A Journey Into The Brain - Understand the nature of your thoughts

Many of us now take for granted the routine extraction of information about the mind and brain, but it is a fairly recent phenomena. For most of history, the software of the mind was a deep mystery. True, people long suspected that the tissue behind their eyes was somehow responsible for the decisions they made and the emotions they felt. 

Everything we know about the world comes to us through our brain. Yet for each of us our own conscious mental world of thoughts and feelings is isolated and private. Despite several centuries of research on the brain, communication through language or gesture remains the only way we can discover the conscious thoughts and experiences of others.

Let's learn the basics - Perfect Postures

Good posture is essential to a healthy lifestyle, but it is something that we often overlook. We sit hunched over a keyboard all day, or we slouch as we are waiting in line at the grocery store. We then go to bed with an aching back or a stiff neck. Good posture can also help in losing weight for the fact that the muscles are stretched. The act of muscle stretching is already a simple form of exercise and can already burn up calories. Walking with your body straight is the correct way of walking. It adds impact and intensity to walking when we make our body straight.

Spice up your life - Cut back Salt / Sodium

Salt is a chemical compound called sodium chloride, with the formula NaCL (Na = sodium, CL = chlorine). Sodium chloride consists of 40% sodium and 60% chlorine. Salt is of low toxicity and is non-flammable. Seen under a microscope, table salt is made up of many cube-shaped crystals.

Salt exists naturally in seawater. When an area of seawater becomes enclosed it evaporates under the sun, a deposit is left. Over millions of years other sediments have been deposited over the salt, leaving beds of halite (rock salt) below the surface.

My Silver Jubilee with LUPUS

Hi I am Deepa Harikumar, a lupus fighter since 1994, but the disease got diagnosed in 2009. It took so much time to get diagnosed as during those days people were not aware of such a disease (SLE / Lupus). 

Asthma - A disease that affects your lungs

Asthma is caused by inflammation of the airways. These are the small tubes, called bronchi, which carry air in and out of the lungs. If you have asthma, the bronchi will be inflamed and more sensitive than normal. When you come into contact with something that irritates your lungs, known as a trigger, your airways become narrow, the muscles around them tighten and there is an increase in the production of sticky mucus (phlegm). This makes it difficult to breathe and causes wheezing and coughing. It may also make your chest feel tight.

How to stay strong with ARTHRITIS (Part 2)

Arthritis is a broad term that covers a group of diseases. It has everything to do with your joints -- the places where your bones connect -- such as your wrists, knees, hips, or fingers. But some types of arthritis can also affect other connective tissues and organs, including your skin. 

Its Fiber Food That Makes You Feel Full Faster

The word fiber (North American) can also be spelled fibre (British). Fiber is the structural part of a plant that supports and holds it together. Fiber is also known as roughage. It is the indigestible part of plant foods that pushes through our digestive system, absorbing water along the way and easing bowel movements.

Fiber is made up of non-starch polysaccharides, such as cellulose, dextrins, inulin, lignin, chitins, pectins, beta-glucans, waxes and oligosaccharides. The word fiber is misleading, because many types of dietary fibers are not fibers at all.

Mind and body - The Expressions Of Life

Mind and body are parts of the whole of life. And we begin to understand their reciprocal relations in that whole. The life of man is the life of a moving being, and it would not be sufficient for him to develop body alone. All moving beings, however, can foresee and reckon up the direction in which to move; and this fact makes it necessary to postulate that they have mind. This foreseeing the direction of movement is the central principle of the mind.

Lets know the facts - Fat and Cholesterol

Almost all foods contain some fat. Even quintessential fat-free foods like carrots and lettuce contain small amounts of this nutrient. That's a testament to how important fats are for life. Fat provides a terrific source of energy as well as a great depot for storing it. It is an important part of cell membranes, helping govern what gets into cells and what comes out. The body uses cholesterol as the starting point to make estrogen, testosterone, vitamin D, and other vital compounds. Fats are also biologically active molecules that can influence how muscles respond to insulin's "open up for sugar" signal; different types of fats can also fire up or cool down inflammation.

Maintain a healthy heart with a healthy lifestyle

Our heart is a pump that keeps blood moving around our body. It delivers oxygen and nutrients to all parts of our body, and carries away unwanted carbon dioxide and waste products. As our heart muscle contracts, it pushes blood through our heart. With each contraction, or heartbeat:

• Our heart pumps blood forward from its left side, through the aorta (the main artery leaving the heart) and into the arteries. Blood from the right side is pumped to our lungs.

Alcoholism - Stop Drinking and Start Recovery

Alcohol addiction is a very common phenomenon. It helps in lowering your inhibition and relaxing each and every part of your body. The constant need to consume alcohol would be termed as alcoholism. 

You will notice when you are sozzled you start acting in different. You have discovered a new language due to lack of control on your speech. If you are not a regular drinker you may start feeling drowsy at the first peg itself. If the alcohol content is very high you start emoting different feelings, sometimes happiness sometimes sadness. As and when the content increases you may start vomiting and may also suffer from breathing difficulties. 

Depression (Part 2) - The common cold of mental disorders

 Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. It may require long-term treatment, though most people with depression feel better with medication, psychological counseling or both. 

Depression (Part 1) - The common cold of mental disorders

 Depression is the common cold of mental disorders — most people will be affected by depression in their lives either directly or indirectly, through a friend or family member. Depression is characterized by a number of common symptoms. These include a persistent sad, anxious, or “empty” mood, and feelings of hopelessness or pessimism. A person who is depressed also often has feelings of guilt, worthlessness, and helplessness.

Feel Young - Keep yourself physically and mentally fit

You're only as old as you feel. While we can't dodge our next birthday, how we approach life every day can make a big difference. "Feeling young is about maintaining vitality as you get older. Some people never feel old, despite their chronological age." No matter what your stage in life, staying active and being positive will help keep you in a youthful frame of mind. All these depend on your mental health.

How to stay strong with ARTHRITIS (Part 1)

Arthritis is inflammation of one or more joints and also involves the breakdown of cartilage. A joint is the area where two bones meet. Cartilage normally protects a joint, allowing it to move smoothly. Cartilage also absorbs shock when pressure is placed on the joint, such as when you walk. Without the normal amount of cartilage, the bones rub together, causing pain, swelling (inflammation), and stiffness. 

Phobia - A type of anxiety disorder

A phobia is an overwhelming and unreasonable fear of an object or situation that poses little real danger. Unlike the brief anxiety most people feel when they give a speech or take a test, a phobia is long-lasting, causes intense physical and psychological reactions, and can affect your ability to function normally at work or in social settings.

Anxiety - Human emotion or Mental disorder

The word anxiety comes from the Latin word anxietas, which means to choke or upset. The symptoms therefore include emotional or behavioral symptoms as well as ways of thinking that are responses to feeling as if one is in danger. Anxiety happens as a normal part of life. It is a normal human emotion that everyone experiences at times.