MALE HEALTH

In the modern era, men go through various competitions at work place which put a man into undue stressed state of mind and makes health very poor. Moreover, diet is not properly balanced these days. It adversely affects the general health as well as the sexual health. Men suffer with many sex problems. But is they follow healthy diet and lifestyle, significant improvement can be seen in general and sexual health as well.

• Eat a healthy diet which includes high protein content, eggs, fish, ghee, butter, soya bean, green vegetables, all kinds of fruits, almonds and hand full of dry fruits. 
• If you have high cholesterol, then avoid cashew nuts.
• Quit smoking. 
• Avoid excess alcohol consumption.
• Limit the amount fat in your diet.
• Herbs like kaunch beej (mucuna pruriens), shatavar (Asparagus racemosus), ashawgandha (withania somnifera), safed musli (chlorophytum borivilianum) are beneficial to improve male sexual health. 
• Do regular physical exercise.
• Avoid drug addiction.
• Reduce weight, if you are obese.
• In this competitive era, get sufficient rest.
•  Take adequate sleep in night specifically between 10 pm to 2 am as it is the best when our body heals itself.
•  Modify your approach towards stress. Try to reduce the tendency of mind for stress.
• Develop positivity in your approach. 
• To avoid stress, follow relaxation techniques like meditation.
• Yogic asanas like Surya namaskaar (Sun salutation), Vajrasana (Diamond pose), yoga mudra, Tolangulasana (scale pose), Halaasana (Plough Pose), The Lotus Pose (Padmasana), Dhanurasana (bow pose), Khandasana (The Knotted Root Pose), Bhujanga asana (Cobra pose) are very beneficial to improve male sexual health as it improves the blood circulation in genitals. 
• Pranayama like deep breathing, anuloma viloma, bhastrika, brahmari (humming bee), kapalbhati (shining skull) are beneficial.  

RENAL STONE

It is mostly seen that there is recurrence of kidney stones. But if we make dietary and lifestyle changes, we can avoid the risk of developing stones further.

• Drink plenty of liquids like plain water, juice, soup, lime water etc. Drink more water if you are perspiring heavily, working outdoors or weather is hot.
• It is advised to have 5-6 glasses of water early morning and go for exercise. This will help to dislodge the stone and it will be flushed out along with the flow of urine. 
• Specifically in case of ureteric stones, consume 2 glasses of water at bed time. It will create a urine pressure in morning. Thus, pushes the calculi out.
• Take kulthi dal in diet.          
• Reduce the intake of food items like black pepper (kali mirch), cheese, cabbage, cauliflower, coca, cola drinks, coffee, grapes, apples, milk, oranges, pine apples, spinach, tea and yogurt.   
• If you have acidity in urine, then avoid meat, poultry products and fish.
• Avoid the medication like antacids having calcium base.
• Avoid sedentary lifestyle. 
• Avoid exposure to extreme temperatures and dehydrating conditions.
• Avoid sedentary lifestyle.
• Increase the use of barley, horse gram (a type of bean), ginger and brown rice or parboiled rice.
• Increase foods which will help to dissolve the kidney stones such as kidney beans, pomegranates, watermelon, celery and rice.
• Do not suppress urges to urinate and defecate.
• Pass urine after each prime meal. This will increase the working efficacy of the kidneys by lessening the chances of the accumulation of toxins.
• Lose extra weight. Being overweight increases your risk of stones.
• Moderate consumption of oxalate rich foods is advisable. Avoid the food with large oxalate content as it is found in dark-green leafy vegetables such as beet greens, spinach, soy nuts, tofu, soy yogurt, soy milk, beets and sweet potatoes. It may help prevent calcium oxalate stones from forming.
• Yogic asanas like bhujangasana (cobra pose), dhanurasana (bow pose), pawan  mukta asana (wind releasing pose), halaasana (Plough Pose), Raised feet pose (uttanpadasana), ustrasana (camel pose) are beneficial. Yoga poses involves significant stretching or compressing of abdominal region including the area on the sides of abdomen. This improves circulation and may even help to physically dislodge some stones in the kidneys.
• Follow reclined mountain pose. During the inhale or exhale move abdomen significantly. These heavy movements of abdomen will cause the dislodgement of the stone from its place.
• Pranayama like Bhastrika and  Kapalbhati (Shining Skull) are helpful to dislodge the small kidney stones.

WHEAT ALLERGY

The key to an allergy free diet is to avoid giving your child the foods or products containing the food to which he/she is allergic. Wheat allergy is an abnormal response of our body to the protein (gluten) found in wheat. So, we should avoid all food items that contain wheat and its products. Thus, it is really very important to read the food labels first before consuming any food stuff.

