Street side Onion Pakoda, this season?

Who can avoid hot Kanda bhaji or Kanda bhajiya, the most tempting snack of this season? This roadside delicacy is as dangerous as delicious.

The rains have brought a pleasant and cool climate for us. Rainy season not only makes us happy and romantic but also fires up our appetite, isn’t it? We love to snack on spicy and fried dishes this season. While you enjoy the heavenly combination of chai & pakodas in the rains, it’s important to take extra care of your health and avoid catching infections or diseases. Unhealthy eating habits and lack of hygiene can lead to stomach infections, diarrhea and digestive problems.

If you are at home and it starts pouring make yourself some crispy onion pakodas without thinking twice. Trust us that is a very good option as compared to eating at roadside stalls. Homemade food with fresh ingredients has no comparison to roadside food.

Why say “No” to street Onion Pakodas:

• Do you know what kind of oil is being used? It may be adulterated and unhealthy.
• How have the vegetables and spices been handled while food preparation?  The rainy season adds to breeding of bacterial and fungus contamination.
• The food you may be relishing, may have been exposed to flies and other pests if kept uncovered.
• Have you ever seen a vendor wear gloves or have access to clean water to wash his hands and utensils? The answer is mostly negative.
• Most of the vendors operating the stall lack adequate understanding of the basic safety and hygiene issues.
• The main reasons for microbial contamination are – unhygienic place of preparation of food, dirty utensils used, raw materials, inadequate solid waste management systems and the personal hygiene of the vendors.
• There have been cases where street food has been tested and high volumes of E. coli bacteria and faecal matter have been found.
• The bacterial pathogens commonly found in street eateries are Bacillus cereus (causes vomiting and diarrhoea), Clostridium perfringens (abdominal cramps and diarrhoea), Staphylococcus aureus (vomiting, appetite loss, abdominal cramps and mild fever), and Salmonella species (typhoid, food poisoning, irritation and inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract).

Are you are experiencing digestive problems or other infections this season?
Sometimes home remedies and other precautions may not be enough. Visit us at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital for consultations or book an appointment at :

https://www.kokilabenhospital.com/patients/makeanappointment.html

Be it an office snack break or an outing with friends, strictly say no to roadside Onion Pakodas. Eat healthy and be healthy this season!

We are happy to welcome the monsoon showers after experiencing the scorching summer heat. But monsoons do bring certain health risks. Our body is more susceptible to health issues in the rainy season as monsoon reduces the immunity power of our body. Our body is more prone to allergies, infections, indigestion problems, so we must keep our body resistant against such diseases.

Some tips to be healthy this rainy season:

• Say no to street food, it is one of the worst temptations to fall for.
• Consume lots of fruits as they help you restore energy. Apples, mangoes, pomegranates, and pears are best suggestible.
• Have medium to low salt food and avoid heavy salty food as they are responsible for high blood pressure and water retention.
• Increase your immunity by adding a dash of garlic to your soups and curries.
• Consuming bitter vegetables like bitter gourd, and bitter herbs like neem, turmeric powder and methi seeds help in preventing infections.
• If your face skin allergies during rainy seasons, then avoid spicy foods. Spicy foods raise body temperature and stimulate blood circulation and it leads to allergies and skin irritation.
• Always take a shower once home if your happen to get wet in the rains.
• Drink lots of herbal teas, especially those with antibacterial properties. These include ginger, pepper, honey, mint and basil leaves.
• Maintain a high level of hygiene in your home. Dirty and unhygienic environment serves as a breeding ground for mosquitoes which can cause many ailments.
• If you happen to have a flu or fever, do notventure outside as you may spread it to others. The same goes for conjunctivitis.
• Keep your home and kitchen areas free of flies which multiply this season.
• Monsoon brings with it excess humidity & dampness and many feet issues too, always keep them dry and clean.

So stay healthy this monsoon and enjoy the happy season!

Yoga is a 5,000-year-old physical, mental and spiritual practice having its origin in India. Yoga aims to transform both the body and the mind. Since the last 2 years it has gained importance worldwide thanks to efforts by many leaders.

On December 11 in 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 21st as the International Day of Yoga. This was after Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi suggested making June 21, which is the Summer Solstice as the International Day of Yoga. Yoga will be practised across the world today by people from various religions and ethnic origin.

