Health

Your sinus issues may just be due to Vitamin D deficiency!

May 7, 2018 Swati 11 Comments

sinus, vitamin D deficiency — Image via pexels.com

Updated from 15th September, 2013. Wow! This is an old post and almost of the time when I was about to get married. Nostalgic… Anyways, I found a new comment on this post and how the reader mentioned this was a helpful piece of information and she faced the same issue of sinus attack due to deficiency of vitamin D. Hope you find it useful as well.

After like a long time, I am doing a health post. All the credit goes to my friend who had suffered from severe sinus issues for the past 10 days and has embarked on a new research to find out the reason and today she just happened to stumble on this piece of information!

So, what she says is something like this. Vitamin D deficiency is perhaps the reason for most of the respiratory issues, PCOD and even infertility. But, today we are going to focus on sinusitis. (Source)

Basically, any respiratory issue gets inherently triggered by Vitamin D deficiency like asthma, sinus, etc. Also, the surgeries prescribed for sinus issues do no good. What happens is that when infection gets triggered, the sinus cavities get filled and blocked and they are not able to drain the mucus.

Also, if you are prescribed antibiotics, please remember that they are not the preferred solution. Why? Because one is never sure what triggered the infection – bacteria, virus or if its a fungal infection. If the mucus is tested, a proper treatment can be given.

Facts You Should Know About Breast Cancer

April 18, 2018 Swati Leave a Comment

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers. The earlier it gets detected, better are the chances of survival and you should make sure it is included in your health insurance.

What should you know about Breast Cancer?

Causes of Breast Cancer

As with other cancers, the exact cause is not known. However, there are a few risk factors which might increase your chances of succumbing to this condition.

Older women are more prone to development of breast cancer.
Breast cancer and ovarian cancer may be inherited if you carry the particular genes, BRCA1, BRCA2 and TP53.
Dense breast tissue may be associated with the risk of development of breast cancer. However, this is not confirmed yet. Breast density is always higher when young and it reduces as the female ages but breast cancer is more common in older women so the likelihood of this happening is less. However, dense tissue can hide the lumps or tumor from being detected in the mammogram.
Being over-weight after menopause increases estrogen levels in the body which may cause breast cancer.
Hormonal treatments or use of birth control pills can also lead to development of cancer.

The Science Behind Cravings

April 4, 2018 Swati Leave a Comment

So, I am not sure what really happened but somehow I have lost an entire version of my draft post which I had written earlier 🙁 Anyways, I did try my best to recreate the post. It is of course not the first version but I hope it helps you!!

“If cravings were an indicator of nutritional deficiency, we’d all crave fruits and vegetables,” says Karen Ansel, MS, RD, CDN. “The fact that we all want high carb, high fat comfort foods, along with the research, is a pretty good indicator that cravings aren’t related to deficiencies. (Source)”

As I said in the title, the post is going to be all about cravings and why exactly do we get them? What is the science behind cravings? Are they the need of our body or our mind?

This entire journey of finding out what exactly are cravings was the result of my own tendency to crave sweets a few months back. I just wanted to eat sweets all the time. I either craved for ice creams at the middle of the night or the cakes and sweetmeats during the day after every meal.

And, curiously, I have never been a lover of sweets. I have a salt tooth not a sweet one. I, in fact, mix my sweets with snacks so as to balance out my palate. And, that made me concerned if I was getting diabetes or any other undesirable condition which was why I was constantly craving sweets.

I had a talk with my doctor as well at the time when I was getting treated for my acute deficiency of folic acid. He completely denied the assertion that cravings have anything to do with diabetes or pre-diabetes for that matter. Yes, there is something called pre-diabetes as well. Even I came to know of it recently.

Anyways, getting back to the topic, turns out that it is quite normal to crave any food which stabilises you emotionally. Hunger and emotions play a huge role in onset of cravings but there is a lot more involved in it. So, let us see what all can be the reason why you might crave various things at various times of the day.

Interestingly, I have to say that Mike also posted on the same topic a few days back! So, please go and have a look at the post on Nutrition Secrets. I do hope there is no plagiarizing comment made on me!!

Are you pregnant?

If yes, it is quite prevalent that pregnant women have the craziest cravings ever! So, moving on.

How to Take Care of Your Health Post 30?

February 28, 2018 Swati 3 Comments

Turning 30 is a milestone. You are almost half-way through your life and possibly settled with a decent and stable job, already own a home and have a family. All the rush and indecisiveness of the 20s are way behind you and it is time to face the adult life. The first thing to take stock of is your body. Your body is changing and slowing down. Time to listen to it and respect it. So, here are a few tips to make your life and health post 30 easy.

How to take care of Health post 30?

Keep an eye on your Bone Health and Muscle Mass

Though it is projected for women more, the bone density of men also suffers once they hit 30. So, man or woman, it is time to increase your calcium intake and exposure to sunlight. Keep an eye on those vitamin D levels to keep stress and fatigue away, and to ensure proper absorption of calcium.

Just like your bones get old and frail, so do your muscles lose their mass by almost 5% every decade. Health post 30 is not exactly a cake walk so make sure to would include physical activities and variance in your workout routine every 4-6 weeks, so that your muscles do not get used to the same movements and go through a little variation now and then.

How to Eat Healthy while Eating Out?

December 15, 2017 Swati 14 Comments

I am a huge foodie and a very unhealthy one on top of it. Cheeses and butters and full fat milk and mayo and mustard sauce. Try Fab India, its yum! Though I am not a real big fan of healthy eat outs, I have often noticed that people think they eat healthy while eating out while making their food choices. Not necessarily what we all think is healthy is actually healthy for you.

How to order in restaurants so that you eat healthy while eating out?

Not all these tips may be applicable to you or all the options available. I stay in Hyderabad where you can get all foods and that is what makes life really easy over here. This post is more or less influenced by the variety and food options available here in this city. And, yes, we are talking about vegetarian options only.