For the past few decades, the sports and fitness industry has been on an all-time high in the country. Not just for athletes, even the common consumers have become extremely brand-conscious, and demand the best for their fitness endeavors. Fortunately, various sports and fitness brands were able to create products that were comfortable, durable, stylish and most importantly functional. Here are a few of the most popular labels you should consider shopping from!

Nike
Apart from their eternally inspiring tagline, Nike is renowned for their quality athletic footwear across the world. Aside from footwear, they manufacture a number of sports and fitness products including clothing, accessories, and equipment for men, women, and children. At the moment, Nike is flourishing in China, amplifying their overall brand reach internationally.

Adidas
The ace competitor of Nike, this German-based multinational is one of the oldest sports and fitness brands known for its athletic shoes and clothing. In 2017, Adidas observed a sales growth of 30% in the country alone. Recently, they have successfully revived their classic collection of sneakers, bringing the retro chic vibe back in trend.

New Balance
Like Adidas, New Balance has a legacy of over a century and has been extremely popular for its creative sneaker designs. It is the only brand to produce over 4 million pairs of sports shoes annually. Moreover, they have made their customization process easier and quicker by digitalizing it on their website, a feat that no other athletic footwear brand has delivered yet.

Under Armour
A much younger brand in comparison, Under Armour, offers a range of casual and athletic wear as well as shoes. In a short span of time, it has managed to become the third best sports and fitness brand in the country. An eco-friendly approach and innovative utilization of fabric technology are two main reasons why Under Armour has gained recognition on an international scale.

Sketchers
Like Under Armour, Sketchers is a fairly new contender in the sports and fitness market. However, within 36 years, the label has succeeded in creating a loyal customer base for itself. One of the biggest reasons for Sketchers’ success is tapping into the athleisure retail trend, where customers use sports shoes as well as athletic clothing, whether they work out or not. In a nutshell, their sports and fitness products are not restricted to athletic use and can be worn in school, at work or even on social occasions.

Let’s face it, hitting the gym day after day can turn into a rather dreary commitment! The same old equipment and boxy interiors can ultimately rob you of your motivation. If you can totally relate to this, we suggest you try something new and fun. If you are wondering what could that be, the answer is sports! There are a variety of sports that can keep your workout hour interesting and body goals challenging. Read further to know about the most popular sports that can enhance your overall fitness.

Swimming
If you are looking for a low-intensity but effective workout, then try swimming. It not only involves minimal stress but also improves your cardiovascular and lung health. An hour or a half of swimming burns a considerable amount of calories as well as strengthens the muscles and endurance levels.

Running
Undoubtedly, running is the most popular choice to lose weight and tone every muscle of the body. Not just excellent for muscle and bone health, running keeps the heart strong and also keeps you psychologically healthy. Furthermore, regularly running can lower the risk of health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and stroke.

Cycling
Like running, cycling outdoors can do wonders for your body. It is less strenuous, i.e., it causes minimal injuries as compared to other types of outdoor exercises. Cycling targets the major muscles in the abdomen and legs, making it a perfect exercise to tone the stubborn lower belly fat. Apart from fortifying the abdominal and leg muscles, cycling also boosts flexibility, heart health, and brain function.

Tennis
If jogging and cycling don’t excite you much, then give tennis a shot. An hour of tennis alone can burn 600 calories. This is because the small but agile movements like pivots, slams or sprints can help exert energy in a powerful manner. Tennis is ideal if you want to develop arm strength and boost heart health.

Rowing
A great aerobic exercise, rowing tones both the upper and lower body; encouraging weight loss and muscle strength. Moreover, it increases your endurance levels. Like cycling, rowing also carries a low risk of injury and is suitable if you are trying to get back to exercising after a long time.

Apart from above-stated 5 sports, one can also try activities such as dancing, basketball, surfing, and squash to lose weight and tone the body.

A healthy diet includes a variety and a balanced spread of fruits, vegetables, grains, lean meats, seafood, and poultry. Dieticians suggest curbing or exponentially reducing salt and sugar intake if a person is obese or is suffering from health conditions. Dieting does not only help you lose those extra pounds but also balances your physical and mental well-being. The following article sheds light upon some of the benefits of sticking to a healthy diet.

Weight loss
This is one of the most sought-after reason people opt for dieting. Switching to a healthy diet helps in reducing the risk of chronic conditions. An overweight person stands a greater risk of developing chronic diseases like diabetes mellitus, heart diseases, poor bone density, and even cancer.

