Category: Science

10 facts to know why cold pressed oil is a healthier option 🙌

by drjurisharma, posted in brain, cognitive health, deep fried food, detoxification, vegetable,, Food, gut health, gut bacteria, hormones, Gastrointestinal, GI tract, healing, health, life, mental health, nature, physical therapy, pain, body aches, spinal,, Science, Uncategorized, wellness

Hi everyone !

  1. Any edible oil is cold-pressed oil when it is produced by precipitation, by pressing the seeds at room temperature without using heat for extraction. Unlike refined oil, the process of extraction of cold-pressed oil and filtration is done without using any harmful chemicals and heat. It is produced by the natural method of extraction from seeds by pressing at room temperature so found to be more natural and nutrient-dense.
  2. How the cold-pressed oil is different from other oils? Refined oil extraction involves machinery with different steps of refining, by using chemicals, heat and sometimes bleaching agents so the oil has a high smoking point. Hot-pressed oil involves applying heat during extraction but no chemicals. Vegetable oils are usually hot-pressed oil. Virgin oil involves the extraction of oil from fresh fruits or seeds like virgin olive oil or virgin coconut oil. In some cases, it may differ from cold- pressed oil as the oil is extracted from the fruits or seeds from drying them earlier so the oil retains its nutrients and antioxidants.

3.From a health point of view, out of all cooking oils, cold-pressed oil and virgin oil have the maximum benefits. Both the oil extraction and filtration processes have been made to preserve the maximum nutrients, antioxidants and healthy fats. Even after extraction, these oils are rich in healthy fats like omega 3 and 6, vitamins, and minerals like zinc, magnesium and potassium. These nutrients are very essential for health as anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties and are good for the cardiovascular system.

4.The cold-pressed oil of any variety, restores the natural flavour and physical characteristics of the oil like colour, taste and smell. Apart from having immense health benefits, the oil is light and good for cooking depending on the variety of oil used as per taste buds. Extra virgin olive oil is considered the healthiest as it is extracted from the freshest olives by cold pressed method.

5.Depending on the cooking culture and taste buds, there are a wide variety of cold pressed oil types in the Supermarket like olive oil, soybean, canola, cottonseed, palm, peanut, coconut, sesame, mustard, sunflower and avocado oil. Out of them all, olive oil and coconut oil are among the healthiest varieties as a cooking medium. Extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil and walnut oil varieties have been used as dressing for salads.

6.The reason of the disadvantage of cold-pressed oil is due to its low yielding while extraction and short shelf life of 3-4 months. To increase the volume of the cold-pressed oil, the raw material has to be crushed several times. The method of extraction is usually manual or simple mechanical tool of crushings used at room temperature. Then, the oil is filtered to remove precipitates or any toxins. Due to low production, the cost is usually high.

7.Nowadays, cold-pressed oil is preferred for its environmentally friendly method of extraction. Moreover, the oil is nutrient-rich with tremendous health benefit properties of lowering the risk of heart disease by reducing bad cholesterol, anti-cancer properties and anti-ageing benefits. These oils are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids which are necessary for brain function and heart health.

8.Another important benefit of cold-pressed oil is that it can aid in the weight loss process. Since it has a high metabolic rate it can facilitate in burning of fat. It is also easier to digest due to its low cholesterol content. But, using excess oil while cooking may overshadow these benefits.

9.Some variety of cold-pressed oil has some special benefits in particular. Like groundnut oil, olive oil improves insulin sensitivity and helps in better control of blood sugar. Lignan is a powerful antioxidant found in cold-pressed sesame oil which helps in lipid peroxidation and thereby lowers blood pressure. There is strong evidence that shows that consumption of olive oil lowers the risk of cancers like breast and GI tracts cancers.

10.It is very essential to switch to a healthy type of cooking medium like cold pressed oil and use them in moderate quantities for cooking daily to lower the health risk. Nutrient-dense, high-calorie- rich oil helps make you feel fuller after eating and reduce your hunger. Together with everyday exercise and considerable hours of fasting between meals can help to maintain overall well-being.

Thanks for reading.

Peace and love 🙏

Trapped emotions: Time to let go! 🙌

by drjurisharma, posted in brain, cognitive health, emotional health, healing, health, life, mental health, Science, skin, goosebumps, fear, excitement, nervousness, spiritual, wellness

Hello everyone ! Have a wonderful and safe day 🙋🏻

As a human being…

Everybody in this world has a deep longing for love and affection. From the new born to the older adult, everybody yearns the sense of belonging, love and compassion. Social acceptance, being valued, and recognition is longed for by one and all in the human community. Infact, we all deserve our inherent birthright of being loved, happiness, vitality, freedom, fearless and growth. So, then, from where does the negativity arise? A child being born is always happy and cheerful. It is the environment, caregivers, parents, teachers, elders, peers, and the competetive nature of this material world that pushes the child towards negativity, egoistic, pain, fear and unhappiness. These growing years, his interaction with the people around him, the environment that slowly programmed his subconscious mind with doubts, anxiety, worries, sadness, lacks and unhappiness. So, like you and me, every individual has grown up with our share of fear, limitations, and inadequacy.

