Health,Wellness,Education,Mompreneurship
Mini book reviews, games, puzzles, travelogues, and deep insights from Little Miss A. Misra. Expect blog posts written with original sketches and topics that will make you smile.
Introducing Little Miss A. Misra blogger, a.k.a my daughter, author, and painter who is a book lover and gardener just like me. She is helping me create content for a long time and is the inspiration behind my artwork and children’s books.
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Book Reviews by Little Miss A.Misra
Stretch Marks & Weight Loss: How Are The Two Related? Those distinctive purple or red stretch marks on your skin have been a common concern among many, particularly those who have experienced substantial weight loss. These thin, elongated scars that emerge on the skin can be a reason for self-consciousness and can have an impact on your self-esteem. Find out whether stretch marks and weight loss are related and whether stretch marks due to weight loss will go away.
Before we dive into the relationship between stretch marks and weight loss, let’s understand what stretch marks are. Stretch marks or striae are red, purple, pink, blue or brown streaks on the skin. Stretch marks are formed when the skin is stretched beyond its capacity, causing a tear in the dermal layer. This tear causes the breakage in elastin and collagen fibers, thus resulting in the appearance of stretch marks on the skin. Red or pink stretch marks are the new ones in their initial stage. White or silver-colored stretch marks are the older ones and are more stubborn.
Weight loss refers to reducing the total body mass using fluid loss and loss in body fat. Consuming a balanced diet and checking your carbohydrate and protein intake can help considerably lose weight. Rapid weight loss can result in the appearance of stretch marks.
Now that you have a basic understanding of stretch marks and weight loss, let’s delve into how stretch marks and weight loss are related. Stretch marks are not exclusive to weight loss or weight gain. Stretch marks can occur in various situations where the skin is subjected to stretching, such as pregnancy, growth spurt in puberty, rapid increase in muscle mass due to bodybuilding, and medical conditions such as Cushing’s or Marfan Syndrome.
Above mentioned are the possible causes of stretch marks after weight loss. During weight gain, your skin undergoes excessive stretching, but stretch marks are not noticeable at this stage. But after losing a considerable amount of weight, stretch marks after weight loss become more prominent.
While it is impossible to eliminate stretch marks caused by weight loss completely, there are ways to fade or reduce their appearance. There may be a difference in the appearance of stretch marks before and after weight loss. Let’s look at some ways to fade stretch marks caused by weight loss.
Not all OTC stretch mark creams are effective. For effective stretch mark reduction, check the ingredient list and look for skin-friendly ingredients in your product. Striover is the latest skincare ingredient that has taken the skincare industry by storm. Striover is a skincare active that combines the goodness of 2 plants: Astragalus membranaceus and Codonopsis pilosula. Both plants are used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to boost the vital energy flow. Striover is the primary ingredient in ThriveCo Stretch Mark Expert. It effectively reduces the appearance of new and old stretch marks in 28 days. The groundbreaking Striover, the highlight of this product, stimulates collagen production and reactivates collagen and elastin fibers, restructuring the skin and fading stretch marks after weight loss. Regularly applying Stretch Mark Expert serum cream twice a day helps to reduce the appearance of stretch marks.
Keep your body hydrated, as itchy stretch marks are common due to excessively dry skin. Increase your fluid intake as it helps to replenish and hydrate your skin, thus improving the appearance of your skin.
Include skin-hydrating ingredients such as squalene (another key ingredient of ThriveCo Stretch Mark Expert), hyaluronic acid, ceramides, and niacinamide which moisturize your skin, improve its barrier function, and boost the elasticity of the skin.
Rapid weight fluctuation can cause skin trauma, putting additional stress on the skin and potentially worsening the appearance of stretch marks. Focus on slow and steady weight loss.
Sun damage can make your stretch marks more noticeable. In the daytime, protect your skin from the harmful effects of sun rays by applying sunscreen with SPF 30 or above, avoid going out in the direct sun between 12 noon and 4 pm, and carry an umbrella.
The remedies for treating stretch marks before and after weight loss remain the same. Treating your stretch marks while they are in their initial stage can yield fruitful results. Older stretch marks are more stubborn and very difficult to get rid of. Stretch marks are a testament to your body’s resilience and the changes it goes through. While there are ways to minimize their appearance, you should learn to embrace your stretch marks. Weight loss plays a crucial role in the appearance of stretch marks, but that’s not the only cause. It would be best to understand the factors that influence your stretch mark and take adequate measures to treat it effectively. This helps you be more confident and comfortable in your skin.
