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Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Deficiencies of Micronutrients- How to Overcome Them?

We face deficiency of some or the other micronutrient, they can be cleared by taking proper diet, but some deficiencies are so severe that they take long time to compensate and create severe effects throughout the world.

Here are the predominant deficiencies reported in more than half of the population.

Vitamin A deficiency
  • The major effect faced due to vitamin A deficiency is poor eyesight. In medical terms we call it as “Xeropthalmia”, this condition is characterized by night blindness, that is, inability to see things during night time.
  • If this condition continues for long time, then it may lead to loss of vision completely, and it also affects growth of children - they have stunted growth.
  • This deficiency is mainly found in children who do not take vitamin A foods like carrots, leafy vegetables and some fresh fruits. They face problem of poor eyesight at early stages itself, improper eyesight can have effects on brain also.
  • More than half of the population is facing vitamin A deficiency. Apart from dietary deficiency, it is also evident that Zinc and iron deficiency is also linked to vitamin A deficiency. People who have these two minerals deficiency cannot uptake vitamin A properly leading to its deficiency.
  • To overcome this, a proper diet containing more of vitamin A is advised for children as well as all adults.
Iron deficiency
  • Iron deficiency is linked to anemia (low red blood cells count). This deficiency is prevalent in all age groups. It affects from kids to menopause women.
  • Deficiency of iron impairs oxygen carrying capacity of blood, resulting in short breath, sometimes even to death because of difficulty in breathing.
  • Blood has nothing to do without iron, as it is the key component of hemoglobin. Apart from oxygen transport, iron is important for pregnant women to give birth to a healthy baby.
  • There are many reasons why people face iron deficiency. Children because they do not eat properly, they get deficiency.
  • In case of pregnant women, iron requirement if very high, almost double than normal as there is loss of iron along with blood during delivery and also it is important for brain development of fetus, so if pregnant women do not take iron supplements, it results in iron deficiency leading to premature baby, or sometimes death of the fetus may take place.
  • Having foods of animal origin will provide more of iron than plant based foods. For pregnant omen, along with dietary sources, supplements are also advised to overcome deficiency of iron.
Iodine deficiency
  • Iodine has a major role in thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormone. Deficiency of iodine will lead to enlargement of thyroid gland called “Goiter”. In these people, thyroid hormone is not produced in normal levels which result in decreased growth.
  • Another effect seen due to iodine deficiency is “cretinism”, it is a condition seen in children where there is no growth of brain leading to mental retardation. These children have low IQ levels compared to normal children.
  • Iodine deficiency has severe effects on both mental and physical growth. It also results in hypothyroidism(low thyroid hormone levels).
  • Iodine deficiency is severe problem to take care of. This deficiency can be reduced to some extent by taking iodized salts, shrimp, boiled eggs, tuna, etc.
Deficiency micronutrients can be cured through diet, but negligence has long tern effects which have no solution.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Importance Of Fruits In Your Diet

Fruits play an important role in our diet. Fruits are delicious and nurturing. Fruits contain necessary vitamins, minerals and enzymes, which are important for maintaining the healthy functioning of our body. A body needs all the nutrients and all these nutrients are not found in a single fruit. So, you have to include a variety of fruits in your diet for maintaining your body healthy.

Fresh fruits or dried fruits can be taken as food and can also be served as medicines and can treat
ills or protect body from diseases. These fruits contains minerals, vitamins, enzymes and are easily digestible.

Excellent ways to retain and balance the moisture level in the body is to eat fresh raw fruits or  consumed as fresh juice. The people who don't want to eat salty food can eat these fruits as their breakfast because it is a salt-free diet.

In general most fruits are wonderful sources of natural antioxidants which protect the body from cell damage, thus being highly effective in fighting against various diseases as well.

There are many benefits of including fruits in diet:
  • Fruits helps body to flush away toxins and eliminate all the waste materials because it contains 95% water. So, by this way fruits support a better health and a clear skin.
  • Fruits helps you to plan loose weight by including various fruits in your diet.
  • Fruits always retain moisture level in your body whenever you consume.
  • Minerals such as calcium and iron can be obtained from dried fruits such as raisins, dates, prunes or apricots required for strengthening the bones and regulating blood pressure and cholesterol levels in our organism.
  • Fruits utilize a tonic effect in the body because of its dependable sources of vitamins. Guavas, custard apple and citrus fruits like lemons, oranges, and amla are rich sources of vitamin C.
A full hand of fruits in the diet will enable a person to lead a healthy life. Fruits prevent all diseases, keep person smart, energetic and active throughout the life.