• Preferably, consume light foods in diet preferably which are easy to digest.
• Prepare the food with non-wheat flours such as amaranth flour (rajgira atta), rice flour , soy flour or millet flour (bajra)
• Use pasta made from rice, kasha (Buckwheat), millet (bajra) or potato. 
• Snacks can be taken as plain baked corn chips, rice cakes and oats pretzels. 
• Go for breakfast cereal such as oatmeal, puffed rice, corn flakes, puffed millet or rice bran without using any wheat product.
• Enjoy plain, fresh or frozen vegetables, fruits, meat and meat alternatives.
• Avoid processed or packaged food as long as possible. The more a food is processed, higher the chance that wheat may be used. 
• Milk, buttermilk, yogurt, cheese and dairy products can be taken 
• If non-vegetarian, Eggs prepared any way without wheat products can be consumed.
• Pomegranate juice is best to replenish the nutrients in blood.
• You can go for fasting occasionally.
• Unripe banana can be used as a vegetable.
• One can consume papaya also.
• Apart from this, we can add certain herbs in daily diet to boost our digestive power and enhance the power of weak intestine.
• Sprinkle trikatu {the powder of sonth (dry ginger), marich (black pepper), pippali (piper longum)}, sendha namak (rock salt), saunchar lavana (black salt) in prepared dishes of vegetables, pulses, yogurt, raita and other food items.
• Fresh green herb coriander (dhaniya) can be used in the form of chutney. It adds taste to tongue.
• Sonth (dry ginger), Pippali (piper longum), bijora nimbu (lemon), palash beej (Butea monosperma) are good herbs for improving digestive power.
• Make the decoction of Chavya (Piper retrofractum), chitrakmool (Plumbago zeylanica), trikatu and dhaniya till it remains ¼. Filter this decoction and take this water whenever you feel thirsty. Moreover, you can also use it for preparing food. 
• Sprinkle trikatu in takra (buttermilk, made by mixing yogurt and water).
• Herbs like Haritaki (Terminalia chebula), guduchi (tinospora cordifolia)), jamun (Syzygium cumini), lavang (Syzygium aromaticum) are beneficial.

WEIGHT LOSS

It is very important to shed extra kilos on your body. It makes you look fat and destroys your overall personality. If we follow simple dietary and lifestyle modifications, we can loose weight and look slimmer.

• Go for healthy food items; keep in mind the calorie needs of the family and the energy expenditure also.
• Too much dieting. People think that skipping meals and limiting the food choices will help you to shed extra kilos. But, this is an unhealthy approach to weight loss and may limit nutritional intake resulting in a nutrient deficiency when used long-term.
• Balanced diet. We should take balanced diet which can give all nutrients required by body.
• Low fat, low carbohydrates and high proteins may help.
• Consume excess fiber. Take plenty of salad and fresh vegetables in diet as it will help to remove excess lipids in blood.
• Take plenty of water as it will help to remove excess toxins from the body. By keeping yourself well hydrated you'll feel hungry less as well as getting a clearer complexion and shinier hair.
• Adding a regular exercise component to your overweight diet plan improves your chances of long-term weight loss success. You only lose weight by burning more calories than you consume on a daily basis.
• There are many foods out there that are proved to help you to lose weight such as chilli, green tea, berries and whole grains can do various things to help you to drop the pounds by avoiding insulin spikes and keeping your metabolic rate going.
• Consume things that have no calories. Only two things do not have calories- fiber and water. We can consume them excessively which will satisfy our appetite.
• Be active. Make personal and family time active. 
• Reduce the time taken for watching T.V or computer games. Get involved in more physical activity.
• Do exercises as your personal fitness allows. 
• Behavioral techniques may be useful in conjunction with diet and exercise programs to improve long-term weight loss. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a classic example which encourages you to change these behaviors and take responsibility for your lifestyle changes.
• Reduce stress as it encourages eating more in many people.
• Surya namaskaar (Sun salutation), Sarvangasana (shoulder stand), Vajraasana (Diamond pose), Shavasana (corpse pose) are good for loosing extra kilos of the body. These asanas enhances metabolism by activating liver.
• Kapalbhati (Shining Skull), Anulom-vilom (Alternate Nostril Breathing), Deep Breathing, Bhastrika are good for loosing weight as they boost metabolic fire.
• One can sprinkle trikatu powder on the food to be consumed. It significantly boosts the metabolism in the body. So, it is very effective in losing weight and lowering cholesterol also.
• Amla (Indian gooseberry), Haritaki (Myrobalan), Bilva (Aegle marmelos), Vibhitaka (Teminalia belerica), guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia) are efficient herbs.

WEIGHT GAIN

Many factors like genetics, metabolism and nutritional intake impact our body weight. Some people tend to gain weight  soon and few gain weight very slowly as they have metabolism that do not allow too much of our energy to be stored in the form of glucose or fat. Skinny people have two options - either gain weight by munching on unhealthy foods like fries, chips and other junk or gain weight by eating healthy meals. According to experts, gradual weight gain is always advisable. If they follow some dietary and lifestyle modifications, they will gain weight slowly.

