•    Watch your minerals intake: Studies have established that some minerals like potassium, an electrolyte that helps in maintaining body’s balance of salt and fluids, helps in ensuring normal blood pressure. Potassium can be found in fruits and vegetables, legumes and dairy products.

•    Medical fraternity believes there is a link between calcium deficiency and hypertension. There adequate intake of calcium becomes necessary.

•    Garlic: Recent studies have provided results of garlic intake as part of your diet helps in reducing blood pressure.

Apart from diet, in order to maintain normal blood pressure, other life style changes needs to be induced. You need to choose now between walking daily in a garden and start walking endlessly to your doctor later on. Any form of exercise according to your stamina and age is fine. You can choose vigorous exercises like going to gym and doing aerobic exercise, or swim or do few kilometers of cycling daily if you are young. Alternatively, you can just walk around the beach or garden while chatting with your friends if you are old. The underlying point here is to do the minimum basic workout required to keep your heart healthy and keeping your blood pressure normal.

Another deadly habit is smoking. There has been lot of global awareness on this count and now the authorities have started banning smoking in offices and public places. Make sure you quit on this habit or else be prepared to quit life. There can be no alternative than to eliminate this habit altogether.

Reduce Stress. Longer the stresses in you, chances are longer the impact on your blood pressure. If something or some event is really bothering you, why can’t you find solutions and make best of the given situation than to unduly worry about it. There is a tolerance limit for everything in life. Your body has enormous capacity to withstand shocks and pressures, but beyond a point, it starts to break. Make sure you are giving your body complete rest and not abusing it. Just like you take care of your precious car so that it does not make you stranded midway, make sure you do not overload your body and mind at any point of time.

If you are above 40, it is time to have a periodical check up for your blood pressure. Any underlying symptoms can be detected early and thus you will save yourself from lot of unwanted complications later on. If you are diganoised with hypertension, make sure you follow your doctor’s advice and take the required medication regularly. A simple harmless pill, which your doctor advises you, will allow you to lead a normal life. Do not underestimate the potential of that pill for god’s sake.

To summarize, below is the nutshell of what has been discussed in Part 1 and Part 2 of this article.

•    Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits.
•    Limit canned and processed foods especially which are more salty and having fat contents.
•    Limit or avoid alcohol and caffeine
•    Keep your weight down
•    Watch your mineral intake
•    Quit smoking
•    Exercise daily
•    Reduce stress
•    Have periodical check up
•    Follow medications and other advice from your doctor.

I hope after reading this, you would try to improve your quality of life by keeping normal blood pressure.

However, minimum sensibility and modification of our life style habits would surely go a long way to prevent as well as control your blood pressure. Let us discuss some of the key steps as below:

•    Limit your salt intake: Your diet can act as a friend as well as enemy in maintaining your blood pressure. A high salt diet makes your condition worse. Sodium present in salt is directly responsible for increasing your blood pressure. Older people and people suffering from heart disease or diabetes should be particularly watched how much salt they consume. As such, there are different opinions about the exact measurement of salt that one can consume per day.  Hence, the lower the better in general. Of course, food without salt would not make your taste buds happy. Therefore, the best way to reduce salt consumption is to avoid certain type of processed  foods with high sodium content, pickles and other salty foods. You can also start the habit of NOT adding further salt in your dining table to any of your favorite recipes.

•    Keep your weight low :  Being overweight contributes to hypertension. If you do want to live, a long, healthy life one of your primary concerns should be to watch your weight. The best thing would be to prevent you being obese first and then exercise. Instead, make exercise as a part of your routine life. Let the excuse of having NO time take the back seat. I am sure you will agree that you have to live first and that too in healthy manner before all other priorities in life. In case, you are already overweight, seek help of a good professional who will train you to specially to loose your weight as well recommend you suitable diet.

•    Consume less fat:   Diet, which is rich in fat only, leads to weight gain and high blood pressure. Therefore, cut down your diet, which have more fat contents. I know it is painful to leave out those mouth-watering recipes made out of butter, cheese and other dairy products. However, you will agree with me that it is better to consume less than be in a position where you cannot even touch it later on.

