Uncategorized

25Jan By drnakipuriaNo Comments

Uncategorized

Cervical Cancer Awareness Month: Why it is important to get a PAP test done

When it comes to health, not only should a woman prioritise it, but also get herself checked with a doctor from time to time to. These preemptive measures often help in the timely diagnosis of diseases, which can be life-saving! The month of January is recognised as Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, and the one test that can warn about potential cancer is PAP test. This is primarily why doctors insist women get it done periodically. Dr Karamjit Kaur, consultant — obstetrician and gynaec — laparoscopic surgeon, Fortis La Femme Hospital, Richmond Road, Bangalore, tells indianexpress.com about the benefits of the test, along with what it really is. Read on. What is a PAP test? PAP test is the abbreviated form of Papanicolaou test. It is a screening test for women to detect pote...

Read More

24Jan By drnakipuriaNo Comments

Uncategorized

Eat nuts in your 40s to cut down the risk of dementia later in life

Elders have been telling us to include nuts in our diet, so as to keep our brain healthy and active. Now, a study has substantiated this claim. Even if you have not been eating them all your life, incorporating nuts in your diet mid-life onwards, can help cut down the risk of dementia as you age. According to a report in The Independent, researchers at the National University of Singapore followed almost 17,000 people between 1993 and 2016, so as to assess their diets and then their cognitive function. It was found in the study that people who began consuming nuts in their 40s — twice a week or more — were more than one-fifth less likely to have memory problems when they were over 60, as opposed to those who ate nuts less than around once a month. Per the report, the study...

Read More

24Jan By drnakipuriaNo Comments

Uncategorized

Stressed all the time? Make these small changes to your routine

Not only are they hailed for their multi-tasking abilities, but women are also tasked with many responsibilities which, quite often, end up making them feel exhausted and stressed. Stress can be detrimental to one’s health. It mostly manifests as fatigue, irritability, emotional meltdown, loss of or excessive appetite, hair fall, skin breakouts, etc. Among other things it also leads to premature aging. Arouba Kabir, a mental health counsellor, wellness coach, and the founder of Enso Wellness, tells indianexpress.com that premature aging doesn’t necessarily mean getting wrinkles and dark spots as is usually advertised. “It is accompanied by issues more grave like weakening of bodies and mind, and severe diseases later in life like arthritis, osteoporosis, ectopic pregnancies...

Read More

24Jan By drnakipuriaNo Comments

Uncategorized

Matters of the Mind: Wellness being the goal, spirituality cannot be further ignored

Spirituality can be understood in many ways. While globally acknowledged, the broad connotations of the word and difficulty in empirical research, for decades, led to the sciences underestimating its significance and practice. Psychology has a history of being haughty if not blatant in rejecting spirituality, often equating beliefs and practices to delusions or instability. Psychologists like Freud and Watson even referred to some of its aspects as “neuroticism” and “medievalism”. Part of this could be because psychology itself struggled to earn a spot as a serious science and perhaps hesitated with all things religious or spiritual in an effort to prove itself as a rigorous scientific approach. Benefit of doubt may also be given that since most lab tests on stress, emotion...

Read More

23Jan By drnakipuriaNo Comments

Uncategorized

Preventive and essential health checks for women

“70 percent of the serious health issues that a woman gets in her later ages is actually preventable provided she goes for regular health check-ups,” said Dr Manisha Ranjan, consultant obstetrician and gynecologist, Motherhood Hospital, Noida. However, she added, that in India, it’s unfortunate that women don’t pay attention to preventive healthcare. “It enables us to know various risk factors for illness or injury, encourage us to have regular health check-ups, getting screened for cancer, getting immunised and practicing healthy habits,” she said. “Women go through unique health care challenges and mostly get diagnosed at the last stages. It has been seen that chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes are the leading causes of female mortalit...

Read More

23Jan By drnakipuriaNo Comments

Uncategorized

Count on these herbs to improve your immunity

Cold temperatures, dry air, low humidity — which are prevalent during the winter season — are conducive for the active breeding of most viruses and microbes. With certain regional causes contributing to massive increase in air pollutants and heavy metals in cities like Delhi NCR and around, it adversely irritates one’s respiratory tracts and compromises immune system of the body. “No wonder, we see an overwhelming rise in common cold, dry or congestive cough, sinusitis, asthma, chest infections, and other health ailments in winters,” said Dr Jogesh Passi, founder and director, Add Veda Life Care. Depending on how weak one’s immune system is, some get affected with respiratory ailments, while others may just feel a bit run down, low on energy, have headaches, low moods, poor...

Read More

22Jan By drnakipuriaNo Comments

Uncategorized

Recovered from COVID-19? Find out if you can donate blood

The ongoing health crisis has left people with many questions, mostly about recovery and immunity. Among them is a pertinent doubt that has crossed the minds of several COVID-19 recovered patients: can they donate blood? Blood donation is considered to be an act of kindness, one that can help save lives. During the pandemic, however, it became difficult to manage. This led to a shortage of blood units in blood banks across the country. While social distancing and staying at home are important, it is also necessary to respond to the societal call of duty, Dr Sandeep Patil, Chief Intensivist & Physician, Fortis Hospital, Kalyan tells indianexpress.com. “People who want to donate blood have a lot of questions. If they are patients who have recovered from COVID-19, many que...

