These 30 second tests can tell you if you're healthy

 (Source:https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health-news)

As far as your overall health is concerned, regular check ups and health tests are extremely crucial. They are the sure-shot ways to find out whether you have any underlying health condition. A medical diagnosis is extremely safe and accurate and one must go for health screenings at least once every year.

 Test 1: Hand to fist and then squeeze

In this exercise, curl your fingers to form a fist. Then squeeze your hand, holding the position for 30 seconds. After you release your hand, you'll notice that your palm has become slightly whiter than before. This is due to the reduced blood flow. Wait and observe your palm and check the duration it takes to go back to its usual colour. Given that you feel numb or it takes a while or more for the blood to rush back, then it can be a sign of arteriosclerosis, a condition wherein, the blood vessels that carry oxygen and nutrients from the heart to the rest of the body become thick and hard.

Test 2: Squeeze the roots of your nails

The next exercise involves squeezing the root of your fingernails for 5 seconds each. Similar to the previous exercise, in this case the fingernails are likely to turn whiter. However, in this exercise, it should take no more than 3 seconds for blood to rush back to normalcy.

 Test 3: Leg up and hold

For this test, lie flat on the ground with your face facing the floor and your hands straight in line with your body. Slowly lift both your legs up together, while your body continues to rest on the ground. See if you can hold the position for 30 seconds. If you cannot or face issues keeping them stable or together, then there may be some issue with your abdomen or your lower spine. However, just to ace these exercises do not overstrain yourself.

The 5-second rule: Is it safe to have food off the floor?

 (Source:https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health-news)

Is it safe to have food off the floor?

Imagine you are holding the last slice of pizza in your hand, and just when you are about to take a big bite of the delicious cheesy treat, it slips from your hand and drops on the floor? What would you do? Eat it or toss it away?

If you are like most people, you may choose "the 5-second rule". You would carefully examine the piece and if it was on the floor for less than 5 seconds, you'd bite into it. Truth be told we all have resorted to 5 seconds rule when stuck in a difficult situation like this. Well, the question is, if it is safe to eat food off the floor or not?

Understanding the 5-second rule

As per the famous rule, if a food item has been picked up within 5-second from the ground then it is not contaminated and safe to eat. It is a common belief that germs and bacteria do not stick on the surface of the food in this time limit and are absolutely safe for consumption.

Is it safe to have food?

The simple answer to this question is NO. Food that comes in contact with a contaminated surface, even for 1-second, picks up some amount of bacteria. Eating them puts you at the risk of diarrhoea and food poisoning. Also, there is no way to know what kind of bacteria is present on the surface. Even if your surface is clean, you cannot say how many people have walked from the place.

Who should be more careful?

Eating food picked from the ground is even more dangerous in the current time when we are dealing with COVID-19. Coronavirus is a highly infectious virus that can spread from one person to the other by inhaling contaminated aerosol particles or coming in contact with contaminated surfaces. Apart from this, several other germs can also be present on the surface. The germ and bacteria might not cause harm to all but can pose a great threat to some. This includes:

young children

older adults

pregnant women

Can insomnia lead to diabetes?

 (Source:https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health-news)

Not sleeping enough can disrupt the metabolic order. Inadequate sleep releases stress hormones like cortisol, which can lead to insulin resistance and hence result in increased blood sugar. These stress hormones can increase your cravings for foods and drinks high in carbohydrates and sugar, which can lead to weight gain and thus type 2 diabetes.
Not just this, inadequate sleep also reduces the hormone leptin, which increases the body's cravings for carbohydrates. Leptin is also responsible for controlling the metabolism of carbohydrates.

Thus, if you are suffering from sleeplessness, you need to keep a track on your sugar levels. As per The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society, a minimum of seven hours of sleep per night is important to stay healthy and fit. Feeling tired during the day is a major sign of poor sleep.

Here are more symptoms of sleeplessness

- Slow thinking and less attention

- Tiredness and lack of energy

- Weak memory, mood swings

- Feeling anxious, stressed and irritable

If you suffer from the above symptoms, you need to maintain a sleep schedule everyday, even during the weekends. Here are some simple tips to maintain a healthy sleep cycle.

- Your bedroom should be a dark, relaxing and quiet place

- Do not look at screen before sleeping, as it can disrupt sleep

- Stay physically active during the day

- Unwind and relax before going to the bed

- Take a shower and read a book before going to sleep

- Do not take caffeine, alcohol and nicotine, near to the bed bedtime

- Avoid taking naps after 3 pm as that can make you sleep less during the night

 

Are you using an expired lipstick? It’s making you sick

 (Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health-news)

Let’s be honest! We hardly ever bother to check the date of expiry of lipsticks and keep using them. If you also do that, it's time to stop as using expired lipsticks can make you sick. Yes, you read that right. Just like all other makeup products, lipsticks also have a shelf life.

