Ambiguity has always existed in understanding one’s genetic risk of a disease. Take a moment and answer this question for yourself-Would you start working out more just because you have been predicted with some health problem that might strike in the future or stop working out as you have realized an impending health problem which is going to hit you irrespective of your activity routines? The answer entirely depends on the individual facing the question.
There is a Finnish study too that provides an answer to this question. It shows that 90% people adopt healthier eating habits and activity routines if they are shown that their genes might increase their risk of heart attack or other health problems in the forthcoming years. That’s because, most of these participants were already aware of their current health status and the genetic test results only acted as their source of motivation to start working out and become fit. Genetic Ancestry Test for Stroke Genetic ancestry testing takes you far back towards history indicating details about a person’s ancestry and also about relationships between families. Beyond the closeness of the relationship it is the individual’s background that demonstrates genetic variations. Its been shown that when two individuals, families or populations are close to each other greater is the pattern of variation seen among them. A research has shown that genetic ancestry testing more accurately identifies a patient’s risk for bleeding stroke compared to a patient’s self-reported answers to his/her race, ethnicity and culture. Stroke is a disease that can be curbed with appropriate lifestyle interventions such as controlling high blood pressure, diabetes, quitting smoking, refraining from alcohol and exercising regularly. Besides these other factors such as genetic and environmental factors do increase/decrease the risk of stroke. When someone says that they have a family history of stroke, they are talking about an inherited risk. The research team analyzed more than 4,000 participants for a type of stroke called intracerebral hemorrhage (this happens when a ruptured blood vessel causes bleeding within the brain) with a genetic ancestry test. Of the total participants, 35% were black, 35% were white and 30% were Hispanic. Almost 50% of the participants were men aged between 49 and 79 years. In comparison to a person’s answers on ethnicity and race, the genetic ancestry test was likelier to single out patients with the four-most common risk factors for stroke-diabetes, high cholesterol levels, plaque accumulation in arteries and irregular heartbeat and this was particularly true in the case of Hispanics and blacks. This shows the minute detailing ability of genetic ancestry testing which lacks greatly in relying on traditional risk factors alone. Human DNA is mostly similar with variations here and there between populations. The study group tested for these variations by looking for changes in the sequence of DNA molecules. The results were then linked with the four known risk factors for stroke and finally calculated the participant’s risk for stroke. One major limitation of the study is that the participants were all blacks, whites or Hispanics and hence the results cannot be applied for the universal population. Beyond genetic testing and finding out, it is the duty of each and every individual to stay fit by leading a healthy lifestyle, eating nutritious foods and staying aware of the symptoms of stroke (FAST). Visit the website www.firsteatright.com to know more about FAST symptoms that need to be identified as soon as possible in a person affected with stroke. The earlier the individual is given treatment lesser is the resulting negative consequences. Its not rare that we go to sleep and the next day we are unable to move our neck left or right. Its stuck straight and we become the laughing stock at home moving our neck like a robot tilting not beyond a certain degree.
Neck spasms occur when the muscles in a person’s neck contract involuntarily. The muscles become tight, hard and painful. This has become a common problem in youngsters these days as they spend hours together staring at the computer screens without any movement. The problem seems simple and common, but a severe neck spasm can even cause dizziness and headaches. Causes Common causes of neck spasms include:
Symptoms Apart from pain a neck spasm can cause:
Neck spasms that occur as a result of an injury need the doctor’s attention right away and so do those that cause severe symptoms or last for a long time (more than a week). Sometimes meningitis too can cause a stiff neck. This condition is extremely dangerous and its necessary to contact a doctor at the slightest doubt of any symptoms. Common symptoms of meningitis include chills, stiff neck, high fever suddenly, headache and purple bruise-like marking on the skin. Individuals generally try home remedies, apply ointment on their own or go for other medical treatments such as:
Stress: Stress has become an inevitable part of our daily lives and has the potential to trigger a spasm. Taking regular breaks from work and doing stretches or exercises can help a person manage stress. Even a study shows that people who performed stress-relieving activities faced a lesser risk of back pain, neck and shoulder pain. Its common to see people relying on yoga and meditation to relieve stress but there are quite a many other interesting activities too listed at www.firsteatright.com that can help you handle stress with ease. Cold compression Keeping ice over the affected area can relieve pain and reduce spasm. It’s advisable to use an ice pack for 20 minutes every 3-4 hours daily. Hot compression Likewise, applying heat over the affected area too can relieve pain. Use a damp cloth or heating pad to place over the affected area. Massage The patient himself/herself or family members can massage the affected area and relieve spasm. Apply gentle pressure on the neck and move fingers in circular motion. Prevention Its possible to prevent spasms by taking regular breaks from your computer, maintaining a good posture at office while working, using supportive pillows that give the right height to your neck, exercising regularly and doing stretches every now and then. Neck spasms might take a few days or weeks to heal and you need to stop doing any activities that might aggravate the pain meanwhile. It is also better to take preventive measures to avoid suffering from a neck spasm in the first place by maintaining a smooth posture and exercising regularly. Spending your day sitting around is unhealthy and risky to heart health but when most of our jobs involve sitting and working all day long, what’s the finest solution to this? Every nutritionist, dietitian and fitness experts recommend doing at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week but when an individual spends around 8-10 hours sitting and working, either at home or office, there is an urge to look out for practical yet effective alternatives. Our brain is not a computer, it might be faster than a computer, but it does need rest unlike the desktops that can work incessantly. Its normal that we get tired, restless and anxious after a while working on our systems. Giving yourself the luxury of a short break does wonders on your mental and physical health. There are some candidates who immerse themselves in their work for hours together without break or even without lunch. If you are one of those, its recommended to set a timer to remember to move around every hour for 5 minutes or every two hours for 10 minutes. Apart from that one can also go about practicing some of the techniques given below for active movement throughout the day:
Not many parents boast of nurturing a resilient kid as ironically, many of them don’t nurture their kids on their own. They appoint a nanny or enroll their kids in a daycare center which has A-Z facility minus the love, affection and reliability that’s required for the wholesome development of a kid during the developing years. Blame it on nuclear families or the change in thoughts of the growing generation these days we are committing a grave sin of nurturing children who lack resilience and attachment. Ensuring that our child grows well-behaved and acclimatized to the world outside with abundant love, affection, goodness and happiness is the foremost duty of every parent. As a parent we might think about our child’s grades at school, performance at the dance function, securing high-pay jobs and settling down in life all of which are indeed important in one’s life. There is something beyond all these that’s first and foremost important for succeeding in all walks of life and that’s resilience. A Child’s Greatest Possession Resilience is the ability to stay flexible in life whatever come may. It’s the quality to take everything in your stride, ups and downs, hardships, life’s shocks and surprises and unexpected downfalls, and still be happy and healthy in life. This quality was existing by default in our parents and grandparents as they lived together in big families. The quality to adjust and accommodate automatically comes for those people who live with others and make adjustments for a peaceful life for everyone in the family. Gone are those days and in today’s world we live in a society where there are not more than three people in every home. Such a parenting culture and the extreme use of smartphones and other electronic gadgets can totally hamper the child’s opportunity to learn and practice resilience. Each one’s perspective of ‘formative years’ differs but to me the child’s first five years play a crucial role in molding the child for the awaiting future. Research has shown that presence of stress, abuse, negligence, violence and mental illness in caregivers has the ability to change a child’s architecture of the brain. These physiological changes affect the cognitive development and pave way for physical health problems such as diabetes, heart disease and other mental health problems too. To prevent all these mishaps, help a child develop resilience and take the child in the right path its necessary to practice the below-given tips diligently: A trustworthy adult: The role of the primary caretaker plays a prominent part in nurturing the kid. If the kid realizes that he/she has a helping hand, isn’t going to face the problems all alone and that they matter to someone then this can be a step towards success. Every parent wants to have a good rapport with their child, but today’s life demands more of your time for office work or house chores. Despite this, try spending quality time with your child and give all of your attention to him/her while playing with the kid. Talk openly about the day’s experience, ask about their school friends and spend time doing things together. Give him/her a clear indication that you will be there by his/her side during thick and thins of life and love him/her unconditionally. You might be surprised but parents are children’s first role model and they learn a lot of things by imitating them. For more details on this please visit the website www.firsteatright.com. A sense of self-regulation and adaptation: Your child must be able to prioritize things in life, stay without distraction, make plans, negotiate, enjoy being with others and manage emotions. Its all said easily but without practice accomplishing these is not possible. The best method for this is through unstructured play time where the kid plays alone (which helps the child engage himself/herself) or with others (learns cooperation). Staying strong without yielding to your child’s whims and fancies, consistent discipline and helping your child manage emotions without getting extremely sad or irritated helps a lot. Channelize your child’s hope, faith and culture: Hope is what keeps us all moving forward in life. Each of us cling to hope via different means. Some become a part of a faith community which helps them get through tough times but if you don’t believe in all this you can always fall back on spending time with family, joining a community or doing service. Whatever it is, believe in a way and stick to it to handle challenges and succeed in life. Relying on yourself: Parents exist to take care of their child, but this journey cannot go on forever and there would arise a time during which we need to help our kids fly by themselves. The goal of every parent is to make their children self-sufficient, smart and capable to handle problems and come up with solutions. Giving them independence, letting them make certain decisions and insisting that your child learns by himself/herself helps them get a hold on the actual life scenarios-a kind of a trailer before the main picture starts! Its not easy to let them on their own and we never wish to see our kids hurt (mentally or physically) but with your guidance and motivation you will be surprised to realize that your child can achieve greater things. For this, learning to be physically capable is extremely important. While running, jumping and climbing children not only realize their strengths and weaknesses but also how to overcome their weaker areas and emerge successfully. There’s been much debate about the best time for exercising, studies or doing any activity. In the eyes of our elderly generation there is no argument regarding this as early morning hours are the best ones without doubt. Even the renowned Tamil poet, Mahakavi Bharati has sung in his poems that morning time is the best time for studying as it is the part of the day when your mind is 100% fresh and concentration is at its ultimatum.
