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Super Foods For Your Diet This Winter

InnoHEALTH Magazine — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 11:26:05 +0000

With the cold winter months approaching, it is necessary to stimulate our bodies with nutrient-rich foods maintaining a balanced diet. As the winters are a prime time where cough cold and flu are an unfortunate fact of life; food is one of the best ways to combat such illnesses. Super foods help you in strengthening your immune system, increase body energy and enhance your mood as well. Super foods are nothing but a balanced mixture of a variety of foods that provide the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of nutrients:

1. Dates:

Regular intake of dates keep your body warm during winters

Regular intake of dates helps your body to stay warm during winters. It contains a lot of minerals, vitamins and health benefitting phytonutrients and most importantly they are easily digestible. The lower fat content present in dates helps you keep your weight in check. Dietary fiber (6% of daily nutritional value (DNV)) – Dates help move waste smoothly through your colon and help prevent LDL (bad) cholesterol absorption by binding with substances containing cancer-causing chemicals. Iron (1% DNV) – a component of hemoglobin in red blood cells, determines the balance of oxygen in the blood. Potassium (5% DNV) – an electrolyte, helps control your heart rate and blood pressure. B-vitamins contained in dates, such as the carotenes lutein and zeaxanthin, absorb into the retina to maintain optimal light-filtering functions and protect against macular degeneration. Vitamin A (1% DNV) – protects the eyes, maintains healthy skin and mucous membranes, and even protects the lungs and mouth from developing cancer. Tannins, which are flavonoids as well as polyphenolic antioxidants, fight infection and inflammation and help, prevent excessive bleeding (anti-hemorrhagic). Vitamin K is a blood coagulant that also helps metabolize your bones. Copper, magnesium, manganese, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), niacin, pantothenic acid, and riboflavin are also present in dates and provide their own unique preventive and healing functions. Together, these cofactors help your body metabolize carbohydrates, protein, and fats. Eating dates in moderation can contribute to many health benefits, such as protecting against damage to cells from free radicals, help to prevent a stroke, coronary heart disease and the development of colon, prostate, breast, endometrial, lung, and pancreatic cancers.

Also Read: Food for thought

2. Cacao

Cacao best natural sources of antioxidants, iron, magnesium and zinc

Cacao is one of the best natural sources of antioxidants, iron, magnesium and zinc. Zinc is an important trace mineral important for better immune function. Anandamide which can naturally boost your mood & create a sense of elation; it can also boost serotonin levels in the brain which is another feel-good chemical, these chemicals can then boost brain calming hormones that can relax us if we are feeling stressed & restore feelings of well-being. Flavanols that boast anti-inflammatory health benefits as well as complex antioxidants also known as polyphenols. Flavanols & polyphenols can protect against cardiovascular disease, reduce the risk of stroke, improve blood circulation, reduce “bad” cholesterol & prevent hardening of arteries. Polyphenols antioxidants can also protect our cells from premature oxidation or destruction & help us look & feel younger for longer.

Also Read: Indian Hemp: Neglected Pharmacological Treasure Trove

3. Ginger

Ginger is a powerhouse root veggie that’s packed with medicinal qualities

Raw ginger root is used both in cooking and in herbal medicine. Ginger is a powerhouse root veggie that’s packed with medicinal qualities such as antimicrobial properties and anti-nausea benefits. Additionally, a chemical in ginger called Gingerol helps decrease inflammation and blocks nerve pathways that process pain. Consuming ginger may help limit nausea and motion sickness and may help treat arthritis by decreasing inflammation. It also contains small amounts of fiber, essential vitamins and minerals, but due to the small amount usually consumed in any given meal, it is unlikely to greatly affect your nutrient intake. Macro nutrients – one-fourth cup of ginger contains 19 calories, 0.2 grams of fat, 0.4 grams of protein and 4.3 grams of carbohydrate, including 0.5 grams of fiber. Higher consumption may cause heartburn,stomach upset and diarrhea and may interfere with certain medications, including blood thinners, diabetes medication and blood pressure medications. Vitamins – eating 1/4-cup of raw ginger would provide you with 2% of the daily value for both vitamin B-6 and vitamin C, as well as smaller amounts of niacin, riboflavin, folate, thiamine and vitamin E. Vitamin B-6 is necessary for metabolism, immune function and red blood cell function, and vitamin C is important for healing wounds and for limiting damage to your cells from free radicals. Minerals – while one-fourth cup of raw ginger only provides very small amounts of iron, calcium, phosphorus and zinc; it contains 3% of the DV for magnesium and potassium. Magnesium is used for metabolism, forming proteins and muscle and nerve function, and potassium helps lower blood pressure levels and maintain proper heart and digestive function.

