Dr. Shavana

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.

We have often heard that prevention is better than cure. After all, who would want to spend time being sick, if it can be avoided and no day ever needs to be a wash out. Well, it can be said that as long as a person is willing to put in a little effort, there can be dividends in the form of not having to pay multiple visits to the doctor. Let’s find out how exactly to go about practising preventive health care.

1. Quit smoking: As it says on the packets of cigarettes, it has been proven beyond any shadow of doubt that smoking is injurious to health. As a matter of fact, the habit of smoking can not only lead to cancer as it is most commonly associated with, but also result in other ill conditions and diseases. Quitting smoking is indeed the most important tenet of preventive health.
2. Sleep well: Many people think that the practice of sleeping enough for adequate health is overrated, but it is just so very important. A number of people are putting their health in jeopardy in the long run by not making the right choice of prioritising sleep over other activities. There are various risks a person exposes himself or herself to by not getting enough sleep. Inadequate sleep does not provide the body with the amount of rest that is needed for it to repair, heal and start afresh.
3. Cut down on alcohol: Alcohol is something that is enjoyable as long as the limits regarding the consumption of it are maintained. A general rule is that no man should be having more than two drinks a day and a woman should not go beyond a drink. When these limits are not paid heed to, the risk of some life threatening diseases such as cancers as well as liver cirrhosis spikes.
4. Follow proper diet and exercise: While it is true that degeneration of the joints of a person over the course of time is an inevitability, there is a lot that can be done by a person who wants to avoid the prospect of having his or her quality of life compromised by arthritis. Following a strict diet, avoiding fast food and drinking plenty of water helps in keeping yourself healthy. Similarly regular workout and exercising prevents a person from being overweight, which makes a substantial difference in fighting arthritis!

Egg freezing is a female fertility preservation method in which a woman's unfertilized eggs are stored so that can be used to conceive at a later date, when natural conception would not be likely. The eggs can be preserved for women who are not ready to have a child at the moment. This method is also used for women who are at a risk of infertility because of medical reasons like cancer.

Frozen eggs can be stored for long years without much deterioration. When a woman is ready to use the eggs, they are warmed and fertilized with the sperm. Since, the aim is embryonic development and the developed eggs are transferred into the uterus to promote fertilization making it possible for the woman to conceive.

The process of egg freezing:
The process of egg freezing involves several steps. They are:

1. Hormonal stimulation: Hormonal stimulation is given in the form of injections and this can be done by the patient herself. This will get the eggs ready. The injections may make the woman feel bloated up, but there are no severe side effects.
2. Egg collection: The eggs are collected from the ovaries via an ultrasound probe, which is inserted into the vagina. A needle is run inside the probe and passes through the vaginal walls into both the ovaries. The eggs are separated from the ovary and the patient is given general anaesthesia.
3. Vitrification: This process takes place in the laboratory where the eggs are frozen and is called vitrification. The eggs are rapidly frozen in a process where all fluids are extracted for prevention of ice crystal formation. After successful vitrification, the eggs can be stored for many years.

Success rate:
Egg freezing is a new procedure and it is too early to make a graph of its success rate. The age of the woman is an important factor which determines the success rate. According to a research, it has been found out that for women under the age of 35, one cycle of stimulation produces ten to twelve eggs out of which seven to nine can be used for storage. It is estimated that around 90% of the eggs would survive future warming, 50 to 80% of the eggs would successfully fertilize and 80 to 90% eggs would develop into embryos. The success rate is less in women above 35.

Female fertility preservation refers to the preservation of eggs to be used for fertilization at a later date. Egg freezing is a common fertility preservation process. Egg freezing cannot guarantee pregnancy and the birth of a healthy baby and the outcome of frozen eggs cannot be known for sure. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult an IVF Specialist.