Body Clocks Not Alarm Clocks Determine our Sleep Timings Despite such positive attributes attached to early morning hours not all of us are able to rise early in the morning. While there are some individuals who do night shifts or rotational shifts, apart from these guys what is preventing others from getting up early? There is always the body clock to blame! Each of us have a body clock which determines how our body works throughout the day which is also termed as circadian rhythm. This governs our body affecting each of our actions right from the time we go to sleep, our mood swings and also our risk for heart attacks. Some people’s body clock wakes them up earlier (larks) and hence, they start feeling tired earlier in the evening. Evening people (owls) find it harder to get up in the morning, get up late and are at their peak energy levels during the evening hours. Their productivity is also at a maximum and they prefer to go to bed late in the night. Our body clock is a wonderful piece of creation and for more insight on it, please visit the website www.firsteatright.com. A new research has now found that women whose body clocks are set to get up early in the morning are at a reduced risk of developing breast cancer. While the research is of great importance for determining every woman’s risk for breast cancer the primary question here is to understand the underlying connection between circadian rhythm and breast cancer risk. Body Clock that Clocks Breast Cancer Risk The research involved more than 4,00,000 women making it the largest research collecting genetic data on breast cancer-affected women. With the already available information on genetic variants that distinguish between people’s preferences for rising early or late and sleep duration, the research team wanted to know if these traits affected breast cancer risk in any way. For this, they used the ‘Mendelian randomisation’ method which is based on linking genetic variants with risk factors (such as sleep timings) to find out breast cancer risk. For this, the research group looked at 341 snippets of DNA that are involved in making us a lark or an owl. The method analyzed data of women who were/were not affected by breast cancer and found that choosing to be a lark reduced the breast cancer risk by 40% compared to choosing to be an owl. Also, women who slept beyond the 7-8 hours of recommended sleep increased their risk by 20% for every additional hour slept. Analysis of data from another reputed source too showed that morning larks were at a 48% reduced risk of breast cancer. Mendelian analysis of the trial showed that one less person per 100 will develop breast cancer if they were a lark compared to being an owl. This study is in line with previous studies that showed that shift work or late-night jobs increased the risk of breast cancer greatly. Night shift jobs have an extensive negative impact on both physical and mental health. This study too proves that variations in sleep patterns trigger cancer risk. Sleep Well to Avoid Risk? Though research says that disrupted sleep patterns are a strong factor for causing cancer they are not ready to conclude that a good night’s sleep is the best solution for this. Researchers feel that it’s not as simple as this and further insight is needed to explore the existing cause behind the risk factors that makes an evening person more prone to cancer risk compared to a morning person. There are many unanswered questions right now that include whether the body clock affects hormone levels to alter cancer risk or whether late-night owls are causing damage to their own body by acting against their body clock by working late-night or doing shift work. We are not sure of anything right now except for the fact that disrupted sleep pattern induces cancer risk. A worse addiction, smoking has the potential to ruin a smoker’s life and throw him/her off balance. Despite repeated government-promoted ads about the effects of smoking hazards on the body not many individuals pay heed to them. Once you get used to smoking the body craves for nicotine daily to carry on regular day-to-day activities. But this craving lands the body’s organs in trouble. Read more about the disadvantages of smoking and its impact on the human body from the website www.firsteatright.com. Any smoker must think of quitting smoking though it is far more easily said than done. But if you are trying to quit smoking whole-heartedly then relying upon physical activity and starting to exercise can help you succeed in overcoming nicotine dependence and withdrawal symptoms steadily.
