You see gond katira is essentially is a product that is essentially produced by a shrub that is mostly found in the Middle East, Iraq and Iran. Sometimes these shrubs are also found in Western Asia. You see the bottom line of it is that the product is essentially a gum that is produced by a tree named Katira, hence the name!

Gond Katira also happens to be exceptionally great for the summers as it has tremendous amount of benefits for the body during the hot season. Here are some that will definitely make you feel like using this product in your daily diet without a doubt.

Gets Rid of Burning Sensation in Hands and Feet

Source: healthline

The chances of you suffering from burning sensation in both your hands and feet is something that many face during the hot and humid summer months. Well, we might just have found a solution or the same.

Well, to start with, add two spoon-fulls of gond katira in water and let it sit overnight. In the morning you will find that the water has become fluffy. Add sugar to this mixture if needed and drink it up. You can also add this mixture to curd to make it even more effective.

Preventable from Heat Strokes:

Source: brecorder

Each time any one of leaves the comfort of our air conditioned rooms in the heat of the summers, the fear that we have to face is the fact that we could very well end up suffering from a heat stroke on prolonged exposure to the sun.

Prior to stepping out of your house, it is advisable that you take the gel of gond katira every day after having soaked it overnight in water. The more regular you are with its intake, the more the chances of you being able to resist the heat wave and prevent potential heat strokes.

Migraine Prevention/Reduction:

Source: webmd

If you are someone who suffers from regular bouts of migraines, then gond katira might just be your ticket to helping you feel better during those times. In summers, take the gond katira with curd in the morning with curd regularly.

After regular consumption, you will come to know that the nausea that you feel during the migraine episodes pretty much goes away.

Other health benefits:

• Reduction of Internal Body Heat
• Reduces problems pertaining to digestion
• Also helps prevent stomach ulcers and pimples

So what do you guys think? Don’t you agree that this product is a brilliant thing to include in your daily summer diet because we sure do!      

The post Why Should You Eat Gond katira in Summers? first appeared on Fit Foodies Mantra.

The pressure you feel during your sinus is essentially the result of a blocked nasal passage. Due to this very reason, sinuses can easily result in headaches and inflammation as well, apart from the pain in your nose and face as well.

However, a few home remedies might just be able to cure you quite effectively. Have a look:

1. Rest:

Sometimes the simplest cure to some of the most irritating ailments can merely be one simple thing; rest! There is a reason why doctors tell us that we need at least 7-8 hours of sleep every day. During the time you are sleeping, your body tends to heal beautifully!

Basically, this is due to the fact that during the time you are sleeping your brain becomes capable of releasing hormones that encourage tissue growth very effectively. But apart from this, during your sleep time, your body also happens to produce more WBCs which are brilliantly effective in fighting off infections from the body. When you have had your fair share of 6-8 hours of sleep, you will wake up feeling much better and thoroughly refreshed.

2. Steam:

The art of steaming during the cold weather has been quite prevalent even among our ancestors since time immemorial! No, we are not talking about sauna, though that might help considerably too. Did you know that dry air and as a result of it, dry sinus can increase the problems that come with sinus quite considerably.

The moisture from the steam helps tremendously by moistening your sinus cavity and reducing the irritation, that occurs with it. As a result of this very moisture, your mucus also thins out enabling you to breathe better and have more relief.

3. Hydrate:

Like dry air resulting in the irritation of your dry sinus, dehydration or the lack of proper hydration in the body can also result in causing even more irritation to your sinus issue. The intake of adequate amount of liquids throughout the day can help to a large extent by reducing the blockages in your sinuses.

However, we also understand that constantly sipping water can get downright boring and mundane if anything else. So keeping that in mind, you can also indulge in some other goodies like broths, teas or even fruits and veggies that contain a lot of water.