Also Read: Study: Increasing Protein and Dairy Intake Reduce Burden of Diabetes

4. Spinach

Low in calories rich in minerals, vitamins, antioxidants and omega 3 fatty acids

Spinach’s nutritional value indicates that it is extremely nutrient dense. It is low in calories yet rich in minerals, vitamins, antioxidants and omega 3 fatty acids. Spinach is also loaded with flavonoids which act as antioxidants and can protect the body from free radicals which is an essential health benefit all year round, but especially during winter when we are more likely to catch cold or flu. The iron rich food can also improve energy levels as iron is an important component of haemoglobin which transports oxygen to the body cells.

Also Read: Can Millets Be the Answer to India’s Nutritional Problems?

5. Carrot

This crunchy veggie carries vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, iron, and potassium, all of which are important for fighting off germs during cold and flu season

This root vegetable contains high amounts of beta carotene which the body converts into vitamin A. Vitamin A is a key nutrient in the immune function, helping to protect against infection and reduce the risk and duration of respiratory illness by keeping our lungs healthy. It is an excellent food to protect the skin from ageing. Carrots also contain loads of vitamin A for healthy eyes, on top of fiber for good digestion. Plus, this crunchy veggie carries vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, iron, and potassium, all of which are important for fighting off germs during cold and flu season.

Also Read: Healthy Lives: Everyone, Everywhere

6. Pomegranate

Pomegranate may have heart health benefits by improving your cholesterol profile and protecting LDL (bad) cholesterol from oxidation

Pomegranates are rich in vitamin C and contain folate, vitamin K and potassium. There is some research to suggest that pomegranate may have to heart health benefits by improving your cholesterol profile and protecting LDL (bad) cholesterol from oxidation.

Also Read: Importance of Nutrition for Improving Academic Score

7. Cinnamon

Ground cinnamon is a good source of calcium and iron

Ground cinnamon is a good source of calcium and iron, which are required for good immunity and maintaining healthy red blood cell production. Research suggests this spice may also help to lower blood sugar levels.

Also Read: Regular consumption of fruits cuts death risk

About the author

Nidhi Dhawan is a dietitian with experience of 21 years in the field. Ms. Dhawan practices at Diet Zone, Delhi. With BSc in Home Science from Lady Irwin college, DDPHN from IHE, Delhi and Diploma in Preventive & Promotive Healthcare from Apollo Hospitals, she is a lifetime member of Indian Dietetic Association. Her expertise is therapeutic diets like chronic kidney disease, coronary artery disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, polycystic ovary disorder, diabetes type 1 and 2, chronic liver disease, jaundice, weight management, kids and infants nutrition etc.

The post Super Foods For Your Diet This Winter appeared first on InnoHEALTH magazine.

New Age Solutions for Diabetic Care

InnoHEALTH Magazine — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 10:47:37 +0000

Diabetes may not have a medically approved cure yet, but it sure can be turned a few knobs down with a well-balanced diet, regular exercise, and medication. Of course, one should follow a doctor’s advice for a lifestyle change. In the real world though, you look longingly at those French fries and convince yourself a few wouldn’t harm. Or you hit the snooze button and tell yourself, I will go for that long run tomorrow. And on and on you go, till your next visit to the Principal’s office, aka your doctor, where you hope miraculously for an improved report card. You are not alone my friend. Sticking to a regime requires discipline or an occasional reminder from your wellwishers (if you were me). A sight towards your goal and how far you have come in conquering it help matters further. Thankfully, plenty of new-age start-ups are here to make diabetes management and lifestyle changes easier.

Take for instance Life In Control and Wellthy Therapeutics. These digital platforms connect patients with doctors and coaches and provide personalized care in terms of diet and exercise plan. Users can create long-term health goals, follow-up daily tasks and keep tabs on their health profile including HbA1C and glucose levels, track medicines intake and understand how their daily routine affect these measures. These start-ups also give doctors the flexibility of reaching out to patients outside their clinical hours as well as to create and coach them on their personalized care plans. In the language of numbers, Life In Control has over 100 doctors on the platform and appears to have helped over a lakh patient with their app. Wellthy Therapeutics took the approach of a pilot program with diabetic patients and claims to have helped reduce both HbA1C levels by a little over 1% and an average weight reduction of 3.4 kgs over 16 weeks. It also got an endorsement by Asia’s largest diabetes association, Research Society for the Study of Diabetes in India. Both the apps are available for download on Android and iOS platforms.

