Cholesterol is either ingested in the food (about 25% ) we eat and some of it is produced by our body (remaining 75%). Cholesterol is needed by the body to produce steroid hormones and bile acids. It is an aspect that is required by the body and if in too much quantity, the same can cause havoc in the body. The best is to maintain the right balance of cholesterol in our diet. The same requires life style and dietary modifications.

The first step in creating your low cholesterol diet plan is to eliminate foods high in saturated fat and bad cholesterol.

Low cholesterol foods diet mainly includes:

High-Fiber Diet- Soluble fiber reduces bad cholesterol. Good food sources are oatmeal, fruits and vegetables.

Cooking oil- Fats makes about 30 % of your days in take. A combination of oils work the best. Foods rich in saturated fats are butter, ghee, cream, and cheese. These need to be taken in moderation or avoided. Avoid fried foods. Not more than 10% of total calories should be from Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA) and the remaining should be from Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFA). The best sources of PUFA are plant based oils , sunflower, corn, soybean, cottonseed and safflower. MUFA are found in the largest amounts in olive, canola, mustard, almond and peanut oils.

Avoid Trans fats- Read labels carefully and do not re use oil used for frying.

Go lean- Choose lean meat and fish. Fish is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. Foods high in omega 3 help you lower down the risk of cardio-vascular disease. Tuna and salmon are a good source of omega-3 to name a few.

Eat a wide range of fruits and vegetables- This will help ensure that your body meets all the vitamins and nutrient requirement. Fruits and vegetables are relatively low in calories. Apples and pears are known for soluble fiber, which reduces bad cholesterol levels. It is best that you eat good quantities of the same.

Include low fat dairy products-Avoid ghee, cheese, cream, paneer and butter. Opt for lighter and healthier options.

Exercise well - Exercise at least 30 mins per day. Workout will help you burn extra fat resulting in lowering cholesterol levels.

How Can I Avoid Cholesterol In My Diet?

What is a foreign body (FB)?
Foreign body or FB is an object or piece of extraneous matter that has entered the body by accident or design. It is common to see certain items getting stuck in the ear, nose or throat especially, in young children. While most of the time they do not raise an alarm, however, sometimes they can lead to severe consequences like rupture of the eardrum or even choking.

How do FBs affect ear, nose and throat?

Children over 9 months develop an ability to pick up objects. As they explore the environment around them, they tend to put items such as peas, beans, marbles, beads, cotton, paper, etc, in their mouth, nose or ears. Similar trend may be seen in adults with mental disorders.
Trauma/ fall/accident can force FBs like rock, pebbles into the ear, nose or throat.
Adults while riding a bike or sleeping on the ground (campsites) can have insects: flies, ants, roaches fly into the nose or ear.
Choking occurs when FBs block the airway, common reasons are: not chewing the food properly, diseases like Parkinsonism, drinking alcohol or certain drugs that slowdowns the process of swallowing.
Managing FB in the ear, nose and throat

Foreign bodies in the ear
Symptoms: Pain in the ear, discharge or bleeding from the ear, feeling of fullness or pressure in the ear and dizziness and nausea in extreme cases.

Management: 

Make sure the patient is sitting in an upright position, pull the pinna or outer semicircle of the ear towards the back. This can help you see the object clearly and also loosen it to wiggle out. If you can see the object clearly, use a tweezer to grasp the object and gently remove.
In case a live insect gets trapped inside the ear lie down and place few drops of warm vegetable or baby oil. Use oil only if symptoms of eardrum perforation like pain, bleeding/discharge from the ear is absent.
Tilting the head to the affected side can facilitate gravity to dislodge the object.
Foreign bodies in the nose:
Symptoms: Pain and difficulty in breathing from that side of the nose.
Management: Keep the uninvolved nostril closed by pressing a finger against the side of the nose and gently ask the person to blow from the affected nostril.

Foreign bodies in the throat:
Symptoms: Choking, inability to breathe and speak 
Management: Perform Heimlich maneuver: abdominal thrusts, if trained otherwise, it is advised to call for medical help immediately.

How can you prevent foreign bodies from entering your ear, nose, throat?

