 Ice creams Contain More Cholesterol Than A Hamburger Eating is blissful for some. They can go about munching on a variety of delicious and tasty dishes whenever they feel bored or tempted. At a young age, we don’t care about calories, health quotient or the ill effects of a certain food. For example, if you ask a teenager to refrain from eating pizza, he/she is surely not going to give heed to what you recommend. But, as the teenager grows, he/she is sure to bother about the calories present in every food that they eat irrespective of their hunger. High blood pressure, high cholesterol values and risk of heart disease are becoming a common issue these days and though, we would love to continue the teenage habit of munching on anything that comes by our way, monitoring our food intakes becomes of utmost concern here. Impact of Cholesterol on Day-to-day Life Cholesterol is a waxy substance found in the cells of the body. Its not bad in moderate quantities and our body needs certain quantities of cholesterol to produce hormones, vitamin D and enzymes needed for digestion. But too much of cholesterol can be a problem. Every adult above the age of 20 is advised to get his/her cholesterol levels checked every 4 to 6 years with a lipoprotein blood test. Avoid these cholesterol-rich foods to keep your cholesterol levels under control:
Eating the above-mentioned foods is not a sin. All you have to keep in mind is to eat them in controlled portions and stick to your daily physical activity routine to stay in good health. If you suffer from high cholesterol values which keeps hitting your health badly, it is better to get in touch with a registered dietitian nutritionist at www.firsteatright.com who can help you control cholesterol values with healthy eating plans and a simple activity routine.
Lung Cancer Awareness Month (November 1st-November 30th)  You Might Have Two Lungs, but they Function Together!  Stop Smoking. Save Yourself from Lung Cancer Respiratory Anatomy
Breathing is the crux of human existence and lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system which also comprise of airways, blood vessels and muscles that help a person breathe. Lungs help to breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide from the body. Termed as ‘gas exchange’ this is a vital element of breathing. Alongside gas exchange, the respiratory system also performs other important functions that support breathing such as:
Humans are blessed with two lungs-the right and left lung each having distinct characteristics. The right lung is divided into three lobes and the left lung into two lobes. These lobes are like balloons that are filled with sponge-like tissue. Each lung is surrounded by pleura-membranes that surround each lobe of the lungs. Air enters our body primarily through the nose but can also enter through our mouth if we are accustomed to breathing through our mouth. This air enters the throat which passes it to the trachea or wind pipe. Trachea is composed of two bronchial tubes that enter each lung which are again divided at the lobes of the lung. The tiniest of the bronchial branches are called bronchioles which are comprised of air sacs or alveoli. Though small, the air sacs enable exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Walls of the alveoli are comprised of capillaries (blood vessels) through which blood passes entering via the pulmonary artery and leaving via the pulmonary vein. In the capillaries, blood pushes carbon dioxide into the alveoli and takes oxygen from air in the alveoli. Complexity Involved Breathing is a complex process which can be greatly disturbed owing to the presence of infections, injuries, diseases and other factors. Lung Cancer Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide but shows no symptoms until later stages. Absence of much symptoms is due to the presence of restricted number of pain receptors in the lungs. Lung cancer is commonly present among the older generation, specifically amongst people belonging to the 70-74 age group. Individuals younger than 40 face the least risk of the disease. Although it can occur in anyone, smoking is the primary cause (more than 85%) of this cancer owing to the various toxic substances that are inhaled. Symptoms The symptoms of lung cancer vary depending on the type of lung cancer and the placement and size of the tumor. Common symptoms include:
Cancer that starts in the lungs is called as primary lung cancer and one that starts elsewhere and spreads to the lungs from another place in the body is called as secondary lung cancer. There are three main types of lung cancer namely: Small cell lung cancer: Almost 10-15% of lung cancers belong to this category and falls under primary lung cancer. It spreads quickly compared to the rest of the types. Non-small-cell lung cancer: Almost 85% of lung cancers belong to this category making it the most common type present universally. Lung carcinoid tumor: This is the least-present type of amounting to lesser than 5% of the total lung cancer statistics. These tumors grow slowly and rarely do they spread. Treatment Treatment purely depends on the stage of diagnosis, type of cancer and how far the disease has spread. When the cancer is confined to a small area which means that it has been diagnosed early, surgery is the preferred option where the portion of the affected lungs are removed surgically. When health conditions don’t permit surgery, radiotherapy is the suggested option for treatment. Chemotherapy is introduced to the patient only if the cancer has spread too much making surgery or radiotherapy an ineffective option. Diagnosis plays a very important role in treatment and survival rates. Only 1 in 20 people live for at least 10 years diagnosis while 1 in 3 people live at least for a year for sure after diagnosis. Prevention The best way to prevent lung cancer is to stop smoking (if you smoke) as this is the primary cause of the disease. Even if you have been a heavy smoker until now, your chance of acquitting the disease reduces once you stop it. After some 10 years of quitting, the chances of developing lung cancer decrease by almost 50%. When such are the advantages of quitting, why can’t we think about it seriously? Read more about the side effects of smoking and the advantages that tag along once a person quits smoking from the website www.firsteatright.com. Eat healthy: Keep your lungs healthy by eating nutritious and wholesome food. Include five portions of fresh fruits and vegetables daily, choose whole grains, eat foods that are high in fiber diet, low in fat and rich in nutrients. Physical activity: Exercising regularly decreases the risk of lung cancer in fact, any type of cancer. Indulge in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise every week which amounts to at least 30 minutes of exercise five days a week. Halloween Day (October 31st) Spread the Joy of Sharing during Halloween by Donating Excess Candies  Distribute Candies, Don't Allow Kids to Grab Them Halloween is the most desired day for children as they right royally grab umpteen candies to eat, dress up as spookily as possible and the schools and neighborhoods are buzzing with activities. But as parents, are you ready for all the sugar laden treats that could last for months after the festival? Having a party together, going for a trick or treat or celebrating in your own unique way, there are multiple creative ways in which you can make Halloween healthier, desirable and enjoyable.
