Health Blunders You Must Avoid to Stay Fit

Today is World Health Day, and if you are aiming for a healthy life, pledge not to make these health blunders.
1. Avoiding checkups 
One may think that medical tests are mandatory only for middle-aged or old people. But it’s people between the age group of 18-25 who are more prone to diseases of the heart, liver and lungs, “Youngsters should get regular health checkups done. Lipid profile for cholesterol, sugar fasting for fluctuating sugar levels also the vitamin B12 and D3 tests are very important. An annual eye checkup too is mandatory due to high stress levels faced by today’s generation.
2. Not getting enough sleep 
It’s necessary to get enough sleep to recharge our system, “A good 7-8 hours of sleep is essential. Lack of sleep can lead to increased levels of stress, restlessness, fatigue, loss of appetite and also weight gain, as one tends to indulge in binging at odd hours.
3. Thriving on Junk Food
” Junk food is empty calories. “Burgers, fries, pizzas are great for taste, but are devoid of carbohydrates. It’s essential to include fruits, vegetables and lean meat like fish and chicken in your diet. Also, avoid junk food at night as your metabolism is low at night. If one wants to indulge, then daytime is a better time.
4. Going on Crash Diets
” It’s a myth that if one stops eating they will lose weight. “Many people stop consuming visible fat like oil, ghee, butter, etc. Five to six spoons of fat consumption is essential every day. Omega 3 and fatty acids are essential for the brain, else one tends to feel tired and suffer from lack of concentration. Staying Hungry can give you dull skin and a weak immune system.
5. Pairing meals with aerated drinks 
It’s best to avoid aerated drinks and artificial juices along with meals as they are high on sugar and contain empty calories. “These drinks wash away the benefits of all the iron and vitamins that we gain from our food.
6. Not exercising daily
It’s not only important to exercise daily but to exercise in a right manner. “Half an hour of exercise daily is the mantra to good health. It’s not necessary to hit a gym. One can go for a 20 minute jog or brisk walk.
7. Guzzling alcohol
Partying hard often means drinking lots of alcohol for youngsters, which lead to serious ailments. Once you cross the safe limit (14 hard drinks a week for men and 7 hard drinks for women), you are prone to fatty liver (100% people get it), which leads to liver inflammation, and even liver failure.” 
8. Not kicking the butt
Smoking is one of the greatest causes of premature deaths. “The number of chain smokers, specially young women, is increasing at an alarming rate, resulting in dangerous health disorders”. Bad lungs, chronic cough, asthma, stomach ulcer, and even lung cancer are common consequences of smoking.
9. Ignoring burnout Symptoms
Unrelenting stress can result in a burnout — a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion. You could feel worn out, detached, and defeated. “A large number of young people are suffering from burnout, and are not even aware of it. It’s important to watch out for the symptoms, and seek professional help.


Source - HT City, 7th April 2012

Board Exams- A Nightmare for Takers

With Board exams round the corner students must be studying hard for good marks. Studying for long hours at a stretch without giving proper rest to the body is not only harmful to the body but to the mind as well.

Unfortunately these long hours are not only harmful to your eyes and back but in long run have other serious complications as well. You should make sure to study in proper light and have minimum effect on eyes when using computer screen. Your body posture plays an important role, while studying and using computer, to reduce effect on your eyes and back.”Never lie down and read “as this puts extra pressure on your back and your eyes get affected as well. One can always use a study table for the same.

You also have to make sure that your sleep is something which should not be compromised upon. A good sleep and proper rest is something which helps in keeping your mind fresh which in turn helps you to store things effectively.

Some Quick Tips that might help you sail through smoothly:

1.       Take a 5 mins breather every hour

2.       Wash your eyes on regular intervals

3.       Close your eyes and blink frequently while studying.

4.       Liquid consumptions should be increased in various different forms like                coconut water, juices and most important plain water.