Adding to the growing list of startups are those that detect blood glucose and connect directly to your smartphone. BioSense SYNC, for instance, is a compact Glucometer with Bluetooth connectivity to a user’s phone. It provides a detailed analysis of blood sugar data collected over a number of days. Similar to other diabetes management apps, a user can map their glucose data with their eating and exercising habits. Taking these interventions a step further, the start-up BeatO not only provides a smartphone Glucometer but also a range of diabetic friendly food products to munch upon. Patients can order medicines, sync their fitness devices and count calories on food items consumed. As of today, BeatO has served more than 25000 customers with a daily user add-on of 75-100. Most of these diabetes management apps can instantly connect a patient to a diabetic coach in case the sugar levels are off, and alert the patient’s family as well on concerning trends.

Complimenting these health management gurus, patients are also likely to benefit if there were devices providing at home diagnosis for diabetic complications, such as neuropathy, kidney malfunction or diabetic retinopathy. Scintiglo by Cutting Edge Medical Devices, Anupath by PathShodh and Sparsha by Yostra Labs have created Point of Care (PoC) tests to detect the first two complications. Scintiglo is a small handheld device that detects urinary proteins (should be trace levels in a healthy individual) at a low cost with remarkable accuracy and connects to a smartphone through a custom app. Anupath uses unique test strips for detection of specific biomarkers of diabetes, while also eliminating the need of usual sample preparation that one sees in clinics. Patients can get a comprehensive reading of their plasma and urine protein levels, HbA1c levels blood glucose and hemoglobin. While Sparsha, as the name suggests, focuses on touch-based tests that can diagnose diabetic peripheral neuropathy and send reports via users’ smartphone. Funded by the Department of Biotechnology grant (BIRAC), these start-ups focus on low-cost solutions, so an average user can save money on constant check-ups. Low costs also allow these start-ups to cater to rural segments of India, where a healthcare worker can refer patients to tertiary hospitals based on initial reports by these devices.

The complication of retinopathy, as mentioned above, relates to the slowly progressive disease of the eye and is one of the leading causes of blindness in diabetic patients. This segment is addressed by start-ups like ChironX and Artelus that use artificial intelligence to detect or monitor diabetic retinopathy risks from retinal image scans. Both the start-ups have achieved high accuracy of detection (over 95%) while the technology of AI confers an easy benefit of scanning retinas at a much faster speed to doctors and hospitals. Artelus also boasts to have saved over 3900 eyes so far from diabetic complications.

Given the burden of diabetes in every aspect of life (behavioral, physiological and financial), being handheld into recovery could be motivating for many patients. For maximum impact, we need to reach the furthest demographic corners of India, as diabetes has a growing prevalence in all sectors of the country. Infact, why wait for diabetes to knock at your door? One can also mitigate pre-diabetic conditions or reduce the chances of developing diabetes later in life. These start-ups aim to provide that ecosystem, where a patient can be led into an improved, healthy lifestyle at minimal costs. And just as it is heartening to see the growing awareness of Indians towards their health, it is equally imperative that these solutions are also as democratic as possible. Importantly in a booming start-up scenario, maintaining data integrity, complete transparency between doctors, patients and companies as well as strict adherence to ethical standards would go a long way in ensuring patient trust in this system.

About the author

Urvashi (Raheja) Bhattacharyya is a Biomedical Science graduate from Delhi University and a Ph.D. from National Centre for Biological Sciences. When not running behind her toddler, she spends time reading stuff about the brain, AI, ML, and latest innovations. Writing keeps her calm.

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InnoHEALTH Magazine | Volume 4 Issue 1 | Innovation in Diabetes – Unmet Needs
Highlights

Exclusive interview of H.E Klas Molin, Ambassador of Sweden to India on “Sweden-India collaboration in the health sector”
Digital healthcare
DISHA: Need of the hour. How crucial is DISHA (Act) for the healthcare industry?

The post New Age Solutions for Diabetic Care appeared first on InnoHEALTH magazine.

Keeping hospitals in the best of health

InnoHEALTH Magazine — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 06:08:23 +0000

Hospitals will remain at the core of healthcare and with good quality medical facilities limited to corporate hospitals or a few of the government run large hospitals, altering the health map of the country has to start from the hospital premises.

Keynote Address: Dr. S. Venkataramanaiah
Moderator: Dr. Sandeep Bhalla
Panelists
• Dr. Santana Biswas
• Dr. Tarun Marole
• Dr. Mukesh Taneja
• M V Amaresh Kumar

Hospitals in India play a vital role in healthcare with most of the high-end medical facilities available only at the hospitals. But these large institutes are very far away from the masses as more than 70 percent of the Indian population lives in rural areas. That leads to a reality that medical facilities must go beyond hospitals, with an innovative approach, to serve the masses and make India a healthy place.