Tips to identify an old lipstick

But if you are planning to use the lipstick that you bought years ago, here's why you need to stop.

A good brand's lipstick lasts around 12-18 months. Simple ways to find out if your lipstick is not good to use.

- The simplest thing you can do is to check the expiry date.

- Notice the smell. It might smell weird if it’s too old.

- Check if it oozes moisture and glides easily on the lips or not.

If you do not notice these and use an old lipstick, this is what can happen:

​Itching in and around the mouth area

Expired lipsticks can have irritants and bacteria, which can lead to itching in and around the mouth. Lipstick has lanolin, which has a complex composition and can easily cause allergic reaction like dryness, itchiness and pain.

Renal failure, anemia and brain damage

Lanonin present in expired lipstick has a strong adsorption. It can absorb dust, bacteria, virus and heavy metals from the air, which can be absorbed by the lips.

When you eat and drink with lipstick on, these enter the body and can make you sick.

Lipsticks also have high amount of lead and cadmium. Using the expired lipsticks can lead to lead poisoning and cause renal failure, anemia, brain damage and brain neuropathy.

Breast tumor

Preservatives and harmful substances including BHA in lipsticks are quasi carcinogens. When expired lipstick is applied it can lead to breast tumour.

Consult your derma if you feel any issue after applying an expired lipstick.

How the colour of your nails can reveal cancer

 1.The link between your nails and cancer

Nails are an integral part of our body. It helps protect our fingers and toes and lets us do activities that would not be possible without them, like scratching or picking things up. Given that it receives blood and nutrition from the body, it can signal any deficiency or hidden ailments you may be suffering from.

Changes in the colour of the nails may not seem alarming in most cases.

2. Your nails can say a lot about your health

Nail changes can occur in anyone, depending on the kind of illnesses, deficiencies a person is experiencing.

While yellowing or thickening of nails can suggest a fungal infection, brittle nails may be a signifier of a thyroid disease or anemia. If you see pitting i.e. small cracks in your nails, it may indicate psoriasis or alopecia areata. Additionally, white lines underneath your nails can mean that you're suffering with a kidney or a liver disease.

3. Change in nail colour can be a marker of cancer

A change in the nail colour should never be neglected, for it may indicate cancer.

Subungual melanoma, a type of skin cancer can be detected through the changes in the colour of the fingernails. It can appear in the form of a dark line under your nails, leading to nail discoloration. It can create dark areas near the cuticle of the nail, also known as subungual lesions.

4. Subungual melanoma can show other symptoms

Apart from the formation of black lines on your finger or toe nails, there are other signs of subungual melanoma that can appear on your nails.

Treatment is key

Considering melanoma is life-threatening, if left untreated, it can be fatal.

A physical exam and a biopsy may help with the diagnosis. That said, treatment would involve surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapies, depending on how far the cancer has progressed. 

Oversleeping can increase risk of stroke: Study

 (Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health-news)

It is recommended to have at least six eight hours of sleep for the healthy functioning of the body. While insomnia is becoming a common issue. Oversleeping should also not be overlooked as it can increase your risk of stroke.

While oversleeping might seem like a luxury on weekends, sleeping too much on a daily basis can indicate a medical concern. Studies have shown that people who sleep for more than eight hours every day are more likely to suffer a stroke as compared to people who sleep between six to eight hours.

Due to a sedentary lifestyle, people as young as 25 are dying due to cardiac arrest leading to stroke.
The study

Scientists evaluated the risk of stroke among 32,000 people with an average of 62 in the online edition of the journal Neurology, the American Academy of Neurology's medical journal on December 11, 2019.

The scientists linked stroke rates to self-reported sleep patterns of the study participants.

What causes a stroke?

A stroke happens when the blood flow to a portion of the brain is disrupted or diminished, causing damage to the brain tissue.

Analysis

As per the study, people who slept for more than nine hours per night had a 23 per cent increased risk of stroke than people who slept for less than eight hours per night.

Further, people who nap for at least 90 minutes in the middle of the day have 25 per cent higher chances of having a stroke than those who took less than 30 minutes of nap.

People who sleep for longer but report having poor sleep are at 82 per cent increased risk of stroke. Sleep issues are frequent even after a stroke. More than half the survivors have difficulty in sleeping in the months to follow. This can disrupt recovery, create melancholy and cause memory issues.

How excessive sleep can increase the chances of stroke?

How excessive sleep is associated with stroke is not yet clear, but it has been observed that people who sleep too much have increased cholesterol levels, which can lead to weight gain and an increased risk of stroke.