The word ‘Yoga’ is derived from the Sanskrit root ‘Yuj’, meaning ‘to join’ or ‘to yoke’ or ‘to unite’. As per Yogic scriptures the practice of Yoga leads to the union of individual consciousness with that of the universal consciousness, indicating a perfect harmony between the mind and body.

Pre-Classical Yoga: The beginnings of Yoga were developed by the Indus-Sarasvati civilization in North India over 5,000 years ago. The word yoga was first mentioned in the oldest sacred texts, the Rig Veda.

Classical Yoga: In the pre-classical stage, yoga was a mishmash of various ideas, beliefs and techniques that often conflicted each other. The Classical period is defined by Patanjali’s Yoga-Sûtras, the first systematic presentation of yoga. Patanjali is often considered the father of yoga and his Yoga-Sûtras still strongly influence most styles of modern yoga.

In today’s times Yoga has spread all over the world by the teachings of great personalities like Swami Shivananda, Shri T.Krishnamacharya, Swami Kuvalayananda, Shri Yogendara, Swami Rama, Sri Aurobindo, Maharshi Mahesh Yogi, Acharya Rajanish, Pattabhijois, BKS. Iyengar, Swami Satyananda Sarasvati and the like.

• Better Flexibility : The various poses of yoga condition your body to improve its flexibility day by day.
• Better posture: A poor posture leads to backaches, neck pain, joint problems, and muscle fatigue. Yoga is one of the best ways to fix poor posture since each pose aims to get your body back into proper alignment without forcing you into unnatural positions.
• Tones the body: One really great aspect of yoga is that it works to tone your body without using weights or exercise equipment. Like a push-up or a pull-up, yoga only uses your own body weight as resistance.
• Better sleep: If you are someone who has trouble sleeping, scientists recommend trying yoga as it gives significant improvement in the participants sleep quality and quantity.
• Lower blood pressure: Yoga is a great workout for your heart and over time will improve your cardiovascular function. The key is sticking with it long enough to get these benefits.
• Lower cholesterol: Research has shown yoga to lower LDL “bad” cholesterol and boost HDL “good” cholesterol.
• Weight Loss: Yoga can help boost your metabolism and build stronger muscles, two things which are essential for weight loss.
• Less stress and anxiety: Research says when you perform yoga feel good brains chemicals like serotonin are released, putting you in a better mood. Additionally, yoga helps quiet the mind, gives your body an outlet to release energy blocks that may have you stressing out even more.
• Lower Blood sugar levels: Yoga has the ability to lower blood sugar levels when done on a regular basis. Paired with a well-balanced diet, this can go a long way towards keeping these levels within healthy parameters.
• Improves digestion: In yoga, you perform a combination of deep breathing exercises and twisting poses that really massage the organs, works your intestinal muscles, and helps release any trapped toxic stool.

Am sure most of you must be regular yoga practitioners. If not, then start today and make sure to include Yoga as a part of fitness regime.

As the world observes World Brain Tumour Day on June 08, 2016 let us take a look at this life threatening condition. This day was formed as a tribute to all brain tumour patients and their families. Many NGOs around the world work towards the much needed support required for brain tumour patients. The key goal is to seek a cure for brain tumour. Many health professionals and scientists are also involved in this.

We all know why the brain is so important for us. We are just nothing without our brain. The brain directs the basic things we choose to do (like walking and talking) and the things our body does without thinking (like breathing). The brain is also in charge of our senses -sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell, memory, emotions, and personality.

A network of nerves carries messages back and forth between the brain and the rest of the body. Some nerves go directly from the brain to the eyes, ears, and other parts of the head. Other nerves run through the spinal cord to connect the brain with the other parts of the body. Hence any kind of brain damage can cause a havoc in your daily life.

Some facts about brain tumours:

• They can occur at any age.
• The exact cause of brain tumours is not clear.
• Primary brain tumours can be either malignant (cancerous) or benign (non cancerous). A primary brain tumour is a tumour which begins in the brain.
• If a cancerous tumour which starts elsewhere in the body sends cells which end up growing in the brain, such tumours are then called secondary or metastatic brain tumours.
• The symptoms of brain tumours depend on their size, type, and location.

