Endocrine System
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(x) Do Regular Exercises – Your metabolic rate is directly related to the intensity of exercise you perform. Low intensity exercise doesn’t do much for your metabolic rate but moderately high intensity does. Remember, if you are not sweating and getting tired after your brisk walk or any other exercise, then you are fooling yourself into thinking that you are doing the right thing. You have to push yourself and come out of the comfort zone to get results by exercising at 60-80% of your maximum heart rate (220 – age). Remember that even the number of calories you burn during half an hour exercise session become somewhat irrelevant; what is important is the metabolic rate at which you are burning calories both during the exercise as well as other 23½ hours of every day of your life.
(xi) Get Active and Fidget More – The level of routine activity and fidgeting help burn more calories. Be aware of this fact and adopt the hard way to do things, i.e. take every opportunity to shift, move and keep fidgeting. A few ideas for metabolising and burning calories: – stand rather than sit; tap your feet; swing your legs; drum with fingers; stand up and stretch; move your head from side to side; change position; pace up and down; use stairs more than lifts; walk or cycle than using the car for local shopping.
(xii) Get Enough Quality Sleep – A good quality, restful and peaceful sleep is the backbone to good health and losing fat. While we sleep, our body repairs and rejuvenates the cells, balances the hormones and gets ready for the work the next day. If at night the stomach is overloaded, the body’s recovery system takes a beating and the food does not get metabolised properly i.e. broken down, digested and absorbed. Adults should normally get 7-8 hours good quality sleep in a totally dark room without any trace of light contamination. Children need much more sleep and older people less. Avoid sleeping during the day except for after-lunch nap of 10-20 minutes – that too if your body needs. Sleep deprivation increases the risk of unhealthy eating, leading to weight gain. Sleep is prescribed by Nature and good sleep also improves your defence mechanism – immunity.
7. the Digestive System
What is Digestive System?
7.1 The digestive system allows your body to take in and process food to nourish its cells. It is a process from “mouth” to stomach, to intestines where the food is broken down into nutrients, which are absorbed in the blood and then supplied to all parts of the body and wastes which are excreted through bowels, urine, sweat and breath. Other digestive organs, such as the pancreas, liver and gall bladder also contribute to the process of digestion. Basically this means carbohydrates (starch), proteins and fats/oils being broken down into sugar (glucose), amino acids and so called fatty acids respectively. Ayurveda lays stress on digestion rather than nutrition. It is more important how you digest the food rather than how nutritive the food was. Of course nutrition matters but mere nutrition without proper digestion in meaningless!