Safe Halloween There are quite a number of safety measures that should be ensured before sending your child for his/her Halloween celebration. Costume-wise Kids jump with excitement and are ready to do anything to look their best on Halloween. They don’t mind the flowing dresses, huge hats or mighty swords. But as parents, we need to make sure that the costume fits correctly without being too big or too small making it uneasy for the kid to move around easily. If you are making a mask, hat or a wig ensure that these props fit your child perfectly instead of blocking their vision. Pumpkin-wise What is Halloween without the scary or silly Jack-o’-lanterns? The custom is believed to have originated in Ireland where pumpkins were often carved with grotesque faces. Since then, the tradition of carving pumpkins and lighting them to ward off evil forces has been followed worldwide. Never give kids the responsibility of carving pumpkins with knives as there are many dangerous consequences attached to it. You can help them with permanent markers where the child can draw features over the pumpkin and make them spooky/silly according to their wish. Else, allow them to draw the features and help them with the carving process. Also, instead of lighting candles inside the carved pumpkin, you can use glow stickers. If you wish to use candles, place the pumpkin in places where there are minimal chances of tripping over and blow off the candles when you are not at home. Trick-or-treating-wise Halloween is the time of year where children are prone to car accidents twice as much compared to any other time of year. It is better to:
This is the most sought-after part during Halloween and children love to munch on candies as and when their bags fill up. But, it is always better to wait until you reach home before opening your candy bag. This way, you ensure that you eat only those that are fully wrapped and get to read the ingredients if your child has any food allergies. Never let children eat any edibles that seem to be made of unknown ingredients. Before you kid gets ready for the candies, it is always better to make him/her aware of the idea that not all candies need to be emptied then and there. Parents can take a few to their office and share it with their colleagues or even encourage their children to trade candies for other prizes such as their favorite toy or dress. This way, you ensure better health and less sugar intake. There is no hard and fast rule attached with Halloween celebrations. It is the time of year to celebrate and promote togetherness in an amicable way. As parents you can always incorporate positive changes such as:
 Whoa! Your Teenage Child Looks All Grown Up Adolescents and youngsters form the majority of population in India. This is a ‘cat on the wall’ stage which terrorizes every parent and excites every adolescent! Worldwide, there are around 1.2 billion people, almost 1 in every 6th person living in this world is an adolescent aged between 10 and 19 years. Adolescence is the period of maximal growth of an individual-girls and boys attain puberty, hormone levels change and they love to explore their body and mind. While most adolescents are healthy, some of them suffer from premature death, illness and injury due to alcohol/tobacco use, unprotected sex, sedentary lifestyle, lack of exercise or exposure to violence/trauma. All these rips off the teenager of good health and affect their health lifelong as adults and also their children’s health. Avoiding such behaviors during adolescence and promoting healthy behavior in these individuals is needed to enable them to grow up into healthy adults who can reproduce healthy kids.
Some of the critical health issues that hit these people include: Early pregnancy and childbirth Globally, there are 44 births born of girls aged 15-19 years of every 1000 births (11% of total births) and early pregnancy and childbirth is the leading cause of death in these girls. Enabling better access to contraceptive information and pills, specifying strict rules on minimal age for marriage and enforcing them can curb such early pregnancies greatly. If in case such adolescent girls do get pregnant, appropriate antenatal care must be provided and in countries where laws permit, safe abortion practices should be given for those who wish to terminate the pregnancy. HIV While the total number of deaths due to HIV is down by 30%, HIV-related deaths in adolescents are rising with around 2 million teenagers living with HIV and many of them even unaware of their HIV status. Youngsters must be made aware of ways to protect themselves, given access to these means and given better access to HIV testing and counselling services. Condoms for avoiding sexual transmission of the virus and clean needles/syringes for injecting drugs must be made available to them. Vaccinations have helped decrease the attack of a great number of diseases including polio, measles and mumps. Still, diarrhea and respiratory tract infections are said to be the top 5 causes of death for 10-19-year olds. Mental health problems Depression is the 3rd leading cause of ill health and disability among adolescents and suicide is quoted as the third leading cause of death in adolescents aged between 15 and 19 years. Trauma, rape, violence, humiliation and poverty increase the chances of mental illness by multi-folds. Children should be trained in life skills and parents should develop a fine rapport with their children that enables them to detect any changes in their children’s behavior immediately. Use of alcohol/drugs Use of alcohol and drugs are major sources of other harmful issues such as unprotected sex, injuries due to road accidents, violence by a partner and premature deaths. Drugs availability must be reduced as drug use is dominant among 15-19-year olds. Injuries and deaths due to road accidents too is a major reason of death among adolescents. Blood-alcohol levels must be set lower for teenage drivers. Malnutrition and obesity Malnutrition and obesity exist at two ends of the spectrum in developing and under-developed countries. There are many children who enter adolescence as malnourished teenagers which makes them vulnerable to health issues. Obesity in kids and teenagers is also on the rise in low-, middle- and high-income countries globally. Its high time to curb the obesity epidemic and join hands together to promote healthy eating among our present generation kids to enable them to grow into healthy adults. For more insights on managing the obesity epidemic and learning to live a healthy lifestyle please visit the website www.firsteatright.com. Exercise and nutrition Iron deficiency anemia was the leading cause of quality life lost to disability and death in 2015. Teenagers consume a bulk portion of junk foods high in saturated fats, trans fat, free sugars and salt that’s totally harmful for the body. Data too suggests that fewer than 1 in 4 individuals meet the physical activity requirements of exercising for 60 minutes daily. Tobacco Smoking starts as early as adolescence due to peer pressure or the excitement to try new things and this develops into a habit gradually. To prevent this, it is necessary to increase tobacco prices, impose higher taxes on tobacco products and ban tobacco advertising. Almost 1 in 10 adolescents aged 13 to 15 years use tobacco which needs immediate intervention.  Women Show Greater Aerobic Fitness Ability than Men Women are weaker of the two sexes-this feeling has been instilled among women since ages and ages by our forefathers and fathers. Society too treats a man with more respect than a woman as he is proudly called the ‘head of the family’. But now, women are breaking all barriers and setting their successful footsteps onto all domains-we have the first Indian woman pilot, Ms. Avani Chaturvedi flying the fighter jet to Dr. Soumya Swaminathan who is the deputy director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), the highest post held by an India in the WHO.
