7 Tips for Healthy Lifestyle

If you think you are leading a healthy lifestyle, then better think again! When it comes to living a healthy lifestyle, you might think that you are maintaining “good health” with physical activities and eating habits. But ask yourself genuinely: Are these enough to be considered “healthy”?

Did you know?

According to the Archives of Internal Medicine, only 3% of American adults meet the criteria for a healthy lifestyle.

Are you one of that 3%?

Also, 97% of Americans fail to have an ideal “healthy lifestyle” that can protect them from heart diseases.

Many people get confused between health and nutrition, and many qualified experts hold opposing opinions, making it difficult to comprehend what you should do to optimize your health. But despite all disagreements, many healthy lifestyle tips are well supported by researchers.

This article will give you an overview of improving and augmenting actions in life to have a healthy lifestyle. We have included 7 tips for a healthy lifestyle that are the essential components and must be a part of our daily routine. In addition to the tips, the article also covers avoiding actions that cause unhealthy living. But let’s first understand what healthy living is!

What is Healthy Living?

The majority of people think that “healthy living” means the balanced and well-functioning physical and mental health processes in a person. In many instances, physical and mental health are interlinked, and when one gets affected, it directly affects the other.

So, the following tips include suggestions for living a healthy life both emotionally and mentally.

Tips for Living a Healthy Lifestyle

Eat a Balanced Diet – The Best Medicine

Eating healthy doesn’t involve extreme diets! The secret of a balanced diet involves foods with low fats and sugar and high in minerals, vitamins and other nutrients.

According to the research of Dietary Guidelines for Americans, your optimal energy needs a balanced diet that should be high in fruits, vegetables, low-dairy fat, lean protein and whole grain.

Eat Varieties of Meals

Eat various food such as green vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts, legumes and whole grains. Make a habit of eating at least 400 grams of seasonal fruits and vegetables every day. If you are not a veggie person, add fatty fish to your diet, as it helps prevent inflammatory diseases such as heart diseases.

Reduce Salt Intake

Don’t consume salt more than 1 gram (or 1 teaspoon). While cooking food, limit the number of high sodium condiments such as adding less salt soya sauce and also avoiding salty snacks. If you suffer from high blood pressure, then cut back on salt, and a high amount of sodium increases the risk of high blood pressure.

Limit Sugar Consumption

Take sugar about 50 grams or 12 teaspoons a day. Avoid eating snacks, sweetened drinks, and candies to achieve the target. Limiting your sugar intake reduces the risk of likely diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke and some cancers.

Avoid Unhealthy Fats

Fats should make up 30% of your total energy intake. Avoid eating saturated fats that include butter, cheese, red meat, Trans fat and ready-to-eat items. Instead, add saturated fats to your diet, including fish, olive oil, avocados, nuts, and seeds.

Exercise Regularly – The Glow of Healthy Lifestyle

Do you end up feeling lethargic after returning from work or halfway through the day? Do you often get winded by simple household chores such as cleaning or grocery shopping?

Make exercise your daily habit as it strengthens your muscles and relieves stress and tension. It also boosts endurance that helps you work more efficiently during other physical activities. Do exercise while respecting the body’s limits.

In addition to your physical and mental health, exercise also improves your sleep quality by three scientifically proven activities: aerobic exercise, yoga, and strength training. This way, you can improve your healthy lifestyle and happiness in life.

According to Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 150 minutes of weekly movement adds energy to you and does not subtract from it.

Sleep Well – The Best Meditation

Your sleep and immune system have a strong link to each other. Don’t break that connection!

Get at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep daily. Getting more sleep is a sign of a healthy person that many people need to improve.

Getting enough sleep heals your body and is vital for your physical and mental health. But what prevents you from sleeping well? Think about what stops you from achieving this habit!

Maybe you are addicted to using your phone or spending your whole night scrolling different social media apps. Remember, sleep deprivation can perpetuate severe health issues, and it also negatively affects your mood, determination, motivation and energy levels.

Did you know?

Poor sleep increases the risk for many cardiovascular problems such as high blood pressure, heart diseases and stroke.

If you want to have a successful healthy lifestyle and experience an energized day, then the best thing you can do is prioritize your sleep!

Do Not Smoke – It’s A Slow Poison

You might have read the proposed warning written on the cigarette packet such as WARNING “smoking kills”, “tobacco smoke can harm your children”, “Smoking causes lung cancer” and so on. The warning intends to educate consumers about its side effects on health and likely risks such as coronary disease, lung cancer and pulmonary disease.

One of the significant causes of lung cancer globally is smoking. Apart from lung disease, smoking also develops some other organ cancers. While smoking harms your health and the people around you, smoking damages the airways, leading to the cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Life is short; quit smoking to make it last!

Think Positive – Key For Improving Mental and Physical Health

Positive thinking contributes to a long and healthy lifestyle!

Feeling depressed and stressed is harmful to our health and hinders optimum health. Unfortunately, these feelings have become a part of our competitive and fast-paced culture. Millions of Americans are affected by anxiety and depression. These conditions are caused and can be worsened by several physiological issues such as poor diet or hormonal balance. They are often influenced by how we see and respond to our environment.

It is crucial to recognize unhealthy thought patterns that indirectly affect the mind to get a healthy lifestyle. Negative self-talk and self-blaming are the way to enter a cycle of thinking that negatively impacts our physical and mental well-being.

If you want to feel best:

Train yourself to create positive thinking, count your blessings and be content.
Learn to face challenges and opportunities, stare dead in the face of your fears.
Practice patience and understanding instead of anger.

Indeed, we become what we think!

Your healthy lifestyle begins with a single thought of positivity!

Surround Yourself with Good People

Maximize the amount of time from your daily routine to spend quality time and enjoy being around people you like and love.