Discourage talking, playing, laughing when food is in the mouth.
Do not give whole grapes, popcorn, nuts to children below 3 years.
Keep small objects out of reach of small children.
Teach children to avoid placing objects into their nose, ears.

Presence Of Foreign Bodies In Ear/Nose/Throat - How It Can Be Managed?

Ulcerative colitis is a disorder that causes inflammations and ulcers inside your colon, affecting the entire digestive system. The disease grows over time and symptoms start to worsen over a prolonged period, rather than the problem showing up suddenly. Severe cases of ulcerative colitis may even be fatal if treatment does not resolve some of the complications arising from the condition.

Causes of Ulcerative Colitis-
The exact cause for the inflammatory bowel disease is unknown. Improper diet and lifestyle can aggravate the symptoms, but do not cause the condition. Some possible causes for the disease include-

Improper functioning of the body s immune system causes it to recognize the colon as a foreign body.
Genetic factors and hereditary may also be held accountable in some instances.
Risk factors for the condition include old age and family history of the condition.

Symptoms of Ulcerative Colitis-
Here are some common symptoms associated with the condition-

Bloody diarrhoea
Rectal pain
Weight loss
Pain in the abdominal region along with cramping
Fever
Urgency to defecate
Inadequate bowel movement despite the feeling of urgency
How can you prevent ulcerative colitis?
Ulcerative colitis cannot be prevented as the exact cause for the condition is unknown. However, there are simple steps that will help manage the symptoms.

Diet change- You need to stop eating certain foods, such as, dairy products, beans, broccoli, cabbage and anything spicy. Instead, fibre intake must be increased drastically.
Exercise- Mild exercise or activities have a profound impact on managing the condition.
Avoiding stress
Drinking plenty of fluids
Role of Homeopathy in Managing Ulcerative Colitis-
Homeopathy follows a natural and holistic approach to deal with the condition. It does not merely treat the symptoms, but looks to cure the underlying cause for those symptoms. Homeopathic remedies will greatly bolster the overall condition of the body s immune system. Furthermore, the bloody diarrhoea accompanying the disease will also stop with proper homeopathic treatment.

Ulcerative Colitis - Does Homeopathic Treatments Work?

Eczema is not a disease per se, but is a name given collectively to a group of medical conditions, which can cause the skin to become inflamed and irritated. Atopic dermatitis is one of the most common types of eczema.

Causes

While the exact cause of eczema is not known, the most commonly attributed reason is an increasingly sensitive immune system. The overactive immune system produces antibodies, which cause these skin reactions. It is also noted that people with allergies including hay fever and asthma are more likely to develop eczema.

Other conditions which can lead to eczema include allergic dermatitis, irritant dermatitis, stasis dermatitis, scabies, fungal infections, xerotic dermatitis, lichen planus and scalp infections.

There is also a genetic predisposition, and children whose parents have had eczema are likely to develop eczema.

Symptoms

In most people, eczema is present in the form of small blisters, which are filled with fluid and can ooze. Gradually, there could be dryness, crusting, scaling and thickening of the skin with plaque formation. The most common symptom would be itching. The different types of eczema as noted above would have diagnostic features. For instance, when testing for irritant or contact dermatitis, there would be an irritant that is causing this. Stasis dermatitis would have circulatory issues and often affects the lower legs.

In fair-skinned people, these lesions begin as red and then turn brown. There also could be lightening of the affected skin area in people with slightly darker skin.

Diagnosis

For a trained medical eye, diagnosis of eczema is not a tough task. A complete physical examination may be done to assess the extent of eczema spread. Blood tests may be done to test for allergies. In very rare cases, a biopsy may also be required.

Treatment

The goal of treatment is to reduce itching and improve moisturization. Eczema, unless associated with an infection, is not contagious.

Using copious amounts of creams and lotions help in improving hydration and moisturization, as they are allowed to soak into the skin.

Topical steroids may be required if allergy is suspected. In most cases, hydrocortisone and corticosteroid creams are very effective.

Associated infections like scalp infections and fungal infections should also be treated with suitable products.

