Search Results for: health

Lychee Dangers & mysterious deaths #AtoZ

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on April 14, 2017 23

Lychee is a tropical fruit, with about 7 Lychee giving your daily dose of Vitamin C. It’s a sweet fleshy fruit, which if had in large amounts can cause stomach cramps and loose motion.

But today I will tell you about a mysterious disease surrounding Lychee.

Lychee contains many phytochemicals. The seeds contain methylene cyclopropyl glycine (MCPG).A chemical with a suspicious role in lowering blood glucose to dangerous levels.

MCPG Hypoglycemia

Hypoglycemia is a condition of decreasing blood glucose, which may have acute and long-term effects. For the growing brain, it’s really bad because glucose is the only brain food. The brain survives on glucose as its main energy molecule.No sugar, the brain can stop!

Acute effect of low blood sugar includes convulsions and even death. Chronic hypoglycemia can lead to a long-term poor neurodevelopmental outcomes in children.

The True story ..stranger than fiction

Children came from lychee-growing areas, with convulsions in the early hours of the morning. Then before they could be stabilized, they tragically died. Nothing seemed to work. Till the blood workup of a few older children who could fight it longer, came back.

These outbreaks of encephalopathy occurring in Indian and Vietnamese children were traced back to Lychee.

Several investigation teams found the condition related to hypoglycin A and MCPG toxicity. Malnourished children eating lychees (especially unripe ones) on an empty stomach and remaining empty stomachs even after that may have life-threatening hypoglycemia. Lychee may also contain unusual amino acids. which influence gluconeogenesis and β-oxidation of fatty acids, exacerbating the acute illness.

What happened: Details

An unusual, rapidly deteriorating outbreak of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) with high case fatality was reported from Kaliachak- I, II, and III Blocks of Malda District of West Bengal in the month of June 2014 affecting 72 children with 34 deaths.
Children belonged to age groups from 9 months to 10 years, belonging to the low socioeconomic background of the lychee growing belt of Malda.
Male :(65% approx).

The case Fatality Rate was 47.2%.

The main presenting features:

Sudden onset of convulsions (100%) in the early hours of the morning
Rapid progression to unconsciousness (100%)
Decerebrate rigidity (47%).
Fever was present in around one-third of cases.
Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and leukocytosis(increase in white blood cells ) were two predominant laboratory features

Clinical samples subjected to molecular and serological testing were all found negative for known viruses causing acute encephalitis.

What treatment did they receive?

All cases were treated with 10% dextrose infusion in addition to standard treatment protocol with anticonvulsants, anti-edema measures like 20% mannitol, antipyretic (acetaminophen) along with other necessary measures. Serial blood glucose monitoring was done.
At first contact, health care workers and ward sisters were advised, to start dextrose(a type of sugar ) as soon as they saw the cases as the time from reporting to the fatal outcome was horrifyingly low.
Dextrose helped correct the hypoglycemia and helped reduce the fatality in the later reported cases.

Conclusion

Genetically susceptible, malnourished child ,who had litchi in large quantity followed by prolonged period of fasting can lead to metabolic encephalopathy .

The CDC report recommended that parents check , lychee consumption in children .Definitely have an evening meal, elevating blood glucose levels .Both these may help in avoiding this horror.

2 strange unexplained events:

The cases were more during the scorching days. Declined after rain showers.
Though no identifiable virus was not found and exact etiology couldn’t be identified, that hypoglycemia had a role to play is undisputed.

Research continues to find out the exact reasons. Till then it’s better to be safe.Increasing education and awareness about the condition in litchi growing belts have prevented recurrence of cases .

Disclaimer:

All information in this post is for information purposes and is to be taken with respect to the reference provided.

References:

1)Research paper: Epidemiological Investigation of an Outbreak of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in Malda District of West Bengal, India. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277249892_Epidemiological_Investigation_of_an_Outbreak_of_Acute_Encephalitis_Syndrome_AES_in_Malda_District_of_West_Bengal_India

Bhaswati Bandyopadhyay1*, Debjit Chakraborty2, Sibarjun Ghosh3, Raghunath Mishra4, Mehebubar Rahman1, Nemai Bhattacharya1,Soleman Alam5, Amitabha Mandal5, Anjan Das6, Abhijit Mishra6, Anand K Mishra7, Arvind Kumar7, Surya Haldar1, Tarun Pathak6, NepalMahapatra6, Dilip Kumar Mondal5, Dipankar Maji8 and Nandita Basu1

2) “Litchi virus kills 8 kids in Malda”. Times of India. 8 June 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.

