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All You Need to Know About Asthma

World Asthma Day

Asthma is a chronic disease that affects the airways that transport air to and from the lungs. Asthma is a condition in which your airways narrow and swells and produce extra mucus. This can make breathing difficult and trigger coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. Asthma can’t be cured, but its symptoms can be controlled.

Types of Asthma

Many different aspects of a person’s environment and genetic makeup can contribute to the development of asthma.

  1. Extrinsic: This type is associated with and triggered by allergens. Sometimes known as allergic asthma, it is more common and typically develops in childhood. Your immune system reacts to what would normally be a harmless substance by increasing antibodies, increasing mucous and thereby, making airways narrow and inflamed. It can be associated with
    • Pollens
    • Dust mites
    • Pet dander
    • Certain foods like Nuts
  2. Intrinsic Asthma: This is a non-allergic, non-seasonal form. Usually, it first occurs during adulthood. Intrinsic asthma represents a small amount of all cases. It usually develops after the age of 30 and is not typically associated with allergies. Intrinsic asthma can be difficult to treat and symptoms are often chronic and year-round. Substances irritate the airways. It is associated with:
    • Chemicals such as cleaning products, aerosols, air fresheners
    • Exercise-induced
    • Environmental pollution or cigarette smoke
    • Extremes of cold or very hot weather
    • Emotional extremes – such as laughing, stress

What Causes Asthma? 

Many different aspects of a person’s environment and genetic makeup can contribute to the development of asthma.

  • Genetics: It is widely accepted that asthma is a disease that can be inherited. If there’s asthma, eczema, hay fever or other allergies in family, it makes asthma more likely.
  • Persons with allergies can develop asthma. A strong link exists between allergies and asthma.
  • Smoking increases the risk of developing asthma. It has a part to play in adult-onset asthma. Smoking during pregnancy or passive smoking may also increase the risk of developing asthma in children.
  • Exposure to triggers at work: Sometimes asthma triggers present at the workplace which is a reason for causing asthma.
  • Female hormones: Hormones can play a part in triggering late onset asthma and some women first develop asthma during or after the menopause.
  • Pollution plays a part in causing asthma. Environmental pollution, including traffic fumes and chemicals from power plants, can make asthma symptoms worse and may play a part in causing asthma.
  • Childhood Development: The early months and years of a child’s life are critical times during which a baby can develop or become susceptible to developing asthma. The abnormal development and growth of the lungs can increase a person’s risk for developing asthma.

Asthma Triggers

Exposure to various irritants and substances that trigger allergies (allergens), can trigger signs and symptoms of asthma:

  • Airborne substances, such as pollen, dust mites, mold spores, pet dander or particles of cockroach waste
  • Strong emotions and stress
  • Respiratory infections, such as the common cold
  • Physical activity (exercise-induced asthma)
  • Cold air
  • Certain medications, including beta blockers, aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) and naproxen (Aleve)
  • Sulfites and preservatives added to some types of foods and beverages, including shrimp, dried fruit, processed potatoes, beer and wine
  • Air pollutants and irritants, such as smoke

What Are The Risk Factors Involved?

  • Having a family history with asthma
  • Exposure to occupational triggers, such as chemicals used in farming, hairdressing and manufacturing
  • Having another allergic condition, such as atopic dermatitis or allergic rhinitis (hay fever)
  • Being overweight
  • Exposure to exhaust fumes or other types of pollution
  • Being a smoker
  • Exposure to secondhand smoke

Symptoms Of Asthma

The classic signs and symptoms of asthma are shortness of breath, cough (often worse at night), and wheezing (high-pitched whistling sound produced by turbulent airflow through narrow airways, typically with exhalation). Many patients also report chest tightness. It is important to note that these symptoms are episodic, and individuals with asthma can go long periods of time without any symptoms.

It’s not necessary that every person with asthma shows all of these symptoms. For instance, some people may have disturbed sleep at night due to excessive coughing, while others may experience breathlessness while exercising.

Can It Be Prevented? 

Avoidance of triggers is a key component of improving control and preventing attacks of Asthma. It’s vital to learn to identify your asthma triggers and take steps to avoid them. If you have allergies and asthma, it’s important to minimize your exposure to allergens (substances to which you are allergic). Minimize exposure to all sources of smoke, including tobacco, incense, candles, fires, and fireworks.

Avoid close contact with people who have a cold or the flu, because your asthma symptoms may worsen if you catch the infection from them. Early pet exposure may be useful. Coping with stress can help prevent and control your asthma. Meditation helps a person reduce stress.

