Pandemic

Save your Vision !!

The sensory organs are needed to create more liveliness in humans and other animals’ lives. They provide information about the surrounding environment to behave accordingly and may make an alert. During and after the pandemic, vision has been affected more than any other sensory organ.

All India Ophthalmological Society (AIOS) studies and observes these changes. ‘Prevent Blindness’ is one of the organizations that declares March as Workplace Eye Wellness Month to provide Sight-Saving Resources to employees and their employers to improve Eye Wellness and Eye Health conditions at the Workplace.

During the pandemic, everyone adapted to the lockdown and shifted their daily routine of regular work and academics to online mode. This involved the use of laptops, desktops, and mobile phones, which increased screen time more than the pre-pandemic situation for all age groups.

These new norms give rise to stress and strain on the eyes leading to various eye issues like excess dryness, eye redness, and burning sensation of the eyes that may result in chronic eye disorders. 

To reduce the effect of more screen time on eyesight and also to prevent further damage, the Prevent Blindness organization has advised numerous ways to overcome this. They are Eye exercise, using eye safety gear, ergonomics, nutrition, nutritional supplements, etc.

How does visual perception occur?

The eyes are wonderful and special sensory organs. Eyes can visualize all sorts of things – big or small, near or far, smooth or textured, colors and dimensions. The eyes have many parts – all of which must function to see properly, such as the retina, optic nerve, eye muscles, eyelids, and cornea.

Vision perception occurs through the retina and travels from the eye to the brain via the optic nerve. The brain combines these two images it receives to get a complete picture.

What are the visual complications among children?

Children are more vulnerable as they are in the developmental stage. Eye muscles are not that strong enough to adjust to the rapidly changing, harsh, and intense light from the screen. 

To further add to this, their meals are not balanced. Thus eye tissues are not properly nourished, and it may lead to numerous eye disorders like night blindness, lazy eye, ptosis, farsightedness, etc.

What are the visual complications among adults and old age?

In adulthood, compared to old age, adults have fewer complications. On the other hand, in old age, people have weakened their eye muscles, and cellular integrity, thereby naturally they may have poor eyesight.

Food habits and lifestyle plays an important role in adults as exposure to screen is more. Continuous gazing causes excessive dryness, which invites many other visual complications. Nearsightedness and farsightedness are major complications during early adulthood. 

As age advances due to muscular degeneration and the presence of other comorbidities like diabetes and hypertension, there is a higher chance of getting affected eyesight.         

Glaucoma, cataracts, and diabetic retinopathy are major visual complications with advancing age.

Unfortunately, eyesight cannot be improved naturally and there is no way to change a refractive error, such as myopia, hyperopia, or presbyopia. These types of visual conditions can be treated with glasses, contact lenses, or refractive surgery.

However, there can be other reasons for diminished eyesight. Macular degeneration causes diminished eyesight but can respond favorably to nutritional changes. In that instance, there are foods that may improve eyesight without glasses.

How can one take care of nourishment for healthy eyesight?

Aging is irreversible and no one can escape it. But eating the right foods can protect your vision and keep you healthy. Research says that foods rich in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and E, zinc, lutein, zeaxanthin, and omega-3 fatty acids help to keep eyes healthy.

But what does this nutrient-rich diet look like? Let’s break it down:

Vitamin C: Foods with lots of vitamin c are oranges, grapefruit, kiwifruit, strawberries, tomatoes, red and green peppers, and broccoli.

Vitamin E: Healthy sources of vitamin E include almonds, sunflower seeds, olive oil, and avocados.

Zinc: Legumes (beans and lentils), seeds, meat/seafood, dairy, and eggs are all good sources of zinc.

Lutein and zeaxanthin: Both of these nutrients are found naturally in the retina—the light-sensitive tissue lining the back of the eye. This is why boosting your diet with lutein and zeaxanthin is a win for your eye health. Lutein and zeaxanthin—often found. 

● Together with many foods like leafy green vegetables, kale, spinach, and swiss chard. Broccoli, asparagus, and colorful fruits like raspberries, papaya, peaches, and mangoes are also chock-full of eye-healthy carotenoids.

