Health Bytes
Consumption of junk food by youngsters has become a leading problem. With children most prone to this, most of us are dependent on packaged food which have taken a heavy toll on our heath. Food items like bead and flower contain bromates as preservatives that can cause diarrhea. Cookies and biscuits contain Mono and Diglycerides which can lead to cancer and birth defects. Meat contains nitrites that are also carcinogenic. Are we really aware of what we eat?
Indian government's vision of assuring 'health for all' can be achieved only if Indian health system implements urgent changes for various key health challenges, stated a paper authored by professor Vikram Patel. Patel from London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and colleagues, has documented India's progress on major health indicators in the past decade but also its many deficiencies.
New findings from the Indian Health Report 1025 (IHR) by Public Health Foundation of India and Global Nutrition Report (GNR) 2015 of International Food Policy Research Institute stated that despite numerous health programmes, 55% of Indian women in the age group of 15-49 are anaemic. The report also stated that over 69 % children who are in the age group of 6 to 59 months are anaemic and 45% adolescent girls have low BMI (Body Mass Index).
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001-2010 conducted by the Louisiana State university in their new study found that pear consumption can lead to a lower body weight and people who have pear are 35% less likely to be obese. The researchers not only found a correlation between consumption of pear and lower body weight but also pears ability to improve diet quality.
Researchers at Newcastle University at UK in their recent study have shown that accumulation of fats in pancreas causes Type 2 diabetes in patients. The effects of type 2 diabetes can be reversed by losing less than a gram of that fat through weight loss. Type 2 diabetes is said to affect approximately 9% of the global population.
FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) following the direction of the high court after the petition filed by Uday Foundation have come up with a draft of guidelines. These guidelines will help in making ‘Wholesome, Nutritious, Safe and Hygienic Food’ to School Children. The guidelines currently are in two parts, which include Guidelines for making available Wholesome and Nutritious Food to school children and Guidelines on Food Safety, Hygiene and Sanitation for Food available in school canteens.
Supermarkets have turned out to be great sources of organic food for the growing health conscious Indian customers. Supermarkets and food association have seen a great rise in demand even though the organic food are priced high. “Indian market happens to be at very nascent stage. However, the trend is picking up really fast and Organic Harvest has seen a growth of over 300 percent in the last one year. So, growth has been outstanding. It will keep on growing in the next five years to come,” said Rahul Agarwal, CEO, Organic Harvest.
Deputy Commissioner Vipul Bansal delivering his inaugural address at a function to mark the World Soils Day in Kalaburagi on Saturday stated that the health of the soil is directly related to the production of food grain. The deterioration of soil health due to the indiscriminate use of the fertilisers would have a lasting impact on the food grain production in the country. He added that Farmers should change their agricultural practices on their own and choose the crop best suited to the condition of their soil.
According to a survey, people have an emotional connect to food which they simply overlook as it can sabotage their efforts to lose weight. According to a new survey conducted by Orlando Health department in the US, it has come to light that the key to losing weight might be in snapping the emotional bond that people have with food.
We tend to overeat when the food is delicious. Overeating can make your digestion go for a toss and lead to a bloated stomach due to indigestion and cause gas in the stomach. Good news for people suffering from the same as the cure is in your kitchens. Ginger, garlic, cumin, basil and peppermint have shown to give instant relief to people suffering from an excessive accumulation of gas in the stomach.
Chia seeds are tiny seeds packed with nutrients and can be considered as a vegetarian superfood that can provide nutrients equivalent to fish. Native to central and southern Mexico and Guatemala, they belong to the mint family, Lamiaceae. It's referred as the healthiest food as it is a good source of proteins, healthy fats and dietary fibres. Their popularity is increasing as they are a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids and fibre. They are convenient to consume and can be incorporated to almost every food.
Dads-to-be, take note! The amount of food you consume could have a direct impact on your unborn child’s mental health and well-being, a new study has found. The study by Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) suggested a dad’s diet before they conceive could be genetically passed onto the next generation, with a subsequent impact on those childrens’ mental health.
Nutritionists conclude from a study in the journal Cell that what may work for weight loss for one person might not work for another. The study suggests that people metabolize food differently depending on their individual makeup and the makeup of the microorganisms in their gut. So knowing that foods that are healthy to one person may be unhealthy to another could lead to a fundamental shift in the way dietary recommendations are made moving forward.
Did you know that a healthy gut can speed up weight-loss, reduce food cravings, and improve your digestion? Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables rich in fibre can help you attain a healthy gut. Limiting sweets, staying hydrated exercising regularly and eating probiotic reach food have also shown to be great for the gut.
A new research by researchers in Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Nanjing University in China, will make you want to tweak your cooking routine in the kitchen. They said cooking with chlorinated tap water and iodized table salt could put potentially harmful toxins in your food. The team found several molecules that are almost completely new to scientists created by cooking with chlorinated tap water and iodized table salt. They said that limiting cooking time and temperature, and cooking with table salt fortified with iodate instead of iodide, could be safest.
Conditions like obesity, heart diseases, liver ailments as well as backbone related troubles can be triggered by prolonged sitting. A recent study suggested the one needs to take small breaks and keep moving as they cannot make up for the long hours of prolonged sitting even if they work out regularly. If you are suffering from ailments related to the heart, make it a point to get up and move every half an hour as researchers have found that patients with heart disease who sit a lot have worse health even if they exercise.
Gujrat based dermatologist warns Indians about the misuse of skin care products which contains steroids. These steroids, also known as corticosteroids, are medicines that are used for their anti-inflammatory properties. These can lead to a wide range of permanent damage to which includes damage to the skin and the groin. They can cause pigmentation of the skin and makes the skin susceptible to bacterial and fungal infections. Consultant dermatologist Shyam Verma in his article published in The British Medical Journal said that Indian doctors are witnessing a pandemic of adverse effects induced by topical corticosteroids.
We have been misguided for a very long time about what makes us fat and what does not. Counting calories may not work for our bodies even if we love to pay attention to diet without paying attention to nourishment. Hormone production that facilitate good metabolism cannot happen if someone is just counting calories. The health problems that we face today are not a result of irregular calorie intake, but a result of irregular nutrition.
Districts like Amritsar, Jalandhar, Muktsar, Mansa, Tarn Taran, Bathinda, Ludhiana, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur and many more have failed to achieve monthly targets for collection of food samples that was set by the department of health because of which food safety seems to remain a low concern for the health department. 1,740 was the target set by the health department out of which only 45% of samples were taken up by the district. Out of these 45%, 31% were unfit for consumption as they failed the test.
A new study has revealed that eating a handful of walnuts everyday can lead to better diet and improvements in health risk factors among people at high risk of diabetes. The study revealed that the walnut diet was associated with improvements in blood vessel cell wall function and ‘bad’ cholesterol after six months, although it didn’t have any impact on blood pressure or blood glucose levels. In the study, researchers assigned 112 people to either following a diet with dietary counselling designed to curb calorie intake, or one without. Within these two groupings, participants were randomly assigned to the daily inclusion of 56 g of walnuts in their diet or the complete avoidance of walnuts for a period of six months.