Healthy Vegan Snack: Chickpea or Chhole Chaat

Hi Friends! We find it very difficult to think of a healthy evening snack. Most of us find it very difficult to find healthy options for evening snacks & finally eat some unwanted calories like a cake, chips, mixtures etc. Today I will write a simple vegan snack, tasty & healthy.

Indie-Chickpea Trailmix (Chhole chat)

Ingredients
Chickpea (Chhole): 1 cup
Onion: 1 large
Tomato: 1
Cucumber: 1
Corriander or Cilantro leaves: few springs
Green chili: 1
Lemon juice: 2 teaspoons
Red chili powder: 1/4 teaspoon
Black Pepper: 1/2 teaspoon
Sweet tamarind sauce: 1 tablespoon
Dried mango powder (Amchur): 1/2 teaspoon
Dried Pomegranate powder (Anardana): 1/4 teaspoon
Salt as per taste
Ginger: 5-6 thin pieces for garnishing

Preparation:
1. Wash & Soak the chickpeas overnight in water 12 hrs, you will see the chickpeas swell up. Pressure cook them in the morning till soft in the same water so that all nutrients remain intact, add a little bit of salt while doing so. Leave it to cool.
2. Chop the onion, tomato, cucumber, chili finely & make a mix. Mix it well with the cooled chickpeas and add the lemon juice as well.
3. Add the spices black pepper, red pepper, amchur, anardana and salt with the already made chickpea mix.
4. Now your Indie trail mix is ready. Now you just need to garnish it with the tamarind sauce, Cilantro leaves, Ginger pieces. It will be a lip smacking snack for the evening.

Chickpeas are great source of vegan protein, gluten free with a low Glycemic index so excellent for diabetic patients as well. Await a complete article on health benefits of chickpea or bengal gram. Please let me know your suggestions to this. Thanks!

Hypertension: High Blood Pressure

Hi! Today's topic is about Hypertension after discussing the counter part Hypotension yesterday. We know lot of people who would be suffering from this condition. The causes for hypertension listed out have been obesity, stress, sleep apnea, alcohol consumption, diet etc. Now, if you analyse the reasons carefully you will see that the reason accounting to Hypertension is mainly due to the lifestyle we indulge in. These conditions are known as lifestyle disorders or diseases & seen frequently in today's youth, though you can say there are factors which cannot be removed or changed from our daily life but we can still ensure certain corrective actions.

What to do?

Reduce your salt intake, it will reduce the sodium intake in your diet which has been considered to be one of the major reasons for increase in blood pressure. It takes extra fluid to flush out the salt from the system & thus pressurizing the heart to increase the blood pressure. Avoid packaged & processed foods, because they account for maximum salt intake in the body. You can also limit your intake if you cook yourself.

Drinking Coconut water has shown good effects on working of the heart. It has good amount of potassium and magnesium which helps in well being of the muscles & heart. Also the Sodium Potassium pump responsible for the smooth movement of fluid across the plasma membrane will create a less pressure on the heart.

Avoid Alcohol as it has shown negative effects on the blood pressure, also has shown negative effects on the medication for high blood pressure. It also has unwanted calories which add to your waistline & cause more trouble. It has been seen that losing 4-5 kg (10 pounds) can effect your blood pressure positively & not only weight but the waistline has shown correlation with blood pressure. Read my post on how to reduce waistline for help http://healthyyumfood.blogspot.in/2015/02/why-cant-i-fit-in-my-old-jeans-after.html

Introduce Garlic to food, this is an easy home remedy known for years to reduce the blood pressure. Allicin has shown positive effects on production of nitric oxide which helps reduce the diastolic & systolic pressure. Eat it raw in 1 large clove in the morning empty stomach to get best results alongwith addition to your food.

Sesame or til has shown good effects on hypertension, It relieves the oxidative stress in the body & also shows anti-inflammatory effect on the arterial walls thus lowering the blood pressure. It can be had in form of oil or also in food directly.

These are a few tips you can follow to help your hypertension & aid with your medication. Our lifestyle today is making us more & more prone to these lifestyle disorders. Try to live a happy & healthy life, because without these two life is meaningless. Thanks!!

Hypotension or Low Blood Pressure

Hi Friends!! My today's topic is to address a problem which you might not have heard much about. Rather all of us are always talking about high blood pressure or high BP. Jokingly also people say do not take too much of stress else your BP would go up. Then why at all talk about Low blood pressure or Hypotension. There are many equally suffering from low BP like high BP and is equally dangerous. Many of us do not take proper care or understand the symptoms of low BP. First of all lets try to know what would be considered as low BP. Normal resting human adult blood pressure is 120/80 mm Hg. Usually this is not stable & can vary from 100-120/ 60-80 for normal human beings, if a persistent 90/60 mm Hg or below is recorded for a person this is considered as low BP.

The symptoms experienced by the person are dizziness, lightheaded, fatigue, nausea, hard breathing, palpitations caused due to decrease in arterial flow & blood pressure beyond a point, the perfusion of the brain decreasing critically. Sometimes the arterial pressure drops suddenly on standing after sitting, this is caused due to gravity which doesn't allow blood back to the heart & the cardiac output is reduced. The cause of this kind of condition is dehydration, prolonged illness, nutritional deficiencies, decrease in blood volumes, pregnancy, sepsis, toxins, some medication etc.