Surrounding yourself with people who radiate positivity, have good vibes, and share similar interests as you have will excite and energize you. On the other hand, people who are not of your type or have negative outlooks often complain about you and make poor choices and decisions in life; they only drain your energy. Therefore, be selective about the company you want to keep!

Surround yourself with a company that empowers you to become the best version of yourself!

Don’t Stress, Be Happy!

If you suffer from stress, tension, and depression, you put your entire health at risk. Why? This is because stress inflicts disorder on your emotional equilibrium, as well as your physical condition. It narrows your capability to think positively, enjoy life and effectively mind function.

The bills will keep increasing, and there are not more than 24 hours, your work pressure will never stop, and your family responsibilities will remain demanding. In the end, you have more control than you might think.

When you try to manage your stress, you are breaking the hold of stress on your life, which allows you to become healthier, happier and more productive. The ultimate goal for reducing stress is to have a balanced life, relationships, and time for work with fun and relaxation. The aim to “don’t stress” always holds you up and ready to overcome the challenges on your way.

Don’t stress about what you can’t control; instead, find ways for a happy and healthy living!

Final Thoughts

Your healthy lifestyle is always similar to others; there is a just difference when and how we adopt it. The most important thing to remember is by little effort, you can make a huge difference in your physical health and emotional well-being.

Take charge of your life, be mindful because small behaviors help you live a healthy lifestyle. Therefore making just a few of the above 7 tips part of your daily life can help you lead a better life.

Remember, some of the above tips might seem challenging to you at first, but their benefits far exceed to sustain them.

Health Lifestyle

5 Ways to Keep Yourself Healthy During the Pandemic

The recent epidemic of an infectious virus has given the greatest health issues humans have ever faced. A tiny germ was killing people like a serial killer. The past two or three years have really been a more arduous period to pass, but thankfully, the world came together to combat the COVID with collective efforts and has succeeded to a greater extent. However, the game is not over yet completely. The virus is still there and still going to live here for how many years; it is difficult to say at this stage. However, it’s now your responsibility to extract yourself from the pandemic and start living a healthy lifestyle.

On the one hand, we learned to stay safe from pandemic-related health issues through self-isolation, social distancing, and sanitization. While on the other hand, it has made us conscious and concerned about our health more than ever. Hopefully, no other wave of pandemics will hit our earth ever again, but if it does, we should all be prepared to fight with it by keeping ourselves healthy during pandemics.

To learn that preparation, we have prepared this article for you with the best ways to keep yourself healthy during the pandemic. Read till the last to ensure you don’t miss any health tips.

5 Ways of Staying Healthy During the Pandemic

Before going further, let us clarify that these healthy lifestyle tips will help you stay healthy during the pandemic and help you keep up healthy even after the pandemic is over.

Stay Calm

Believe it or not, keeping yourself calm will save you from a lot of issues and unnecessary troubles. The most important thing to stay strong during a difficult situation like a pandemic is to stay calm and content. The more you panic, the more you will create problems; for you and others, and this might even result in stress and anxiety. So, extract yourself from the pandemic and start living healthily.

Did you know?

By minimizing chronic stress you can improve your overall health; in addition, it prevents you from other health risks like anxiety, heart diseases, and depression.

In order to keep yourself calm, you are advised to stay connected with nature, get enough sleep and keep your mind fresh. Also, you can try some meditation or exercise.

Eat Adequately

Prevention is better than cure, and eating healthy is the best thing to prevent yourself from any and every kind of disease.

If you are observing a lockdown in the home, don’t think of it as adversity; rather, make this an opportunity to start a healthy lifestyle. Not going outside means you are staying away from junk foods and restaurant meals. This is the perfect time to eat homemade fresh food and stay fit in your home. Try different things that excite you or the things you haven’t had for so long.

Take a Break from the Internet

We know this seems a bit difficult, especially during a time when you are locked in your home, but this is not impossible. Think for a minute, when was the last time you spent a good gossiping time with your family or when you last made decluttered your cupboard?

For a healthy lifestyle, everyone should have a balance between the tech world and the real world. It is understandable that you are lying all day idle in your bed, so you need to binge Netflix or stroll your Instagram, but these should be done timely.

Tanking small but definite breaks from the internet and social media will cause you no bad. Instead, you will realize positivity and harmony in your personality, and you will feel greater good.

Do Some Physical Exercise

Boys or girls who don’t like to be in good shape these days, shift your focus from pandemic worries to your own improvements. Take time for workouts to get into the shape or the shape that you always wanted for yourself. This time, you don’t even have the excuses of office workloads or busy schedules. This is your time, and use it on yourself.

If you haven’t got your fitness equipment, you can try some physical sports that you can play in your backyard.

Keep Yourself Busy

Since this is the first time that most of us are facing a pandemic situation throughout the world, we are all left perplexed with what to do and what not to do. Everyone is feeling so disoriented and bewildered. The best way to take yourself out of this confusing situation is to think of the things you ever wanted to do; it can be as simple as repainting your walls or learning a new skill that you never got to.

Let your creative and passionate self come out and make this problematic time meaningful and memorable.

The idea behind keeping yourself is actually keeping yourself distracted from the news and counts coming from the world. Pretend as if everything is good outside and you are just on a good holiday at your home. Believe us; you will not need any further tips for staying well and healthy.

Mental Health Issues Prevailing Amid the Pandemic

People still believing that the pandemic just caused physical health deterioration are heavily mistaken. Coronavirus was not only about the fever, flu, and cough. It was far beyond that. In a very short period, the virus has caused millions of deaths around the globe. Those who were saved from dying were living every day with anxiety, stress, and depression. Mental and psychological health have equally got affected as the physical one.

The financial crisis at an individual level and the economic catastrophes at the country level both have left people in extreme unsettlement. The concerns of earning enough bread for the self and family have caused severe mental health issues like depression, overthinking, and restlessness.