Exercise has the ability to help people develop good health habits, maintain these habits and lead a clean lifestyle that includes eating healthy and stopping to smoke. Even a 2007 journal review on 12 different studies showed that moderate-intensity exercises such as cycling or walking can minimize nicotine craving and its related withdrawal symptoms including stress, anxiety, irritation and lack of concentration. Another study showed that as minimum as 15 minutes of exercising a day helped participants pay less attention to smoking cues (such as seeing other people smoke) and hence, prevent them from succumbing to smoking again. The initial two weeks of withdrawal symptoms are larger than one could imagine and the following six weeks of intermittent craving are also quite difficult for the individual. Despite these difficulties and hardships, the benefits that the individual reaps after quitting smoking are enormous. Exercising helps the person who has quit smoking in several ways including:
The logic behind the positive effects of exercise on smoking has been revealed by a group of scientists who have cautiously scrutinized the mechanism of how exercise protects the body against nicotine dependence and withdrawal. Exercise increase the activation of a type of receptor called as α7 nicotine acetylcholine (a target of nicotine) and decreases withdrawal symptoms. It is better to start exercising with some useful tips given below:
Quitting smoking is not a joke and it needs sustained efforts and support to come out successfully. Besides helping to quit smoking exercising helps to maintain your health by keeping your blood glucose and pressure levels in control, reduces the risk of heart disease and also helps you avoid putting on weight. Above all, you feel happy and confident with a total boost to your energy and this helps you undertake new challenges and look forward to newer goals. Interest, passion and obsession are words describing different degrees of enthusiasm shown towards various activities or efforts. You might be interested to dance while your friend might be obsessed with dancing. This inclination towards dance makes you take up dance classes as a weekend hobby while your friend performs stage concerts and starts teaching dance to other fellow students in due course. Exercising and physical fitness too follow the same thumb rule. Someone passionate about fitness shines through all barriers and achieves his/her goal. Weight loss is not the only ultimate goal, but individuals might also be interested in toning, belly reduction, muscle building and likewise. If you are the type of person who exercises just because others do so, this will land you nowhere. Excuses for missed activity sessions keep piling up and positive results start dipping down. But, if you are the ‘go-getter’ type nothing can stop you from reaching your goals. You go for a walk using your umbrella, despite the pouring rain, get up early despite lack of proper sleeping hours, take care and prepare a nutritious meal between your busy work schedules and stay focused on your targets.
Tasting Success After the Long Struggle For a 25-kilo overweight individual who starts his/her weight loss program and succeeds in reducing the weight in due course, sky is the limit for happiness and ecstasy. Post the weight loss efforts, the person is sure to stick to a healthy lifestyle, do physical activity daily and eat a well-balanced meal sticking to portion sizes. With great efforts come greater success. After such a taxing weight loss regimen one can never imagine putting on weight and going back to your pre-weight loss body! There are many things at stake when someone focuses on maintaining his/her weight loss. For example, going for a night out party seems a ridiculous idea with hundreds of calories of food surrounding you and the alcohol dancing all around, going for long-term vacations seems next to impossible owing to different food cultures existing in your place of visit and celebrations/festivals bring about thoughts of putting on weight with all the tasty treats, exercise-less days and oily foods. Given a choice between staying safe in the comfort of your house sticking to your regular diet and daily exercise routine, and going for a 5-month trip around the world, what would be your choice after losing 25 kilograms of weight? Fallen in love with your well-toned body, committed to your diet and passionate about your gym classes, you would be surely tempted to skip the trip. Benefits of a healthy diet and regular exercise can never be denied but everything works well only in moderation. Anxiousness and fear over increasing numbers on the weighing scale and growing hip sizes prevents many of you from experiencing many of the best opportunities that life has to offer. Achieving greatness by balancing both experiences and numbers is the real challenge here. Given an opportunity to travel, never miss it as it paves way for a pandora of experiences. The different cultures, people and their food are great ways to enrich your culinary knowledge and take home a tip or two that could benefit your nutrient needs. It might even give you many other different ways to stay healthy or make your physical activity schedules much more pleasurable and result-oriented. Staying healthy is a great priority in life but not at the cost of missing out on all of life’s experiences. These experiences fill you with bountiful happiness and joy that no measures on the scale can offer. Learn to balance your life between health and experiences, juggle your activities well and achieve a standard against which you keep evaluating yourself repeatedly. Ultimate aim is a healthy body weight. Only then comes your bikini body, muscular physique or toned abs. In this process of toning, never pave way for obsession to overtake nutrient needs and health. Tips for staying healthy and eating nutritious foods while on a vacation or during festivals are shared at www.firsteatright.com. There is no shortage for health clubs, gyms, Zumba classes or fitness instructors but what all they lack are a client base. It’s a welcome change to see early morning walkers, joggers or runners occupying the roads or parks but these people don’t even sum up to a quarter of the population of any nation. Laziness, lack of time and unavailability of resources can always be blamed but a new research shows that a food additive common in the Western diet could be blamed for this.
