“The grass on the other side is always greener” doesn’t suit one section of the population-those born with disabilities. A blind person is unaware of the beauties surrounding him/her, a deaf person is ignorant of the soothing musical tones, laughter or sounds to differentiate between noise and music and a dumb person has no idea about the joys of expressing or talking your heart out. On a positive note this leaves such people devoid of jealousy, hatred or greed as they have never experienced any of the things they seriously lack in life at an early stage and have nothing to compare to. Human tendency is to feel pitiful for someone who lacks something of need and feel jealous of those who live a better life in terms of money, power and health. With this, there’s no doubt that every normal being in this Earth feels pitiful for the disabled population from their heart. Funnily, when to most observers disabled people seem to live a life of suffering and unhappiness many people with permanent and serious disabilities report of experiencing a good quality of life! On what basis do we assume a disabled person’s life to be unhappy and uneventful? Differently-abled & not Disabled Every time we look at a disabled person, we automatically thank nature for showering us with a normal body and mind. Many even go to the extent of swearing to end their lives if such a disability should fall upon them. In general, disability is associated with failure, dependency and the inability to do things in the right way. Often, individuals feel sorry for the disabled people as they imagine that the disabled man leads a miserable life, and this is extremely wrong. Disability Paradox Also called as the disability paradox, individuals with disability often lead an equal or better quality of life than that of normal people. Its been told that humans have the capability and nature to flourish despite lacking major sense organs, lacking the ability to walk or even when they are 100% dependent on others. That’s mainly because people born with an inability don’t have anything to compare their current existence with. For instance, a person with an intellectual disability doesn’t have the insight to consider himself/herself different from the rest or lacking in some aspect of life. Even for someone born with restricted growth the person becomes used to being the way they ae despite hardships in life. But, for a person who acquires disability during the course of life the situation is different. Paralysis attack or blindness due to some fire accident or likewise makes you take a total U turn in life. Life becomes standstill, the individual feels totally depressed and might even think about suicide sometimes. After a while, the same individual starts adapting to the new life, looks at the disability from a different perspective and even starts achieving greater things than before. There is also another perspective wherein some people feel that the disabled population puts on a brave show in front of others but mourns in isolation about the miseries of life. Maybe the individuals are deluding themselves by putting on a happy face. But such comments and thoughts are wrong as research in the field of hedonic psychology supports disabled people’s report of better quality of life. Some scientists who have thoroughly analyzed people’s thoughts and views explain the concept of hedonic adaptation-life after trauma returns to its previous quality of life which existed before trauma struck in due course of time. Psychology Does it All There are many different psychological processes that keep going on inside a disabled person’s mind. They start adapting and accommodating their changes. By adaptation they find other ways to do something. For example, if the person cannot walk, he/she uses the wheelchair to go to the same places and feels satisfied taking a stroll for just 10 minutes instead of the usual 1-hour outing. Accommodation sets in when the person starts valuing other things. For example, given a choice between going for a walk along the country side to going out to a restaurant with friends, they are sure to choose the latter. Human beings try to find satisfaction in smaller things that seem possible to achieve, are happy to find joy being with family and friends and find some way out to adapt to any situation that life offers. We are entirely mistaken when we assure that difficulties result in misery. We see so many people who are fully functional, have abundant money yet lack companionship or the personality to feel happy and enjoy life. Hence, environment too plays a crucial role in determining a person’s happiness levels. Read more about environment’s impact on disability from the website www.firsteatright.com. Most disabled people rely on mechanical devices or people to help them sail through life everyday and any problems with these can disrupt their quality of life. Hence, disability is neither as simple as cold/cough nor is it a great tragedy. Each of us are born into this world to be vulnerable to diseases and sufferings and finally die someday. People who lead life with difficulty have a better sense of perspective than those whose life is easier comparatively. Remembering this can make us accept disability in a better way and act less biased against disabled people. Age does seem to play a trick on our energy levels and health but not in all of us! We normally don’t find a kid running out of energy anytime during the day. Somehow, they seem to replenish their lost energy stores with a glass of milk, some pranks on friends/parents or with a power nap. But look at us! What a pity! We seem to lose our stamina, get fatigued more often, fight off sleepiness even after sleeping through the night and lack energy quite often. Maybe, this is inevitable and we should simply accept the fact that ageing brings this