Month: October 2019

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Phosphorus an Essential Mineral

What is Phosphorus?

Phosphorus is the second most essential mineral in your body. The first essential mineral necessary is calcium. Our body needs phosphorus for several functions, like filtering waste and repairing tissue and cells.

Most people get the quantity of phosphorus that they have through their daily diets. In fact, it’s more common to possess an excessive amount of phosphorus in your body than insufficient. Kidney disease or eating an excessive amount of phosphorus and not enough calcium can cause more than phosphorous.

Why is Phosphorus Necessary?

  • keep your bones strong and healthy
  • help make energy
  • move your muscles
  • build strong teeth
  • helps the body to store and use energy
  • reduces muscle pain after exercise
  • filter waste in your kidneys
  • grow, maintain, and repair tissue and cells
  • produce DNA and RNA
  • maintains heart
  • facilitate nerve conduction

Sources of Phosphorus:

Foods that are rich in protein are excellent sources of phosphorus.

  • meat and poultry
  • fish
  • milk and other dairy products
  • eggs
  • whole grains
  • potatoes
  • garlic
  • dried fruit
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3 Ways to Stay Relaxed

Like every other day, I woke up early in the morning. I sat down and completed my 5-minute breath exercises. I had a hectic schedule for the day. After getting out of bed, one thing follows another, the next time I saw the clock, it was well past noon. I sighed. “I need a break,” I said to myself.

Have you ever felt the same? I am sure you have. Each one of us is in the pursuit of matching the speed of the ticking feet of time. But time seems to be ahead. Always. To acquire this imaginary horizon, we often forget that continuously working may harm us. 

Working without any break may stress you. Small amounts of stress adding up every day may lead to an unhealthy stressful lifestyle. 

The body and the mind need a break. Working continuously exhausts them. It is very important to take small leisurely breaks from work and relax. 

Below are some of my ideas of taking a break which you can try 

1. Eat your favourite food.

Food is an instant mood changer. Chocolate lovers won’t agree more, isn’t it? Drowsiness will run away from you as you pop in a candy. Try it if you need a mini-break and can’t go anywhere. But if you can get out somewhere, go to your favourite nearby food joint and order your favourite food. Eat slowly and savour and treat your taste buds. 

Listen to music. The next fastest mood changer is music. Create a playlist for every mood when you are free. Plugin your earphones and listen to one song or two when you feel like. Play music in your car while going back home. Tune into a music channel while you make or eat dinner instead of listening to worldly issues on the news channel. 

2. Escape into nature.

The winds, the sunsets and the rains have enormous relaxing powers .go to the nearby window and watch the view. Allow the slow winds to ease your nerves. If it’s raining, show your hands and face. Lets droplets cool you down. Watch the sunset if it’s the evening time. Watch it the whole. Try to make your mind blank and enjoy the void.

If you are at home, there are even better ways of relaxing

You could cook something easy and yummy. Make a cool refreshing drink and have it.

 You could take your favourite book off the shelf and read a few pages, or read your favourite poem. 

If it’s a weekend and chores for the day are complete. If You want to relax before you go out in the evening. Here are some ideas 

Watch an old movie. A three-hour nostalgic journey of feelings and some popcorn. Sounds amazing, right?

3. Get artsy

 Are you the type who was too good at painting at some time, but lost habit because of age and duties? You still have the paintbrushes and colours. Why wait then? Grab them and fill the canvas again with colours like you used to. Nothing can refresh you more than your older version. 

Go for it. Try one or all of my ideas and share them with your friends, and tell them to share with their friends, coz we all need a break from time to time, don’t we?

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Magnesium an Essential Mineral

What is magnesium?

Magnesium is a crucial mineral, playing a task in over 300 enzyme reactions within the physical body. Its many functions include helping with muscle and nerve function, regulating vital signs, and supporting the system. A human body contains around 25 gram (g) of magnesium, 50–60% of which the skeleton stores. the remainder is present in muscle, soft tissues, and bodily fluids.

Why is Magnesium necessary?

An overdose of magnesium through its sources is unlikely because the body will eliminate any excess magnesium from food through urine.
However, a high intake of magnesium from supplements can cause gastrointestinal problems, like diarrhea, nausea, or cramping.
Excess doses can cause kidney problems, low vital signs, urine retention, nausea and vomiting, depression, lethargy, a loss of central systema nervosum control, asystole, and possibly death.
People with a kidney disorder shouldn’t take magnesium supplements unless their doctor advises that they are doing so.