All these bring about a new question-who really is the weaker sex? Science and logic are fervently working together to produce a clearer picture on a woman’s physical fitness levels on all fields, especially in ones that require greater physical stamina as in athletic training. A new study suggests that when it comes to getting fitter and maintaining it, women have an aerobic edge over men. Though a small study, it compared the oxygen uptake of 18 young men and women while they worked out on a treadmill. An important criterion that determines aerobic fitness is oxygen uptake. Results proved that women consistently processed oxygen about 30% faster than men which is contradicting the common belief that men have a stronger and more naturally athletic body. One researcher involved in the small study exclaimed that a woman’s muscles extract oxygen from the blood faster and this indicates a much more powerful aerobic system. One point to note is that, all participants in the study were around the same age, fitness level, weight and highly active people. While men may have higher fitness peaks than women, the study clearly shows that women show clearly more aerobic fitness ability than men at the same level. The reason for this faster oxygen uptake is not clear, but one thing is-the way we differentiate women and the way in which we approach assessment and training might all change forever in a few years’ time. Be it a man or a woman, the ability to perform, to process and prove results matter more than anything- be it the person’s sex, caste, creed, height or weight! If you are a sports person or someone looking to enhance your athletic performance with a healthy diet plan and physical activity, you can get in touch with acclaimed registered dietitian nutritionists at www.firsteatright.com.  Rhabdo Can be Life-Threatening People go crazy over workouts and physical fitness at one stage in their life and during this period, they give their 100% to physical activity exerting themselves beyond their maximum limit. Most health clubs these days offer discounted rates or festive bonanza offers in their membership prices and include dynamic exercises such as whole-body workouts, CrossFit, high-intensity interval training, functional training, etc.
Trainers are pumped up with energy and they pass over such high spiritedness to their clients. They push you to a whole new level of exercising and motivate you all through the schedule. These high-intensity workouts benefit some clients but affect many of them causing a life-threatening disease called rhabdo. Rhabdomyolysis Rhabdomyolysis is the breakdown of muscle tissue whose contents enter the bloodstream rapidly. Myoglobin is released when muscle cells burst and too much of this protein results in kidney damage. Myoglobin is a local oxygen reservoir that serves to supply oxygen during periods of high-intensity muscular activity. What Causes Rhabdo? High-intensity workout/training is one of the many causes of rhabdo. Other critical ones include:
Major symptoms of rhabdo include dark or red-colored urine, overall body weakness, muscle tenderness, weakness of affected muscle, decreased urine output and muscle stiffening or aching. Other symptoms include fatigue, joint pain, seizures and weight gain. Diagnosis & Treatment The aching muscles are thoroughly checked for tenderness alongside a urine and blood test to confirm rhabdomyolysis. The doctor might check for normal levels of the following elements that are required for muscle and kidney health:
Be Strong-willed Exercising is fun, entertaining and enjoyable when you focus on it considering your body cues. Some trainers love to show fast-paced results and keep drilling you to the point of exhaustion. A good trainer is one who gets to know your body well in due course and adjusts exercise routines to match your fitness level. He/she slowly and consistently introduces new exercises and challenges to your body until you start functioning better and faster.  Soy Foods have a Dual Effect on Breast Cancer Soybeans are the classic version of a vegetarian meat substitutes. Affordable even to the poorest of mankind, these protein-packed foods are widely used for their minimal calorie content and maximum protein punch. This special food finds itself entangled between conflicting study results and statements that appreciate or condemn its effects on human health. Hailed by some for controlling hot flashes, osteoporosis and cancers such as breast and prostate, the same food is hated by many for fear of breast cancer risk, dementia and thyroid problems.
Nutrition Combination Science proclaims soy as one of the healthiest foods available in abundance to every man living in this world, but conflicting research prevents mankind from advertising it to the world. Containing abundant quantities of isoflavones, it is this element that brings about varying results on our very own soybean. Isoflavones are estrogen-like compounds found in plants that have a weaker effect comparatively. Estrogen is likelier to promote the growth and development of breast cancer. Consuming isoflavone-rich soy foods is feared to worsen the chances of breast cancer greatly. Contrarily, there have been few other studies indicating positive effects of soy intake on inhibiting breast cancer risks. Read more about breast cancer, its signs, symptoms, diagnoses and the foods you can eat to remain at a reduced risk from the website www.firsteatright.com. Studies that Don’t Conclude Yet Confuse Eat Soy, Experience the Joy of Cancer-inhibition Its more than 25 years since the conflict in information surrounding soy intake and breast cancer risk started appearing and we’ve not been able to come to any decisive conclusions until now. It all started on a positive note when soy-consuming countries showed decreased mortality rates which made researchers curious about isoflavones’ role as anti-chemo agents. That’s mainly because these elements contain both estrogen-dependent and estrogen-independent properties that give us clues that it might obstruct the occurrence of breast cancer. Much research on soy started evolving as many women in Asian countries showed decreased risk of breast cancer compared to women in Western countries. Soybeans and soy products mainly contain two isoflavones called genistein and daidzein. Different research results prove genistein to prevent cancer of the breast, prostate, colon and skin while daidzein is also said to possess anticancer effects. Yet another study showed that women who consumed soy were 21% less-likelier to die over 9 ½ years compared to those women who ate the least. The same study also showed that there are no side effects such as increased cancer risk due to soy consumption. In fact, it only promotes various other health benefits such as decreased heart problems, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases along with the anti-cancer effect. Research Show Soy Foods as Cancer-promoting Foods Adding a small amount of soy foods to diet has the tendency to trigger cancer-inducing genes in the body, according to a study. The study involved 140 women who were diagnosed with stage 1 or 2 breast cancer between 2003 and 2007 and scheduled for a mastectomy or lumpectomy in 2-3 weeks. Within those three weeks these women were grouped into two where 70 of them consumed soy protein (52 grams daily) and another 70 consumed a placebo that looked like soy protein. On comparison of each woman’s breast tissue sample that was taken before and after surgery, results showed that genes that promoted cancer cell growth were turned on in women who consumed soy protein. Two studies in 2009 done by reputed study groups came to strikingly different conclusions. One study observed whether soy triggered the recurrence of the disease and concluded positively. Yet another study on Chinese breast cancer survivors most of whom underwent a mastectomy showed that those women who consumed a soy-rich diet were at a decreased risk of recurrence compared to those who ate a diet that contained little of soy. All said and done, consumption of soy still remains a vital treatment source to minimize menopausal symptoms and avoid bone loss. There are study results that support consumption of soy from a younger age compared to inclusion of soy-rich foods from menopause. We need yet more conclusive research studies that either approve or disprove soy usage as an agent against breast cancer. Until then, there is no harm in eating moderate quantities of soy foods. Sources of Soy Feel free to consume one or two servings of soy foods such as tofu, tempeh, edamame and soy milk daily. You can substitute peanuts for soybeans, soymilk for cow’s milk while eating your breakfast cereal, use soy protein instead or red meat while preparing gravies, use miso dressing for your salad or relish yummy smoothies with soy milk.  Non-edible Gifts are Great Gifting Options Too Halloween is the most desired day for children as they right royally grab umpteen candies to eat, dress up as spookily as possible and the schools and neighborhoods are buzzing with activities. But as parents, are you ready for all the sugar laden treats that could last for months after the festival? Having a party together, going for a trick or treat or celebrating in your own unique way, there are multiple creative ways in which you can make Halloween healthier, desirable and enjoyable.