Final Words

So these were the best five tips that can help you stay good and healthy in these challenging times. We have already come a long way in the battle of the coronavirus, and hopefully, we will soon be out of this pandemic completely.

Till then, take good care of yourself and your family and keep praying for those who are hang a tougher time than you.

What is CRISPR Genome Editing?

Editing the Human Genome Through CRISPR

In the world of medical sciences, there is no space for the word “miracle” until something unbelievable, if not impossible, happens beyond the understanding of the human mind; maybe something like creating customizable DNAs to produce a human of your own choice.

To make this miracle a reality, scientists have been working on revolutionary biomedical research called CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats). It is indeed one of the few medical breakthroughs in the history of biological innovations.

What is CRISPR Genome Editing?

CRISPR has been widely employed in different fields from medical research, biomedical sciences, and applied biotechnology.

This article is going to provide you with all the necessary information about genome editing and CRISPR. Read till last!

What is Genome Editing?

Genome editing, or gene editing, is a branch of genetic engineering in which the DNA inside the genome of a living thing is cut, altered, or replaced. With this method, we can make changes to the human DNA. In this process, an enzyme is inserted into the DNA at a particular sequence to cut and edit the DNA from that sequence.

Before genome editing, there were different methods through which a host genome could receive genetic material into it. But genome editing is different from those techniques in a way that it can target the insertions at specific locations in the DNA.

The recent advancement of genome editing techniques has enabled scientists to directly target and modify genomic sequences in almost all kinds of cells. Gene editing has made scientists and biologists explicate the contribution of genetics. Also, it supports the making of more accurate cellular and animal models of pathological processes.

What is Genome Editing Used For?

The process of genome editing can be used for multiple purposes, some of which are;

For Research Purposes

Genome editing has proved to be a breakthrough in the area of research in genetics and biomedical engineering. It can be best used to understand the processes of biological changes in the DNA inside a cell. It also helps to understand gene functions and develop ways to treat genetic or acquired diseases.

For Treatment Purposes

Gene editing can also be beneficial in treating diseases like AIDS or Leukemia by modifying human blood cells and reintroducing them in the body. Other genetic diseases like hemophilia or muscular dystrophy or the infections like MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) can also be treated by using the techniques of gene editing.

For Agricultural Purposes

Genome editing is not only limited to humans or animals but can also be employed in plants and crops. The production of several crops can be improvised through gene editing and save crops from droughts and diseases.

Techniques of Genome Editing

The techniques of genome editing were first used in the late 1900. Since then, there has been a revolutionary development in this subject. In 2009, a game-changing technological tool called CRISPR was introduced to make gene-editing easier than ever before.

CRISPR becomes cheaper and faster, and more accurate than other genome editing methods. Many scientists have already stated using CRISPR for editing DNA. Before going into detail about CRISPR, let us see other techniques of genome editing!

Conventional Genome-Editing

Although this technique may not be revolutionary, it helps greatly with genome editing. Conventional Genome-Editing is based on physiological methodologies and involves a double-stranded repair system. Through this technique, homologous related to gene intervention can be recombined. The emergence of advanced technologies has overshadowed the significance of this technique therefore this technique is rarely used in labs anymore.

Chemical Modalities of Genome Editing

In this method, pseudo-complementary peptide nucleic acid (pcPNA) is used, which clears the place within the telomeric region or chromosome. After pcPNA clearing the site, excision is done by a chemical mixture EDTA or the cerium (CE) through splicing. This technique is helpful because you can join a DNA of your own choice within that specified site. This method is very beneficial in high salt concentrations.

Initially, this method was considered the most advantageous technique for genome editing, but with the advancement of genetic engineering, it was realized that this method is more time-consuming. Also, creating site-specific pcPNA was a big problem in carrying out the process.

Homing Endonuclease Systems

The word “homing” in Homing Endonucleases (HEs) interprets the lateral transmission of a DNA sequence in genome editing. HEs are typically naturally-occurring nucleases with a size of about 14bp. They can splice DNA into slightly larger sequences.

Through this method, a site is taken out from a DNA segment through endonucleases, resulting in the creation of two segments of DNA. Now, recombinant adeno-associated viruses (rAAVs) are also introduced, which work as driving agents for taking genetic tools into the human cells.

This method has a few shortcomings, due to which can not be relied upon completely. The primary issue with this technique is preparing nucleases and creating vectors to drive them into the cells. Also, rAAV was challenged with off-target effects with less specificity of the site. Another issue was the lower integration of DNA and the risks involved with host genome mutations.

Introduction to CRISPR

Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, abbreviated as CRISPR, is a gene-editing technique that disrupts host genes and inserts sequences of DNA of own choice. This method uses the Cas9 protein and RNAs as a guide to carry out the gene-editing process.

The concept of CRISPR is driven by bacteria that use an adaptive immune response with a similar process as CRISPR. Since its anticipation, CRISPR has become the most favorable technique of gene editing in the field of genetic engineering. Compared to other techniques, CRISPR is a cheaper solution and a very fast method to process.

This method can be used to cut and edit a segment of DNA as well as to knock out agene from the body completely. This method helps significantly with the research of functions of genes, DNA modifications, and the subject of genetic engineering.

How it Works

First of all, the process starts with taking RNA, a molecule responsible for giving out the genetic information of DNA. The job of RNA is to spot a place within the nucleus where editing can be done.

Then it guides Cas9 to that spot to cut. Then Cas9 locking onto the double-stranded DNA and unzipping it causes the creation of a break in both strands of the DNA molecule. The cell, sensing an issue, repairs the break. Hence, it becomes possible to fix something inside or add a new gene. The latter is a little more complicated, though. This method also helps disable some genes inside the DNA that cause certain genetic diseases.

Applications of CRISPR

CRISPR-Cas9 can be used in a variety of ways. Some of the best applications of CRISPR are as under.

