Staying Healthy Health Feed

Infamous for pollution, Delhi comes in the list of the top 10 most polluted cities on Earth. So, you need to take care of yourself as well as everyone you love. The environment is hazardous.

Where a satisfactory PM 2.5 (Fine Particles) count is between 50-100 micrograms per cubic meter, Delhiites are living in an average of 300-450 pollution level, which comes under the severe condition. Uneasy breathing, eye irritation, coughs and headaches are a few examples of living in such a polluted environment. Not only outdoors, but the indoor environment is also not good either.

According to a survey, breathing in such a polluted environment is somewhat similar about smoking 20 cigarettes a day. So, even if you are not a smoker, you are having 20 cigarettes without touching one. Air pollution is even more dangerous to kids and elders. No matter if they stay at home, school, some park, etc., the pollution level is near about similar and dangerous.

Industrial waste, crackers, chemicals, dust, wood burning, paints, household cleaning chemicals, etc., are the reasons for outdoor and indoor pollution.

While the condition is severe, there are 11 simple ways to reduce the risk and clean the environment around you:

1. Avoid Morning Walks: Morning walk is good for health but not in the dense smoggy environment. It is observed that the climate is most hazardous in the morning time. You can enjoy the morning sleep in your bed and can go for a walk during the evening or some other time when smog is minimal.
2. Good Quality Anti-Pollution Mask: While going outside, always wear good quality anti-pollution/anti-smog mask. Ordinary clothes or medical masks are useless. They are not able to filter out tiny particulate matters (PM). Use a mask that has filters for PM 2.5.
3. Jaggery Consumption: Jaggery is very good for detoxing your lungs and gut. You can eat jaggery everyday. Use it in tea, coffee, milk and with any other meals as a replacement of sugar.
4. Healthy Food Consumption: Consume healthy foods. Foods rich in Vitamin C (Broccoli, Spinach, Turnip Greens, etc.), omega 3 (Soybeans, Walnuts, Flaxseeds, etc.), and magnesium (seafood, black beans, etc.) are useful to reduce the impact of bad environment on health.
5. House Ventilation: An exhaust system in a house can be helpful to clean the indoor air. Install chimney in kitchen and exhaust fans in the bathroom or storeroom to get rid of bad air. Keep windows and doors closed in the early morning. Allow fresh air circulation from 3 PM to 5 PM.
6. Avoid Chemical Based Cleaners: Air fresheners, floor cleaners, scented candles, etc., contain chemicals and these increase indoor pollution. Avoid using them. Instead, use natural products for cleaning and scenting purposes.
7. Stop Smoking: This is obvious if you want a healthy life and care for you and everyone you like and love.
8. Avoid Construction Works: Construction work increases particulate matter in the environment. drilling, painting, etc., should be avoided wherever and whenever possible to prevent output door pollution.
9. Air Purifying Appliances and Plants: Air purifiers are must nowadays to control indoor pollution. It’s good to children, aged people and everyone else at home.
10. Use Water Spray While Dusting: Yes! Dusting releases small particles in the air, even when you use vacuum cleaners. To avoid this, you can use a few water sprays on carpets and on other things before you start dusting. This will make the dust settle down and prevent it from releasing into the air.
11. Use Public Transport: Using public transport would be a great help to control air pollution. So, try to use buses, metro, or carpooling for travelling wherever possible.

All the 11 tips mentioned above are to safeguard you from pollution, both indoor and outdoor. We need to decrease carbon footprints so that this article becomes irrelevant in the future. For short distances, use bicycles. Don't burn plastic, crackers or anything unnecessary. Be aware of this serious condition and also help others understand it and encourage them to decrease their carbon footprint, so that the future gets better.

This is our city and we are responsible for its past, present, and future.

Did you know that metabolism functions within a scope that goes beyond just maintaining your body weight? This chemical process is also subject to a number of complications and disorders, and can wreck your system without your knowledge. Mineral Metabolic Disorder is one such impediment that can easily corrupt your body and is characterized by an abnormal and unprecedented rise or fall of the level of minerals in the blood. This may result in a number of cardiovascular and bone diseases.

