Womenlines as the digital marketing partner for ‘Health talk on the proper diet for women’s health at different stages of life’ by Clinical Dietitian Meenu Agarwal at Sea Front Condo on 6th April 2018 sharing key points from the talk-

Informative, enlightening and insightful- Health talk on the proper diet for women’s health at different stages of life by Clinical Dietitian Meenu Agarwal at Sea Front Condo on 6th April 2018 was straight from her heart!

“Outlook towards health has to change and prioritized in a women’s life” This is a passionate urge from Meenu to womenfolk around. A woman’s body goes through different stages and hence the nutrition needs are different.

Key points for every woman from the talk-

1.  Women who want to get pregnant should prioritize preparing their body to welcome and grow the baby inside them. Meenu’s hard-hitting statement for those women who want to plan their pregnancy -“Have you prepared your body to get pregnant. That’s the first accommodation for the baby. If we decorate the house to welcome baby before that woman has to take care of her body and make it healthy and strong to welcome the baby. New life is going to build inside her. Will you be able to provide sufficient nutrients to your baby?” For pregnant ladies, Meenu advised importance of Folate intake as it is important for neural tube development. Walking and deep breathing exercise are mandatory for pregnant women.
2. Menopause was the next topic which Meenu considers as ‘New birth of Women’. There are definitely challenges at this stage like high cholesterol, hot flushes, sudden sweating, dryness of skin, hair and many more. But instead of panicking, women should focus on the solutions and self-management. Be at peace with your body, wear light clothes, say big ‘No’ to ‘no-exercise’, add omega 3 fatty acid in the diet along with regular supplementation of calcium and vitamin D, keep yourself relaxed and enjoy your new phase.
3. Nutritional facts- Potassium is very important to save from panic attacks, Vit C has to be taken for better absorption of Iron in the body, Zinc deficiency can lead to infertility and diabetes, Vit A very important to maintain the integrity and function of skin and mucosal lining( the inner lining of airways, digestive and urinary tract), Vit D as supplement is mandatory for those who have low levels of Vit D in their body and for better absorption of calcium.She also explained how a deficiency of copper leads to the deficiency of iron in the body (resulting anaemia).

Meenu emphasizes that young women should not complicate their bodies by following a variety of diets to get their favourite number on weighing scale. The focus should be on attaining desirable energy levels through the proper intake of vegetables and fruits. If one is mindful of what type of food with what content she is taking, she can definitely maintain a desirable weight. Eating food with mindfulness and proper chewing can be very helpful in getting maximum benefits out from food we have eaten. Annual tests for fasting glucose, lipid profile, vitamin D, Iron, Magnesium, Calcium is must for every woman.

Most of the time, we live life without knowing and realizing it. But it hits us when we face any big problem, which may be life-threatening, related to the person or financial loss. Then we suddenly realize what we missed or what went wrong.Blame it on today’s lifestyle, competition to be always ahead of time in work, adulterated food, air pollution and an overdose of social media.

What is conscious living?

Conscious living is when your mind and body work together for a single thing. Most of the time, our mind cannot concentrate and wanders in different directions. It is also concentration, intention and keeping the purpose of the activity you are doing focused.The mind is like a monkey, it wants to be all over places and that too same time. It wants to think all the possibilities which are against you. It is always criticizing yourself.

 One of the definitions of yoga is “yogachitvrittinirodhe” means the purpose of yoga is to reduce activities of mind and attain peace.

 But conscious living is more than that, though the mind is active, focused and aware of the things that one is doing at the moment. Do you want to achieve healthy and balanced life? Then you can follow these points-

1.Conscious eating

You are what you eat, and you are how you eat too!

If you are watching TV, talking continuously, watching phone, replying messages, then you are taking those emotions in the stomach along with food. Although the act of eating is happening, your mind is busy with other stuff. It affects digestion as the energy required for digestion is disturbed by other things.

It is utmost important what we eat and how we eat.

2. Conscious speech/talk

Choose your words wisely, put your brain in gear, before you put your mouth in action. Words hurt more than actions. So, choose your words cautiously. Words can make or break a situation or relationship. If you are angry, frustrated before you say anything pause and think, it may save you from breaking the relationship or a deal.