•    Reduce caffeine and alcohol consumption: Drinking too much of alcohol or caffeine, products contribute to hypertension. Although studies have established that  daily intake of a glass of wine or other alcoholic drinks actual reduces the risk of heart attack, consuming more will remove these benefits and only add to you woes of maintaining your blood pressure.

There are further few key points to remember and follow which is being discussed
in Part-2 of this article.

• Wear long sleeved clothes and socks: This is necessary if you want to expose your body to the minimum to the bedding of the hotel.  Wearing long clothes and socks will allow minimum contact.
• Light an incense stick or a scented candle: This will help in enhancing the mood in the room and provide some stress-relieving aromatherapy. However, do this only if it suits you and make sure you light of the candle before you go to sleep.
• Pack a family photograph: Pack a photograph of someone you love before you go to the trip. This is necessary  because you might feel home sick staying away in an unknown place.
• Carry your own alarm system: Carry your own alarm with good batteries instead of depending on the hotel. You can then sleep peacefully with a secure feeling.
• Pack a pair of rubber thongs and slippers: This should be used in the bathroom to prevent fungal or other infections. You never know when the bathroom was cleaned enough to prevent these germs.
• Keep away from the hot tubs: I am sure you are not going to like this piece of advice. Most of the times, we find people suffering from various infections like bronchitis or pneumonia immediately after the trip from the hotel. A bathtub can be a breeding place for all bacteria and virus because of its ideal moist conditions.
• Beware of two insects, the Bed bugs and the Mosquitoes:  Make sure on this count. You do not want to get up in the middle of the night with that itchy feeling.
• Maintain personal hygiene: Treat your stay at the hotel as if you are staying at your home. No doubt, the hotel staff will give you all the service of cleaning and other requirements, but you need to remind them quite often for your own good. The difference is you  being adamant of not compromising on certain personal hygiene issues under any cost.

And yes, though not on health front make sure to always give contacts to the hotel staff in writing: Make it a point for either you or the front desk operator do not speak about your room number or other contact details loud enough so that they can be heard by strangers.  Also let them be aware of immediate contact numbers of your family members and friends so that they can contact them in case of unforeseen emergency.

This article is not intended to frighten you about the harmful effects of staying in a hotel. Instead, it is aimed to make you aware of the basic things you should be doing so that you do not face any health hazards.  After all, you have every right to be physically and mentally healthy. You will then cherish all those pleasant memories of your brief stay at a hotel.

I am listing out the first 7 steps below which could guide you for staying safe in Hotels. The remaining 8 steps follow in the Part-2 of this article. 

• Choose a decent hotel : All good hotels need not be expensive if you are conscious of only the price factor. You may land in a hotel with less facilities but it is anyway better than motels.
• Bring your own sheets: It is always better to use your own sheets so that you can be sure it is clean and germ free. There make sure you pack these sheets in your packing kit before you leave for your dream vacation.
• Prefer room at  above third floors: This has two advantages. Firstly, you have relatively good atmosphere and can breathe in good air as pollution decreases as you go top. Secondly, most thefts occur in the first two floors, However, make sure you do not take a room higher than seventh floor, so that you wont have any difficulty in coming out of the hotel during an emergency situation like fire.
• Choose modern recent hotels over the old-fashioned ones:  Of course, it would be ideal to stay in old-fashioned hotels giving that touch of romance and personal touches. And that too if you are on a vacation with your to be partner. However, remember, most old historical hotels have one common problem of allergens and dust accumulated over years. Therefore, choose modern hotels over the old one.
• Demand allergy-free and odourless room: Do not ask the hotel staff to pre-spray some perfumes, which could cause allergy to you. Also, make sure to make a special and stern request of giving you a room that is allergen- free. After you check in , you can always choose to spray room fresheners of your choice.
• Choose hotel having swimming pool and exercise room: If your duration at the hotel is going to be long, always go for hotels having swimming pools. A half an hour swim at the pool will not keep you fit but also help you to relax your stiff muscles after traveling. Alternatively, a good cardiac workout at the inbuilt gym of the hotel will make your vacation or your trip more successful.
• Bed is meant for sleeping:  Most people who stay in hotels have bad habit of doing daily activities like eating,  or playing games of cards on the bed. You need to maintain hygiene and use bed only for sleeping. Of course, there is no harm in relaxing and watching movies from the bed.