Trapped emotions impact on physical health…
Within this paradigm of limitation and inadequacy in our subconscious mind, we move forward with the life journey. We are then, bombarded with challenges of day-to-day stress, relationship stress, work pressure, financial strain, and other constraints that affect our emotional health even more. Maybe, bad experiences, conflict with parents, loss of a closed one, heartbreak, deep trauma due to a failure, a toxic boss, rejection, and anger can all be overwhelming and add to our emotional baggage. We may think that emotions come and go. We can get over it, quickly or healed after some time. But, the truth is, certain emotions are’nt so superficial. Infact, it has a lasting impact on both our physical and mental health. Studies have shown that certain intense emotions get trapped in particular organs of our body. Like, anger gets trapped in the liver, while hurt, fear get trapped in the heart and so on. Ancient Ayurvedic science which is 5000 years old has rightly pointed out that too much of trapped emotions like anger, worry, chronic stress can create too much heat (Pitta) in the body which may affect the hameostasis and start creating physical illness. So, the emotional component is critical in the overall wellbeing. In reality, it is the emotional health and wellbeing that transcend physical health. Hence, the term disease means (dis-ease, absence of ease).

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2017; 2017: 7618419.

Published online 2017 Aug 22. doi: 10.1155/2017/7618419

Emotional health is crucial…

Fundamentally, our mind and body are designed to be in a state of growth, restore, repair and relax. Yes, in times of potential threat and danger, the body reacts to the survival mode of fight and flight response. But, then as evolutionary, the body naturally comes back to its state of homeostasis when the threat is gone. The parasympathetic mode’s natural restoration mechanism is greatly affected by the daily’s state of chronic stress, being on the run, and always being overwhelmed. Moreover, this everyday struggle within our emotional health of mental barriers, mindset, limitations, fears, and worries added to day-to-day stress. So, leading a healthy lifestyle and caring about physical fitness has not stopped people from falling sick. People follow the best possible diet, take their best supplements, and follow an exercise routine, yet they fall into various illnesses like chronic diseases, mental issues and autoimmune diseases. Now, it has become very crucial to consider emotional health, a priority before everthing else. Maybe, this is the most critical component in our path of mental, physical, spiritual wellbeing and being a successful person we all longed to be.

It is vital to slow down...
It is essential to annalyse our emotional and mental state daily, introspect at times, and slow down to understand what affects us the most. It is crucial to change the way we think, elevate our vibration, be in the positive mind space and overcome the mental barrier if we want to take charge of our mental and physical heath and wellbeing. As, for all of us, it is much easier said than done. But, indeed, we have to put some efforts on our own to make our life the way we want it to be. To take control of our physical and mental wellbeing and be in a happy, comfortable space that we all longed for.

Some ways that we can work towards for self-improvement:
1. Self-acceptance: Being aware and acceptance is an essential and fundamental change. Any circumstances, any issue or conflict that we are facing, in terms of physical or mental health, needs self-acceptance. Self-resisting, self-denial, result in more stress, conflict, and high cortisol release, which makes us unfavourable to heal or change. So, self-acceptance and being self-aware is an essential step towards change. It is necessary to accept, share with a closed one or a therapist and let go the emotional baggage. Sharing with somebody or writing down the emotions and thoughts helps us acknowledge them better and give ourselves time and space to change. Meditation and mindfullness practices also helps us in emotional growth.


2. Victimhood: Instead of living in victimhood mentality, or self-blaming, starting to explore ways and methods to be part of the healing process. Suppose, somebody is being affected by a physical or mental issue must be an integral part of the healing process. Taking responsibility and works towards healing instead of surrendering yourself fully in caregivers’ hands. It is crucial to actively partcipate in the healing process.


3. Self-compassion and patience: It is vital to approach onself with self-compassion. Being compassionate towards self, putting oneself in the right frame of mind dramatically counts. Because failing or falling is the very essence of human nature. Having faith in the Higher Power and a lot of patience is beneficial in the healing process. Because, like good times, adverse times, doesn’t last long too.

Thanks for reading.

Blessings and much love to all 💐

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10 top benefits of music on health 🎧 🎼

by drjurisharma, posted in brain, cognitive health, emotional health, healing, health, life, mental health, Science, wellness

Hello everyone ! Have a wonderful and safe day. 🙋🏻

Whether on purpose or without purpose, music has become a part of our lives. The day starts with a busy schedule, yet we happen to listen to music, maybe while driving to work, a shop, cafe, gas station or wherever we happen to pass by. After a day’s long work, we may intentionally listen to music to calm and rejuvenate our mind. Music is of different genre and variety, loud, hard, soft, calming or with and without lyrics. It is all about individual choices and preferences.