Also, learn to appreciate things and people and it is for your own good as it helps to release positive hormones.

3. Conscious social media time

We don’t have a choice about Social Media, the question is how well we do it. Overuse of social media is really affecting the quality of sleep these days. We are in contact with friends, colleagues 24 hrs of the day, but losing personal contact with close and loved ones. Though it is important, be conscious how much you need it. According to the survey, 13% of productivity is lost due to social media distraction. You can make your own rules. A simple thing that can help us is to mute WhatsApp groups, disable Facebook notification, not checking messages after 10 pm etc. Check what works out the best for you.

4. Conscious spending time in nature

Time spent in nature heals your body, mind and spirit.

Simply taking a walk in the park gives an instant calmness and peace. Whenever I feel exhausted and tired a walk on the beach side energizes me. With our busy lives and degrading nature, we are staying indoors more stuck with electronic devices and everyday life issues. Conscious time spent in nature help to revitalize energy boosts immunity gets the doses of oxygen gives you happiness and increases your creativity.

So take your time to spend in nature. Appreciate, learn and feel gratitude what nature offers us without expectations.

5. Conscious habits

To change your life, change your habits…

And you can adopt positive habits like getting up early, exercising, conscious eating etc. Or you can develop negative habits like sleeping late, to be constantly on social media, procrastinating etc. As we have a choice, why can’t we make a conscious positive choice?Every small positive habit makes you a better person and it takes a great effort and self-discipline to make that conscious choice of habits.

These habits make your life managed, controlled, happy and healthy.

6. Conscious disconnection

Disconnect to connect… to connect to yourself, your soul and listen to your inner voice.

Disconnect from negative people, negative situation and negative thoughts which drain out your energy, which makes you feel low. Consciously choose the company where you feel positive, lifted and inspired.When you disconnect with all, then only you can make a connection with yourself and when you do that that’s the best connection you can make.

Save your time, energy and efforts with conscious living!

-Archana Amlapure

Founder-http://Www.ojasyog.com
http://Www.facebook.com/ojasyog
Instagram: ojasyoga0704
Linkedin: Archana Amlapure

As an entrepreneur you need an abundance of energy, isn’t it? Healthy snacks should be always within reach for entrepreneurs. Once you have a feel of energy levels after having healthy snacks then you will never touch the unhealthy ones. You can make a bag of all such snacks and keep it handy to use anytime.

Womenlines brings to your list of 5 must have healthy snacks around your working area, which will definitely provide you with an abundance of energy required throughout day.-

1. Dates– You’ve probably heard Djokovic would eat dates during the tennis sets. He’s not alone. A number of professional and amateur athletes advocate for dates as a part of their sports nutrition. Dates are high in natural sugars. The interesting part is that dates have protein too. 100g of dates have about 2.5g of protein.
2. Banana-  A banana is a combination of complex carbohydrates, natural sugar, amino acids and brain-boosting minerals. This makes it a beneficial food for athletes and fitness enthusiasts. With 3.5 grams of fibre and 1.5 grams of protein, it can also help ward off hunger for longer periods than foods with refined carbohydrates
3. Bengal Grams– It is an amazing source of protein, fibre, minerals, folate, and fatty acids that promote good health in numerous ways. Bengal gram helps increase the total energy in the body, which is why it is fed to horses too.
4. Peanuts– Peanuts contain vitamins, minerals, nutrients and anti-oxidants and thus are rich energy sources.
5. Black Raisins– Raisins are high in simple carbohydrates, mainly in the form of the monosaccharides fructose and glucose. This makes them an excellent source of readily available energy. Because these sugars are already in their simplest form, your body doesn’t need to break them down further for absorption and use.

Have a happy snacking time:)!

Charu Mehrotra

Promoting Excellence in Women!