The remaining 8 steps follows in Part -2 of this article. Hope you will benefit from these guidelines.

Bronchitis is a disease associated with our respiratory system. Bronchitis occurs due to inflammation of the mucous membrane of the bronchial passages in the lungs. The tiny air passages are blocked or narrowed due to swollen and inflammation of the membranes, which causes long, spells of coughing accompanied by breathlessness and phlegm.

Different Types of Bronchitis

There are two main types in Bronchitis

• Acute Bronchitis : This does not last more than 4-6 weeks
• Chronic Bronchitis : This is recurring and occurs frequently over two years.

Symptoms of Bronchitis:

Common cold, sore throat, running nose, muscular pain and fatigue are the first signs of Bronchitis. However, most of the people do not  take these symptoms seriously initially, as they are mostly related to common cold. The onset of acute bronchitis takes place when dry cough accompanies the above. White colored mucous generally indicates viral infection whereas yellow or green signifies attack of bacteria.

When bronchitis attack gets severe, it is accompanied by fever (upto 101 – 102 deg F) which lasts for 4-6 days. However, coughing persists even after the fever subsides and can last for quite number of weeks, months or even years.

To summarize, the main symptoms of Bronchitis are :

• Long spells of  dry cough accompanied by mucus
• Shortness of breath followed by wheezing while breathing
• Chances of high fever
• Overall fatigue and loss of energy

Causes of Bronchitis

Bronchitis occurs mainly due to virus or bacterial infections. When these germs reside and nurture in the membranes of the bronchial passages, the complications arise. Moreover, this can be triggered of by common factors such as tobacco smoke or smell of some strong odors, inhaling fumes or dust,  cold air etc.

Treating Bronchitis

Most bronchitis cannot be treated effectively as they are usually caused by viral infection.  When your doctor finds that there is also bacterial infection involved, he prescribes antibiotics.

On your part, the initial bronchitis treatment includes 

• Giving your body complete rest and allow the immune system to fight out the virus and bacteria.
• Drinking plenty of fluids
• Staying away from irritants like smoke, dust or fumes
• Quit Smoking
• Medication as advised by your doctor.

Most doctors do not give medications for suppressing cough. Cough , in fact helps to remove the irritants from the lungs and  air passages. Therefore, intake of cough medicine should be limited just enough to get rest and sleep during night. Of course, your doctor prescribes cough medicine if he finds that you are having a very bad cough and no mucus.

When you are suffering from bronchitis,  it is also advisable to consult your doctor before getting vaccinated against yearly flu shot and pneumonia .

Asthma and bronchitis is not a healthy combination and only leads to more complication. People suffering from both these diseases needs to be very careful and take all precautions to eliminate these diseases.

Bronchitis cannot be cured by medication alone. Medication only helps in giving you relief from those nasty coughs. But you can definitely make sure that your immune system is strong enough to make early exit of these virus and bacteria from our body.  To have a stronger immune system, eat healthy foods with plenty of vegetables and fruits and of course, do not forget to make exercise as part of your daily routine.

All vital functions in our body like digestion, absorption and transport of nutrients, getting rid of wastes and toxins and regulation of body temperature is NOT possible without water. Besides the above functions, water is involved in many complex chemical processes in our body and also plays a key role in protective cushion for body cells and builds up of all body tissues and is the base of all blood and fluid secretions like gastric juices, saliva, tears etc. It keeps our skin soft and smooth and act as a lubricant in our joints and other organs. You could very well see that in almost all bodily functions, water has some role to play.

How much water do we all need ?

