What Happens To The Body When You Skip A Meal

Most people are in a mad rush these day. There is tension at work, tension at home, kids give tension, traffic chaos. With all these, many people don't find time to even eat their meals. Often breakfast, the most important meal is skipped due to lack of time ! Dinner is skipped due to over exhaustion !

While your body's exact reaction to a missed meal will depend on your age, health, and diet, the act of skipping can jump-start a range of physiological processes—both good and bad.

1. You might lose weight—but there's a catch.
Despite everything you've heard about "calories in, calories out," the links between meal skipping and losing weight are tricky. Some research suggests you'll drop bad weight in the short term—but you'll eventually gain back dangerous belly fat. More studies suggest the weight you lose may come from muscle, not fat, which is hardly ideal. There are some potentially great reasons to skip meals, but losing weight is probably not one of them.

2. Inflammation calms down.
From arthritis to cancer to heart disease, many major health conditions stem from damage caused by chronic inflammation. Periods of fasting appear to trigger damage-repairing adaptations in your cells, finds a review. While fasting comes in all shapes and sizes, some inflammation-lowering health perks could accrue after forgoing just one meal, says one of the paper's authors and a researcher. His work has also found that periods of fasting may improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy.

 
3. You could run low on nutrients.
While skipping a meal here and there—sometimes referred to as "intermittent fasting"—can be beneficial, the author says harnessing those benefits requires careful planning. Otherwise, you risk nutrient deficiencies linked to fatigue, poor mental function, and other health concerns. If you're considering fasting on a regular basis, consult with a registered dietitian or other nutrition pro to ensure you're getting enough protein, vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids in your meals and snacks. 

4. Your risk for some diseases may increase.
If you routinely skip breakfast, you may be headed for trouble, says a researcher. One of the author' studies found that women who skipped breakfast regularly had a 20% increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Another of her studies—this one in men—linked going without a morning meal to heart disease. "Our bodies need to be fed food regularly in order to maintain healthy levels of blood lipids such as cholesterol, hormones such as insulin, and normal blood pressure," he says. "As we sleep all night we are fasting, and so if we regularly do not 'break fast' in the morning, it puts a strain on our bodies that over time can lead to insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and blood pressure problems."

5. You're likely to make up for a missed meal with junk food.
Some researchers found that meal-skippers grab 31% more junk food at the grocery store when shopping hungry, compared with when they had a snack beforehand. Shoppers who hit the aisles during the high-hunger hours between 4 PM and 7 PM also selected a larger percentage of high-calorie options. All this suggests your body may crave crappier food if you skip meals.

6. You may burn more fat during exercise...
A 2013 study found that morning exercisers burned 20% more fat during their workouts when they sweated on an empty stomach. Important to note: How your body reacts will depend on what the rest of your diet looks like and how hard you're going to push yourself during your workout. But if you're fond of light AM workouts, you might benefit from exercising before your first meal or snack, says a sports dietitian. Just make sure you eat a nutritious, filling dinner the night before, she says.

7.But you might also end up skipping exercise altogether.
Though a morning workout sans food could have fat-burning benefits, the equation changes later in the day. Combine the low blood sugar that follows a skipped meal with the mental and physical demands of work, parenting, and your other daily obligations, and you may find it nearly impossible to exercise after skipping a meal, she says.

8. You could "bonk" midway through your workout.
Even if you push through your fatigue and hit the gym or trail, skipping a meal can leave you feeling terrible midway through your session. Athletes call it "bonking," and it occurs when low blood sugar saps your muscles and mind of the energy they require to make it through that next mile or rep, the nutritionist says.

9. You might get sick.

 After exercise—especially long, intense sessions—spikes in cortisol temporarily suppress your immune system. "Consuming carbohydrates during and right after training helps close that window of immunosuppression," says a research author. The longer you put off refueling, the greater your risk of headaches, fatigue, extreme hunger, and even infection. On the flip side, eating a meal or snack with protein and carbs within 2 hours of exercise replenishes your body's energy stores and provides the raw material to build new muscle, the nutritionist says.
10. Mood swings and stress -  
Mood swings and irritable attitude is very common in case you are starving yourself. Due to low blood sugar level in your body, you tend to snap and get easily annoyed. The symptoms worsen if you make it a habit. You tend to get more stressed and face trouble in making decisions. Skipping meals regularly can make you really moody and jittery all the time. You tend to have angry outbursts in situations where you would otherwise deal tactfully.


