Healthy heart behind younger brain--study

In a hale and healthy heart dwells a young and active brain, suggest U.S. researchers, who recently found that poor ಕಾರ್ದಯಾಕ್ output results in brain volume loss.

A team of scientists from Boston University revealed that people with 'sluggish hearts' pump out less blood and thus have "older" brains on MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scans than the ones who keep their heart in best form.

Study findings
The study observed 1,500 people, between 34 to 84 years of age, whose brain and heart MRI scans averred that the normal human brain shrinks as people get older with age.

According to researchers, people with the high cardiac index or those with the highest blood flow from their heart, have more brain volume that generally indicates a healthier brain.

But a relatively low cardiac output ages the brain by nearly two years on average, they stated.

Researchers observed the link even in young participants who were not suffering from cardiovascular diseases, such as heart failure or coronary heart disease and found the same results as in elderly people.

They said, “as the brain ages, it begins to atrophy (shrink), has lesser volume, and can often lead to dementia.”

Dr Angela Jefferson, associate professor of neurology at Boston University School Medicine, said, “These participants are not sick people. A very small number have heart disease. The observation that nearly a third of the entire sample has low cardiac index and that lower cardiac index is related to smaller brain volume is concerning and requires further study."

Decreased cardiac index leads to dementia?
Several theories have been put forward explaining why reduced cardiac index might affect ಬ್ರಿನ್ health.

Cardiac index is the measure of blood the heart pumps out relative to body size.

For instance, a study suggests that decreased volume of blood pumped might reduce flow to the brain, providing less oxygen and fewer nutrients needed for brain cells, which ultimately leads to its shrinkage.

Dr Clinton Wright, a brain and memory expert from the University of Miami, said, "Whether lower cardiac index leads to reduced brain volumes and accelerates neurodegeneration on an eventual path to dementia is not yet clear.”

The team of researchers will now study the individuals in the trial to see if and how variations in brain affect memory and cognitive abilities over time.

The study appears in 'Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.'

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90-Second Health Boosts

What if you could cut your risk of heart disease, get fitter, slow aging, and protect your smile in less time than it takes to watch a couple of commercials? Better health does take time, but not as much as you may think. Yes, you should exercise 30 minutes a day and sleep 7 to 8 hours a night.

But top experts in nutrition, cardiovascular health, and cancer prevention say you can also make some very important health upgrades in almost no time flat.

1. Eat the peel

Why: Fight cancer

The bulk of an apple's benefit lies in its skin. In one lab experiment, more than a dozen chemicals in the peels of Red Delicious apples inhibited the growth of breast, liver, and colon cancer cells. Investigator Rui Hai Liu, MD, PhD, an associate professor of food science at Cornell University, suspects that the peels of other apple varieties are also extra potent.

But experts recommend only eating the skin of organic apples; the conventionally grown kind are among the most pesticide-doused produce.

2. Pop a calcium/vitamin D supplement

Why: Fight cancer

Getting enough vitamin D and calcium brings a remarkable reduction in cancer risk, found a 4-year study at Creighton University: Women who took the combo reduced their overall risk by up to 77%.

"Vitamin D enhances your body's immune response—which is the first line of defense against cancer," says lead researcher Joan Lappe, PhD, RN, a professor of nursing and medicine. Your skin makes D when it's exposed to sunlight, but researchers say the best way to guarantee you get enough is with a pill. The 1,100 IU used in the Creighton study will do the trick (and is safe).

3. Sniff lavender or rosemary

Why: Look younger

The scent of lavender can bring you a restful night's sleep—but the plant can do you a world of good in daylight, too. In one study, volunteers sniffed the essential oils of lavender or rosemary for 5 minutes. The result: Levels of the stress hormone cortisol in saliva dropped as much as 24%. That's good, because the hormone increases blood pressure and suppresses the immune system.

