Indians Outlook On Dietary

Panaji, July 2 (IANS) The Goa government will launch a special vaccination drive from Saturday for Indian citizens who do not possess approved government-issued photo IDs and Nepali citizens residing in the state, an official said on Friday.The special vaccination drive will be held in both North Goa and South Goa districts as per the directions of the Union Ministry for Health and Family Welfare."We will be vaccinating Indian nationals, who for some reasons do not have any photo IDs or a valid phone number. Nepali citizens who are working in Goa, will also be vaccinated using the same SOP," state immunisation officer Dr Rajendra Borkar said."Those who wish to get vaccinated will have to come to designated vaccination centres with whatever documents they have which prove they are Indian citizens or Nepali citizens. Facilitating officers appointed by the District Collector will be certifying them. To organise one session, we need 100 people minimum," he added.--IANSmaya/vd

New Delhi, June 24 (IANS) As health consciousness grows among Indians, a large number of people are now reinventing the time-tested goodness of mustard oil in helping people stay fit.While our "nana-nanis" and "dada-dadis" always seemed to know about the healing properties of "kachchi ghani" mustard oil, new research by scientists has helped shed light on the exact nature of these properties. A landmark study conducted by the Harvard School of Medicine with All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, and St John Hospital, Bengaluru, revealed that consuming mustard oil as one's primary cooking and deep-frying oil could reduce the risks associated with coronary heart disease by more than 70 per cent. Today, many eminent cardiologists like Dr S.C. Manchanda unequivocally recommend cold-pressed (also known as Kachchi Ghani) mustard oil for a healthy heart and vascular system - and nutritionists and dieticians too are unanimous in their belief that mustard oil is among the healthiest cooking oils you can find in the market. Kavita Devgan, a leading nutritionist, dietician and weight management consultant feels that among the plethora of cooking oils available today, it is better to choose natural cold-pressed oils like mustard oil that are rich in Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFA) and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA) but low in Saturated Fatty Acids (SFA). Umesh Verma, General Manager (Marcom) at Puri Oil Mills Limited (the makers of P Mark Mustard Oil) says: "Speaking at a webinar organized by our company, Ms Devgan had pointed out that cold-pressed mustard oil is, in many ways, a perfect cooking medium in its composition. It has all the right fatty acids in the ideal ratio and is packed with natural vitamins and antioxidants. In our manufacturing processes, we try to keep this natural composition of mustard oil totally intact so that our consumers can enjoy all the nutrients and health benefits that cold-pressed mustard oil promises." Mustard oil, especially, has zero trans fatty acids (TFA) and that is a vital parameter for health and fitness-conscious consumers. The major advantage of cold-pressed mustard oil, according to Kavita, is the fact that it has an ideal ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3. Contemporary diets and food habits have created a major imbalance in the Omega 6-Omega 3 ratio and mustard oil could play a key role in rectifying this. According to Kavita, this benefit alone is reason enough for making mustard oil your primary cooking oil. Neha Patodia, nutritionist and diet consultant, agrees wholeheartedly with Kavita Devgan and points out that the WHO has recommended a ratio of 5:4 (Omega-6 to Omega-3). Cold-pressed mustard oil comes closest to this benchmark with a ratio of 1:1. Rujuta Diwekar, a prominent nutritionist and fitness expert strongly recommends cold-pressed traditional oils like mustard oil. She believes if an oil has been used in a particular region across thousands of years for preparing local cuisines, it means that the oil has become "fine-tuned" to the health and dietary needs of that region. One can discern this aspect in oil consumption patterns even today. Across north India and some eastern regions, mustard oil is the dominant oil. In southern states, the dominant oil has traditionally been coconut oil. According to nutritionist and dietician Vijaya Agrawal, oils extracted from vegetable sources are vital for proper nutrition because they contain certain essential fatty acids like Omega-3 which cannot be synthesised by the human body. Plant-based oils like mustard oil contain phytosterols which block bad cholesterol (LDL) from being absorbed in the body. One such phytosterol is Alpha Linolenic Acid (ALA) which significantly reduces the risk of heart disease, hypertension and atherosclerosis. Dr Manjari Chandra who specialises in Therapeutic Nutrition and Clinical Dietetics views cold-pressed mustard oil as a powerful detoxifying agent, more so when it is combined with the right foods -- especially vegetables loaded with healthy phytochemicals like beta carotene, lycopene, flavonoids, isothiocyanates, etc. Dr Simran Saini is a nutritionist and weight loss consultant who, on a daily basis, comes face to face with lifestyle-related health issues like elevated cholesterol levels, hypertension and heart disease. She recommends a daily intake of mustard oil because it is rich in Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFA) which helps in maintaining a healthy cholesterol balance. And as pointed out by Vijaya Agrawal earlier, it also contains Alpha Linolenic Acid (ALA) that keeps the heart and the blood vessels healthy. Nupur Arya is a dietician and also a certified vegan chef -- so she is able to look at mustard oil from both a health perspective as well as a cooking point of view. The healthiest thing about cold-pressed mustard oil, she says, is that it is minimally processed; that is why it retains all its natural nutrients. As a cooking medium, mustard oil with its high smoking point (around 250 degree C) is ideal for Indian cooking which requires high-flame heating over prolonged periods of time. Even at high temperatures, all the nutrients remain stable and intact. The verdict from leading nutritionists is in -- and it is quite decisive. In their collective opinion cold-pressed mustard oil is one of the healthiest cooking oils you can choose. --IANS skp/

