Body Shop Body Mist Review

I am a lover of a good fragrance. It not only makes me feel good but also lifts my mood on particularly bad days when you need that extra push to move on with life.

In one of my shopping sprees a few days back, I came across a Body Shop and walked in merely based on the goodwill of the brand. This was my first tryst with Body Shop. Though, I had heard a lot of inspiring stories of people behind a brand, I had never really used it's products.

Being a perfume lover, I first tried out their Body Mist range and fell in love. My first buy was a Japanese Cherry Blossom Fragrance Mist. 

Japanese Cherry Blossom or Sakura as called in Japan is known for its beautifying properties and its enchanting fragrance.True to the properties of Sakura, The Body mist has an alluring fragrance which is light, fresh and very elegant. The fruity- floral smell feels very feminine and is very refreshing.It is perfect for day wear and lasts for about 4-5 hours.

What appeals more is the packaging of the product. It comes in a lovely light pink tinted bottle which is hard to miss. The bottle made up of hard plastic is easy to carry in your handbags and doesn't seem too fragile. 

A 100ml bottle is priced at 945 INR.

Well if you have used this product once, you can't really ignore it. Made of organic ingredients, it makes you a loyal fan of the product.

Extreme Cold Not good for the Heart: Prevent Heart Trouble in winters

As the temperature stays on the lower side of the mercury, cardiologists across north India are advising heart patients to be watchful.

Extreme cold weather not just brings flu and asthma attacks in its wake, it also increases the risk of heart attacks. In fact, evidence suggests that the number of patients reporting heart attacks increases during the winter months. However, awareness regarding these dangers remains abysmally low among people, including among heart patients.

A number of factors cause heart attacks to spike in the winter season:

·         The most significant being the risk of hypothermia or a sudden loss of body temperature which can put the body in a state of shock. The body suddenly loses its capacity to produce warmth on being exposed to chill. This may also happen when a person is not adequately protected or covered. This can be extremely dangerous for people living with heart disease. In fact, a lot of people who suffer hypothermia die of heart failure. People with coronary heart disease also often suffer angina or chest pain when exposed to cold weather. The answer is in adopting complete warm protection from head to toe and dressing up in layers to prevent heat from escaping.

·         Winters are more stressful to the heart as compared to summers. When the weather is too cold, the heart has to work harder by pumping more warm blood to the peripheral areas of the body. Blood pressure is also seen to rise in winters, putting people at greater risk of heart attacks.

·         The arteries and veins are believed to tighten or constrict when the weather is extremely cold. This may restrict the supply of oxygen to the heart, putting it under risk.

·         Another factor is shortage of vitamin D. Often in winters, the sun refuses to bestow its heat for days resulting in dark, gloomy days. A crucial impact of this sun denial may be shortage of vitamin D in the body which is not a good thing for the heart.

·         Cholesterol levels often fluctuate with change in season, which may leave people with borderline high cholesterol with greater cardiovascular risk during the winter months.

How to Stay Safe:

It may sound like common sense but preventing exposure to cold is the main way to stay safe in winters. Often we do not take the cold weather seriously, dressing casually and not bothering about the impact of cold on our bodies. For healthy people, this may just bring a few days of coughing and sneezing or fever at the most. 

However, in people with heart ailments, this can be catastrophic. So, wear enough clothes, in layers to prevent heat from escaping. Cover yourself, head, neck and feet included with warm clothes to prevent exposure. Never step out unprotected. Always wear a head scarf to keep the head and ears insulated. Make sure you wear warm socks and gloves to minimize chances of the body losing heat and hypothermia.

Avoid exhausting yourself. The heart which is already under stress coping with the drop in temperatures might not be able to take another bout of high stress activity. Take rest between work.

Importantly, never take chest pain lying down. Any sign of discomfort and immediately rush to a doctor. This can sometimes be life saving.

Article by Dr. T. S. Kler, Executive Director (Cardiac Sciences), Escorts Heart Institute & Research Centre, New Delhi

GAIA Green tea review

GAIA Green Tea Review

We have heard a lot about the benefits of green tea. 

Green tea has been used as a medicine for thousands of years, originating in China. This beverage has a multitude of uses from lowering blood pressure to preventing cancer. 

Green tea is processed in a way that there is no fermentation, therefore it retains maximum number of antioxidants and polyphenols which is said to provide all the benefits that green tea drinkers boasts of.

The above picture lists down in brief all the health benefits that it offers.
I recently came across a GAIA green tea bags.
It comes in a pack of 50 tea bags in different flavours - ginger, lemon, mint and normal.

All the flavours are refreshing and adds an extra zing to your day. You can always rely on a cup of GAIA green tea to rejuvenate yourself after a tiring day.