all? Absolutely not! I don’t deny that there is a scientific explanation for the energy shortage but we also need to accept the fact that our lifestyle too has a direct impact on our energy levels. Mitochondria Might Not Be All that Counts Mitochondria, powerhouse of the cell, converts oxygen and nutrients into adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and ATP exists as the chemical energy ‘currency’ of the cell that powers the cell’s metabolic activities. Ageing causes a drop in the production of mitochondria which in turn causes decreased production of ATP. This is inevitable and acceptable. Sometimes, health conditions too can make us fatigued but apart from these there are certain lifestyle routines that evidently hit our energy brakes and contribute towards fatigue. Correcting these habits can bring back the lost energy into your life making you the charming person once again. Guess it’s Stress: What is life without spice? We do have our share of stressors and speed breakers but breaking these hurdles and moving forward gives us a complete sense of accomplishment in life. During such times of stress our body releases cortisol hormones that reduce the production of ATP and increase inflammation (which again decreases ATP production). Choosing to overcome stress with techniques such as meditation, yoga, exercises or tai chi lowers cortisol levels. Talk to your friend, go for a comic play or take a stroll to enjoy the fresh air outside-do this just for 10-15 minutes and you would be renewed with a dose of energy. Staying without Sleep: This again increases cortisol and inflammation levels. Sleep-related problems such as sleep apnea can cause reduced blood oxygen levels which in turn affect ATP production. Electronic gadgets and social media are also equal troublemakers prohibiting us from taking a good night’s sleep daily. Follow certain principles to accommodate a healthy sleep. Keep your bedroom gadget-free, dim the lights when its time for sleep, light scented candles to keep you well, turn off any loud music and keep your room cool to bring in calm and serenity to your mind enabling you to go to sleep peacefully. Diet Riot: We trouble ourselves and our body greatly to achieve weight-related goals-by starving, depriving our body of the required food portions and not providing it with the nutrients required. Such actions deprive our body of ATP production and increase tiredness. Eating out and partying has increased our risk of inflammation which decreases ATP production and energy replenishment. Elderly people need the same nutrients but with reduced calorie numbers that causes them to skip many foods unknowingly. It is recommended that elderly people meet a reputed dietitian or nutritionist at www.firsteatright.com so that they are given the perfect diet plan to stick with their recommended calorie portions but fulfill nutrient requirements too. In general, it is recommended for all people of any group to eat more of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, proteins and low-fat dairy. Go for small snacks in between your meals that are once again rich in nutrients, something like a fruit bowl, puffed rice or popcorns without butter to provide you with continuous energy and fewer blood spikes. Save your Beverage: A sugary drink might provide energy but the levels drain down as fast as they had appeared causing fatigue. Stay balanced-avoid too much of caffeine or alcohol and too little of fluids such as water. Ensure that you never drink caffeinated drinks at least within 6 hours of bedtime otherwise it definitely disrupts your sleep routine. Remember, its not only liquids that count as part of your daily fluid requirements. Even fruits such as melons and veggies such as cucumbers that have ample water content in them are part of the overall number game-8 glasses of liquid per day and the number finally varies according to the individual’s body. Sedentary Behavior: Muscle mass and bone density decrease as we grow old. Lean muscle mass is a contributing factor for a decrease in the number of mitochondria and ATP. Staying sedentary only aggravates the problem by weakening muscles and causing them to lose energy inefficiently. By exercising, you increase muscle strength thereby increasing ATP production and production of energy-producing brain chemicals. The general recommendation is to perform 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week which comes to 30 minutes of activity 5 days a week. You can split the duration according to your convenience. Maybe 10 minutes in the morning, 10 min in the afternoon and 10 min in the night. Any activity that you perform is better than doing nothing at all. It could even be climbing a flight of stairs or walking while talking during meetings. Seclusion: We need people around us. Interaction with others fills us with energy and makes us look forward to another day in life. If you choose to stay isolated it can be linked to depression and depression is a risk factor for fatigue. Staying connected with people releases chemicals that make us happy, avoids production of cortisol or stress hormones and keeps us sane. Ensure that you bond with other people over the weekend-it might be your family, friends or neighbors. When you correct these issues and have a positive outlook to life, living becomes a pleasure rather than a pain. Heart disease is one of the worst killers around the world and has grave consequences. While a person’s quality of life, lifestyle, eating habits and stress have a strong impact on the risk of heart disease the treatment procedure too differs depending on the individual’s prior diagnosis of the same. The American Heart Association has revealed that treating a child with heart disease whose heart had stopped requires a different approach than saving a child with a healthy heart.