What's more, people who smelled low concentrations of lavender or high concentrations of rosemary were better at getting rid of free radicals, the pesky molecules believed to speed aging and disease.

4. Sprinkle pistachios on your salad

Why: Cut cholesterol

Researchers at Pennsylvania State University gave volunteers a pleasant task: Eat 1 1/2 ounces (about a handful) of pistachios every day. At the end of 4 weeks, those who munched the nuts reduced their total cholesterol by an average of 6.7% and their LDL ("bad") cholesterol by 11.6%.

That reduction has a major payoff: Cutting your total cholesterol by about 7% reduces your heart disease risk by 14%. Pistachios are one of the best sources of plant sterols, compounds we know reduce absorption of cholesterol, says researcher Penny Kris-Etherton, PhD, RD, who led the study. Just remember, 1 ounce contains about 160 calories. So pour a little less dressing on your salad as you add some pistachios.

5. Replace sugar with buckwheat honey

Why: Cut cholesterol

This sweet substance has been used for medicinal purposes since ancient times; when it's applied to a wound, honey is a natural antibacterial salve. Now researchers say that its benefits may be much more than skin deep. Test-tube studies show that honey slows the oxidation of LDL cholesterol—it's when LDL is oxidized that it can be laid down as plaque in blood vessels. The variety of honey best at slowing oxidation: buckwheat.

6. Breathe deeply

Why: Cool hot flashes

Slow, deep abdominal breathing can reduce the frequency of hot flashes by about half, according to three studies. Estrogen withdrawal is partly to blame for hot flashes, but researchers believe that stress also plays a role by firing up the sympathetic nervous system—the part of your wiring responsible for the fight-or-flight response.

Breathe deeply to enlist the parasympathetic nervous system, which activates your body's relaxation response. That will slow heart rate, relax muscles, and lower blood pressure. Sit in a comfortable chair and allow your breath to deepen. Inhale through your nose; exhale through your mouth. Close your eyes to cut out distraction. Let your belly be soft—you want it to rise and fall with each breath.

7. Eat an egg

Why: Sharpen vision

No offense to carrots, but research shows that eggs are an even better source of the eye-friendly antioxidants known as carotenoids. Lutein and zeaxanthin are the crucial carotenoids for vision—the only ones that benefit the retina's fragile macula, which is responsible for central vision. Eggs don't contain as much lutein and zeaxanthin as dark green, leafy veggies, but your body is better able to absorb the antioxidants in eggs, says nutritional biochemist Elizabeth Johnson, PhD, at Tufts University.

Worried about cholesterol? Don't be: Eating an egg a day increases blood levels of lutein (by 26%) and zeaxanthin (by 38%) without raising cholesterol or triglyceride levels.

8. Pour a bowl of whole grain cereal

Why: Reduce dangerous inflammation

Whole grains can save your life. The Iowa Women's Health Study, which has followed nearly 42,000 postmenopausal women for 15 years, reports that women who ate 11 or more servings of whole grains each week were about one-third less likely to die of an inflammatory disorder, like diabetes, asthma, or heart disease, than those who had the least.

Good choices: oatmeal, brown rice, dark bread, whole grain breakfast cereal, bulgur, and—yum—popcorn. "Whole grains contain the biologically active parts of the plant," says study leader David R. Jacobs Jr., PhD, a professor of epidemiology and community health at the University of Minnesota. "What keeps the plant alive keeps the eater alive.

9. Stretch your legs

Why: Build muscle strength

If you have tight leg muscles, you'll not only improve flexibility by stretching but also build strength, says a study published in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine. For 6 weeks, 30 adults with tight hamstrings did a series of stretches 5 days a week.

Investigators measured their flexibility and thigh-muscle strength at the start and end of the study. All that stretching loosened up tight muscles and increased their range of motion, but the hamstrings and the quads (the muscles at the back and front of the thighs, respectively) also became significantly stronger.