CRISPR can be applied to produce genetically modified organisms from early embryos by injecting Cas9 into the animals’ blood in the laboratory. This way tissues can be edited or modified, achieving substantial genome editing in tissues subsets.
CRISPR can also be used to modify the genomes of farm animals, crops, plants, laboratory model animals like mice or rats. Through the application of this technique, botanists have developed methods to combat bacterias that are resistant to antibiotics.
CRISPR also enables the development of curing human disease through animal models, and it also helps with the removal of HIV from infected cells of the human body.

Limitations of CRISPR

Although CRISPR is a potent tool, it comes with certain limitations which need to be addressed. The limitations are:

For this technique, CRISPR materials are difficult to deliver to large counts of mature cells, which creates issues in many clinical operations.
It is not completely efficient, so there might be the case where CRISPR material reaches a cell that does not have gene editing ability.
Also, this method is not 100% accurate either, and it can not be fully relied upon for hitting the right target always. Though rare, a small mistake can cause serious consequences, in clinical applications in particular.

Pros and Cons of CRISPR

Pros:

Curing Genetic Diseases

CRISPR can help cure genetic diseases such as diabetes cystic fibrosis. CRISPR could also be used to cure the genes that are infected and that cause genetic diseases.

Drug Research

Genetic scientists believe that CRISPR can hugely help with the processes of drug discovery. But for that purpose, this technique needs to be accurate, affordable, and convenient. CRISPR technology is already being incorporated into drug research and discovery by some of the world’s drug manufacturers.

Inexpensive

Gene-editing through CRISPR is comparatively cheaper than other techniques for the same purpose.

Cos of CRISPR

Inefficient

In the CRISPR process, editing can be affected by multiple factors and can seriously hamper your efforts, getting you insufficient results.

Time-Consuming

Sometimes CRISPR can be very hectic and time-consuming, as optimizing a protocol for CRISPR can be a lengthy and challenging process.

Final Verdict

This was the review of CRISPR, the latest advancement in genome editing technologies in recent years. It has emerged as an innovative gene-editing tool with a focus on animal models and eukaryotic cells. It can help cure several diseases and be a great tool in potential therapies. There are some challenges in implementing this technology, yet it is believed that the day is not far when there will be handmade humans on this earth.

References:

CRISPR DNA DNAediting gene GenomeEditing

Top 5 Lifestyle Diseases

There is no exaggeration that life is hard; it always comes with problems; one of them being health issues, especially getting exposed to the disease at any age. Health is a susceptible component of life, and it should be prioritized over other factors.

You might not be shocked to know that the overall population’s health has been depleting over the years due to not understanding the importance of good health. Being fit, exercising, and eating right is the only way to live healthily, stay in good shape, and, most importantly, avoid lifestyle diseases.

For a deeper perspective, here are the 5 most common lifestyle diseases among people in this era.

What are the Top Lifestyle Diseases?

1. Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia

From forgetting things and finding it hard to connect the dots to poor judgment and decision-making skills, Alzheimer’s and Dementia can be severe health concerns that build up gradually, especially in older people.

Diagnosing Alzheimer’s means having difficulty participating in a normal conversation, forgetting things frequently or facing a challenge to manage finances and budgets. The following are some symptoms of Alzheimer’s patients.

Symptoms

Alzheimer’s and Dementia can be detected in a patient with these nine clear symptoms mentioned below.

Frequent memory loss
Poor judgment
Having a hard time understanding and solving problems
Completing daily chores becomes a challenge
Don’t understand the time and forget places
Having trouble understanding relationships and images
Issues with vocabulary while speaking or writing
Forgetting things and being unable to find them
Mood and personality changes

People suffering from Alzheimer’s majorly forget things, even what they have recently learned. Simple examples could be dates, birthdays, events possibly asking the same question repeatedly etc. However, don’t get this confused with aging factors, like forgetting something but remembering later.

Prevention

If you do detect any one of these symptoms, it is quite understandable that you may not feel easy sharing it with people; however, professional advice is highly necessary so that you know what to do. Don’t prescribe yourself any medicine before consulting a doctor and act on whatever they suggest.

Don’t underestimate the value of early detection because it can help ease the symptoms or headaches that you may feel like a side effect of this disease. In addition, you will have a better chance of getting cured, and that is precisely the point.

Get yourself or your loved one suspected of Alzheimer’s checked. Better safe than sorry. Early detection may save lives.

2. Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is another dangerous lifestyle disease that can affect anyone at any age, particularly old people. It often attacks the lungs and causes intense cough and breathing problems, targeting an individual’s kidneys, heart, and spine.

To help create awareness, here are some symptoms of Tuberculosis;

Coughing for more than three weeks\
Fever
Coughing blood and mucus
Fatigue, Chills
Intense pain on the chest while coughing or breathing
Unintended weight loss
Loss of appetite
Night sweats

There are 3 stages of TB; latent, exposure and active disease. If you think you might be a victim of Tuberculosis, get yourself tested or checked by a doctor so you can get instant treatments and you know what level you stand on.

This lifestyle disease can be deadly, especially because it can spread to other parts and damage them too. If that is the case, your symptoms will vary according to what organ is affected. To give you a broader view, if you have Tuberculosis in the spine, then you would probably have a lot of back pain, or if it’s in your kidneys, you may expect blood in your urine.

Lifestyle Changes

A tuberculosis patient would have a lot of lifestyle changes in their daily routines. The first one is intense pain. Whether you have an unending cough, chills, night sweats or any kind of body irritation, it does cause a lot of pain. Therefore, even completing the usual chores would be challenging. Secondly, there will be no satisfaction; you will always feel uneasy, and who wants that?

Here are some prevention tips you can make use of if you think you or someone else might have this demanding lifestyle disease.

Prevention

Keep Your Distance

If you suspect you may have TB, it usually takes quite a while to get treated, and till then, you need to stay away from your family and friends. TB is highly contagious, and you have to be very careful so that you don’t spread it to others.