Both in the past and in the present time, studies show the tremendous effect of music on all mental, emotional and overall health.

Ten effects of music influence on health:

1.Mood booster: Listening to music can stimulate the release of neurotransmitters like dopamine which gives a feeling of satisfaction and reward. It makes us repeat the behaviour, that is to continue listening to music. Therefore, it can elevate the mood to pleasure, motivation and enthusiasm. It can strengthen you emotionally by fine-tuning your emotional health.

2.Improves sleep efficiency: Listening to soothing music, stimulates the parasympathetic system, lowers the blood pressure and slows down the physiological functions. It relaxes the mind and body, making it ready to fall asleep. Music has been instrumental in treating sleep disorders.


3.Exercise performance : Studies show that music increases the level of performance, strength, endurance level while exercising. It delays fatigue by boosting the stamina level.

4.Focus: Listening to fine instrumental music helps to capture attention and to focus. So, some people prefer listening to music while on work which allows them to concentrate and increase productivity.

5.Divergent creativity: We all have the same cognitive capacity to think original thoughts and ideas; it’s the area on the right side of the brain, the creative brain. Research shows that listening to lively, happy music helps to stimulate this area of divergent creative thinking.


6.Reduce stress: Listening to calming music of about 60 beats/min can stimulate alpha brain waves which can make you feel calm and conscious. It reduces the cortisol level and releases endorphins which helps you relieve stress. It has been used successfully by many as a stress-reducing technique.


7.Memory: The frontal cortex and hippocampus of the brain are associated with memory. So, revoking memories are challenging in person with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Sometimes, music with a particular tune or lyrics can help significantly to relieve some of the memories in such individual.


8.Immunity: Music stimulate the parasympathetic response in the body which elevates the physiological coherence and promote the immune response. It boosts the release of antibodies and natural killer cells which helps to combat infections and chronic conditions like cancers and autoimmune issues.

9.Improves vascular health: Music helps to ease the anxiety and stress level by bringing the blood pressure and heart rate to the average baseline level. It relaxes the arterial wall and enhances the blood flow, thereby improving vascular health.

10.Weight loss: Music has a visceral effect too. Listening to music helps you to eat slowly, with relaxation. This effect improves our chewing ability and promotes metabolism. As you are eating slowly, you end up eating in a lesser quantity. Moreover, music also helps your exercise performance. So, in the process, you end up losing weight too.

Thanks for reading.

Blessings and much love to all 💐

Negative emotions: 6 ways to deal with…😇

by drjurisharma, posted in Anger, frustration, pain, jealousy, hatred, fear, greed, lust,, cognitive health, Ego, egoism, pride, self, self identity, self awareness, emotional health, fear, pain, emotions, healing, health, life, Science, self healing, spiritual, wellness

Hello everyone ! Have a wonderful and safe day 🙋🏻

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Scientists are yet to give a proper standard definition of emotion. Enough researches are done in the past and are still going on. Yet, it is quite challenging to define this experience of mind called ’emotion’. Emotion is usually a state of mind which is neurophysiological. It can be linked to the person’s personality, thought process, feeling, mood or temperament. It’s a mental state where he/she may experience either pleasure or displeasure. So, every day and every moment, a person’s emotional state may vary.

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Researches have revealed that the left side of the brain is a logical and more analytical half while the right side is imaginative, creative and emotional. There is a total of at least 27 emotions which appear in the human mind. Everday, both positive and negative emotions surface in the human mind throughout the day. As the flickering mind keep reacting and responding to the different internal and external experiences, so does the emotion keep changing. I think emotion/feelings have a lot to do with our subconscious mind. The subconscious mind, with its conditioning and tendencies, ingrained through our life journey. Therefore, depending on these tendencies, the emotional state may vary from individual to individual for the same human experience.

Having an emotion, pleasant or unpleasant, we blame it to the external environment. But we fail to acknowledge that our internal environment has a greater role to play than any external environment when it comes to our emotions. Here, I would like to emphasize more on the negative emotions that are generated in our mind daily because they have a toxic effect both on our physical and mental health. We can at least try developing a habit and make behavioural changes to reduce or try getting rid of them as much as practically possible for the sake of our wellbeing.

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The sources of negative emotions evolve through a toxic and adverse thought process like anger, pride, ego, greed, jealousy, hatred, lust, infatuation and so on. So, how do we stop ourselves or at least try getting rid of them daily? It is an ever-evolving process and learning experience that grows with time.