Exercise is beneficial in people with stable asthma. Yoga could provide small improvements in quality of life and symptoms in people with asthma. With proper management and prevention of asthma you can minimize your symptoms and enjoy a better quality of life.

If this article helped you, let us know in the comments below! You can find more informative articles here or you can speak directly to a GOQii Coach by subscribing for Personalised Health Coaching here.

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Everything You Need to Know About Malaria

Malaria causes, symptoms and prevention

Malaria is a serious, life-threatening and sometimes fatal, disease spread by mosquitoes – Anopheles and caused by a parasite (Plasmodium). Five species of Plasmodium (single-celled parasites) can infect humans and cause illness:

  • Plasmodium falciparum (or P. Falciparum)
  • Plasmodium malariae (or P. Malariae)
  • Plasmodium vivax (or P. Vivax)
  • Plasmodium ovale (or P. Ovale)
  • Plasmodium knowlesi (or P. Knowlesi)

Falciparum Malaria is potentially life-threatening. Patients with severe Falciparum Malaria may develop liver and kidney failure, convulsions, and coma. Although occasionally severe, infections with P. Vivax and P. Ovale generally cause less serious illness, but the parasites can remain dormant in the liver for many months, causing a reappearance of symptoms months or even years later. Plasmodium Ovale is generally not found in India. Plasmodium Malariae is commonly found in tribals, in forests and hilly areas. P. Vivax and Plasmodium Falciparum are found in most parts of India.

Symptoms of Malaria

Malaria has a wide spectrum of symptoms. Along with high fever, shaking chills and sweating, symptoms can include headache, body aches, general weakness, nausea and vomiting. Sometimes complicated or severe malaria affects different body systems which may cause severe anemia, kidney failure, seizures, cardiovascular collapse or low blood sugar.

Modes of Transmission

Generally, it is transmitted through bites from female Anopheles mosquitoes. Besides this, there are other modes of transmission. Because the parasites that cause malaria affect red blood cells, people can also catch it from exposure to infected blood, including: From a mother to an unborn child or through blood transfusion.

Treatment of Malaria

Malaria is treated with prescription drugs to kill the parasite. The types of drugs and the duration of treatment will vary. This depends on:

  • Type of malaria parasites
  • Severity of symptoms
  • Pregnancy.

People who have malaria should drink lots of fluids. Hydration will not treat or cure it, but it will reduce side effects associated with dehydration.

Preventive Measures 

Undeniably, the best way to treat malaria is to never catch it in the first place. Thus, avoiding contact with mosquitoes is crucial. To avoid contact use these simple yet effective ways:

  • Using Insecticide Treated Net (ITN) for sleeping can reduce contact between mosquitoes and humans.
  • Another powerful way to reduce transmission is Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) with insecticides. Once or twice in year, spraying can be done inside of housing structures.
  • Apply insect repellent to exposed skin.
  • Clothing that covers most of the exposed skin and shoes that are closed can reduce the risk of bites. Tuck in all clothing. Pants should be tucked into socks to avoid exposure around the ankles. In addition, treating clothes with insecticides can prevent bites even further.
  • Make sure that water is not allowed to stagnate in or around your house where mosquitoes breed.
  • Keep your surroundings clean.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a simple 4 letter tool to help travelers safely prepare for ventures in any corner of the world.

  1. Awareness of Risk: Before you travel, you need to be aware if the place you are heading to has a risk of Malaria.
  2. Bite prevention: Whether you are headed to a high or low-risk area, it is important that you try to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes.
  3. Chemoprophylaxis: In some areas where there is a risk of Malaria, it is advised that you use anti-malarial medication to reduce your risk of contracting it should you get bitten.
  4. Diagnosis: Prompt diagnosis ensures you get the right treatment when you need it and ultimately, improves your chances.

Although malaria can be a deadly disease, illness and death can usually be prevented if you are prepared for it.

Did we miss out on anything? Would you like to know more? Then subscribe for personalized health coaching and get the right guidance and information from a certified expert here.

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10 Easy & Effective Tips For Fat Loss

fat loss

In recent years, food choices have become plenty and the comfort of ordering food online via an app makes it difficult to eat healthy much less aid fat loss. With so many choices, abundance and variety, natural and healthy foods have somewhat been left behind.

Even food brands, restaurants or eateries that sell “healthy foods” don’t help you cut back unwanted fat. So how exactly can your food choices help you reduce body fat? Here are a few tips that can help you reduce fat and get healthy!

