Dt. Divita Dhingra

Kidney stones are caused when certain minerals of your urine are retained and not wholly released, causing them to amalgamate and form a stone. Passing kidney stones is one of the most painful experiences you may face physically. Its magnanimity is often compared to childbirth, and those who are suffering from kidney stones dread having this experience.

If you are yet not affected by kidney stones and do not want to, read to know what dietary changes you can undergo to prevent it.

1.        Drink a lot of water
On an average, a person must be drinking at least 3 liters of water every day. If you live in a more hot and humid climatic area, your water intake must be even more than that, so that on an average, 2.5 liters of urine is passed throughout the day, which decreases the chances of unnecessary retention of minerals from the urine and release them more easily from the body.

2.        Continue eating calcium containing foods
It is a common misconception that calcium accelerates the formation of kidney stones. Calcium is digested in the intestine. Only the calcium which is excess and cannot be digested in the intestines are sent to the kidneys. Continue consuming calcium rich foods unless your doctor prescribes you against it. Make sure your diet includes enough dairy products such as milk, cheeses, etc, or other calcium rich foods like oats and broccoli.

3.        Limit intake of oxalic acid
Oxalic acid is mostly found in food obtained from plants. It restricts the absorption of calcium in the intestines and as a result, more calcium is passed into the kidneys; thus forming calcium oxalate, or oxalate stones. Try to avoid foods like rhubarb, Swiss chard, nuts, tea, sweet potatoes, etc; mainly leguminous plant products.

4.        Decrease the ingestion of sodium salts, sugar and meat protein
Salts and sugars, mainly found in packaged foods to prevent them from expiring, increase the release of calcium and oxalates into the blood, which thus increase the chances to develop kidney stones. Meat contains fibers which affect certain nutrients in the kidney, thus aggravating the formation of stones.

5.        Increase the consumption of insoluble fibers
Insoluble fibers are those rough fibers which are not soluble in water during the process of digestion. They are found in rice, wheat, barley, etc, and are found to decrease calcium absorption in the kidney. They attach themselves to the calcium and oxalates, which enable them to be released as stool instead of urine.

Hello everyone,

I am Dt. Divita and I have been and I have been in this field of nutrition and health from past 3 years now. And in these 3 specific years, I have heard a lot of complaints from my patients about being constipated. And I know this is very less talked in topic about constipation. It is not talked much about but it is really really important to talk about it because it is a chronic disease, it is a very very big disease, a lot of people are going through. And this constipation is a chronic disease which occurs with lifestyle, with heredity you know but in general, if you have this one, you cannot say that I am constipated by just not passing stool for one or two days. You can be constipated if you have this problem from for months and it is the main root cause of being an unhealthy gut. Gut is basically gastrointestinal tract that is your main digestion system which helps you digest the food and gets it you know all the nutrients out of it.

So, I am sure you might have heard a lot of remedies to resolve this chronic disease called constipation that might include having milk at night, eating papaya at night or in the morning to you know to get this constipation release or maybe having aloe vera water in the morning, having ajwain water to resolve this. There is a lot of numbers of remedies one can follow to resolve this constipation but it totally depends on your metabolism and immunity which specific remedy is going to help you out. But being a nutritionist, I am going to help you about what all eating habits you can include, what all eating patterns you can adapt to resolve this problem. So first talking about this fibre intake you should have per day. You should at least have 30-35 grams of fibre per day depending on your age, your gender it totally depends on what lifestyle you are in but at least 30 grams of fibre you should have.

Fibre could be in wheat bran, oats, whole grains, lentils, fruits, vegetable, apples many of the things that you can have in the market but I am not suggesting you to have any supplements or any medicines to resolve your constipation. You should always rely on natural food and here you can resolve this problem with having a high amount of fibre, including more fibre in your diet, have oats. So, the second point would be that one should have a lot and a lot of water. It's not really specific that how much amount of water you should have. Of course, there is a saying that you should at least have 8 to 11 glasses of water per day. Yes, you should but try and exceed that, go for 2 liters, 3 litres, 4 litres any amount of water that is suitable for you which will help you go to increase your urination, to increase your stool movement, to increase your bowel movement basically. That is really really important to have a number of glasses of water in a day.

