Follow These Prevention Steps To Safeguard Your Liver

Hepatitis is a condition which causes inflammation in the liver. It starts to damage the liver gradually. This condition prevents the liver to function properly which further triggers several health issues. World hepatitis day is observed on 28 July every year. This year the World Health Organisation has introduced the theme- invest in eliminating hepatitis and urges to eliminate hepatitis by 2030 globally. Through this day WHO encourages people to access hepatitis testing, treatment and prevention. As an individual, you can take a few steps to prevent yourself and your family from hepatitis. These steps will help you safeguard your lungs from this serious health condition.

Hepatitis prevention steps

1. Proper sanitation and hygiene

It is the most basic and the primary step to control the spread of hepatitis. With some simple hygiene measure, you can reduce the risk of hepatitis. Some of the steps may include:

Hand washing is the best way to control the risk of hepatitis. It will keep the spread of the infection at bay. You should wash your hands before and after using a restroom. Also, make sure that you first wash your hands after returning to your home. Wash your hands properly with soap and water every time. This will remove all the possible infection.

While preparing foods as well you need to ensure that your hands are clean. Also, clean your hands while handling cooked food. You should also avoid unclean food and water. While eating out choose the outlet wisely. Do not pick street food and choose a clean place. At home, avoid eating raw meat and fish. Not just meat and fish, avoid raw vegetables as well, especially which cannot be peeled.

2. Take precautions while traveling

You should avoid travelling to places where the virus is common. If due to any unavoidable resins you have to travel that region, you must take necessary precaution to prevent yourself from the virus.

• Drink only bottled water and use the same for brushing and cooking
• Skip street food and eat at such a place where cleanliness measures are practiced
• Do not eat salads or any kind of food which has raw vegetables in it
• Wash your hands before and after eating
• You should also avoid ice cubes as much as possible

3. Hepatitis vaccine

Use of vaccine is the best way to prevent hepatitis for a lifetime. Vaccines are available to avoid hepatitis A and B. Vaccine for C is yet to be discovered. Vaccine for hepatitis E is available in some parts of the world.

Since hepatitis is contagious you need to follow these steps to preserve your liver health.

 

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   

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Boost your diet with Vitamin C and Zinc

The Coronavirus outbreak has seen a huge spike in people buying vitamin supplements, with Vitamin C and Zinc emerging two of the top supplements in demand.

Typically, in any viral infection, the body's defence mechanism is to produce white blood cells (WBCs) to fight against the infection.

Zinc and Vitamin C reduces the level of chemicals called cytokines that are harmful to the body and are produced in the body during infections. Zinc helps increase the production of these infection-fighting WBCs and T cells.

Vitamin C, while providing overall immunity, is the most effective against respiratory based illnesses. Lack of Vitamin C is also the most common nutritional deficiency.

"It has been seen that older people are more at risk from the Coronavirus. Ensuring adequate intake of vitamin C via supplements, especially among elderly or individuals with risk factors owing to insufficient vitamin C, is important for the immune system to function properly and resist infections. With age, the body loses its strength to fight viruses, and when combined with existing medical conditions, it places elderly people at risk. But immunity is important at all ages and it can be increased at any stage by keeping oneself fit," says a Dr.

"There have been reports of people believing in Vitamin C to be a cure for Coronavirus, which is certainly not true. While Vitamin C helps boost immunity, it is basic hygiene, good food habits and physical activities that help build immunity, rather than just the supplements. Pre-existing medical conditions like uncontrolled diabetes, uncontrolled High BP, uncontrolled cholesterol, etc too result in low immunity and these supplements should be seen as agents that help the body withstand or fight infections and not Coronavirus itself," notes the Dr.

The natural sources of Zinc are legumes like chickpeas, lentils and beans along with seeds, nuts, and whole grains. Citrus fruits like orange, kiwi, lemon, guava and grapefruit are high in Vitamin C, along with vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, capsicums and Brussel sprouts.

The over-the-counter zinc supplements are available as Zinc acetate and Zinc gluconate, with the former being more readily available and accessible. The quantity of Zinc needed by the human body to achieve optimal immunity is between 8 -11 mg and for Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) it is 500 mg. These two immunity supplements are available individually for consumption but there are supplements available that combine these two into one, which can also be considered by people, adds the Dr.

