Stop the Clock, Naturally

What you eat, how much you exercise, how you live-all have a huge influence on how you will age. Here's an age-defying plan

 

Ageing is a gradual process and does not happen over a few days or months. Contrary to popular belief, living longer and healthier isn't simply a matter of having the genes of a tortoise. In fact, heredity counts for about 30% of the difference in how well most people age. Your susceptibility to wrinkles, flab, muscle loss and health problems such as heart disease and osteoporosis is strongly linked with what you eat, how much you exercise, your stress levels and exposure to toxins and harsh chemicals. In short, the lifestyle you've followed since you were young reflects on your skin, hair, joints, heart-every part of your body and mind. Here are some daily to-dos to help you stay beautiful and youthful always.

Eat clean, keep hydrated.
Drink a couple of glasses of water as soon as you wake up. This helps to cleanse your system. Follow it up with a glass of lemonade or green tea. Kick-start your day with a healthy, wholesome breakfast. Have small but frequent meals through the day. Keep the dinner light; try to finish it by 8 pm.

Include lots of fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet.
Go for wholegrains and complex carbs and reduce your intake of refined carbs. Get your protein from beans, lentils, lean meats and fish. Keep fat intake to a minimum-especially the artery-clogging trans fats. Ditch junk, high-calorie foods, as well as packaged foods that come with additives, artificial colour and preservatives. These speed up ageing. Consume organic foods as far as possible to reduce your exposure to toxins. Drink at least 8-10 glasses of water through the day.

Work out.
Exercise is perhaps the best anti-ageing tool. It has a positive effect right down to your DNA. Exercise for at least 30 minutes a day. Walk, run, cycle or swim for cardio benefits. Add some strength training. A mind-body practice, yoga is hugely beneficial. It helps to de-stress and calm you. Moreover, regular practice improves balance, flexibility and posture-all of which can help tackle the physical effects of ageing.

Reduce stress.
Find time for yourself and engage in activities that make you happy and help you relax. Meet friends, watch movies, listen to music, find a hobby. Plan vacations at least twice a year. Practise meditation and pranayama to calm the mind. Get 7-8 hours of sound sleep every night.

Indulge.
Pamper yourself with body massage, foot spas and facials. These are not just relaxing, they also rejuvenate you. Whole body massages, especially when done with medicated oils, for example, can reduce pain, improve joint mobility as well as circulation and promote sleep.

Back to nature.
Avoid chemical exposure through harsh cosmetics and other products. Use natural products as far as possible. Apply overripe fruits and vegetable peels, yoghurt, milk cream, honey and besan as skin packs. Oil your hair and body 2-3 times a week before taking a shower.

Ditch bad habits.
Smoking is bad, bad, bad. Besides its known links to cancer, lung and heart disease, smoking is also associated with premature skin ageing, speeding the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Also, curb alcohol intake. If you must drink, leave it at a celebratory glass of wine occasionally.

Try ayurveda.

Panchakarma treatments that aim to cleanse the system when started early and done on a regular basis is known to delay the onset of ageing. Make sure you visit a reputed Ayurveda clinic to get one based on your constitution and symptoms.

10,000 Indo-Canadians throng Modi's 'rockstar' show

Toronto: Just as the organizers had advertised, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public interaction with the Indian diaspora at Ricoh Coliseum here on Wednesday had all the trappings of a rockstar concert as Bollywood singer Sukhwinder Singh, Shiamak Davar troupe and other groups set the tone for the evening.
The nearly 10,000-strong audience interrupted Modi repeatedly during his hour-long speech with shouts of "Modi, Modi..." as the prime minister spoke about the changes sweeping India.
Speaking in Hindi in the presence of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his cabinet colleagues, Modi repeatedly stressed, "Sarkar naahi badli, jan manas badla hai dus mahine main (It is not that the government has changed, but it's people's thinking that has changed during the last 10 months)".
In the new atmosphere, Modi said, people were responding with enthusiasm to new ideas whether it was his Clean India Mission, or bank accounts for the poor or gas subsidy.
Modi said celebrities joined the Clean India Mission on their own, poor people deposited Rs.14,000 crore in their newly opened accounts and rich people are giving up their gas subsidy so that the poor can be helped. "Modi has done nothing...it is the common man in India who has changed," the prime minister said.

There were rounds of cheers every time he took a dig at the previous regime.
But the prime minister drew the biggest applause when he said his mission is "Skill India while theirs was Scam India".
People cheered him when the PM, while referring to his mission to clean India and root out corruption, said in Hindi, "Jinhone gandgi karni thee, woh kar ke chale gaye. Lekin hum safai kar ke jayenge (Those who created scams and dirt have now gone, we will clean up the mess".
Modi said his government was working on his four-pronged dream symbolizing the four colours in the Indian flag - saffron, white, green and blue (the colour of the Ashok Chakra in the flag). "Saffron means energy (revolution, white means the second white (nilk) revolution, green means the second green revolution and blue means clear blue sky through new manufacturing process which don't impact the environment," Modi said.
The prime minister wondered why the likes of Google and Microsoft cannot be created in India when Indian IT specialists are playing an important role in these tech giants. "We have undertaken to promote innovation in India through the Atal Innovation Mission and skill development through our Skill India mission," he said.
Modi said the two biggest achievements of his visits to France and Canada were the signing of a deal in France for manufacturing nuclear reactors in India and the supply of uranium from Canada. "These two agreements will help India become a big contributor to clean energy in the world."
Modi, on the last leg of his three-nation tour, thanked his Canadian counterpart for his hospitality. "Today, we started a new era of cooperation between our two countries and it will last very long. Canada has all the resources India needs."
Lauding the Indian diaspora in Canada, Modi urged them to contribute to their ancestral land. The OCI and PIO cards have been merged and the new OCI card will be for life and available to people of Indian origin up to their fourth generation, the prime minister said.
Earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper introduced Modi to the gathering. "Under your leadership, Canada feels closer to India than any time before," Harper said.

"We had extended a hand of friendship (to Modi) long before others," the Canadian leader said, referring to Canada's participation in the annual Vibrant Gujarat summit launched by Modi as chief minister in 2003.

Honda City Gets New Variants in India

Honda Cars India, today, launched a new trim in its Honda City range. Called the VX (O), it will be positioned above the VX grade in both petrol and diesel models. The new trim comes in new white orchid pearling colour and gets a touch screen audio visual navigation (AVN) system.
The new audio visual navigation system features is a part of the in-car infotainment system that has a large 15.7cm touchscreen. The system also supports DVD/CD playback, Bluetooth, USB, AUX, i-POD, MP3, FM/ AM, Rear Camera Display with Guidelines. The system also comes with an integrated hands-free Bluetooth connectivity feature that will allow the user sync his phone with it and allow him to see his address book, dial and answer calls. The company also says that the City will also feature security alarm and keyless entry from S grade onwards.



Mr. Jnaneswar Sen, Sr. Vice President,Marketing & Sales, Honda Cars India Ltd.said, "Our endeavor has always been to offer best in class features to our customers & we are happy to offer the new grade of the Honda City with Touchscreen Audio Visual Navigation. We are thankful to our customers for tremendous response which made the 4th Generation Honda City become the fastest mid-size sedan in India by achieving the 1 lakh sales mark in just 15 months."
With the introduction of this new grade, the Honda City now comes in a total of 14 variants.
Ex-showroom, New Delhi price of new grade

VX(O) MT i-VTEC (Petrol) - Rs. 10,64,000
VX(O) MT i-DTEC (Diesel) - Rs. 11,83,500