 Other Remedies/Tips

• While sleeping, keep in mind to keep your head elevated, as when you sleep lying flat on your back, the chances of mucus building up in your nasal cavity are more. This might just lead you to have difficulty while sleeping.
• Exercising is another good option to help you temporarily get rid of the discomfort that is caused by sinus as exercising helps increase blood circulation effectively. It has proven that the right kind of physical activity during an illness like sinus might just help heal you faster.

I hope that these tips and tricks help you cure or at the very least control the many irritations that are caused by sinus! Time to enjoy this amazing weather, don’t you think?

The post Ways to relieve sinus pressure at home first appeared on Fit Foodies Mantra.

During the winter season, our immune systems are more susceptible to catching illnesses. So in order to make sure that you are at your healthiest during the season, we have the best of Grandma’s Flu Remedies to help you stay cold-free during these winters!

Clove:

Clove has been around for the longest amount of time now and is one miracle worker when it comes to treating cold and throat infections! Cloves are used in most Indian dishes and are usually easily available in almost every household!

To help you control and even cure any symptoms of a cold that you might have, you will, however, need a few more things along with the clove to help you fight the weather!

All you need, however, for this particular recipes are just honey and lukewarm water apart from the crushed cloves! Mix these and use the same recipe throughout the day to have 2-3 glasses of this decoction!

Honey:

Honey is such a miracle worker in almost every field, be it skin care or healthcare! Even in this situation honey proves to be a saviour!

Consuming a glass of lukewarm water and lemon juice mixed with some honey will help ease any uneasiness that you might have because of the cold and thus provide relief too!

Carom seeds (Ajwain):

Did you know that Ajwain has both anesthetic and antibacterial properties? This is essentially due to a component present in the seeds known as thymol. Our friend too, has been taught in the dietician course, Delhi University, that apart from the fact that Ajwain treats stomach ailments, this is another wonderful benefit of this ingredient!

This is the main competent that helps provide you relief from your cold and cough days. Just chew on a few seeds of Ajwain, and follow it up with a glass of warm water, and you will feel much better, particularly if you have it daily!

Tulsi (Holy Basil): 

Tulsi has been a crucial part of almost every Indian household for quite some time now. We even worship this exquisitely beautiful plant and consider it one of our most precious!

Consuming tea made out of freshly picked Tulsi leaves proves extremely beneficial for you when it comes to getting relief from cold or flu! Did you know that tulsi is also known to cure many types of fever? Isn’t that amazing!

Bonus Tip:

Trying this Kadha (Decoction) recipe is guaranteed to provide you relief from that cold of yours effectively and quickly too.

What you need:

1 Clove Garlic

1 Inch of Ginger (washed and peeled)

2-3 Cardamom Pods

3 Black peppercorns

2 Cloves

4-5 leaves of Black Tulsi (Basil)

1 teaspoon Raw Honey/Jaggery

Juice of Half a Lemon

How to make:

• Start by placing 2 cups of water in a vessel and adding all the ingredients, apart from the honey/jaggery and lemon to it.
• Bring this mixture to a boil and wait for it reduce to about half of its original quantity.
• Now you can switch off your stove and add the honey/jaggery or lemon to it.
• Strain it and have hot!

And there you have it, folks! We hope these remedies help you in getting some relief from that cold that everyone detests!

The post Grandma’s Flu Remedies to help you stay healthy these winters! first appeared on Fit Foodies Mantra.

Hitting the gym is an altogether different affair! So how do you expect to lose weight in winters, especially when one does feel exceptionally hungry during this season too?

Well, we have you sorted. Go ahead and read our list of the Top 10 foods to help you lose weight during winters!

1.Honey:

Yes, we are starting off the list with something sweet. Not bad, is it?

The best natural sweetener known to man, honey is exceptionally healthy. However, you do need to be careful as to not overdo the amount you use. Unfortunately, when used in an equal amount, contains more calories than sugar. Other than that, however, honey is rich in antioxidants and also has anti-microbial properties. These properties go a long way in helping your body cope with the harsh winters.