As a thumb rule, medical science confirms that intake of water should be equal to what is being excreted. From a common person’s point of view, generally 6 to 8 glasses of water is essential. However, it depends on various situations. For example, you may require more water in hot weather than at winter. Again, if you have excreted water by perspiration due to heavy work out or any other vigorous actions, you may need to drink more water. Fortunately, at most times, we do not need to keep a constant reminder in our mind as to when to drink water. There is an inbuilt mechanism where the body auto signals for water by way of thirst. If you drink more fluid that what your body actually needs , the kidneys  come into action by excreting excess volume of water by way of urine. If you further drink more water more than your kidneys can handle, then it is absorbed by the cells.

You need to make sure you drink not only enough water but also pure water to stay healthy. However, most of us are unaware about the contamination involved in water.

Water may be contaminated due to

•    Industrial waters, pesticides, chemicals, toxins like nuclear wastes getting mixed along with our drinking water
•    Chlorine: Though it is deliberately used to destroy disease-causing bacteria, chlorine can combine with many other organic matters like trihalomethanes, which is directly linked to bladder or colon cancer.
•    Parasites due to sewage and animal wastes when seeps through the leaky pipes to our drinking water can be poisonous and harmful
•    It is no secret Lead a toxic metal gets its way along with water through rusty pipers and other storage tanks. Moreover, the exposure is more when such pipes or tanks get heated. Make it a point to drink only cold water coming from the pipe after initially allowing letting go of the hot water.

While there are many other points to discuss, this article is aimed to make sure that you know the level of purity of the water you drink. If necessary, get your water tested in a reputed laboratory to know its contents and a home based water filter is a MUST for every household. This may not possibly remove all the harmful contents, but will definitely reduce such intake.

The next time you intentionally throw a glass of water away, just remember how precious it is to you and your life!

We all know how important are vitamins to our body. The body can function only if there is adequate amount of all types of vitamins. As with anything else, anything excess of intake of viatmins also causes problems.

Let me try to give you a ready list reckoner of most required vitamins in our body.

Vitamin A: They are found in Orange and yellow fruits, vegetables such as carrots, squash and leafy green vegetables. They can be also found in liver, egg yolks, milk and dairy products. Vitamin A prevents night blindness and is needed for growth and cell development, maintains healthy skin, hair and nails, teeth and bones. Studies have also revealed it is useful for prevention of lung cancer.

Vitamin D: They are found mainly in milk and butter, fish and egg yolks. Vitamin D is also self produced by the body when exposed to sun.

They are necessary for calcium absorption and helps build strong teeth and bones.

Vitamin K: You will find vitamin K in abundance in spinach , cabbage , green tea and other green leafy vegetables. They play an important role in proper blood clotting.

Vitamin E: This is yet another important vitamin, which is found in egg, vegetable oils, nuts and seeds. They not only help in maintaining muscles but red blood cells but also act as an antioxidant.

Apart from the above vitamins, which are termed as fat-soluble vitamins, there are other set of vitamins, which comes under the water-soluble class. They are:

Vitamin C : These are found in all citrus fruits and juices, melons, berries, potatoes, broccoli and other fruits and vegetables. They are required for strengthening blood vessel walls and promote wound healing. They also help in iron absorption and prevent atherosclerosis.

Vitamin B12 : They can be found only in animal products. The nervous system depends a lot on this vitamin. They are essential to make red blood cells, DNA, RNA and myelin.

Vitamin B1 (Thiamine): They are found in Pork, legumes, nuts, seeds and grains. They help to maintain digestion, appetite and proper nerve function. They also play a key role in energy metabolism.

Vitamin B2 : Riboflavin or vitamin B2 is found in fortified cereals and grains, lean meat, milk and other dairy products. They aid in adreneal function and are required for energy metabolism.

Vitamin B5: They are found in almost all foods and helps in normalizing blood sugar levels, cholesterol, hemoglobin and some hormones.

Vitamin B6 is found in meat, fish and poultry grains, green leafy vegetables and soyabeans. They are known for synthesis of red blood cells, metabolism of carbohydrates and release of energy.

Vitamin B3 (Niacin): They promote lower cholesterol and normal growth. They can be found in lean meats, eggs, legumes, fortified bread and cereals.