Womenlines takes pleasure to welcome Meenu Agarwal, founder of Food ‘n’ Wellness, a food, and nutrition advisory company based out of Singapore on Womenlines panel of influencers. This month she is sharing about how to manage Diabetes through diet-

The moment we get diagnosed with diabetes, we get scared that we may not able to eat our favourite food. This is farthest from the truth. We can enjoy all that we love to eat, but the portion size needs to be checked.
The key is to eat the variety of food from all the food groups.

Symptoms of diabetes-

Polydipsia: A state of unusually excessive thirst and a constant feeling of dryness in the mouth and throat.

Polyphagia: It is the medical term used to describe excessive hunger or increased appetite that is beyond response to strenuous physical activity.

Polyuria: A condition where the body urinates more than 3 litres a day, as compared to the normal one to two litres in adults.

However, the above symptoms are not always possible to detect, especially in Type 2 diabetes where symptoms appear gradually over a period of years. The other symptoms to take note of are:

• Blurred vision
• Slow healing of wounds
• Unexplained weight loss
• Fatigue or extreme tiredness
• Genital itchiness

There are two stages where if detected, diabetes can be brought to control more easily

Pre-diabetes:

It means that the cells in your body are becoming resistant to insulin or your pancreas is not producing as much insulin as required. Your blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be called diabetes. It is a warning of a future development of diabetes but is also your chance of preventing the development of Type 2 diabetes through proper diet and exercise.

Gestational diabetes:

A form of diabetes that occurs during pregnancy, has the same symptoms as for other forms of diabetes. Sometimes the symptoms may not be noticeable, which is why women are tested for gestational diabetes between weeks 24 and 28 of their pregnancy. Gestational diabetes develops in about 3 to 5% of all pregnancies. It usually appears during the second trimester and disappears after the birth of the baby. If not controlled, complications can affect both the mother and the baby. GD also increases the risk of developing it again during future pregnancies and that of Type 2 diabetes later in life.

Preventive measures against diabetes:
• Get enough physical exercise in a day,
• Get quality rest.
• Keep stress out of your life.
• Have meals on time.

Dietary suggestions-
Reduce the intake of refined carbs like refined flour, white sugar, etc. and include more complex carbs like fruits, vegetables, legumes (beans, peas and lentils), low-fat dairy products and whole grains in your diet that take longer to digest.
Fibre moderates how your body digests and helps control blood sugar levels. Foods high in fibre include vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes (beans, peas and lentils), whole-wheat flour and wheat bran.

Drink Plenty of water to avoid frequent Urinary tract infection which is commonly associated with Diabetes type-2.

However, once diagnosed with diabetes, professional scrutiny should be sought immediately to keep a check on further development.

Meenu Agarwal

Founder of Food ‘n’ Wellness, a food, and nutrition advisory company based out of Singapore. Meenu is a trained clinical dietitian & holds a Masters degree in Nutrition & Dietetics. She is registered with the Singapore Nutrition and Dietetic Association( SNDA).  She specializes in providing nutrition advice with an emphasis on managing medical conditions like diabetes, cholesterol, acidity, thyroid, blood pressure and weight-related issues. 
Visit  http://www.foodnwellness.com

Womenlines takes pleasure to welcome ‘Underneath the Pink Umbrella’ as a guest contributor on Womenlines panel. Her first share is straight from heart written poem ‘Equal Opportunities’.   ‘Underneath the Pink Umbrella’  is a student in Singapore and feels strongly about women issues-

Why is it that they look for numbers

That is the only thing that seems to matter

What about the ones

Whose hopes and dreams you shatter

Raising them on a pedestal

Caring about achievement not character

Because in the real world, my friend

The most important is the latter

Some want but can’t

Others laze and want

Those can’t don’t

These questions shall us haunt

When did the glittering gold

Lose value to allure

To be measured by appearance

Instead of its weight in the pure

Who to blame but yourself,

Incompetent, worthless and shunned

We are but the discards

As the world remains stunned

Until the day we shall rise

The pity turns to praise

Defy them all and prove our worth

Appearing triumphant out of the haze

‘Underneath the Pink Umbrella’

Underneath the Pink Umbrella:
Hey! I am currently a freshman studying business, quite boring you might think, right? But I’m passionate about it! Besides that, I’m passionate about women’s rights, which is a topic that has been debated for centuries. A historian and artist, I try to research the story behind everything and imbue creativity in whatever I do. My contributions will show you my stance on women’s issues and offer a historical background and a fresher and more relatable perspective for the world and women around you. Have you noticed, that you carry a privilege which might cause you to have access to opportunities that others don’t?