3)https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/31/world/asia/lychee-litchi-india-outbreak.html?_r=0

4)https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/jan/14/lychee-fruit-deaths-malnourished-children-india

Jackfruit : Jack of all fruits #AtoZ fruits

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on April 12, 2017 25

In my childhood home in Kolkata, we have a small backyard. In an unpaved corner, my grandfather had planted a Jackfruit tree.I grew up eating fruit from our own tree, even in an urban setup.That was the beginning of my love for plants and trees.The shade of this tree made our home cool, even in the scorching summers.

Jackfruit :Ripe,delicious,juicy and just perfect.

In Bengali, the young tender jackfruit is called echor and the ripe variety ,kathal.The fruit is great cooked raw as a savoury dish, or eaten as a ripe fruit.Either way, it’s delicious if had at the right time.It has a tough slightly spiky outer skin and a very sticky inner gum ,which needs to be removed before the fruit can be enjoyed.
The seed of the fruit when dried and fried and gives a wonderful nutty flavour in dishes.The seeds can be boiled, fried or baked.Echor as the raw variety can be made into mouth-watering spicy dishes.It is often cooked just like mutton , with all spices possible.It makes a delicious nonvegetarian variation called echor chingri with prawns!

Jackfruit benefits

It’s a rich source of Vitamin B6 or Pyridoxine and is a rare fruit which has significant amounts of B complex vitamins.It also has some amount of Vitamin C, E .The fresh fruit is also a good source of potassium, magnesium, manganese, and iron.

Cool fact to improve GK & brain power

Jackfruit is the national fruit of Bangladesh.It is the largest of all fruits, weighing between 4.5 to 30 kg Jackfruit is a multiple aggregate fruit It is actually an inflorescence where each floret turns into a fruit
Jackfruit trees have up to 150 jackfruits during two yearly harvests.They grow in very hot climates and the tough skin of the fruits is a natural deterrent to pests.Jackfruit is grown across several countries of south and south-east Asia ,providing for some of the planet’s poorest and most populous countries.
India is the largest producer of Jackfruits an economically important tree.It is also an ornamental tree, popular for bringing good luck to the household.
Have you tasted Jackfruit?Comment below to let me know.

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MondayMommyMoments week 15

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on April 10, 2017 2

Are you a teacher?Lawyer ?Doctor?Businesswoman, SAHM,WAHM, going to office mom?Wherever you are, whatever you do, I am sure you are a super busy, multitasking, hardworking creative woman.No less than our ten handed beautiful Goddess Maa Durga!

My daughter had once drawn her version of Maa Durga and put a laptop and stethoscope in two of her hands a 3rd hand holding her tiny little hand and said

Mumma she is just like you.

Oh, I felt happy that day.But I don’t feel that great when I actually do all this at the same time and feel like the proverbial headless chicken.Women are the epitome of power.Some days you don’t want to be powerful.just want to let things be and someone else take charge.

Thinking you don’t have a creative bone in your body?Well, I can guarantee you are forever finding new ways to stash those building blocks, the never ending stacks of drawing pages, crayons and what not!
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Prompt this week

Mommy hacks which are useful with kids & also at home and make life easier.

MondayMommyMoments Prompt week 15: Mommy hacks for an easier life

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Write and link up .Daily if you are doing the challenge,

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Creative Play with children #MondayMommyMoments

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on April 9, 2017 25

I love playing with my daughter.

Holidays are game marathons .But for a five year old ,everyday’s a new day ,full of new ideas for having fun.Together with her ,I relive all the fun memories of childhood.

Doodling is a favourite.

She draws or I draw .Then we colour together ,spending hours over getting the pictures right.Then she tells me a story ,looking at the picture and I tell her a story.Definitely a fun hour or two .

Playing with the blackboard decal and whiteboard are favourites too.

(Disclaimer :There are affiliatelinks in the followingpart of the post.That means I make a small commission if you click on the link and buy something. This is no way affects the price of ghe product but helps me maintain the website .Thanks fo all your support)


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We play teacher-teacher .Where she is the teacher and me or my hubby or sometimes both have to be students .Best way to make learning fun .

Crafting

Making hair clips ,headbands and necklaces using DIY kits ,is a recent favourite.

DIY Craft kit for making hair clips ,necklace, hairbands

I have bought the kit online and supplemented it from my craft kit .Result is a totally productive and fun time spent, where mommy forgets to sneak off to write.

We paint our plant pots and decorate them together.

My balcony garden is a witness to our fun painting pot sessions.

Painting our plant pots together make for some fun family times .

We bake together .

My daughter will tell you the exact steps to bake a mouth-watering delicious chocolate cake.