Traditionally, natural foods are the best source of vitamins and nutrients, it is advisable to combine these natural foods along with supplements. But in case of unavailability or other reasons, supplements are quite effective and it is critical to combine them with physical activities and exercises. Supplements, apart from giving the desired immunity, come with the benefit of reducing risk of heart diseases, due to certain other important components present in them.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

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https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
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I Don’t Smoke or Drink, I Eat Well & Exercise. How Did I Still Get Cancer? An Oncologist Answers.

An oncologist and head and neck surgeon, writes about the debate on food safety in India and how it is related to cancer.
A 45-year-old man presented himself to an oncologist with the typical symptoms of stomach cancer. His worst fears came true, the biopsy reports showed positive results.

He led an extremely healthy lifestyle; exercised regularly, maintained a balanced diet and did not have any addictions. Yet, cancer had managed to conquer his system. The distraught man asked the doctor, “Why me?” The visibly uncomfortable doctor was speechless.

A lot of their patients may have maintained a healthy lifestyle and yet, end up succumbing to cancer. It may not be just tobacco; we have tons of other carcinogens, which have unfortunately entered our diet chart.

Some of the reports on food exports from India show we rank among the top in agri-food rejects as per the UNIDO reports. The key reasons for rejects implicated in the reports were – mycotoxins, microbial contamination, veterinary drug residues, heavy metals, unauthorised food additives, product composition and pesticide residues.

Ever wondered if this was the quality for exports, what could be the standards of internal consumption for us Indians? The Maggi trial that India witnessed recently opened the much-needed debate on food safety, exposing just the tip of the iceberg.

Let’s reflect on a few aspects of such safety issues. Why do we stand where we stand today?

Current status of food quality

“Diet and nutrition are two different aspects of food.” Is the current state of food quality in India a matter of implausible conjecture or a reality yet to dawn in the Indian mindset? Pesticides, preservatives and wasted calories seem to be the trends of the new Indian recipes.

Pesticides:

Recently a patient of mine walked into my outpatient clinic for a follow up visit. He brought with him a basket of fresh fruits as a token of his gratitude. While he handed it to me, he exclaimed, “Doc, these are not the regular ones which I keep for sale, these are ones grow for my own consumption.”

The larger question – is our farmer well educated about balancing the quantity of pesticides to be used for safe and optimal yield; or does he believe that more is better! (Dilution and mixing of pesticides in regulated quantity is key.)

A growing concern among consumers is the question – do we have too much pesticides in our food? Are these really harmful? Is there a way to prevent this?

I have heard that often export rejects from various countries look at India as a potential market — be it tyres, automobiles or food products. Thanks to poor consumer awareness and implicit trust of the consumer in the manufacturer to abide by ethical practices. This is further compounded by extremely poor vigilance and enforcement by government agencies.

The Endosulfan Tragedy in Kerala has killed over 4,000 people and many have been affected since the 1970’s. Endosulfan is an internationally banned insecticide that was earlier used in cashew plantations to increase the product yield.

The progeny of many of the survivors still suffer from conditions like macrocephaly, intellectual disabilities and cancer. Despite the ban made by UN, Endosulfan is still being used in India. Recent reports in media highlighted traces of endosulfan found in several vegetables. Personal interactions with farmers confirm their use of these banned pesticides owing to a quick, sustained and stable yield.

Yes, pesticide residues in food are a growing concern. It is, however, vital to consume healthy and nutritious food after washing them thoroughly. Avoiding fruits and vegetables in fear of residue pesticides would be more harmful that the consumption of minimal residues themselves in causing cancer. Organic foods from reported and accredited farms may be the way forward and needs encouragement from the agriculture department. Educational programmes for farmers from NGO’s and departments would pave the way in foundation of food safety in farms.

Insecticide act of India 1968 is awaiting amendments. The amended act awaits clearance from the law makers.

Preservatives:

Traditionally, preservatives were introduced into food products for keeping them safe and edible for long periods. Salt, sugar and vegetable oil are classical examples, which preserve food and provide the body with nutrition when consumed at required amounts (class 1 preservatives).

As technology and research has advanced, we have moved to synthetic preservatives which help store and protect food from spoilage for extremely long periods (class 2 preservatives). While they may protect the food, they’re definitely harming us. Studies suggest that synthetic food preservatives like Sodium benzoate and Sodium nitrite can cause hyper reactivity in children and have been linked to gastric cancer as well. These preservatives are commonly found in cold drinks, processed meat, canned food and most importantly, ready-to-make food products.