Womenfolk can really do wonders in life. The major requirement is to have the right mindset and focus on what they want to achieve. Those who are able to maintain that focus and right mindset forever are able to fulfil their dreams.But isn’t it challenging? In everyday rush how many women are able to keep a sharp focus on their goals. As priority changes with time, time itself becomes the commodity and then very challenging to take out time for self.Womenlines planner is there to assist you in planning your day with the right mindset and focus on right things for you.

Take the print out of Womenlines planner and file it. Every day, start your morning by setting the intention to have a blessed day. Open the file and set aside 10 mins in morning to fill it. Under ‘Gratitude’ category list out 3 things for which you are thankful. Then list out ‘Affirmations’ for yourself, which can help you in rewiring your brain. Much like exercise, affirmations raise the level of feel-good hormones and also re-affirm your faith in your natural abilities.
‘Writing down your goals‘ is the next activity, which can sharpen your focus on your goals in life. This activity can help in keeping you focused and can also help you to strive to be better. Then list out your to-do list for the day. This will help to organize your priorities for the day.
Finally, list out what healthy food you will include in that day diet for yourself and your family. And you are set to rock the day!!
Visit www.womenlines.com and subscribe it to download Womenlines Day planner for excellence.

Charu Mehrotra

Promoting excellence in women!

Womenlines takes pleasure to welcome Michel Neray,  a professional speaker, consultant and founder of momondays as a guest Influencer on Womenlines panel, sharing his expert knowledge related to public speaking with Womenlines readers. Michel has helped thousands of individuals craft and perform ‘purposeful’ stories to become more effective leaders, salespeople, coaches, teachers, trainers, speakers, and influencers of all types. He also uses Purposeful Storytelling to more effectively differentiate, position and brand organizations in the market. In this article, Michel is sharing how to improve your stage presence while delivering a speech-

Mick Jagger has it. So do Leonard Cohen and Bruce Springsteen. David Bowie and Prince certainly did. Bob Marley performed in a kind of a trance that literally had audiences transfixed. Freddie Mercury was legendary on stage. Oh, and have you ever seen Michael Jackson? Among women performers, I immediately think of Tina Turner, Beyonce, Grace Jones, Madonna. Among speakers, Tony Robbins and Les Brown have it. Zig Ziglar absolutely had it.

I often ask participants of moSpeaker masterclasses what stage presence is, and I always get a variety of answers: confidence; the ability to engage the audience; believability; energy…

Stage presence seems to be one of those things that we can all recognize when we see it, we all want it for ourselves, and we ‘think’ we know exactly what it is, but as soon as we try to define it, no combination of words seems to fit quite right.

Oxford Dictionary defines ‘Stage Presence’ as ‘The ability to command the attention of an audience by the impressiveness of one’s manner or appearance.’ Well, yes, but like the responses I get in the masterclasses, that definition also seems to sidestep the real character of stage presence. If we can all recognize it when we see it, then let’s not bother with trying to define it. Instead, let’s put a spotlight on how you can get it.

After watching and listening to thousands of speakers on the momondays stage, and after speaking on stages in over eight countries around the world for the past 20 years, I think I’ve learned a thing or three about what works and what doesn’t when it comes to stage presence.

1. Forget all the tricks & techniques you learned in ‘speaker school 101’.
Tricks & techniques such as ‘power stances’, smiling, and classic hand gestures for speakers are wonderful to learn when you start out. They really are. But at some point, you have to forget everything you’ve learned. Relying on tricks & techniques ‘too much’ will make your performance appear mechanical and inauthentic. Instead, stay connected to the feeling and emotion of the story you are telling, and allow that to inform your physicality.