Six ways, we can try getting rid of them are :

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1. Replacement techniques: Every time an unpleasant experience happens, the negative emotion of anger, pain, hurt, resentment appears. Further, the mental pattern of overthinking and ruminating makes it worst to bear. Being aware of our state of mind is an important step to initiate. And the slowly deliberate attempt of replacing the negative thinking pattern with a positive and a more constructive thought process. It is something that isn’t easy at all. But, it isn’t impossible either. It’s a habit that has to be grown and nurtured through time. Therefore, replacement with a better pattern is an efficient method.
2. Bring in the opposite action: Intentionally doing an act of service or showing good conduct even in a bitter experience. It can lead to a change in our mental state to a more positive environment and reduce the negativity. No matter what the other person’s reaction, you remain in a positive and gratitude state. It can help us get rid of negative emotion and maintain a balanced state of mind.

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3. The mind of service: Every individual is deep down selfish. We live, work, desire all the time for our own selfish needs. We feel we will be happier this way. But, we end up suffering because of our selfish desires and needs. We need to realise this sooner or later. The more, we grow towards an unselfish mind, a mind in service to others, the lesser is the negativity around.

4.A bigger picture: Whenever we breed a negative emotion towards a person or a situation, we tend to have a narrow perspective. We become selfish as our ego hurts, and our ‘sense of self’ is threatened. Realizing this fault of our’s is a great help. Being self aware of our narrow-mindedness is a crucial step. It will help us to view the person or the situation in a wide broader picture. Therefore, we become less judgemental towards the state or the person.

5. Nurturing positive emotions: We need deliberate efforts to boost positive feelings of compassion, kindness, love and gratitude. Nurturing these emotions can substitute negative emotions of anger, hatred and jealousy. Cultivating a habit of doing good to others can create good mental impressions and thereby bring good feelings of joy and happiness.

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6.Meditation: The daily practices of meditation, nature walk, chanting, yoga, creative activities enhances self-awareness. Through self-awareness, we can gain better clarity of mind. We have better control of our mind, emotions and actions.

Thanks for reading.

Blessings and much love to all 💐

Post : Mind control : How do I get that ?😇🤔

by drjurisharma, posted in healing, health, mental health, Science, wellness

Hello everyone ! Have a great day 🙋🏻

Our mind is illusional. Whatever, we think and perceive is our own derived illusion. It’s our biggest friend and at the same time can be our biggest enemy. Therefore, a common quote says ” You may die a hundred deaths without a break in the mental turmoil “ Our mind makes up everything that happens in our life – good or bad, big or small, ugly or beauty, sad or happy, success or failure, it ‘s all within this thing, called mind. So, how do I control this thing ‘mind’ and remain focus on my goal and life purpose?

Understanding the mind, and its content is very important and fundamental. What makes our thought world? How do thoughts are generated? We build up mental impressions through the different inlets of this outer world. The inlets can be :
*Five senses: sight, hear, smell, touch, taste
*Memory: That has been built up over the years of this outside world experience, right from the day we were born.
*Activity: That we perform , habituated and do throughout the day.
We create thought by an idea backed with emotion. Through different inlets, we build up thoughts as our mental content every day. We generate, perceive, analyse, process and ruminate our entire thought world. So, we keep doing the same mental activity of thinking, analysing, ruminating every day. The thinking pattern doesn’t change. So, does our behaviour and habits. It is uninterrupted, a never-ending process which we may not be even aware.
According to Yoga Psychology ( Yoga Sutras), our thought world mainly depends on mental fluctuation (Vritti) and thoughts (prataya). The mental impulses (vritti) are created through the different inlets like the senses, memory, activity which inturn create mental impressions generating thoughts (prataya). This is the reason, when we are in a positive , vibrant environment, surrounded by positive people, we generate positive, beautiful, creative thoughts. But, when we surround ourselves with negativity, we generate negative thoughts of guilt, anger, pain, hurt, jealousy and so on.

Normally, what happens, when we centred our mind for a particular activity, at the office or home. There are endless distractions. Okay, we try to control the distraction or cut down to some extent, but still mental fluctuations and wondering thoughts continue to distract us. This is because the memory continues to generate unstable thoughts in an unstable mind.
Therefore to manage our mind, we need to control our mental fluctuation and thoughts. The only way to control them is through a concentrated mind. A concentrated mind can be achieved through the power of attention. The power of attention is our very own property (which arises from self) which we can achieve by practising and training our mind. It is a steady power of awareness which is created at our own will. It is the only capability that we can learn to develop for mind control. Whereas, the mental fluctuations (impression) and thoughts are greatly influenced by our outer world, the external distractions. They are not completely within our control.

The different states of mind depending on the power of attention can be defined as
*Ordinary mind: When both the mental fluctuations (vritti) and thoughts (prataya) are unstable. The mind is rather restless distracted, jumping from one thought to another.

