How much sweet is too much for you..

You may say you don't have a sweet
tooth, yet you begin your day with
sweetened cereal, sweetened milk,
tea or coffee, eat salads with
dressing, a soft drink or a cup of
fruit yoghurt during the day, and
finally end your day with the sinful
dessert.
With the festive season on. it is
impossible to resist those exotic-
looking sweets and chocolates. And
then there is hidden sugar added to
processed foods and drinks that can
sabotage your diet. Indeed, sugar
gives you energy and pleasure but
how much is enough? Unless you
know the source of 'sneaky' sugars,
you will end up consuming a lot of
sugar, which can be harmful to your
health.
Feeding your sweet tooth
Sugars in all forms - sucrose,
fructose, glucose or lactose, exist
around you in juices, sauces, jams,
jellies, cakes, pastries, puddings,
kheers, honey, jaggery, ice creams -
the list is endless. These are a quick
source of calories. But excess
caloric intake results in putting on
the pounds and obesity, which is the
main risk factor for diabetes, heart
disease etc. Only if you are a highly
active person, burning a lot of
calories, there's nothing to worry.
For those of you who have diabetes,
you need to watch your sugar and
carbohydrate intake to properly
manage your blood sugar levels.
The recent trend of eating out,
consuming packaged foods and
drinking more beverages than ever
is a disturbing one. You may be
actually eating almost 20 spoons of
sugar every day! According to the
WHO, the recommended sugar level
is a maximum of 12 teaspoons of
sugar (48 grams) in a 2,200-calorie
diet for a normal person, which
translates to roughly 9 per cent of
your daily calories.
Sugar occurs naturally in foods,
especially in fresh fruits and
therefore you do not require added
sugar. The sugar that you eat in
whichever form gets converted to
glucose in the blood, giving you
energy. The American Heart
Association recommends that a
woman's added sugar intake should
not be more than six teaspoons a day
(100 calories); for men the number
jumps to nine teaspoons (150
calories) per day.
When you pick up packaged foods
check the labels first. Look out for
carbohydrates and words that end in
'ose' or 'ol' - glucose, fructose,
dextrose, maltose, sucrose, lactose,
mannitol, sorbitol, which are all
forms of sugar. Corn, sorghum and
fructose syrup are added as
sweeteners to drinks. Honey,
molasses and brown sugar, too, give
you calories. According to health
experts, two to 10 gm of added
sugar per 100 gm of food is
moderate amount of sugar; seven
gms of sugar, is equal to one
tablespoon of sugar.

Some simple tips for your healthy hair..

Here are a few common hair-
related problems we encounter and
some tips to overcome them
Dandruff: Soak a few fenugreek
(methi) seeds overnight in water
and grind it to a fine paste in the
morning. Apply the paste on the
head for 30mins and wash off. This
not just has cooling effect, but also
keeps your hair dandruff-free.
Hair fall: Mix cocnut and gingelly
(sesame) oil. Add an amla
(gooseberry), a few leaves of white
hibiscus and boil for 20mins. Let
the mixture cool and apply this oil
on your head and wash off after 20
mins. This will help prevent hair fall.
Grey hair: Soak henna in an iron
vessel for at least 3 hours. Add sour
curd and squeeze half a lemon to
the paste and apply on the hair.
Wash off after 2-3 hours. This will
also keep the head cool.
Lack-luster hair: Take egg white
and apply on the hair. Leave it for
30 mins and rinse with shampoo. Egg
gives shine to the dull hair.
Brittle hair: If your hair is
brittle due to over use of henna.
Give your head an oil massage the
day you wash the hair. This will not
only enhance the hair colour, but
also makes the hair smooth.
Split ends: Get an oil massage
done on your head. Dip the ends of
your hair in hot coconut oil and
wrap a tower dipped in hot water
around the head. After sometime,
wash off with cold water.
After shampooing your hair, just
wash your hair with cold water. This
closes any open pores on the head
and ensures the hair strands are
sealed.

Health Benefits of Aloevera Juice..

