Health

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.

Go South Indian Style

3 Healthy Habits to prevent Heart Diseases and Cancer

March 30, 2017 Swati 3 Comments

It is common for people to fall ill nowadays. Every second person we know is suffering from some disease or the other. But more than genetic factors, it is lifestyle which is causing today’s health problems. Cancer and cardiac illnesses are some of the most common diseases we hear, but it is possible to prevent them by making changes in our lifestyle. Check out what you can do to prevent falling prey to such problems.

Reduce your Waistline

Obesity is one of the leading causes of heart problems. It can also cause cancer of breast, colon or pancreas. Thus, keeping a healthy weight is key to a healthy life.

It’s important to take care of the weight, not only through exercise, but also by maintaining a healthy diet. Avoid processed and fried foods, opt for organic options whenever possible and keep alcohol consumption to the limit.

Live an Active Lifestyle

Exercising is not the only way to lead an active lifestyle. It is important to keep yourself active in the course of the day and avoid sitting at one place all day long. Working out for an hour and not moving the entire day is not very helpful for the body. Keep a routine to get up from your desk at least once in two hours.

Instead of spending time in the gym, opt for a sport and make time for it at least once a week. Do some stretching exercises when you have been at one place for too long.

Yoga is another way to actually combat some serious illnesses. It:
• Helps in reducing stress
• Controls imbalances in the body
• Gets rid of free radicals
• Improves and strengthens the immune system
• Gives strength to fight diseases.

Limit time with Technology

Technology can be one of the contributing factors to cancer and heart related problems. The electromagnetic energy emitted from phones and laptops causes stress in our body and interferes with the functioning by increasing the reactive oxygen species or free radicals as we know them.

Avoid keeping your laptops and cell phones near your head or other sensitive areas of the body including sexual organs. The radiations are also known to decrease sperm count and their functioning.

Keep yourself active and healthy and prevent all kinds of diseases.