Vitamin A: egg yolk, fish, nuts, milk, and meat are sources of Retinol. Carrots, pumpkin, sweet potato, green leafy vegetables, beetroot, apricot, mango, and peach are sources of carotenoids.

Antioxidant-rich foods: A diet rich in foods with antioxidants is helpful for healthy eyesight. Foods rich in vitamins A, C, and E, carotenoids, lutein, zeaxanthin, and selenium (pasta, bread, and grains) are packed with antioxidants.

Omega 3 and Omega 6-rich foods: These foods help in the lubrication of the eyes. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in oily fish (like salmon, trout, and sardines). Nuts and oils like walnuts and sunflower oil are great natural sources of omega-6 fatty acids.

Ayurveda perspective on eye health:

According to Ayurveda, the eye has domination of fire element and pitta dosha. Thus, eye disorders are mainly caused by the aggravation of pitta dosha.

Ancient texts in Ayurveda have mentioned various causes of eye disorders such as getting exposed to the heat of the Sun for a longer duration, physical, mental, and eye strain, excess grief, excess anger, excess weeping, excessive smoking, eye injury, constant viewing of minute objects, etc.

Ayurveda common remedies for eye health:

1. Massage of the eyes with a wet palm immediately after having food will protect vision from harmful effects.

2. One should neither induce natural urges forcefully nor suppress them (suppression of tears, vomiting, etc.) as it may lead to eye diseases.

3. Pouring warm water over the body bestows strength, but the same overhead makes for the loss of strength of hairs and eyes.

4. It is good to apply Anjana (Collyrium) for eye health.

5. One should regularly consume Ghee, Barley, Wheat, Shastika shali (old rice), Saidhava Lavana, Draksha (black raisins), Dadima (pomegranate), use of Shatavari (Asparagus officinalis), Green Gram.  

6. Padabhyanga (oil massage of the foot), use of footwear, and application of medicated Lepa (paste) to the Pada (foot) are useful to protect vision.

Yoga for eyes:

There are many yoga postures and eye exercises to keep your eyes healthy and improve your vision. They are Trataka, Bhastrika pranayam, Kapalbhati pranayam, Bahya pranayam, Anulom-Vilom Paranayam and Shavasan. These poses should be done under expert advice.

Thus we can conclude –

The eye is the jewel of the body and it’s important to take care of eye health as Your eyes show off the strength of your soul.


Author –

Vaidya Shilpa Venkatesh Jamdarkhana

(Certified Ayurveda Wellness Coach)

Atreya Innovations Pvt. Ltd.


Archana Amol Patil

(Nutrition Wellness Coach)

Atreya Innovations Pvt. Ltd.

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The pandemic New Normal “Belly Bulge”

Coming months have taught us so many things from eating to living healthy. We are flooded with so many “New Normal” thoughts and trends and we are totally trying to do what we can do? Well what that exactly resulted is the “New-Normal” weight gain and what’s the place where all the weight actually settled was the “Belly-side”. Let’s try to find how you can get the best help so that you stay well, eat well and live well the correct way.

If you experienced unwanted weight gain or “belly bulges” during the pandemic, you are not alone. Especially if you are spending most of your time at home watching the “New-Normal cooking trends”. Comfort food recipes have been trending on Google, Instagram and Fb. Your best friend tried the full fat “Dalgona Coffee” and floored their Instagram page with thousand of likes and several thousands “Followers” in just one night, and now there you are mopping the google-searches to find the next “Instagrammable Trend-set” from your side. Meanwhile you grab your favourite mug of coffee several times in a day doing so. Now you are late for making your lunch so you just order some food from outside and continue working for long hours in front of the screen.

This was some-what everybody’s story in recent days. Well what that exactly resulted is the “New-Normal” weight gain and what’s the place where all the weight actually settled was the “Belly-side”. Last whole year the most searched questions on google were not just “Fitness exercises to do at home”, but some others were “Losing belly fat staying at home”, ”Get flat-belly investing just 7 minutes”, “Burn belly fat in just 7-days at home”, etc.