Safe Halloween There are quite a number of safety measures that should be ensured before sending your child for his/her Halloween celebration. Costume-wise Kids jump with excitement and are ready to do anything to look their best on Halloween. They don’t mind the flowing dresses, huge hats or mighty swords. But as parents, we need to make sure that the costume fits correctly without being too big or too small making it uneasy for the kid to move around easily. If you are making a mask, hat or a wig ensure that these props fit your child perfectly instead of blocking their vision. Pumpkin-wise What is Halloween without the scary or silly Jack-o’-lanterns? The custom is believed to have originated in Ireland where pumpkins were often carved with grotesque faces. Since then, the tradition of carving pumpkins and lighting them to ward off evil forces has been followed worldwide. Never give kids the responsibility of carving pumpkins with knives as there are many dangerous consequences attached to it. You can help them with permanent markers where the child can draw features over the pumpkin and make them spooky/silly according to their wish. Else, allow them to draw the features and help them with the carving process. Also, instead of lighting candles inside the carved pumpkin, you can use glow stickers. If you wish to use candles, place the pumpkin in places where there are minimal chances of tripping over and blow off the candles when you are not at home. Trick-or-treating-wise Halloween is the time of year where children are prone to car accidents twice as much compared to any other time of year. It is better to:
This is the most sought-after part during Halloween and children love to munch on candies as and when their bags fill up. But, it is always better to wait until you reach home before opening your candy bag. This way, you ensure that you eat only those that are fully wrapped and get to read the ingredients if your child has any food allergies. Never let children eat any edibles that seem to be made of unknown ingredients. Before you kid gets ready for the candies, it is always better to make him/her aware of the idea that not all candies need to be emptied then and there. Parents can take a few to their office and share it with their colleagues or even encourage their children to trade candies for other prizes such as their favorite toy or dress. This way, you ensure better health and less sugar intake. There is no hard and fast rule attached with Halloween celebrations. It is the time of year to celebrate and promote togetherness in an amicable way. As parents you can always incorporate positive changes such as:
 Act Fast on the Signs of F.A.S.T Every year we insist citizens around the world to familiarize themselves with the symptoms of stroke and help the affected person receive treatment as early as possible. Still, stroke remains as one of the leading causes of death globally. Beyond the tragedy of death, the most ironic part is the feeling of loneliness that sets in most of the stroke-affected persons post-stroke. For those who feel isolated-there are 80 million people who live in a similar state of mind as yours and 50 million survivors who have learnt to lead lives with some form of lifelong disability.
The bitter truth remains unchanged that life after stroke doesn’t remain the same as before. The impact intensity and nature differ from person to person, but one thing remains unchanged-your ability to remain resilient and strong, bounce back from the disaster and make your life as meaningful as possible. The effect of stroke entirely depends on the how fast you react on the F.A.S.T warning signs. F.A.S.T Warning Signs Stroke is a condition that happens when a blood vessel carrying oxygen and other important nutrients to the brain is blocked by a clot or bursts. The parts of the brain that are deprived of oxygen and blood start dying and physicians predict the impact of a stroke depending on the extent and locality of the brain cell damage. Leaving a stroke-affected person unattended every minute after stroke destroys millions of brain cells. Learn the cardinal symptoms of stroke with the help of F.A.S.T and act fast to avoid as much damage as possible to the body: F-Face drooping. Can you notice drooping or numbness on one side of the person’s face? A-Arm weakness. Ask the person to lift both arms. Can you notice either of the hands drooping down or seeming weak/numb? S-Speech difficulty. Try conversing with the person. Is his/her speech slurred, difficult to understand or the person finds it hard to converse? T-Time to call emergency. If you notice or doubt any of the above signs, call emergency and take the person to the hospital immediately. Don’t drive by yourself as an ambulance has the facility to provide treatment on the way to the hospital and this remains of utmost help. Anyone is at Risk Stroke affects anyone of any age although your age, sex, ethnicity and lifestyle are risk-promoting factors of stroke. Anyone who smokes, drinks, stays inactive or has high cholesterol, BP and sugar are always at a higher risk of being affected by the condition. One can always minimize these risks by staying healthy, eating nutritious foods, maintaining a healthy body weight, exercising regularly and limiting smoking/drinking. Get in touch with registered dietitian nutritionist at www.firsteatright.com to lead a healthy life, change your lifestyle for the better and promote nutritious eating habits that last a lifetime.  Self Before Service becomes a Priority After 40s to Ensure Health  Women, Start Attending to Your Health Too! Aging is an inevitable phenomenon that can never be reversed but how we age can be controlled and monitored by our decisions and priorities. Every decade of a person’s life adds certain new elements and takes away some oldies. Twenties and thirties are the prime ages during which each of us brim with energy and await with eagerness to explore and exploit the good things that life has to offer us. Stepping out of your 30s and entering your 40s is a radical stage during which the physical body exhibits enormous changes and you seem to notice changes mind-wise too. Making healthy choices and taking nutrition-based decisions help a person stay healthy as he/she ages. Starting off with healthy habits even in your 40s, 50s or 60s increases quality of life and reduces your risk of heart disease and chronic illnesses. Middle age is the right time to garner all your attention towards good health for now and forever.