Nail painting

We paint each others toe nails rainbow colours. It’s precision work at best and funny nail art at worst .

Play dress up and karaoke

We dress up and makeup funny songs to sing in popular tunes .

Playing with children is a wonderful stress buster and the best way to encourage lateral thinking, association ,imagination in children.It’s also a wonderful way to nurture the right brain of your child.

Writing this for #MondayMommyMoments

Fruits and vegetables..nature’s multivitamins

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on April 9, 2017 48

Fruits and veggies are nature’s multivitamins

Nature’s bounty of fruits and vegetables are an easy way to add the much-needed multivitamins to our diet.Vitamin supplements never look half as good and no comparison is possible regarding taste.

Many of the vitamins have their source in fruits and vegetables. Some, however, may have animal products as their best sources.

An easy way to remember:

Water soluble vitamins like B complex and C: Main source fruits and veggies

Fat soluble vitamins: Vitamin A, D, E, K

Source:Animal products,eggs,meat,beef,poultry.

Our busy schedule and lack of motivation often derail all our good resolutions.While on a self-improvement trip, I was able to increase the daily dose of this goodness, hence this post! Hope it helps, to get you motivated and add more nature’s goodness to your diet.

Top 5 Reasons to make fruits and veggies our best friends

Vitamin A: Keeps our eyes healthy

Richest source is orange and yellow fruits and veggies. Carrots are a very good source.

As Retinol:Liver,fatty fish,eggs

As Beta-carotene: Red and yellow coloured veggies.Carrots, tomatoes, green leafy vegetables, sweet potatoes

Vitamin B: Important for best energy production and repair of muscle tissues.Helps to keep our digestive system healthy.

Vitamin B: Richest source germinating sprouts and most fruits and veggies

Sources of B-Complex vitamins:

Thiamine: Yeast, pulses, wheat, rice (paroled and milled), bread

Riboflavin: Milk and milk products, eggs, papaya, dried apricots, leafy veggies

Niacin:Liver,kidney,peanuts,beef,mutton,pork,wholemeal cereals,pulses

VitaminB6:Avocado,banana,legumes (dried beans),meat,nuts,poultry,whole grains.

Folate:Liver,peanuts,green leafy veggies ,avocado ,pulses.

Vitamin B12: Milk and milk products, meat

Vitamin C, E: Both these are antioxidants.They help prevent cellular damage hence has anti-aging property, helps prevent cancer.

Vitamin C sources: All sour fruits.Amla,oranges, lemon,guava,mango,papaya,pineapple, green leafy veggies,tomato,lettuce,radish

Vitamin E: Fish oils, nuts, wheat germ, beef and organ meat, sunflowers seeds, eggs, green leafy veggies.

Vitamin D, K: Keeps our skin, hair, bones healthy, role in proper blood clotting and overall neuromuscular health.

Vitamin D Source: fish oil(cod liver oil), liver, egg yolk.

Vitamin K Source: Green leafy vegetables, dried herbs, dried prune green tea, also produced by probiotic organisms in the intestine.

Fruits and vegetables :Nature’s mutivitamins are packed full of delicious goodness.5 servings are a must .More the merrier .But the less you have it ,bigger the health problems.Know how you can get them into your daily diet without breaking a sweat.

How to change ..slow and steady….the rule of 5

5 Servings per day

2 servings of fruit,3 or more of veggies, would be best, but it’s better to be slow, steady and consistent. Gradually increasing number of fruits and vegetable in every meal helps to increase the total daily intake.

5 Trick to do this

Breakfast

Bananas , apples , grapes, berries,various nuts, fig raisins with oats or corn flakes
Fruit smoothie
Spanish omelette with sprouts, carrots, French beans.onions, tomatoes, peas and any other veggies you want.

Lunch: Indians love their sabzi as a side dish, so this is generally not a problem

Sauté seasonal veggies in olive oil, add salt pepper, nuts, raisins and a portion of brown rice.garnish with lemon wedges.
Salad of cucumber, apples, pears, shredded carrots, oranges and pineapples any others.
Raita/ yoghurt with diced veggies, fruits of your choices.

Dinner

Grilled chicken with grilled veggies like carrots, beans tomatoes, peas.
Salad of cucumber, onions Tomatoes.

Snack

Diced carrots, tomatoes, onions with boiled chickpeas/ roasted peanuts/muri (puffed rice)/sprouts with a dash of salt, lemon, black pepper.

Dessert

Sweet fruits like mangoes, apples watermelon, ripe papaya, grapes, sweet berries, custard apple, by themselves are deserts but if you crave chocolate something, dip fruit of your choice in molten dark chocolate.