New Delhi, June 8 (IANS) The last two months in the second wave of pandemic, which crippled an already overburdened healthcare system, has gravely affected Indians suffering from non-Covid chronic ailments like cancer, heart and kidney diseases, health experts said on Tuesday.Essential health services were disrupted during the last two months because of the exponential rise in the number of Covid cases, which also led to the exhaustion of health care infrastructure, along with the diversion of health services to Covid care.Other major reasons include fear of contracting Covid, misinformation and limitations on movement due to lockdowns, according to experts."Covid-19 pandemic affected non-Covid care at all levels of health care from community to tertiary level. Services of chronic diseases care such as cancer care, hypertension, and diabetes management got affected the most due to diversion of health services to Covid care and people were not able to seek healthcare due to restrictions and fear due to pandemic," Dr Harshal R. Salve, Associate Professor at Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS, New Delhi, told IANS.Last month, a plea was filed in the Supreme Court claiming that in the second wave, most of the state governments have put restrictions and protocols, which resulted into denial of regular treatment and check-up of patients with heart, kidney, liver and lung ailments."Non-Covid-19 patients are facing a lot of difficulties. Major surgeries are postponed in all the hospitals as doctors are fully busy with Covid-19 patients... for heart patients or pregnant women, it is very difficult to get admission," the petitioner said.Due to Covid pandemic, many "treatable diseases" have shifted to the stage of being "untreatable", Dr Ashish Rai, Director, Department of Plastic, Aesthetic & Reconstructive Surgery, Jaypee Hospital, Noida, told IANS.According to Rai, patients with cancer, particularly the elderly, have been the most affected. "Elderly cancer patients often delay their hospital visits, thinking that it may increase the risk of Covid infection to their children," he said."Cancer patients have borne the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic. Overall, early diagnosis, check-ups and treatment was delayed for people suffering from cancer. And those infected with Covid were at higher risk of mortality," added Dr Rahul Bhargava, Cancer Expert, Director, Department of Clinical Hematology & Bone Marrow Transplant, Fortis Hospital, Gurugram.Cancer treatment can be successful during its early days but can become untreatable in the advanced stage of the disease. Covid also increased mortality among patients with an active cancer or who had a history of cancer in the past five years, the experts noted."Several patients also suffered delay in treatment because in most of the cases family members or the patient themselves were afflicted with Covid. Almost 90 per cent were postponed who had no choice but to remain bedridden or in disabling conditions," said Dr L. Tomar, Director, Department of Orthopaedics, Max Super Speciality Hospital,Further, children suffering from congenital anomalies/deformities were also affected due to the pandemic."For example, cleft lip surgery must be done between three to six months of birth. But many such kids could not be operated upon due to Covid restrictions imposed last year, and which continued this year," Rai said. While it may not turn fatal as cancer, yet it affects the treatment."People must understand that Covid is here to stay, and vaccinations can safeguard them. Get vaccinated. Do not delay treatment against other diseases. Since most healthcare workers including doctors, nurses and staff have been vaccinated, there is no fear of further infections, unlike last year," Rai advised.--IANSrvt/vd

New Delhi, May 30 (IANS) Majority of Indians are afraid of being infected with the ongoing Covid-19 disease either by themselves or their family members.IANS-CVoter Covid tracker survey conducted on 56,685 people covering all 542 Lok Sabha segments between January 1 and May 27 this year reveals that 56 per cent are agreed that they are afraid either they or someone in their family might be actually caught with the Coronavirus or Covid-19 virus.Of these 56 per cent people, 38 per cent strongly agree that Covid may catch them or their family members.Of the total, 38.9 per cent people did not agree with the opinion that they or their family members might be caught with the disease.In the last seven days, the survey mentioned, a total of 6,872 people were asked question regarding the fear of being caught with the Covid virus.The survey comes at a time when India's overall tally of Covid-19 cases now stands at 2,78,94,800 with 21,14,508 active cases and 3,25,972 deaths so far.India reported less than 2 lakh Covid-19 cases third day in a row, with 1,65,553 fresh cases recorded in the last 24 hours, Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry said on Sunday, adding 3,460 patients succumbed to the disease during same period.--IANSrak/in