Stretch marks due to weight loss are permanent scars on the skin, but with proper skincare treatment, you can minimize the appearance of stretch marks.
Regular application of ThriveCo Stretch Mark Expert serum cream while losing weight can help with the appearance of stretch marks due to weight loss
Applying topical creams such as ThriveCo Stretch Mark Expert serum cream and bio-oils such as rosehip oil from the very beginning can help reduce its appearance by plumping up the skin, improving the elasticity, and boosting collagen production, and thus improving the texture of the skin.
You can also effectively get rid of stretch marks from the below-mentioned skincare treatments:
Laser Therapy
Microdermabrasion
Microneedling
Chemical Peel
Healthwealthbridge Disclaimer health information provided on this blog is for general awareness and doesn’t in any way replace a doctor’s professional medical advice. Kindly consult your doctor in case of any decision regarding your health, and diet.
Disclosure: This is a post written in association with a brand, but that in no way will affect the quality of information shared on the blog post.
This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2023
Quality of life is a big deal for us. It’s easy to lecture others about following healthy habits and maintaining a balance. But doctors are notorious for overworking whatever the reason.
Sometimes it’s work, sometimes it’s a duty, sometimes it’s something else. But 48-hour stretch duties were something that made me quite ill. I thought I was weak. Everyone else was doing just fine and maybe even more.I had unexplained mood swings, stomach ailments that wouldn’t go away, back pain, headache, reflux, hair fall, and low energy.
God gives us insight into situations when logic and reason are not immediately obvious. From 2018 November till date, I have made numerous small changes in my daily and weekly life to become stronger and I am stronger now.
The pandemic was a crisis that put good health squarely in focus. Doctors need to stay healthy to take better care of their patients. Doctor healing thyself is paramount.
Doctors and healthcare workers are underpaid and overworked everywhere around the world. The money looks good from the outside but if you count it like blood/tea/sweat money it’s never going to be enough. That was bad enough but now the medicolegal challenges, inadequate healthcare setup, and the problem of emperors-new-clothes defy all logic.
Nature heals. That’s why when logic doesn’t help, visiting the village home is like a vitamin shot for my tired frazzled mind. Slow is good. Just like slow food and slow fashion, a slow life helps you savor every moment like there’s going to be a forever.
Hope you like the slow weekend video, a virtual garden walk for you.
Workout daily: Be it walking, yoga anything
Plant and maintain a little garden: on the balcony, windowsill, or terrace, or in your yard.
Play a sport: It could be cricket, tennis, badminton, basketball, anything. Just daily to have some fun. You could also dance to your favorite music.
Sleep for 7 hours
A healthy diet is a must and you are set.
I hope you had a nice weekend. How do you unwind after a stressful week?Let me know in the comments below.
This part of Blogchatter halfmarathon challenge and also #CauseAchatter
The unfortunate incident of a double suicide at Tamil Nadu and a politicians strange dialogues is the reason behind my blog post today.
A meritorious young boy failed to clear NEET twice and took his own life .His father followed the same path .
The news is very sad. Becoming a doctor is a very noble dream but being able to fight adversities is what we must teach our kids .The politicians want to destroy both education, and health at grassroot levels.So nobody is talking about improving quality of education or health access from the grassroots.Its all about rhetoric.
Giving up one’s life is an extreme decision and is a mental health problem which is deep rooted.We need to get help sooner because there are always red flags .The system is getting more toxic unfortunately.
Plus no body is willing to listen to doctors when it comes to tests, rules ,regulations in medical education and healthcare.With private medical colleges having MBBS costing 1.4 crore at the highest it’s an impossible situation.
Simple explanation for a crazy bottleneck:Cost of medical education is very high in private setup (few can afford),but overall the government everywhere is pushing for low cost Healthcare and universal access .The cost price of medical education is now way higher than the return.If life is the price ,then medical education fails even before we get started elsewhere.
The study of becoming a doctor is to help people live a better life .Quality of life being crucial.If the system doesn’t correct itself ,then students will no longer aspire to be a doctor because it’s spoiling the quality of life right from starting to compete for a seat.
Ayone who goes and sits in the commissions etc forget what it was like starting out .The best we can do is reach out to aspiring candidates whenever we get a chance and tell them it’s okay.
I know a few people who gave the WBJEE twice didn’t clear it ,went on to study different subjects,did brilliantly well, now earning well and happy too.Atleast as happy as we can be adulting.