How to start and stick with the plan

Slow and steady definitely wins the race in this case.Whatever be the number of fruits and veggie servings you have nowadays, try to increase at least by one serve per week. A gradual lifestyle transition causes less havoc than a drastic change.
Enjoy fruits as a family together, we started having fruits in front of our toddler which made her have them enthusiastically without much trouble.

Have them as salads, chats, snacks, side dish, main dish, dessert, drink any way you want.

Buy fresh, eat whole or cut, with or without seasoning just have them.Not only do they provide us with essential micronutrients, their fibre and water content and minimal calorie count make them ideal for losing weight and keeping it off the healthy way, so keep on munching!

One small step in the right direction is a leap towards a healthier and happier life.Stay healthy, stay happy and remember Health is Wealth!

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The affair with tea :Thankful Thursdays week 23

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on April 6, 2017 18

During my PG exam days in Delhi, I and hubby used to study together.

I used to get up in the morning and order breakfast.It was the awesome Safdarjung co-ed hostel where you could live with your husband and not cook.
Life was good. Tea, coffee, breakfast, lunch, dinner.Just order.

The downside it wasn’t that healthy nor really tasty.But it was quick and pain-free.
During exams, it was a blessing.Those were the days when I used to have my morning cup of ginger tea and start studying.
My hubby sat at the study table and I used to sit on the bed.Strategically.
When my hubby was deep in his studies, I used to put the book over my face (it shuts out the light) and take quick naps.
The main problem I used to get caught.But the tea helped a lot.It kept me awake to study enough and survive.In Delhi, I fell in love, with the milky gingery chai.My hubby called it a biriyani chai.The time it took and the blend of spices I used. It was a love affair and my hubby felt threatened.

I loved the creamy taste of milk and tea leaves packed with care by our favorite wholesale tea company, boiled with spices.I have written in detail about GERD
One of the first things I tell my patients is , don’t have more than 2 /3 cups everyday.

For busy people, these drinks give the kind of pick -me- up that few other things can.But everything needs moderation.

But when you are struggling with post-baby weight, several cups of sugary-milky-chai is not your best friend. So in 2016, I had to say goodbye to this delightful habit.At least it’s not there 26 days of the month. So what do I have now?

A wonderful gingery green tea.

It’s the most refreshing cup to wake you up and make you feel refreshed. Green tea has a lot of goodness especially when made just right.
I still have the occasional cup of milky chai, on weekends. But my morning starts healthy.For those days when I am upset, the perfect cup of milky tea tickles my memory.

How do I make my cup of gingery green tea?

I shred ginger finely and put it in the teapot . As the water warms up, I stop it just before it boils and gives the perfectly measured amount of my favourite green tea leaves.Wait for 2 minutes till the leaves unfurl and strain.The perfect cup is ready for drinking.I don’t like having biscuits anymore, but I don’t say no to cookies with tea.A few weeks back in Goa as I sipped my cup of green tea with dainty cucumber sandwiches and tea cake , I watched the sun setting over the ocean.I realised two things.

Life is too short not to do what we love.

Its too long to do what we don’t like for a lifetime.

Search Results for: health

The True story ..stranger than fiction

What happened: Details

The main presenting features:

What treatment did they receive?

Conclusion

2 strange unexplained events:

Sharing is good Karma!

Jackfruit benefits

Cool fact to improve GK & brain power

Contest Alert!

Sharing is good Karma!

What do you need to do to win ?

Our winner this week is Neha Jain of digimother.com

Neha was happy to win #MMM

RULES OF LINKY

Sharing is good Karma!

Doodling is a favourite.

Playing with the blackboard decal and whiteboard are favourites too.

Crafting

We paint our plant pots and decorate them together.

We bake together .

Nail painting

Play dress up and karaoke

Sharing is good Karma!

Fruits and veggies are nature’s multivitamins

An easy way to remember:

Top 5 Reasons to make fruits and veggies our best friends

Vitamin A: Keeps our eyes healthy

Vitamin B: Important for best energy production and repair of muscle tissues.Helps to keep our digestive system healthy.

Vitamin C, E: Both these are antioxidants.They help prevent cellular damage hence has anti-aging property, helps prevent cancer.

How to change ..slow and steady….the rule of 5

5 Trick to do this

Lunch: Indians love their sabzi as a side dish, so this is generally not a problem

Dinner

Snack

Dessert

How to start and stick with the plan

Featured post

Sharing is good Karma!

How do I make my cup of gingery green tea?

Sharing is good Karma!

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