10 Effective Tips For Fat Loss

  1. Begin Your Day with a Fruit: Eat a fruit within 15-20 mins of waking up. This is handy for both working and non-working folks who are rushing through their morning routine. Fruits being rich in fiber, fructose and micronutrients, replenish glycogen stores in the liver after a long fasting period at night and jumpstart metabolism which aids fat loss.
  2. Avoid Processed/Packaged Food: Certain processed foods that come in plastic packets are calorie dense, don’t have natural dietary fiber, and usually lack essential nutrients & minerals required for fat loss. Whereas dietary fiber from whole grains has longer intestinal-transit time and hence has a higher satiety value as compared to processed/packaged foods. This prevents the creation of required calorie deficit for fat loss. Thus, avoid products containing refined flour, white sugar, salt and fats such as biscuits, breads, chocolates, sugar cadies, packaged fruit juices, pastries, white pasta, white noodles, pizza, samosa, Kachori, vada pav, etc.
  3. Begin Your Meal with a Salad Twice a Day: For instance sprouts + vegetables. Since raw, non-starchy vegetables contain high amount of water and fiber, they can be consumed in a relatively larger amount contributing to increased satiety with fewer calories. Thus, aiding fat loss by creating an energy-deficit. Vegetables are important sources of many nutrients which boost the speed of various biochemical reactions that burn stored fat. Dietary fiber from vegetables also have a prebiotic effect and promotes growth of health beneficial bacteria which even aids lipid metabolism.
  4. Add Protein in Meals: Proteins take longer time to digest. Hence, it keeps us fuller for a long time which in turn prevents us from eating more often. Secondly, proteins are building blocks for muscles which again help in increasing the basal metabolic rate. Thus, help in burning extra fat stored in Adipocytes.
  5. Small & Frequent Low Calorie Meals: Try to eat smaller meals every 2.5 to 3 hours rather than eating a huge meal after a long gap or eating too frequently. Spacing out the meals adequately and breaking it down into smaller meals gives our body enough time to metabolize the food. This leaves little or no chance for food to get converted to fat and get stored in your body. Don’t forget to eat up to 70-80% of your stomach’s capacity.
  6. Drink a Glass of Water Every Hour: Now, you might be thinking, how water can help in fat loss? Well, water fills you up in zero calories and being a medium of all cell fluids, it facilitates all physio-chemical reactions in the body including the ones which causes fat oxidation.
  7. Go for Home-Cooked Meals: Yes, at least 4-5 days in a week, eat home cooked food. This prevents intake of outside food which may have an unhealthy quality and quantity of fats. You’d rather eat a satiable and nutrient dense meal which aid fat loss.
  8. Use Cooking Oil Sparingly: Go for steamed, grilled, roasted, sautéed cooking methods using non-stick cookware to reduce the amount of oil used for cooking.
  9. Get Active: An active lifestyle helps in burning the stored fat by increasing the basal metabolic rate and blood circulation. Exercise should be a combination of aerobic/cardio and resistance training.
  10. Sleep Your Way to Fat Loss: Are you getting adequate sleep? Yes! If you don’t sleep well, it will create stress in your body and facilitate the release of cortisol which leads to fat accumulation in the body over a period of time. So get a good night’s rest. Try these tips to sleep better!

Remember, food is for nourishment of body not for over indulgence. Eat to Live, not Live to Eat. If this article helped you, let us know in the comments below. You can browse through more articles on weight loss here.

If you want to lose weight in a healthy, sustainable manner, get the right advice from a certified expert through the GOQii Transform weight management program here.

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12 Steps To Being Your Own Health Detective

12 tips to be your own health detectiveGaining true, lasting health is all about identifying and healing from the root cause. You can do it, I can do it, and anybody can do it. Today’s changing lifestyle, ever-increasing pollution, adulterated foods and rising stress is silently harming our life in various unknown ways.

If you can understand your body and how it works, how disease manifests itself and where it begins, then you can draw a road map towards becoming your own health detective (and your family’s health detective) so that you can empower yourself to live a healthy, thriving life.

How To Be Your Own Health Detective 

Here are some pointers that can help you be your own Health Detective!

1. Keep A Check On Your Sleep

health detective - sleep score

If you feel stressed out, sleepy-groggy headed, and/or lack concentration even in your daily chores and work, then this is a clear indication that you are not getting enough sleep! If even after 6-8 hours of adequate sleep, you get up all weak, lost and tired, then that’s a red signal. Stop and analyze what’s causing that.