A journal statement published shows that cardiac arrest in the hospital is 10 times common among children with congenital heart defects or other acquired conditions compared to children with healthy hearts. Resuscitation and CPR techniques that’s been developed for children with healthy hearts are less effective on those kids with heart disease. Even medications that improve blood flow during CPR in children with any heart condition is not yet well-known. The functioning of the heart differs in such children and can even limit blood flow to the lungs or the rest of the body. Only if physicians understand the physiological and anatomical differences in kids with cardiovascular diseases such as single ventricle congenital heart disease, cardiomyopathy and pulmonary hypertension it might be of help in preventing cardiac arrests. This understanding plays a critical role in improving chances of survival. Whether the kid has suffered from a heart disease or not, anyone near the heart disease victim should be able to perform the basic life support. Researchers do highlight the point that most patients outside hospital settings don’t suffer from congenital heart disease and hence, physicians too don’t have much experience regarding resuscitation of these kids. Medical care has improved and technology is reaching new heights enabling many children to survive complicated heart surgeries and its time that physicians start focusing on helping children overcome cardiac arrests without side effects such as brain damage. Read more about cardiac arrests and its dangerous consequences by visiting the website www.firsteatright.com. The need to prevent cardiac arrest is as important as having a good operation. The CPR plays a great role in minimizing dangerous consequences, increasing survival chances and improving the quality of life of cardiac arrest patients. One study shows that survival rates almost tripled from 14% in 2000 to 43% in 2009 based on efforts to improve CPR. It is essential that each of us learn to perform basic life support and save as many lives as possible. Men with salt-and-pepper hair have an electrifying effect on us though it does seem to be a reminder of ageing. Ageing is an inevitable process and one that besides increasing the number of years spent in this world (for a change, its not the number on the scale) also brings with it a chain of changes to both your mind and body. It involves genetic, hormone-related and environmental mechanisms. Every organ in our body is affected by age-related changes and the vascular system holds topmost prominence. Physically, wrinkles, crow’s eye, baldness and grey hair are prominent signs of ageing and makes us look even older than our age. Until now, we have brooded over these physical changes that can impact our self-esteem and charisma but now, one of them, grey hair, seems to be associated with heart-related ailments according to latest studies.
