healthfitnessnwellness

 Obesity has reached an alarming proportion in India. Young women and children are specifically affected. There are a large number of overweight and obese women and children in urban areas of India. Moreover, rural areas also have significant number of these overweight individuals including men.  Obesity in India  Obesity is rising in India. The proportion of people affected by it is soaring. Urban areas have the maximum number of such individuals. But rural areas are not spared of it.  Obesity has become an epidemic and a growing health concern. All ages are affected but young women and children seem to have more of this problem.  My informal survey has revealed that around 80% of women, 60% of children, and 50-55% of men suffer from overweight or obesity in India. The affluent are affected more. But those from the poorer strata if society also show it in significant numbers.  Girls and women in India are sacrificial goats  Causes of obesity  The...

Remember the good old days when most of the time only confirmed and reliable health information used to reach you. Your source of this information was through academic journals, books, newspapers, brochures, booklets, pamphlets, or your doctor's and health organizations.  But the growing social media platforms has created hurdles in the reach of genuine information to the masses. Instead what reaches them is health misinformation through social media posts created by people who have no knowledge about health. These are quacks operating. And social media helps spread this misinformation like fire. This is dangerous. It is playing with the lives of people.  Read here: Politicians vs doctors: believe whom? Most of this information is false and not accurate. It can be misleading. Sadly, even governments assist in spread of this misinformation. Most politicians these days are illiterate and shameless who boast about past and have no vision for the present or the future. Moreover, s...

 Politicians have power but lack knowledge. Whereas doctors have knowledge but lesser power. The end result is that politicians decide things that ideally doctors should.  Remember the coronavirus days when the school dropout PM of India told people to beat utensils and plates to appreciate doctors. And at the same time, people there were dying due to lack of oxygen and coronavirus. Did this act help people or the doctors in any way? Not at all. It was a foolish act of a megalomaniac politician. Shameful act! In fact, in many religions, banging plates is considered bad because it implies the person doing it is hungry and begs for food! Many educated people there also had done that nonsensical act! It was an act of weak minds on their part to do so!!! Now, in the USA, some states have banned abortion. This is the whimsical act of lawmakers who remain unaware of its repercussions. But a new study has proven that banning abortion is wrong and can lead to rise in maternal sepsis ...

Face masking started on a universal basis in March 2020 when coronavirus attacked the humans of this world. Besides social distancing, people were advised to wear face masks to limit the transmission of the deadly virus. It was mandatory at that time.  Slowly, as the virus became less virulent and cases dropped, the rule was relaxed. People could go about their daily routine and work without the face mask. But they were advised to put them for their own safety as well as the safety of others around them.  Face mask has other benefits as well. What are these? Benefits of face mask  1. Coronavirus has not yet vanished from the world. Therefore, face masks continue to have the role of protecting people from this virus. Do not know when it might reattack.  2. There are other serious viruses doing their seasonal rounds and those that can cause grave health issues to humans. These include the HMPV virus that currently has been noticed to cause problems in people. This is t...

Surprised by my blog article title!!! But the title is factual and not exaggerated. Though women are educated, they are not truly empowered. The reason is that the strongly patriarchal mentality still continues to exist in India majorly. When people claim that things are changing, I feel like laughing. Because at the grassroot level, nothing great has changed. There may be isolated cases of women who are independent in the true sense of the word and hence happy. This might be seen in some urban areas. But in rural areas, it is the same old story. Women are pushed into marriages that they do not like. Their voice or opinion is not heard. Even parents are insensitive and deaf to their voices. Sad but true. And truth is always bitter .  I have done a research in Uttarakhand and found that 99% of the women are unhappy in marriages. They were forced into it and they continue to toil with no inner happiness. The happiness is just the false happiness you get when you just fall in line wit...

Traditionally, Fenugreek leaves are cooked with potatoes in Northern India. Potatoes are good for health. Every 100 gms of potatoes give 77 kcals. The carbohydrates content is 17 g and sugar is just 0.8 g. It has minimal fat and no cholesterol. Sodium is 6 mg and proteins 2 g. Moreover, it has fibre to the tune of 2.2 g per 100 g. Potassium content is 421 and it is rich in vitamin C B6, magnesium, iron and calcium.  Also read: Nepali vs Indian panipuri   But some people, do not like potatoes. Or even if they like, they have reasons to not have it. It might be due to excess weight, diabetes, gas problems, or cost factor (if potatoes are costly in some places of the world).  What are the options to add to Fenugreek at such times? You can use protein alternatives or even add other vegetables to it.  Above pic is of fenugreek and round green squash cooked with onions, tomatoes and spices.  Alternatives in place of potatoes in fenugreek food dish Soyabean chunks-gran...