Improved gut health
Colon is the place where “good bacteria” occurs naturally. This good bacteria helps in proper digestion of food, thereby, improving body metabolism. A healthy diet rich in fiber is a healthy source of vitamins B and K, which also benefits the digestive tract. Fiber also promotes regular bowel movements that reduce the risk of bowel cancer and diverticulitis.

Improves sleep quality
A recent survey concluded that individuals on a high-fat diet suffered from sleep apnea and other sleep disorders when compared with people on a balanced diet. Reducing cholesterol, alcohol and caffeine intake in the daily diet can get you sound sleep, thereby, reducing several sleep disorders.

Improves mental health
A healthy diet may help in improving mental health and reducing the risk of disorders like cognitive decline and dementia. A diet rich in vitamin D, C, and E; omega-3 fatty acids; flavonoids; and polyphenols can help reduce the risk of several mental disorders like Alzheimer’s disease. Mediterranean and MIND diet are two diets that might help with the same. A healthy diet has also found to reduce symptoms of depression and mental fatigue.

Reduced cancer risk
Our body contains free radicals that increase the risk of various types of cancers. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables helps in reducing the risk of cancer as it contains phytochemicals that fight and reduce free radicals present in the body. Apart from this, legumes and nuts contain antioxidants rich in beta-carotene; lycopene; and vitamins A, C, and E, thereby, avoiding the formation of precancerous cells.

The three main components of a hearing aid are the microphone to pick the sound, the amplifier to make the sound loud, and the receiver that sends the sound into the ear canal. Also, in the modern digital hearing aids, the microphone transmits the sound to a computer chip to adjust the volume and amplifies the sound frequencies that help in improving one’s hearing.

There are different types of hearing aids available, below are the three popular types of hearing aids.

Traditional behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid 
In this type of hearing aid, all the electronic components are placed in a plastic case and are worn behind the ear. The tube that connects the case to the receiver sends the sound to the ear. Also, a custom earmold is worn in the canal of the ear. The advantage of using a traditional behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid is that it provides amazing and flexible features like high- and low-frequency amplification, which makes it a great choice for people with severe hearing loss. Also, the controls of these traditional models are easy to manage and the telecoil mode gets selected and used easily. Additionally, the custom-made earmold is easy to clean.

Mini-behind-the-ear (mBTE) hearing aid 
This type of hearing aid goes by different names like receiver-in-the-canal (RIC), canal receiver technology (CRT), receiver-in-the-ear (RITE), and receiver-in-the-aid (RITA). The receiver is the speaker that transmits the sounds to the inner ear that is inside the ear canal. It attaches to the ear through a thin wire and a custom-made earmold. The custom-made earmold is a made of a soft material that is made to fit snugly in the ear to channel the sound into the ear. The mini-behind-the-ear (mBTE) hearing aid is quite comfortable and barely visible. Also, larger versions of the same are available that are easy to insert. However, the moisture and wax buildup may limit the life of the receiver.

In-the-canal (IIC) hearing aid 
These hearing aids are barely visible and it does not feel plugged-up as the hearing aid sits deep in the canal. Larger units of these types of hearing aids include directional microphones. The major issue people face while using this hearing aid is discomfort. Also, the battery tends to be small, making the battery life relatively short. These models are prone to moisture and the receiver may face clogging because of earwax.

Millions of people in the country suffer from some form of hearing loss. Hearing aids help in significantly improving the ability to hear by simply making sounds louder, clearer, and easier to understand. Choosing the right hearing aid depends upon various factors like the severity and type of hearing loss, manual dexterity, and lifestyle.

Below are the three essential features to look for in hearing aids.

Telecoil
A telecoil is a copper wire or a small sensor that is placed in the hearing aid, it is an option provided by many modern hearing aids. When the telecoil is activated, it picks signals from the hearing-aid-compatible public address systems, such as concert halls, taxis, museums, conference rooms, and the subway trains, and telephones. The energy derived is then converted into a sound. A hearing loop or an audio induction loop, which is a wire that circles a telecoil-compatible space and emits the signal that the telecoil picks up. This technology is extremely helpful in hearing aids, especially, for people with moderate to profound loss of hearing. A telecoil helps to understand a speaker’s voice better by making it louder. It helps in the elimination of background noise and reverberation.

Digital feedback reduction
Digital feedback reduction is also known as feedback suppression. It helps to quell the high-pitched whistling sounds. Most of the modern hearing aids have this feature. However, its effectiveness tends to differ. If the hearing aid is slightly dislodged from the ear or if one is close, digital feedback reduction helps in minimizing the feedback. It also allows for much more comfort, venting, and sound quality for listeners who in their lowest pitches have a good hearing. Also, a proper fit of hearing aid helps in the reduction of feedback.