2.Oatmeal:

We absolutely adore oatmeal! A super versatile dish with some exceptionally awesome health benefits! Just imagine how good a hot bowl of oatmeal in the cold winters will taste! Delectable! Convenient to make and full of nutrients and photochemical, what more can you ask for? Any nutritionist in Delhi, like me, would definitely recommend this as the go-to breakfast during a rushed winter morning as oatmeal is particularly successful in keeping you full for a longer amount of time while giving you lasting energy as well.

 3.Sunflower Seeds:

 Sunflower seeds can be added to a number of dishes and thus increase the nutrient value of that particular meal to a great extent! Rich in Vitamin B, folate and protein, they contribute a great deal in protecting your immune system. Apart from all these nutrients, sunflower seeds are also loaded with Vitamin E, that in turn helps prevent cell damage, helps support healthy hair and skin and also to a large extent helps prevent cancer.

 4.Dark Chocolate:

 Did we just hear a collective yay? We thought so! Who doesn’t like dark chocolate after all? We understand that every one of us has a craving for something sweet every now and then, so to help you meet that craving without adding the extra calories, dark chocolate comes to your rescue! Despite the brilliant taste, dark chocolates are also full of antioxidants!

  5.Red Wine:

 If dark chocolate was not enough to help you get through winter, we give you wine! Red Wine with its beautiful bouquet of flavours is also filled with a ton of antioxidants. A glass of red wine a day will not only slow down your aging process but also will help to considerably reduce the risk of heart diseases. Apart from this, red wine also helps prevent cancer. A glass of this elixir is sure to help you stay hale and hearty throughout the winters!

 6.Guava:

Guava is one of the most underrated fruits that are there! This beautiful tropic fruit contains about 5 times more vitamin C than even an orange! Keeping this exceptional property aside too, guava is rich in fiber, potassium, calcium, and iron too. One serving of this amazing fruit only has about 60 calories! Now that’s one hell of a slimming snack we tell you!

We hope that if you are a nutritionist in Delhi, then you too would agree with us on this list of ours! So do YOU have a favorite from among these 6? Do let us know!

The post Go ahead and read our list of the Top *6* foods to help you lose weight during winters! first appeared on Fit Foodies Mantra.

Passive smoking is as equally harmful as smoking itself but other than that even exposure to asbestos fiber can lead to the development of lung cancer in many people. If that was not enough then pollution and exposure to the exhaust emitted by diesel vehicles can also lead to the development of this disease.

So, on World Lung Cancer Day, to try and reduce the effect that the amount of pollution, fumes and smoke has on us every day, we have here 2 recipes that will you detoxify your lungs for good!

Lung Detox Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh orange juice from 2 large oranges

1 piece of ginger, peeled and preferably 2″ long and up to 1″ thick

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)

1/2 cup chopped pineapple (try to use fresh pineapple, else canned will also do)

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 tbsp raw honey

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp peppermint oil (or 5 peppermint leaves)

Method:

Put all the ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Serve immediately.

Benefits:

Since the smoothie contains both oranges and lemons, the smoothie is able to help reduce the production of free radicals in the body which in turn reduces the production of phlegm, thus making it easier for you to breathe. Apart from that, the pineapple juice helps reduce swelling and can even reduce coughing.

You can consume this smoothie multiple times a day so that it can help reduce any kind of symptoms.

Lung cleanser juice

Ingredients:

The centre of 1 pineapple

3 celery stalks try to take the greenest ones since the greener the better

2 carrots

A small handful of cilantro or coriander

1-inch ginger root, peeled

Method:

Put all the ingredients in a juicer and extract the juice of these amazing ingredients. In case you don’t have a juicer then blender works perfectly fine too. All you need to do is blend them together and later separate the juice and the pulp using a strainer!