10. Add avocado to your salad

Why: Up your antioxidant intake

Vegetables have an unexpected downside: Many of them are virtually fat free, and you need fat in the meal to absorb cancer-fighting carotenoids. In recent Ohio State University research, volunteers were given a salad with and without a sliced avocado. Blood tests showed that those who ate the avocado got 5 times as much lutein, 7 times as much alpha-carotene, and a whopping 15 times as much beta-carotene as those who ate the salad without it.

11. Nibble on dried figs

Why: Up your antioxidant intake

Dried fruits are known to be rich in antioxidants—but some of the less popular types are the most nutritious. Figs and dried plums (aka prunes) had the best overall nutrient scores, shows research at the University of Scranton. A handful of dried figs (about 1 1/2 ounces) increased "antioxidant capacity"—the ability to neutralize free radicals—by 9%. That's more than double the increase seen after a cup of green tea.

12. Snack on fruit salad

Why: Up your antioxidant intake

Antioxidants love company: A mixture of oranges, apples, grapes, and blueberries provides 5 times the antioxidant power you get from eating the same fruits solo, says research by Liu, at Cornell. Ingredients to toss into fruit salad, ranked in order of phenolic content (a type of plant chemical that cuts the risk of chronic disease): cranberries, apples, red grapes, strawberries, pineapples, bananas, peaches, oranges, and pears.

13. Smooch your partner passionately

Why: Brighten your smile

You enjoy a kiss for other reasons, but according to Anne Murray, DDS, a spokesperson for the Academy of General Dentistry, it increases saliva in your mouth, which cleans your teeth of the bacteria that can cause cavities. If, alas, you have no one to kiss, try sugar-free gum containing xylitol.

14. Turn down your fridge temp

Why: Protect your stomach from bugs

If the setting is over 40 F, your food is sitting in the danger zone—the temperature at which bacteria begin to multiply. Each year in the United States, more than 75 million people get sick from contaminated food and 5,000 die. Use an appliance thermometer to be sure the temp is low enough.

15. Keep your head up

Why: Head off a headache

When your neck juts forward (known as forward head posture) you have to tilt your head up to see, which can compress the nerves and muscles at the base of the skull and cause headaches, says Roger Cady, MD, vice president of the National Headache Foundation. To keep your head straight, imagine a cord attached to the top of your head, pulling toward the ceiling, and periodically check to make sure your ear is in line with your shoulder.

16. Sip green tea daily

Why: Stay mentally sharp

Studies have shown that green tea helps keep cholesterol in check and may lower cancer risk. Now researchers say the drink may also work to maintain cognitive function. A Japanese study of 1,000 people over age 70 found that those who drank 2 cups of green tea daily did better on a variety of tests of mental abilities (including memory)—and the more green tea they drank, the better they performed.

It's possible that something else is responsible for the mental clarity, such as the socializing the Japanese tend to do over a cup. But the results might partially explain why rates of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, are lower in Japan (where green tea is commonly consumed) than in the United States.

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Smells That Boost Your Health

Did you know that the human sense of smell can identify thousands of aromas and is 10,000 times more precise than our sense of taste?

We have millions of smell receptors in our noses. When they detect a scent, they shoot the information to the olfactory bulb—a pea-size cluster in the brain, which sorts the signals and relays them to the limbic system. This primitive part of the brain governs many memories and emotions; some of our most basic behaviors—feeding, fighting, or fleeing; as well as sexual arousal, pleasure, and maybe even addiction. Because of their close proximity, the neurological controls for these behaviors often become entangled. That's why, for instance, during the early stages of attraction, dinner is often a prelude to sex.

It also explains how odor can help lower stress levels, improve mental and physical performance, ease pain, end insomnia, and even help us lose weight, research shows. Here’s how to use your sense of smell to your advantage.