Addressing the issue as keynote speaker, Professor Krishnan from IIM, shed light on the management aspect of innovations and spelled out the needs of the industry for the sake of ensuring that all innovations become a reality and benefit the masses.

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In his words, he said, “Innovations in healthcare must consider three aspects: Begin with identifying core functionalities of equipment without having to sacrifice on the safety aspect. Secondly, start from scratch. Build upwards and incorporate all the technical features that you feel are essential to the product; downscaling features will not necessarily downscale your cost; lastly, collaborate and team up with others who will complement your product, effort and intentions. There’s no one entity that has all the knowledge and resources to develop any product in its entirety. So build up on sound partnerships using complementary technology and process.”

In support of the view, Dr. S. Venkataramanaiah highlighted data usage as one of the most effective tools to implement an innovative approach for spreading good health. He said, “Data clearly indicates that there’s a huge demand for private players in the health sector. Everyone is and needs to be medically insured and ensured of good health by private or a government body. On the other hand, healthcare has some major deficiencies like availability of medical help at anytime and anywhere. Like you have roadside assistance available all over the country, such a facility for health and medical urgencies is still not available.

“So innovative approach in production, processing, delivering service or business management is the answer to finding solutions to new challenges faced in the health sector,” he said

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In a more myopic approach to the topic of distance solutions Dr. Mukesh Taneja shared some startling data from the WHO.

“According to World Health Organization’s 2010 data 285 million people are visually impaired; 90 percent of these are in the developing world; and 80 percent of these are preventable,” he said.

And speaking of India, 70 percent of the population lives in rural areas, however 90 percent of the medical facilities are located in urban areas. So, there’s a huge gap between the care providers and the population who they should be reaching. And we believe that telemedicine – a very innovative approach — is the answer to bridge this gap. Eye problems can more effectively be pictured and online imaging of affected eye can easily be examined and diagnosed by a distant located ophthalmologist.
“We, at LV Prasad Eye Institute, extensively use this telemedicine platform and are reaching out to the rural population with the help of health workers and specially trained technicians who operate our remotely located Vision Centers.”

The next panelist, Dr. Santanu Biswas, from the UAE shared his international perspective and said, “If you are to work on remote distance technology, you cannot work in isolation. You choose partners in technology, data procurement and delivery system. This means your dependence on your partners is even more critical as you depend on their credibility, technical compatibility and similar intentions. This is the reason that even though we have been talking about digital health and e-health; but other than the fact that it’s been a buzzword for the last 15 years, it has not become a well-charted module. We are still talking about the concept and exploring innovations that will truly support the telemedicine or e-health platform. This is because we are trying to marry and merge a conventional health system with an imposed telemedicine process.”

Concluding his views on the subject he summed it up saying, “I think we need to rediscover a totally new innovative approach to telemedicine, which will use innovative technology, innovative approach and an all-new processing and delivery system. And this will evolve, as this is the future.”

Dr. Tarun Ramole, speaking in the role of an investor and entrepreneur spoke candidly about the business aspect of telemedicine. In his opinion, Telemedicine, as a business is a very lucrative platform. The gap between the resources and the users remains very high and in a country like India is not going to be easy to fill that.

“Telemedicine will be a very reliable option to bridge the gap and that makes it a very viable business option. But, like most businesses, telemedicine also has challenges that are very unique. Starting with, most start-ups end up replicating what is already there in the market “with improvisations”. What we need is new solutions and not improved solutions. You must think innovatively to innovate things,” he concluded his opinion with a very upfront approach on the subject.

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“We need to understand mechanism of disease. Innovations are needed in the management of acute illness. You also need data to apply biotechnology at its best and develop guidelines. Especially for contagious diseases, we need to keep track of various demographic realities on ground through good quality data that should be available to medical experts, without any corruption in the data. What is required is a simple device available at the location and operational without the need of any complex operations.”

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Technology is available in your pocket for your good heal. Starting with your smart phone, by which you can count the steps you take and the calories that you burn in a day, innovation hence has already become part of our life and we our using technology of today with very innovative approach and amazing outcomes.

“Even the shortage of doctors or specialists is taken care of by telemedicine or long distance consultation, he said”

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Cost is the most important element to determine easy diagnostics and cheap diagnostics. With that intent, we started our lab for local operations in Varanasi. With the advancement of biotechnology and implementation of biotechnology, we have developed some very affordable tools and devices to test and analyse clinical tests. Initially it was done locally in Varanasi with support from Banaras Hindu University, but our results also received encouraging support from doctors and specialists at All India Institute of Medical Medical Sciences in Delhi.”

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