Protect your BONES

Osteoporosis is a disease that damages the bones, weakens them and makes them brittle and breakable. There is a significant decrease in bone density, and this causes the bone to weaken and increases the risk of fractures.

Our bones are always building and breaking down bone tissue, when the balance between building and breaking is changed, then the bone density goes down. With age, this problem has a horrible way of increasing in occurrence.

Before you are 10 Golden Rules for the treatment and prevention of decreasing bone density:

1. Yes, you guessed it - Physical activity.
Physical activity, besides being the best thing you can do for yourselves, helps the bones become denser by putting pressure on them, which may prevent the disease to begin with. We recommend using weights.

2. Increase your calcium intake - Good sources: Green leaves, soy, sardines, broccoli and nuts. Regular bovine milk isn't that good a source of calcium because of its low absorption rate.

3. Increase your omega 3 intake - These fatty acids can be found in flax seeds of fish: Salmon, cod, and halibut - and are essential to keeping your bones strong.

4. Reduce caffeine and alcohol intake - Sorry, but coffee and alcohol 'release' calcium from the bones and damage the hormonal balance in the body important to keep them strong.

5. Reduce red meat - Seems like we're taking all the fun out of lunch, but eating red meat actually reduces the absorption of calcium in the body.

6. No smoking - Cigarette smoke damages bone density.

7. Eat nuts and almonds - These contain magnesium which is essential to the process of absorbing calcium.

8. Get at least 15 minutes of sun exposure a day - Exposing your skin to the sun a few minutes a day is the best way of getting your vitamin D, which function as a sort of glue and helps keep the bone density up.

9. Eat sunflower seeds - Contain zinc, a key mineral for maintaining strong bones.

10. Make sure you're not lacking in these elements, and take according to professional opinion: Boron, Silicone, vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, vitamin B12, vitamin B6 and folic acid.
by
Dr.Akshaya Srikanth, PharmD.

Young Indians at a greater risk of hypertension

A pan – India survey, conducted by Metropolis Healthcare Ltd ahead of ‘Hypertension Day’ showed a majority of people between 30 to 40 years have alarming LDL cholesterol levels. The survey conducted by Metropolis covered major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. Out of the total 10738 lipid profiles done, 25% to 30 % have high Bad Cholesterol (Total Cholesterol, LDL and Triglycerides) and are at a higher risk of acquiring cardiovascular diseases. This could be partly attributed to corporate stress, unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle which reflect in the higher LDL cholesterol levels. Also observed was that a fairly substantial number of youngsters examined during the survey have showed the first signs of the onset of a heart ailment — hyper cholesterol and hypertension. 

Individuals have become more aware of the fact that heart disease is not just a disease of the elderly and are now a lot more determined to go a long-way in combating this disease. Calling for regular screening of unhealthy cholesterol and lipid levels, researchers at Metropolis said surveys such as the one conducted would help identify people who are at a greater risk of Hypertension. Preventive measures are required so as to reduce obesity, increasing physical activity, decreasing the salt intake of the population and a concerted effort to promote awareness about hypertension and related risk behaviours. 

The statistics below clearly indicate that young people in the age group 30-40 have high cholesterol, LDL and triglyceride levels and as a result are at a greater risk of hypertension.

by

Dr.Akshaya Srikanth, PharmD., MPH