Cooey -Empowering you

It’s no more a surprise if someone comes up to us and shares a personal story of a chronic, unsolvable disease that stood square in his/her way. Yet, we tend to ignore and underestimate them and continue to lead an unhealthy life . The reason - we simply prefer not to face things that we presume we cannot fix because it shows our limits. Most of the chronic diseases won’t have any symptoms! Chronic disease affects each one of us in one-way or the other. With one of the biggest threats to public health today, the rising burden of chronic diseases affects men and women almost equally, especially the younger generation . At least 80% of all heart disease, stroke and diabetes cases, and 40 per cent of all cancers, are preventable according to World Health Organization (WHO) estimate. There is compelling evidence to show that many chronic diseases share common causes. Unfortunately, most of the chronic diseases won’t have any symptoms, and for years one would carry them without

“Before 30, men seek disease; after 30, diseases seek men!” so goes a Chinese proverb. Now, let’s take a look at the ominous numbers below and see how fitting is this proverb for today’s young generation! With tangible economic improvements seen across the country, we are all dreaming that India is going to become a global super power in the next 20-25 years. But if this is achieved against the gloomy backdrop of poor health indicators listed above, it makes little sense especially when the youth in our country represents more than 65% of total population and they are seen as the prime donor to the country’s economic development. Ever since the dot-com boom, the lifestyle of the young population in India, especially the urban youths, has undergone a drastic change. The high disposable income has given them the freedom to lead an unhealthy, ill-disciplined, and rather awfully disoriented lifestyle .  Sedentary work life coupled with  inactive lifestyle choices a

For most of us, office work means spending extended hours of sitting at our desk; for workaholics, it can be all day as well!! Knowingly or unknowingly, we spent quite a lot of time sitting, i.e., working at a computer, watching TV or reading, driving to and from office, etc. When you add up the average 7 hours of sleep time to this, you have almost 18-20 sedentary hours every day. Even 30 minutes of daily workout might be insufficient to reverse the negative health impact of prolonged sitting .  We are designed to move around!! As human beings, our body is designed for regular movement and NOT to sit down so much. Most of us tend to ignore the potentially deadly impact it could inflict on us that includes hypertension , diabetes, excess body fat around the waist and abnormal cholesterol levels.  Inactivity is bad for soft tissues. When we don't use muscles enough in our body, they become weakened and contract less. Muscle contractions help stimulate bl

How many meals am I supposed to eat in a day to stay healthy?  Questions like this, especially if you are health conscious, keep popping into our mind every now and then. More than when you eat, what matters is “how and what you eat” if you were to reduce the risk of health problems by being overweight . It’s irrelevant if a person eats three large meals a day or six smaller ones if it makes no difference to the overall calorie count. So, what’s the remedy?  Before you consider any diet plan, it’s important that you determine your optimum calorie intake based on your health profile and set a dietary target accordingly; most importantly, you need to ask yourself if the suggested plan fits into your lifestyle. Remember, one simple thumb-rule - you gain weight when you eat more calories than you burn , or burn fewer calories than you eat; it can happen either by consuming more or by indulging in less physical activity. Keeping a log of what you eat (along with the time an

N early 90% of us are not sure of the risks that we carry around our waistline called visceral fat. The excess fat around our belly not only makes us look awful and destroys our self-esteem, but the health hazards associated with it are extremely dangerous as well. Carrying this excess baggage can contribute to coronary artery disease, hypertension , diabetes, stroke, arthritis, depression, sexual dysfunction, sleep disorders, various forms of cancer, and other degenerative diseases. The Location Does Matter!! Body fat comes in two varieties, viz., subcutaneous fat, which is found directly underneath the skin, and visceral fat, which wraps around the internal organs. It is important to understand the difference between the two and its health implications. When it comes to fat deposits in our body, the location of it matters a lot. When you have abdominal fat or visceral fat, it gets accumulated in the spaces between our abdominal organs. The visceral fat is considered to be