What is it about fish and Nezine? I hear you! I have this love-hate relationship with fish food. Sometimes I just love it and other times I can’t stand it. I am aware of the various benefits of fish and sometimes I think that the moments where I have the love of fish, I should make maximum use of it!

 Here are some more benefits:

Healthy Heart

 A healthy heart is a blessing. The heart is the “heart” of the body. So keeping it healthy should be important. One way of doing that is eating food that contains fish oil.

A research studying the relation between high fish diet and the heart diseases, showed that people who ate more fish had lower substances (mainly C- reactive protein and interleukin-6) in their system. These substances are commonly used to measure the possibility of blood vessel inflammation.

Fish to Become Thin

Another study showed that fish consumption can be used against hypertension and obesity. Researchers of the UWA (University of Western Australia) have discovered that a diet to reduce weight which includes a regular amount of fish can be effective in reducing blood pressure and improving glucose tolerance.

Fish Oil and Asthma

People suffering from asthma and other respiratory problems can find relief in fish oil. So that’s

Researchers at the University of Wyoming studied a number of asthmatic children to see the effects of fish oil. They found out that children with a high-fish diet were less prone to asthma attacks and were able to breath easily while another group of children with regular diet suffered breathing problems.

Having said all that, it is always better to consult your doctor for the amount of fish oil that is right for you. I always say that everything should be in moderation. Same goes for diets and eating habits. Even if something is good for you, excess of it can be harmful.

We always hear about how good omega-6 and 3 are but what are they?  Numbers always confuse me and it is not easy to remember them. I think it is easier for  scientists to code food with numbers. Who are we to complain!

What are Omega-6 and 3? Today we can see more people with heart problems, high blood pressure and various other health issues. Sometimes I wonder why people are more sick now than ever before. Can all these be attributed to life changes and the way foods are packed these days?  But that I another subject for another post, perhaps.

Physicians and scientists concur that an not  taking proper omega-3 and omega-6 is causing increasing cases of heart disease, hypertension or high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, premature aging and certain kinds of cancer. Unbelievable! So is it lack of certain kinds of food that is making us sick more and more. It is beyond comprehension.

Omega-6 can be found in vegetable oils such as corn and soy oils. Omega-3 can be found in marine plankton, walnut and flax seed oils.

It is interesting to learn that a study don Eskimos in the 70’s revealed that they rarely suffer from heart diseases. The reason for this is probably the higher intake of  high-fat diet mainly from fish. Fatty fish and fish oils contain eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) – which provide many health benefits.

What these fatty acids (EPA and DHA) do is that they help in preventing atherosclerosis, heart attacks, depression and various forms of cancer. Back when I used to take fish oil daily (made to take by parents), I was not aware that fish oil is useful in treating rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, and ulcerative colitis. Heck, I would not even understand what these were back then! No doubt fish has proven to be beneficial to a lot more other illnesses.

This past few weeks I had a lot of fish that I am getting tired of it. I tell myself that I can’t go back to being 100% veggie. I need to rekindle my love affair with fish. I think talking more about it will help.

My next post will probably be about – guess what? Fish!

The other day, while cooking mutton stew, my mind strayed away from the project on hand and drifted to the time when I used to be strictly a veggie. So I thought today I will write on something that is not really far from this topic.

I have always been a health freak and as far back as I could remember, I have always been a vegetarian. Back then I didn’t know any better but not eating any meat or eggs was just a choice that I got used to. It was only vegetables for me. I was not aware of that completely banning these food products was not really that healthy. My parents didn’t really force me into eating meat or chicken or my diet kind of stuck into adult life. 

To a dieting person or  a health-conscious individuals, when the words oils and fats are mentioned, they will run for cover. However there are such things as good fats and bad fats. Complete avoidance of intake of oils and fats would actually be damaging – rather than beneficial – to their health.

What About Fish Oil

Being vegetarian  as a kid did not help much. A growing body needs to have all the necessary nutrients to grow healthy. So my limited food  did not keep me all well; I was sickly. So I was kept on fish oil for a while. This kept me going, so to speak!