*Focused mind: When there is less mental fluctuation (stable vritti) but thoughts are still wobbly (unstable prataya). This is the learning mind.

*Concentrated mind: When both the mental fluctuation (vritti) and thoughts (prataya) are on the same line, stable enough. This is the highest level of attentive mind.

*Meditative mind: When the vritti and prataya are concentrated at the same point, on a similar goal. That is the mind is concentrated at one point say, your attention is entirely on your breath or a point of focus. That is when both mental fluctuation and thought are at the same point. This is the highest level of concentration.

The power of attention is similar to a focused beam of light where all your energies are focused. With this power of attention, you can learn, achieve, complete tasks and attain success in whichever areas of life you want to. That is the reason, we should always learn to perform an activity or task one at a time. So, we give our full power of attention. Handling multiple tasks all at a time can be like a scattered beam where all your energies are distributed. You can be able to do some while some are left undone. Your mind will keep fluctuating and your attention span will be variable and unstable.

So, how do I learn to achieve a concentrated mind with the ultimate power of attention? How do I control my mind, my inner thought world, daily? How do I focus my mind on one activity at a time? How do I take charge of myself? This is a self-learning task, an ongoing process. Two comprehensive ways:

1. To achieve the power of attention, two important things matter the most :
Awareness: Being consciously aware all the time. Feeding our thought world and thought process with positive, constructive and creative thoughts.
Will: Self-training and developing a restrained impulse towards worthy goals, purposeful life.

2.Control of thoughts:
*Exposure to right kind of thoughts: Feeding the mind everyday with right kind of thoughts. Reading good books, being in a positive, good company, surrounded by positive vibrations.
*Right behaviour: Good conduct, right behaviour pattern influence thoughts and emotions. That means reframing our cognitive abilities. Correcting our behaviour patterns as on when required.
*Right lifestyle and habits: Maintaining a regulated lifestyle and habits will greatly influence our mind. You cannot have a stable mind with an unstable lifestyle.
*Purposeful life: Working towards a specific goal, understanding and working towards a meaningful life. Developing a stable mind through meditation and prayers. This cannot be achieved overnight. It is an ongoing, self-learning process. You and I have to keep working on it daily.

Thanks for reading.

Blessings and much love to all 💐

References: Science of Focus by Pravrajika Divyanandaprana (Vivekavani)

 

Beliefs : Mine and yours ✊

by drjurisharma, posted in healing, mental health, Science, wellness

Hello everyone ! Have a wonderful day..

Beliefs are a certain pattern of thinking in our brain that must have been perceived and ingrained in the course of our lifetime. It is a way of making sense and understanding the world around us, the people, behaviour, perceptions, facts, realities. Beliefs can be on our faith, religion, things, people and the world in which we live. Based on our beliefs, we assume something or someone as good or bad, whether something is worthy, acceptable or achievable. The mental representation of our beliefs makes us create our boundaries and limitations concerning every aspect of our lives. It is these subconscious mind beliefs which autopilot our day to day life, career path or choices, or the life journey itself.

Since the time of human evolution, certain thinking pattern has been carried out as strategies to learning, simplify things or conceptualized certain experiences, facts or perceived realities. The perceptual beliefs are mainly based on sensory experiences. That is how beliefs keep moving from one generation to another. As the child grows up, his whole personality and belief system start moulding and developing based on his parents, his experiences, environment in school, college and other authoritative figures. Whether true or false, facts or distorted, the person already grows up with a set of a belief system which helps him undertake his life journey. Since our beliefs are rooted deeply in our subconscious mind, our mind will constantly look out ways and means to prove them right. This is what the subconscious programming does. Every action, behaviour, habit, the emotion of our’s are all based on our belief system.

Beliefs are not necessarily based on truth. They can be based on distorted facts or can be misconstrued or can be simply mistaken beliefs. They can be negative or self-limiting beliefs. Many of our beliefs are based on observations, what we think, hear or see the physical world around us. So, as we start learning more and more, a wider understanding of this world, opened up to a great sea of knowledge and Science, we realise that some of the beliefs which we have been carrying, holds no truth in them. They are just false beliefs. But in spite of knowing clear information about the fact, we still hold onto such beliefs, unable to change them. They are so much ingrained in us and are difficult to change.

Certain examples of common disempowering beliefs, some of us may have like
I am not good enough.

I am not lucky enough.
I have to achieve a certain level of success to be happy in life.
I cannot trust the people around me.
I am not attractive enough.
I cannot lose weight.
I am not good at public speaking.
I am not a happy person.

These are some examples of subconscious programmed beliefs that we hold onto to be true. So, subconsciously, we will behave and act trying to proof or validate them, each time to be true.
The realisation comes much later in life when we fail to achieve something, unable to achieve our goal, failed relationship, unsuccessful career path.
Therefore, a real soul searching, self-awareness is required to identify our self-limiting beliefs which made us fail or difficult to achieve our full potential in whichever aspect of life, it may be.

