Simple steps for healthy body and mind

The world we live in these days is extremely tiring. People do not have a minute to stop everything and think about their health and the state of their mind. This has led to the development of extreme pressure and tension in your mind which inadvertently affects your body. Here are a few things you can follow that will help you maintain a calm and composed mind and body.

TAKING WATER BREAKS:

Staying hydrated is extremely important to maintain a good body metabolism. Take a water break once every hour and cool off for a few minutes and then continue your work. Straining your mind continuously won’t help you think effectively and you’ll end up making a mess out of your work. So remember to take these small water breaks.

EATING AND SLEEPING PROPERLY:

Eating and sleeping are two basic necessities that we cannot compromise on. They both are equally important and a lack of either one would cause catastrophic damages to your body. Learn to love your body and pamper yourself. Everyone deserves the right to eat delicious healthy food and get a good night’s sleep. Get a minimum of 7 hours sleep and eat at least 3 whole meals every day. 

EXERCISING REGULARLY:

Image Courtesy - usercontent1.hubstatic.com

Exercising regularly is something that everyone compromises on these days. Unless you can live a long healthy life to enjoy your success, there is no point in working strenuously every day. Workout every day for 30-45 minutes and sweat a lot and remove all toxins from your body. At least take a brisk walk in the park or the beach and take in gulps of fresh air. Once you sweat and burn those calories your body will feel good and your mind will automatically become active and your work will be more productive.

LEAVING YOUR WORK PROBLEMS AT WORK:

Once you come home, unwind fully and relax. Forget all your work worries and enjoy the time you have at home. Lie down on your couch and catch a movie on  TV or listen to your favorite songs.  Never bring in the work pressure into your house.  Spend time with your family and enjoy the little pleasures of life.

TAKING SUNDAYS OFF:

Sundays are the days of resting and relaxation. Make it mandatory that you take Sundays off from work. Sleep for a few extra hours or go to the mall with your family or take a long drive…Do anything that will keep the pressure off your mind. Working 24x7 would be disastrous to the body and cause many negative effects. Rest and Rejuvenate for a day and then go back to work on Monday (You will be better prepared to handle the week ahead) Once you follow these steps you will notice big changes in the condition of your body and mind. You will feel less anxious and more energetic. You will feel good about yourself and you will enjoy life. So keep calm and stay happy.

Read More

Treatment and Remedies for Back Pain

Image Courtesy - doctor pulse.co

Do you use your laptop/computer every day? Do you also forget to maintain a proper posture whilst using them? Then your lower back is at a risk of constant strain which will cause you great discomfort in the near future. 

WHY DO YOU NEED TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR BACK?

Your back is one of the most important parts of your body. All your daily activities can be accomplished effectively only if you have a strong and healthy back. If your spinal cord is damaged or sprained, the slightest movement will cause you a great amount of pain.

CAUSES OF BACK PAIN:

• Incorrect posture.
• Improper lifting of heavy weights.
• Lack of Vitamin D.
• Irregular Exercise.
• Fractures in the hip or legs etc. can cause excruciating lower back pain.

As a side note, a recent survey in India showed that 69% of Indians are found to be Vitamin D deficient and a further 15% are found to be Vitamin D insufficient. This puts us under the radar for severe back pain in the long run.Vitamin D supplements are encouraged to be implemented in a diet by practiced professionals for maintaining a stronger back.

TREATMENT AND REMEDIES:

Lower back pain can be due to two reasons 1) Muscle pull or a sprain and 2) Weak and brittle spinal cord. For a muscle pull or a sprain, the following is recommended:

REST:

Taking a break from your strenuous daily activities can soothe your back pain and bring your spine back to normal functioning. This can also be accompanied by massaging your back with proper guidance from a certified physiotherapist. Doing this will help relieve lower back pain.

HEAT AND ICE PACKS:

Generally, heat is used for chronic pain and Ice pack is used for acute pain. Both provide considerable relief. 

EXERCISE:

Exercising your back every day is the best way to keep fit and avoid any complications. These exercises can vary from simple stretching to more hardcore weightlifting to strengthen your back. The exercises will vary based on your age and fitness. For people with a body mass index above 25, starting your exercise with stretching is recommended. Those of you who are already fit can use weights to strengthen your back. These kinds of exercises need supervision in the beginning. 

