Dr. M Velrani

The top 5 reasons to eat broccoli are:

1) A high intake of broccoli has been found to reduce the risk of aggressive prostate cancer and may also help prevent heart disease.

2) Averaging just four weekly servings of veggies like broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower slashed the risk of dying from any disease by 26% among 6,100 people studied for 28 years.

3) Broccoli contains a flavonoid called kaempferol which has anti-inflammatory properties. This makes broccoli potentially useful in assisting with chronic inflammatory ailments, such as arthritis or gout.

4) This dark green veg also helps your body absorb vitamin D. This is due to broccoli’s high levels of of vitamins A and K, which both aid in the healthy absorption of vitamin D.

5) Broccoli may have a positive impact on our body's ability to naturally detox. This is possibly due to three phytonutrients found in unique combination in broccoli - glucoraphanin, gluconasturtiian, and glucobrassicin. This nutritional trio is able to support all steps in body's detox process, including neutralization and elimination of unwanted contaminants.

How to eat broccoli?

Broccoli is usually boiled or steamed but may be eaten raw and has become popular as a raw vegetable in hors d'œuvre trays.

As the benefits of broccoli are thought to greatly reduce if boiled, light steaming is a far healthier way of cooking it. Scientists have also discovered that steaming broccoli lightly releases the maximum amount of sulforaphane.

Be it frequent urination, painful urination, or change in color of urine, you must not hesitate to visit a urologist, especially when the symptoms persist for more than two days. Typically, an abnormal urge to urinate is directly affected by any infection in the bladder or due to any underlying medical condition. A urologist who is specialized in the study and treatment of disorders related to the urinary system is the right person to diagnose the problem and put you on the right treatment. Read on to have an insight into symptoms that would necessitate a urologist visit.

Inability to urinate: Many people tend to have calcium depositions in their urinary tract. This is what is known as a stone. When this stone grows big in dimension, it can block the ureters or the urethra. In both these situations, the total urine output reduces to a great extent or can stop completely. The first symptom, in this case, will be an intolerable pain in the back or lower abdomen. This is also a common sign in males with an enlarged prostate.

As the prostate grows in size, it pushes onto the bladder, thus again making it difficult to release urine.

1. Pain in the lower abdomen: Pain in the lower abdomen is also a symptom of various kinds of urinary problems. If the pain is accompanied by urinary frequency or a burning sensation during urination, it inevitably prompts a visit to the urologist to check for bladder cancer or prostate.
2. Blood in urine: Irrespective of the gender of the sufferer, blood in the urine is never a good sign. An immediate visit to the urologist is suggested as he can order tests which can highlight an infection or a disease or in extreme cases, even the early signs of cancer in kidney or bladder.
3. Repeated urinary tract infections: Cases might arise, when a particular person is suffering from two or more infections in a span of 6 months. This situation should never be ignored, and immediately a doctor should be visited as this can be a serious health problem in both men and women. Prophylactic or some antibiotic treatments will be prescribed in this case.
4. Chronic pain in the pelvic region: This is again another urinary condition which can affect both sexes. This condition is characterized by increased frequency of urination and nocturia and pain in the lower abdomen are also reported. Nocturia is severe nighttime urination. The treatment for this condition depends on the reason. A series of tests and examinations have to be carried out to find out the reason, and accordingly, a treatment plan has to be charted out.

Apart from the symptoms mentioned above, if you experience uncontrolled urine leakage or any sediments in urine or if you sense any abnormality concerning the lower abdominal area a urologist visit is warranted. No need to shy away from reporting even such minor discomfort as it could help avoid dire consequences.

Kidney failure is happening even to 20-year-old Indians now! 4 Reasons why.

Usually more common in the elderly as a consequence of the chronic kidney disease, kidney failure is now increasingly becoming common amongst 20-somethings in the country.

Why?
Mainly because of their unhealthy lifestyle habits, they are falling prey to a disease that normally strikes later on in life.

Kidney failure, also known as renal failure, occurs when the kidneys stop functioning properly, that is, they are unable to filter out waste and toxins efficiently from the body. It is the most severe stage of chronic kidney disease. To ensure that toxins don't build up in the body, treatment usually involves dialysis (process for removing excess fluid and waste from the blood) or kidney transplant, among others. It is said that about 1 million people all over the world are on dialysis or are surviving on transplanted kidneys. The condition is permanent and can occur either very suddenly or slowly over time.

These frightening habits of the young are leading to the rise of the incidence of renal failure:

1. A sedentary lifestyle - A research conducted by the University of Utah School of Medicine suggests that if you spend 80 minutes a day sitting, you see a 20% increase in the risk of developing chronic kidney disease and, in turn, renal failure.Sedentary behaviour can also increase your risk of diabetes, hypertension as well as obesity (causes of chronic kidney disease).India is said to have about 60% of patients who suffer from hypertension and diabetes also suffer from kidney problem.

2. Poor eating habits - Studies suggest that the right diet consisting of fruits legumes, nuts, and whole grains can help in preventing kidney disease.On the other hand, a diet that is high in processed meats; salt and sugar can worsen the vicious cycle of high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and kidney disease. Furthermore, a BMI of over 30 can increase your risk of developing common kidney ailments by two-fold. With the proliferation of fast food outlets and junk food due to lack of time, Indians are increasingly now at a risk.

Related Tip: 4 Types of Kidney Stones and Their Common Symptoms