Stay Home

As a victim of TB, you must stay home. Skip school or work for a few days and stick to bed till you feel better. Rest is very important, and it’s ultimately what will get you better.

Ventilate the Room

Ensure you sanitize where you are staying because tuberculosis germs spread like fire, especially in confined spaces without windows because there is no ventilation.

Cover Your Mouth

Covering your mouth whenever you cough, talk, laugh or sneeze is extremely important. You can wear a mask to be on the safe side or use a tissue and dispose of it right away after you’re done using it so that the bacteria do not spread to other people.

Take Your Meds

Make sure you don’t skip your medicines. If you are at risk or are already suffering from TB, then take your medicines regularly because TB bacteria have a high chance of developing multiple mutations, making them stronger to fight your prescribed drugs and beating those would mean you have a decreased chance to survive.

3. Coronary Artery Disease or CAD

You have probably heard of people getting heart attacks, wonder why? Well, they are victims of Coronary artery disease. This is a common lifestyle disease that many people fall victim to. However, CAD can be treated, depending on the intensity of the level your disease is, but professional help can, for sure, reduce the future risks you hold.

What causes a heart attack, clinically known as CAD, is the built-up plaque in the boundaries of an artery that supplies deoxygenated blood to the heart, blocking the blood flow. Therefore, when blood is not supplied to the heart, there is no oxygenated blood transporting to other organs in the body, hence pressuring the heart to stop.

Symptoms

Some symptoms that you may want to be concerned about are;

Chest pain
Feeling sick in the stomach and nausea
Weakness
Arm and shoulder pain
Loss of breath
Cold sweats

With time, repetitive heart attacks can weaken the heart’s walls and cause heart failure, which can be fatal where the heart stops pumping blood normally.

Preventive Measures

The reason why cases of CAD have been widely increased is that people don’t take care of their health as they did in older times. Getting this lifestyle disease can make you extremely ill and in pain, refraining you from running basic errands due to tiredness. Especially if you are obese, you are at high risk of a heart attack.

Here are a few ways you can reduce your chances of risk.

Have a Healthy and Balanced Diet

Of course, french fries and cakes every day are not ideal for any human’s health. It causes you to gain weight and increase fat in your body, and you don’t want that. Have a healthy, nutrition-packed meal every day and watch your health and activity level boost.

Exercise

You cannot be physically fit unless you work out. Exercising or even being active can help you get that blood flowing in your body. It increases productivity and enhances positivity in your mood. While also helping you in losing weight, hence with low fat, your risks of getting a heart attack are significantly decreased.

Limit Alcohol Intake

Get that alcohol level as low as possible because it’s a major catalyst that leads to heart failure.

Above mentioned were ways to lower your chances of getting CAD; however, what you should keep in mind if you have CAD, is to consult a professional.

Get a doctor’s opinion right away if you have any symptoms or feel a heavy pain in your chest. Getting treated immediately is the best possible option to increase prospects of survival.

4. Cancers

The second most usual cause of death in the world is Cancer. It is a fatal lifestyle disease where there is minimal to no cure. Cancer happens when some of your body cells keep growing and spreading to different organs, and the worst part is, it can start from anywhere in the body and spread like fire.

Symptoms

Look out for the following symptoms if you suspect Cancer:

Fatigue
Difficulty swallowing
Lump or thickness under the skin
Weight changes (unintentional gain or loss)
Skin yellowing, redness, darkening causing sores that are not healing
Bowel routine changes
Tenacious coughing and breathing
Persistent indigestion
Discomfort after eating
Unexplained muscle and joint pain, high fevers and night sweats
Bleeding or bruising

Immediately follow up with a doctor if you have any of these symptoms, considering this lifestyle disease is getting common daily. On the other hand, if you think you might have cancer, get yourself tested and undergo necessary screenings.

Prevention

Some ways that might help reduce your risks of getting cancer are:

Quit Smoking

Smoking itself is highly detrimental to health and is a major cause of Cancer.

Avoid Sun Exposure

There are harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays excreted from the sun that enters your skin, causing skin cancer and irritation. Try wearing protective and covered clothing so that your risk is limited. Don’t forget to apply sunscreen.

Exercise Regularly

A good heart rhythm and blood flow will automatically help you fight cancer cells at the highest potential.

Maintain a Healthy Weight

Aside from other extensive diseases like diabetes and CAD, obesity can also lead to Cancer, therefore, try working out more and have a healthy diet to ease weight loss.

5. Diarrhea

Diarrhea, even though it is short-lived, can cause a ton of pain in an individual’s body. It mainly causes loose and more watery stool frequently, with intense abdominal and stomach pains, repeated vomiting and dehydration. This pain usually goes away in a few days; however, if it stays for a longer time, you may have a serious problem.

With Diarrhea, your life gets extremely disrupted. It’s one thing that you have to run to the bathroom every five minutes, and it; ‘s a totally different story about the pains it comes with. Laying in bed all day will make you even more sick and uneasy. Your productivity falls to zero, and the motivation to go through really pushes you down. Therefore, you must take care.

Symptoms

Here’s what to expect if you think you have Diarrhea.

Abdominal cramps or pain
Blood in the stool
Fever
Bloating
Urgent need for a bowel movement
Vomiting
Mucus in the stool
Nausea

Preventing Infectious Diarrhea

Taking preventive measures is essential because this common lifestyle disease can hit you anytime at any age. Therefore, start with the basics;

Ensure Cleanliness and Body Hygiene

Especially your hands and face, wash them frequently and thoroughly so that no bacteria enters your system through these areas. Wash your hands after using the toilet, blowing your nose etc., and use sanitizers as much as possible.

Eat Cautiously

To prevent yourself from getting Diarrhea, especially when you are traveling, watch what you eat. Try having well-cooked food, especially chicken, to avoid getting infected with Salmonella.