Do you know the health
benefits of drinking aloe vera
juice? Completely safe and
versatile, aloe vera juice stems
from the fact that it naturally
contains many different nutrients:
vitamins, minerals, amino acids and
other trace elements.
Helps digestion: Drinking aloe
vera juice naturally allows the body
to cleanse the digestive system. It
encourages the bowels to move and
helps with elimination if a person is
constipated. And if you have
diarrhea, it will help slow it down.
Increases energy levels: Our
diets include many substances
which can cause fatigue and
exhaustion. Taken regularly, aloe
vera juice ensures a greater feeling
of well-being, allowing energy
levels to increase and also helps
maintain a healthy body weight.
Builds immunity: It is especially
great for those who have chronic
immune disorders like
polysaccharides or fibromyalgia
since the polysaccharides in aloe
vera juice stimulate macrophages,
the white blood cells that fight
viruses.
Detoxifies: Aloe vera juice is a
great natural aid to detox. With our
stressful lives, the pollution around
us and the junk foods we eat, we all
need to cleanse our systems from
time to time. Drinking aloe vera
juice provides a fantastically rich
cocktail of vitamins, minerals and
trace elements to help our bodies
deal with these stresses and strains
every day.
Reduces inflammation: It
improves joint flexibility and helps
in the regeneration of body cells. It
strengthens joint muscles, which
therefore reduces pain and
inflammation in weakened or aged
joints.

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Foods and Stress

Certain food items in our diet can
actually help reduce stress in our
bodies. While apricots and greens
like spinach replenish the body with
magnesium, which is known to relax
the muscles and help with
headaches, nuts and dark
vegetables like almonds, pistachios,
broccoli, and okra are rich in
vitamins B and E that help lower
blood pressure. Citrus fruits, which
are a storehouse for Vitamin C, also
help in controlling blood pressure.
Other food items like sweet
potatoes provide insulin to the
body, provide energy, and help deal
with fatigue in a stressful situation.
Below is a list of foods I
recommend for stressed-out
people:
- Low-fat dairy products like
lowfat cottage cheese and cheese
- Cruciferous vegetables like
cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, etc
- Nuts like almonds, pistachios, etc
- Decaf green tea or rosemary tea
- Dark coloured vegetables like
beetroot, okra, and peas
- Beans or lentils
- Brown rice
- Oats
- Oily fish like salmon and tuna
- Lean beef
- Egg whites
- Chicken without the skin
- Asparagus
- Artichokes
- Sweet potatoes
- Leeks
- Watercress
- Sesame, sunflower, and flax seeds
- Also, drink lots of water, with a
few squeezes of lime (lemon is a
natural metabolizer)
Foods that aggravate your
stress levels
Certain food groups like caffeine,
alcohol, and salty foods are known
to aggravate stress in our bodies.
Caffeine increases the production
of norepinephrine, which keeps us
alert and awake. These foods also
interfere with our sleep and prevent
us from relaxing. Alcohol can lower
the amount of sugar in our blood
and cause us to feel less energetic.
It can also lead to an irregular
heartbeat, which triggers panic
attacks, among other things. Salty
foods increase the blood pressure
and makes us feel stressed.
Below is a list of foods you should
avoid as much as possible especially
during stressful days: -
Hydrogenated fats: Some varieties
of margerine, crackers, cookies,
baked foods, bread
- Artifical flavour and colouring:
Potato chips, chewing gum, some
cereals, soft drinks
- Preservatives: Canned food and
fruits, canned meats, pickles,
butter, potato chips, baked goods,
chocolate
- Glutamates: (MSG or Aginomoto)
Soy and soy protein, canned tuna,
powdered milk, dried and canned
soups, flavoured chips, sauces, salad
dressing, canned foods, soya sauce
- Artificial Sweeteners: Aspartame,
saccharine, found in diet foods,
sodas, chewing gum
- High-fructose corn syrup: Corn
sweetner, corn syrup solids
- Packaged and processed foods:
All canned foods, packed soups,
cereals, bacon, sausages, cold cuts
- Sugar and sugary foods: Frozen
desserts, donuts, pastries, candy,
honey
- Foods with tannin: Wine, coffee,
beer, maple and caramel flavouring
- Refined grain: White bread, white
pasta, white rice, low fibre sugar
cereal
- Sodium: Found in most processed
foods, soups, soya sauce, canned
foods, fast foods and preserved
meats like ham and bacon
- Fats found in all fast food items
like burgers, fish and chips, fries,
etc.