Some symptoms of Brain tumours:

• Headache , numbness or tingling in the arms or legs are some common symptoms
• Seizures, memory problems; mood and personality changes; balance and walking problems nauseaand vomiting;changes in speech, vision, or hearing are also some symptoms.
• Brain tumours are generally grouped by grades. The higher the grade number, the more abnormal the cells appear and the more aggressively the tumour usually behaves.

Some risk factors for tumours:

• It is believed that ionizing radiation from high dose x-rays (such as radiation therapy from a large machine aimed at the head) and other sources can cause cell damage that leads to a tumour.
• It is rare for brain tumours to run in a family. Only a very small number of families have several members with brain tumours.
• Researchers are studying whether using cell phones, having had a head injury, or having been exposed to certain chemicals at work or to magnetic fields are important risk factors.

There are various treatment options available. The earlier the detection the better are the chances of survival. Many patients opt for surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy or a combination of treatments. It is best to consult a specialist who can give correct guidance depending on the type of tumour, size and the age of the patient.

“Just one puff won’t make a difference”..

“After all you must try everything once at least”..

“Come on don’t be a loser”..

Haven’t we heard these lines amongst young adults, especially during college days?
It’s the thrill to try something new, copy a friend or peer pressure which makes them try their first cigarette. Little do they realise that many times a onetime thing turns into a habit and sometimes an addiction. Surprisingly most people start having their first tryst with tobacco in their late teens. The average age of initiation of tobacco use in India is 19 years and three months.

World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) is observed around the world every year on May 31. It is intended to encourage a 24-hour period of abstinence from all forms of tobacco consumption around the globe. Across the world various events are conducted to raise the awareness about the hazardous affects of tobacco consumption. Tobacco currently leads to nearly 6 million deaths each year worldwide, including 600,000 of passive smokers – exposed to second-hand smoke. Tobacco includes not only cigarettes but also gutka, hookah and e-cigarettes.

This year on World No Tobacco Day World Health Organisation (WHO) is calling on all countries to get ready for plain packaging of tobacco products. It means to prohibit the use of logos, colours, brand images or promotional information on the packaging. The brand name and the product name can be displayed but only in a standard colour and font size. This reduces the overall attractiveness of the product.

The estimated number of tobacco users in India is 27.5 crore, with 16.37 crore users of smokeless tobacco, 6.9 crore only smokers and 4.23 crore users of both smoking and smokeless tobacco. A number of organisations, including the Indian Medical Association, have appealed to the Delhi government to observe a dry tobacco day on May 31 by completely banning sale of all tobacco products on that day.

All smokers are aware that smoking is bad for their health but they often downplay the gravity of the issue.

Some benefits of quitting smoking:

• Immediately after quitting smoking, heart rate and blood pressure, which is abnormally high while smoking, begin to return to normal.
• Within a few hours, the level of carbon monoxide, which reduces the blood’s ability to carry oxygen, begins to decline.
• The workload on the heart is decreased and cardiac function is improved.
• Food tastes better, and your sense of smell returns to normal.
• Within several months of quitting, you experience significant improvements in lung function.
• In one year, your risk of heart disease, heart attack, and stroke is halved.
• In five years, many kinds of cancer, including lung, larynx, mouth, stomach, cervix, bladder, show decline in risk, and that decline approaches the risk of someone who has never smoked.
• Within 10 to 15 years, risk of lung disease, including bronchitis and emphysema, are decreased.
• Conditions such as cataracts, macular degeneration, thyroid conditions, hearing loss, dementia, and osteoporosis are positively affected.
• Nerve endings in the mouth and nose begin to regenerate, improving taste and smell.
• Medications may work better, enabling some to be taken in decreased doses.
• You’ll have decreased risk for impotence and infertility.
• Years will be added to your life: people who quit smoking, regardless of their age, are less likely than those who continue to smoke to die from smoking-related illness.

We have given you enough reasons to quit smoking, haven’t we?
So if you have been thinking of quitting, today is the day. There are many NGOs and counselling centres available to deal with the withdrawal symptoms of smoking. It’s the best decision for yourself and your family, Quit today.