11. Low brain function - There are times when you choose to compensate for a heavy meal you had by skipping another altogether. Your body weakens even if you skip one meal and subsequently your brain can't function actively and you tend to lose your focus. The brain runs on glucose primarily, hence, you can't think clearly because of low blood sugar level due to skipping a meal. It worsens in case you have made a regular habit out of it.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                                                                                                                                                                                        PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/  

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Home-made recipes for heartburn or acid reflux

The most common symptom to experience heartburn symptoms is at night, after eating a heavy meal, during movements like bending, lifting or when lying down flat on your back.

The most common symptoms are-
1) burning sensations and pain in the chest

2) general discomfort in the upper abdomen or below the breast bone

3) stomach aches soon after eating, feels like stomach acid is churning

4) pain that seems to move up from the stomach first and reach as far as the throat

5) regurgitation or having the sensation of acid backing up into your throat or mouth

6) sour and bitter tastes in your mouth

7) feeling overly full

8) belching and burping, feeling nauseous

Remedies

1) eat smaller portions paced through out the day- eat 5-6 smaller meals than 3 big meals

2) Limit foods that increase stomach acids-
fried foods                  chocolates
caffeine                      coffee 
packaged foods          tomatoes
peppermint                citrus fruits
alcohol
onion

3) Control your stress- for this, deep breathe in and slowly exhale a couple of times, it normally helps

4) Check with your GP if any of your medications are to be blamed for it !

Supplements to treat heartburn

1) Digestive enzymes  1-2 capsules before each meal

2) Probiotics- 25-50 billion units daily ( ask your GP)

3) Magnesium 400 mg once / twice a day

4) L-Glutamine   5 gm twice a day with food

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                                                                                                                                                                                        PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/  

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Kindly consult your GP before taking the supplements.

Baking Soda May Help Combat Rheumatoid Arthritis

Drinking baking soda daily may help reduce the destructive inflammation of autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, say scientists. 

While the immune system normally protects us from disease and infection, in someone who has an autoimmune disease the immune system attacks healthy cells in the body by mistake. Drinking baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, tells the spleen -- which is part of the immune system -- to go easy on the immune response, the study said. 

"Certainly drinking bicarbonate affects the spleen and we think it's through the mesothelial cells," said study co-author. The findings, published recently, showed that when rats or healthy people drink a solution of baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, it becomes a trigger for the stomach to make more acid to digest the next meal. 

And for the mesothelial cells sitting on the spleen, it tells that there is no need to mount a protective immune response. "It's most likely a hamburger not a bacterial infection," is basically the message, he said.

In the spleen, as well as the blood and kidneys, the researchers found after drinking water with baking soda for two weeks, the population of immune cells called macrophages, shifted from primarily those that promote inflammation, called M1, to those that reduce it, called M2. 

"The shift from inflammatory to an anti-inflammatory profile is happening everywhere," the Dr. said. "We saw it in the kidneys, we saw it in the spleen, now we see it in the peripheral blood." The shifting landscape is likely due to increased conversion of some of the pro-inflammatory cells to anti-inflammatory ones coupled with actual production of more anti-inflammatory macrophages, he added. 

The scientists also saw a shift in other immune cell types, like more regulatory T cells, which generally drive down the immune response and help keep the immune system from attacking our own tissues. 

That anti-inflammatory shift was sustained for at least four hours in humans and three days in rats, the study said. "It's potentially a really safe way to treat inflammatory disease," the Dr. said.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                                                                                                                                                                                        PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/  

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Type 2 diabetes: Five warning signs and how to beat it !

TYPE 2 diabetes symptoms may include thirst, hunger and a dry mouth. The condition occurs when your body cannot absorb the sugar in your bloodstream, causing its levels to rise. These are five signs that you are suffering from high blood sugar levels.

