Dr. Savitha Pawar

As diabetes is metabolic condition in which an individual affected would have rise in blood glucose level either due to insulin production is not sufficient or body's cells do not respond properly to insulin or both.

Symptoms:

- frequent urination and increased thirst 

- unexplained weight loss 

- cuts and wounds takes long time to heal 

- scabies and scratchiness on skin feet getting numb or cramps in legs 

Causes:

- lack of exercise and obesity 

- unhealthy diet junk food fatty food alcohol tobacco etc,

- lack of proper nutrition expecially proteins and fibres

- stress and anxiety 

- gestational diabetes 

Prevention:

- weight control 

- away from tension and stress 

- avoid tobacco and its products 

- follow healthy diet with fruits and green vegetables

- restrain from eating sweets

Antenatal exercises are specifically designed to prepare the body for parturition/birth. Fitness for the expectant mother includes a combination of breathing techniques, prenatal yoga or stretches, and exercises that strengthen core muscles (especially the back and pelvic floor), boost stamina and enhance energy levels.
The specially patterned breathing helps in aiding relaxation, relieving stress, and coping through contractions and labour.
 

Benefits of exercises in pregnancy:
1) improves blood flow - the increased oxygen is passed on to your baby
2) releases'happy hormones' which make you feel good
3) prepares your body for late pregnancy when you will carry that extra weight
4) prepares your body for childbirth - it's not called labour for nothing!
5) shorten the labor process
6) Increase the chances of a natural birth
7) decrease the need for pain relief
8) keeps your muscles toned so that they will recover more quickly after birth.

Tips and cautions:-

• Women who were exercising regularly before pregnancy, and who are healthy during pregnancy, should be able to continue exercising as before, with slight changes depending on the trimester.
• Women who have not been exercising before pregnancy will benefit from taking up a low-intensity program and gradually move to a higher activity level.
• Exercise is recommended for 20 to 30 minutes each day, on most days. Most exercises are safe to perform during pregnancy if done with caution.

When you cut back on saturated fat, you almost certainly cut back on the amount of meat you eat. When this happens, you may also be cutting back on important nutrients, too. Filling the void, though, is fat-fighting wheat germ. It provides a bevy of minerals, including all-important iron and zinc.

Wheat germ, a health-food basic, is the embryo of the wheat kernel. It is one portion of the wheat kernel that is removed when it is processed into refined flour. Wheat germ certainly deserves its reputation for being a powerhouse of nutrients, as its profile strikingly illustrates.

Health benefits

Face it, wheat germ is a nutrition standout. It's one of the best sources of folic acid. That's good news, since it's recommended that all women of childbearing age get sufficient amounts of this nutrient to prevent neural-tube birth defects. Folic acid reduces a compound in your body called homocysteine. Lower levels of homocysteine have been linked to reducing the risk of heart disease, osteoporosis bone fractures, and dementia.

Wheat germ also contains a phytonutrient called l-ergothioneine, which is a powerful antioxidant that is not destroyed by cooking. The fiber boost you get from wheat germ is phenomenal.

Selection and storage

Because of its unsaturated fat content, wheat germ goes rancid easily, especially if it's raw. Fresh wheat germ should smell something like toasted nuts, not musty. Unopened, a sealed jar of wheat germ will keep about one year on the shelf. Always store opened wheat germ in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container, where it'll keep up to nine months.

Preparation and serving tips

Wheat germ makes a nutritious and often undetectable addition to a myriad of dishes, including breads, pancakes, waffles, cookies, cereals, and milk shakes. It's a lower-fat alternative to granola that can be added to yogurt and cereals. When adding wheat germ to baked goods or quick breads, you can replace one half to one cup of the flour with it. Because wheat germ tends to absorb moisture, you may want to add one to two tablespoons of water for every one-quarter cup of wheat germ you add to a recipe.

As you work on your weight-loss plan to cut back on fatty meat dishes, remember that wheat germ can provide you with those vitamins and minerals you may be missing, as well as give you fiber to satisfy your appetite.