5.       Instead of eating 3 heavy meals it is advisable to eat light every 02 hours.

6.       Take good 08 hours sleep

7.       Do some meditation or yoga to increase your concentration.

8.       Have lot of green and raw vegetables and fruits rich in protein.

9.       Keep your diet light.

 Study in proper light preferably white light.


Need Counselling to reduce your exam pressure and to choose a career aligned with your hobbies and passion, Call +91 98113 11354 or mail at harsharora@improvelife.in. Know more about me by visiting www.improvelife.in

A matter of degree, not kind

A very good article in ET...

It is notable that 175 years after Macaulay's minute on education, which led to monumental changes in pedagogy and learning here, things remain very much in a state of flux.

Now, in calling for changing the medium of public instruction from ‘Sanscrit and Arabic' to english, and its contents metamorphosed from ‘sacred books' to, generally speaking, ‘the poetry of Milton, the metaphysics of Locke, and the physics of Newton,' Macaulay was of course prejudiced, conceited and plain biased.

But it cannot be gainsaid that he was a public policy enthusiast with remarkable vision. As we contemplate path-breaking reform in the domain of higher education, holistic policy design needs to be the watchword.

For instance, it is welcome indeed that the mavens seek to integrate the various streams under a single, overall umbrella for proper oversight and genuine cross-fertilisation of ideas.

However in tandem, there is no reason why all first degrees, across streams, need not be the BA, as is very much the norm in the ancient universities.

Our educational institutes do need to aim at being world-class of course, and we cannot any longer afford to remain contend with a few holiest of the holy centres of learning which anyway contribute precious little to domain knowledge and thought.

The point is to improve standards across the board, with stress on inculcating new knowledge and practices. But in tandem, we surely need uniform nomenclature for the first degree.

It would bring about much-needed inclusiveness across disciplines. And with common degree certificates and honours grades, graduates can look forward to postgraduate education in law, business and medicine. The world's leading universities follow such a system.

It is also notable that Macaulay based his reasoning on facts and analysis, although the unabashedly superior tone in the minute certainly seems quite uncalled for.

After all, it is a no brainer that higher attainments in industry and commerce also tend to show up in parallel literary achievements.

In his note, he was, as chair of the Committee on Public Instruction, excised over what in today's parlance can be called the cost-benefit ratio of public education. There was a ‘lakh of rupees' at the committee's disposal, we gather. But the expenses were thoroughly questionable, it is averred.

The policy hitherto had been to provide stipends to students enrolled in ‘Arabic and Sanscrit' colleges. Macaulay cites the figure for December, 1833. ‘The whole amount paid to them is above Rs 500 a month’, it's surmised.

And what is the fruit of all this? A petition was presented last year to the committee by several ex-students of the Sanscrit College, it is revealed.

And the petitioners are said to have added, “we have but little prospect of bettering our condition without the kind assistance of your honourable committee...” They have wasted the best years of life in learning what procures for them neither bread nor respect, adds Macaulay.

We might with advantage have saved the cost of making these persons useless and miserable, he concludes.

And those who learn ‘English are willing to pay us,' the minute enunciates. The amount realised from the ‘out-students of English for the months of May, June, and July last — Rs 103', it is documented.

The point made is the pressing need for up-to-date knowledge, skills and broad-based learning.

Fast-forward to the here and now, and it is indeed welcome that the proposed National Commission for Higher Education and Research is to replace the stodgy UGC and the corruption-ridden All India Council for Technical Education. It also makes perfect sense to include purview for medical and legal education in the commission.

In the ancient universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the first degree remains the BA, never mind if one reads history, land economy or engineering. There is certainly a case for professional bodies to retain accreditation functions.

But the idea of a uniformly termed first degree, with a common system of markings, grades and ‘classification,' cannot really be faulted. Besides, we do need to set up new institutes where students can read various subjects all under one roof.

In this day and age, when knowledge is a clear source of competitive advantage, compartmentalisation just makes no sense.