To Resist a Snack Attack

Sniff: Green Apple or Another Favorite Scent

A fragrance you love can help manage cravings, according Alan Hirsch, MD, founder of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago. In one study, Hirsch gave overweight people banana, green apple, and peppermint to sniff when they felt a craving; they lost more weight than nonsniffers.

Try this: Keep a bottle of a favorite scent handy throughout the day and try sniffing instead of snacking.

To Calm Down

Sniff: Orange or Lavender

In an Austrian study, researchers wafted the smell of oranges before some participants and lavender before others. The two groups felt less anxious, more positive, and calmer, compared with participants who were exposed to no fragrance at all.

Try this: Add a few drops of either oil to a room diffuser and use in your office on stressful days.

To Learn Something New

Sniff: Rosemary

Next time a presentation or new software program drives you crazy, think of Shakespeare’s poor Ophelia. After Hamlet made her nuts, she toddled around the castle picking rosemary, muttering, "That's for remembrance." Researchers at the University of Northumbria in the United Kingdom found she was on to something. After exposure to rosemary oil, 48 college students outperformed a control group on memory tests and felt more alert throughout.

Try this: Buy a plant or two for your windowsill, so you can pluck a branch to smell while you're studying or memorizing something for work.

To Fight Pain

Sniff: Lavender or Peppermint

Looking for ways to use less pain medication, doctors at New York University Medical Center exposed patients undergoing laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery to lavender oil (applied to the anesthesiology face masks they wore during surgery). Those patients required substantially less morphine and needed fewer analgesics afterward. Peppermint helps too. After a review of several studies, a Wheeling Jesuit University researcher concluded that it can ease headache pain, and German headache researchers report that the brisk smell is as effective as acetaminophen.

Try this: Next time you have a headache, inhale the scent from a handkerchief sprinkled with a few drops of lavender or peppermint.

To Soothe Menstrual Cramps

Sniff: Essential Oils

A 2006 study in Korea divided women with intense menstrual cramps into three groups. One group received a daily 15-minute abdominal massage with essential oils for 1 week before their periods, another group got the same massages without fragrance, and the last group received no therapy. Those in the aromatherapy group reported that their discomfort decreased by half.

Try this: Add 2 drops of lavender oil, 1 drop of clary sage oil, and 1 drop of rose oil to an almond oil base and massage into your abdomen once a day for a week before your period.

To Rev Your Libido

Sniff: Baby Powder

This, along with cucumber and licorice, has been shown to turn women on, increasing vaginal blood flow by 13%. Pumpkin pie and lavender increase blood flow by 11%.

Try this: Soften your skin with some baby powder after showering. Or to cap a romantic dinner, serve pumpkin pie and keep a cucumber-scented sachet next to your pillow.

To Feel Younger

Sniff: Pink Grapefruit

This fresh citrus smell can influence perceptions of age. When volunteers viewed photographs of 20 models after being exposed to the smell of pink grapefruit, they perceived the models as being 3 years younger than did people who judged the photos while smelling nothing.

Try this: A grapefruity perfume like Antica Farmacista's Grapefruit ($62)

To Crank Up Your Workout

Sniff: Peppermint

In a study at Wheeling Jesuit University, peppermint vapors gave college basketball players more motivation, energy, speed, and confidence. Some athletes use peppermint inhalers, and at one time Reebok even built a peppermint smell into some sports bras.

Try this: When you're flagging during your power walk, take an invigorating hit from the Peak Performance Sports Inhaler with peppermint vapors ($10; sportsinhaler.com.)

To Sleep More Deeply

Sniff: Lavender

There's a reason people have been filling pillows with lavender flowers for centuries: Earlier research demonstrated that lavender increases deep slow-wave sleep, and recent studies from England and Korea show that the flower also helps people with mild insomnia.

Try this: Spritz your bedpost with lavender essence just before bed.

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Top 10 Natural Weight Loss Tips

Dieters love weight loss tips. They are great reminders and tiny shoves to keep us on our way to reach our weight loss goals.