Benefits:

Cilantro/coriander will help rid your body off of heavy metals that are known to be associated with lung disease. Other than that, the organic sodium present in celery helps eliminate carbon dioxide from your body brilliantly.    

Again, this does not mean that you end up smoking a whole pack and then decide to detoxify your lungs using these recipes. It does not work that way! Always remember, smoking is indeed injurious to your health!

If in case you are looking for more suggestions and recipes to help keep your lungs in the pink of their health, then do not hesitate to contact us! We are waiting to hear from you!

The post Recipes to help detoxify your lungs! first appeared on Fit Foodies Mantra.

Caviar is usually served in small portions since it has an extremely strong flavour and is most of the time, than not, used as a garnish! But this amazing delicacy has a couple of health benefits that most people might not be aware of! Have a look at them here!

• Rich in Selenium:

Selenium happens to be a very important mineral that is needed by your body! When you consume foods with selenium, the selenium reacts with the vitamin E present in our body! This reactions plays a huge role in keeping us healthy!

The Vitamin E and Selenium combination help protect the cells in our body from damage from free radicals and other compounds brilliantly! These are mainly the compounds that lead to a number of heart diseases and in some cases, even cancer. However, thanks to the selenium, our immune system gets the boost that it needs and the cells too grow at a better rate!

• Omega3 Fatty Acids:

Do you know that a single gram of this wonderful food in a day can actually ensure that your heart stays healthy? Hard to believe isn’t it? Well, it is true alright! The Omega-3 Fatty Acids present in caviar can reduce the chances of blood clotting thus protecting your arteries from hardening.

As a result of this, the risk of heart-attacks or even a stroke goes down to a great extent! And if that was not enough, then caviar can also help reduce blood pressure as well as triglycerides in your blood! And all this is possible by merely consuming only a teaspoon of caviar each day!

• Mood-Lifter:

Depression has truly become very common nowadays, and it has been found that out of 10 people, 7 suffer from depression. But when one decides to take medicines to curtail the depression, there is always the possibility that he/she might suffer from a number of side-effects!

Well, for anyone who does not particularly like to pop pills, caviar just might do the trick! Many people have reportedly felt immediately better and happier with just one small serving of caviar! This might be due to the presence of the omega – 3 in this wonderfully decadent food!

So there you are! You see, caviar isn’t merely something that is a fancy serving at a posh restaurant, there is literally so much more to it! From the amazing health benefits to the decadence of the whole thing, if you can and want to, do try to include a little bit of caviar in your daily diet! And if you want to know HOW you can do it, feel free to get in touch with us!

The post Health Benefits of Caviar! first appeared on Fit Foodies Mantra.

However there are a few teas, in particular, that can help ease the pain of a headache and give you relief from that throbbing pain!

Peppermint Tea:

If you have ever tried applying peppermint oil to your forehead when you are having a headache, you would have noticed that not only does the oil cool your head down, but it also helps in providing immediate relief.

Similarly, peppermint tea has also been known to benefit and ease the uneasiness that is caused by a headache. Peppermint tea might just have pain-relieving properties after all! And the best part about peppermint tea is that it doesn’t even have any side effects!

Chamomile Tea:

Chamomile tea has been made very popular because of its properties of helping fight insomnia and anxiety, and despite the fact that chamomile hasn’t particularly been put down as a pain reliever, the fact that it has the ability to relax you, might just help with the constant headaches too!

Though chamomile hasn’t particularly known to cause many reactions, you might just need to keep a safe distance from it in case you are allergic to the likes of marigolds, daisies or chrysanthemums. Also, if in case you are on blood thinners, it is always better to consult a doctor before consuming chamomile tea.

Ginger Tea:

Ginger is one of the most commonly used spices in Indian cuisine and definitely one that has many health benefits to offer. Also known to be an anti-inflammatory food, ginger can help reduce inflammation that might be causing your headaches, very effectively.