Healthy Heart recommends this aromatic and satisfying drink daily and make it an enjoyable part of a healthy lifestyle.

It is available in all leading retail stories and pharmacies all over India.

Disclaimer: The product has been sent for review by the company and the opinions are solely personal

Celebrating Life at HealOne

Celebrating Life” at HealOne

Graffiti Art, Soothing Music & Dance to be a part of the celebrations

Pune, January 2015: HealOne Hospital, a boutique community healthcare facility based out of Viman Nagar, Pune, is organizing “Celebrating Life” on 18^th January 2015. As a part of their special care towards the society, the group intends to build awareness of healthy mind and body in the community. The use of art, music, Yoga, meditation etc. would help build a healthy society. A live demonstration of the Graffiti art at HealOne will help the audience to get connected to street art and graffiti.

Following experts in their respective fields will be taking various sessions at the event:

ü  Mr. Kartikey Sharma - Graffiti Artist(Through his Graffiti work, he will be depicting how the different forms of Life(for e.g. Sun, Tree, Peacock, Humans, etc. celebrate life in their own ways)

ü  Prof. Tanmoy Halder - Classical Dancer (Through her dance, she will help the audience discover how various dances can help overcome issues like stress and depression)

What – “Celebrating Life”

Where – HealOne Medical Center, Survey No: 206/3, Behind Phoenix Mall, Viman Nagar

When – 18^th January 2015(Sunday – 10:30 to 6:30 pm)

How - 020-2663 1273/74

About HealOne: HealOne typically is committed to build & run Lower tertiary care boutique healthcare facilities in rapidly developing suburbs of major cities, providing Specialty Clinics & Consultations, multi-specialty Daycare & Short Stay Procedures/ surgical services, Emergency Medicine & Acute Care services & most importantly Preventive Healthcare & Rehabilitation to the rapidly burgeoning Corporate & residential community. Besides, Preventive Healthcare, the institution majorly focuses on ‘Lifestyle’ modification through its expert panel of ‘Lifestyle Consultants’, especially relevant for the large corporate community. This model is designed to deliver highest standards of preventive & therapeutic healthcare at very affordable costs, while also adding that little personal touch to the healing process for the patient community. For further information please visit www.healone.org

Disclaimer: This information has been sent by the company to generate awareness. Please check the details of the same :) 

Chilly Chicken

We all love a nice hot serving of Chilly Chicken. It's my favourite comfort dish.

Be it winter or summer, lunch or dinner, chilly chicken appeals to me everytime it is served.

However, chilly chicken available in most of the restaurants are deep fried in oil which can turn out to be very unhealthy. Therefore, I tried a stir fry version of the chilly chicken and it turned out to be just as good as the restaurant version.

Its healthy and delicious !

Ingredients:

1. Chicken 500gms
2.  2 onions diced
3.  1 capsicum diced
4. 1/2 cup spring onions
5. Green Chillies as per taste
6. Sauces like vinegar, soya sauce, red chilly sauce
7. 6 cloves of garlic
8. Cornflour
9. Salt as per taste
10. 1 cup Chicken stock

Method:

1. Wash and marinate the chicken with vinegar, cornflakes and salt and keep for about 20minutes
2. Take a non stick pan and heat about 1tsp of oil

3. Add the marinated chicken the pan and stir fry the chicken. Make sure that the cornflour coats the chicken well

3. Once the chicken starts turning brown, take it off the pan and fry garlic, onion, spring onions and capsicum and stir fry

4. Once the greens cook a little, add the chicken and mix well

5. Add the sauces of your choice. I added soya sauce, garlic chilly sauce to the chicken.

6. Once they cook a little and start changing colour, add the chicken stock to the mixture. If you want a thicker gravy, add about 1tsp of cornflour to the stock before adding. You can add water(with about 1tsp of cornflour) of you do not have chicken stock ready with you.

7. Add salt as per your taste and serve hot

Healthy snacking III - Chivra / Chura bhuja

Chivra / Chura Bhuja/ Healthy snacks

Its winter time !! Its that time time of the year when a hot cup of tea or coffe gives you the maximum comfort. We often crave for something to munch on during tea time and settle in for something unhealthy.

Here is one recipe which satisfies not only satisfies our taste buds but is equally healthy.

This is made of flattened rice popularly known as chura or chira in the eastern parts of the country.
This crunchy snack is made of just 1tsp of oil.

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups chura
2. 1 dry red chilly
3. Green chilies
4. Black salt
5. Pepper

Method:

1. Take a pan and heat 1tsp of oil
2. Once heated, add the red chilly and the green chilies
3. Add the chura and fry well on medium heat till it become crunchy

You might also add pan roasted green chilies to the pan and your tea time snack is ready to serve.