Healthier, tastier but little costlier food option

Organic food is the usual edible stuff but is different in the way it is produced, processed and packaged without using chemicals and is grown without using pesticides, insecticides, non-organic fertilizers, antibiotics or any artificial hormones. It is alleged that organically grown foods are more nutritious, pure, natural, much safer and possess the richest of the taste.

To increase the shelf life of the product, organic food also does not contain any artificial preservatives. Not only the vegetarian stuff but even poultry and meat have gone organic. Poultry and animal are fed only organic feeds, which puts them in the category of organic non vegetarian food. Also, the animal and birds are not given any growth hormones for their mass production.

To be labeled as “organic”, food items need to be sourced only from the certified farms or processing plant, which guarantees that they are appropriately inspected by certified government officials and ensure that those organic units follow all USDA (US Department of Agriculture) organic standards.

Now have a look at some ups and downs of organic food:

Advantages of organic food:

• Retains at least 50% more natural nutrients like vitamins and minerals than intensively and artificially farmed food
• Not hazardous for health as they contain no chemicals in forms of insecticides, pesticides and synthetic fertilizers
• Tastes more natural and delicious as no additives in forms of sweeteners, coloring, flavors and preservatives are added
• Phenolic contents in organic food protect from cancer and other diseases
• Organic farming system is more humane in approach. There are no battery chickens, pigs kept in congested pens and cows milked to exhaustion
• Organic farms are environment friendly

Downsides of organic food:

• Expensive because of extensive and precise process of production
• Not easily available everywhere
• Lack in variety and
• Short shelf life because of no added preservatives

Tips to buy organic food:

• Look for the label or logo of the certification body that has monitored and approved the production of the food as “organic”
• Remain informed about the organization that is authorized to sell organic food in your area
• Pay attention on the expiry date as no preservatives are added to the food

Generally, women are pretty sure about when their next haircut or manicure is scheduled? But when it comes to preventive health checkups or screening tests, they may go clueless.

Here is a simple timeline which can come in handy as in when to periodically schedule the next appointment for undergoing the regular preventive health checkup.

Once a Month

• Breast self exam: Check for unusual lumps and bumps or any discharge from nipple on a monthly basis. The best time to do this is few days after the monthly period ends.
• Skin self-exam: The Skin Cancer Foundation strongly recommends checking out the whole body once a month for any new growths or unusual marks. Don’t forget to look for the ABCDEs: Asymmetry, Border Irregularity, Uneven colour, Diameter bigger than 6 mm and Evolving shape and size.

Every Six Months

• Dental Checkup: Make sure to sit on a dentist’s “Hot Seat” twice a year for cleanings and other preventative maintenance. Get dental X-rays only as needed basis to prevent unnecessary exposure to radiation.

Once a Year

• Full physical exam: This annual health checkup should include height and weight check, blood pressure, a clinical breast exam and blood tests that your doctor deems necessary like tests for blood sugar, blood count, hormone levels and other crucial infection markers.
• Cholesterol and triglycerides: Check these at least once in your 20s and once in 30s.
• Pap smear: In initially reproductive years of a women’s life, it is advisable to have it done annually. However, if with three consecutive normal Pap smear tests, a mutually monogamous relationship and having no other risk factors, one can technically do it once in three years. This test will screen for any changes or abnormalities in the cells of cervix, an indicative of cervical cancer.
• Pelvic exam: Visit the gynaecologist annually for a routine pelvic exam, so that she can feel around for uterus and ovaries to check for fibroids, cysts or any pain or swelling that might indicate towards an infection.
• HIV & STD Tests: Sexually active women should get tested for HIV, Chlamydia, syphilis and gonorrhoea annually based on their risk factors and on discussing upon with their doctor.
• Eye exams: It is recommended to take eye exams annually for anyone with current vision problems (if you wear glasses or contacts). Or else keep it for once in two years.

Slightly Less Often

• HPV test: At age 30, women should get an HPV test along with their pap every five years. Prior to age 30, getting tested regularly for HPV is not required unless an abnormal pap is reported.
• Thyroid test: Starting at the age of 35, it is recommended to be checked via a blood test. Get it re-tested ever five years after that.

Later in life

• Colonoscopy: Do this test around your 50th birthday, unless you have a family history. If your first relative has had a colon cancer, it’s recommended to start screening 10 years before their age at diagnosis.
• Mammogram: At 40, start scheduling annual mammograms, though with a family history of breast cancer, an early screening is recommended.