So as sheltering-at-home restrictions ease up, people are becoming concerned about “COVID curves” and the “Quarantine 15-pounds gain”. The pandemic left many people confined to their homes, bored and with plenty of food and little to distract them. When adding the stress factor to this scenario, you have a perfect situation for unwanted weight changes. The fight-or-flight response is an innate reaction that evolved as a survival mechanism during the entire pandemic situation.

Whether you are a “IT professional with all day work from home”, “a school-kid with full day online screen access”, “a home-maker with home full of online people, extra dish washing, plenty of cooking” or “ an elderly with no access to friends and outside world” all resorted to stocking the house with all the necessary food-stuff that was feared to be out of stock in the market and later on cooking and changing the raw things into “cooking wonders” just to utilise all the stuff and the time in the world to please our cravings at home. Biryani, Baked dishes, Cakes with full fat icings, Green Teas with all the Turmeric, Milkshakes with a whole lot of nuts, all was over-bound and in large portions, screaming at us to finish it off in just one gulp or bite.

Most work from home couples switched to eating late lunches or combining lunch and dinner together at late hours and eating large meals and sitting back to work again or just curling up in that bed or sofa to finish the off trending “Netflix” series.

Well, the answer to such belly fat bulges is very easy to identify, stress started to set into us and we all ate up what we thought was immunity booster, trending, healthy, “maa ke haath ka”, “ghar ka khana” with no thought and no guilt. All this to stay away from stress arising from the unknowing causes and factors that ultimately lead to this sitting “belly gains”. It’s time we focus on what suits “Me” better than just following Instagram trends blindly.

Now try to get the best suitable recommendations from an Expert who knows best to curb that “Belly bulge” in the most precise way knowing your “Metabolic levels”. The solution to this is finding your Inner Health Quotients from reliable and proven product Turyaa. So let Turyaa: Your very own “Wellbeing companion” helps you know which trending food or fitness activity is best for “You”. Make way for that “extra belly bulge” and set the “New-Normal” by staying healthy and fit the “Turyaa Way”.

 

Author:
Ms. Shruti Kulkarni (Nutritionist, Wellness Coach)
Credits: Dr Tejaswini Bhale-Borse (Ayurveda Physician, Nadi Expert)

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Recovery tips for COVID patients

COVID-19 has changed the way of life irrevocably across the globe since last year. Even after testing negative covid leaves a long-lasting effect on the body. The post covid symptoms include symptoms like fatigue, breathing problems, joint pain, chest pain, and foggy memory long-lasting tips, you can follow for a smoother recovery.

1. Diet – Have healthy, easy-to-digest, warm meals at a regular time.

2. Start with simple carbs, vegetables, soups, and a semisolid diet which will be easy for digestion. After achieving a proper digestion quotient, you can start with a good amount of lean protein or simple protein. Lentil soups, meat stew, boiled eggs, nuts, and seeds are the easiest ways of incorporating protein into the diet.

3. 4 tsp of cow ghee with a meal is very important for recovery.

4. Lungs are the most affected by COVID-19 so it is important to make them stronger again.

5. Regular breathing exercises including Pranayam, Anulom, Vilom, Bhramari, and Omkar are very important. Avoid intense pranayam like Kapalabhati. Exercises with the help of a spirometer, balloon etc are also useful.

6. Little weight training with very low weights is useful to regain muscle mass. Start cardio exercises after 2-3 weeks post disease.

7. Rest – proper rest is very important for best recovery. Follow proper sleep times. 7-9 hrs of sound sleep proves very effective for the recovery stage.

8. Always monitor your symptoms like fatigue, muscle weakness, paleness, hair fall, weight gain, sugar fluctuation, BP fluctuation, etc. Do regular pathological tests too to monitor said symptoms.

9. Relieve your anxiety and stress with a positive approach and consistent efforts for the best recovery. So stay happy and consistent!

10. Focus on your Well-being with a @home Health monitoring device like TURYAA which analyses your inner health, immunity, metabolism, and stress levels for You and your family’s health.