These 10 natural tips will help you get on the losing end of your weight loss and work for teens to seniors. So no matter what your age, these tips to get losing today.

Weight Loss Tips #1

Want It!

This may seem a bit redundant, but to really be successful at weight loss you have to want it. To really want it you have to go above just saying you want it, you have to commit to weight loss. The best way to commit to losing weight is to build a goal and jot it down.

A goal does not have to be in terminology of losing weight. Instead you could write your goal as measurements or body fat % lost or even clothing size. Make your goal reachable and quantifiable. Write it in terms that you can relate to and review often. For instance your goal can be ?I want to drop 2 dress sizes by the end of the year? or ?I want to lose 5% body fat in 4 months? or ?I want to weigh 135 pounds by this New Year’s Eve?.

Plan smaller goals that you can use along the way to ensure you are on schedule to achieve your final goal. Track your goals and your improvement by using weight loss tools such as a calorie chart, exercise chart or weight loss chart. Search for or develop a weight loss journal. Journalizing is a great way to track your foods, water, workouts and feelings for the day and a wonderful method for you to stay committed to your weight loss.

Weight Loss Tip #2

Stop Bad Habits

Learned habits can be hard to let loose. Let’s face it, some things we do are because we have always done them that way. This is the time to change. Get rid of the idea that you have to eat it all. If you are in the ?baby boomer? age then you know what I am talking about. We were led to believe to finish our plates and could not leave the kitchen until they were clean.

Well that was then this is now. Instead of scarfing it down stop when you are full. Take smaller portion sizes and if you are still hungry go back for seconds but make it a smaller piece. When eating away from home order from the kid’s menu for smaller sizes or ask for a ?baggie? and keep the rest for another time.

Weight Loss Tip #3

Keep it in the Kitchen

This is one habit worth talking about as its own tip. Many people have a bad habit of chowing down on the move or squatting in front of the television set when eating. Experts say people who eat in front of the T.V. tend to eat bigger servings. This is primarily because of being focused on the boob tube and not focused on what you are consuming.

So take your meal out of|away from} the family room and into the kitchen. Take advantage of this time to not only eat better and wiser but to find out how the kids are doing in school. By using your eating time as a nice family time you are also slowing down your eating. This will allow your stomach time to tell your brain that you are full and will likely consume fewer calories.

Weight Loss Tip #4

Throw Out Temptation

If it is out of the question to stay away from tempting foods, then just remove these from harms way. The old saying ?out of sight, out of mind? may just do the trick for you. Go through your cabinets and fridge and throw it out. Replace the too sweet or too fatty foods with the right foods. Sugar free jell-o is a wonderful way to get your sweet tooth satisfied without piling on the calories. Instead of potato chips get low fat popcorn.

Try going your first two weeks with no unhealthy snacks at all. You will be surprised at how your yearnings will fade by going without for a few weeks. Have a bag of carrots or celery near by. These veggies help gratify the need to crunch on something and are low in calories.

Weight Loss Tip #5

Get Support

Weight loss is a monstrous challenge for many of us, so go it on your own. Look for a weight loss support group online or on-site or start your own support group. All of the really successful weight loss companies offer a groups or one on one support.

But if you are planning to go without a weight loss plan then create your own support plan by including friends, family members, coworkers and neighbors. Your group can be as big or as small as you need. Let everyone know you are embarking on a weight loss journey and ask for their support and encouragement.

Weight Loss Tip #6

Track Your Weight Loss

In order to make sure you are on the right road to reaching your goals you need to record your progress. By recording how you are doing you can make modifications as needed to ensure you keep losing weight and reach your goals.

Keep track of the foods you eat and how many calories you have in a day. Track your exercise routines and how many calories you burned during exercise. This will help ensure you create a calorie deficit for losing weight. Measure or weigh yourself once a week and record your weight. Review your progress and weigh against your goal. If you see your progress headed in the wrong direction, make adjustments to your foods and/or workout routines.

