Monsoon must be one of the most attractive and pleasurable seasons amongst all others. The special cool winds and minute droplets of rainwater make us happy. However, even there are definite drawbacks of the monsoon season that patients face including chronic asthma and breathing issues primarily.

These problems increase in monsoon season as there are firm alterations in the atmosphere. These changes include in overall temperature and moisture ratio. Many times, this mixture intensifies the widespread as well as atypical allergic factors. So this gorgeous monsoon is not suitable for all and affects patients with asthma.

Even in the day to day practices, we see many patients complaining about added sticky as well as mucus secretions through the airways, which is the reason responsible for this moisture and humid environment in the monsoon season.

What Turns Asthma Worse in the Monsoon Season

• The low levels of temperature
• Higher levels of moisture and humidity
• Rain scattered pollens
• Higher probabilities of fungal growth
• Transmittable viral and other infections

How to Handle Asthma in Monsoon Season

• Staying away from the contacts of pet animals (especially for children )
• Bleach cleaning of living places to keep away from fungal growth
• Deep cleaning of everyday reusable stuff
• Regular cleaning of pillow & sofa covers
• Washing of bed sheets and blankets with warm water
• Keeping clothes dry with exposure to suitable sunlight
• Hand hygiene, avoiding outside water and food
• Having a precise and balanced diet

It is not feasible to avoid windy days while the monsoon season, across the world. However, if you have the likelihood to do indoor activities or exercise inside the gym, it will lend a hand to you, and your kids breathe better as well as easier.

Moving Forward

Apart from these mentioned safety measures taken while rainy or monsoon season for asthma problems, don’t forget to take your asthma medicines on a regular basis. Keep your body warm to shun away from a cold or flu. Further, keep in mind the customary measures like use of window shades rather than curtains and maintain your home to be dust-free.

While these measures can facilitate you in handling asthma in the monsoon season, do visit a doctor for a healthier understanding or if you undergo any asthma indications or breathing allergy.

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Hello Healthy: Stay fresh this summer with this Nutrition Plan

Being outdoors more often and sweating, ups your risk for health problems such as dehydration, skin sensitivities, and vitamin, mineral deficiencies. The simple solution – Eat local, in-season fruits, veggies, and natural beverages. Their nutrients are at their peak in the summer.

Here is the nutrition plan that will not only keep you healthy but will make you look and feel refreshing during the hottest time of the year.

1. Water/Lime Water/Coconut Water: It is a key ingredient in keeping the body cool and hydrated. Increase water intake regardless of your activity levels. Avoid caffeinated or carbonated, alcoholic beverages, and those high in sugar. Avoid cold liquids as may lead to a slight constriction of the blood vessels in the skin and decrease heat loss, which is unadvisable when trying to cool down.
2. Tomatoes: Filled with Antioxidants and Vitamin C, they contain beneficial photochemical such as lycopene, which contributes to chronic diseases.
3. Zucchini/Cucumber: Being a part of the summer squash family, zucchini, as well as cucumber contains a fibre called pectin, which assists in increasing heart health and lowering cholesterol.
4. Watermelon – Hydration Hero: Watermelon’s high water content keeps you cool and hydrated. It will also keep feeling full, which could curb cravings. With the added bonus of lycopene, this protects skin cells from sun damage.
5. Oranges: The sweet citrus fruit is rich in potassium.”You lose potassium through sweat, which puts you at risk for muscle cramps. Oranges are also about 80% water, so will keep you hydrated.
6. Yogurt: Protein-rich diet. Yogurt also adds a dose of probiotics, beneficial bacteria that keep the digestive system running smoothly.
7. Celery and Fennel: Celery and fennel act as diuretics, helping lose excess water weight without causing dehydration.
8. Apples, Figs, Pears: These foods are high in fibre. Do not peel off apples and pears for the maximum nutritional impact.
9. Green Tea: Go green to stay hydrated. It may be helpful in fighting cancer and heart disease, lowering cholesterol, reviving metabolism and even keeping dementia at bay. One can have it on ice; the cooler temp doesn’t compromise its nutritional benefits.
10. Salads with dark leafy greens: Carotenoids in dark-green foods, which your body converts to vitamin A, protecting skin from sun damage. They decrease sensitivity to UV light and mend flaky and dry skin.
11. Strawberry and Blueberry: Sweet, juicy berries are filled with flavonoids, powerful disease fighters. Among their other pros, “they increase blood flow to the skin and decrease sensitivity to light, which improves skin’s appearance, structure, and texture.