Even by consuming a bit of ginger powder, you can ease your migraine pain quite effectively. Ginger like peppermint rarely has any side effects and is generally safe for even pregnant woman to have. Nevertheless, it is always advisable to talk to your doctor before you decide to start taking ginger tea, especially if you are pregnant or breastfeeding!

Lavender Tisane:

We are sure that a lot of us have been using lavender in some or the other form in our homes! From using air fresheners that have lavender in them to using lavender essential oil during the time of bathing, almost all of us do love the fragrance of this amazing plant!

But did you know that lavender also plays an amazing role in helping ease headaches? This is due to the fact that lavender is able to provide almost the same effect as a medical relaxant known as benzodiazepines. Thanks to many kinds of research conducted, it has been proved that lavender helps calm down many symptoms like poor-sleep, pain, restlessness and even fatigue.

Lemon Balm Tisane:

Lemon balm has been highly valued for its medicinal property since time immemorial. It is extremely rich in many components that help make it an ideal brew to help relax and soothe that nagging headache of yours.

Also considered to be a brilliant balm for the nerves, lemon balm tea helps calm the mind, soothes pain and helps provide relief from migraines as well. Lemon balm is also beneficial in helping with anxiety and makes for an amazing brew if you are someone who has difficulty falling asleep!

Ashwagandha and Shatavari:

Both ashwagandha and Shatavari have proven to be brilliantly beneficial when it comes to preventing illnesses such as cold and flu. And since it is quite common to develop headaches during colds because of sinuses, consuming these two miracles will also help a ton!

Headaches truly are extremely irritating and can literally bring your whole day to a standstill! So the next time those pain medications you are taking don’t seem to be doing a good job, try brewing some of these teas, and see if they help! Thanks to Anamika Singh from Anandini Himalaya Tea who has been able to shine a light on this amazing topic, we have been able to bring this information to you, along with brilliant inputs from Nutritionist Neha. And if you have any queries, don’t forget to contact us!

The post Best Kind of Teas to help ease headaches! first appeared on Fit Foodies Mantra.

Dark chocolate, apart from being one of the most delicious foods on the face of the Earth, also happens to be loaded with a whole lot of nutrient goodness and all these nutrients can easily lead to many positive benefits for your overall health! We are sure that you know that dark chocolate is derived from the seeds of the cocoa tree, but did you know that it also happens to be one of the best sources of antioxidants on the planet?

However, you need to realize that when we say “Dark Chocolate”, we are talking about genuine dark chocolate and not its sugar-filled counterpart that is available in the market!

High in Nutrients

When you decide to make dark chocolate a part of your life, be sure to buy some good quality dark chocolate, where the cocoa content is high; essentially more than 70%. The higher the cocoa content, the more nutritious it will turn out to be. Loaded with soluble fiber and plenty of minerals, dark chocolate should definitely be included in your diet!

A mere 100gms of 70-85% dark chocolate can easily contain 11 gms of fiber, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, iron, copper and selenium, and these are only some of the nutrients that we have listed! Just imagine, something that is so luscious having so many amazing qualities! A win-win situation now, isn’t it? We, however, are not advocating the consumption of 100gms of dark chocolate daily, since the 100 gms also comes with its fair share of calories. Just remember, moderation is the key to maintaining your health flawlessly!

Improves Blood Flow and Lowers Blood Pressure

Did you know that the lining of your arteries can produce the gas, Nitric Oxide? So fascinating, isn’t it? This very nitric oxide is what sends signals to the arteries to help them relax when they are tensed up. This, in turn, helps in lowering the resistance to blood-flow as a result of which blood pressure also reduces.

Now you must be wondering what dark chocolate has got to do with this! Well, dark chocolate, which happens to be full of flavanols, helps in stimulating the endothelium, i.e. the lining of the arteries, thus helping in the productions of the nitric oxide! But you also need to keep in mind that every food has a different effect on different people, so it may not be necessary that if dark chocolate helps lower the blood pressure of someone you know, it will do the same for you too!