2. Full Body Check Up

Get a full body check-up done every 6 months. Stand in front of a mirror and check if you have any lumps, or uneven skin tone. If any mole like thing appears bigger than 5mm, or pinkish-brownish discoloration, it’s an indication to fix up an appointment with a dermatologist. 

3. Excessive Hair-Fall Is Also A Symptom

health detective - hair fall Most of the people see hair-fall as a result of the seasonal change, change of shampoo or oil.  Very few know that it could also be an indication of a disease/or a medical condition. Examine your comb regularly. If there is hair-fall appearing more than normal, it could be due to underlying deficiency of iron or thyroid. Also, follow a good hair-care and wash routine.

4. A Window Of Light Through Your Eyes

Lack of sleep can cause puffiness under the eyes. However, this puffiness goes away with proper sleep and rest. If puffiness appears for a long duration, it could be due to water retention, kidney issues, and indigestion. Do not ignore this and see a doctor.

5. Sudden Increase Or Decrease In Weight

A wave of happiness that comes due to weight loss can become a cause for concern when the reasons for weight loss are not right. It could be due to weight cycling, or a YO-YO effect that usually occurs due to extreme workouts, or diet restrictions or crash diets. If not because of these, a sudden increase or decrease could also be happening because of diabetes, thyroid etc.

6. Tired All The Time?

Tired All The Time It’s normal to feel tired and all sleepy after a long day at work or a long journey. But, if you are feeling lethargic all the time it could be due to an underactive thyroid, which also increases the chances of developing high blood pressure and heart problems. Consult a doctor immediately and get your blood tests done.

7. Frequent Headaches

A headache can happen due to stress, tension, working continuously in front of screens and inadequate sleep. This generally goes away with rest or painkillers. But, if even after this if a headache persists, it could be due to a migraine, cervical issue or spondylitis. Resort to physiotherapy, good posture and regular workout. 

8. Take Care Of Your Feet Too

Most of the people don’t pay much attention to feet, because of which they are unable to notice any visible changes happening there. If nails have white spots or have become yellowish in colour, it might be indicative of calcium or hemoglobin deficiency respectively. Persistently cracked heels may be because of low water intake and swollen feet indicate the onset of diabetes. If you feel that your feet remain excessively cold, a thyroid test must be done with doctor’s advice.

9. Teeth And Gums

Bacteria in the mouth are major causes of pain and infection in gums as well as heart-related and lung-related infections too. Conditions related to teeth and gums can also become a reason for pain in shoulders and back. Take extra care to maintain oral hygiene and dental care. A dental check-up every 6 months is advisable.

10. Don’t Ignore Snoring

Snoring in our society isn’t considered abnormal. One snores when there is blockage or difficulty in breathing. Snoring adds to excessive pressure on lungs, and it could also happen because of high blood pressure, which could, in turn, lead to heart ailments. If anyone is suffering from snoring for a long period of time, take responsibility and get their sleep study test and dynamic MRI done with doctor’s advice.

11. Blood Pressure Monitoring

People who have high/low B.P issue should always keep a digital monitor at home. Get your blood pressure checked at regular intervals or if you notice any change in the body. Remember normal blood pressure should be 120/80mm Hg. 

12. Cardiovascular Check-Up

People who have crossed 40 years of age, people having heart diseases or high blood pressure should get a complete cardiovascular check-up done. This helps in screening and treatment of risks like heart attack, stroke, etc. in the preliminary stage. Get blood cholesterol levels also checked once every year.

Points To Remember

  • Becoming a health detective doesn’t mean that you become an expert or a doctor. Being a health detective only means being alert and responsible for observing and noticing any changes that happen in your body.
  • Never take any medicine or administer drugs to others without a prescription or doctor’s advice.
  • Today, most people treat themselves by looking up their symptoms on the internet. This is called as ‘Cyberchondria’. Please do not do this as you can go wrong with your diagnosis.
  • Do not blindly believe any information given on the web, as not all of this information is trustworthy.

We hope this article helps you become your own health detective. If this information helped you, let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

You can browse more articles like this here. To get more tips and guidance, speak to a GOQii Coach for lifestyle modifications suited to your health goals. You can subscribe for Personalised Health Coaching here.

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From Terminal Illness To Complete Wellness! Ananda Mukherjee Health Story

As we observe World Cancer Day under the powerful theme ‘United by Unique’ (2025-2027)**, we are reminded that every individual’s journey with cancer is distinct, yet united by shared resilience, hope, and the collective fight against this disease. This theme places people at the centre of care and their stories at the heart of the […]