Biotin is a vitamin mainly found egg yolks, soyabeans, cereals and yeast. They play a major role in energy metabolism.

Folate vitamin is found in broccoli, yeast and liver and many raw vegetables. They are needed to make DNA, RNA and red blood cells. They are also required to synthesize certain amino acids.

This gives you a basic idea about the role and importance of vitamins. You do not necessarily need to think each time you eat. However, if you stick to a healthy and balanced diet, which includes lots of leafy vegetables and fruits, you can help your body by giving it these vital vitamins. If you do have unhealthy food habits and relish only junk foods having no nutritional value, you could end up in severe complications for lack of one or several vitamins. There eat wisely and live happily.

We all suffer from common cold number of times during our life period. Though not serious, it affects our daily activities and that “feel good” factor goes missing. You definitely won’t feel to do anything with that running nose, headaches, cough or even fever due to common cold.

Common cold is actually a contagious viral disease and does not have a remedy or a vaccine. Medical science confirms there is no cure for the common cold. However, we can certainly follow simple remedies to tackle the symptoms of common cold. This can give us a huge relief while we are suffering from it.

• One needs to improve the immune system. Stronger the immune system, chances of catching common cold and other diseases are less. Vitamin C helps build up the immune system.

Vitamin C is found in many fruits and vegetables like orange, grapefruit,
strawberries, tomato, broccoli, potato, sweet red pepper , cabbage, lemon, spinach,
papaya.

• If you are a fan of drinking tea like me, here is some good news. Drink ginger tea with lemon to fight common cold. Not only does this provide relief in nasal congestion but also lemon being source of vitamin C acts as a booster to your immune system.

• Get rid of the mucus being accumulated in your nose. Blow your nose periodically as and when you feel your nose is being congested. Close one side of your nostril with your thumb and blow from the other. Repeat the same procedure with the other side of the nostril as well.

• Studies have proved that eating yogurt regularly helps in gaining some amount of immunity to the common cold virus.

• Take plenty of rest. For many people who work like very hard all day and night, common cold actually acts as a blessing in disguise. They are compelled to take rest and in the process, they get recharged and de-stressed once this uncomfortable phase of common cold is over. Of course, I am not implying that one should suffer from common cold so that they are forced to take rest. However, relaxation definitely helps once you catch common cold.

• Gargling with salt and warm water at least 4 to 5 times a day helps to provide relief from sore throat symptoms during common cold.

• No medication is going to cure common cold. However, you can definitely natural remedies, which have been used successfully by many generations before us. Some of these include Bee balm, Elderberry extract, Echinacea and many more.

• As it is contagious, make sure to wash your hands regularly and maintain extra hygiene. This will ensure your family or friends do not catch this disease from you.

If your immune system is good and if you are lucky, common cold just takes about 7 days to vanish. However, for many, it lasts beyond 7 days and can extend up to 14 days.

There is nothing to panic about common cold. However, when it comes to infants or small kids, you need to take special care and see that maximum relief is provided. After all kids are innocent, they are yet to learn all about nose congestion. Do not hesitate to consult a doctor if you find some complications along with common cold.

Many of us have faced irregular bowel moments at one time or other. But for those who have permanent problems of not being able to attend the nature’s call regularly and comfortably, this condition is called constipation.

What causes constipation ?

Generally, our large intestine or colon absorbs water from the food while it forms the waste products or stool. Muscle contractions by colon compel these waste products down towards the rectum. By the time it reaches the rectum, the stool becomes solid, as most of the water has been absorbed.

However, when water is absorbed in excess by the colon, the muscle contractions becomes very slow and hence causes the stool to move with difficulty and at very slow pace. Therefore, the end result is that these waste products become hard and dry.

Common causes of constipation

One of the main reasons for constipation is the lack of enough fibre in our diet. Other common reasons are :

• Lack of physical activity
• Poor lifestyle habits. This includes choosing irregular periods to attend nature’s call and ignoring the urge to have a bowel movement.
• Medications
• Some abnormal or unusual changes from our routine life such as pregnancy, traveling at odd times or old age
• Dehydration
• Diseases of the intestine, colon or rectum or conditions such as stroke or irritable bowel syndrome.