STRENGTHENING YOUR BRITTLE BACK:

If you suffer from osteoporosis, spondylitis or any forms of fracture in your back, you are strongly recommended to seek a Doctor’s help. After proper medical treatment and rest, increasing your Vitamin D intake will aid in strengthening your bones. Taking Calcium supplements will also aid in your recovery. During this recovery period, straining your back with weights is not advised. 

Read More

Most kinds of Mental Illness is treatable

Depression and Anxiety are very common much more than heart disease. But mental health is highly neglected. Biochemical abnormalities in the brain can cause mental disorders. It's important that these disorders are found early. There should be no stigma associated with mental health. All these disorders are treatable. It's a myth that medications induce sleep and have to be taken lifelong.

Dr. Yamini Kannappan DPM, DNB Psychiatry
Consultant Psychiatrist, Kauvery Hospital, Chennai

Read More

Advanced Diabetic Care Centre Launched at Kauvery

Kauvery Hospital, Alwarpet launched its Advanced Diabetic Care Centre on Aug 19 at The Music Academy, Alwarpet. Tamil scholar and orator Sukisivam inaugurated the centre and also launched the advanced annual diabetes management programme. Several services to diabetic patients including an annual comprehensive diabetic package, quarterly consultations with diabetologists and quarterly assessment of the blood glucose levels (HbA1C) are offered under this programme.;

It is an exclusive center that offers the most advanced annual diabetes management program encompassing various departments and addressing multiple problems faced by diabetics.

Read More

Simple Steps to avoid Constipation

Image Courtesy - medicalnewstoday.com

Constipation is a common term used these days, which implies difficult bowel movement or less frequent expulsion of digestive wastes than normal. At some point of life, almost all of us would have experienced this condition and it may not be usually a serious problem. However, it will be of great relief to get our system back on track. Prolonged constipation may be a symptom or a cause for various other major health issues, so it is advisable not to take constipation light! 

What indicates constipation?

The normal duration of bowel movement varies from person to person. It could range from thrice a day to once or twice a week. Retention of waste for more than three days would lead to hardening of stools and more difficult to expel. Here are the signs that can clearly indicate constipation

• Less frequent bowel movement than normal
• Straining or having trouble in bowel movement
• Small pellets or hardening of stools
• A sense of incomplete bowel movement
• Abdominal pain accompanied by swollen abdomen
• Nausea and vomiting

What causes Constipation?

The most important reason could be the kind of food intake. One needs to keep vigilance over what goes into the alimentary canal. Diet poor in fiber and water content, excessive intake of dairy products, sedentary lifestyle, intake of antacids with aluminum or calcium, change in regular diet patterns or activities, long distance travelling, overuse of laxatives, eating disorders, colon cancer, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, use of narcotics, antidepressants, iron pills or tonic, hypothyroidism, and stress could trigger off constipation.

A delay in bowel movements for more than two weeks calls for an immediate diagnosis, which may include, a blood test to check on hormonal levels, Barium test, and colonoscopy to look for blockages in the colon.

Getting Rid of Constipation:

Simple steps given below could be of great help in keeping constipation at bay.

• Intake of warm fluids early in the morning on an empty stomach.

• Including an apple everyday in the diet. The fiber in the apple is similar to Sorbitol, which clings to the intestinal water creating larger and softer stools.

• Consumption of dried Apricots which will promote regular bowel movements.

• A concoction of few figs boiled in a glass of milk taken before bed time will work wonders to ease the bowels.

• Consuming 100 ml of spinach juice with equal quantity of water twice a day proves to be an effective cleansing method to cure stubborn cases of constipation.

• Including fruits such as orange, papaya, pineapple and prunes in the diet everyday will act as natural laxatives. However, prunes can be used minimally if you have trouble with kidneys or gall bladder since it is rich in oxalates.

• Brussel sprouts and Zucchini support the formation of soft and bulkier stools enabling quick and comfortable elimination thus preventing colon cancer.

• The addition of legumes (lentils and beans) in the diet would be a rich source of magnesium and fiber which can magically cut down on constipation.

• A good intake of water and a regular exercise regime should be the easiest and best source of relief from constipation.

Visit Our Website.

Read More

Effect of Technology on Children

Image Courtesy - i.ytimg.com

Remember the days when you were around 10 and you would run around the yard for hours with your friends playing some game or some sport, sweat and go back indoors for a cold refreshment? Happy healthy days, indeed. The kids these days prefer using their phones or tabs, downloading pictures and apps rather than going out.