Read More

22Jan By drnakipuriaNo Comments

Uncategorized

Nutritionist explains how sugarcane juice benefits health, from kidney to skin

Sugarcane juice is particularly a favourite during hot summer afternoons. Not only does the delicious drink quench your thirst, but it also comes with a lot of health benefits, celebrity nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar pointed out. In an Instagram post, Diwekar explained why one should have sugarcane juice. “It’s a natural detox and pitta shamak. The stuff that looks after the pitta or the heat response in the body. It’s a natural coolant but comes in season during the winters.” Ideally, one should have sugarcane juice at least thrice a week, she suggested. Here are some of the other benefits she mentioned: *It works like a diuretic, removes bloating and tiredness, and helps the kidneys function better.*It helps optimise liver function and is also used as a treatment for jau...

Read More

21Jan By drnakipuriaNo Comments

Uncategorized

US envoy John Kerry says climate change measures must be stepped up – Times of India

MILAN: US special climate envoy John Kerry said on Thursday measures to tackle climate change needed to be ramped up significantly and achieving net zero global carbon emissions by 2050 would require a radical transformation of the economy. "Failure at the COP [climate conference] in Glasgow is not an option," Kerry said at an online event. Source link

Read More

20Jan By drnakipuriaNo Comments

Uncategorized

Can clumsy kids be fit? Here’s what a study says

According to a new Finnish study, unlike popularly believed, being aerobically fit is not linked to better motor skills. “Also, aerobic fitness was not strongly associated with overweight or obesity. Therefore, it seems that the role of poor aerobic fitness as a risk factor for poor motor skills and excess body weight has been strongly exaggerated,” read the study published in Translational Sports Medicine. According to general perception, fit kids also have good motor skills, while low aerobic fitness has been thought to be a link between poor motor skills and weight. The study investigated the associations between aerobic fitness, body fat content, and motor skills in 332 children aged 7 to 11 years. Aerobic fitness was measured by maximum bicycle ergometer test and body ...

Read More

20Jan By drnakipuriaNo Comments

Uncategorized

How Biden plans to fight climate change – Times of India

WASHINGTON: Joe Biden has said he will return the United States to the Paris climate accord as soon as he takes office, and is also widely expected to block an oil pipeline project in a move that threatens to strain ties with Canada. And that's just the start. Experts say that after four years under Donald Trump, the Democrat will have to rebuild the credibility the US lost in the eyes of the international community, by setting concrete goals for its emissions reductions on the path to net zero by 2050. Next, he'll need to realize his $2 trillion climate plan, which would place green action at the heart of the economy and its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, to ensure a long term shift that can't be rapidly undone under any future Republican president. "I think it's important that t...

Read More

20Jan By drnakipuriaNo Comments

Uncategorized

Thyroid Awareness Month: These three yoga poses can help with imbalances in the body

When it comes to health and fitness, there is nothing like yoga to take care of your many problems. One of the most common of health issues that has afflicted people across age groups is that of thyroid. The butterfly-shaped gland in the neck secretes several hormones, collectively called thyroid hormones, of which the main one is thyroxine (T4). It is understood that if your body makes too much of thyroid hormone, you can develop a condition called ‘hyperthyroidism’, and if it makes too little, it’s called ‘hypothyroidism’. “People with an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) may suddenly feel tense and anxious. An underactive thyroid condition (hypothyroidism) may make people experience memory problems, difficulty in concentration and lack interest, among other things,” s...

Read More

19Jan By drnakipuriaNo Comments

Uncategorized

Indians prioritise eating healthy in 2021 but won’t compromise on taste

Health — mental, physical and emotional — is the top priority for Indians especially in the backdrop of COVID-19, if a new survey is to go by. Over 70 per cent of Indians said they will prioritise dietary changes over going to a gym or fitness centre to improve overall health, immunity and lower stress and anxiety levels. Interestingly, 100 per cent of the survey respondents also correctly identified what are healthy foods versus junk foods, indicating very high awareness about the ill-effects of unhealthy options that are full of fats or sugars. The end of year survey conducted by Habbit further mentioned 71 per cent felt their health is worse off today than pre-Covid-19 due to broken eating and fitness habits. Some of the reasons cited were “lack of time, poor taste of he...