Drink Cautiously

Drink more and more water to keep your system clean. If you are having Sodas, try drinking them in their original containers, drink bottled water instead of tap water and keep your mouth closed when showering.

These only explained how Diarrhea could be prevented; however, if you feel like you may be infected, consult a doctor immediately before it worsens and the pain gets unbearable. Do Not prescribe yourself medicines; instead, get yourself checked and tested.

Final Words

The idea behind awareness of today’s most common lifestyle diseases is to make people conscious about their health and well-being. Without being fit and having the ideal health, you will never enjoy life the way it is. Take it slow, one step at a time, because you are not alone, but even the minor changes can get you your expected results. So start today!

Stay Safe, Stay Healthy.

What are Lifestyle Diseases?

You must have heard your favorite motivational speaker emphasizing maintaining good and healthy lifestyle habits, but are you familiar with lifestyle diseases? If not, let us unwrap this topic for you!

Lifestyle Diseases

We’ve entered into 2022 already, and few of us even have written goals with the headline on our journal “New Year, New Me”. Your goals surely are about self-development and self-growth, and they might include a few of the lifestyle changes you want to do this year. The changes might include eating mindfully, exercising and taking care of your mental health. It could be anything!

If you have set such lifestyle goals, keeping track of them and applying them in your life, the good news here is you might be on your way to lifestyle diseases prevention. But, if you are far away from a healthy lifestyle, we might be unsure if you can save yourself from non-communicable diseases (NCDs)/ Lifestyle diseases.

Did you Know?

Lifestyle diseases kill almost 41 million people each year, which equals around 71% of the deaths globally.

The death ratio due to lifestyle diseases is high, but living with such conditions can zap your energy and make everyday tasks difficult. You may have to manage the different medications which can influence what foods to eat and what foods you can’t eat. Further, such habits can also impact your mindset, mood and mental health.

In this article, we’ll explain in detail what lifestyle diseases are and their causes, different types of lifestyle diseases and how you can cure and prevent lifestyle diseases.

What are Lifestyle Diseases?

Lifestyle diseases are associated with how the individual or group of people lives. These diseases are primarily aligned with our daily habits. The habits that detach us from productive activities and take us towards a stagnant routine lead to many health issues and eventually lead to non-communicable diseases that can have life-threatening effects.

Let’s understand lifestyle diseases a bit more with the help of this example:

Suppose you are in Yoga studios and people carry smoothies and yoga mats. This lifestyle is something that is significantly impacting their wellbeing and health. However, judging from their first look, we can’t say they are naturally fit, or they love yoga, or maybe choose yoga to become more athletic.

If we reverse the same question if an individual eats alot and becomes obese, are they choosing to eat more, or are they genetically inclined towards obesity?

This is the crucial dilemma of the lifestyle diseases that are not transferable between the people but instead develop with the period of time due to personal habits and genetics.

Causes of Lifestyle Diseases

By now, you’ve got the basic idea of lifestyle diseases. But, knowing the outcomes and root cause of the lifestyle disease is essential because if we know the root cause, we can eliminate the lifestyle diseases in advance.

Absence of Sleep

As per the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), lack of sleep has been associated with obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and depression. These are the few top diseases that come under the umbrella of lifestyle diseases. So, if a person has insomnia or is dealing with a lack of sleep due to stress, depression or any other issue, then you might be inviting the lifestyle disease at your door.

Poor Diet and Nutrition

If you are one of those people, who skip meals, eat oily and sugary food, stress or over-eat, then you might be about to go into the trap of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). In fact, poor nutrition doesn’t happen only after overeating, but it can also happen when somebody is eating less than the required nutrition. So to avoid the trap of lifestyle diseases, you need to ditch the junk food and integrate food like milk, meat, fruits, pulses and vegetables into your diet.

No or Poor Physical Fitness

One of the key reasons why most people have to deal with cardiovascular diseases and other lifestyle diseases is their poor physical routine. Either they are not following any physical fitness routine or have a very low fitness routine that doesn’t count. Also, there is a direct relationship between the less chronic level of physical fitness and more chances of chronic diseases.

Alcohol and Smoking Consumption

Who doesn’t know about the effect of smoking on the organs? When a person is directly smoking, it may lead to severe health conditions like heart diseases, cancer, lung disease, stroke, COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), etc.

Whereas, excessive alcohol consumption can also lead to the long term disease like cancer, digestive issues, heart diseases, stroke and mental issues

Excessive Stress

If you are one of those people who face rampant stress due to household chores or maybe the workplace environment and habits, you might be attracting one of the lifestyle diseases to your body. Excessive stress is one of the significant causes of lifestyle diseases. Also, excessive stress can result in heart-related disturbances by attacking one’s health severely.

Dehydration

No, we are not talking about the dehydration that you face due to the water deficiency in the body. Here we are talking about the tendons and muscle dehydration, which is one of the critical reasons for fatigue, muscle strain, and other diseases of the musculoskeletal system.

Chronic Stress

According to the Mayo Clinic, chronic stress exposes the body to stress hormones like the cortisol hormone, which negatively impacts your body’s normal health process. When your body is overexposed to stress, it may result in digestive problems, lack of sleep, weight gain, mental health issues and headaches/migraines. Therefore, we can say that stress management is quite crucial to keep yourself away from lifestyle diseases.

What Are Some of the Common Lifestyle Diseases?

By now, we’ve read the root causes of lifestyle diseases, but do you know what the significant and common lifestyle diseases are?

Here are a few of them:

Obesity

According to CDC laboratory research, short sleep duration can lead to metabolic changes that might lead to obesity. Obesity happens when an individual’s BMI is more elevated than the standard BMI. It increases when individuals consume junk and processed food and high sugary and calories beverages like soft drinks. Further, obesity also happens when someone spends long hours in front of the computers and does no or little physical activities during the whole day.

