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Non-Sugar Sweeteners are not your friend: This is why
Non-Sugar Sweeteners: Good Bad and Ugly.
Give anything ten years’ time, and the truth and false of it comes out. Like Soya oil , nonsugar sweeteners just lost all their glitz and glimmer.
Briefly (Source )
World Health Organization (WHO) new guideline on nonsugar sweeteners (NSSs): Don’t use them to control weight or reduce the risk for diabetes, heart disease, or cancer(noncommunicable diseases).
Sweeteners include- aspartame, acesulfame K, advantame, saccharine, sucralose, stevia, and stevia derivatives.
A few years back a relative while making tea for us asked me whether I wanted sugar or a popular brand of nonsugar sweetener. I said no to both. But being me I asked whether she was taking these sweeteners under a doctor’s prescription. She very enthusiastically told me that she and her husband were proactively taking these non-sugar sweeteners to cut down sugar intake and lose a few kilos. I carefully explained the side effects of non-prescription supplements and nonsugar sweeteners peddled by celebrities, health coaches/gurus/apps/games. If you want to skip sugar, skip these too.Sometimes its very difficult, but you need to do what you need to do.
Artificial sweeteners: Wolf in sheep’s clothing?
The Good: They are zero calories and may be prescribed under certain conditions.
The Bad and Ugly: It’s said that aspartame is very addictive to the brain (source ). It’s 700 times sweeter than sugar. In fact, it’s a much more difficult substance to stop using because people tend to overuse it in larger quantities to get the sugar hit. This causes your body to crave more and more of it. You think it’s zero calories (which it is) but it’s not zero harm as your body ends up having excessive stimulation and dopamine overload. Plus these sweeteners can alter your gut bacteria (source ) and cause havoc just like carrageenan.
Saccharin, sucralose, and aspartame even at low concentrations promote pathogenic changes in gut bacteria.(source)
283 studies were reviewed. In adults, pregnant women, children and it was seen they can increase the risk of type 2 Diabetes, Cardiovascular events. The very thing they were being touted to protect against.
What were the Outcomes measured?
The health outcomes of interest for adults and children were identified by the WHO Nutrition
Guidance Expert Advisory Group (NUGAG) Subgroup on Diet and Health as:
- Measures of adiposity (e.g. body weight, body mass index [BMI], overweight/obesity, fat and
- lean mass);
- type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes (incidence and intermediate markers of glycaemic control);
- Cardiovascular diseases (incidence and intermediate markers, such as blood pressure and
- lipids);
- cancer;
- dental caries;
- chronic kidney disease;
- Eating behavior (e.g. appetite, satiety, energy intake);
- sweet preference (e.g. subjective measures, sugars intake);
- neurocognition;
- mood and behavior; and
- Asthma and allergies (for children only).
So what exactly does WHO recommend?
Cut down on the sweetness of your diet. Skip the sugar and if you really want a sweet treat a whole fruit is a better option than any refined, processed food. Sugar is addictive (source)Consumption of free sugars has been linked to escalating rates of overweight and obesity (2,3), as well as the development of diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including dental
caries, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. There’s even a possibility that the WHO will classify some of these as potential carcinogens
While fruits contain fructose, the artificial nonsugar sweeteners are a horror unto themselves.
About fructose
Briefly, fructose is a fruit sugar that skips the natural feedback loop and satiety of glucose from the brain and promotes denovo lipogenesis that is the liver makes more and more fat droplets to fill your fat cells. While regular intake of whole fruits releases fructose slowly since they also contain fibers, fruit juices don’t give the same protection and can destroy the delicate balance. Even overconsumption of high glycaemic index fruits like mangoes can be a problem if someone has diabetes.About this some other time. Nutrition and health are not easy topics, so don’t cut corners if you want to stay healthy. Take the stairs, skip the chocolate(it’s hard I know), and definitely don’t buy hyper-processed packaged food. Give this blog post a reading through.
Reference :
Health effects of the use of non-sugar sweeteners: a systematic review and meta-analysis
. Rios-Leyvraz M, Montez J. Health effects of the use of non-sugar sweeteners: a systematic
review and meta-analysis. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2022. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.
Healthwealthbridge Disclaimer:
This is for education and awareness and not be taken as medical advice. Kindly consult your doctor for any advice related to your health and diet.
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Hearing Loss in Kidney Disease:What You Didn’t Know
Will the poor health of the kidneys damage Hearing? Yes, they can work in more ways than one. However, this side effect of chronic kidney disease is not talked about very often.
Sensorineural hearing loss in chronic kidney disease is common. Hearing loss often happens due to the illness itself and sometimes ototoxic drugs needed to treat kidney diseases. It happens from 27 to 77% of people suffering from chronic kidney diseases. The percentage varies between countries, depending on the burden of NCDs. Hearing loss is often long-lasting and worsens over time[1]. All CKD patients need regular hearing assessment to guard against this and treat accordingly. Timely intervention can prevent and protect Hearing.
