Monday, February 10, 2025

  • Twitter
Sunday

November 6, 2023 5:22 PM IST

Know, how small habits can give you a healthier life.

Certainly, implementing subtle changes in your daily routine can significantly influence your overall health and well-being. These seemingly minor adjustments accumulate over time, leading to a healthier lifestyle without requiring drastic modifications. Let’s delve deeper into these practices:

1. Choosing Jaggery Instead of Sugar: Opting for Jaggery over refined sugar brings noteworthy advantages. Jaggery, derived from sugarcane or date palm sap, retains vital minerals and nutrients often lost during the refining of regular sugar. This choice not only satisfies your sweet tooth but also offers a more nourishing option packed with essential nutrients.

In research by the National Institutes of Health, Jaggery is recognized as a nutraceutical due to the presence of a variety of essential amino acids, antioxidants, phenolics, minerals like calcium, phosphorus, iron, and vitamins. Jaggery has a better natural source and nutrients for health benefits and could be used as a healthier dietary substitute for white sugar. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8314846/)

2. Timing Water Intake Before Meals: Altering when you drink water can have a profound impact on digestion. Consuming a small amount of water before meals kickstarts the digestive process by preparing your stomach for incoming food, enhancing nutrient absorption. Conversely, drinking water after meals can dilute stomach acids, potentially slowing digestion.

3. Using Less Oil for Cooking Vegetables: Reducing oil consumption can help lower your intake of saturated and trans fats, which are associated with higher levels of bad cholesterol. This can lead to improved cholesterol levels and a decreased risk of heart disease.

Consumption of butter and margarine was associated with higher total and cardiometabolic mortality. Replacing butter and margarine with canola oil, corn oil, or olive oil was related to lower total and cardiometabolic mortality. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8048052/)

4. Incorporating Fenugreek Seed Powder: Adding a pinch of fenugreek seed powder to your meals imparts ancient wisdom and health benefits. Fenugreek offers various advantages, from aiding digestion and managing blood sugar levels to potentially lowering cholesterol. This simple addition underscores the significant impact that small changes can bring.

5. Eating Until 80% Fullness: The practice of stopping at 80% fullness emphasizes the importance of tuning into your body’s signals. By practicing mindful eating and eliminating just before fullness, you provide your digestive system with the space it needs to process food effectively. This practice, rooted in Japanese culture as “hara hachi bu,” promotes mindful consumption and prevents overeating.

Incorporating these minor yet meaningful adjustments into your daily routine underscores the power of gradual, sustainable progress. Each decision holds the potential to nurture a more vibrant and health-conscious version of yourself, demonstrating that even small shifts can lead to remarkable transformations.

-RANU JAIN

Visitors: 3887918

Last updated on: 10th February 2025