Sources of Magnesium:

  • Almonds
  • Spinach
  • Roasted cashews
  • Oil roasted peanuts
  • Soy milk
  • Cooked black beans
  • Cooked edamame beans
  • Peanut butter
  • Whole wheat bread
  • Avocado
  • Potato with skin
  • Cooked brown rice
  • Low-fat yogurt
  • breakfast cereals
  • Oatmeal
  • kidney beans
  • Bananas
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Calcium an Essential Mineral

Importance of Calcium:

Humans need calcium to create and maintain strong bones, and 99% of the body’s calcium is within the bones and teeth. It is necessary for maintaining healthy connections between the brain and other parts of the body. It plays a vital task in muscle movement and cardiovascular function.

A lack of calcium could also lead to other health issues. For adults, too little calcium can increase your risk of developing osteoporosis, or frail and porous bones that easily fracture. Osteoporosis is particularly common in older women, which is why the NIH recommends they consume more calcium than their male counterparts.

Calcium is important for youngsters as they grow and develop. Children who don’t get enough calcium might not grow to their full potential height, or develop other health issues.

10 Sources of Calcium:

  1. Cheese
  2. Yogurt
  3. Milk
  4. Sardines
  5. Dark leafy greens like spinach, kale, turnips, and collard greens
  6. Fortified cereals such as Total, Raisin Bran, Corn Flakes
  7. Fortified orange juice
  8. Soybeans
  9. Fortified soymilk
  10. Enriched bread, grains, and waffles
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A bad day or depression?

Does having a bad day means you are depressed?

Do not worry, most probably you are not.
  1. When should you start worrying about your mental health?
  2. How will you identify if your mental condition is normal or concerning?
  3. Is it okay to have a bad week?
  4. How are bad days differentiated from depression?

What is a bad day?

On some days you wake up with a slight headache. A morning stretching and yoga session doesn’t help much. You know your workload for the day will not end in that day, you don’t feel like doing anything. Nothing excites or amazes you. With a straight face, you complete every activity sluggishly.

Trust me, it is completely fine to have such a day. You will not have the same energy every day. It is perfectly normal to have a lazy day or a bad day. It is alright to have emotional stress or anxiety. Experiencing such days is important for your growth as a person.

What if I have a bad week?

The other day when I said my friend “having a bad day is normal“, she asked “nothing is working out for me for a week. “Seven days of complete hopelessness is bad. Seven more days are worse.

Clinically, one is in depression if they have had two weeks or more of complete hopelessness or mental agony.

What are the other signs of depression?

Depression can show different signs in different people. The main symptom is your thoughts. Clinical depression patients feel hopelessness, anxiety, and stress over trivial issues. In worse cases, suicidal thoughts follow next. The next important sign is a change in the sleep cycle. You may either feel too sleepy or completely insomniac. Another indication is variation in weight. Gain or loss of 5 percent or more weight within a month is considered a symptom of depression. A combination of these signs means you need to consult a doctor.

Why should one consult a doctor?

Most of us think that mental illness doesn’t need a doctor’s consultation. Even if it worries us, we don’t share it with anyone.

A step in the wrong direction at this cross point can lead to a destructive destination. It is important to take the right step. Anyone can have depression. Sometimes, people with a seemingly perfect life, also get trapped in this disorder. A specialist’s guidance can be a map of this maze.

Even if you are not suffering from depression and you know it, but you feel worried, go for a consultation, or talk about it. It will relieve you. When you need help, don’t shy away, ask for it.

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In search of peace

Often, in life, We try to reach a point where we don’t have to worry about anything, We set our goals accordingly, We work hard, overtime in the office, to earn the amount that we need for a vacation, We persuade our friends so that we fit into their plans for the weekend.

Why do we do so?

The answer to these queries is simple – to attain peace.

Going on that vacation will give you peace. You will be out of the regular routine life, away from the everyday chaos.

Hanging out with your friends, for those precious some hours, will take you away from the tensions that surround you always. You will be out of the clutches of your troublesome thoughts.

Have you ever wondered why you need to attain a specified condition, to attain peace? How would it be, if peace could come to you, unconditionally? Without a price tag, without any persuasion.

Life would become amazing, right? Well here’s how:

It’s just a matter of the mind. Peace is not a place. It is not a person either. It’s a feeling, like any other, like happiness and sorrow. This lies deep within you, undiscovered. So, like any other feeling, it will come to you when you need it. You don’t need to travel miles to find it, while it is right under your nose.

So the next time you feel like you need a break, you need not run away from your office desk or sofa room. You can stay right there and get what you want to be delivered at your steps. Remember, it’s all in the mind. So close your eyes, and say yourself “I am at peace. This also will pass away.” Relax your mind and discover how peace slowly creeps in. And when you are done with your quota, dive into your tasks with the energy peace leaves you with.