Some things a person should immediately take care in such a condition is
1. Drink more Water to keep yourself hydrated & Avoid Alcohol as its property is to make you dehydrated.
2. Change your body positions slowly, this would help in reducing dizziness & lightheadedness.
3. Eat food which have low carbohydrate content to help preventing the blood pressure to drop drastically after meals. Also have meals in small gaps.
4. Eat healthy food, to fulfill any nutritional deficiencies. Eat good amount of lean proteins.

Some foods which have shown positive effects on hypotension are:
1. Salt: the presence of sodium helps to increase the blood pressure but this remedy should not be taken for a long time, as prolonged high consumption of salt can lead to other functional problems.
2. Lemon juice: It helps body fight dehydration and taking it with a small amount of salt & sugar serves the purpose, also in the long run it does help in maintaining blood pressure also, avoiding problems of fluctuating blood pressure.
3. Raisins: They are considered excellent remedy in Ayurveda, soak them overnight in water & have them in the morning for a few days & you will see change. The same can be done with almonds also which has shown very good results.
4. Coffee: Caffeine as mentioned in my previous post has sight effects on blood pressure can help. Especially having it with meals help you fight orthostatic blood pressure which is caused due to gravitational forces.
5. Holy basil leaves with honey: Have holy basil leaves or tulsi in the morning with honey, this has been recommended in Ayurveda for years. Also it helps fight common flu & cold.

Thanks Friends, I hope this article would be of help.

The dreaded Hypothyroidism: Combat it!!

Friends most of you must have people complaining of thyroid & getting obese. They are talking about hypothyroidism. This is a condition of the thyroid gland not producing enough thyroid hormone to run the body's mechanism. And surprisingly most of the people do not know their thyroid hormone deficiency.So, the number of people affected with this deficiency is far higher than the no. recorded. The main causes identified are autoimmune thyroiditis i.e. leaving the part of the gland inflamed leaves the cells dead and no producing enough hormones this is triggered by the patient's own body's immune system, this is the most common cause of hypothyroidism. The second case is of medical treatments, in some conditions surgical removal of part of the thyroid gland and can leave a small part which is not enough to meet the body's requirement.

There are no such foods which can cure your situation of hypothyroidism, but eating well & avoiding certain food can help you stay better. These hormones are attached with your mood swings, depression, lethargy, body temperature, heart rate & blood health. Along with the thyroid medication a well balanced diet helps in bolstering the thyroid hormone.

I will list down a few foods which would boost your system & also the ones which you should avoid.

EAT THESE MORE

1. Fish: The Omega-3 fatty acids present in fatty fishes are responsible to lower LDL (bad cholesterol) and also increase immunity and decrease the inflammation due to presence of Selenium which helps in reducing inflammation. Also in sea fish especially the Iodine content is high which helps the normal functioning of the gland.

2. Whole grains: Whole grains have dietary fibers which help with bowel regularity, as constipation is a symptom highly noticed in these patients though it has shown interference with the synthetic medication, so medication for hypothyroidism is advised to be taken much before the consumption of any high fiber food.

3. Fresh Vegetables: Early signs of hypothyroidism includes massive weight gain, so  low calorie & nutrient rich food like bell peppers, sweet potatoes etc. is recommended in this scenario. Additionally foods like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, bok choy, spinach, radish, soybean etc.are goitrogenic in nature which interferes with the production of the thyroid hormone. Research has shown that the cooking of these foods have made them effective in making the goitrogens inactive. There are also certain fruits which are effective in reducing your calorie intake eg strawberries, blueberries, cherries, peaches etc.

4. Dairy Products: Milk has always been a good source of nutrients, and in this case has shown to fulfill needs of Vitamin D commonly seen to be lacking in people with hypothyroidism, as well as provides calcium, protein and iodine in good amount. The good bacteria in yogurt has shown effects in digestion & help other gut bacteria, as digestion is also affected in people with hypothyroidism.

5. Bananas, Avocados & Almonds: These foods are high in tyrosine an amino acid which has shown to combine with iodine & produce thyroid hormones. Zinc, Vitamins B2, B3, B6, B12 and the antioxidant vitamins A, C, E are also known to improve the thyroid function.

6. Beans: They are a great source of protein & dietary fibers and can be consumed in various ways in our daily diet. It has shown good effect on energy levels as this disease leaves you drained & fatigued. They contain variety of nutrients which helps you.

AVOID THESE FOODS

1. Fatty Foods: The lowering of metabolism associated with this disease will make you more susceptible to weight gain. Also it has a negative effect on the production of the hormone.

2. Sugary Food: The body becomes less active & lethargy prevails with the less production of the hormone which will reduce you capability to burn out the sugar. It can lead to problems of blood sugar etc.

3. Processed Foods: These food usually have high sodium content an underactive thyroid can lead to blood pressure issues. Look out for food with low sodium content.

4. Alcohol: It acts as a toxic agent on the gland and suppresses the ability of the body to use the hormone completely. The medication or synthetic hormone becomes inactive in such a condition.

5. Uncooked Cruciferous Vegetables: Do not eat uncooked vegetables like cauliflower, cabbage, bok choy etc which falls under the cruciferous categories of vegetables. As previously mentioned they are goitrogenic in nature and should be cooked to inactive the goitrogens.

6. Dietary fiber with medication: Keep sufficient gap between medication and eating anything with fiber, as it affects the functioning of the synthetic hormone. Do not consume too much dietary fiber as well.

Friends hope this is helpful. Circulate it friends & family for more & more people to be aware. People with history in family & women nearing menopause should be more careful. Thanks!!