• To gain weight, eat food with extremely high caloric value. 
• Try to increase your food intake without consuming too much fat and sugar. 
• Never skip breakfast at any cost.
• Eat late breakfast and watch late night TV. Sleep for no more than 6 hours per night.
• You can add one extra chapatti or more rice than you normally take. Eat an extra fruit daily.
• Enjoy dinner late in night. Having healthy snacks at bedtime may help to gain weight. 
• Relax after having meal. 
• Eat frequently. Eat five or more meals a day. 
• Chew the food thoroughly to improve digestion. Avoid excessive intake of coffee or tea immediately after consuming meals as they hinders absorption of minerals like iron.
• Eat foods that are fresh, organic and whole. Avoid foods that are too hot and spicy (such as food spiced with chillies, cayenne and black mustard seeds. 
• Avoid ice cold food items like ice cream, iced drinks, cold and heavy desserts.
• Include the right amount of proteins to your diet. Eggs, fish, pulses, sprouts and dairy products will give you enough protein necessary to build your muscles. 
• Carbohydrates are needed to gain weight but include healthier options like banana, potato, mango, whole grains and rice instead of sugar-rich foods, chocolates and other junk foods.
• Do regular exercise. It will help you gain weight by building up your muscles. Exercise can stimulate your appetite.
• Eat late breakfast and watch late night TV. Sleep for no more than 6 hours per night.
• Shav asana (Corpse pose), Vajra Asana (Diamond pose), Sarvang asana (Shoulder stand), Pavan Mukta Asana (Wind releasing pose), Sirsasana (Head stand) are very good yoga postures to help gain weight.
• Pranayama like Kapalbhati, Deep Breathing, Anuloma Viloma (Alternate Nostril Breathing), Bhastrika are good for gaining weight.

STRESS

Since stress diminishes the immunity (ojas) of the body, healthy diet and lifestyle are required to counter act the depletion of nutrients. Few tips are given below -

• Reduce rajasic and tamasic food from the diet and increase the intake of sattvic food items.
• Minimize the intake of high protein animal foods as this increases the level of dopamine which is associated with higher levels of stress.
• Avoid excess intake of tea or coffee.
• Avoid frozen, preserved or leftover foods as it is tamasic in nature.
• Whole grain cereals like wheat should be consumed as it promotes the production of brain neurotransmitter serotonin.
• Prefer vegetables like carrots, cucumber as they produce cooling effect.
• Consume amla (Indian gooseberry) or giloy as they are very good immunity enhancing herbs.
• Consume cow-milk and cow-ghee as it is very good.
• Consume fruits like coconut, coconut water, pine apple, banana, oranges, pomegranate and anjeer.
• Various medhya (boosting memory) herbs like jyotishmati, shankhpuspi, vacha and mandook parni mentioned in ancient texts should be consumed.
• Aswagandha is very good herb for stress. Its powder can be used daily with milk to boost the body to fight stress.
• Go for full body massage as it really relieves the physical stress.
• Morning walk should be done daily.
• Apply sheetal lepa (cold coating) of sandalwood powder over the head just to cool the temperament. 
• Follow the achaar rasayana (proper code of conduct) as it will prevent the unnecessary worries.
• One can opt for shirodhara as it will definitely calm down the mind.
• Follow yogic asanas (shavasana), pranayama or meditation as it relaxes the mind.

SKIN GLOW

Tanning occurs skin color is darkened. Commonly, it appears as fairly small spots, known as age spots which can be caused by sun exposure over a long period of time. If we consume healthy diet and lifestyle, we can strengthen our skin against the harmful effects of sun or chemicals so it remains glowing forever.

• Consume diet consists of fresh organic fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
• Include foods that have cooling effect on our body such as green vegetables, tender coconut, cucumber, basmati rice and dhaniya (coriander). 
• Ghritkumari  (aloe vera) juice is a cooling bitter tonic for removing excess pitta (fire element) from the body.
• Drink plenty of water. 
• Avoid extra spices, chili peppers, oily and fried foods as it can aggravate pitta. 
• Limit alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine.
• Keep your colon clean. Take 1 teaspoon of Triphla (Powder prepared by mixing harar, bahera and amla in equal proportions) with honey or warm water, before bedtime. It acts as a good laxative.
• Cleanse your skin twice daily - In the morning and before bed also with a gentle cleanser. Do not scrub too hard as it can lead to an over-production of oil. 
• Saunf (fennel), kushmand (white gourd melon), anaar (pomegranate), gajar (carrot), chukander (Beetroot.), aloe vera, cucumber, tomato are good for skin. 
• Neem (Azadirachta indica), bilva (Aegle marmelos), Manjistha (Rubia cordifolia) and Chirata (Swertia chirata) are good for skin.
• Exercise regularly. Do not to exercise during the pitta time of day (10am-2pm), especially in summer. 
• Limit sun exposure. Try moon bathing to cool pitta's intense fire. 
• Avoid hostile environments. Surround yourself with nice people who love you. 
• Avoid anger and criticism.
• Take adequate sleep. 
• Morning walk should be done.
• Develop peace, patience and tolerance to bring more joy into your life as it helps cool your temperament.
• Asanas like pawan muktasana (wind releasing pose), Matsyasana (fish pose), Sirsasana (head stand) enhances circulation to face, remove toxins and imparts flawless glowing skin.
• Pranayama like deep breathing, kapalbhati (shining skull), anuloma-viloma (alternate nostril breath), shitali pranayama and sitkari pranayama are beneficial.
• Do meditation regularly as it calms the mind and remove stress.