Dr. Foram

Let's all break the taboo against psychiatry and accept it as any other field of Medicine. Let's all join and raise awareness and spread the message "Dignity in mental health" and treat people suffering from such illness with respect.

Join hands, help break the taboo. 

Let me clear some common misconceptions we have about psychiatry today:

• People suffering from mental illness are not "mentally disturbed" there are different kinds of problems and we should stop labelling them. 
• Psychiatric medications are NOT addictive!
• You are "NOT WEAK" if you seek help of psychiatrist. In fact you are mentally strong and mature enough to understand you have a problem and will do what is right to solve it rather than running away from and issue
• Illness is not under patients control it is not all  In their head!
• Hypertension and diabetes are all long term illnesses we take medications for that them, then why not for depression and other psychiatric illnesses?
• This is just an imbalance of neurochemicals, just treat it and lead a peaceful life.
• Psychiatric illnesses are treatable.

Hope this helps and clears some doubts lingering in our minds.

Kidney! a silent partner for good health! 

The colour, density and smell of urine can reveal much about the state of health.

We all have heard our grandparents telling us, that drinking water stored in a copper vessel is beneficial to our health. So much so that some people have glasses and jugs made of copper that they use exclusively to store and drink water. So, do you think this belief really has any scientific logic?

According to ayurveda, water stored in a copper vessel has the ability to balance all the three doshas in your body, (vata, kapha and pitta) and it does so by positively charging the water. The water stored in a copper vessel is known as ‘tamara jal’ and is supposed to be consumed after storing the water in a copper vessel for at least eight hours.

When water is stored in a copper vessel, the copper gently leaches into the water and lends it all its positive properties. The best part about this water is that it never becomes stale and can be stored this way for long periods of time.

• Try drinking water stored in a copper vessel regularly. Apart from fine tuning our digestive system to perform better, copper also helps our body break down fat and eliminate it more efficiently, thereby, helping our body keep only what it will use and throw out the rest, hence helping in weight loss.
• Copper has properties that stimulate peristalsis (the rhythmic contraction and relaxation of the stomach that helps food get digested and move along the digestive tract), kill harmful bacteria and reduce inflammation within the stomach, making it a great remedy for ulcers, indigestion and infections.
• Copper strengthens our immune system and aid in the production of new cells. Copper is also known to help wounds within the body, especially the stomach.
• Copper has been found to help regulate blood pressure, heart rate and lowers one’s cholesterol and triglyceride levels. It also helps prevent the accumulation of plaque and has the documented effect of dilating blood vessels to allow better flow of blood to the heart.
• Copper is known to be oligodynamic in nature (the sterilizing effect of metals on bacteria), and can destroy bacteria very effectively. It is especially effective against e. Coli and s. Aureus, two bacteria that are commonly found in our environment and known to cause severe illnesses in the human body. Copper is known to help prevent common water-borne diseases like diarrhoea, dysentery and jaundice.
• Copper has very potent anti-inflammatory properties. This asset is especially great to relieve aches and pains caused due to inflamed joints – like in the case of arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Apart from that, copper also has bone and immune system strengthening properties, making it the perfect remedy for arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. This is why drinking water infused with copper is a great option for relief from aches and pains of these diseases.
• Right from cell formation to aiding in the absorption of iron, copper is an essential mineral for the functioning of your body. This is one of the reasons that it also helps in keeping anemia at bay. An essential component in the entire process of absorbing and using iron present in the body, copper helps keep the levels of haeme (iron) up and regulates its flow in your blood vessels.
• Copper is the main component in the production of melanin (a pigment that mitigates the color of your eyes, hair and skin) in our bodies. Apart from that copper also aids in the production of new cells that help replenish the top most layers of our skin. While melanin helps the body stay safe from sun damage, speeds up wound healing and covers up scars, the production of new cells is a boon for smooth, blemish-free and clear skin.
• While buying copper utensil, one very easy way to distinguish between pure copper and an adulterated version is to know that copper is a very soft metal and pure copper is difficult to mould into intricate shapes. So if the design of your copper vessel is very intricate, it is most probably not made with pure copper.

To wash copper utensil from inside, do not use a coarse scrub as it will tend to scrape away copper from the vessel. Instead, use one half of a lemon (you can squeeze out the juice) and rub it on the inside of the vessel. Allow it to stand for a few minutes and then wash off with plain water. Alternatively you could also try using baking soda with water. Use this mixture to coat the inside of the vessel and allow it to stand for a few minutes and rinse away the excess baking soda.

Drinking water twice or thrice in a day from a copper vessel is more than enough to reap its benefits.