 Type 2 diabetes is caused by problems with the hormone insulin, which mean the body has difficulties absorbing sugar from its blood stream.

You are more likely to develop the condition if you are overweight, have a relative who has had type 2 diabetes or have high blood pressure, among other factors.

An inability to absorb blood sugar will lead to high levels in the blood stream, called hyperglycaemia.
This is defined by the World Health Organisation as a blood sugar level exceeding seven mmol/L when fasting or a level of 11.0 mmol/L two hours after a meal.

These are five warning signs that you have the high blood sugar levels, according to diabetes experts.

Regular/above-average urination
This happens because more sugar is passing into the kidneys, which filter urine from the blood, causing more water to also be moved from the blood to the kidneys, making you wee more often.
The doctor says that you will observe this during the day and night, by needing to wee regularly.

Weakness or feeling tired
Many sufferers of the condition will feel tired, lethargic or fatigued at times, according to experts. This will most likely follow meals, they advise.
The symptom occurs because sugar cannot get into our cells, due to problems with insulin, meaning they do not receive the energy they need.
But, tiredness may also be caused by “stress, hard work or a lack of a decent night’s sleep.”
 

Weight loss
“Type 2 diabetes is very closely associated with weight, with over 90 per cent of newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics above their ideal weight.”
The dropping weight happens because your body is not absorbing enough blood sugar, so is having to burn its stored energy.

Increased thirst
This happens as more water is pulled out of your blood stream than usual, causing you to also need to drink more.
Six to eight glasses of water should be drunk a day to “replace” normal water loss, according to the doctors.

Vision blurring
It can affect one eye, or both, and refers to the loss of sharpness of vision.
High blood sugar levels resulting from diabetes can affect your vision by causing the lens inside the eye to swell, which causes this blurring.

If you think you have type 2 diabetes you should see your GP immediately. They will arrange a urine and blood test for you to check blood sugar levels, which will show whether you have the condition.
The doctor says that, “many people have type two diabetes symptoms without realising.

“This is because symptoms don’t necessarily make you feel unwell.”

They may then recommend a lifestyle and diet change, as well as offering medication.

How to beat it !

Its treatment can involve a combination of diet and lifestyle changes, and medication, which could lead to the condition being cured in up to 50 per cent of cases. 

After being diagnosed in 2015, a man rejected the drug Metformin, often prescribed to sufferers, instead treating himself by changing how he lived.

He began walking around the block a bit faster and eating healthily, before being inspired by his brother to take up running. Now, he can't live without it.

“Running is so important to me now to manage my diabetes - never thought I’d be saying that - it’s hard, but I love the sense of achievement I get, even on training runs during the cold dark winter nights.”

He has now ‘outrun’ type 2 diabetes, which is firmly under control, earning him applause from his diabetes nurse.
 

Research into type 2 diabetes has shown it can be reversed for sufferers that have had the condition for up to four years.

“It is certainly possible to wake up the insulin producing cells of the pancreas by losing a substantial amount of weight,” said a Professor who has led research into reversing this condition.

“This happens because the fat content in there pancreas decreases. Previous studies have shown that fat stops insulin release. The insulin producing cells recover their special function, and this continues providing fat is not allowed to accumulate.”

He was motivated to take up running when he saw his older brother complete a half marathon.

“I choked up as I watched him cross the line - it was quite moving,” he said.

“Being a single parent with a lovely son, I knew I wanted to do as much as I possibly could to manage my diabetes for my longevity and for the sake of my son.”

After the experience, he took on the couch to 5k running programme, and then joined the running team. He now runs almost every weekend. From May last year he had only missed three sessions.

“There’s a wealth of research about the benefit of exercise in reducing the risks of heart attacks and strokes,” he said. “For diabetics this is particularly important, because they are at higher risk.”

“Recent research has suggested that up to 50 per cent of type 2 diabetes cases might be reversible with lifestyle measures, particularly weight loss.”

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                                                                                                                                                                                        PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/  

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World Asthma Day: Breathe easy, learn more about airways disease

World Asthma Day is on May 1.

The day is an awareness-raising event organised globally by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) and locally by the National Asthma Education Programme (NAEP).