Some simple ways, we can try changing our beliefs :

•Changing the old pattern of beliefs is not an easy task. You have to be completely self-aware.
•Try putting down in a note because writing gives you a clear understanding of the mind.
•Once identifying your self limiting beliefs, reframe them with an empowering positive belief like I am good enough to succeed or I deserve to be happy, no matter what.


• Then, start reminding yourself consciously every day with your new beliefs. Keep repeating because your subconscious mind learns by habit and repetition. It takes a long time. Reminding and repeating does create an impression in our subconscious mind and the outcome of our new beliefs will soon unfold.

Thanks for reading.

Blessings and much love to all 💐

Post: Do Love your genes ❤️ Make better choices!

by drjurisharma, posted in healing, health, Science, wellness

Hello everyone! Have a great Wednesday 🙋🏻

We have 50 to 75 trillion cells in our body. Believe it or not, each of them has a nucleus which has a DNA strand of about 6 feet. Now, how such long length of DNA strand fit inside the small nucleus of a tiny cell. The DNA strand is wrapped around a cluster of proteins called the histones. Histones are like molecular spools. These molecular spools form the chromatin, where there are the sequencing of proteins. These chromatins form the complex structure of DNA, that is the chromosomes. There are about 30 million spools in each of the cells. So just imagine, how much of genetic material, we carry in each of our cells. The functional unit of DNA are the genes encoded in it. It is this genetic codes which tell the cell how to function and who to become. That is how a muscle cell differs from a neuron or a skin cell.

A magnifying glass focussing on a section of a DNA strand.

Epigenetics meaning above the genes. So, epigenetics are chemical tags that sit on the chromatin. Some epigenetic marks can condense the chromatic making the cell unable to read the genes underlying, in other words, they turn the genes off. Again, some epigenetic marks can decondense the chromatic making the cell accessible to read the underlying genes. So, then the genes are turned on. Therefore, these epigenetic marks are responsible for influencing our cell biology. So, in our body, though each cell has the same DNA, it is these epigenetic marks which instruct the cell to turn on or off the particular genes. This is how a muscle cell or a neuron function differently from a skin cell. Now, the question is when do the epigenetic marks laid down the information or instructions to the cells. Most of it occurs during the embryonic development inside the womb. Initially, when the embryo is only a few cells big, there are very less epigenetic marks on the cells, As the days pass by, the influence of environment slowly increases the epigenetic marks on the cells.

In a pregnant lady, the growing embryo inside her womb has been influenced by the food she eats, behaviour, her stress level, habits (like smoking alcohol). That’s how the epigenetic marks are laid on the chromatin of each cell. That is how the foetus genes are affected and also the long term health effect of the child. Even as the child grows into an adult, the habits, behaviour, disease pattern does not entirely depend on the hereditary genes. Researches have shown that the environment continues influencing the epigenetic marks of the chromatins. Throughout life, the genes keep turning on and off depending on the environmental choices, pattern or the kind of environmental responses, the person perceives.

We keep making choices on the perception of this world, thoughts, emotions, lifestyle habits, eating habits, stress responses and other environmental influences. Depending on all these choices, our body’s nervous system influences the chemical pathways (neurohormonal pathways) instructing the genes through receptor responses (some genes get turn on while some get to turn off) in different cells of our body leading to different changes that occur regarding health, ageing, longevity, diseases, stress levels and wellness. Improving our choices ( being in a positive environment), positivity, reducing stress levels, healthy eating, active physical life all can affect our genes greatly. Have an impact on our overall wellbeing ,can reduce disease prospects, or can make healing faster.

So, the concept of “we” being the victims of hereditary genes doesn’t completely hold the truth. We still hold our magic stick depending upon the choices we make. We are still the “masters” of the body in terms of our health and wellness.
If you wish to know more about this topic, I recommend the book “Change your Genes, Change your life” Creating optimal health by the New Science of epigenetics. by Kenneth R. Pelletier

Thanks for reading.

Blessings and much love to all 💐

Post: How about a smart healthy brain 😇😍, anytime, any age? : 5 ways to facilitate the process.

by drjurisharma, posted in healing, health, mental health, Science, wellness

Hello everyone ! Have a wonderful weekend🙋🏻

Neuroplasticity and Neurogenesis, two terms commonly used when it comes to brain health. We, just don’t need to dive so much into Neuroscience to learn what they mean and how we can help ourselves to keep our brain healthy. Brain health is important because as long as our brain is healthy, we keep learning new things and our memory is intact. As ageing progresses, we can prevent ourselves from certain chronic conditions like dementia, Alzheimers and Parkinson’s disease by maintaining good brain health.

