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Fighting Obesity - an ayurvedic way
Definition of Obesity
Excess amount of body fat is Obesity. Excess weight of muscles,
bone, fat and water in the body (like body builders and
athletes) is Overweight. Over weighted persons are at increased
health risk than normal persons. They are more prone to chronic
diseases like heart diseases, type-2 diabetes, high blood
pressure, stroke, and few types of cancers.
Is fat necessary to our body?
Certain amount of body fat does the following function 1. Heat
insulation. 2. Absorption of shock. 3. Storage of energy. Etc.
Ayurveda describes the functions of body fat as
"Medaha sneha swedaudhrudatwam pushtim asthyancha" This means in
normal conditions the body fat keeps the body moisturized ,
causes sweating , gives energy to body (by storing energy) and
nourishes bones. (By protecting them from shock)
Distribution of fat
Women have more body fat than men. In women usually the fat
accumulates around hips giving them a pear shape. In men it
accumulates around belly giving them an apple shape. The obesity
related problems start when fat accumulates around waist. In
ayurveda the distribution of fat is described as follows.
Medastu sarvabhutaanamudarenvasthi thishtathi | Ata evodare
vriddhihi prayo medaswino bhavet ||
Fat gets deposited in and around belly in all living beings. It
is also present in bone. Hence when a person becomes obese his
stomach bulges out.
And also the characters of an obese person are described as
"Medo mamsa ativriddhatvaachalasphigudarastanaha" Which means
the hips, belly and breasts of an obese person sag and sagged
parts flap as that person moves. An obese person will not be
active.
Causes of Obesity
When a person consumes more calories than he burns then the
excess calories get stored in the form of fat causing obesity.
1. Genetic factors-Obesity tends to run in families. If parents
are fat then the offspring also show a tendency to accumulate
fat. Even the diet and lifestyle habits which are practiced in
family also contribute to obesity.
2. Environment. - A person's eating habits and the level of
physical activities a person has also contribute for excess
deposition of fat. When a person eats food containing more
calories and has a sedentary work then the calories consumed are
more than calories burnt. The excess amount calories are stored
as fat.
3. Psychological disturbances.- There is a tendency to over eat
in response to negative emotions like boredom, sadness or anger.
This leads to obesity.
4. Binge eating disorder.
5. Diseases and conditions like Hypothyroidism, Cushing's
syndrome, Depression, and certain neurological problems lead to
overeating which in turn leads to accumulation of fat.
6. Medicines such as steroids and some antidepressants may cause
weight gain.
Causes of obesity according to Ayurveda
The causes of obesity are very clearly explained in ayurveda.
The following reasons which are mentioned in ayurveda increase
the deposition of fat.
Avayamadivaaswapnashleshmalaaaharasevinaha | Madhuroannarasaha
prayaha snehamedhovivardhati ||
According to ayurveda the causes of obesity are defined as :
1. Avyayama : Not exerting physically 2. Divaswapna: Sleeping in
afternoon. 3. Shleshmala Ahara Vihara : The diet and life styles
which increase Kapha 4. Madhura Annaha : Consuming sweetened
foods .
Health risks due to Obesity
Obesity leads to the following problems. 1. Type-2 diabetes 2.
Heart disease. 3. High Blood pressure. 4. Stroke 5. Few types of
Cancers 6. Gall stones 7. Liver diseases 8. Osteo arthritis. 9.
Gout 10. Infertility 11. Irregular menstruation in women.
According to Ayurveda the obese persons are more prone to the
following diseases. 1. Diabetes. 2. Kidney related problems. 3.
Hepatitis. 4. Low libido. 5. Low energy levels. 6. Skin
problems. 7. Fistula 8. Piles. 9. Filariasis . etc
Tips to reduce Obesity
1. Determine with the help of your physician how much weight has
to be reduced.
2. Set several short term realistic goals .
3. Reward yourself each time you make progress (Not food
items)
4. Even small weight losses have shown to be beneficial.
5. Make gradual changes in eating habits.
6. You will lose weight when you burn more calories than you
consume. Hence eating less and being more active help in losing
weight.
7. Sound eating habits keep you out of putting on weight.
8. Stay motivated to lose weight.
9. Slow weight loss is the safest and most effective. ( one to
one and half pound per week).
10. Gradual weight loss, promote long term loss of body fat.
11. A person who is moderately active needs daily, 33 calories
per kg of body weight to maintain his weight .
12. Reducing calories intake by 300 per day and increasing the
physical activity to burn 200 calories per day results in weight
loss of 400 Gms per week.
13. To satisfy basic nutritional needs eat a variety of foods
every day. Choose from each of the five food groups milk, meat,
fruit, vegetable and cereals. Balanced food plans encourage
making wise choices about everyday food choices. This type of
diet helps to stay at your proper weight for life.
14. Allow for an occasional treat.
15. Evaluate your eating pattern.
16. Try to cut down on foods high in fats and sugar.
17. Most successful weight - loss plans stress on reduction in
both calories and the amount of fat eaten
Physical activity:
1. Determine the type of physical activity that suits your life
style.
2. Regular aerobic exercise like brisk walking, jogging or
swimming, is a key factor in achieving permanent weight loss and
improving health
3. Health experts recommend exercising 30 minutes or more on
all, days of the week for maximum benefits. The exercises should
be moderately vigorous to be most effective but not exhausting.
4. Incorporate few simple measures to burn calories effectively.
Like- taking an after dinner walk, using stairs instead of
escalators or elevators, parking the car farther away to have a
longer walk etc.
5. Exercises also improve sense of well being ,decreases stress
and decreases appetite in some.
Ayurvedic tips to reduce Obesity
Numerous tips to reduce obesity have been mentioned in ayurveda.
The following ayurvedic tips help you to reduce the obesity.
1. Very good exercises. Exercises like brisk walking, jogging,
playing out door games etc help to reduce weight.
2. Physical and mental exertion. Exerting physically like doing
house hold works, walking to distant places to bring groceries,
vegetables etc, walking long distances to bring the child back
from school, walking to working place, climbing stairs etc are
types of physical exertion. Exerting physically as much as you
can help to burn more calories. Mental exertion like worrying or
involving in finding solutions to problems also restrict food
consumption in some and there by reduces the intake of calories
.
3. Having sex frequently is also a good physical exertion.
4. Consumption of honey. This is advisable for non diabetic
patients. Consuming 2 tea spoon of honey with a glass of herbal
tea which includes weight reducing herbs help a lot in weight
reduction. Honey along with these herbs scrapes and dissolves
the Kapha and medha (body fat).
5. Sleeping for less hours. Avoiding sleeping in afternoons help
to increase the burning of calories. This avoids slowing of
basal metabolic rate.
6. Avoiding the food and beverages which increase kapha and
medha. The foods which increase kapha and medha are sweets,
sweetened drinks , large quantities of carbohydrates and oily
food. 7. Consuming wheat products than rice products help to
reduce obesity.
8. Using Green gram and horse gram help in reduction of kapha
and medha.
About the author:
Dr.SavithaSuri has been an Ayurvedic Practitioner since 1989.
After getting a graduation degree in ayurveda (Bachelor of
Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery) in 1988 from University of
Mysore, India, she started practising ayurveda . Her articles
about ayurveda have been published in news papers and websites.
She is a regular health columnist to a regional news paper
http://www.ayurhelp.com email doctor@ayurhelp.com
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| What You Need To Know About™ Breast Cancer - National Cancer Institute |
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