Hypertension/High Blood Pressure

It is one of the kinds of lifestyle diseases that result in severe health complications like stroke, depression, heart disease etc. For instance, if you get the reading around 180/120 or more than this in the BP machine, it means that you are hyper tensed and your blood pressure is high. Obesity, depression, stress and genetic factors, unhealthy eating and lack of physical activities can lead to hypertension in people.

Heart Disease and Stroke

Another lifestyle disease example is Cardiovascular disease (CVD) which is also commonly known as a stroke and heart disease. It is basically a severe long-term chronic disease that creates abnormalities in the heart and blocks the heart’s blot clots and blood vessels.

Basically, a heat stroke occurs when there is less blood flow to the brain. The blood vessel’s function is to transfer the nutrients and oxygen to the brain and in the situation of stroke. The vessel is blocked by the clot or bursts resulting in cell death.

Type II Diabetes

It is a type of diabetes that is due to the reduced insulin (hyperglycemia) that adults develop and is usually associated with uneven lifestyle choices and poor eating habits. One of the key reasons for diabetes is obesity, and type II diabetes is one of the common lifestyle diseases that happen due to poor lifestyle habits.

Cancer

Cancer usually happens due to the body frailing immunity system and a stressful lifestyle. If a person has a weak immune system, it will be more prone to deadly viruses that attack the collection of the organs and allow the virus to enter the body. Also, cancer is caused due to many reasons like lifestyle choices, smoking, alcohol consumption etc.

Cirrhosis

Excessive consumption of alcohol can lead to cirrhosis. It is also considered one of the lifestyle diseases because it is pretty common for people to consume alcohol after a tiring day to chill out. So when the person is increasing their dependence on alcohol to deal with the depression and stress, he may later face the physical consequences. Also, if you are on alcohol for so long, you may also invite chronic liver disease aswell.

How Can You Prevent Lifestyle Diseases?

Now, if you want to prevent or cure any lifestyle diseases, you can take the below measures to prevent yourself from lifestyle disorders.

Eat Healthily and Live Happily

First things first! You have to address the fact that good health is all about doing what is suitable for your body and taking charge of your health. A healthy and wholesome diet is definitely essential for your wellbeing and health. To ensure you are avoiding the lifestyle diseases, you need to:

Swap to the whole grain or multigrain flour instead of the all-purpose flour
You have to incorporate green veggies, calcium, fiber-rich foods and fresh fruits
You need to eliminate the junk food or maybe even try to avoid eating the oily food
You need to decrease your position size and eat in between the intervals of every two hours
Drink plenty of juices and water. You have to hydrate yourself
Go for a protein-based diet including milk, eggs, yogurt, fish, meats and legumes

Physical Activities are Must

According to the WHO, adults should do 150-300 minutes of mild to intense exercise every, and they offer significant health benefits to their health. If you want to keep your immune system functioning properly and want to keep your immune system operational, an adult should indulge in any form of physical activity.

You can do the following activities in your daily routine to keep yourself fit:

You can take the stairs rather than taking lift and elevators
You can take your dog out for a walk regularly
If you go office on a daily basis, you can walk to the bus stop
If you have kids at home, you can also play with them
Anyhow take a short session of walks after your meals

Be a Sleeping Beauty!

Take 7-9 hours of sleep each night. However, if you can’t stop burning the midnight oil, try to set a constant bedtime and waketime. Be active daily and limit your caffeine and alcohol consumption. Also, Always put the digital devices away an hour before bedtime.

Relieve Your Stress

If you face long-term stress, you might be an enemy of your immune system. Try to meditate, exercise and practice gratitude, and you should try to improve your physical and mental health.

Conclusion

The choice is up to you!

Whether you want to exhaust yourself with lifestyle diseases or you want to play with your grandchildren and grandchildren without getting winded by the lifestyle diseases.

“Take Charge of your Life today”

Understanding Diabesity—the silent global epidemic

You might have heard about the Spanish flu, H1N1 swine flu, poliomyelitis, and the most recent one, COVID-19. But do you know that there is this silent global epidemic affecting a significant portion of the global population? This epidemic is so common that we barely notice its existence. This epidemic is called diabesity. Diabesity is a combination of two closely related conditions—diabetes and obesity.

LDL: The cause of cholesterol health issues

We have all heard about the negative effects of high cholesterol. We are told to avoid foods that are high in cholesterol and that one needs to exercise regularly. However, not all cholesterol is “bad” cholesterol. Cholesterol (“good” cholesterol) is vital for your health and well-being. Nonetheless, high cholesterol is a worldwide health problem. If left untreated, high cholesterol levels may increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes and, diabetes.^[¹^] So why does the body contain “bad” cholesterol? Is it something that can be prevented? Current research has found a link between the controlling of “bad” cholesterol and heart diseases.

What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance found in cells all over the body.^[2] It is crucial for building cell membranes and producing vitamins and hormones like testosterone and estrogen.^[3] Cholesterol is mainly produced by the liver. In addition, cholesterol comes from the food we eat-poultry, dairy, etc.^[4] When there is too much cholesterol, it causes a build-up in your arteries. With time, the buildup (plaque) narrows the arteries.^[5] Narrowed arteries decrease the flow of blood to the heart.^[6] If blood supply is completely cut off to parts of the heart, this results in a heart attack.^[7]

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) ^[8] and high-density lipoprotein (HDL)^[9] are two types of cholesterol.^[10] LDL carries cholesterol from the liver to the rest of the body. HDL carries cholesterol from different parts of your body to the liver. The liver then removes the unwanted cholesterol from your body. If there are high levels of LDL and low levels of HDL, a buildup of cholesterol in your arteries may occur.^[11] This increases your risk of heart attacks and strokes. So what could cause the buildup of LDL and what could the consequences thereof be? Many factors increase LDL cholesterol in the body.