What you should do to prevent constipation

Whenever, we talk about any disease, it is often accompanied by two things diet and exercise. Note and register these two points very carefully to your brain. If you do want a robust healthy life, make sure you have proper diet and enough physical activity.

If you are suffering from constipation, better look at what you are eating. Most of us are slaves to our taste buds and ignore the after effects of eating processed and refined foods. Of course, moderation in these types of foods will not or does very little harm. The problem arises when we make these types of foods as our ONLY diet. Please include lot of fruits, vegetables, soups and those foods, which are rich in fibre.

To summarize, here are some of the golden steps to get rid of constipation.

• Eat well balanced diet with high fiber foods such as beans, fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains.
• Eat very limited quantity of fried, processed, refined foods.
• Drink plenty of fluids especially when the weather is hot.
• Never ignore some exercise as a part of your daily routine. Just like your car which decays if left unused for prolonged period, our body is devised in such a manner that we need to work out to keep the external as well as internal organs healthy.
• Do not ignore the urge of bowel movement. With little practice, you can naturally develop these urges at a particular time of the day. However, it is better and advisable that you attend nature’s call early in the morning before taking your bath. This helps in not only relieving constipation but also some disciplined hygienic life.
• If constipation gets prolonged and no significant changes even after following the above steps, it is time for a visit to your doctor. Remember, most of the diseases can be cured if tackled at early stages.

Constipation does have serious implications if not treated in time. Moreover, constipation affects your sleep and overall quality of life.

Of course, no one is stopping you have a party or date with your partner, but make sure you have heard and attended to your upset tummy.

We all seek for peace; there can be no second thoughts on that. However, only few us know what exactly of being peaceful means and even only further few actually follow the path to attain peace.

In today’s materialistic world, we often get confused between pleasure, happiness and peace. These are the three key experiences by which our life is characterized. While pleasure is an experience limited to mere material fulfillment, we experience happiness from the sense of service to our society. Peace is yet far from happiness, an experience that one cannot describe merely in words. Let this be inscribed in you that peace within alone can end human suffering.

So what exactly one needs to do to be in peace within. I am not going to preach you spiritual things or try to influence to stay away from materialistic world. Nobody needs to be a monk to achieve peace.

Instead, you can carry out your daily activities, enjoy each moment as you have been doing so, and yet remain happy and peaceful. The only thing you need to do is alter your mental thinking and of course some actions which are not needed.

The mere awareness of life and death and we being under control of some super power alone will make you conscious of doing right actions. It is a well-known fact that happy individuals create happy families which ultimately leads to happy societies. The result is opposite when you are unhappy.

Non-fulfillment of desires or not getting expected results makes one unhappy. Therefore, the first thing you need to do is ACCEPT the situation you are in and then try to improve it. There is a popular saying that calmness and tolerance acts like an air conditioning in a room thereby improving man’s efficiency. Therefore, be sure you have a steady and calm mind for most of the time in order to achieve desired results. Talk to yourself quite often and do not allow you to crumble and get confused under any circumstances. Teach yourself that all events are temporary whether good or bad. If you are running through a rough patch in your life, think positive that this situation will not remain permanently and tomorrow is going to be great. Make sure you simply do not sit on this thought but take actions as much as you can to get yourself out of this miss.

In addition, yes make sure all you dream are realistic in nature. Fantasy is different from dreaming. Fantasy is virtual and has no boundaries. It gives a false sense of pleasure. So dare to dream first that would help in building strong desires and then it is time for action. Your inbuilt desire followed by good actions will give you sense of achievement and thereby happiness and peace. There could be setbacks every now and then, but what you need to focus is the small progress at each step you have taken. You never know when these small steps lead you to your final destination.

Therefore, the next time you find yourself frustrated and unhappy, command your mind to be positive and take the situation you are in as a challenge rather than meekly surrendering to it. God Bless!