What could be a sensible approach
1.One education board nationally, with compulsory vernacular language ,+/-Hindi and +/-English.Learning languages is an excellent way to keep our brain flexible .So no fighting about languages. It has helped me tremendously knowing Bengali,Hindi and English.Communication skill is much needed as a professional and languages are important for that purpose. It also opens up the world of learning like nothing else can.
2.An option to use the class 12 board scores or a seperate entrance exam(this should be a choice) for securing a seat in a college or professional course through an open online central counseling option .
Another option is to give 50% credit to board exams and 50% to the professional medical entrance exam.
3.Proper career counseling of students and guardians from eight standards.Sometimes students are not aware of their strengths abd weaknesses ,a good career counsellor can help.But again that itself is a grey zone ,if you know what I mean.
4.Making the quality of education and schools /colleges universities all over the country at par (the crux of the problem).
This means Education which is a state subject,will need to have a central advisory body as a whole,both for quality control and ensuring adequate(qualified and quality) teaching staff who are passionate teachers.
5.Internship for all students from standard 8 for a few hours every day during summer holidays or winter break at work places they find interesting as a future career to see how things work,the stresses ,the challenges ,the fun ,the pay and how to mange the upside and downs.
Dreaming of becoming a doctor is the best way to start turning your thoughts into action.But both your Mental health and physical health is crucial .Don’t lose your health to make others healthy.There are no rewards and awards and “doctor must heal thyself first”. Believe me when I say this “no one will teach you to be happy ,unless you make it a priority”.
I hope and pray that the young man and his father and all those we have forgotten, who decided to stop living with us in this world find peace in the life after.
Om Shanti
P.S This is an opinion post written because its heartbreaking to see so many bright young people do the unthinkable because they couldn’t become doctors.Some dreams need to be given up if they prevent you from living.Its really okay.
My favorite author forever is still Enid Blyton.Even now my idea of a comfort read is revising one of the Famous Fives and Five find outer mysteries.
Her birthday was on 11th of August and this wonderful author born 126 years ago ,continues to make children all over the world happy.Born on 11th August 1897.She died on 28th November 1968 leaving behind a legacy of selling more than 600 million copies of her book worldwide.
Her work one is of the most translated of children’s authors and is available in 90 languages.
My daughter, her friends discuss the Faraway tree and Find outer like they are next door neighbors. You can’t believe the fun I have picking out books for the young Enid Blyton fans .Her books are a necessary read if you want to encourage creative thinking,out of the box brain storming and give children the ability to dream.
The school stories of Malory towers helped me plan many school picnic meals.The wishing chair was the inspiration behind buying my own rocking chair .Every morning I sneak a peak at its feet to check whether it will sprout wings,because you never know right?
We all need a little bit if magic and a lot of laughter in our daily lives.Children also need their stories to be full of adventure,wisdom and hope .They may not be children of today ,they may be children from another continent another time ,but children will be children .
Many so called literary critics have various issues with her work and the extensive changes in the new editions of her book is unnecessary to say the least.
My daughter started reading during the pandemic and she is now rereading some of these series .It’s fun discussing the characters with her and I will forever be grateful to Enid Blyton for making my childhood full of picnic lunches by the stream ,birthday party in clouds and my love for trees and nature .
Famous Five series
Secret seven series
Five Find outer series
The Enchanted Wood series
The Wishing Chair series
The Malory tower series
The St.Claires Series
The Naughtiest Girl series
Have you read Enid Blyton stories?
If you want to read poems by Enid Blyton.
If you want to know about Enid Blyton check out Enid Blyton by Barbara Stoney.
I became a reader because of Enid Blyton. I became a writer because of Enid Blyton. I started writing children’s books because of Enid Blyton. I learned to dream through her books. And even now when I see my daughter read them, I can’t stop reading them. But did you know Enid Blyton died of Alzheimer’s disease? She may have forgotten many things,but children from all over the World and adults who grew up reading her books ,will always remember her.
A common cause of dementia the world over and Lia and Martha from the Ultimate Blog Challenge have a fundraiser to help those with this disease.
This is a disease where there is a decline in cognitive ability to such an extent that causes difficulty in maintaining daily life functions.
The problem of forgetting is just really really bad and your muscles eventually forget to breathe. You don’t remember to walk, talk, eat. The worse part you don’t remember your loved ones and yourself.Its almost like becoming an infant again just more difficult.
Alzheimer’s is the commonest dementia known and affects people above the age of sixty-five and is the cause of dementia in two third of the patients.