Neuroplasticity, meaning that our brain is continuously changing through our entire lifetime depending upon our experiences, the environment, habits, behaviour. Neural pathways keep rewiring and dewiring depending upon what is necessary and what is no longer useful. Therefore, being in a positive environment, thinking and feeling positive is all very important.

Neurogenesis meaning formation of new neurons, that is our ability to learn new things and retain in our memory. Previously, it was believed that neurogenesis stopped once we reach our adulthood, that is around the age of 20. Now, researches have shown, that neurogenesis occurs throughout our lifetime. So, we can learn until the day we die. In our brain, the neurons are formed from the neural stem cells and progenitor cells which are in the Hippocampus mainly and also in other regions of the brain. Though every day, new neurons are formed, before, they could get matured, many of them get pruned. A special protein BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) has been identified which is responsible for promoting the maturation, survival and maintenance of the neurons.

So, how do we facilitate this process of neurogenesis and maintain the level of BDNF? 5 simple ways

1. Exercise: Any exercise which can increase the heart rate mainly aerobic exercise, running, brisk walking.


2.Food: Rich in omega 3 fatty acids like fishes (salmon, tuna, sardines), avocados, chia, hemp seeds and nuts. Other sources which help are turmeric, blueberries, goji berries, lotus roots, algae, green tea, coffee. However, too much caffeine is detrimental to neurogenesis.

3.Emotions: Experiencing positive emotions like joy, excitement, love and feeling good, stimulate Neurogenesis. Such emotional experience can appear by being creative, learning a new skill, going out in Nature, proper sleep, listening to Nature sounds, good music and sex. A positive relationship with partners, peers, relatives is helpful. Being in chronic stress, anger, anxiety are detrimental to neurogenesis.

4.Mind stimulation: Cognitive abilities like reading, learning, memorizing, discussing new ideas, taking up music lessons, problem-solving, all stimulate neurogenesis. Cognitive reserve (resilience against brain damage) can be built up by engaging mind stimulating activities or intellectual work.

5.Meditation: Prayers and meditation can stimulate neurogenesis. Practising mindfulness, compassion, being in silence, stillness all facilitate neurogenesis.

Some lifestyle factors which can decrease neurogenesis are a high intake of carbohydrate, sugar, fried foods, inflammatory foods, chronic caffeine intake, smoking, alcohol, obesity, chronic stress, lack of sleep, negative emotions like sadness, depression, lack of engagement, boring life. Direct trauma to the head can be very detrimental to neurogenesis. Nowadays, even environmental pollution is quite hazardous to brain health.

If you are intending to learn more about lifestyle changes that you can do to improve your brain health, I recommend the book: Neurogenesis diet and lifestyle by Dr Brant Cortright

Thanks for reading. Take care.

Blessings and Much love to all 💐

Post: Cellular health: 5 ways to improve the fundamental 🙌

by drjurisharma, posted in healing, health, Science, wellness

Hello everyone ! Have a great Friday and weekend too 🙋🏻

Cell division

Individually, our body is not a single life form. It is a community of 50 -75 trillion cells depending on body size. Each of the cells collectively forms individual tissue, tissues collectively form organs, organs collectively form systems and systems form the human body. Each cell function as an individual unit. It needs food, nutrients, water, air and undergo metabolism, absorb its necessary nutrients and releases toxins as waste. That’s how, fundamentally the cells functions, grow and carry out different bodily functions. Optimally, our body needs 116 essential nutrients to function normally, maintain a proper weight, energy and health, that is the overall wellbeing.

Human blood cells

As we age, the cells slowly get tired, slows down metabolism. They are unable to absorb the nutrients and vitamins that we get from food and supplements. The toxins from food, air and water get deposited in the cells. Slowly, the cellular function gets damaged leading to diseases state, fasten ageing and poor health.
So, several factors are affecting at the cellular level. The poor quality of food, processed food, food contaminated with pesticides, low quality of vitamins and supplements.
Other factors like environmental pollutions, high level of stress daily, lifestyle factors like smoking, alcohol, all of them affect greatly at the cellular level, the core of the body.

Therefore, to become healthier and stay healthy, we need to take care of the body at the cellular level. Experts say that NAD+, a coenzyme is associated with the function of Sirtuins, the kind of protein which is responsible for ageing and longevity. NAD+ is the main factor for maintaining the cellular functions ranging from metabolism, energy production, circadian rhythm, excretion/release of toxins and DNA health. As age progresses, Sirtuins activity, NAD+ levels decline in the body.
When Sirtuin activity and NAD+ levels decline, not only we age faster, affect the life span, also result in pathogenesis of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases like diabetes.

How to increase and improve the activity of Sirtuins and NAD+ levels?