Weight Loss Tip #7

Add Variety

You need a variety of foods to keep your meals interesting and fun. Don’t burn yourself out by eating the same things day in and day out. Eat from all the food groups by including whole grains, protein, dairy, fats and veggies and fruits.

Try eating 5 to 6 mini meals every day to help your metabolism stay energized. Eat protein with each meal by including lean cuts of meat and fish and beans and eggs in your diet plan. Aim for 5 ? 9 servings a day of vegetables and fruits. Make your choices colorful by having dark green leafy veggies, red or orange peppers, etc. Vary your fruit selection as well consuming citrus fruits and non-citrus fruits.

Your dairy products should be fat free and low fat choices. Make your bread and pasta selections whole grains. The complex carbohydrates and high fiber in whole grain breads and cereals help to speed up your metabolism. Additionally you want to consume some the good fats in your food selection. This is because your body needs some vital fatty acids from the foods you eat as it cannot make these fats itself. Just read the labels and choose foods that have the healthy fats and try to eliminate or reduce trans fats.

Weight Loss Tip #8

Watch What You Drink

Several people do not track or think about the amount of calories in their beverages. A regular flavored cola has more than 100 calories and 10 teaspoons of sugars. Fruit drinks are also high in sugar and calories. Switch to diet drinks and drink more green tea and water.

Watch the alcohol consumption as well. A lot of alcoholic drinks are high in calories and alcohol tends to turn to fat and sugar in your body. You should try to eliminate or reduce your alcohol intake while trying to lose weight. However, if you have a special occasion, beer and wine are lower calorie drinks.

Weight Loss Tip #9

Satisfy the Sweet Tooth

As you continue on your weight loss journey there will be times when you need a sweet treat. If you let your cravings go unchecked for too long then there is a good chance it will overcome you and lead to “binge eating”. So go ahead and treat yourself to that tempting snack once in awhile.

Moderation is the key here. It’s okay to sneak a snack and not feel bad. Just make sure it doesn’t become a common thing but is just every now and then change from your diet. One of the main reasons people stop strict diets is their constant cravings eventually gets the better of them. So go ahead and give in and make your snack small but enough to calm your sweet tooth. Then get right back on track with your weight loss journey.

Weight Loss Tip #10

Get Active

There are a lot of people who are exercise fanatics and then there are those people who flinch at the very word exercise. However, if you want to lose weight, and here’s the important part, keep it off then you need to include exercise to your weight loss plan.

By exercising you are burning excess fat and calories. You are also increasing lean muscle mass. The more lean muscles you have the higher your basal metabolic rate (BMR). The higher your metabolism the more calories and fat you burn in a given day.

If you are just starting out, then start slow by going for a brisk walk 20 minutes 3 times a week. Also add some strength training 2 or 3 times a week. As you get used to this workout routine then improve your speed and duration. Increase the resistance during your strength training as well. It doesn’t matter what you start with just so long as you start to get active.

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Diet Tips and Myths

The first diet myth is that you do not have to eat too much at night because you will gain more weight. People believe that because you do not do much at night, you do not burn much of what you eat during that time. An experiment done by Dunn Nutrition Center showed that it does not matter how much you eat at night. What matters is how much food you eat in the whole day that will determine if you will really gain weight.

The second diet myth is that cholesterol is bad for you. The truth is there are good cholesterols and there are bad cholesterols. Cholesterols, just like any other fat, do not dissolve in our blood. That can be dangerous because they can clog the arteries or the passages in our hearts. The good cholesterols drive away bad cholesterols from the arteries. Instead, they displace the bad cholesterols back to the liver.

Protein is essential to build muscles in the body. Because vegetarians do not eat meat, the third diet myth states that people who are more into vegetables cannot have muscles. This is untrue because they can also get their protein fix from non-meat products such as cheese, grains and nuts.