The Light-Colored Hair Has a Darker Effect on the Heart It’s not surprising to see a 50-year-old man with pitch-dark black hair (natural color) nor a 20-year-old student with prominently visible white hair. It is in your gene and this is not exaggeration. It’s a fact that some things are beyond your control. Researchers have been quite concerned about early greying of hair recently and when it happens prematurely, they relate it to some disease-several studies too show a link between premature hair greying (PHG) and coronary artery disease (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/04/12/got-gray-hair-you-could-get-heart-disease-too/100371876/). Atherosclerosis is characterized by buildup of plaque (fatty deposits made of cholesterol, fat, calcium and other substances) inside the walls of the arteries. When this buildup happens in the arteries that supply blood to the heart it is termed as coronary heart disease. The buildup is such that the arteries become narrow preventing normal blood flow to the heart. We are aware that ageing is a risk factor for heart disease but what is new to us is the fact that grey heart in men might be a risk factor for it too! Ageing & Atherosclerosis Impaired DNA repair, oxidative stress, ageing of cells and inflammation are mechanisms that are common to hair greying and atherosclerosis. A study tried to analyze whether the presence of grey hair in individuals with coronary heart disease was an independent risk marker of the disease. The study included 545 men who were divided into groups based on the presence/absence of coronary heart disease and grey/white hair. The amount of grey hair present was marked on a scale from 1-5: 1 is for pure black hair, 2 is for more black than white, 3 is for equal black and white, 4 is for more white than black and 5 is for pure white. A detailed history of the participants was collected and their risk factor for cardiovascular disease such as BP, sugar, smoking and dyslipidemia was noted. While age was an independent predictor of hair whitening, in multivariate regression analysis age, hair whitening score, hypertension and dyslipidemia were independent predictors of coronary heart disease. A score of 3 or more was linked with a higher risk of coronary artery disease irrespective of the age or risk of CVD. Both, atherosclerosis and greying hair share a similar biological pathway whose risk increases with age. This was proved by an Indian study which also proposed that the production of free radicals increase as the person grows old but the endogenous defense mechanisms decrease. Also, grey hair was prominent in those individuals who were smoking tobacco, chewing tobacco or doing both compared to those who were nonsmokers. Greying hair is a strong indicator of biological age regardless of the chronological age and could be a serious sign of cardiovascular risk. An independent study proved that grey hair prevailed in 50% individuals in their thirties, 81% individuals in their forties and 95% of them in their fifties and, the risk of greying increased by 14% every year. However, women were not included in this study and we need further research to dwell upon the relationship between grey hair and cardiovascular disease risk in the female gender. Multitasking is an art that exists by default in a woman’s gene given the umpteen number of chores she is expected to do simultaneously. This is evident even more during morning hours when she juggles cooking, getting the kids ready to school, packing lunch for herself, kids and husband, getting ready to office, and in between all this she struggles to make the meals as nutritious as possible which is quite exacting given the circumstances. Multitasking is the only way to fulfill all demands otherwise one cannot dream of stepping out of the house unless the lady of the house hires someone for every chore (this isn’t possible for most of us). Despite the need to multitask one must certainly understand that there can be some serious safety risks associated with it unless you are 100% attentive and perfect. Anytime you are forced to multitask remember these key pointers below for your own safety: Equip your kitchen with the basic tools for a safe cooking: In a hurry burry there are abundant chances that you might miss to cook the food to the desired temperature and hence, keeping a food thermometer handy is absolutely necessary to ensure that foods are cooked properly to the desired internal temperature. For the exact internal temperatures suggested for chicken, beef and many others more please visit the website www.firsteatright.com. Reheat leftover food: If there are any leftovers don’t serve them without reheating to 165°F either in a microwave or a conventional oven. Avoid contamination: Cross-contamination is the biggest risk that’s absolutely unavoidable while multitasking unless you ensure to wash your hands in between tasks. Trying to talk over the phone, cutting veggies or cleaning the kitchen are sure-shot contamination possibilities. Stay handy with hand sanitizers: Many of us love to eat our food on the go while driving or traveling as this saves ample time from our perspective. Limit the consumption of handheld foods such as candies and chips and instead, choose something such as a banana, pear, whole grain sandwiches, crackers, nuts or fresh juice. If you have planned to eat your meals during travel it is recommended to keep stock of hand sanitizers and moist towelettes to use them as and when required. Pack your food properly: The time between lunch preparation and consumption is more than five hours for most of us at workplace owing to long travel hours, office work and meal timings. This provides ample time for the bacteria to grow. Avoid this by ensuring to refrigerate your food as soon as you reach office or pack your lunch with a frozen ice pack or in an insulated bag to avoid it from perishing. Don’t prolong your eat timings: Its common to sit before the television and relish our meals. More common is the time we spend in this process which even goes beyond an hour or so at times. No leftover food should remain at room temperature for more than two hours and in case it’s summer for not more than an hour. If you feel that you might become immersed in what’s happening on the television ignorant of the time it is advisable to set a timer before you sit down for the meal |
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.