Don't consider coconut water or edible what do you know the numbert of water fruits and vegetables have, don't consider that. Just consider the glass of water that you are having per day that is really important. So, this would be your second point. And the third point would be completely completely go off frozen foods, canned foods and these marketed packed foods and juices and everything you should al, you completely should omit this from your diet. And this will help you a lot to you know to help your gut with this. Try and include more and more of probiotics in your diet which will help you resolve this problem, which will help your gut to work faster and by saying probiotics there are a lot of products that are coming in the market by the name of the probiotics; probiotic curds, probiotic drinks and of course this yakult is really really helpful to have to relieve this constipation problem. So, I hope this will be helpful for you and I am nutritionist Divita.

Thank you!

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common hormonal disorder among women of reproductive age. Polycystic means “many cysts,” and PCOS often causes clusters of small, pearl-sized cysts in the ovaries. The cysts are fluid-filled and contain immature eggs. PCOS affects one in 4 women.

What are the causes behind it?
While the exact cause of PCOS is unknown, doctors believe that hormonal imbalances and genetics play a role. Women are more likely to develop PCOS if their mother or sister also has the condition.
Overproduction of the hormone androgen may be another contributing factor. Androgen is a male sex hormone that women’s bodies also produce. 

PCOS Symptoms
PCOS is a syndrome disease defined by a collection of signs and symptoms. The symptoms of PCOS that one patient experiences can be very different from the symptoms of another patient. If you have two or more of the following symptoms, you need to have a thorough checkup to determine if you need PCOS treatment:

• Irregular or missing menstrual periods
• Infertility
• Excess or unwanted body or facial hair growth
• Thinning hair on the scalp
• Weight problems, often including weight gain around the waist
• Skin problems, including skin tags, darkening skin and acne

Does PCOS increase weight?
The answer is a ‘YES’. Most PCOS patients are overweight and are asked to exercise which helps control the symptoms but a lot many people have a completely normal body type.

What are the risks associated with PCOS-related weight gain?
No matter what the cause, weight gain can be detrimental to your health. Women with PCOS are more likely to develop many of the problems associated with weight gain and insulin resistance, including:

• Type 2 diabetes
• High cholesterol
• High blood pressure
• Sleep apnea
• Infertility
• Endometrial cancer

Many of these conditions can lead to heart disease. In fact, women with PCOS are four to seven times more likely to have a heart attack than women of the same age without the condition.

Benefit of Weight Loss with PCOS

Modest weight loss will not cure PCOS, but it will help. Weight loss can restore the normal function of the ovaries and result in normal hormone production. This may, in turn, lead to improvements in symptoms of PCOS, such as excess hair growth, acne or scalp hair loss.

Protect Yourself From Weight Gain

• Eat Right: A healthy diet low in complex carbohydrates, moderate protein and low fat is important, as this can help regulate blood sugar levels. 
• Exercise: Start doing low-to-moderate activities like walking or swimming for 30-to-90 minutes per day because exercise (even without weight loss) has been shown to lower or get rid of insulin resistance.
• Lose Weight: The more overweight you are the more likely you are to be insulin resistant whether you have PCOS or not. Losing just 5% of your bodyweight will help lower your insulin resistance.
• Avoid Stress: Don’t over stress yourself as it increases the blood pressure level in your body and can’t help to resist with PCOS. So, try to stay as calm as possible.
• Get more sleep (at least 7-to-9 hours in a day): Not getting enough sleep can also make your insulin resistance worse, which in turn acquires you the weight.

