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.
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 💐
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 💐
Hello everyone🙋🏻 ! This is the second time, I have been nominated for Sunshine Blogger Award. Though this is not a real award, it does mean a lot to me when your fellow bloggers start appreciating your posts and the blog. It’s a kind of great encouragement to me to continue doing what I like to do, writing about thoughts, beliefs, facts about life, health, healing and happiness.
I have been nominated this time by Panda in Progress. https://pandainprogress357664521.wordpress.com. Thank you so much for the nomination. Though she is only a few posts old, I have recently started following her blog. What I like about her blog is that she has been very honest and genuine about her struggle for depression and weight issues. A reminder from my side, my friend, keep sharing your thoughts and feelings because sharing can be a great outlet to let out the emotional baggage which we all carry. We are all here to listen to each other. You are not alone, my friend. And, you are a strong person and truly awesome!
Last time, I was nominated by Prashanti Alluri of Happiness Inn. https://happinessinn.blog. Thank you once again Prashanti. I have been following her blog for quite some time now. She has a beautiful blog and writes mostly on happiness. She is also a talented artist, draw beautiful sketches.
Rules for the Sunshine Blogger Award
1. Thank the person who nominated you and provide a link back to their blog.
2. List the Sunshine Blogger Award rules and display the logo on your site.
3. Answer the Sunshine Blogger Award questions.
4. Nominate eleven other bloggers and ask them eleven new questions.
5. Notify the nominees about their nominations by commenting on one of their blog posts.
Here, are the 11 questions asked which I have to answer…
1 What is your favourite season?
My favourite season is Spring. Though it is short, I love it because Nature is at its best.
2 If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
I love my home country India. Since I live in Europe, I like travelling to the beautiful cities of Europe.
3 What inspires you to write?
I think writing is not only about fictions and fantasies. Being a realistic person, I like writing about our struggle, inspiration, facts about life and health.
4 Do you have a favourite animal?
I like lions, they are silent, yet ferocious when required.
5 What is your favourite book? “Becoming Supernatural” by Dr Joe Dispenza
6 How often do you write? I write very often.
7 What is your favourite time of day to be creative? Anytime
8 If you had to pick just one food, which would be your favourite? Tough one, I know!
Being in Medical Profession myself, I am very health conscious so love all kinds of fruits.
9 What is your favourite colour? Green because I love Nature.
10 Are walks or car rides better, why? I love walking. I and my husband often go for long walks. Walking is also a good form of cardio exercise.
11 And last, how long have you been blogging for? I am pretty new, have been blogging since the last 5-6 months.
Anyone, who feel free to do this award, please answer the same questions as above. I will be very happy and honoured🙏
Thanks for reading.
Blessings and much love to all 💐
Hello everyone ! Today, 1st December is observed as “World AIDS day”. The theme of 2019 is – know your status.
Hello everyone ! Have a great Friday and weekend too 🙋🏻
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.
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?
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💐
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 💐
Hello everyone! Have a great Friday and happy weekend too 🙋🏻♀️
Thanks for reading.
Blessings and much love to all 💐
Hello Everyone! Have a great day 🙋🏻
Resentment is a common feeling. We, all must have harboured at some point in life. It is a feeling of anger or a sense of bitterness after an unfair incident, an event that has happened to us. It may happen very often in our everyday lives. Resentment can be felt from as simple as rude behaviour or unfair comment from a friend to as large as issues like racism or religion.
The immediate reaction after we feel resentful is an emotion of anger,hurt, pain, annoyance or even shame. Very often, we get affected so much that we start to harbour a feeling of revenge. The emotion gets trapped when we are unable to express our feeling of bitterness after the hurtful experience. It may come from either a true situation or a misunderstood situation of injustice.
How emotion of resentment get trapped in us from different situations?
Any kind of tense relationship maybe between partners, a colleague with a boss, or between friends.
*A feeling of fear or avoidance to confront the person or similar situation.
*A feeling of regret, low or dejected.
*Continuously ruminating the strong emotion against the incident, person or experience.
But the real problem arises when it started to affect our mental health. The resentful feeling continues to ride over us in spite of trying to let go of or trying to move on from the person or the experience. We started to develop a fear, negative attitude for every similar situation or person in our lives. It affects slowly our every perception of reality. We start looking at every situation with a negative outlook. We start having fear and fail to trust people. It becomes difficult to hope for positive outcomes. We, finally land up in the hands of a Therapist or counsellor.
So, the simple approaches, how we can help ourselves get over it.
1.Practice self-compassion: Compassion over self is a key to all kinds of negative situations, experiences or persons, we encounter in life. Holding self-compassion helps us to give a sense of security which is important. It helps us to restore our self-identity, self-worth which otherwise have the fear of losing if resentment is held up for a long time. Self-compassion helps us to overcome the feeling of lowness or less.
2.Being empathetic: We deal with people every day. There are both good and bad experiences of people with us. So, trying to empathize and understand the other person’s perspective or the circumstances which influence the behaviour will surely reduce the feeling of resentment. Many times, we may have misunderstood or the person who did it may not have realised that it can be hurtful.
3.Practice Gratitude: Practising gratitude and thankfulness for everything, everyone we have in our life is important. It gives us a sense of security and wholeness. So, unfair treatment or unfair incident can be overlooked with ease as they hold hardly any value to the beautiful life we lead. If we focus on how privileged and fortunate we are in life, harbouring resentful feelings look just meaningless.
Thanks for reading !
Blessings and much love to all 💐
Hello everyone ! Have a great Monday 🙋🏻♀️
Thanks for reading.
Blessing and much love to all 💐