Author:
Dr. Gayatri Kulkarni – Mulye (MD Ayurved),
Vaidya Tejaswini Bhale – Borse (Ayurveda Physician),
Shruti Kulkarni (Clinical Nutritionist)

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Mental Health Stigma

A Big Challenge For Society
  • A good friend struggling for getting admission into professional courses attempts suicide, a case of neglected depression.
  • Senior citizen struggling to memorize home address, finally brought into a nearby police station, a case of Alzheimer’s disease.
  • Small fights between kids concluded with a serious injury to one of them due to uncontrolled, extreme anger, a case of behavioral problems in kids.
  • Stress at job places, depression, anxiety during educational ages, bad relationships, money vs need struggles and its stress, postpartum depression, menopausal depression, loneliness, etc are common invisible impact factors observed everywhere these days. These have increased in manifolds after the pandemic period.

According to Ayurveda, health is a fine balance of all factors including physical, mental, and spiritual health. But all of the above stress factors impact mental health the most.

More to that, the stigma associated with mental health problems is a much bigger obstacle in treating mental health disorders.

Physical and psychological health are two sides of the same coin which always have interlinked impacts on each other. But the picture related to psychological health awareness, treatment and education are much different. According to Ayurveda, imbalances in Rajas and Tamas Gunas of Mana lead to mental illness. This imbalance can be corrected with proper lifestyle modifications. Assurance or counseling ( Aashwasan chikitsa) is also part of the treatment according to Ayurveda. In fighting against social stigma, this assurance from family, friends, counselors, and society is very important.

• Around 60% of adults with a mental health illness don’t receive care – NAMI
• 98% of people agree that mentally ill people experience stigma and discrimination – Mental Health Foundation

Stigmas in society are commonplace. They can be difficult to dismantle and overcome once they become established over many years. The pressure of mental health stigma can come from family, friends, coworkers, and society on a broader level. It can prevent people living with mental illness from getting help, fitting into society, and leading happy and comfortable lives.

Stigma against a person living with a mental health condition can make their symptoms worse and make it hard to recover. A person may also be less likely to seek help if they live with stigma.

Social isolation, poor housing, unemployment and poverty are all linked to mental ill-health. So stigma and discrimination can trap people in a cycle of illness. The effects of stigma can include social isolation, low self-esteem, hopelessness, shame, avoiding treatment, worsening symptoms, discrimination at work, etc.

In the above scenarios, the role of assurance therapy ( Aashwasan chikitsa ) described by Ayurveda plays a very important role. Proper counseling, motivation, encouragement, and appreciation are essential and very crucial steps in fighting against mental illness.

So on the occasion of “Mental Health Awareness Month”, let’s try to fight against stigma by

1. Understanding basic symptoms of mental illness – Ignorance is very common in such types of illness. Neglecting a single symptom for a long period often creates huge negative impacts. Hence understanding the early symptoms and seeking early help will be the first required step.

2. Helping people to take consultation from doctors at a very early stage – Many times, people find their friends, colleagues, and co-workers showing symptoms related to mental illness but choose to ignore them. It’s everyone’s duty to counsel him/her for early help from professionals.

3. Try to push people to complete their whole treatment until recovery – social stigma is the main reason behind incomplete treatment many times. So pushing people with mental illness for proper and complete treatment is much needed.

4. Educating people about mental health – Educating people from school age about mental illness, its treatment, social stigma and its impact on patients, ways of proper help should be included for better management of illness

So let’s help each other to fight against mental illness and the social stigma associated with it because this stigma is a much bigger obstacle or challenge in the treatment of illness.

 
‘“ I lie about being sick sometimes, because people understand if you have a cold, but not if you have depression.”
“ People with mental health conditions deserve just as much support and compassion as people with physical health conditions “

Author:
Dr. Gayatri Kulkarni – Mulye (MD Ayurved),
Vaidya Tejaswini Bhale – Borse (Ayurveda Physician),
Shruti Kulkarni (Clinical Nutritionist)

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