There are many of us who are caught in the trap of losing weight. We try to perform exhaustive exercises in a gym or at home, undertake crash dieting and get into the figure we have in our minds for the best friend’s wedding or just before Christmas. However soon after Christmas the loads of cakes, pastries and candies call for a nuisance when the body regains more than the weight lost before the festivity. This is nothing but a vicious cycle which we get into every year and spend a few months getting out of.

However, now we can comfortably put an end to these vicious traps. The art of losing weight is more than a science and a little of an art. It is not only about burning calories and storing less of them. The main ideology behind the science of losing weight is to do so consistently and to imbibe these habits for a lifetime. This requires a change in lifestyle and these changes can’t be very drastic in nature. Some tips which call for changes in food and lifestyle habits are described below which would help most of us lose weight healthily, without sacrificing anything and avoiding exertion to an uncomfortable extent too.

1. You can eat a double portion of your meal, if you load it with plenty of fresh vegetables. Not only will this be very healthy for you but also make for a more satisfying meal and that too without adding any extra calories to your daily intake.

2. You can cut down approximately 100 calories a day, if you reduce a can of soda or eat one cookie less. This way you will not need to suppress your cravings nor binge on high calorie foods.

3. Studies show that irrespective of how hungry you may feel, you tend to eat what is laid on the table. So more food in front of you means the more you will eat. Thus it would be better if you switch from your regular dinner plates to salad plates. The same applies to the huge coffee mugs and glasses.

4. Avoid drinking coffee from coffee joints, since they are packed with loads of sugar, cream and calories. Instead revert to ordinary coffee made with skimmed milk or low fat powder milk.

Drinks are a basic necessity for everyone of us. A slight change in our preference for drinks can do wonders on our body. Lets have a look at a few of these tips:

Good Drink Options Your Family Will Enjoy

Water. Whether it is flat or fizzy, flavored or plain, water is a fundamental component of your family fitness plan and is the perfect beverage for everyone. It helps to fill you up and is important for many bodily functions. There are many drinks masquerading as water that still have sugar or artificial sweeteners added. Check to be sure the label lists no calories or artificial sweeteners so you get the real deal. Show your kids that the ever-present water bottles that lots of pro athletes, teenagers, and health-conscious young adults carry with them are healthy and cool! Here are some ideas for making water more appealing to your kids.

• Have plenty of flavored seltzer waters available as an alternative to plain water.
• Use fresh lemon, lime, or other citrus fruit slices in your water. Or try cucumber slices for a refreshing taste.
• Always keep water bottles in the car or in your kids’ backpacks to encourage water consumption.

Milk. Low-fat and fat-free milk are healthful beverage alternatives. Next to water, low-fat or fat-free milk and soy milk are the best beverage options for your family. Milk contains calcium, which we often don’t get enough of, as well as protein. Soy milk is a great alternative to cow’s milk, especially if you are lactose intolerant, have problems with chronic upper respiratory infections (sinus infections or ear infections), have asthma, or are just looking to include more soy in your diet. Chocolate milk is okay for an occasional treat; just try to control the amount of chocolate added to keep the sugar under control.

100 percent fruit juice. 100 percent fruit juice is just that — it is made solely from fruit with no sugar added. Fruit juice has the added benefit of being full of the vitamins that are naturally found in fruit, such as vitamin C and folate. It’s very important to remember, however, that a serving is only 4 ounces. The typical juice box is 8 ounces, and many bottles can be up to 20 ounces. I would suggest limiting the total amount of juice for the day to 4 to 8 ounces. If 8 ounces is much less than your family is used to drinking, dilute the juice with water. Start with 25 percent water and 75 percent juice, then slowly increase the percentage of water to 50 percent. Or try mixing juice with seltzer water for a fizzy treat.

The globe is divided into various geographical and cultural terrains. That’s why we speak different languages, have different preferences and celebrate different festivals. However there are certain things which are unanimous throughout the globe. We all drink water, breathe in oxygen and eat food. Perhaps the most consumed drink throughout the globe is water. Whether you have the habit of consuming water as such or taking it in the form of a beverage, water is always consumed by every human being. Infact, a day without water can cause enormous changes in your body.