2. Don’t believe the most mis-guided speaker advice ever given: It’s not about you…
…it’s about the audience, right? I’ve heard this so many times, it hurts. Of course, you want to get your message across and of course, you want to have a meaningful, positive impact on the audience. It may be counter-intuitive, but placing your focus on these things actually get in the way of truly connecting with your audience. It really is about you first, not the audience. Remember, your most powerful performance is when you re-experience your own journey and allow the audience to come along for the ride with you. That journey begins with being connected to yourself, and it forces you to be present, vulnerable, authentic, confident — all those attributes that we associate with stage presence.

3. Give yourself an out-of-body experience by developing 3rd perceptual position awareness.
Instead of trying so hard to connect with the audience, develop an awareness of yourself, and of yourself in relation to the audience, outside yourself. It’s like having an out-of-body experience. In NLP, (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), we call this 3rd perceptual position. It takes practice, (and there are some exercises in the moSpeaker masterclass that help you develop it.) The third perceptual position allows you to gain a true experience of what stage presence actually feels like, which enables you to recreate it more intentionally in each performance.

Stop caring; start crafting.
Some people believe you are born with stage presence; other people believe anyone can develop it if they just work on it. Some people believe that stage presence is the platform on which everything else in your performance sits. Other people believe that stage presence rests on everything else in your performance.

Whatever you believe, one thing is undeniably clear — stage presence is linked to everything in your performance — the story structure, the writing and turns of phrases, your humour, your intentional pauses — as well as a host of other things that you can and must continually work on.

Stage presence is as individual as the performer or speaker who has it, and it takes time to develop. This is perhaps the most important thing about stage presence. If you take every opportunity to get on stage — and I mean every opportunity — whether it’s for speaking, karaoke, open mics, acting, improv or stand-up comedy, you will develop your own brand of stage presence… which is, when you really think about it, the only stage presence there is.

Womenlines welcomes ANJI HALLEWELL as an Influencer of Positive Mindset on the Womenlines panel. Anji is a Natural Strengths Coach, Trainer, and Founder of Hidden Lava.  In her sharing for this month, Anji is talking about putting efforts in shining your light to get visibility in reality-

I’ve always been very curious about where life will take me, what I’m capable of and what impact I can bring to this world. I have travelled extensively, had great adventures and taken fond memories of the places and people I met along the way. Apart from being great fun, it grew me as a person and opened my mind to new and different perspectives. It’s fair to say that I nurtured my growth mindset and I’m pleased to say it remains that way today. As Albert Einstein said, “Once you stop learning, you start dying.”. I take this to mean that growth is the essence of life.
When you run your own business, particularly in the service industry, you are the brand. When you are the brand you are the face of it – which means that you need to be visible. I remember when I started to create my own video content, how exposed and concerned about other people’s opinions I was. What will I talk about? Will anyone be interested? What if the people I know think less of me? What if I receive negative comments from strangers? At the time, the thought of truly stepping out was terrifying! Yet, there was a side of me that knew I had to if I was to fulfil what I had set out to do – empower people to bring meaningful and positive changes into their lives.

My mentor once taught me that we all have a light to share with the world and it takes great courage to override the forces that want to hold you back. These forces are internal and are responsible for killing more dreams than anything else. They will do whatever it takes to keep you right where you are – in your comfort zone. This is the opposite of the growth that Einstein was referring to in the earlier quote. The more important the thing is to you, the higher the internal resistance will be. Through my training, I’ve learnt to recognise when this is happening. Although, I realised today that I can become complacent towards it. Videos became the new normal and stepping out is now something different – talking in front of live audiences. On the video, you are essentially speaking to yourself! There are no faces looking back at you and no body language that you are frantically trying to read. It’s just you and the recorder. But a live audience of strangers, that’s a whole new level of intensity. The parameter of my comfort zone has become wider and there’s a new stepping out in town.