In North America eastern and south-eastern states have the highest prevalence of AD.6.7Million Americans are living with AD.[Source ] 10.7% of people above the age of 65 yrs has AD.
Two thirds of American patients with AD are women.
The estimated dementia prevalence for adults ages 60+ in India is 7.4%,
The sixth leading cause of death.10% of cases occur in less than sixty-five.
It’s a neurodegenerative disorder. That is your brain is affected and the brain cells called neurons die.
It is insidious in the onset and the damage is progressive. It affects behavior and cognitive functions. Memory, comprehension, language, attention, reasoning, and judgment may all be affected. The order and speed of the function affected may vary.
The global prevalence of dementia is reported to be as high as 24 million and is predicted to increase 4 times by the year 2050.
Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by an accumulation of abnormal neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Plaques have a core of extracellular amyloid beta-peptide which is surrounded by enlarged axonal endings. There is neuroinflammation in the brain
Visit a Neurologist if you suspect your loved ones are showing symptoms of dementia. There is no such treatment at present but there is hope. Recent research in mice shows that targeting an enzyme BACE1 can “completely reverse” the buildup of beta-amyloid plaque in the brain the characteristic sign of AD . This gives us hope that there may be future scope for such treatment in humans (Source) .
Supportive and end-of-life care.
Vitamin D supplements (source ) since it has an anti-inflammatory neuro-protective effect and many people in the susceptible age group show deficiency of Vitamin D.
Omega three fatty acid supplements, fish rich in omega three, and olive oil all have a protective role in preventing the risk factors as well as AD.
Eating fresh and cooking at home keeps you safe from food additives in processed food that can increase risks.
Improve your Sleep Quality
Keep learning new things throughout your life to challenge your brain and for mental stimulation.
The drug, Leqembi, targets amyloid plaques in patients’ brains, a key feature of the disease. Study data shows it may slow Alzheimer’s progression by 27% over 18 months .[Source]
A new finger prick test is in the pipeline for easy diagnosis of AD.[Source]
Timely use of Hearing Aid in those with Hearing loss and AD risk showed slower decline in neurocognitive function.
Promising Phase 3 Results for Alzheimer’s Drug Donanemab [Source ]
Hormone Replacement Therapy increases risk of AD two folds in women.[Source ]
Conflict of interest statement
The author declares no conflict of interest
Alzheimer Disease Anil Kumar1; Jaskirat Sidhu2; Amandeep Goyal3; Jack W. Tsao4. Pubmed
Tang Y, Lutz MW, Xing Y. A systems-based model of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s Dement. 2019 Jan;15(1):168-171. [PubMed]2.
Zilberzwige-Tal S, Gazit E. Go with the Flow-Microfluidics Approaches for Amyloid Research. Chem Asian J. 2018 Nov 16;13(22):3437-3447. [PubMed]3.
Maccioni RB, González A, Andrade V, Cortés N, Tapia JP, Guzmán-Martínez L. Alzheimer´s Disease in the Perspective of Neuroimmunology. Open Neurol J. 2018;12:50-56. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
Blocking enzyme ‘dramatically reverses’ Alzheimer’s in mice https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320920
Vitamin D3-enriched diet correlates with a decrease of amyloid plaques in the brain of AβPP transgenic mice Jin Yu 1, Marco Gattoni-Celli, Hong Zhu, Narayan R Bhat, Kumar Sambamurti, Sebastiano Gattoni-Celli, Mark S Kindy [PubMed]
Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s disease: potential beneficial effects of vitamin D Bruna R Kouba 1, Anderson Camargo 1, Ana Lúcia S Rodrigues 2 [PubMed]
The Vitamin D Receptor as a Potential Target for the Treatment of Age-Related Neurodegenerative Diseases Such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases: A Narrative Review Władysław Lasoń 1, Danuta Jantas 1, Monika Leśkiewicz 1, Magdalena Regulska 1, Agnieszka Basta-Kaim [Pubmed]
Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) 2023: Presented July 18, 2023.
Lancet. Published online July 17, 2023. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)01406-X/fulltext
FDA: “FDA Converts Novel Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment to Traditional Approval.”
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: “CMS announces plan to ensure availability of new Alzheimer’s drugs.”
JAMA Internal Medicine: “Estimated Annual Spending on Lecanemab and Its Ancillary Costs in the US Medicare Program.”
2023 Alzheimer’s disease facts and figure
Healthwealthbridge Disclaimer health information provided on this blog is for general awareness and doesn’t in any way replace a doctor’s professional medical advice. Kindly consult your doctor in case of any decision regarding your health, and diet.