Only As Needed

A blood test outside of these general guidelines can be done if your doctor suggests so, like checking for certain hormone levels, blood sugar, vitamin D levels and iron deficiencies through a blood test, if certain symptoms are reported.

Asthma

Get short of breath and hungry for air easily? Hacking cough that refuse to go away? Watch out for these alarming signs of asthma.

Asthma (pronounced as AZ-ma) is difficulty or inability to breathe normally. In medical terms, asthma is a chronic lung disease characterised by inflammation (swelling) and narrowing of air passage resulting in wheezing (a whistling sound that comes out on breathing), shortness of breath, a feeling of tightness in chest and coughing.

Sign and symptoms of asthma: These can be divided into two categories:

Warning symptoms: Some asthma symptoms develop days before the actual breathing tests show a considerable decline in lung function. Where as in some, the symptoms develop suddenly and they can range from:

• Cough with physical activity
• Increased cough at the night time
• Worsening of allergy symptoms like runny nose and itchy or inflamed skin
• Rapid pulse and sweating

Classical signs: The classic signs of an asthma attack include:

• Hacking cough: Coughing in chronic asthma is often worse at night or early in the morning, leading to difficulty to sleep.
• Wheezing: It is a whistling or squeaky sound that is loud enough to be heard when the patient breaths.
• Tightness of chest: It may feel like as if someone is squeezing the chest tight or sitting on the chest.
• Shortness of breath: Patients feel out of breath on physical activity and fail to catch their breath after even little excursion.
• In severe cases bluish discoloration of lips and face may appear because of decreased oxygen in blood.
• Retraction (withdrawal inside) of inter costal spaces of ribs.

Causes: Like many other diseases, exact cause of asthma is still unknown. The factors that can be held responsible for initiating and altering immunity, which eventually leads to chronic asthma, can be:

• Atopy (an inherited tendency to develop allergies)
• Hereditary/genetic
• Environmental reasons such as pollution and pollen
• Internal or “homely allergens” like house dust mites, cockroaches, cat or dog
• Mental stress
• Irritants like smoke, tobacco or perfumes
• Some respiratory infections during childhood
• Certain non-steroidal anti inflammatory medicines
• Cold, windy or humid weather conditions
• Specific food allergies may trigger an asthma attack

Asthma triggers: A trigger is any substance or condition that irritates the lung’s air passage and causes the symptoms of asthma. There can be a number of possible triggers and they also vary for each individual but some common ones can be house dust mites, tobacco smoke, chemical irritants like cement, coal, asbestos, or paint, mining, pesticides, sulphur, sugar, air pollution and allergens like pollens. Sometimes even laughing extensively, crying or sudden change in weather also prove as potential triggers.

Treatment: Although asthma is one of those conditions which cannot be completely cured but can be successfully managed and controlled. Asthma treatment and management includes:

• Avoiding asthma triggers and environmental control, if possible.
• Bronchodilators as medication to open up lung airway and reduce the inflammation in the air passage’s lining. These are classically inhaled corticosteroids.
• Education on the subject to understand the disease better and action plan to act appropriately at the time of an asthma attack.

Prevention: By using appropriate prevention techniques one can protect himself from the triggers that can set off an asthma attack such as,

• Identifying and avoiding asthma triggers and taking preventive measures
• Preparing a dedicated asthma plan
• Treating attacks at earliest
• Taking the medicines regularly and correctly

Block the sun, bar the chances of skin cancer

Rain or shine, outdoor or indoor, sunscreen is quintessential in protecting our skin from the harmful effects of UV rays, which eventually leads to premature ageing and even some skin cancers.

To begin with, first understand what those harmful UV rays are and what it does to our skin?

The sun gives off ultraviolet (UV) rays that can be divided into three categories based on their wavelengths.

• UVB radiation affects the outer layer of skin and causes sunburns. The intensity of these rays depends on the time of day and season. They also do not penetrative enough to pass the glass.

UVA radiation penetrates much deeper into the skin and acts more severely. The intensity of UVA radiation is invariable and persistent throughout the day as opposed to UVB. These rays do penetrate the glass.

• UVC radiation is absorbed by the atmosphere (ozone layer) and does not cause any skin damage.