A little bit like when I started my videos, I wanted everyone to feel inspired and for it to deeply resonate. The reality is that more people will not be touched by the light you shine, than those that will. In fact, most people won’t even see it. And I say that with no judgement being passed, it’s just something I’ve come to realise. Should I feel hurt when I don’t get the level of validation expected, or am I focusing on the wrong group of people? What I am describing here would essentially be like trying to woo a gay man and feel deeply rejected when you are unsuccessful. You see, I would be setting myself up to fail from the outset by embarking on this impossible task. Rather than trying to achieve the impossible, I need to shine my light for those who can see it and for those to be drawn towards it. They are the people that matter because they are the ones that I set out to find. This all comes down to focus and attention. It’s a matter of switching focus from what hasn’t been achieved to what has. The wrong focus will only dim the light and at worst it will put it out altogether.
We all have talents to share with the world that can bring tremendous joy to people lives. Will you let your light be dimmed or will you shine it from the rooftops for those who are willing to see? No matter how well you think you know yourself or how strong your mindset may be, it’s a continual process of searching from within to guide you through to your true path. I know what my choice will be because one thing is for certain, no one will see my light if it’s not shining and that is a great disservice to what I can contribute to this world. Shine your light bright so those that need you can find you.

Anji Hallewell

Coach, Trainer & Founder

+65 8408 5042

Health is the real wealth and to manage this wealth Naturopathy can play important role in our life. Lady of the house is considered the pillar of a family and to make her family healthy she herself has to be healthy and happy. To help womenfolk to achieve excellence in health Womenlines is committed to creating awareness. It is such a pleasure to introduce  Saravanan Naturopathic Physicians as an Influencer for Naturopathy on Womenlines panel. This month Dr Saravanan Naturopath is giving tips on the art of healthy eating-

All kinds of stuff simply get passed on as food today. Many consumable products are edible but most are devoid of any nutritional benefits. Eating such foods is like a mechanistically loading and unloading of stuff in and out of your body. Unfortunately, these foods contain too many artificial flavours and colours, excessive sugars, preservatives, stabilizers, drugs and toxic minerals that I wonder how anyone could continue living after eating them. It is not a matter of identifying the number of toxins deemed to be safe for our body, but avoiding all forms of toxins in our body system.

During a taxi ride, I talked about food to the driver and he told me that Singaporeans do not need embalming when they die. They have so many chemicals and preservatives from all the processed foods they eat that the body will not decompose easily. While this might sound rather exaggerated, I must say that the taxi driver did have somewhat of a valid point.

The next thing we will need to understand is the difference between whole foods and dead foods-

We should eat whole living foods. Such foods exist in their natural or close to their natural state. Living foods are vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts and seeds. They are ideally organic. Natural whole foods are healthy, full of energy, alive and robust. You could easily recognize them as food.
Dead foods are consumables that have been altered in every possible way. They can last longer and do not degenerate at room temperature. They contain lots of chemicals and they may be genetically modified. They are prepared in hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils. Manufacturers also add considerable amounts of sugar and process these foods at very high temperatures. Dead foods strain the digestive system and the liver. Prolonged abuse will compromise your immunity and this starts a vicious cycle of diseases like diabetes, cancer, arthritis, cardiovascular diseases, skin problems, obesity, anxiety and depression, just to name a few.
Whole natural foods promote life while dead foods lead to mortality. Whole foods have natural enzymes, vitamins, minerals, fibres, phytonutrients and antioxidants. They interact with the digestive enzymes and promote a healthy body, proper organ function and efficient blood circulation.

The hidden cost of being modern
I remember an incident which occurred when I was presenting the art of healthy eating. A participant interrupted me by saying that it is impossible to stop eating what is available as food now. She added that going back to the traditional diet is primitive and not keeping with modern trends. She noted that we have to be “practical”. We are all well aware of how mad cow disease came about and the recent melamine-tainted milk and foods from China. Scientists are discussing the safe levels of melamine in foods as they think that the melamine problem cannot be eradicated. It is a fact that many people have died after eating these tainted foods.

Would it be “practical” or keeping with modern trends to still eat toxic foods? Think about it!!

Article was written by Saravanan ND – Naturopathic Physician and transformational coach. At Naturopathic Therapies Clinic. www.naturopathic-therapies.com