There is no hard and fast rule that states that one needs to visit a doctor only for treating ailments. It is also essential to get an annual health checkup done to ensure that your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels are in normal ranges. Smarty 40 Your forties are your life’s prime years that involve settling your child into their favorite study streams, reaching great career pinnacles, amassing as much fortune as possible and taking all big decisions in life. In all this turmoil, people rarely find time to think about themselves and take care of their health. A team of researchers dwelled into the health records of more than 25,000 people over several decades analyzing blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol levels, body mass index and smoking risk factors across participants when their average age was early 40s. Cardiovascular disease risk factors that was present in the early 40s accurately denoted the health status of participants at ages 65, 75 and 85. Those who had no major health risk factors lived a longer healthier life without heart disease or chronic illness which saved healthcare expenses too, according to a study published in the journal Circulation. Your 40s is the best time to assess your health and make changes for the better to safeguard and protect it in the long term. You are what you eat! Analyze your diet and introduce any changes, if needed, cutting back on sugar, processed food and sodium all three of which are major contributors for diseases such as diabetes or blood pressure. Women especially are at an increased risk of diabetes as they approach menopause. Cut down on your sodas, frozen desserts and refined carbs consumption to prevent or even reverse the onset of diabetes. 50-60, Not 50-50 Your health affects everything in life-daily routine, performance at work and even your ability to work. There are even studies that show that employees with better cardiovascular health experience fewer sick days and focus better at work along with reduced annual healthcare cost. Even when menopause does not pose to be a dangerous risk factor for cardiovascular disease, symptoms can start occurring right around this period and heart disease symptoms can become more evident later in life. Actually, 50s and 60s are the time during which individuals accumulate more weight and heart disease risk factors increase. It is better to take precautions before your 50s and prevent accumulation of weight. Regular physical activity during the middle age can improve elasticity of blood vessels that can occur due to a sedentary lifestyle and decrease cardiovascular disease risk. Few simple ways of staying active include taking walks in your neighborhood or walking down to the farmer’s market to find fresh produce. Avoiding eating outside and preparing meals at home can be a great way of staying healthy. 60s and over are the decades during which medical problems become pronounced and the number of hospital visits increase. Although men are more affected by heart disease than women, currently the statistics show a steadily increasing number of women who become victims to heart disease. Women step onto the role of caretakers playing the role of a mother, wife, daughter, office executive, businesswoman or otherwise putting the needs and wants of all other people before attending to their needs. So critical is a woman’s role in other peoples’ life that any changes to this can shake up the entire family network. Take some precautions to safeguard yourself from heart disease in your 40s and above with the following suggestions:
 Breastfeeding Improves Mom-Child Bonding  Breast Pump is a Working Mom’s Best Friend Women are still deprived of extended maternity leaves and expected to roll up their sleeves and get back to work at the end of their third month post-delivery, but newspapers and magazines uphold the advantages of feeding breast milk to kids directly from the breast up to the baby’s sixth month. So, are women expected to have supernatural powers such that they can help their little ones breastfeed even when they are held up in an important meeting with the CEO at office or stuck in traffic while driving back from work?
Gone with the Wind A few decades back there wasn’t a need for such debates and assessments as women stayed at home tending to the needs of the family forever. Times have changed and we feel proud and happy about our girl children and women in our family when they excel academically and achieve great milestones at work. Nothing comes free of cost. Additional income, pride to the family and independence come at the cost of multitudinous things such as compromised time schedules with children, absence of leisure time at home and above all, leaving your child at the mercy of a caretaker at home when the kid is not even four months old. To support this, technological advancements prove to help us in as much ways as possible. Work from home options exist, attending client meetings through video calls has become possible and even we are given the option of expressing breast milk through a breast pump and feeding our child with our very own breast milk even when we leave to work. The only difference is that the child consumes this milk using a feeding bottle instead of directly drinking it from our breast. This seems to be a minimal change when we look at the larger picture (enabling the working mom to feed her child at home with her milk) but there are always pros and cons attached to such technological stuffs. Breastfeeding Way better than Pumping Undoubtedly, breast milk is the best milk for your baby and there is research authenticating the effects of breastmilk on decreased obesity risks for babies. WHO repeatedly insists on exclusively breastfeeding your newborn baby up to its 6th month to reap numerous benefits. Now, a new research proves that directly breastfeeding your child is best compared to giving your baby breast milk out of the bottle. By doing this, the infant not only gains weight slowly and steadily but also possesses a lower BMI score at 3 months. But, isn’t it weird that the same milk expressed via two different formats could affect the infant in such contrast ways? After so much ordeal and time pumping milk and keeping it aside for her kid, the woman is still told that breastfeeding is better than pumping. One must understand that we are only talking about better of the two and there is no doubt that pumping too adds nutrition and health of breast milk to the child. The research included 2,500 infants of which those infants who had the lowest scores at the end of the 12th month were exclusively breastfed (without formula) and started consuming solids around the 5th or 6th month. Yet the research did not probe into the mode of breastfeeding past the infant’s third month. This research clearly showed that putting a full stop to breastfeeding before the infant’s sixth month leads to:
For Reasons Unclear The reason behind this huge difference between breastfeeding and pumping remains unclear though. Researchers guess that it might have something to do with thawing, refrigerating or freezing breast milk which changes the breast milk components. Or, maybe children who breastfeed have better control over the amount of milk they consume compared to drinking from a bottle. This study should never bring upon people the wrong impression that it is better to formula-feed infants rather than suffer from pumping milk. Something is better than nothing. Any amount of breastmilk that goes into your infant’s body is advantageous to the child. The only step left now is to make it a huge social issue and insist governments to extend maternity leaves mandatorily. Its all about supporting the mom in her journey of breastfeeding the infant. What we do now lasts a lifetime for the child. Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October 1st-October 31st) |
 French Toast to Boost your Spirits |  Veggie-rich Omelet |  Delicious Pancakes Stacked Up in a Row |
Pancakes: Not any Enid Blyton’s novel is complete without children enjoying homemade pancakes with a drizzle of honey and butter and the narration would surely make any of us yearn to eat one! Pancakes are available worldwide with a slight variation and a touch of uniqueness added by every country serving it. To the French, the pancake is a crepe, a blintz in Japan or a blini in Russia. Pancakes made in Korea and Indonesia are similar to omelets and used as wrappers for other foods.
Egg Bhurji: Native to our own country, it is often confused with scrambled egg. The preparation is different and so is the addition of sautéed vegetables and seasonings. In this recipe, the veggies are added to the pan and sautéed before adding the eggs and whisking them until they are completely cooked. Variations do exist in preparing the egg bhurji too depending on individual preferences. Some love to add veggies such as carrots, peas and potatoes along with the regular ones to improve the dish’s taste while others completely love to experiment and might add the tomatoes to the beaten egg before pouring them onto the pan to improve the tangy taste and flavor of the dish. However might be the method of preparation, egg bhurji tastes great with roti or naan!
People have started looking at eggs beyond just as a breakfast staple. We add them in curries, salads, wraps and parathas with eggs finding a place in cocktails too! Dedicated eat outs exist for egg lovers where an entire restaurant’s menu only caters to their different needs and wants. Choose what you want, eat what is right and stay healthy by utilizing the various health aspects provided by our very own Anda!
Egg Bhurji: Native to our own country, it is often confused with scrambled egg. The preparation is different and so is the addition of sautéed vegetables and seasonings. In this recipe, the veggies are added to the pan and sautéed before adding the eggs and whisking them until they are completely cooked. Variations do exist in preparing the egg bhurji too depending on individual preferences. Some love to add veggies such as carrots, peas and potatoes along with the regular ones to improve the dish’s taste while others completely love to experiment and might add the tomatoes to the beaten egg before pouring them onto the pan to improve the tangy taste and flavor of the dish. However might be the method of preparation, egg bhurji tastes great with roti or naan!