After water, the most versatile of beverages which is commonly consumed in various countries unanimously is tea. Indians are used to tea with milk and sugar, The western countries are used to consuming pure black tea and some may prefer the tea with cream. However the difference lies only in the way the tea is consumed. In India, children are traditionally not offered tea. The reasons are unknown. However current research says that tea can actually be beneficial for human health.

Misconceptions about healthy tea

As the information becomes more and more readily available so does the prevalence of myths increase with time. The notion of green tea and herbal tea to be better than black tea or traditional tea is only a myth. All teas whether black, green or white have active polyphenols which impart medicinal properties to the tea. However herbal tea is not a tea at all. It has a mix of herbs and flowers which impart a characteristic taste similar to tea.

Green tea, white tea and black tea

Black, green, white, and oolong teas derive their leaves from a warm-weather evergreen tree known as Camellia sinensis. The leaves from this tree contain polyphenols. The more processing tea leaves undergo, the darker they will turn. Green tea and white tea are the least processed tea. They are simply steamed quickly. White tea is derived from the young new leaves from the Camellia plant in early spring. These young leaves contain no chlorophyll, so they are silvery white. Black and oolong teas are partially dried, crushed and fermented. As we have mentioned before, regardless of the processing method, black, green, white and oolong teas all contain polyphenols. In fact, tea ranks as high as or higher than many fruits and vegetables in the ORAC score, a score that measures antioxidant potential of plant-based foods.

Health benefits of tea

The benefits of tea consumption may extend throughout the body, experts believe. Here is a partial list of conditions some research has shown may be prevented or improved by drinking tea:

Arthritis: Research suggests that older women who are tea drinkers are 60 percent less likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis than those who do not drink tea.

Bone Density: Drinking tea regularly for years may produce stronger bones. Those who drank tea on a regular basis for 10 or more years had higher-bone mineral density in their spines than those who had not.

Cancer: Green tea extracts were found to inhibit the growth of bladder cancer cells in the lab — while other studies suggest that drinking green tea protects against developing stomach and esophageal cancers.

• Sipping on a cup of hot tea may be a safeguard against cancer. Population studies have linked the consumption of tea with a reduction in risk for several types of cancer. Researchers speculate that the polyphenols in tea may inhibit certain mechanisms that promote cancer growth. Both green and black teas have been credited with cancer-inhibiting powers.

Flu: You may be able to boost your fight against the flu with black tea.
Your best defense against contracting the flu is to wash your hands often and get vaccinated against the influenza virus. Black tea may further bolster your efforts to stay healthy. In a recent study, people who gargled with a black tea extract solution twice per day showed a higher immunity to flu virus compared to the people who did not gargle with black tea.

Heart Disease: A recent study published in the journal Circulation found that drinking more than two cups of tea a day decreased the risk of death following a heart attack by 44 percent. Even less spirited tea drinkers were rewarded: Consuming just two cups a day decreased the risk of death by almost a third.
Tea is a rich source of the flavonoids quercetin, kaempferol, and myricetin, and research shows that high dietary intake of these compounds is associated with a reduced risk of fatal heart attacks. In one study, people who drank about a cup and a half of tea per day were almost 40% less likely to suffer a heart attack compared to tea abstainers.

High Blood Pressure: Tea lovers may be surprised to learn their beverage of choice touts yet another health benefit: blood pressure control. Drinking a half-cup of green or oolong tea per day reduced a person’s risk of high blood pressure by almost 50% in a new study. People who drank at least two and a half cups per day reduced their risk even more. Their risk was reduced even if they had risk factors for high blood pressure, such as high sodium intake.

Parkinson’s Disease: Tea consumption may be protective against developing this debilitating neurological disorder.

Oral Health: Rinsing with tea may prevent cavities and gum disease.

It happens to me quite often. In fact there was a time when I used to suffer every week. Now also, I experience the ills of this evil quite often, at least once in three to four months. Those who have suffered from this know that it is not as common to cure and mange as it sounds like. Yes, I am talking about common cold.

Cold is characterized by watery eyes, runny nose, headache, fever, body pain and sometimes accompanied by cough. It could be on account of a viral infection like influenza virus but there could be many other causes as well like allergies, deformation within the nose and others. The typical characteristic of common cold is that whatever be the reason behind the condition, the symptoms are very much alike. To me and many others, it all starts with a series of sneezes. This is the reflex of the body to react to the ir