Immunomodulator creams like Elidel are useful by suppressing the immune system and preventing flare up of the allergic reactions.

Cold compresses may be used to relieve itching.

Prevention

Since there is a strong genetic component related to eczema, prevention is helpful.

Constantly keep the skin moist and hydrated by using moisturizers, especially during winters.

Avoid clothes and metals which can cause allergy- like wool, nickel, harsh soaps, detergents, etc.

Avoid or be careful about food items which are known to cause allergies.

Eczema - Causes, Symptoms and Treatments 

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an abnormal condition of the mind that develops when a person is exposed to certain traumatic events in life such as accidents, sexual assault or warfare.

The major symptoms of PTSD are:

Reliving the traumatic experience over and over again; this leads to severe and long-term mental distress.
Recurring dreams about the events.
Provocation of traumatic thoughts by the slightest event that causes distress to the individual.
Avoiding memories and thoughts that might remind them of the event.
Developing a negative view of themselves and the world.
Developing social or specific phobias.
Treatment

Medication and antidepressants: Medicines such as paroxetine, sertraline and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) help the individual address insomnia-related problems that occur due to PTSD and suppress nightmares.
Psychotherapy: This form of therapy is used to cure both mental health conditions (such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety and depression) as well as emotional problems that result from PTSD. Skilled mental health experts are needed for this form of treatment to be administered. They would listen to each individual patiently and provide effective strategies to give solutions to the problems. Some of these therapies are:
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: This therapy enables the individual to adapt to changes and recognize thought patterns which lead to irrational and negative behaviour and actions.
Exposure therapy: This therapy causes the affected individual to first become anxious by exposing him/her to the traumatic memories, situations and objects by simulating them. The therapy helps the person to overcome his/her fears and become comfortable in the same environment that had previously caused fear and anxiety.
Group therapy: This popular and effective form of therapy allows the individual to share his/her feelings, fears and thoughts with a group of people who have themselves experienced similar trauma in their lives. Sharing such experiences helps reduces stress levels.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - Ways It Can Be Managed!

If you notice blood while urinating, you must visit a urologist to get a clear picture of the health issue. Blood in urine is known as hematuria in medical terms. Such a condition can occur in both men and women. It is a common condition and does not require the patient to panic. Rather immediate tests should be conducted to find out the cause of the blood and treated accordingly. Such conditions are very much treatable with a little care and vigilance following of the doctor s advice. Here are some of the common causes of hematuria in individuals: 

Urine Infections: Urine infections are the common cause of blood in your urine. Most commonly these affect urinary bladder and rarely kidneys also. Prompt identification and treatment can easily revert this problem. 
Urinary Stones: Another major cause of hematuria, usually accompanied by pain in the abdomen. 
Enlarged Prostate: With an enlarged prostate, there can be blood flow with the urine. Rarely this may be a sign of cancer in the prostate. 
Exercise: This might come as a surprise for many of the fitness freaks. While exercises are needed for the body and rightly so; but exercises should be done in a certain limit. Heavy exercises, limitless and vigorous exercises can sometimes cause other health problems in the body. One such problem is the passing of blood in the urine. 
Medications: Quite interesting is the fact that long-term consumption of certain medicines might cause hematuria in individuals. Certain medicines like penicillin and aspirin are absorbed by the body to a certain extent. But overdose or the regular dosage might lead to further problems in the human body. 
Kidney Injury: A kidney injury is a form of internal injury which can be felt and manifested through signs and symptoms. Such injuries occur mostly to those who are in the field of sports. At times, a heavy punch, a hard training session, or an exhaustive fall might lead to kidney injuries. This, in turn, would cause hematuria. 
Tumors of Urinary Tract: Bleeding can occur from tumors arising from kidney, ureter, urinary bladder as well as urethra. These require timely detection and management. Early treatment leads to an excellent long-term outcome. 
Thus, these are some of the common reasons for the development of blood in urine. However, it is a condition which can be best analyzed by the medical practitioner. Therefore, on the occasion of blood, you must get it tested and treated immediately.

Blood In Urine - What Does It Mean?

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