Phosphate: Playing Tricks on our Health A new study has found that food additives present in our all-time favorite meat, soda and other processed foods-phosphate-might be the culprit behind our lack of inclination to exercise. Phosphate is a particle that comes from the mineral phosphorus that is needed by the body for building strong teeth and bones, repairing them, helping nerves function and making muscles contract. It is naturally found in nuts, eggs, dairy products, beans, meats and fish and is healthy for our consumption. But almost 50% of our favorite foods such as cola drinks, other soft drinks, frozen foods, packaged meat, ham, sausages and bakery products contain inorganic phosphate which is generally added to increase shelf life, flavor or appearance of the product. There is no denial that most of us drink and eat most of these foods and end up adding almost 2-3 times more than the admissible phosphate limits to our body. The latest study researched on two groups of healthy mice which were fed similar diets with the only difference that one group was fed as much as three times of phosphate (equivalent to the amount consumed by adults) compared to the other group. On completion of the 12-week study period the mice which consumed a high-phosphate diet spent less time on the treadmill, had decreased cardiac fitness and an impaired fat-burning mechanism. Above all, they showed changes in more than 5000 genes that help in processing fatty acids and cell metabolism. The second part of the study researched on humans and found a similar correlation between increased phosphate intake and decreased activity levels. The study group analyzed more than 1,600 participants monitoring their activity with a fitness tracker for seven days and found that increased serum phosphate levels in the blood were associated with less time spent in physical activity (moderate or vigorous) and increased time spent on staying sedentary. Redesigning Eating Kidneys regulate the amount of phosphate present in the body flushing out the excess quantity as urine. But, people with impaired kidneys cannot process this and the phosphate remains in the body becoming a risk to our health. Impaired kidneys can cause more damage to our health and for a list of the possible health consequences please visit the website www.firsteatright.com. There are studies that show that presence of excess phosphate is linked with increase in risk of cardiovascular death and death from other causes too. Such are the ill effects of phosphate that its high time we insist food marketing industries to clearly label foods denoting the quantity of phosphate they contain. For instance, a block of Parmesan cheese does contain phosphorus (being a dairy product) but when the same cheese is sold in shredded or grated form manufacturers do add additional phosphate to keep them from sticking to each other. This itself shows how predominantly phosphate is added to foods and comes as an eye opener. People are not much aware of the potential consequences of phosphate as a food additive and its high time that we start observing our intake of dietary phosphate in any form. Prices of essential commodities are increasing every day instilling fear in the common man. As a society, we’ve always thought that eating nutritious food and staying healthy is a luxury enjoyed only by the rich. But, don’t statistics also prove so? Malnutrition and poverty rates are higher in under-developed or developing countries compared to the developed world. Broccoli and colored bell peppers might be exotic veggies, kiwi and cherries might be exotic fruits and skimmed milk is a luxury rather than a necessity, but I wonder are these the only kind of foods that help us stay healthy? Born in a country known for its diversity in cuisines, language and culture we are much strongly equipped in every aspect of life compared to the rest of the world. Our North Indian dhal, South Indian cuisine that uses turmeric for preparing dishes and the presence of numerous millet varieties nation-wide serve as an abstract to the main culinary content. Rich or poor, rural or urban-each of us living in this world have the right to eat healthy food. All that you need is meticulous planning and perfect execution. Budget-based Nutrition Knowing which foods to eat to stay healthy is not enough when you are not equipped with the capacity to buy these foods. Planning your budget and getting to know how much can be allocated to buy food helps in buying your groceries and other essentials effectively. Once aware of the allocation, the three main steps include planning for your shopping, purchasing essentials at the best price possible and preparing healthy food that don’t cost more but replenish your energy requirements wisely. Take good note of the tips given below and practice them to eat good food on a minimal budget: Plan beforehand: Utilize the weekend efficiently to plan for your entire week’s menu keeping in mind the ingredients you have. Missing ingredients should be noted down under the ‘purchase’ section. Expensive items that might be required for any of your recipes can be added in smaller portions. Remember to never go out for shopping on an empty stomach as you are sure to pick some high-calorie sugary food that is low in nutrition. This increases your budget too unnecessarily. Choose reasonably: Rather than going for branded products it always helps to choose store brands that are less costly. Scan the shelves as these are not usually placed prominently but stored off somewhere in the top-most or bottom-most shelves. Use your taste buds to judge products and never be carried away by the shiny packaging of premium brands. Buy in bulk: Getting foods in huge quantities is always cheaper. Getting family packs of different products such as large atta packets, bags of onions and canned oils are economical but before that, ensure to check whether you have enough storage space at home. If not, it is worthier to buy the required portions than letting them perish away. Choose seasonal produce: Buying seasonal fruits and vegetables is always economical and fresh too! A kilogram of watermelon that costs Rs. 30 during winter is available at Rs. 7 during hot summer months. Juiciness and sweetness also vary greatly. So, what do you think is a good