Dr. Padma S

Your heart isn't one of the most important organs of your body, just like that. But it is nowadays, in constant danger with the rampant growth of heart disease, a leading cause of deaths around the world. Apart from your lifestyle choices, what you consume on a regular basis has a huge impact on the health of your heart. Unhealthy foods are the main reason the world is fatter and sicker than ever before. Surprisingly, some of these foods are considered healthy by many people.

Here are 6 health foods that are really junk foods in disguise:

1. Processed 'Low-Fat' and 'Fat-Free' Foods: The 'war' on saturated fats is the biggest mistake in the history of nutrition. It was based on weak evidence, which has now been completely debunked. When this started, processed food manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon and started removing the fat from foods. But there is a huge problem, food tastes horrible when the fat has been removed. That's why they added a whole bunch of sugar to compensate. Saturated fat is harmless, but added sugar is incredibly harmful when consumed in excess. The words 'low-fat' or 'fat-free' on a packaging usually mean that it is a highly processed product that is loaded with sugar.
2. Fruit Juices, Which are Basically Just Liquid Sugar: A lot of people believe fruit juices to be healthy. They must be, because they come from fruit, right? But a lot of the fruit juices you find in the supermarket isn't really fruit juice. Sometimes, there isn't even any actual fruit in there, just chemicals that taste like fruit. What you are drinking is basically just fruit flavoured sugar water. That being said, even if you are drinking 100% quality fruit juice, it is still a bad idea. Fruit juice is like fruit, except with all the good stuff (like the fibre) taken out, the main thing left of the actual fruit is the sugar. If you didn't know, fruit juice actually contains a similar amount of sugar as a sugar sweetened beverage.
3. Heart Healthy & Whole Wheat: Most whole wheat products are not really made from whole wheat. The grains have been pulverized into very fine flour, making them raise blood sugar just as fast as their refined counterparts. In fact, whole wheat bread can have a similar glycemic index as white bread. But even true whole wheat may be a bad idea, because modern wheat is unhealthy as compared to the wheat our grandparents ate. There are studies showing that modern wheat may cause inflammation and increased cholesterol levels, at least when compared to the older varieties. Whereas, wheat may have been a relatively healthy grain back in the day, the stuff most people are eating today is best avoided.
4. Margarine: Butter was demonized back in the day, due to the high saturated fat content. Various health experts started promoting margarine instead. Back in the day, margarine used to be high in trans fats. These days, it has less trans fats than before, but is still loaded with refined vegetable oils. Margarine is not a food, it is an assembly of chemicals and refined oils that have been made to look and taste like food. If you want to improve your health, eat real butter, but avoid processed margarine and other fake foods like the plague.
5. Vegetable Oils: We are often advised to eat seed and vegetable oils. This includes Soybean oil, Canola oil and numerous others. This is based on the fact that these oils have been shown to lower blood cholesterol levels, at least in the short term. However, it is important to keep in mind that blood cholesterol is a risk factor and not a disease in itself. Even though vegetable oils can improve a risk factor, there is no guarantee that they will help prevent actual hard endpoints like heart attacks or death, which is what really counts. In fact, several controlled trials have shown that despite lowering cholesterol, these oils can increase the risk of death from both heart disease and cancer. So eat healthy, natural fats like ghee, cold pressed coconut oil, cold pressed sesame oil, cold pressed mustard oil and olive oil, but avoid processed vegetable oils as if your life depended on it (it does).
6. Most Processed Breakfast Cereals: The way some breakfast cereals are marketed, is a disgrace. Many of them, including those that are marketed towards children, have all sorts of health claims plastered on the box. This includes misleading things like 'whole grain' or 'low fat'. But when you actually look at the ingredients list, you see that it is almost nothing, but refined grains, sugar and artificial chemicals. The truth is, if the packaging of a food says that it is healthy, then it probably is not. The truly healthy foods are those that do not need any health claims like whole, single ingredient foods. Real food doesn't even need an ingredient list, because real food is the ingredient.

1. What is Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)? When is it recommended?

IUI is a procedure where semen is instilled inside the uterus of a woman after it has been processed in the laboratory. IUI is done at the time of ovulation.

It is recommended in cases of male factor infertility like low sperm counts or motility and also in case of unexplained infertility so as to improve the chances of pregnancy.

2. How does IUI increase the chance of pregnancy?

In IUI, the washed sperms are deposited directly into the uterus at the time of ovulation. By this, there are more chances for gametes (eggs and sperms) to fertilise and cause pregnancy.

3. What is the best period to do an IUI?

The best period to do an IUI is immediately after ovulation (egg release).

4. How is it performed? Or Description of IUI procedure in brief?

IUI is a simple, non-painful procedure. Firstly, the husband's semen is collected and then prepared in the laboratory so that we can get the maximum number of good motile sperms. Thereafter the woman (wife) is positioned to lie down and a speculum is inserted in the vagina. Semen wash in loaded in a sterile plastic catheter and introduced through the cervix into the uterine cavity and is then injected slowly.

5. What are the pre-IUI treatment steps?

Pretreatment steps-

1) Screening tests for both husband and wife is done.
2) Tubal patency test of a wife is desirable.
3) Ovulation induction with medications
4) Follicular monitoring by ultrasound.
5) Timing of ovulation by giving an HCG trigger injection (for egg release) when the follicles are mature (greater than 20 mm).
6) 36-40 hours later, semen is processed and IUI is done.

6. Are there extra precautions to be taken after IUI procedure?

A woman is asked to lie down for 15-30 minutes after IUI procedure, thereafter she can resume her routine activities. She is asked to take prescribed medications on time as advised.

7. Can the sperm fall out?

No, sperms don't fall out after IUI.

8. Where is the sperm accumulated? How long sperm survive after timed intercourse of IUI?

Sperm accumulate in cervical crevices during intercourse and can survive for 72 hours

9. What is the method for sperm freezing, if a partner is not available at the IUI procedure time?

The semen sample is processed first in the laboratory and the semen wash is then frozen by putting this in liquid nitrogen. Thereafter, this frozen sample can be used anytime, like on the day of IUI even when a husband is not around.

10. How long frozen sperm can be stored?

Frozen sperms can be stored as long as desired.

11. Can using of frozen sperm increase the likelihood having a child with birth defects?

No, using frozen sperms does not increase chances of birth defects.

12. Do I need to take extra precautions after IUI?

No extra precautions are needed after IUI, just take the medicines on time as advised by the doctor.

13. How long does it take for fertilization and for implantation?

Fertilization takes roughly 12-18 hours and implantation occur around the 5th day after ovulation.

14. What kind of examination is usually done for an IUI cycle?

Ultrasound monitoring (transvaginal probe) is usually done in IUI cycles.

15. How long prior to an IUI should the couple abstain from intercourse?

An abstinence period of 2-3 days is advisable before IUI to get the best sperm sample from a partner.

16. What is 'washed' sperm?

'Washed sperm' is actually the processed semen prepared in the laboratory using various media. By this process, toxins and dead sperms are removed from semen so that it can be put directly in the uterine cavity.

17. What is donor IUI?

When husband semen has no sperms (azoospermia) then, sperms can be taken from sperm banks and IUI can be done, this is called a donor IUI.

18. After an IUI, how soon can I have intercourse?

After the IUI, there is no restriction to have intercourse.

19. Can IUI be used for gender selection?

NO, IUI cannot be used for gender selection.

20. Is the process painful?

NO, IUI process is not at all painful. It is equivalent to a gynecological examination.

'Consult'.

Tip: BUSTED: 4 Myths on IVF Infertility Treatment?