People have started looking at eggs beyond just as a breakfast staple. We add them in curries, salads, wraps and parathas with eggs finding a place in cocktails too! Dedicated eat outs exist for egg lovers where an entire restaurant’s menu only caters to their different needs and wants. Choose what you want, eat what is right and stay healthy by utilizing the various health aspects provided by our very own Anda!
World Egg Day (Oct 12th 2018)
Whole Egg Contains More Protein than Egg White
Though shaped like a ‘0’, the egg is 100% beneficial. This powerhouse of protein has been consumed by humans for thousands of years and most people feel their breakfast to be incomplete without eggs-either poached, scrambled, boiled, fried or consumed as an omelettes. There is one question that keeps nagging in our minds each time we eat our eggs-Which is better for health, egg whites or egg yolks?
Eggs for Health
Eggs are replete with proteins and one medium egg contains around 70 calories with 7 g of protein and 5 g of fat. A reputed journal study even shows that children who eat one egg daily for six months along with a diet that contains reduced-sugar foods can help them grow taller and prevent stunting. Eggs contain choline (an important nutrient mainly because our body cannot produce choline), a nutrient without which we become deficient in folic acid too.
Egg Yolk
The yellow portion of the egg or the egg yolk is the most-debated part for its health and calorie values by people worldwide. There is no denying that the egg yolks contain cholesterol, fat and saturated fat but what we ignore is the rich nutrients too, such as the fat-soluble vitamins, essential fatty acids and other major nutrients, that are present within it. The egg yolk makes up about 34% of the liquid weight of the egg and contains almost all the fat in the egg and around 50% protein content of the egg. Precisely, one egg yolk contains around 55 calories, 4.5 g of total fat, 210 mg of cholesterol and 2.7 g of protein.
Nutrient-wise, the egg yolk is anytime high in all nutrients such as vitamins (B6 and B12), folic acid, pantothenic acid, calcium, copper, iron, manganese, phosphorus, selenium, zinc and thiamin except for niacin and riboflavin. Vitamin A, D, E and K are present only in this golden portion of the egg. Vitamin D or the sunshine vitamin is rarely present naturally in foods and egg yolks are one valuable source of this vitamin.
With so much in line inside one egg yolk, what about the nutrient contents of double-yolked eggs? Do they contain twice the quantity of the nutrients? Double-yolked eggs are generally produced by younger chickens whose production cycles are not completely synchronized. Sometimes, genetics too might decide the fate of the yolk as certain hens produce only double-yolked eggs throughout their life cycle. Though rare, it is not weird for a chicken to produce an egg with no yolk at all.
Egg White or Albumen
Albumen contains the remaining portion of the egg’s liquid (66%) and is comparatively a greater source of egg protein (more than 50% of the total protein content), niacin, riboflavin, magnesium, potassium and sodium compared to the egg yolk. One egg white contains only 17 calories with 4 g of protein and 55 mg of sodium. That, the egg white contains 0% fat is worth noting here.
Egg White Vs Egg
Whole eggs top all other protein foods and for this reason, have been classified under the ‘protein’ foods group alongside meat. The opinion on the best portion of the egg has varied greatly over the years with different suggestions and recommendations pouring in from physicians, nutritionists and dietitians worldwide. Latest studies do show that controlled consumption of egg does not impact cholesterol levels negatively.
Coming to our comparison, although egg whites might contain a greater protein portion, the whole egg contains even greater protein than consuming the whites alone. While egg whites might contain 7% of protein, the whole egg contains 10% of protein. Also, vitamin D is present only in the egg yolk and this is of immense value as this vitamin is rarely present in foods naturally (Already mentioned, but worth noting again!).
Coming to the heart of the issue-cholesterol content of the egg yolk. Not all cholesterol is bad for health and you might all be familiar with the two types of cholesterol, the good (HDL) and bad (LDL) cholesterol present in different foods. Reduce your LDL levels that is popular to increase your chances of heart attack and increase your HDL levels to reduce your chances of heart attack considerably. The cholesterol in egg yolks are the good ones (HDL) and it is extremely beneficial to your body to eat the egg yolk as well. Just because there is a small percentage of fat in the yolk doesn’t mean that you completely ignore taking the yellow portion of the egg. Instead, reduce or cut out fat from other unhealthy food sources, do plenty of exercise and continue consuming your egg yolks for maximal health benefits and balance.
Even people on a weight-loss diet can surely continue taking their whole eggs. The restriction might come in the quantity of eggs they can eat and it is fully up to a registered dietitian nutritionist to guide the individual taking up the weight-loss diet on the quantity of eggs allowed for consumption. Get in touch with dietitians/nutritionists at www.firsteatright.com to help you in this endeavor and don’t completely ignore the egg yolks eating only the whites until you are guided by a professional.
Eggs for Health
Eggs are replete with proteins and one medium egg contains around 70 calories with 7 g of protein and 5 g of fat. A reputed journal study even shows that children who eat one egg daily for six months along with a diet that contains reduced-sugar foods can help them grow taller and prevent stunting. Eggs contain choline (an important nutrient mainly because our body cannot produce choline), a nutrient without which we become deficient in folic acid too.
Egg Yolk
The yellow portion of the egg or the egg yolk is the most-debated part for its health and calorie values by people worldwide. There is no denying that the egg yolks contain cholesterol, fat and saturated fat but what we ignore is the rich nutrients too, such as the fat-soluble vitamins, essential fatty acids and other major nutrients, that are present within it. The egg yolk makes up about 34% of the liquid weight of the egg and contains almost all the fat in the egg and around 50% protein content of the egg. Precisely, one egg yolk contains around 55 calories, 4.5 g of total fat, 210 mg of cholesterol and 2.7 g of protein.
Nutrient-wise, the egg yolk is anytime high in all nutrients such as vitamins (B6 and B12), folic acid, pantothenic acid, calcium, copper, iron, manganese, phosphorus, selenium, zinc and thiamin except for niacin and riboflavin. Vitamin A, D, E and K are present only in this golden portion of the egg. Vitamin D or the sunshine vitamin is rarely present naturally in foods and egg yolks are one valuable source of this vitamin.
With so much in line inside one egg yolk, what about the nutrient contents of double-yolked eggs? Do they contain twice the quantity of the nutrients? Double-yolked eggs are generally produced by younger chickens whose production cycles are not completely synchronized. Sometimes, genetics too might decide the fate of the yolk as certain hens produce only double-yolked eggs throughout their life cycle. Though rare, it is not weird for a chicken to produce an egg with no yolk at all.
