If you are among those who have high blood pressure, someone might have suggested having beetroot. So what is the connection between beetroot and blood pressure? Beetroot, among other foods such as spinach and quinoa, contains a compound known as trimethylglycine, also called betaine—a naturally occurring substance with several
Have you ever noticed how a whiff of your grandma’s curry or the sound of an old Bollywood track takes you right back to a specific moment? So what is going on? Memory driven by a stimulus is called context-dependent memory. Your brain’s way of tying memories to
It is shocking how many people walk around with a blocked nose. Thankfully, not a nose turned up, just a blocked one. But you have to ask, why is my nose blocked and what can I do? The passages of your respiratory tract respond to the environment. When they feel
A meta skill is a higher order skill that enables you to adapt and learn such that you can develop a host of other capacities. So how can you use this concept to build good health? Let us divide the human population into cohorts. Children, young adults, middle ages and
A cognitive bias is a “systematic pattern of deviation from norm or rationality in judgment.” We all suffer from biases. The biggest bias, perhaps, is that we are unbiased. I don’t know anyone who does not like to believe that they are completely free of biases. That they have
Set point is a defined limit set by your body. Think of it as a limit on your thermostat, at which point your body changes directions. So what does this mean in the context of weight? Let me take my example. My ideal weight is sixty kilograms. I would say
The pupils of your eyes are the small dark openings that regulate how much light enters. They also respond to your emotional and mental state. Typically, pupils measure between 2–4 millimeters in bright light, expanding to 4–8 mm in dimmer settings. But do you know that your pupils
The other day I was speaking at an event. Someone asked me a very pertinent question. I live life. I eat and drink. I am happy. I don’t go to a gym. When I see those around me obsessing about their health, I worry if I am missing something?
Let us say you are building or changing a habit. You want to meditate. Your intentions are right. Motivation is high. You have a defined goal. Yet, things break down way too quickly. If you want to prevent this from happening, let us break down why it occurs. More importantly,
Depression is a health condition that affects millions of people worldwide. Among the various theories explaining depression, the idea that gut health plays a role is becoming increasingly popular. Depression is a complex interplay of genetics, neurological factors, and your environment. People generally accept stress as a trigger. Researchers have
"My stomach gets hot if I eat these foods." Have you heard yourself or someone you know say something like this? Do you believe that your stomach can get hot? Is it even possible for you to feel heat in your stomach? Doesn't Ayurveda tell you
Live a Long & Healthy Life
The knowing-doing gap is a common phenomenon that illuminates the difference between understanding what one should do and doing it. We all know what to do more often than not. Yet, many of us struggle to translate insights into actionable steps. At some point we have to stop and ask
A sleep study is an examination of your sleep pattern and brain activity while you are asleep also known as a polysomnogram. Typically done to understand why you might have difficulty sleeping, it studies your breath, brain, body movement, for example. Strapped to various equipment that measures these metrics, it
Brain fatigue is a condition where your brain is tired, having made too many decisions. If you tax your brain to take more decisions, chances are you might make a bad one. So how does brain fatigue play out in the context of health? Imagine you took an early morning
Vision has two components. Near and far. We don’t think about it so much, because we so instinctively switch between the two. You observe both near and far objects. Nurturing your vision is often-overlooked because you open your eyes and see without effort. A significant contributor to eyestrain is
The other day I was speaking at an event. Someone asked me a very pertinent question. I live life. I eat and drink. I am happy. I don’t go to a gym. When I see those around me obsessing about their health, I worry if I am missing something?
AQI is a measure of the air quality in a city. India has famously been in the news because a bio hacker walked out of an interview as the air quality was poor. But does India have poor air quality? One of the amazing things about speaking is that you
A hospital visit is a traumatic experience. Imagine the famous Bollywood actor who walked into a hospital after midnight, knife stabs in his back. Clearly, regardless of gender, upbringing, or persona, there would be trauma. Yet, often, the visit to the hospital leaves us more traumatised. I don’t blame
Everyone desires good health. But what is the point of failure? A single thing that, if changed, could dramatically alter outcomes? No, I am not speaking about a super food, or a magic supplement. Instead, I am speaking about the person who cooks your food. Because the audience who reads
Insulin resistance is a condition where your body needs more insulin to do the same job. If you have heard the term thrown around and wondered what on earth is going on, let us find out. Your liver breaks down food and converts it into blood sugar. Your body then
Stress is a part of our everyday lives. Work, family, children, friends. When things are going well, we worry it may not sustain. When things aren’t right, we worry about when they will improve. But why does stress make us feel hungry? To understand this, we need to understand
Nanoparticles are very tiny particles. If the earth was our reference point, a nano particle could be as small as an atom. Really tiny. Which is what makes them extremely useful as a drug delivery mechanism. Allow me to explain. Imagine that a small cross section of one cell in
I was hosting Ben Greenfield, among the world’s top bio hackers and longevity experts on The Ritesh Bawri Show. The question I asked him about nutrition was how to fuel a long run. His immediate question to me was “why would you run?” Which set me thinking. Here is