Self medication can be dangerous..

Taking antibiotics on a self-
prescription basis can be dangerous,
experts tell Lisa Antao
Most of us lead busy lives today and
sometimes, busy to such an extent
that we don't find the time to visit
a doctor. So whether we are having a
fever, bad cold or sore throat,
sometimes we resort to taking
antibiotics to compensate our lack
of time to visit the doc. But little
do we know that doing so on a self-
medication basis can be harmful.
Read on to find out why...
What are they? Antibiotics are also
known as antimicrobial agents or
antibacterials. Consultant physician
Dr Anil G Ballani defines them as,
"Substances that kill or slow down
the growth of bacteria and hence,
they are also termed as bactericidal
or bacteriostatic. Their basic
function is to stop and cure any
infection in the body." Though
antibiotics target microorganisms
such as bacteria, fungii and
parasites but they are not effective
against viruses.
When should one take them?
Antibiotics are administered by an
attending doctor. He/she
determines the choice, route, dose
and frequency of administration
after considering the possible
target microbe, extent and severity
of infection, and urgency of the
patient's condition. Dr Ballani says
that a person is given an antibiotic
when he harbours an infection in the
body. It may be at any region in the
human body e.g. tonsils, ears, liver,
soft tissue and urinary tract.
Specific antibiotics are available
which attack specific bacteria in
specific organs. If the infection is
mild then oral anti-biotics are given.
If the infection is moderate or
severe then parenteral (Intra-
muscular or intra-venous) are
administered.
Are they very strong? Internal
medicine specialist Dr Sunil Dalvi
explains that there is nothing like
strong or weak antibiotic. It's action
against the microbe has to give
desired results namely, complete
elimination which in turn depends
upon the effective blood levels of
the drug required to effectively
eliminate the microbe. These levels
are in nano or micrograms and
hence, the drug required also is in
milligrams or grams at the most. A
patient's body weight is noted to
calculate the extracellular fluid
volume. Other important factors
considered are lever and kidney
function, haemoglobin and other
blood anomalies, administration of
other medicines allergies and
hypersensitivity.
Side-effects Dr Vasant Nagvekar,
an internal medicine specialist
opines that all antibiotics have some
or the other side effects but does
not mean it will manifest in
everyone. It can be very rarely
severe at times like anaphylaxsis (a
severe allergic reaction which could
be fatal), Stevens Johnson syndrome
(severe skin drug reaction) to minor
side effects like loose motions, oral
ulcerations. Most of the time
antibiotics are well tolerated unless
patient is sensitive to that drug
which at times becomes difficult
for the doctor unless patient has
had a reaction in the past and
informs the doctor. Dr Ballani
agrees saying that antibiotics do
have side effects like diarrhoea,
vomiting, itching, acidity, jaundice,
allergic reactions, muscle pain and
vertigo. Hence, antibiotics should be
used under medical supervision and
always wise to ask the treating
doctor regarding the side effects in
advance. The frequent and
indiscriminate use of antibiotics
leads to increased resistance levels
and they do not work in the future.
Hence, a course of antibiotic should
never be left incomplete and they
should never be used as over-the-
counter products.
Precautions Oral antibiotics are to
be taken only when there is evidence
or a high suspicion of bacterial
infection, like urinary tract
infection, traveller's diarrhoea or
any pyogenic (pus) infection
provided simultaneously
investigated. Most important is to
take the complete dose as
prescribed by the physician and not
part doses thinking it is heavy. Also
in case of any adverse effect of
any drug, to stop the drug any
inform the doctor, advises Dr
Nagvekar.

World AIDS Day massage:

World AIDS Day on 1 December
brings together people from around
the world to raise awareness about
HIV/AIDS and demonstrate
international solidarity in the face
of the pandemic. The day is an
opportunity for public and private
partners to spread awareness about
the status of the pandemic and
encourage progress in HIV/AIDS
prevention, treatment and care in
high prevalence countries and
around the world.
Between 2011-2015, World AIDS
Days will have the theme of
"Getting to zero: zero new HIV
infections. Zero discrimination. Zero
AIDS related deaths". The World
AIDS Campaign focus on "Zero AIDS
related deaths" signifies a push
towards greater access to treatment
for all; a call for governments to
act now