Some smokers reason out that they do not want to gain weight that is why they do not go cold turkey. This is another diet myth. There are people who have gone cold turkey and they even lost weight. It is a well-known fact that nicotine, which is found in cigarettes, boosts a person?s metabolic capability. But it is also a well-known fact that smoking is very dangerous to our health.

Another diet myth tells that people should suppress themselves to lose weight. It is true that there are people who think that dieting is a form of punishment. This, however, is not always the case. Most diet programs tell dieters to avoid certain kinds of food, but not to stop eating altogether. There are even diet programs which boats of food that are extremely delicious you will not even think you are going on a diet.

If busting those myths are still not enough for you to not fear or question going on a diet, then here are some diet tips for you:

First tip is for you to determine what your motivation is for going on a diet. Do you just want to look stunning in a swimsuit? Do you have an ideal weight? Do you want to join a contest? Are you tired of not minding what you eat, and in turn, also your body? Your motivation shall keep you going with the diet during times when you feel like you can no longer continue the program. Another tip is for you to talk to people who are also on a diet. Share stories, tips, and recipes with each other. You can even have a friendly contest on who loses more weight after a certain period of time. Another diet tip is for you to drink plenty of water. Drinking water is very important when you are in a diet because it gives you the feeling that you are already full, and you will eat less afterwards. Drinking water also drives away the toxins from the body.

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Don't skip brain food - eat your breakfast

New Delhi, June 2 (IANS) Are you suffering from acidity, obesity or reduced attention span? Perhaps you are skipping breakfast, also called brain food and the most important meal of the day.

People in cities tend to give breakfast a miss perhaps due to hectic lifestyles or in the belief that it will keep them slim. But experts say it could end up making people obese.

'People do not seem to have time for breakfast these days. They have every reason to avoid the healthy tradition of having a good nutritious breakfast,' Anita Jatana, chief dietician at the Batra Hospital here, told IANS.

Describing it as a change in perception and lifestyle, she said: 'People usually do not eat because of their tight work schedules, late night dinners, zero figure obsession or just anything else that keeps them away from a healthy breakfast.'

According to the dieticians, breakfast is most essential. They say breakfast must be balanced and should include nutrients like calcium (milk or milk products), proteins and fibre (sprouts or cereal), and some amount of antioxidants (apples, strawberries, banana, oranges, etc) and vitamins.

'Often called 'brain food', breakfast needs to be wholesome and it should essentially contain all the vital nutrients that the body craves for,' Ritika Samadar, chief dietician at Max Hospital, told IANS.

A nutritious breakfast is necessary to keep the body's metabolism going properly.

'Generally, there is a gap of 10 to 12 hours between the dinner and breakfast and it is anyway very long for the body to resist.' In case, breakfast is skipped, 'we add some more hours, hence affecting the body's metabolism', Samadar said.

Jatana feels long gaps between meals can also cause digestion problems. 'Not eating on time leads to a lot of ailments. Obesity, acidity, reduced attention span and ulceration are a few on the list.'

Owing a great deal to Kareena Kapoor's size zero, people have become obsessed with ultra thin figures and they feel not eating will help lose weight. But experts say it is the beginning of many problems.

'People think that if they skip breakfast, they will lose weight. But it is a myth. They gain weight at a faster rate instead because they end up eating more than in the normal course,' said Priti Vijay, head dietician at Max Hospital, Saket.

'In the long run, if more meals are skipped in a day than just the breakfast, it can also lead to shrinking of the stomach and intestines,' Jatana said.

The ideal time for breakfast is between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Any delay results in weight gain.

'Half of overweight patients have a tendency to skip breakfast,' said Vijay. 'Some 60 to 70 percent patients who come to me with digestion or stomach-related problems or for advice on weight gain disclose that they frequently miss their breakfast.'

Perhaps it is time to take an old proverb seriously - 'Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper'.

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