Calcium Deficiency

Calcium Deficiency

The mineral calcium is well-known for its key role in bone health. Calcium also helps maintain heart rhythm, muscle function, and more. When you don’t get enough calcium, your risk of developing diseases like osteoporosis, osteopenia, and calcium deficiency disease (hypocalcemia) increases.

Calcium deficiency is a disease that affects the functioning of your body when your calcium storage depletes. Here’s what you need to know about it.

Symptoms

Though there are no early signs of calcium deficiency, people are known to experience the following symptoms:

• Wheezing
• Fainting
• Muscle aches
• Numbness in feet, face
• Brittle nails
• Depression
• Tooth decay
• Dry skin
• Memory loss
• Cataracts
• Kidney stones
• Allergies
• Chest pains
• Fatigue
• Numbness in hands
• Miscarriages
• Infertility
• Seizures
• Heart Failure
• Osteoporosis
• Cancer

Cause

Calcium deficiency occurs when your body is not receiving enough minerals such as calcium and goes through a process called demineralization. Without this vital alkaline mineral, your body relies on the existing calcium in your bones, teeth, and organs, which leads to calcium deficiency.

As you age, your bone density decreases naturally; and since most of your calcium is stored in your bones, your daily requirement for calcium increases. Other factors in losing calcium levels in your blood system include high sodium and phosphorus intake and deficiencies in vitamin D and magnesium.

Health conditions can also play a part in low calcium absorption or loss. This can include chronic kidney disease, thyroid issues, gastric bypass surgery, and even certain prescription drugs such as anti-seizure medications, proton pump inhibitors, and chemotherapy drugs.

Treatment

Calcium deficiency is usually easy to treat. It generally involves adding more calcium to your diet.

Do not self-treat by taking a lot of calcium supplements. Taking more than the recommended dose without your doctor’s approval can lead to serious issues.

Prevention

Ensuring you get enough calcium from your diet is crucial to preventing calcium deficiency.

Foods rich in calcium are:

• Milk
• Cheese
• Yogurt
• Beans
• Figs
• Broccoli
• Spinach
• Tofu
• Soy milk
• Nuts and seeds

In addition to increasing your calcium intake, it is a must to take charge of your lifestyle by exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy body weight, and avoiding alcohol and smoking.

To ensure your diet is well-rounded and that you’re consuming enough calcium, consult our Nutrition Department.

www.kokilabenhospital.com/departments/clinicaldepartments/nutrition/generalservices.html

Ensuring you have sufficient amounts of calcium in your daily diet is vital to living a long, healthy life.

For comprehensive treatment of osteoporosis, contact our first-class Osteoporosis Clinic to avail the services of our highly trained professionals:

www.kokilabenhospital.com/departments/clinicsatkh/osteoporosisclinic.html

Oral Health should not be ignored. Your mouth is a prime gateway to your body, and keeping it clean and healthy can help prevent various diseases. Here’s a comprehensive guide on oral health.

The Basics

• Brush at least twice a day, especially after eating breakfast and before bedtime.
• Floss every day.
• Limit the number of times you eat snacks each day.
• Visit your dentist regularly.

Brushing Technique

• Place the toothbrush at a 45° angle along the gum line. Move the toothbrush back and forth, and repeat for each tooth.
• Brush the inside surface of each tooth, using the same back and forth technique.
• Brush the top of each tooth.
• Use tip of the brush behind each tooth — front and back, top and bottom and up and down strokes.
• Be sure to brush your tongue to remove odor-causing bacteria.

Flossing Technique

• Pull 18 to 24 inches of dental floss from the dispenser.
• Wrap the ends of the floss around your index and middle fingers.
• Hold the floss tightly around each tooth in a C shape; move the floss back and forth in a push-pull motion and up and down against the side of each tooth.

Monitor your food and beverage intake

• Harmful germs and bacteria feed on sugar. By reducing your sugar intake, you can deduct the quantity of bacteria in your mouth. Restrict your sugar intake to mealtimes and do not brush immediately after.
• Be careful while consuming acidic foods and drinks. Acid strips tooth enamel of its minerals. Over time, enamel damage leaves the teeth unprotected against cavity-causing bacteria.
• Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to irritations of the tissues inside the mouth, including the tongue and slower healing and poor healing after dental surgery.
• Smoking also has harmful effects on your teeth. When you smoke, you interfere with the normal function of gum tissue cells and affect the attachment of bone and soft tissue to your teeth. This leaves you more susceptible to infections and impairs blood flow to the gums.

Regular dental check-ups

• The body naturally builds up plaque and calculus and if not removed, it embeds underneath the gum tissues and discreetly causes periodontal disease.
• Cavities can cause suffering and swelling, and in extreme cases, also the loss of a tooth. Regular checkups with your dentist will allow you to catch cavities before they turn into big problems.
• There is a strong correlation between gum disease and heart disease. Sugar and starch on the teeth produces large amounts of bacteria that end up in the blood stream. While bacteria normally exists in the mouth, gum disease increases the level of bacteria dramatically and it gets carried through the blood and can end up lodged in the heart and clog blood vessels.

Take a moment to think about your oral health. It’s something you should definitely not overlook. Developing and maintaining good oral health and hygiene is not time-consuming or difficult and it can lead to so many worthwhile benefits for the mouth and our overall wellbeing.