The theme for 2018 is: “Never too early, Never too late. It’s always the right time to address airways disease.”

This year, the NAEP is focusing on educating school and university students about asthma.

They are currently running a social media campaign on Facebook and Twitter, leading up to World Asthma Day, and are encouraging people to share their stories and raise awareness.

South Africa is currently fourth in the world, and first in Africa, in terms of asthma fatalities.

According to the 2014 Global Asthma Report, 1.5 per cent of the 3.9 million South Africans die from this preventable disease annually.

A recent report by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) alludes to the fact that South Africa has the world’s fourth highest asthma death rate among five to 35-year-olds. Of the estimated 3.9 million South Africans with asthma, 1.5 per cent die of this condition annually.

Asthma is the third most common cause of hospital admissions of children, yet only 2 per cent of patients with asthma receive treatment.

In 2017, a 21-year-old BCom student died of an asthma attack while on campus, leaving his parents to question whether the institution could have done more to save his life.

In 2016, a 20-year-old  University student similarly lost her life, again to an asthma attack. It was this student that prompted the foundation, formed by her parents, to raise awareness about asthma and to improve the lives of disadvantaged children and communities.

Because of the NAEPs alignment with these principles, they have chosen to partner with the  Foundation to provide support and practical applications for the combating of asthma in South Africa.
The NAEP is a non-profit organisation that aims to disseminate impartial information about asthma diagnosis and treatment to health professionals and the South African public. It also runs courses, workshops, and meetings for the public and professionals.

The programme was first launched in 1989 by Key Opinion Leaders in South Africa and is part of an international organisation/drive which subscribes to guidelines set out by GINA, SATS (South African Thoracic Society) and ALLSA (Allergy Society of South Africa).

Membership to the public is free of charge and can be accessed by contacting the NAEP or registering on their website: www.asthmasa.org. You may also call 021 830 5937 or email naepr@netactive.co.za

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Hope for parents whose child has rare but serious form of epilepsy

A recent study has offered new hope for parents who have a child with a rare but serious form of epilepsy, epileptic encephalopathy (EE). New ways of sequencing the human genome mean geneticists and genetic counselors have much more to say to parents who wonder if future children might carry the disease, said co-senior author.

These advances offer insights for all of us because they are part of the growing study of mosaicism – the fact that many of us do not in fact have just one genome in us. We are what scientists call mosaics – bunches of cells that may have different genotypes buried deep within us.

“A mosaic mutation happens some time after fertilization when cells are dividing, which requires copying the entire DNA. If one of those cells makes a copying error that introduces a mutation. All the cells that come from that cell will carry the same mutation. So you end up with a mosaic pattern where some cells have the mutation and some cells don’t. That’s the mosaic,” the author said.

The fact that, say, 10 percent of your cells scattered throughout your body might be different than other cells may be completely unimportant. But if 10 percent of your sperm or oocytes have the mutation, that could be a big problem if that mutation affects the brain development of the child.

A big question from any parent of a child with EE is what are the odds that our other children might have this condition? For decades, parents whose child had epilepsy were told there’s a 1 to 5 percent chance that other children might inherit the mutation. This was based on clinical evidence – the numbers of recurrences physicians saw in the clinic.

But armed with more precise testing, the geneticists found parental mosaicism that wasn’t easily detected before in about 10 percent of families, putting these families at higher risk of passing the mutation to another child. What this means in practical terms is that this small group probably accounts for most of the recurrences. For some parents, there’s good news: if this parental mosaicism was not detected, your odds of having another such child with epilepsy could be much less than 1 percent.

“We have the technology to pick out mosaic cells in a sea of otherwise normal cells. The percentage of families where we can identify mosaicism in the parent is higher than most of us thought it would be. While the overall recurrence risk (across all families) is about 1 percent, for those families where we can find the mosaic mutation in the parents, it’s not a 1 percent risk. It’s much higher than that. And we now have the tools to help give them that information, and help them with better family planning and decision-making down the road,” he said.

“Our study focused on patients with severe epilepsy. But the finding that 10 percent of the parents have mosaicism may actually apply to a broad range of other disorders, including autism and intellectual disability,” he added.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                                                                                                                                                                                        PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/  

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