Heart Disease Preventer

There are so many risk factors that can easily lead to developing a heart disease that it gets hard to count them sometimes. The consumption of dark chocolate though has been proven to improve several of these very factors considerably! In many studies, it was noticed that dark chocolate helped in increasing the HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, which is also called the “good” cholesterol and decreased the total LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, i.e. the “bad” cholesterol level too!

It also reduces the oxidization process of the LDL and prevents it from reacting with the free-radicals present in your blood. As a result of this reaction, the LDL particles themselves become capable of damaging the lining of the arteries in your heart. So when you consume dark chocolate, you end up preventing a lot of these issues that might befall your body! Apart from this, dark chocolate also reduces insulin resistance, thus helping in preventing and controlling the onset of diseases like diabetes too!

Need we say more? High-time isn’t it that you indulge in some good quality dark chocolate already? So what are you waiting for? Go forth and shop people, but remember to only sink your teeth into 70-85% dark chocolate everyone! Anything less than that isn’t going to help!

The post Top 3 Benefits of Dark Chocolate! first appeared on Fit Foodies Mantra.

Keeping water aside, we do have a few options for you to choose from so that you are able to keep up your amazing flow in the gym, while also indulging in some delicious elixir! So have a look at some hydrating post-workout drinks that you can sip on to help stay refreshed!

Coconut Water:

Coconut water is chockfull of antioxidants! That is what makes this delicious and naturally occurring elixir one of the best post-workout drink that you can easily indulge in, guilt-free! We are sure that you are familiar with a lot of post-workout drinks that they sell in the shops nowadays, like Gatorade and the likes?

Well, coconut water too, like those sports drinks contains high levels of electrolytes like magnesium and potassium. The idea is to go slow when you are using coconut water as a natural hydration drink for yourself, post workout. This will ensure that sudden dose of too much coconut water doesn’t upset your stomach and lead to bloating.

Another great part about consuming coconut water is that it contains a considerably lesser amount of sodium in it when compared to regular sports drinks. This property comes in extremely handy when one needs to hydrate after a brilliantly sweaty session at the gym. For anyone who is indulging in light workouts, coconut water makes for a great companion.

Tart Juices:

Did you know that tart juices like cherry juice, can help brilliantly when it comes to fighting sore muscles? Atleast now you have some use for that cherry juice that has been sitting in your fridge for such a long time! The many antioxidants present in tart cherry juice help reduce inflammation thus benefitting muscle recovery as well.

Your body’s lipid peroxidation also reduces when you consume cherry juice post your workout session, thus aiding the muscle recovery process even more. Another great benefit of consuming cherry juice is that it has also proven to prevent strength loss during workout sessions!

However, remember to not go for those juices that come in a carton and always try to opt for unsweetened cherry juice. Apart from this, remember to keep your cherry juice intake below 300 ml in a day.

Black/Green Tea:

Tea, be it black or green tea, has to be the most underrated beverage that there ever was and it can sometimes really surprise you as to how many benefits a small little cup of this warm liquid can offer you.

Ofcourse Green Tea has become quite popular in many weight loss circuits, but do you know the reason for this? Teas like green and black tea help very effectively in the process of fat oxidation, as during this very process the fat in your body is broken down into smaller molecules, that are sorted and are eventually used up to produce energy.

Thanks to the antioxidants present in tea, it too functions like the Cherry Juice and ends up helping with the recovery of sore muscles, whenever and wherever the need arises! Athletes can especially benefit from the consumption of tea, as it helps in providing less delayed onset muscle soreness.

So the next time you decide to skip that bottle of water post your workout because you are too bored of it, think about what we have written here and try using the alternatives as a way to rehydrate yourself after a workout! Are there any particular drinks you prefer from these? Let us know!

The post Top 3 Hydrating Post-Workout Drinks first appeared on Fit Foodies Mantra.