To keep your mouth healthy and your smile beautiful, visit our Dental Surgery Team for all oral and dental problems.

www.kokilabenhospital.com/departments/clinicaldepartments/dentalsurgery.html

Fashion is supposed to empower you and make you feel good about yourself. But to what extent?

Some of the trends abound can actually harm you and even make you fall sick. Here are some fashion fads you should think twice about.

Tight-Fitting Jeans

Yes, these jeans may make your body look good, but wearing them on a regular basis can potentially harm your lower body. Jeans can press into the nerves supplying the thigh so you can get numbness at the side of the thigh with some tingling. It can also lead to weakness in the lower limbs.

High Heels

While it said that the right pair of shoes can make or break an outfit, it is also true that the right pair of shoes can be the wrong one for your body. Lateral ankle sprain, stress fractures, worsening of bunions, hammertoes, neuroma pain and burning under the balls of the foot are common side effects of wearing heels for long. Moreover, prolonged periods of wearing high heels can alter the natural positioning of your feet and ankle.

Stretching and strengthening exercises can be done to prepare feet and ankles for high heels.

Neck Ties

It is of utmost importance to avoid securing your tie too tight. This measure is to avoid building up of intracranial pressure and its resulting increased eye pressure. Give your neck region enough breathing space at all times.

Gel Manicures

Gel manicures have taken the fashion world by storm recently. However, over exposure to the U.V. light that dries the nails can lead to photo damage to the hand, that can result in increased aging of the skin and also increased risk of skin cancer. This can be prevented by getting gel manicures less frequently or going to salons that utilize LED light.

Tight hairstyles

Women should avoid tying tight ponytails or buns often. Pulling tightly on the hair follicles for a long period of time can lead to traction alopecia, which causes permanent hair-loss. The solution is to loosen the strength of the pull and make sure that there isn’t any discomfort or tension.

For comprehensive treatments on hair loss, visit The Aestethic Clinic today.

https://www.aestheticlinic.co.in/our_services/hair-care-non-invasive/

Heavy Handbags

Large and heavy handbags cause a lot of strain on your shoulders, back, tendons, and muscles. This can lead to pain, headaches, and muscle tension, some of which becomes serious enough to need medical attention. It is best to carry light and switch handbags among shoulders.

The temperatures in the city are soaring, and if there’s one thing that can offer complete solace- its sugary soft drinks. Yes, they can be immensely satisfying, but little do you know, they can wreck your entire body.

There are approximately 10 teaspoons of added sugar in a single can of cola. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommend consuming no more than 6 teaspoons of added sugar daily, meaning drinking just one serving of cola a day could take you well above these guidelines.

As such, it is no surprise that sugary drink consumption is associated with an array of health conditions. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, people who drink 1-2 cans of sugary beverages daily are 26% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. That’s not where it ends. Read on to find out the harmful effects of drinking soft drinks.

Sugar Sack

A single can of soda contains the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar. This amount of sugar, especially in liquid form, skyrockets the blood sugar and causes an insulin reaction in the body. Over time, this can lead to diabetes or insulin resistance, not to mention weight gain and other health problems. Soft drink companies are the largest user of sugar in the country.

Phosphoric Acid Poison

Soda contains phosphoric acid, which interferes with the body’s ability to absorb calcium and can lead to osteoporosis, cavities and bone softening. Phosphoric Acid also interacts with stomach acid, slowing digestion and blocking nutrient absorption.

Artificial Sweeteners

In diet sodas, aspartame is used as a substitute for sugar, and can actually be more harmful. It has been linked to almost a hundred different health problems including seizures, multiple sclerosis, brain tumours, diabetes, and emotional disorders. It converts to methanol at warm temperatures and methanol breaks down to formaldehyde and formic acid. Diet sodas also increase the risk of metabolic syndrome, which causes belly fat, high blood sugar and raised cholesterol.

Cartload of Caffeine

Most sodas contain caffeine, which has been linked to certain cancers, breast lumps, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, and other problems.

Watch out for the Water

The water used in soda is just simple tap water and can contain chemicals like chlorine, fluoride and traces of heavy metals.

Obesity Obviously

Harvard University researchers have recently positively linked soft drinks to obesity. The study found that 12 year olds who drank soda were more likely to be obese than those who didn’t, and for each serving of soda consumed daily, the risk of obesity increased 1.6 times.

Excessively Extra Fructose

Sodas contain High Fructose Corn Syrup, which comes from corn. Most of this corn has been genetically modified, and there are no long term studies showing the safety of genetically modified crops, as genetic modification of crops has only been around since the 1990s. Also, the process of making High Fructose Corn Syrup involves traces of mercury, which causes a variety of long term health problems.

Lack of Nutrients

There is absolutely no nutritional value in soda whatsoever. Not only are there many harmful effects of soda, but there are not even any positive benefits to outweigh them. Soda is an unnatural substance that harms the body.

Disturbing Dehydration

Because of the high sugar, sodium and caffeine content in soda, it dehydrates the body and over a long period of time can cause chronic dehydration.

Bad for the teeth

Drinking soda regularly causes plaque to build up on the teeth and can lead to cavities and gum disease.

Don’t get carried away in the craze of drinking soft drinks. It’s better to decrease your soft drink intake and increase the amount of water you consume on a daily basis. Try carrying a refillable water bottle with you so that you have something to drink when thirst hits. If you need a hint of flavor, try adding slices of fruit to your water to infuse it with flavor. Watermelon, lemon, lime and peach are good options.