Read More

19Jan By drnakipuriaNo Comments

Uncategorized

Female condoms: Everything you need to know

Three years ago, a 28-year-old Mumbai-based photographer passed on a female condom–that was gifted to her by someone who did not want to use it — to a friend. “I gifted it to another friend who I thought would use. As for me, I was not sure how it works, and have also heard it’s uncomfortable,” she said. But, as it turned out, even the friend never used it. Nandni Sharma, a 38-year-old Delhi-based publicist relates to the episode and shares a similar sentiment. When asked if she would like to use female condoms, she replied, “not sure”. This is despite the fact that she first read about female condoms in a “woman’s magazine couple of years ago, and was intrigued how they worked”. Female contraceptives are known to be extremely beneficial; they not only help prevent unwanted...

Read More

18Jan By drnakipuriaNo Comments

Uncategorized

Just one drink a day can raise your heart rate abnormally, study finds

You may be inclined to down one drink every night after work, having read some editorials that it can benefit you. But according to a report in the European Heart Journal, people who consumed 12g of ethanol a day — equivalent to a 120ml glass of wine, 330ml beer, or 40mls of spirits — were 16 per cent more likely (than teetotalers/non-drinkers) to develop ‘atrial fibrillation’, a report in The Independent mentions. In other words, consuming just one glass of your favourite drink every day can increase the risk of an irregular heartbeat or heart rate. The report states that atrial fibrillation is a condition characterised by an irregular — and often rapid — heart rate, which can cause dizziness and palpitations. It can also make people more susceptible to strokes. According...

Read More

18Jan By drnakipuriaNo Comments

Uncategorized

Avian flu: From symptoms to precautions, here’s what you need to know

While we try to stay optimistic amid the COVID-19 pandemic — with a vaccine now in sight — a new health scare has us worrying. Avian flu, also known as bird flu, has created quite a stir and people have been wondering how dangerous it is, and what they can possibly do to stay safe. But while there’s an influx of rumours, Dr Kirti Sabnis, Infectious Disease Specialist, Fortis Hospitals, Mumbai answers some frequently asked questions for indianexpress.com. Read on. What is avian flu? Avian influenza is the disease caused by infection with Avian (bird) Influenza (flu) Type A viruses. This is said to occur naturally among wild aquatic birds worldwide and can infect domestic poultry and other birds and animals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A...

Read More

18Jan By drnakipuriaNo Comments

Uncategorized

Intermittent Fasting: All you need to know about the eating pattern

Unlike fad diets that call for the elimination of certain food groups like fats or carbohydrates, Intermittent Fasting (IF) is an eating pattern in which one has timely meals within an eating window and fast at other times. It does not put any restrictions on what one eats — whether it is whole grains, vegetables, protein, or fruits — in terms of quantity and quality in the eating window. The basic principle of IF is to give the body time to digest food, and in the process, burn out excess body fat and hence, detox. It is considered more attuned to the body’s circadian rhythm, and therefore, beneficial. According to the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), intermittent fasting — going without food for long hours periodically every week, or avoiding food for fixed hours e...

Read More

17Jan By drnakipuriaNo Comments

Uncategorized

Witnessing deaths made the world a ‘darker place’ for Prince William

Having witnessed one too many deaths, the Duke of Cambridge Prince William has said it made him see the world as a ‘darker place’. The duke recently revealed that when he was working as an air ambulance pilot, he saw the world as a “slightly depressed, darker, blacker place”, while watching people die. According to a report in The Independent, Prince William worked for the East Anglian Air Ambulance from 2015 until 2017. He admitted he “really worries” about those working on the frontline in the coronavirus pandemic, mainly because of the effect “such high levels of sadness, trauma, and death” will have on them. The outlet further reports that during a video call with medics, counsellors and first responders, William said: “When you see so much death and so much bereavement...

Read More

16Jan By drnakipuriaNo Comments

Uncategorized

Reimagine your relationship to alcohol

Written by Julia Bainbridge (At Home) Seven years ago, Laura McKowen started a drinking journal. She knew alcohol was an issue for her — she knew it when her 4-year-old daughter helped her clean up the morning after a blackout, and she knew it the 10th time she drove to work hungover — but she needed to see it. “Something very interesting happens when we put things on paper,” McKowen said, “because we have a lot of cognitive dissonance around drinking.” She couldn’t deflect around what she saw on the page, though: two bottles of wine a night. She got sober and went on to help others do the same through coaching and teaching workshops. Last January, McKowen published “We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life,” and in March, she began hosting free sobriety su...

Read More

16Jan By drnakipuriaNo Comments

Uncategorized

Mask-associated dry eyes: All you need to know

By now, you must have experienced certain effects of prolonged usage of a face mask. Skin irritation, friction acne and hurting ears are some of the common side-effects experienced by wearers who use masks for prolonged periods of time. At the same time, prolonged mask-wearing has also engendered a new medical syndrome that ophthalmologists are dealing with – a condition widely being referred as ‘mask-associated dry eyes’. So, if you have been experiencing irritation and lack of lubrication of the eyes over the past few months, particularly after a face mask became a regular part of your attire, chances are you are suffering from this syndrome! “The term ‘mask associated dry eyes’ has gained currency in recent months ever since ophthalmologists noticed a rising stream of pe...

Read More