  1. Calorie restriction: This is not a diet plan. It is just that you started to reduce the intake of the number of calories slowly than your usual or habitual intake. Research shows, that when food is restricted, scarce in the body, the state has a powerful influence in the activity of Sirtuins, SIRT 1. Similarly, in the case of intermittent fasting, the same effect is observed.
  2. Intermittent fasting: This is a pattern of eating. It is having just 2 proper meals a day leaving long hours of fasting between the meals so that you get the maximum benefit out of them.

3.Physical activity: Any form of physical activity.

4.Melatonin, the sleep hormone also influences the activity of Sirtuins.

5. Food which increases polyphenols and omega 3 fatty acids.
Research shows that some particular variety of food are responsible to increase the activity of Sirtuins, SIRT1


Quercetin: Found in green vegetables, berries, tea, citrus fruits, apples, onions
Resveratrol: Pomegranate, berries, grapes, soybeans.
Food like green tea, olive oil, cocoa, omega 3 fatty acids rich fishes (salmon, tuna, sardines) avocados, all influences the activity of Sirtuins, SIRT1.

Thanks for reading. Take care.

Blessings and much love to all💐

Post: Fivesome – The effective medicine 🙌

by drjurisharma, posted in healing, health, mental health, Science, wellness

Hello everyone ! Have a great Monday 🙋🏻

Chronic diseases contribute to huge healthcare expenses. Regular doctor’s visits, buying the prescription drugs, undergoing procedures, hospital treatments and stay, all of them incur huge expenses.

We know by now that inflammation is the key to all chronic diseases in the body. Chronic diseases like diabetes, heart diseases, lung diseases like COPD and asthma, Crohn disease, arthritis, HIV, Cancers and the list goes on. Not only these, even brain diseases like Alzheimers, dementia, and Parkinson are also related to inflammation in the brain.

The only solutions to this huge health issues are prevention and controlling the chronic conditions. So, how do we do that? Researches have already proved that most chronic conditions are caused by food and unhealthy lifestyle. So, the easiest and efficient way to reach our goal to prevent and control chronic conditions is by switching on to a healthy diet and making lifestyle changes. 80% of our immunity comes from good gut health. So, eating right, removing stress, active physical life, all contribute to a healthy gut. Therefore , the five some ….

1.Food:The problem is that too much information on food flooding the internet, conflicting information, different diet regimens like keto, paleo, vegan, Meditteranean and the list is long. Too many lists of superfood come out daily. So, how do we know what is right for us?

I think following any diet, there is always pros and cons because you eat some and skip something else. Depending on your goal, whether to lose weight or maybe for some chronic conditions like diabetes, your diet is scheduled and designed. Though following a particularly strict diet, do benefit like losing weight in case of a Keto diet. Sometimes, it can lead to unhealthy outcomes. And, following a particular diet seems to be like, you are doing for a temporary phase. But, to have a goal of a healthy life, the food and lifestyle changes has to be permanent and adopt it as a way of life. It has to be a mentality shift.
Again, not every type of grain, vegetables, fruits available in every part of the world. Different regions grow different crops according to their climatic conditions. So, the best food is preferably,organic (devoid of pesticides) and locally produce grain, vegetables and fruits so that they are fresh. And locally produce grains, veggies, fruits are usually affordable.
Your daily consumption should be a majority, about 70% of plant-based food like greens, veggies, fruits, nuts. About 30% should be whole grain fibres, low fat and protein like eggs, chicken and fish. This is how simple a daily healthy diet plan can be.

2. Exercise: Right from evolution, we, humans are meant to be active. So, being active is essential. Follow your daily routine exercise of at least an hour. Do whatever you like, running, walking, swimming, cycling, gymming., dancing. The workout you enjoy doing. There is no hard and fast rule.

3.Meditation/ Mindfulness: I have already written posts on meditation and it’s benefits. it is important to empty our mind daily, at least for some time.Spend a few minutes in silence every day. If you can, be mindful (being aware ) as much as you can. Being mindful means, paying attention to your thoughts, emotions without being judgemental. Staying mindful, by following your natural breaths, simply just being aware of, at least 20 mins or more is very beneficial. It reduces your stress level.

4. Support: Have always a support system. Loneliness is a major factor in many health issues. People with a good support system can better control chronic conditions. Rely on your spouse, partner, friends or a social support group where you can open up.

5.Sleep: Though ideally recommended in adult as 7-8 hours of sleep. But the fact is, the quality of sleep is more important than the quantity.
When you follow sleep hygiene of going to bed and getting up from bed at a routine timing, whatever hours of good sleep, you get is enough.

All these 5 steps can guarantee you for a healthy life for the longest time. Even, if you suffer from a chronic condition, it can be maintained better with a disciplined lifestyle.

Thanks for reading. Take care

Blessings and much love to all 💐