So, shape up your diet this summer so you have more energy to enjoy this summer to its fullest.

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People often attribute being over or underweight to their genes To some extent research has backed this assertion, suggesting that genetics contributes to obesity by influencing things like metabolism, body fat distribution, food cravings and tendency to eat food as a way to cope with stress. The latter two are the aspects that the mental health professionals focus on.

According to the world health organization, patients with a history of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and schizophrenia, have a greater chance of becoming obese. Furthermore, a study found that obese patients suffered from depression as intense as those experiencing chronic pain. This led to the conclusion that a history of mental illness may increase the risk of obesity, while obesity may increase an individual’s chances of developing a psychiatric disorder.

Obesity is largely consequent upon overconsumption of energy-rich foods, and some of the medications prescribed for schizophrenia can enhance cravings for ‘junk’ food, as well as having other effects that add to the obesity risk profile. The link between psychiatric medication and obesity may be due to the fact that psychotropic drugs not only contribute to weight gain but also create changes in the sensitivity of the body to insulin. Psychiatric complaints can also cause obesity as a result of medication effects, hormone imbalances, and the behavioral issues that result from psychiatric disorders. So it needs to be ensured that psychiatrists do not risk their patients by exposing them to obesity by using medication known to be associated with substantial weight gain, unless there is no clinically sustainable alternative to cure the mental condition of the individual.

Age and gender of a patient can determine the strength of the link between obesity and mental illness. A study in South Africa conducted found that young women were most at risk for mental illness if obese. The researcher postulated that this is a result of women being inclined to be more distressed about the perception of being overweight than men, making them susceptible to mental illness.

Depression and low self-esteem have been observed in obese patients around the world, even when there has been no previous history of mental illness. Poor self-image, physical inactivity, the biological disruptions caused by obesity, and the social stigma related to being overweight all contribute to a predisposition to mental illness. So mentioned here are some lifestyle interventions that can help obese patients:

1. Psycho-education and advice about diet and exercise involving experts, psychiatrists, and dieticians.
2. Monitoring of weight, waist circumference and serum glucose, lipids levels
3. Involving people in this process that can mentally influence them and in the process help them to take ownership of the problem and empower them.

However in some cases due to complex neurobiology processes mentioned above, lifestyle intervention may not be enough. Bariatric surgery in its current form is a relatively safe and effective intervention to treat obesity in mentally ill people.

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Summer fun may involve many activities and components: sunshine, heat, water, long days, picnics, family get-togethers, travel, gardening, new experiences, and carefree recreation. But it also means sun and burns with a lot of sweating, dryness, skin problems like tan, blemishes, pimples, rashes and many more. With the blazing sun of the summer months, one needs to know how to look fresh and vibrant.

So here are some effortless precautions to stay healthy in the warmer, lazier days of summer.