Minerals undoubtedly play an extremely vital role in the proper regulation of the body conditions and aid and abet growth and development. However, under certain (and mostly unforeseen) circumstances, the mineral levels have a propensity to differ substantially from the normal rates and may lead to several disorders. 

Causes:

1. Mineral metabolic disorders may be genetic in certain cases, being transferred from the parent to the child via genes. 
2. However, most mineral metabolic disorders are likely to arise as a result of certain clinical conditions pertaining to starvation, excess alcohol consumption,diarrhea and diet disorders. 

Effects: 
The most commonly observed and medically documented complications affecting metabolism as a result of sudden augment or fall in the following minerals are:

1. Magnesium: hypomagnesaemia 
2. Calcium: nephrocalcinosis, hypercalcemia, osteoporosis, kidney stones, Paget's disease, osteomalacia, pseudohypoparathyroidism, rickets and hyperparathyroidism
3. Iron:  hemochromatosis and cirrhosis
4. Phosphorus: hypophosphatemia, osteomalacia, hyperparathyroidism, hypoparathyroidism and rickets.
5. Sodium: hypernatremia and dilutional hyponatremia
6. Zinc: nausea, skin rash, diarrhea, and difficulty in wound healing
7. Copper: Menkes syndrome and Wilson's disease
8. Potassium: Cushing's syndrome(from exposure to high levels of cortisol), Fanconi's syndrome, Bartter syndrome, Addison's disease and kidney disease. 

The ideal remedy to battle the majority of mineral metabolism disorders is to maintain a healthy lifestyle and follow a proper, filling, and balanced diet. In case the diseases crop as a result of genetic factors, consult your doctor immediately. However, in most cases, proper medication and a wholesome and nourishing food intake is recommended to fight most mineral metabolic diseases.

The Japanese say you have three faces. 

The first face; you show to the world.

The second face; you show to your close friends and family.

The third face; you never show to anyone; it is the truest reflection of who you are.

Using an appropriate tooth paste is very necessary for the health of our teeth. Tooth pastes which contain flouride help in keeping the teeth healthy by reducing the risk of tooth decay.

If you are concerned about your heart’s health, it is important for you to make some dietary modifications. Simple changes in your everyday diet may offer benefits, which help in preventing future heart problems. If you suffer from high blood pressure or high cholesterol or have atrial fibrillation.

Here are some tips regarding the best diet for protecting your heart:

1. Believe in the food hype: Having healthy meals is certainly beneficial and makes a big difference to your heart health. Consuming meals which contain vegetables, grains, low fat dairy and lean meat will allow you to live a longer and healthier life.
2. Avoid crash diets: A crash diet may be effective, if you want to fit in a dress within one month. However, for improving your heart health, undertaking different fad diets is not useful. Meals in which a certain type of nutrients such as carbohydrates or fats are ruled out are not beneficial as well. You should have a sensible approach towards your diet and focus on food products such as vegetables, whole grains and lean meat.
3. Do not overeat: Overeating will lead to weight gain and commonly, many people get heart attack after taking a big meal.
4. Eat less salt: You should consume less amount of salt in your diet and do not eat more than one teaspoon of salt a day. Avoid any food item which contains high amounts of sodium. Salt is responsible for increasing blood pressure.
5. Limit your intake of alcohol and caffeine: In case you suffer from atrial fibrillation, you should avoid caffeine and any other stimulant as they tend to trigger the symptoms. You must drink moderately as consuming more than one drink a day increases your risks of having heart problems.
6. Choose meat wisely: You should avoid red meat, which contains large amount of saturated fats as these are not good for the heart. You should choose the leanest cuts of meats and trim all fat from it. You should opt for cuts such as flank, rump roast, tenderloin and sirloin. Pork tenderloin, chicken and turkey breast are other alternatives.
7. Add fish to your diet: Fish is essential for improving your heart health. Try to avoid having deep fried fish and choose grilled fish or roasted fish, which are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids. Consume fishes like tuna, salmon, trout and sardines.

You should also add whole grains to your diet. They are effective in controlling blood sugar and lower the chances of diabetes. Hence, the risks of heart diseases are less if you do not have diabetes. Whole grains also help with weight loss, which is beneficial for the heart.