What Comprises a Healthy Diet?

A healthy diet maintains or improves our general health because it is essential for lowering of  many chronic diseases such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and cancer. A healthy diet consists of appropriate amounts of all needed nutrients and an adequate amount of water or consists of  wide variety of foods and beverages from all the food groups namely saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, refined sugar, salt and alcohol,etc,.

Nutrients can be acquired from many different foods, that may be considered healthy. A healthy diet needs to have a balance of macro nutrients( such as fats, proteins, and carbohydrates), calories to support energy needs. These micro nutrients should meet the needs of human nutrition without causing toxicity or gaining excessive weight from consuming excessive food.

Many people think that eating a healthy diet means confusing or restricting some of the foods to eat but its not correct. Here the primary thing in the healthy diet is eat a wide variety of foods  because different foods contains different nutritional values that makes contributions to your health.

The secondary is eat food sources such as  fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes which are higher in complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, lower in fat, and free of cholesterol.

The third one is one should maintain a balance between the calorie intake and calorie expenditure. Here the meaning is don't eat more than your body required otherwise you will increase weight.

As long as your overall diet is balanced and rich in nutrients and fiber, there is nothing wrong with an occasional favorite items such as cheeseburger, pizza, etc,. Just make sure that you eat occasional foods in limited or try to eat small portions of them.

Sometimes a healthy diet differs from one person to another. A healthy diet for one person may not necessarily so for others.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Yoga Improves Physical and Emotional Wellness

Yoga is one of the ancient forms of exercise which has proved to be effective even for today's generation. Though originated in India, it is now popular across the globe. The versatile benefits of Yoga which enable the overall wellness of the person made it the best form of physical as well as mental work-out. As both physical as well as mental wellness helps a person to stay healthy and fit, Yoga is often considered as a unique solution to stay healthy in both the ways. Let us discuss in detail how it helps to improve physical as well as mental wellness.

Yoga boosts physical health: Different postures and positions in Yoga practiced regularly and performed perfectly, they show positives effects which are plausible physically. For instance, if one wants to lose weight, yoga has a different set of poses which help increase the metabolism and thus burn the fat in that body parts involved in the posture like the stomach, and makes the person look slim. However, compared to other work-outs like aerobics and physical exercises, Yoga may take more time, but it gives permanent results which last for a long time. In addition, it increases the flexibility of the body and makes it stronger, thus helps in preventing injuries caused due to minor falls and accidents.

Yoga for emotional wellness: In addition to the physical benefits, yoga also offers mental and emotional well being. Yogic exercises which include meditation and breathing exercises, make the mind peaceful and improves memory and concentration powers. Yoga is highly helpful for people who are suffering from stress, depression, anxiety and any other emotional imbalances and helps them to come out of them with greater ease. Though it seems tough to concentrate or do meditation at the beginning, as the practice increases one can feel it pretty easy to perform those tasks. Different yogic techniques make a person feel light at heart and mind.

Yoga is the most effective form of work-out which helps cure both physical and emotional ailments using simple techniques. Thus, practicing Yoga regularly makes you it both physically as well as mentally.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Importance of Vitamin Supplements in Your Diet

In order to ensure good physical and mental health, one of the most important healthy living practices to be followed is taking a nutritional diet at the right time. Essential compounds like vitamins and minerals present in the food you take are very much necessary to enable proper functioning of your body and thereby, good health.
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Monday, October 10, 2011

What are the Dangers Associated with Shared Contact Lenses?

Wearing contact lenses has become a trend these days. As you know, prescribed correcting contact lenses are meant only for individual use. However, colored contact lenses are considered for cosmetic purposes and are used by youth to enhance their personality of eyes. They are preferred to be worn for various celebrations and parties. Friends are often found to share their colored contacts which is, however, very much dangerous. Here are some risks associated with sharing of contact lenses.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Tips To Stay Fit While Traveling

Vacation is a great time. Traveling in a vacation is a good idea. It avoids the regular work stress and gives relaxation. But travelers loose their fitness in traveling due to improper diet and missed workouts. People usually travel with different purposes, so they will not have proper time for doing the workouts. Yet you have to protect your fitness while traveling. Below are small tips which you need to follow while traveling to stay fit:

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Maintaining Healthy Atmosphere at Parties

Parties are full of fun and entertainment. Everyone are busy in celebrating and enjoying. On the other hand, the role of the host is to make sure that everything is well organized and going on a good note. Most of the people often ignore the cleanliness and the maintenance of healthy atmosphere at the parties. Even though they have arranged everything in a proper