THE PROBLEM WITH TODAY’S WORLD:

As the world progresses towards new technological developments, life has become simpler and has made us more comfortable, but these advancements also come with a great price. Technology today has brought out negative effects in children. These effects are alarming and cause major disturbances to the normal growth of children. Scientific studies on children who use only their devices every day rather than outdoor play have brought out results that are very disturbing.

ATTENTION SPAN:

When you were young, and when owning a TV was uncommon, time was devoted to reading and playing outside, which required more attention, memory capacity, and imagination. With the advent of modern technologies that promote visual stimuli, the areas of the brain meant for memory and attention are not used very often, which leads to severe lack of attention and the inability to store things in your brain for a long time (a theorem perhaps). For a growing child this presents a big problem and leads to severe defects in his attention span and the ability to remember things. Technology conditions the brain to pay attention in a very different way. When you are viewing a web page, an ad might pop up and cause you to get distracted very often.

SENSORY AND MOTOR FUNCTIONS:

When children prefer to stay indoors, they begin to live a very sedentary life. They lack any form of physical exercise and tend to become obese. The rate of obese kids has increased to 41 million worldwide in the last few years. Children who are obese tend to suffer from diabetes at a very early age. The overall psychology and behavior of children tend to change and they begin to suffer from many disorders like autism, ADHD, coordination disorder, sleep disorders, anxiety etc. On the whole, children are becoming very unhealthy due to overuse of technology.

A FINE BALANCE:

Tech products are not all that bad. For example, Research shows that kids who play video games or watch a few television shows tend to show improved visual-spatial skills, try to find out one particular object among a cluster of objects very quickly. Kids who surf the internet very often try to find the quickest way to answer any problem. Their critical thinking capabilities and problem-solving skills improve. 

But  these results are from kids who balance their time between technology and outdoor activities. 

We all know that “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. Work out a fine balance of time between technology-driven activities and other activities. Get the best of both worlds. 

Visit Our Website.

Read More

The different stages of Heart Failure

Image Courtesy - theexpertinstitute.com

Congestive heart failure is a condition where the heart does not pump blood to the body as well as it should. The changing environment and a busy life have led to the increase in the number of congestive heart failure cases over the last few years. This condition is mainly caused due to the fluid buildup in the legs, arms, feet or lungs.

WHAT CAUSES THIS CONDITION?
• If the arteries that supply blood to the heart get diseased, the blood supply gets reduced or completely cut off, this causes heart failure.

• A heart attack can result in heart failure because a part of the muscle may stop functioning properly.

• Alcohol or drug abuse can also lead to heart failure.

• Diabetes, hypertension, congested lungs etc. can cause this disorder.

DIAGNOSIS:
The next stage is the diagnosis of this disease, which involves a complete physical examination with a series of blood tests that check for anaemia, cholesterol levels etc. B-type Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) blood test is another test that checks for the peptide that increases in levels when a heart failure develops or worsens. X-Rays are also taken to check for the abnormal size of the heart. These are just a few tests of the many tests done for a complete examination.

UNDERSTANDING THE STATE OF YOUR HEART:

There are 4 stages of heart failure starting from A to D. It is a progressive condition that can worsen over time. Depending on the stage, you need to make necessary changes in your lifestyle.

STAGE A: This is a pre-heart failure stage where people are at a high risk of developing the disease, like people with high blood pressure, alcohol, and drug abuse. These individuals are advised to quit alcohol intake or smoking, implement dietary changes and lower the blood pressure.

STAGE B: This stage includes individuals with a prior heart attack, cardiomyopathy, valve disorders. Treatment from stage A still continues and apart from that, surgery for coronary artery repair is recommended along with additional drugs.

STAGE C: In this stage, people experience shortness of breath, the inability to exercise regularly, fatigue etc. Stage A treatment still continues. A pacemaker may be implanted and the heart could be monitored along with the weight. Sodium intake should be reduced and the drugs that worsen the condition should be discontinued.

STAGE D: This is the terminal stage and treatments from the above 3 stages are implemented and a heart transplant is required at the earliest.

TREATING YOURSELF:

Although a medical professional’s guidance is highly recommended, there are a few things that you can do by yourself to help maintain your heart in a good condition. These include things like lowering your sodium intake i.e. lowering your salt intake, quit smoking, doing mild cardio exercises regularly, and following a stress-free life.  A healthy heart is the key to a happy life. So stay healthy and enjoy a happy life.

Visit Our Website.

Read More