Adulterants:

Food colourants are another group of chemicals quintessentially placed in the “cancer causing family.” Natural food colourants like pure beet/ pomegranate juice, carrot juice, spinach powder, parsley juice, turmeric powder, blueberry juice and cocoa powder can be used at home and in industries. Their shelf life may be low but they add nutritive value to the food product as well.
Red 40, Blue 1 and Yellow 5 are common synthetic food colourants used in industries even though they have been proven to cause long-term health problems. Indeed the spinach gravy you may be having may be onion based gravy with green colourant.

Adulterants range from chalk powder (common in milk), saw dust (found in chili powder), non-permitted dyes (common in turmeric powder) to coal tar (found in tea powder). Vegetables like green chilies and green peas are coated with malachite green (highly carcinogenic and are used as dyes to study bacteria) to enhance the colour and fruits like apples are coated with wax give them a glossy finish.

Hygiene:

Street food is a delicacy for the Indian palate. Microorganisms are responsible for more deaths than cancer every year. Typhoid fever, botulism, amoebiasis, etc. are common food and waterborne infections. An unhygienic condition maintained by street vendors and eateries is a key factor behind the spread of these infections. Vehicular emission, carbon dioxide and air pollutants from the roads are also absorbed by these food items. The basic practice of washing one’s hands before touching any food ingredient is unspoken of. H. Pylori is a growing cause of gastric cancers. Can this be a cause of increasing contamination and adulteration?

Degreening Agents:

As our storage methods are not effective enough, fruits and vegetables cannot be stored for a long time. They are harvested when they are raw and treated with de-greening ripening agents like calcium carbide and ethylene. They make the fruits colourful and appealing to the customer. By consuming these fruits, the consumer has unknowingly reduced his/ her life expectancy.

Looking into the current scenario of food safety makes us wonder – how have we reached here and where are we heading?

Today’s times would be rightly called “instant, unlimited and more” era. Man is in search of instant – coffee, pizza, burger, food and even success instantly. Unlimited food seems to be the most attractive and sought after option to make a dining choice. The more the better is our current attitude. It would not be surprising to witness buy 1 and get 3 free at the current pace and times.

The implicit trust placed by the Indian consumer on manufacturer advertisement and tall claims is appreciable. However, the food industry is rapidly and exponentially growing. We hope to have food that is given instantly, lasts as long as possible and in sufficient quality that satiates the palate. The industry, in an attempt to satisfy the customer, would need to resort to best methods to prolong life, improve revenues and combat competition simultaneously. Would all of these steps be feasible without compromising food safety? Is it not time for the manufacturers to reinstate this trust in the consumer and lay ethical guidelines to protect the consumer?

Food standard and safety act of India is a comprehensive act. The paradox is the regulation and implementation of this act. These bodies have largely remained to provide and regulate license. We have hardly come across brands being suspended owing to poor quality compliance. Would it not be ideal to have monthly checks of 100 random food products, selected from random shops in random areas and scrutinised for food safety? Is it not time for us to amend and strongly enforce Insecticide act of India 1968 to protect our future generations and secure food safety standards?

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                    PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/    

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Excessive hygiene can cause antibiotic resistance

While maintaining hygiene is good for health, excess cleanliness could lead to antibiotic resistance often resulting to death and illness as well, suggests a new study.

Comparing all existing microorganisms and antibiotic resistances, the researchers  showed that microbial diversity decreases in areas with high levels of hygiene and the diversity of resistances increases.

The team compared the intensive care unit of the institute with clean rooms subject to strong microbial control in the aerospace industry and with public and private buildings which have hardly any microbial controls.

“In environments with strong microbial control in the intensive care unit and industrially used clean rooms, there are increasing antibiotic resistances which show a high potential for combining with pathogens,” said  a researcher.

The number of people who become ill and die from antibiotic-resistant germs is increasing worldwide, said the study.

Hence, the results indicated that a stable microbial diversity in clinical areas counteracts the spread of resistances.

With the microbial control of pathogens already being used in cultivated plants and also in humans in the framework of stool transplantation, pursuing such ideas in indoor areas in future is recommended, said Gabriele Berg from the varsity.

The team suggested regular airing, houseplants, deliberate use of useful microorganisms and reduction of antibacterial cleaning agents could be the strategies in maintaining or improving microbial diversity.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                    PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/                                                                                                                                                         FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                  https:// kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com/           

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