1. Always stay hydrated:  The recommendation of eight to ten glasses of water a day can help prevent illness, keep bones and muscles healthy, help maintain weight, improves brain function and top it all, acts fuel to activities throughout the day.
2. Always Eat Fresh: It is imperative to make sure you are eating the right foods, the right way to fitness and health. Always picks freshly harvested foods to extract the best benefits they offer. Load up on mangoes, plums, tomatoes, berries, watermelon, oranges. It takes longer for the stomach to digest food plus the hot weather does not allow you to load up on too many foods. It is good to have lighter meals rather than having heavy ones, especially at night. Load up on more body cooling foods and more hydrating foods that will help you keep going in this heat. Eat more watermelon, sesame, coconut water, cucumber, mint, fennel seeds. Go for nutritional supplements rich in Antioxidants and Vitamins.
3. Mix Pleasure with exercise – Lifestyle modification: Regular exercise has been shown to improve heart health, reduce pain and improve stress. Enjoy hiking, gardening and the great outdoors. Turn simple activities like going to the zoo or visiting a park into exercise by using the stairs, taking the long route or even adding in some stretches.
4. Stay Shady: We all love the summer heat, but it is important to stay in the shade whenever possible. Try to limit your time in the direct sunshine between 10 am and 4 pm, when UV exposure is at its peak. If you are going to be outside, be sure to apply plenty of sunscreen 30 minutes before sun exposure. It is also a good idea to wear a hat and sunglasses whenever possible.
5. Sleep Well & Stay Cool: Sleep plays a vital role in your health and well-being. Getting enough quality sleep at the right times can help protect your mental and physical health, safety, and quality of life. Wear lightweight, light-colored clothing; choose light, breathable fabrics such as cotton. Go swimming, cycling, etc.

This is the season when one should pay that extra attention in restoring health and well being. This season, follow the above 5 simple tips to feel alive and rejuvenated. .Once these tips become a habit a part of the lifestyle, you are sure to have the best summer experience this season and seasons to come.

People today have fallen prey to sedentary lifestyles and urbanization, like working behind computer screens, sitting at desks, or standing in the same position for a long duration. Increasing Unawareness of healthy diets, disability to engage in appropriate physical activities due to Lack of time for physical and mental well-being, or do not have the means to cope with stress and maintain mental health is alarming to the active lifestyle.

The initiative ‘Be the Change’ (BTC) is an innovative intervention launched in the WHO South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO) in 2016 to promote health and wellness. Eating healthy, exercising regularly, and avoiding alcohol and tobacco are ways of preventing major lifestyle diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancers as well as their risk factors such as raised blood sugar level and overweight.

To help you adopt an active lifestyle, here’s a watch list of health and wellness suggestions, what experts call “lifestyle medicine”,

1. Watch your plate: As the famous saying goes, “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a commoner and dinner like a pauper” to be more productive.

2. Watch your waist and weight: Obesity is one of the leading risk factors for diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure. Measuring of BMI and waist circumference will help identify risks and assist in taking corrective actions for better health.

3. Watch your steps: WHO Global Recommends that adult aged 18–64 should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensive aerobic physical activity throughout the week or at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensive aerobic physical activity throughout the week or an equivalent combination of moderate and vigorous-intensive activity.

4. Watch your stress level: Stress in the long run leads to depression, anxiety, hypertension, diabetes, and many other health conditions. Steps to ease stress include

• Always have a positive attitude
• Practice relaxation techniques. Try breathing exercises, meditation, and yoga
• Learn time management
• Learn to say “No” politely
• Get enough rest and sleep; most healthy adults need between 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night to function at their best.

5. Watch and monitor your changes: Monitoring of changes is important as it provides information showcasing progress and motivation. A large number of mobile-based apps, smartwatches, fitness tracker are designed to support people in achieving their goals, for instance, to have an active lifestyle.

6. Watch your tobacco and alcohol consumption: The use of tobacco and alcohol cause dependence/addiction, leading to health, economic and social consequences and serious lifestyle damages. This includes reduced attention, absenteeism at work, debt, increased risk of injuries while performing tasks, compromise family life.

So, adopt your goals carefully, make it realistic and specific. Focus on what you want to achieve in the short-term and over the long run. Motivate and encourage to adopt and maintain healthy active lifestyles and enhance the quality of life across the life span and maintain a balanced personal, professional and family Lifestyle.