There are factors outside one’s control that contribute to high cholesterol. Your genes play a role in how much LDL cholesterol your body produces and how quickly it removes it from your body. High cholesterol can run in the family. Age and sex are a factor in a person’s cholesterol level. Cholesterol starts rising from the age of 20 up until age 65. There are also sex differences. Men below the age of 50 have higher cholesterol than women of the same age. The opposite happens when women and men reach 50. This is because, with menopause, LDL cholesterol often increases^[12] for women. There are factors that a person can change to lower their LDL cholesterol. Being overweight can increase your level of LDL cholesterol. Losing weight can thus lower your LDL cholesterol and increase your HDL cholesterol. A diet that is high in saturated fats, trans fats, and cholesterol can also increase your blood cholesterol. To lower LDL cholesterol, saturated fats, trans fats, and cholesterol should be reduced from the diet.^[13] Lastly, the lack of physical activity can increase your chances of being overweight. As such, exercising can decrease your LDL cholesterol while increasing your HDL cholesterol.^[14]

LDL and possible inhibitors

A recent study was done at the University of Alberta. The results found a protein that possibly interferes with LDL receptors. LDL receptors are responsible for cleaning the blood of “bad” cholesterol.^[15] What LDL receptors (LDLR) do is move LDL cholesterol into cells. The cholesterol is then broken down and removed from the body. If these receptors are inactive or disrupted, they are unable to remove LDL cholesterol from the body.^[16] This then increases the amount of LDL cholesterol in the blood. The study found a protein called membrane 1- matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) is involved in the breakdown of LDL receptors.^[17] This protein is found in several tissues and cell types and is critical in cell migration. However, this protein sometimes prevents cell migration which leads to disease progression. As such, if cell migration is inhibited by MT1-MMP, LDL cholesterol starts accumulating. As it currently stands, the researchers are working to find what part of this protein causes LDL receptors not to work. Additionally, this study found that the protein is also important for tumor invasion in cancer. These results can offer treatment for two of the most common diseases.

Improving the prognosis of high LDL cholesterol

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 133 million people in the five largest EU countries^[18] have high levels of cholesterol. There are estimated to be about 17 million deaths each year due to cardiovascular disease.^[19] This illustrates how high cholesterol is a worldwide problem that needs immediate medical intervention. The findings obtained demonstrated that MT1-MMP could be used for treatment in patients who have high blood cholesterol. The researchers want to continue studying this protein to help develop medication that can target MT1-MMP and disable it. In preventing MT1-MMP, LDL receptors can then successfully remove LDL cholesterol from the body. The researchers are also trying a new technique for their potential drug. They are hoping to create a drug that will only work in the liver, as this would further reduce side effects. In addition, this research could help further cancer research as they aim to work with cancer research specialists. With any luck, the study can be the foundation of the development of future medication for cancer and heart conditions.

References

Alabi, A., Xia, X., Gu, H., Faqi Wang, F., Shi-Jun Deng, S., Nana Yang, N., Ayinuer Adijiang, A., Donna N. Douglas, D. N., Kneteman, N. M., Xue, Y., Chen, L., Qin, S., Wang, G., & Zhang, D. (2021). Membrane type 1 matrix metalloproteinase promotes LDL receptor shedding and accelerates the development of atherosclerosis. Nature Communications, (12). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-22167-3#citeas

American Heart Association. (2020). What is cholesterol? American Heart Association. https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/cholesterol/about-cholesterol

Delseith-Hermsdorg, I. (2020). Cholesterol day 2020. Diagnostic Systems. https://www.diasys diagnostics.com/blog/cholesterol-day 2020/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20World%20Health,to%20CVD%20occur%20each%20year.

Harvard Health Publishing. (2019). How it’s made: Cholesterol production in your body. Harvard Health Publishing. https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/how-its-made-cholesterol-production-in-your-body

MedlinePlus. (2017). HDL: The “good” cholesterol. MedlinePlus. https://medlineplus.gov/hdlthegoodcholesterol.html#:~:text=HDL%20stands%20for%20high-density,stands%20for%20low-density%20lipoproteins

National Institutes of Health. (2005 ). High blood cholesterol: What you need to know. National Institutes of Health. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/files/docs/public/heart/wyntk.pdf

National Institutes of Health. (2005). Your guide to lowering your cholesterol with TLC. National Institutes of Health. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/files/docs/public/heart/chol_tlc.pdf

University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. (2021). Protein that blocks body’s ability to clear bad cholesterol identified: Researchers are now looking to develop a drug that will boost existing statin drugs to prevent heart disease. Science Daily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/04/210401123917.htm

Wang, A. (2021). Protein linked to the buildup of cholesterol in the blood. Morning Sign Out. http://morningsignout.com/protein-linked-to-the-buildup-of-cholesterol-in-the-blood/

World Health Organization. (2021). Global Health Observatory (GHO) data. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/gho/ncd/risk_factors/cholesterol_mean_text/en/#

The role of maternal health issues in their child’s metabolic outcome

Past studies have linked pregnancy complications to maternal obesity. Evidence also links maternal obesity and an unhealthy diet during pregnancy to a poor metabolic outcome for the child. Studies have found that maternal obesity affects the child’s risk of obesity, asthma, stroke, type II diabetes, and heart disease. In addition, there has been a link to poor cognitive performance and the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders.

Is cocoa a long-sought solution to obesity?

As many of us still thinks, chocolate is high in calories, carbohydrates, and fatty acids, making it an unhealthy food. People are told to eat in moderation at the least to avoid the likelihood of developing conditions such as obesity. The concern is not without reason anyway. Obesity is a complex disease that further increases the risk for other diseases, for example, cardiovascular disease due to excessive fat.

However, it’s time to break the taboo of staying away from chocolate to lose weight.