Egg White or Albumen
Albumen contains the remaining portion of the egg’s liquid (66%) and is comparatively a greater source of egg protein (more than 50% of the total protein content), niacin, riboflavin, magnesium, potassium and sodium compared to the egg yolk. One egg white contains only 17 calories with 4 g of protein and 55 mg of sodium. That, the egg white contains 0% fat is worth noting here.
Egg White Vs Egg
Whole eggs top all other protein foods and for this reason, have been classified under the ‘protein’ foods group alongside meat. The opinion on the best portion of the egg has varied greatly over the years with different suggestions and recommendations pouring in from physicians, nutritionists and dietitians worldwide. Latest studies do show that controlled consumption of egg does not impact cholesterol levels negatively.
Coming to our comparison, although egg whites might contain a greater protein portion, the whole egg contains even greater protein than consuming the whites alone. While egg whites might contain 7% of protein, the whole egg contains 10% of protein. Also, vitamin D is present only in the egg yolk and this is of immense value as this vitamin is rarely present in foods naturally (Already mentioned, but worth noting again!).
Coming to the heart of the issue-cholesterol content of the egg yolk. Not all cholesterol is bad for health and you might all be familiar with the two types of cholesterol, the good (HDL) and bad (LDL) cholesterol present in different foods. Reduce your LDL levels that is popular to increase your chances of heart attack and increase your HDL levels to reduce your chances of heart attack considerably. The cholesterol in egg yolks are the good ones (HDL) and it is extremely beneficial to your body to eat the egg yolk as well. Just because there is a small percentage of fat in the yolk doesn’t mean that you completely ignore taking the yellow portion of the egg. Instead, reduce or cut out fat from other unhealthy food sources, do plenty of exercise and continue consuming your egg yolks for maximal health benefits and balance.
Even people on a weight-loss diet can surely continue taking their whole eggs. The restriction might come in the quantity of eggs they can eat and it is fully up to a registered dietitian nutritionist to guide the individual taking up the weight-loss diet on the quantity of eggs allowed for consumption. Get in touch with dietitians/nutritionists at www.firsteatright.com to help you in this endeavor and don’t completely ignore the egg yolks eating only the whites until you are guided by a professional.
Shake Off Diseases with a Firm Handshake
A firm handshake conveys it all at the interview or a meeting. What if this shake could predict your heart health too? Handshakes cannot be rigid as you are obliged to shake your hand in the process. But, they could be unstable where your fingers don’t linger long enough over the other person’s hand and you seem compelled to do so. Society and science defer various meanings from a single handshake. While these might be true, the grip of your handshake releases your thoughts to quite a different genre of introspection-overall body health.
An international study on this covered more than 1,40,000 participants living across 17 countries and followed their health for an average of four years. The participant’s average age was between 40 and 70. Every 5-kilogram decrease in grip strength over the study period was associated with a 16% increased risk of death (cause might be anything), 17% increased risk of death from heart disease, 9% increased death risk from stroke and a 7% increased death risk from heart attack. Despite correcting other contributing factors of heart disease such as age, smoking and physical activity, the association between grip strength and cardiovascular disease remained strong constantly. The beauty of this research is that, grip strength turns out to be a better indicator of heart disease compared to blood pressure.
Chronological Versus Biological Age
You might convey a different age number when asked by someone while you might be actually older. Many people at every junction of their life always have two different ages-one for the world and the other one which is the actual age. Coincidentally too, every human has two different ages namely chronological and biological age. Chronological age is the actual number of years a person has lived in this earth while biological age refers to how old a person looks which depends on factors such as diet, exercise, stress, muscle strength and many others. Biological age clearly shows whether the body functions better or worse than its chronological age.
This study imparts the knowledge that getting to know one’s grip strength is a clean way of predicting a person’s biological age. While decreased hand grip does not increase the risk of diabetes, cancer or other chronic conditions, it does increase the risk of death directly. That’s because, a person with decreased muscle strength is highly likelier to die when he/she is affected by any chronic condition compared to those who have increased muscle strength.
‘Heart’ of the Problem
Now that we know grip strength is related to heart functioning, let’s delve into its effects on the shape and function of the heart. A group of researchers measured grip strength of more than 5,000 individuals and created a statistical model. This model consisted of various factors that could impact data such as cardiac risk factors, drivers of muscle mass and physical activity level. Results showed that individuals having a stronger hand grip were pumping more blood per heartbeat. They were also suffering less from a condition called as remodeling of the heart muscle that normally happens due to high BP or heart attack. When an individual suffers from less remodeling, he/she is at a reduced risk of cardiovascular damages. Hence, better handgrip also ‘ups’ the heart functioning greatly.
In every way, improving muscle strength seems to be the way out. Engage yourself in resistance training twice or thrice a week taking a day or two off between these resistance training days.
Lift Off the ‘Weights’
People directly jump onto weights carrying 10-15-kilogram ones with a resolution of building muscle mass. Apart from moving around with dumbbells, you can try resistance bands too. These bands are excellent choices for practicing resistance training exercises as they provide resistance as you flex your arms and legs through a serious of various movements. When you don’t have time to hit the gym try few innovative ones at home that are only extended versions of what you practice at the gym:
An international study on this covered more than 1,40,000 participants living across 17 countries and followed their health for an average of four years. The participant’s average age was between 40 and 70. Every 5-kilogram decrease in grip strength over the study period was associated with a 16% increased risk of death (cause might be anything), 17% increased risk of death from heart disease, 9% increased death risk from stroke and a 7% increased death risk from heart attack. Despite correcting other contributing factors of heart disease such as age, smoking and physical activity, the association between grip strength and cardiovascular disease remained strong constantly. The beauty of this research is that, grip strength turns out to be a better indicator of heart disease compared to blood pressure.
Chronological Versus Biological Age
You might convey a different age number when asked by someone while you might be actually older. Many people at every junction of their life always have two different ages-one for the world and the other one which is the actual age. Coincidentally too, every human has two different ages namely chronological and biological age. Chronological age is the actual number of years a person has lived in this earth while biological age refers to how old a person looks which depends on factors such as diet, exercise, stress, muscle strength and many others. Biological age clearly shows whether the body functions better or worse than its chronological age.
This study imparts the knowledge that getting to know one’s grip strength is a clean way of predicting a person’s biological age. While decreased hand grip does not increase the risk of diabetes, cancer or other chronic conditions, it does increase the risk of death directly. That’s because, a person with decreased muscle strength is highly likelier to die when he/she is affected by any chronic condition compared to those who have increased muscle strength.