We need fatty acids and it has to be included in our diet.

Fatty acids are divided into two groups: omega-6 and omega-3. Omega-6 can be found in vegetable oils and omega-3 in fish oils among other foods.

There are only very little difference between these two groups. However, researches in this topic reveals that too much on omega-6 leads to blood clotting and tumor growth. The opposite is true for omega-3.

Tomorrow I will continue this important topic on fish oil. Be sure to come back!

Yesterday I talked about warming up. Let us see today how to do this in a proper manner.

Basically, it can be done in any procedure that allows the heart to beat faster. One can simply walk and jog, or if a cardiovascular equipment is available, it can be used. It is important to start at slowly and then gradually increase the pace until heart beat rate increases and the body temperature rises. Note that the pace should be in accordance to one’s current fitness level, where the activity will leave the person energized and not exhausted.

This should take generally about 3-5 minutes and longer if you are in a colder climate. After working up a light sweat, you should so some stretching. Stretching helps in developing overall flexibility, mainly in the spine, shoulder, and hip areas. The kind of stretching depends on the type of activity a person plans to take on to. For example, if one is about to play sports, the recommended kind of stretching would be the ones that are similar to that particular sports in slow motion. Make sure that the main muscles groups are stretched for 8 seconds minimum. Keep the feet moving or do leg exercises whenever the upper body is stretched. This prevents blood from collecting in the legs. Remember, one should only do stretching if the muscles are already warmed up. Do not bounce while stretching. It leads to a contraction that can result in muscle tear or pull.

Once you are done with warming up, you can proceed to do the main work out.

Did you know that just as warming up is important, it is also essential to have a cool down after you are through with the exercise. If you stop the vigorous work out suddenly then blood collects in the muscle and oxygen is blocked. When this happens, a person runs the risk of having a heart attack.

In another post I will talk about cooling down.

As a youngster, I used to watch my father exercise in the afternoons. It was something of a duty to him. While he was at it, he would not talk to anyone. He would just concentrate on what he was doing. I thought that he was taking this thing rather seriously. My siblings and I would have some fun and imitate him. We  would purposely fall over each other and then throw into a fit of laughter. Through all this, my father would tighten his lips and continue as if we were not there. He would do the push ups, the jogging, he even used to stand up side down for a few minutes. Watching him, I would wonder what all this really means to him. One of the things that I noticed is that at the start of his daily regime, he would do some light excercises which, as a child, seemed rather hilarious. He would skip a bit, jump at a steady pace, stretch himself and would do all kinds of stuff but only not so vigourous. These I came to know were warm ups. I learnt later on that they formed an important part of starting the excercise.

Due to lifestyle changes, people have taken to exercising regularly. This is not  a bad thing but the point to remember is that certain things need to be taken care of when working out. One of this is warming up. It is a crucial step that should be discussed. Many have repeatedly ignored the warming up stage before working out, not knowing the consequences in doing so.

Why do we need to warm up? Well when we start the physical activity, several changes takes place in the body. The respiratory rate, blood flow, and oxygen and nutrient levels delivered to the cells increases. These changes should be The rate of increase should be steadily regulated in order to prepare  the body for the stress that the exercise will bring about. If one ignores this procedure, then the body will not function efficiently and the work out will not produce the quality results. Warming up is like an preliminary training for the body as a whole, including the nervous system, heightens mental awareness and the alertness. It loosens up joints and muscles to make them less prone to injuries. Warm ups jump starts the fluid in the joints, thus minimizing the risk for wear and tear of the muscles. Additionally it gives the heart a proper time to adjust and pump up blood and nutrients into muscles. Starting strenuous exercise without warming up maybe be detrimental to the overall health and may more damaging than not exercising.

For older people, warming up before exercising is vital. Their tissues are less supple and joints have less fluid and weaker hearts. Jumping into vigorous work out can trigger a heart attack.

I learnt early on that exercise is the key to good health. At 8 or 9 years of age, watching my father,  it was not ingrained on us, that it was not the import, but it was a way for me to be close to him.

Since this is an important topic, I will continue more of this tomorrow. Stay tuned