Directional microphone
A directional microphone helps to have a conversation in noisy environments by making the audio signal in front of the person and canceling the noise from the rear or the sides. This technology is available in most modern hearing aids and it works the best when one is close to the sound source. Most hearing aids are able to automatically switch between omnidirectional and directional settings, depending on how the environment is.

Your food choices have a great impact on both your physical and mental health. Good nutrition is an important aspect to lead a healthy lifestyle. Dieting with proper food choices and schedule reduces the risk of chronic diseases such as heart diseases and even cancer. Our country has been witnessing an obesity epidemic as nearly 35% of adult citizens are suffering from the same. This also results in a rise in the cases of type 2 diabetes, stroke (heart failure), and osteoporosis. Mentioned below is a list of diets full of nutritious food sources that you can space out evenly through the day and lead a healthy lifestyle.

DASH diet- It stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. The diet is promoted by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to prevent the symptoms of high blood pressure. It emphasizes eating blood pressure-deflating fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, and low-fat dairy. DASH diet focuses on nutrients like calcium, protein, potassium, and fiber. Dietitians suggest that following this diet caps the daily sodium intake to roughly 1500 milligrams per day.

Mediterranean diet- This diet is low in red meat and saturated fats and high in nuts and produce. A Mediterranean diet offers a host of health benefits, including heart and brain health, weight loss, and other chronic diseases. The diet pyramid consists of food sources like whole grains, beans, nuts, legumes, olive oil. It also focuses on eating a lot of seafood and moderate consumption of eggs, cheese, and yogurt.

Flexitarian diet- The name of the diet is made from two words: “flexible” and “vegetarian”. It was coined at least a decade ago. A flexitarian diet focuses on reaping the benefits of vegetarianism. It suggests that you can focus on eating healthy greens most of the time and still eat a steak when the urge hits. Populating your diet with green leafy vegetables helps you get your daily dose of fiber and vitamins, thereby reducing cholesterol in the body that is accumulated due to a high meat diet. A flexitarian diet restricts your per day calorie intake to 1500. However, the plan can be tweaked on the basis of age, gender, and overall health condition.

MIND diet- Short for Mediterranean- DASH Intervention for Neurogenerative Delay, the diet is a combination of the two most effective diets: the Mediterranean and DASH diets. The MIND diet zeroes in on food that especially lower the risk of a mental decline. The diet emphasizes eating more berries, nuts, and leafy greens as it slows down the progression of certain mental disorders.

Battling an addiction is one of the toughest journeys one can embark on as it takes more than just the will to quit the addiction. Not many people can quit an addiction in the first attempt itself. One such habit that takes a toll on an individual’s willpower is smoking. Smoking is one of the highly-addictive habits which claims numerous lives every year. The health issues that arise out of chain smoking are extremely grave, which is why smokers are encouraged to quit smoking at any point in time.

The decision to quit smoking won’t be easy; it will be initially met with reluctance to go through the strenuous process of withdrawal, but the motivation to keep going through the grinding process comes from the various benefits of finally quitting smoking. So, take a look at the major benefits of kicking the butt and this will be the catalyst to help people continue their journey.

It reduces the risk of heart diseases
It is common knowledge that even light smoking damages the heart and blood vessels. This is a euphemistic way of saying that it makes smokers highly susceptible to developing coronary heart diseases. Smoking causes plaque to build up in the coronary arteries that supply oxygenated blood to the heart; when this supply is reduced or obstructed, it causes a heart attack. When one quits smoking, it reduces the risk of developing coronary heart diseases greatly. In fact, one year after the person quits smoking, the risk of heart diseases is cut in half.

Reduces the risk of lung cancer
One of the major causes of lung cancer is smoking. Smokers face 20 times more chances of dying from a disease like lung cancer than non-smokers. Which is why smokers are encouraged to quit smoking even if they have been smoking for years. Ten years of leading a smoke-free life will reduce the risk of lung cancer by half compared to a regular smoker.

Improved sensations
Smoking hinders the individual’s eyesight and dulls the sense of taste and smell. So, the moment the person decides to quit smoking, they will witness a marked improvement in the way they perceive food and smell.

Improves the skin
Continuous smoking affects the skin as well; the skin tends to lose its elasticity, which makes it more prone to develop wrinkles at an early age. Moreover, it makes the skin appear dull and lacking in luster. Therefore, quitting smoking will reverse the damage smoking inflicted on the skin, and gradually, it will attain a healthy glow again.