bargain? Avoid packed foods: It’s tempting to pick a bowl of pre-cut veggies, grated cheese or sprouted pulses to save time. But this always comes at an extra cost and it serves your purpose to buy things and prepare them from scratch-every penny counts! A list in hand helps: Having a list of the foods to be purchased helps you avoid succumbing to temptations. The colorful wafer packets, candies and other junks placed near the cash counters are more than inviting and the marketing guys do have their skills intact to lure consumers. Don’t fall a prey to these strategies. It saves you from shelling out more money and consuming empty calories. Substitute: Proteins are proteins irrespective of their source. Meat and fish are a costly affair. Why not substitute them with veggies and pulses to replenish your protein requirements? Use your innovation skills to avoid thoughts of sacrifice. Go meatless on Mondays as an initiate to reduce carbon footprints, eat pulses every Thursday to stockpile your proteins. Cook with pulses often as these are some of the cheapest and nutrient-rich foods available to mankind. This helps you forego any negative thoughts. Dress up leftovers: No house is left without any leftover foods. Its how each of us use them that counts! Rather than dumping the leftovers into the bin, refrigerate and use them the next day to add a new twist to the dish. Leftover chicken can be used in stir-fry and leftover aloo can be made into aloo parathas. Throwing out unused food is equivalent to simply throwing away paper money. Eat in & not out: Eating out has become a costlier affair with prices of commodities increasing steadily. If you wish to eat out, look out for early bird or combo offers that are nowadays available in most restaurants. Try avoiding beverages and drink water to minimize bill amount. Get membership: Many stores offer membership cards and the points accumulated help you save on your purchase. Ask about different offers available in different stores and choose the one that suits your requirement. Sometimes, the supermarkets offer goods at throw away prices one day in the week. Never miss out on these offers. It is always the small things that add up finally and give us beneficial results. Rather than ignoring these, when you get the knack of utilizing them to your benefits, positive results are sure to occur. Good luck for your planning, shopping and eating. Soon after a child is born, he/she is critically studied by people around, especially grandparents and other elders in the family, and verdicts are lashed out once a while regarding the baby’s features, resemblances and so on. Like other verdicts, these too are mostly one-sided with comments and compliments overpouring from the dad’s side and the mom is left to experience all these amidst her tiredness and the exhaustion of labor. Often we do hear comments like, "Bachcha sirf papa jaisa dikhta hai" or “the baby’s fingers are longer than my son’s.” All these bring a smile on the person’s face while uttering these words but a big snob on someone else’s faces. Who is not impressed by a newborn’s slender hands and legs that are long? People flock around chubby babies, overpour their affection onto them and kiss them until the baby’s cheeks turn red. Rarely, these slender hands and legs may indicate a serious disorder in children. Marfan Syndrome A disorder affecting connective tissues, Marfan syndrome is classified under rare diseases and affects 1 in 5000 or 10000 people. Connective tissues connect our body’s cells, tissues and organs together, keeps our body flexible and helps the body grow properly. Such important tissues are composed of proteins and one protein named fibrillin-1 plays a crucial role in setting the disease. Here, the gene that supplies the body with instructions for making this protein is mutated or defective and hence, another protein called transforming growth beta factor (TGF-β) increases in proportion. This TGF-β protein disrupts the normal functioning of the connective tissues thereby resulting in disproportionately formed body features and the resulting medical problems accompanying it. In 75% cases, the child acquires the syndrome from one parent and there is a 50% chance that the child of a parent with Marfan syndrome will inherit the syndrome. Head or Tail there is a Tale While the disorder primarily affects the heart, bones, joints and eyes the syndrome can occur in any part of the body. There is even the possibility for an aortic enlargement. Lungs, skin and nervous system are also affected in some people. Almost 75% of people with Marfan syndrome suffer from the disease due to a genetic mutation. There is a 50% chance that the genetic mutation is inherited by the child of an individual suffering from Marfan syndrome. Symptoms While some individuals have the symptoms of the syndrome since birth others express it anytime in their life. Certain symptoms occur as the person grows old. Common symptoms include:
Diagnosis & Treatment It’s pretty tough to diagnose Marfan syndrome as the signs of the disease does not remain constant universally but varies from person to person. Genetic testing is the best way to diagnose the disease but its highly expensive preventing all citizens from making use of the available sources. When the aorta has been diagnosed with a defect it can mean a shorter life expectancy. If you notice any symptoms indicative of the disease or feel that your child’s hands and legs seem abnormal, please visit a physician immediately to get it checked. Childhood reminds many of their enjoyable playtime with friends. Hopscotch, cricket and hide and seek have been a part of many of our lives. It was a pleasure hanging around with our besties sharing jokes, exchanging views and giggling once a while. Today’s kid might be an ardent fan of smartphones and play station, but every kid is tempted to get out and play once he/she sees a group of peers/friends having fun together playing some game. No childhood is complete without time to play and laugh. Electronic devices might be good for time pass but, they can never fulfill our desires for interaction, joy and togetherness that is attainable only through human interaction. Play is so important that the UN’s Human Rights Commission has recognized it as a basic right of every child. Kids