All CKD patients need regular hearing assessment to guard against this and treat accordingly. Timely intervention can prevent and protect Hearing.
Dr.Amrita Basu
What kind of hearing loss is seen in CKD patients?
Sensorineural hearing loss, moderate to severe involving higher frequencies, is seen in CKD. It’s bilateral and symmetrical in most cases.
Tinnitus, a ringing sensation in the ear, may be associated with SNHL(sensorineural hearing loss). CKD patients are at three times greater risk of tinnitus than the general population. A patient may also present with Sudden Severe Hearing Loss.
CKD patients are at three times greater risk of tinnitus than the general population. A patient may also present with Sudden Severe Hearing Loss.
Dr.Amrita Basu
While evaluating hearing loss, a necessary part of the workup includes questions about comorbidities and ototoxic drugs. Non-communicable diseases like hypertension, Diabetes mellitus, individually and together, pose a risk to HearingHearing. Ototoxic drugs are toxic to the ear(oto) but often necessary to treat chronic kidney disease. It is the classic case of side effects where the risks and benefits of treatment are weighed in. Loop diuretics and Aminoglucosides are common drugs that can cause hearing damage.
How does kidney disease affect the ears?
Systemic disease can affect every part of the human body. All systems are related, and when it comes to nerves, they are extra sensitive.
Ourkidneys remove waste toxins from our bodies. They also play a role in balancing the electrolytes. The cochlea in our inner ear responsible for Hearing has fine hair cells and a delicate ionic balance which gets disrupted by-
1)Uraemic toxins
2)Distorted ionic balance
3)Ototoxic drugs are used to treat severe kidney infections.
4)Haemodialysis in some instances is due to multiple factors.[2]
The effect of all this may be superadded to damage the cochlear hair cells. It may present as a ringing sound in the ear or reduced Hearing.
Your nephrologist will advise about the ototoxic nature of certain drugs and the need for an ear checkup. During the early stages of mild hearing loss, you may not realize the problem. However, a tuning fork test and Pure tone audiometry by a registered ENT surgeon will help diagnose it.
When to visit an ENT surgeon if you have CKD?
- Annual Pure tone audiometry needs to be a part of CKD treatment. Get tested on time: at least an annual ENT checkup and Pure tone audiometry for screening.
- In case of reduced hearing in one or both ears.
- In case of a ringing sound in the ear
- If you have a problem with balance.
- In case of a change of medicine
- After Haemodialysis
How to prevent further hearing damage?
- Regular hearing assessment
- Better control of Blood urea creatinine, Serum electrolytes.
- Better control of comorbidities.
- Avoid acoustic trauma
- Avoiding ototoxic drugs
What to do in case of hearing loss?
If you suspect you hear less or are a CKD patient’s caregiver, visit an ENT surgeon. Your doctor will check the eardrum, do a tuning fork and advise the following tests.
- Pure-tone Audiometry
- SISI(Short increment sensitivity index)]
- TDT(tone decay test).
In case of hearing loss, a Hearing Aid trial and suitable Digital Hearing aid are advised.
What other things will your doctor tell you if you have hearing loss with CKD?
- Counseling and family awareness
- A support system and community to encourage productive habits.
- Avoid topical or systemic Ototoxic drugs(Aminoglycosides, Frusemide).
- Neurovitamins
- Strict control of blood pressure and blood sugar will prevent super-added damage.
- Maintain ear hygiene, avoid pond bathing, diving, self-cleaning of the ear, and forceful Valsalva.
The strict control of other non-communicable diseases like hypertension, Diabetes mellitus is essential because they increase nerve damage.
Increasing age and age-related aggravation of sensorineural hearing loss are typical. Like all diseases, prevention is helpful.
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.
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Microsoft Crash and the Crowdstrike puzzle
I am not a computer expert nor am I a cybersecurity expert .But sometimes back while watching a NCIS episode on Prime I saw a murder happening by manipulation of the navigation system of a car.Is that scary or what?
This Crowdstrike-Microsoft puzzle/mess/crash is going to be a worrying/interesting thing to follow up.We may or may not ever know the truth.
The worst case scenario
The technical breakdown by a techie which is somewhat understandable.
CEO of Crowdstrike with an apology but not really an explanation!
The best part about this is we realized being connected to a bigger system had certain serious,sudden,complications which ideally should have bee foreseen or managed.
Imagine someone performing a lifesaving surgery maybe robotic surgery hooked onto a system like this and their computer shows the Blue screen!Its not just panic it’s going to be life threatening.
So also planes ,train,transport systems,defense, banks everything.
Apparently Russia wasn’t affected because Microsoft had left them as part of some sanction.
What is Crowdstrike?
It’s a cybersecurity company managing Microsoft’s Cybersecurity all over the world.It manages the entire information technology ecosystem of many companies deducting and preventing cybersecurity attacks,malwares,data breaches etc etc.
But how come their advanced system didn’t detect this outage soon enough?
What happened?
Apparently global outages involved emergency services,major banks ,media houses,airports,stock markets and only they know what else.