Monday, August 15, 2011

Choosing Healthy Menu for Your Kids Party

These days celebrating birthday parties became a tradition and a must to do thing in almost all the cultures. Hosting it with a different theme, conducting different games for the kids, offering party favors are the things which we are very familiar about. So, there is no need of discussing about the things again and again. Instead of offering the same old snacks like the cakes, sweets candies etc., why don't we try some thing different. This thought made me share with you an idea of choosing healthy menu for parties.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Know about Healthier Birthday Cake Ideas

A birthday is special day which comes once in a year. Every person has desire to celebrate their birthday with much fun and happy. The main part of the birthday celebration is cake cutting. But many people are worried to eat cake because cake contains high amount of fat and cholesterol. But one cannot celebrate their birthday without cutting a birthday cake, as it makes them feel dissatisfied. It creates a incomplete feel about the party. Then why don't you go for healthier birthday cakes.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Diet Tips for Patients Suffering From TB

Tuberculosis is a respiratory problem caused by bacteria and this disease is contagious. Symptoms of this disease are severe coughing, expulsion of sputum, increase in body temperature, fatigue, increase in circulation, respiratory problems and loss of weight. Poor sanitary conditions, ignorance, poverty and lack of hygiene are some of the factors responsible for tuberculosis.

Generally a six meal pattern is suggested for the patients suffering from Tuberculosis. In the acute stages of the disease the patients are provided with high energy and high protein diet. A full fluid diet is very useful for TB patients especially because of the poor appetite and fatigue. Small amount of animal foods are also included. Calcium rich foods provide relief from tuberculin lesions.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Tips to get Relief from Sprained Ankles

Many of us will have this problem of a sprained ankle or swollen ankle one time or another. Technically, a sprained ankle is twisting injury to the ankle. More than 80% of the time rolling the foot inward stretching or tearing the ligaments that hold the ankle and foot bones causes it. It can lead to instability and regular re-injury if treatment is not taken.

Consider the following in treatment for sprained and swollen ankles:

Take complete rest:
You should immediately stop all the activities that may cause pain or limping. Don’t strain the ankle much. Try to put as less pressure as possible on the ankle.

Ice:
The application of ice is very important. The sooner you apply it the quicker you will recover. Place a plastic bag with ice on your ankle for half an hour, and up to 5 times a day for the first two to three days.

Elastic bandage:
Wrap an elastic bandage from the toes to mid calf tightly. Check your toes regularly, and loosen the bandage if they start to turn blue. Wear the bandage until the swelling diminishes.

Elevate:
For the first two days, spend as much time as possible with your ankle to be elevated above the level of your heart.

Consult your doctor for a program of rehabilitation exercises to prevent re-injury and restore normal range of motion once the swelling and pain have reduced.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Beauty Tips For Older Women

Beauty is for all, everybody wants to look beautiful. There is no age limit for beauty. Whether you are 19 or 90, you can look beautiful by following the steps given below.

Cover the dark circles under the eyes. They are very common in older people. At young age, they are generally caused due to lack of sleep or due to stress. Get good, tight sleep and use tightening eye creams at night.

Eyelashes and brows:
As the age increases, both the eyelashes and brows get thinner. Skin gets slacks and wrinkles. Use liquid eyeliner to run through the wrinkles, use a pencil to define the eyebrows and a good volume of mascara for eyelashes.

Hair care:
Generally, women face the problems like hair becoming duller thinner and breakage with increase in their age. Use a volumizing shampoo and avoid hairstyles that strain hair and chemicals. Stress and unhealthy diet are some of the reasons for hair fall. So lower the levels of stress and maintain a healthy diet.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Tips to Avoid Ticks While Hiking

Hiking is one of the adventurous outdoor activities. In this, people walk in dense forests, and thick bushes and they may come cross pests, and insects. Tick is a blood-sucking parasite mostly found in wooded areas. They can also transit serious fatal diseases. Ticks get attach to skin while traveling, and traveler may not notice it. This leads to greater risk of contracting a tick-borne disease. Some tips to avoid ticks while hiking.

Better to wear hat, long pants, long sleeved shirt trucked into the pants. This keeps the ticks away from your body. Avoid wearing fur clothes. This gives a chance to tick to hide in the clothes.

Always prefer to wear light colored clothes while hiking.

Apply some insect repellent with DEET on your clothes and body, but not on face and hands. This gives you protection for five to six hours from ticks.

Check carefully your clothes whether it had any ticks attached or not. Check on your scalp, and underarms thoroughly because ticks love to hide in those places.

Better to walk on designated trails on hike, and avoid traveling into dense vegetation places, with tall grass and bushes.