‘Heart’ of the Problem
Now that we know grip strength is related to heart functioning, let’s delve into its effects on the shape and function of the heart. A group of researchers measured grip strength of more than 5,000 individuals and created a statistical model. This model consisted of various factors that could impact data such as cardiac risk factors, drivers of muscle mass and physical activity level. Results showed that individuals having a stronger hand grip were pumping more blood per heartbeat. They were also suffering less from a condition called as remodeling of the heart muscle that normally happens due to high BP or heart attack. When an individual suffers from less remodeling, he/she is at a reduced risk of cardiovascular damages. Hence, better handgrip also ‘ups’ the heart functioning greatly.
In every way, improving muscle strength seems to be the way out. Engage yourself in resistance training twice or thrice a week taking a day or two off between these resistance training days.
Lift Off the ‘Weights’
People directly jump onto weights carrying 10-15-kilogram ones with a resolution of building muscle mass. Apart from moving around with dumbbells, you can try resistance bands too. These bands are excellent choices for practicing resistance training exercises as they provide resistance as you flex your arms and legs through a serious of various movements. When you don’t have time to hit the gym try few innovative ones at home that are only extended versions of what you practice at the gym:
- Use the stairs whenever feasible to strengthen muscles of your abdomen, buttocks, hips and legs
- Lift some packets of moong dal/wheat atta in your kitchen to facilitate arm muscle buildup
- Keep moving around while watching television, conversing over the phone or waiting in the queue. You can shake your hips, raise your heel or do leg lifts to strengthen your leg muscles
Focus on Girls, Empower them
It was yet another usual day in my life and I started it on a positive note by going for a walk. MJs and their never-ending playlists fulfill my pleasures of walking but today was different. In between these songs were government ads promoting the need of education and empowerment to the GIRL children of India. The speaker went on and on praising the worth of a girl child in the family insisting individuals to raise girl children with equal care, importance and priority as they would shower on a male child. This struck me like lightning and I couldn’t digest the fact that still we are promoting our nation to forego female infanticide and educate girl children. Today being the International Day of the Girl Child, there is no harm in social media trying its best possible ways to uplift the importance of a girl child.
It was in 2012 that the United Nations started observing the International Day of the Girl Child to raise awareness on the inequality issues surrounding girls worldwide. There is inequality at every step in a girl’s life-education, legal rights, discrimination, violence against women, child marriage, sexual abuse and the list goes on and on. Small babies are sexually assaulted and the world is heading nowhere ahead with horrifying statistical data surrounding us.
More than 600 million adolescent girls will be ready to enter workforce in the next decade. 90% of them reside in developing countries and will pursue work in informal sectors where pay scale is comparatively low and exploitation/abuse is common. The scenario today shows that most of the girls today are not able to learn skills that can assure them of a secure job in the future. Almost 10% of primary school children are out of school while many others drop out of secondary school owing to economic issues. It’s always the girl child whose education is curbed during economic crisis in the family. Boy children are made to complete their education by hook or by crook being the future breadwinners of the family. The world is moving towards innovation and automation. Girls need to equip themselves with skills that are on par with market requirements but sadly many lack teachers, facilities or the guidance required to succeed in their endeavors.
This year’s theme is “With Her: A Skilled Girl Force” and to do justice to this theme each of us must work towards creating better learning opportunities for girl children and plan for their endeavor into workforce. Sharpening their skills and enabling them to compete against men in the workplace is the need of the hour. A parent’s duty doesn’t end with marrying away the girl child and giving her a life to lead. It starts right from the birth of the girl baby equipping her with abilities and confidence to lead a life on her own. Instead of gender stereotyping women and their professions/work, let’s try to involve women in every field of work possible. We do have women as fighter pilots, reputed doctors, CEOs of big organizations and even in our army and navy. But the ratio is extremely disproportionate and it is this ratio that we must work towards improving and increasing. All this makes us question ourselves-Are women the weaker sex? Get your question answered at www.firsteatright.com.
Stop typecasting women into stereotype roles such as teachers and nurses. Depict a woman policeman in the child’s GK books, elaborate on the achievements of women in the workforce or give the example of a woman CEO while talking about administration. Today’s girls are tomorrow’s powerful women force. Let’s support their growth and remove any barriers surrounding their skillsets.
It was in 2012 that the United Nations started observing the International Day of the Girl Child to raise awareness on the inequality issues surrounding girls worldwide. There is inequality at every step in a girl’s life-education, legal rights, discrimination, violence against women, child marriage, sexual abuse and the list goes on and on. Small babies are sexually assaulted and the world is heading nowhere ahead with horrifying statistical data surrounding us.
More than 600 million adolescent girls will be ready to enter workforce in the next decade. 90% of them reside in developing countries and will pursue work in informal sectors where pay scale is comparatively low and exploitation/abuse is common. The scenario today shows that most of the girls today are not able to learn skills that can assure them of a secure job in the future. Almost 10% of primary school children are out of school while many others drop out of secondary school owing to economic issues. It’s always the girl child whose education is curbed during economic crisis in the family. Boy children are made to complete their education by hook or by crook being the future breadwinners of the family. The world is moving towards innovation and automation. Girls need to equip themselves with skills that are on par with market requirements but sadly many lack teachers, facilities or the guidance required to succeed in their endeavors.
This year’s theme is “With Her: A Skilled Girl Force” and to do justice to this theme each of us must work towards creating better learning opportunities for girl children and plan for their endeavor into workforce. Sharpening their skills and enabling them to compete against men in the workplace is the need of the hour. A parent’s duty doesn’t end with marrying away the girl child and giving her a life to lead. It starts right from the birth of the girl baby equipping her with abilities and confidence to lead a life on her own. Instead of gender stereotyping women and their professions/work, let’s try to involve women in every field of work possible. We do have women as fighter pilots, reputed doctors, CEOs of big organizations and even in our army and navy. But the ratio is extremely disproportionate and it is this ratio that we must work towards improving and increasing. All this makes us question ourselves-Are women the weaker sex? Get your question answered at www.firsteatright.com.
Stop typecasting women into stereotype roles such as teachers and nurses. Depict a woman policeman in the child’s GK books, elaborate on the achievements of women in the workforce or give the example of a woman CEO while talking about administration. Today’s girls are tomorrow’s powerful women force. Let’s support their growth and remove any barriers surrounding their skillsets.
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Member - Academy Of Nutrition & Dietetics USA.
Author
Dietitian & Nutritionist Dr. Nafeesa Imteyaz.
Ex HOD Fortis Hospital (Dept Of Dietetics & Nutrition)
Managing Director - First Eat Right.
Fellow - Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics USA. http://www.eatright.org
Worldwide Research & Patents Blog - Dr. Nafeesa.
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