DIET:

• Cereals: Barley, quinoa, oats, oatmeal, muesli, bran flakes, whole wheat porridge, brown rice, multigrain bread
• Pulses: Yellow moong, green moong, chana dal, beans, whole pulses
• Dairy products: Skimmed or toned milk, soy milk, tofu, paneer, yogurt
• Fruits: Berries, plums, peaches, oranges, papaya, pears, watermelons, apples
• Nuts: Walnut, almonds, flaxseeds
• Vegetables: Carrots, peas, broccoli, lettuce, mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, onions, cauliflower, celery, spinach

Contrary to popular belief, not all bacteria are harmful to us. Within our body, each 'human' cell is complemented by 10 microbial cells. These range from bacteria in the gut to viruses and fungi in other parts of the body. Gut bacteria help us to digest food, produce vitamins, communicate with the immune system and create small molecules that help the brain to function.

Thus, it is essential to have a healthy gut, by which we mean a gut with plenty of friendly bacteria. There are many different types of bacteria living in the gut. Each of these thrive on different foods. Thus to have a healthy gut, your diet should include a variety of cereals, fruits, and vegetables, etc. Here are a few tips to keep your gut bacteria healthy.

1. Increase your fiber intake: A diet that is rich in fiber is the best way to promote the growth of diverse microbes in the gut. This includes fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, cereals and nuts. Fiber also helps prevent constipation and has been linked to lowering the risk of cancer. To prevent the buildup of gas and bloating it is advisable to increase intake of fiber and drink plenty of water with all your meals.
2. Include probiotic foods in your diet: Probiotics need not only be taken in the form of supplements. This can easily be incorporated into your daily diet. These can be defined as live bacteria and yeasts that help the digestive system. Yogurt is one of the most common sources of probiotics. Kimchi or fermented vegetables, miso, cheese, buttermilk, fermented condiments and lentil sprouts are other examples of probiotic foods you should include in your diet.
3. Try having some carminatives in your meals: Carminative foods soothe the digestive system of the body. Some common carminatives are cumin, ginger, oatmeal, cardamom, cinnamon and fennel. While cumin helps with the digestion of black beans, cooked oatmeal lines the stomach and soothes it.
4. Eat weight loss friendly food: Being overweight not only affects how you look, but also affects the digestion process. When you lose weight one of the first things you would notice is a lowered amount of abdominal discomfort as your gut begins to feel healthier. 

This is because weight loss lowers the pressure on the lower esophageal sphincter. This does not allow the valve to open more than necessary and hence prevents food and stomach acid flowing back into the esophagus. Along with increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables, switch your cooking oil to olive oiland notice the difference.

The name 'fast food' comes from the fact that it can be prepared and served in a jiffy and not to mention, tastes delicious. Don't be fooled by the smell and the taste, they have such little to no nutritional value that they can hardly be called food. They are rich in calories, fat and sugar that lead to various kinds of health conditions. Popular junk foods include gums, sweets, carbonated drinks, desserts, dried foods; you probably love them now but after knowing their effects on your health you might want to eliminate them from your diet.

Here are some of the conditions which can be caused by consumption of excessive fast food:

1. Heart diseases

Fast food contains high amounts of trans or saturated fats that can clog your arteries and lead to high level of cholesterol later in life. People who have junk food more than four times a week increase their risk of dying by 80%.

2. Obesity

Adolescents who have poor eating habits are at high risk of being obese. Gaining a lot of weight beyond a recommended proportion can cause many health problems. Junk foods have sugar and calories that lead to weight gain. It has also been noticed that people who are prone to eating more fast foods are less likely to consume fruits and vegetables and this further weakens their immune system.

3. Peptic Ulcer
 

Peptic ulcer is a disease that occurs in the gastrointestinal tract; it is acidic in nature and cause extreme stomach ache.  Spicy oily and salted food combined with stress and alcohol can lead to this condition. 

4. Diabetes

Busy work schedule prevents many people from cooking at home and they take resort in fast food but it is advisable not to let work get in the way of your health. Consuming regular fast food coupled with poor lifestyle and lack of exercise leads to obesity which in turn causes type 2 diabetes.  

Cut down on junk foods and incorporate fruits and vegetables and also make time to include a daily exercise routine to maintain a healthy lifestyle.