living in poverty, suffering from child labor or residing in war-prone zones have the least chance of fulfilling this right. It’s the same even in the case of kids who are exposed to various opportunities and situations that encourage playing outside owing to pressured lifestyles and increasingly competitive behavior between children towards education. Parents are super-brilliant to provide their kids with the best of everything to achieve success in life but what they lack is the knowledge or the acceptance that playing is essential for cognitive, emotional, physical and social well-being of children and adolescents. Play Replay If we look around, we are surrounded by hundreds of parents who raise children and it seems as though parenting is not a big deal. Of course, we become parents and we train our kids but what kind of parenting we do and what we teach our children determines their success or failure in life greatly. Each small thing that we do for our children has a greater meaning later and this includes play too. Seeming to be purely for fun play actually prepares the child for tackling the big society outside. Play looks like it has no purpose, but studies prove that play boosts brain function, improves coordination, enhances health and promotes cooperation. Unstructured play increases physical activity levels in children and increases their probability of burning extra calories, being stronger and understanding how people and the world function. Some kids love free play as it empowers them with more control and allows them to be what they dream of. That’s because in free play the kid chooses the game, makes the rules, accepts negotiations and frees himself/herself from stress. Free play transports the child into his/her fantasy world. For example, if the kid wants to be a teacher, he/she can imagine a virtual classroom where parents can be the students and teach lessons or arrange games. Unstructured play is integral for curbing the rising childhood obesity epidemic and free play lets children make decisions. Only when given an opportunity you learn to take decisions and free play is essential for that. Many experts are worried that lesser number of children are engaged in free play activities as televisions and smartphones have made kids sit indoors for hours together raising the risk of weight gain. Smartphones have created a turmoil in our kids’ lives exposing them to various dangers which are discussed in detail at www.firsteatright.com. Parenting Paradigm Observing or joining your child in child-driven play gives you ample opportunity to watch the world from your child’s point of view as he/she sails through the things and roles perfectly imagined fitting his or her needs. Parents who interact with their kids during this session builds their confidence and takes the parent-child relationship a step ahead. Kids who don’t communicate much convey more about their frustrations, requirements and even experiences through play which provides parents with a golden opportunity to understand things from their perspective. Play is a great way of engaging 100% with kids. Parent’s are the best playmates sometimes as kids who interact with parents acquire a better vocabulary but allow them to take charge of the conversation because if you take over, it might shut down your child’s thoughts sometimes. Exclusion in School Educational pressure and cutting-throat competition have compelled many educational institutions to eliminate school recess. A short break helps the child focus better on academics. Likewise, play is also integral for improved academic results. There have been various studies supporting inclusion of play in schools as it improves a child’s learning abilities, cognitive skills and problem-solving talent. We are not doing justice to kids by curbing some factors such as play to enhance performance of some other factors such as academics. Socio-economic learning alongside academic education is the best approach. Unscheduled play time and free play along with other children are crucial for socio-economic learning. A study funded by NIH shows a link between preschooler’s math skills and their capability to reproduce 2- or 3-dimensional building block constructions. Playing with building blocks especially with parents improves a child’s spatial skills and equips them for studying math, science and technology in the future. Healthcare Play has advantages even in hospital settings. Distracting a preschooler with colorful balls or bubbles before an invasive procedure is helpful. Administering injections to dolls before injecting the kid makes the child more comfortable. Even in-house patients must be exposed to some kind of recreational therapy to get them moving as this enhances their functioning skills. It also avoids patients from becoming depressed as they focus on something interesting that involves them and their mind is not focused on their health condition at that junction. Play plays an important part in every child’s life and childhood looks incomplete without it. It offers developmental advantages for children and parental tips for parents helping them to engage with their kids as well. There are various factors that might impair a smooth playtime for many kids nowadays. But we must create the right kind of environment at home and school, encourage children to play out and make them understand the benefits of playing in their language to promote more play alongside academics. Tucked up neatly inside your cozy bedsheet, you feel uninterested to get out of bed. Man, that’s understandable. Who doesn’t fall in love with sleep and rest! We might be so-called Kumbhakarnas who take pleasure lazing around or lying down. When our real hero himself takes a break from his sleep world to engage with food, what about us? Despite lethargy shining as bright as a high-voltage light, it is sure to flicker out sometime. Continuous lethargy for prolonged periods is not a normal trait but comes as red-alert notifications to check our body! When you experience any of the below, be sure to hop onto your vehicle and take a ride to the physician:
Fatigue could also imply a medical condition indirectly:
Sleepiness is often due to lack of good-quality sleep which might be due to some medical condition such as sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome (a not-so-common illness briefed at www.firsteatright.com). This is a temporary state that vanishes once the person sleeps well. Whereas, chronic fatigue is linked with a medical condition or health problem which disrupts everyday life of a person. Aim to lash out fatigue with basic home techniques until it a case of chronic one that calls for medical attention:
‘With great advancements come great complications too’ might be apt for this world which faces the wrath of serious diseases, illnesses and deaths. Cancer, a disease that has the potential to kill the patient has become one of the most popular causes of deaths in recent years. While surfing the net or texting people in our smartphones there are frequent pop ups of cancer-affected people requesting money for their treatment or for those of their loved ones. Needless to say, even new-born babies or small kids are often the victims here. More than the disease it is the agonies of the treatment which includes chemotherapy and radiation that makes people fear the attack of the disease. Cancer kills, but not before attacking the person leaving him/her with debilitating pain and hardships. Do you know that 17 people die every minute from cancer across the world amounting to almost 25,000 deaths in a day? Shockingly, almost 4% of cancers in the world is due to excess body weight. Weight holds responsibility to almost 7-8% of cancers in high-income countries. In 2016 alone almost 40% of adults and 18% of children aged 5-19 years were defined to be overweight/obese. World Cancer Day The World Cancer Day is celebrated on the 4th of February every year to raise awareness about cancer and make it a global health priority. Worldwide, events are organized in the form of seminars, campaigns and advertisements to spread the news about this deadly disease and educate people about fighting cancer through screening and early detection, through healthy eating, regular physical activity, quitting smoking and requesting health workers to prioritize working on cancer. 2019 is the first of the three-year theme ‘I Am & I Will’. This talks about the effect of our present actions that help in curbing cancer and the year 2019 sees various arrangements in more than 130 countries. The Invisible Destroyer Not all cancers show early signs and symptoms but there are some cancers including cervical, breast, colorectal, skin, oral and other childhood cancers that do show signs. This is extremely important as diagnosing cancer at an early stage helps in treating the disease and improving chances of survival. Even a recent study in the UK found that survival rates for the eight-most common cancers that includes bladder, bowel, breast, cervical, womb, malignant melanoma, ovarian and testicular cancer are three times higher when diagnosed at an early stage. According to the World Health Organization at least one third of common cancers are preventable through a healthy diet, maintaining normal weights and being physically active: Tobacco: Smoking is the single largest preventable cause of cancer and stopping smoking reduces the risk by multifold. Smoking is responsible for more than 15 types of cancer including oral, stomach and bowel cancer. Smoking accounts for more than 70% of lung cancer deaths and 22% of all cancer deaths. Alcohol: Drinking alcohol is linked to increased risk of several cancers including that of the larynx, mouth, liver, breast and esophagus. Physical Activity: As mentioned earlier, excess body weight is a serious risk factor for cancer. Maintaining a healthy weight and including physical activity as a part of the daily schedule helps in reducing the risk of ten cancers including bowel, breast, ovarian, kidney, pancreatic, liver and gallbladder cancers. The World Health Organization suggests that organizations, businesses and governments tackle the increased consumption of unhealthy foods and lack of exercise by limiting portions, decreasing package sizes, imposing tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, offering fruits/veggies at affordable costs and redesigning city layouts to promote walking and bicycling. If you are interested in losing weight get in touch with reputed dietitian nutritionists at www.firsteatright.com who can guide you to weight loss in a scientific and practical way. Ultraviolet radiations: Irrespective of where you live take care that your exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun is moderate and avoid tanning beds. Stay under shade, cover yourself with protective clothing and avoid prolonged exposure to sunlight to protect yourself. Helping People Help Themselves & Others Individuals can address their own well-being and those of other by addressing some issues:
|
AVOID FRAUD. EAT SMART.+91 7846 800 800
AuthorDietitian & Nutritionist Dr. Nafeesa Imteyaz. Archives
November 2022
Categories
All
Dr. Nafeesa's Blog @blogspot |
- Home
- Written Testimonials
- Consult
- Clinics
- Blogs
-
Diet & Nutrition
- Diabetes Reversal
- IVF IUI not needed for PCOS PCOD Infertility
-
Medical Nutrition
>
-
Disease & Conditions
>
- Infertility | PCOS
- Diabetes Mellitus
- Cholesterol
- Hypothyroid
- Kidney Problems
- Hypertension
- Cardiovascular Diseases
- Liver Diseases
- Gastro intestinal disorder
- Cancer
- Metabolic Disorders
- Orthopedic Disorders
- Eating Disorders
- Dietary Recall
- Weight Record Filled By Clients
- Online Payment Transaction Details
- Online Clients Weight Check Form
- Our Program Package Service Charges
- Weight Record 2017 Clients
- Measurements sent by Clients
- Terms & Conditions Of Payment
- Thanks. Your Form is Submitted
- Video Testimonials
- Lifestyle & Wellness
- Lifestyle & Wellness Blog
- Allergy & Intolerance
- Weight Loss / Gain
- Weight Loss / Slimming Blog
-
Disease & Conditions
>
- Life Cycle Nutrition >
- Sports Nutrition >
- Integrity in Nutrition
- Knowledge Centre
© COPYRIGHT 2022. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. FRST HEALTHCARE PVT LTD.
Dr. Nafeesa Imteyaz of First Eat Right clinic, is the Best Dietitian Nutritionist in Bangalore. Best Dietitian Nutritionist in Pune. Best Dietitian Nutritionist in Hyderabad. Best Dietitian Nutritionist in Chennai. Best Dietitian Nutritionist in Mumbai. Best Dietitian Nutritionist in Delhi. Best Dietitian Nutritionist in Kolkata.