Who owns Crowdstrike?
It’s owned by Mr.George Kurtz who is a former McAfee employee
Important to remember
We don’t yet know what happened.
We don’t know what or who caused it.
We don’t know if it will happen in the future.
We don’t know whether we will ever go back to believing a fully connected global system is a good thing.
This is the reason monopoly of systems and services should be avoided and all systems should have backups of backups.In 2024 the problem is unimaginable and gives us an opportunity to put our thinking caps on.Interestingly both companies are based in USA.
This according to Livemint is possibly the largest such “outage” in history and coming so soon after the attack on “Trump” makes me imagine all sorts of conspiracy theories.
Interestingly Crowdstrike has been a part of a conspiracy theory previously and is no stranger to managing difficulties. We hope this “outage” is exactly what they say it is(they are not saying much though) and not something more worrying. Imagine if the same was done by a company based out of a country not-really-friends with USA?How can an update with such power to harm be let loose in the cyber world without multiple points of checking and cross checking and what about accountability?A
Also this
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Van Mahotsav :National Tree Plantation Drive
Van Mahotsav, literally festival of forests or the festival of trees.It was launched in 1950 by Shri K. M. Munshi, the then Union Minister for Agriculture and Food. Van Mahotsav is an annual tree-planting festival celebrated across India from July 1st to July 7th. During this programme, saplings are planted in plantation drives conducted across the nation.So it’s more of a week long programme and often a month long on our end!
July means the monsoons come calling and that’s the best time to do our bit to make India greener.
In 2020 we realized the problem of living indoors when the lockdown was in place.We renovated our village home and decided to spend time planting trees and starting a kitchen garden.
What started as a life raft,ended up helping us make friends and plant more trees than we ever dreamt of.But though it sound like a dream planting trees ,finding place to do that and having a setup for watering wasn’t easy.
Neither was buying land.But like-minded friends who understood the value of sustainable nature conservation helped make this possible.
This year in July I am happy to report, that we are planting 250 saplings celebrating Van Mahotsav 2024 .We started today and we have a few more to go.Sharing pictures from today’s morning planting activities gives me great pleasure.Looking forward to sharing with you the journey of these family of trees.
This is our third project area for afforestation.
The second group Green project
Taking care of trees and planting saplings are a gift and a blessing.It cannot happen without mother earth,the fertile soil into which we sow our seeds.
I can look back to the year 2014 when I started balcony gardening and gradually how things became better .From the balcony to the soil ,a higher force guides us.Trees were there before us .We live because of them.My daughter wrote an autobiography-of-a-tree some times back and that has given me a fresh impetus to work for a greener,cleaner earth.
This is part of the Blogchatter Blog hop this week.
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Career of Evil (Cormoran Strike Book 3)by Robert Galbraith :Book Review
Cormoron Strike is not easy on the eye. He has all the charm of a porcupine and his assistant,come girl-Friday Robin is forever confused and messed up in her love life .
Name of Book:Career of Evil
Author :Robert Galbraith (Pseudonym of J.K Rowlings)
It all starts when a mysterious package arrives for Robin from a serial killer who has a personal score to settle with Strike .Robin becomes the pawn in the game she never wanted to play.But her grit, dedication and luck saves her from ending up like the other victim.While the story unravels, so does Robin’s love life when she grapples with her choices,present and future.
This is a book which takes an unpopular look into people who are truly evil .Those who when given a chance will never reform and repeat their evil ways ,over and over again with victims who are picked carefully.Psychotic killers who are fiendishly clever have a way of trapping victims like the spider traps the fly and there in lies the lesson interspersed with the story.
Official Blurb
The Strike seriesWhen a mysterious package is delivered to Robin Ellacott, she is horrified to discover that it contains a woman’s severed leg.Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed. There are four people from his past who he thinks could be responsible – and Strike knows that any one of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality.With the police focusing on the one suspect Strike is increasingly sure is not the perpetrator, he and Robin take matters into their own hands, and delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men. But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them…A fiendishly clever mystery with unexpected twists around every corner, Career of Evil is also a gripping story of a man and a woman at a crossroads in their personal and professional lives.
What I thought about the book
The author is a master storyteller but her weaving of possible romance in these thrillers are frustrating. It has the problems of teenage romance and does nothing for the story.Perry Mason and Della Street relationship is not easy to emulate .Saying that there’s still opportunity for things to get better or may be worse.But that’s something time will tell.
The mystery though is perfectly woven and the intricacies of the plot makes one feel miss having a whos- who section to these books .Recommended for fans of thrillers and Psychological thrillers who like catching the bad guy no matter what.
A fast paced racy read,which leaves you feeling a little sad ,a little angry but still hopeful that Robin and Strike will both find a way to meet in the middle inspite of the crazy stuff happening all around.
Please note :This is a Psychological thriller with rape,mutilation,stalking,serial killing in the story line and not recommended if you have any mental health issues that may be triggered by these.
This is part of Bookchatter by @blogchatter.
