remember it is harmful, if consumed in large amounts. So keep it as moderate as possible.