Damage sunrays can cause: Exposure to prolonged sunrays can cause:

• Pre-cancerous and cancerous skin lesions caused by loss of the skin’s immune function
• Benign tumours
• Fine wrinkles of skin
• Freckles
• Discoloured areas of the skin – mottled pigmentation
• A yellow discoloration of the skin – Sallowness
• The dilation of small blood vessels under the skin – Telangiectasias
• The destruction of the elastic and collagen tissue, which causes lines and wrinkles – Elastosis

Sunrays and skin cancer connection: Cancer of skin is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal skin cells. This rapid growth results in tumors, which can either be benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous).

Excess of ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun is the leading cause of skin cancer, be it winter or summer sun. Collective sun exposure causes mainly basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers, wherein the episodes of severe sunburns (before age 18) can cause melanoma later in the life.

Other less common causes can be repeated X-ray exposure and occupational contact to certain chemicals at work.

How sunscreens work: Sunscreens are simple “barriers” or blocking agents designed to prevent harmful ultraviolet light that penetrate the skin. They help in filtering out UV rays using a combination of organic and inorganic active ingredients.

• Organic components absorb or “soak up” the UV rays and release their energy as heat.
• While, inorganic particles, such as titanium dioxide or zinc oxide work by forming a physical barrier by reflecting or scattering the UV rays. It is the one which usually we see cricketers wearing as a white paste on their faces.

SPF and its importance: SPF or “Sun Protection Factor” primarily measures UVB protection and it ranges from 15 – 45 or above.

Deciding upon the number of SPF, you need to do a simple math. Assuming that someone usually gets burned in 10 minutes under the sun, with SPF 15, he can stay 150 minutes or approx. 2 ½ hours without getting tanned (15 x 10 minutes). Simple, isn’t it?

Higher the SPF, better the protection against UV rays and tanning.

Points to remember:

• Apply sunscreen of SPF 30 or greater on face and all exposed parts round the year
• Apply it at least 15 to 30 minutes prior to stepping out
• Limit your sun exposure between 10 am to 2 pm as sunrays are most harsh and damaging to the skin during this period
• Get additional protection from wide brimmed hats, large sunglasses, long sleeved clothes, and gloves to avoid direct sun exposure
• Don’t assume waterproof or water resistant doesn’t need reapplication or last longer and reapply after every couple of hours
• Even if it look cloudy outside, wear sunscreen
• Look for a broad spectrum sunscreen which prot4ests against, UVA and UVB both

So “love the skin you are in” and protect it well with regular and frequent application of a sun protection agent.

It’s time to get up and take notice of fat getting deposited not only on your exterior self, but upon the non-visible organs of the body such as liver as well.

Fatty liver disease is one such condition when the poor little organ loads up on the excessive fat, which he originally is supposed to burn and get rid of. Fatty liver is basically over accumulation of large triglyceride fat vacuoles in liver cells.

The condition is not as harmless as it looks. Unwanted fat deposits in liver give an open invitation to diabetes, cirrhosis and other serious illnesses.

When the liver is called “fatty”

Some amount of fat in the liver is normal and a healthy liver usually consists of 2% – 5% of fat but when it makes up for more than 10% of its weight, then it becomes an issue as from here on it can lead to damage the healthy liver cells.

Types of fatty liver disease

There are 3 types of fatty liver diseases:

1. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD): This is the commonest and comparatively the least complicated one. It can be treated easily with simple lifestyle changes.

2. Non-alcoholic steatorrhoeic hepatitis (NASH): This is an advanced form of Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in which there is inflammation in and around the fatty liver cells. This can lead to grave complications like cirrhosis.

3. Alcoholic fatty liver disease: (ALD): As the name says it all, this results from excessive consumption of alcohol.

Indication of a having a fatty liver

Probability of having a fatty liver increases in certain conditions, like

Symptoms: Mostly it is an asymptomatic condition in early stages. As the liver further loads up with fatty cells, mild abdominal discomfort is experienced. Later, an inflamed liver may cause fatigue, bloating, jaundice, and persistent fever.

High risk population

Some people are at higher risk of getting a fatty liver disease than others. The known and common risk factors can be:

Management: Treatment majorly depends on making lifestyle changes and taking care of the underlying causes. Your physician will focus on,

Dietary modifications: Keeping a watch on what you eat works best in managing a fatty liver. Some dietary recommendations are,

Prevention: Fatty liver disease is a highly preventable illness by lading a healthy lifestyle integrated with a well balanced diet, avoiding excess of alcohol consumption, weight management and a regular physical exercise regimen.

Since the symptoms are usually not pronounced, a regular preventive health checkup is an ideal mode to detect a fatty liver.