S.K. NURSING HOME AND HOSPITAL.

An unhealthy diet is an absolute no in daily life to remain healthy, fit and without any disease. Unhealthy diets fail to give the body the correct amounts and varieties of proteins and nutrients for a maximum proper health.
Too many intakes of calories lead to an unhealthy diet, which also increases blood pressure. It leads to a very poor calorie ratio-to-nutrient that leads to gain weight and also leads to malnutrition along with various health problems. Unhealthy diets cause chronic disease, hypertension, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease.
Therefore, unhealthy eating habits should be avoided and strongly abandoned.

Why Avoid Unhealthy Diet?

1. It causes obesity. Increased intake of nutrient-dense foods like fruits, sugar, processed carbohydrates and animal fat leads to obesity.
2. Nutrient deficiency is another harmful effect of following an unhealthy diet.
3. Illness is another factor. Poor intake of nutrition leads to diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Lack of calcium weakens the bones, lack of vitamin A and C suppress the body immune system leaving a person vulnerable to diseases.
4. Increases the risk of coronary artery disease as unhealthy diet contributes to building up of plaque in the coronary arteries which can cause heart attacks.

Coronary Heart Disease - A Serious Issue!
It is a disease which leads to plaque building inside the coronary arteries, which supply rich oxygen blood to the human heart muscle. Over time the plaques either hardened or get ruptured and hardened plaque restricts the coronary arteries, which reduce the oxygen flow to the heart. On the other hand, if the plaque is ruptured blood is formed on its surface which also narrows the coronary artery and restricts the blood flow. And if the blood flow is blocked or reduced, then it might lead to Angina and heart attacks leading to loss of life. Angina causes chest pain it can also cause pain in the neck, back or arms. It is a state where one gets a feeling of indigestion.

Outlook
Changes in lifestyle, eating habits, intake of medicines and its procedures helps to prevent this disease. These steps can also reduce the chances of health problems. Therefore, a proper healthy diet is a must in a person’s routine because it serves as one of the links to coronary heart diseases. In order to live long, live healthily and live happily one needs to adopt a good eating habit, take care of the medicines they intake, certain input time of exercise, change the monotonous lifestyle to lessen down the chances of their occurrence. Adopting healthy food habits also enables the body to fight against diseases and infections, reducing the rate of illness. It also reduces stress and provides a good healthy and happy life.

Lack of sleep can make you feel tired, worn-out and less productive the next day. However, it might not be your fault entirely because the brain tends to become active when the body is at rest, which could be a reason why you aren’t getting enough sleep at night.

Here are a few tips which might be useful for you to sleep at night:

1. Keep your room dark: Even the faintest light from your mobile is enough to disrupt your sleep. Thus, try and switch off all your lights and gadgets before going to sleep. If doing that doesn’t help either, use an eye mask to keep the light out.

2. Carefully select your dinner: Don’t go to bed hungry or overstuffed because either of them might cause discomfort while sleeping and lead to a disruption in your sleep. Also, limit your alcohol consumption at night to refrain from making numerous trips to the washroom. Avoid consuming nicotine and caffeine before going to bed as they take a long time to wear off and can cause havoc in your sleep routine.

3. Don’t exercise before going to bed: Exercising daily is a necessity as it keeps your body healthy and in shape, but exercising right before going to bed can be disruptive as it might make you more pumped up due to the adrenaline rush. Thus, you should avoid exercising heavily right before going to bed.

4. Plug out all your devices: Create a technology free zone by plugging out all your devices one hour prior to your usual sleep time. The blue light radiated from your devices can trick your brain into believing that it is daylight and cause a disruption in circadian rhythm (which is an ongoing 24-hour physiological process which is regulated by external factors such as sunlight and temperature).

5. Consume snooze food: Certain food items can be classified as snooze foods as they ensure better sleep at night. Warm milk contains ‘tryptophan’ which is a precursor to melatonin (hormone that is responsible for the onset of sleep) and ensures better sleep or you could have a spoon of honey which releases ‘orexin’ (a chemical that affects wakefulness and appetite) that reduces alertness levels.

Asthma is the most common chronic condition for women in pregnancy. While Asthma control can affect pregnancy, pregnancy too can affect Asthma. Yet while pregnancy does not beget Asthma, neither does it abate.

Nevertheless, Asthma management during pregnancy is very important. Improper Asthma management, especially in difficult Asthma, during pregnancy may imperil both the mother and the child.

Along with taking the right medications, Asthma patients also need to avoid exposure to Asthma triggers.

Avoiding Asthma Triggers

Asthma triggers may be different for different people. In general, one or a few of the following act as Asthma triggers:

1. Allergens like pollen, dust mite etc.

2. Smoking

3. Certain exercises

4. Certain occupational exposure

5. Pollution

6. Certain drugs like β‐blockers, aspirin etc.

7. Alcohol, dairy products, orange juice, peanuts etc.

8. Additives like tartrazine, monosodium glutamate etc.

9. Certain medical conditions like gastric reflux, rhinitis etc.

Apart from avoiding these Asthma triggers, she would also need to follow the instructions of her gynecologists. She should always be concerned that if the treatment is not working or if she is experiencing any trouble, she must consult with the gynecologists. She can also do some exercises to stay active and healthy.

However, she should always consult a doctor before doing any exercise, especially for those who have experienced Asthma attacks in the past.

Effects of Asthma on Pregnancy

Poor Asthma management and difficult Asthma before pregnancy are associated with increased risk of hypertension during pregnancy, which can beget Preeclampsia. Studies have also shown that women with Asthma tend to undergo Caesarean sections more than others. It has also been observed that Asthma may restrict the growth of the fetus leading to low birth weight.

However, this is more due to poor Asthma control such as persistent breathing difficulty or poor lung function etc., than Asthma per se.

Effects of Pregnancy on Asthma

Certain physiological factors during pregnancy do affect Asthma. In difficult Asthma, control usually deteriorates between 24 and 36 weeks of pregnancy, mainly due to poor adherence to corticosteroids. This is why pregnant women with Asthma should be monitored closely irrespective of the severity of Asthma.

Breathlessness in Pregnancy

Breathlessness during pregnancy is common. In fact, even pregnant women with no Asthma symptoms may feel breathless at times. It reflects some normal physiological and anatomical changes during pregnancy. Even anxiety may precipitate breathlessness. This indicates that pregnant women with difficult Asthma may feel breathless, not just because of Asthma, but also because of normal changes during this period. However, new incidents of Asthma can also be a cause of breathlessness.

Respiratory Distress in Pregnant Women

Respiratory distress in pregnant women may not always be due to asthma. There may be a whole host of reasons that include Anxiety, Hyperventilation, chest infection, dysfunctional breathing, pneumonia, interstitial lung disease, thromboembolic disease, amniotic fluid embolism, pneumothorax, ischemic heart disease, arrhythmias, cardiomyopathy and a variety of endocrine, hematological and renal disorders.

Preventing Respiratory Distress During Pregnancy

Apart from avoiding Asthma triggers, pregnant women with Asthma or difficult Asthma need to strictly adhere to Asthma control. This indicates that they need to adhere to their corticosteroids religiously. However, before that, they also need to make sure that the corticosteroid is safe to be taken during pregnancy.

Asthma may or may not affect pregnancy. However, it is always a great idea to go for Asthma management. This will help women deal with complications related to Asthma during pregnancy.

Apart from that, always consult a doctor before going for any medication related to Asthma control, or actual treatment of Asthma.