How Eating More Fruits And Vegetables Benefits Your Health?

 A diet rich in nutrition is needed to keep the body healthy and reduce the risk of health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and digestive problems. Consuming fruits and vegetables help in lowering blood pressure and sugar, and also keeping them under control. Not just that, eating vegetables and fruits even promotes weight loss. 

The health conditions that can be prevented with a diet full of fruits and vegetables:

Cardiovascular diseases: studies have shown that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can help in lowering the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Green leafy vegetables like lettuce, spinach; cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage; citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, grapefruits are most helpful in reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Cancer: eating fruits and vegetables can protect you against cancer too. Non-starchy vegetables like lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, garlic, and onion have the ability to prevent several types of cancers, including oral and stomach cancers. 

Diabetes: fruits such as grapes, blueberries and apples can reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes. However, consuming the fruit in the form of juice can increase your risk of diabetes. 

Weight management: increased consumption of fruits and vegetables can make you lose extra fat and help in managing a healthy weight. Berries, pears, apples, soya, cauliflower are some foods that are associated with weight loss. On the other hand, starchy vegetables such as potatoes, peas, and corn can result in weight gain. Another important thing to remember is that consuming all these fruits and vegetables along with refined carbohydrates and sugars won’t help your health journey.

Vegetables and fruits are sources of vitamins, minerals, and dietary fibre such as folate, vitamin C, potassium, and more. They also help in maintaining a healthy gut, thereby preventing digestion issues. Apart from eating a nutritious diet, you also need to screen your body’s health to know about its functioning. Your full body health checkup report helps you in understanding what you should be including in your diet. Know more about health checkups.

Vitamin D Benefits – Why it is so important to the Body?

The Sunshine Vitamin or Vitamin D is one of the most important nutrients that our body needs.Unfortunately, it is one of the  most overlooked and under consumed Vitamin despite its importance in various body functions. Vitamin D deficiency causes a  lot of health problems in people of every age. 

Vitamin D Benefits

· Stronger bones: 

Vitamin D is essential for proper absorption of calcium which is an important nutrient for bone development. Calcium is very important to maintain proper bone mineral. Without Vitamin D your body will slow down or stop absorption of calcium which will   lead to soft and fragile bones.

· Better muscle functions: 

Vitamin D also helps in gaining proper muscle strength. In the case of Vitamin D deficiency, your muscles will get weaker gradually. Its deficiency has a direct effect on heart muscles which may lead to heart diseases.

· Decreased risk of Type-2 diabetes: 

Type2 diabetes has a long list of associated complications like nerve damage, heart diseases, vision loss and kidney failure among many others. Vitamin D helps in increases insulin sensitivity and also reduces the inflammation in whole-body. 

· Reduced risk of cancer: 

Sufficient amount of Vitamin D can reduce chances of getting breast or colon cancer.

Sources of Vitamin D

· Exposure to Sun: 

Our body metabolizes Vitamin D when the skin gets exposed to UV radiation. Roughly 10-15 min of 
sun exposure is more than enough to metabolize sufficient amount of Vitamin D in the body. 

· Diet: 

Dairy products, eggs, plants and mushrooms are a good source of Vitamin D. It is also found in food items fortified with Vitamin D such as milk, bread, and cereals. Vitamin D foods are the best way to get the nutrient form diet other than with sun exposure. 

· Supplements: 

In case you have severe deficiency of Vitamin D, the doctor may prescribe supplements which contain multivitamins. However,   taking supplements without a doctor’s prescription is not advisable.

Vitamin D Deficiency Symptoms

· Excessive sweating: 

If you have Vitamin D deficiency, there is a great chance that you will sweat profusely. It is one of the most common deficiency  sign.

· Weakness: 

In the case of Vitamin D deficiency, one might experience fatigue at all times. As it plays an important role in both bone and    muscle health, low levels of Vitamin D in your body will result in weakness.

· Fragile Bones:

Vitamin D is important for proper absorption of Calcium which is an essential nutrient for good bone health. Its deficiency will  make the bones fragile and you will get prone to fractures.

Side-effects of Vitamin D

Excess of everything is bad and it is true in the case of Vitamin D intake. In the case of over dosage of Vitamin D, it results in health problems like calcification of bones, hardening of blood vessels, kidneyand lungs. The common symptoms of excessive Vitamin D in your blood stream include a headache, loss of appetite, vomiting, nausea, diarrhoea, and   constipation.

All in all, Vitamin D is one of vital nutrients that our body needs and maintaining an adequate level of this vital nutrient is of  utmost importance for proper body functioning. It is always advisable to go for regular health checkups as it helps to keep eye on  your body’s functioning, nutrient levels and a complete health status. 

This World Health Day Debunk the Depression Myths

We are celebrating the World HealthDay campaign 2017 with the theme of depression.

Depression is a common yet serious mental condition which negatively impacts how you feel, how you think and how you act. Due to depression, a variety of emotional and physical symptoms can be seen. It also results in the decrease of the ability to function at work and at home.  

There are different types of symptoms seen in depression. Depression symptoms can be broadly classified into Physical & Psychological as follows:

Physical Symptoms:

Problems related to Sleep

Fatigue

Appetite disorders

Weight issues (weight loss/weight gain)

Difficulty in concentration/decision making

   
      Psychological Symptoms:

        Irritability

        Anxiousness

        Restlessness

        Loss of interest

        Suicide thoughts

There is too much confusing about this condition. There are many depression myths; we will debunk them by getting to know the real facts.

Myth: Sadness means depression:

Fact: Just being sad, does not mean that you have depression. Depression is associated with other symptoms apart from being sad.

Myth: Depression affects only the mind.

Fact: Depression affects physically, psychologically and socially and not just mentally.

Myth: Depression is caused by traumatic life events.

Fact: There is a possibility that traumatic life events like divorce, losing someone close, death can prove to one of the causes for depression. However, if symptoms like persistent and frequently reoccurring sadness, loneliness or emptiness for longer than 2 weeks may out you at a direct risk of depression.

Myth: Men are mentally strong and cannot be depressed.

Fact: It is a known fact that women are emotionally weak, but that does not mean that men cannot suffer from depression. Men are often less expressive as compared to women, which usually makes depression in men difficult to notice. Also with the fear of being judged as weak and unstable, men often hide their feelings consequently, complicating the condition further with substance abuse or even worse suicidal attempts.

Myth: Talking about depression results in worsening it.

Fact: The more people discuss on their depression and express how they feel they seek the more pro-actively they are able to get the support from friends or their family.

                                                                                                           

Myth: You need to take the depression medication lifelong.

Fact: Depression treatment may or may not require medications as there are other therapy options also available. Also the depression medication is customized. Depending on the severity of symptoms and other factors related to the conditions, the medications can be given short-term or long-term.

Now that we have seen a few myths about depression and their facts; let’s discuss on depression prevention too. Depression is a curable condition. However, some forms/types of depression cannot be prevented depending on the stages or severity of its condition.

Depression can be prevented by:

·         A healthy diet: Diet rich in omega-3s fatty acids, vitamin B12, etc.

·         Regular exercise: can help to lift your mood.

·         Taking time out for fun and relaxation: Divert you from the negative ideas

Recent research confirms that depression can be prevented with simple and healthy lifestyle changes for your body and mind.