A diabetic can eat rice, potato,mango and banana

 A diabetic eats wheat but not rice. The reason is that rice raises the blood sugar by 73%  and roti or chapatti raised the blood sugar by 65%. 

But do you eat dry rice?. 

you mix it with curds, A mixture of rice with curds will bring down rice induced rise in blood sugar.(Curd raises the blood sugar by 41%) 
Similarly, pulses like chole, rajmah, mung dal raise the blood sugar by only 25% and the mixture of rice-chole or rice-dal will bring down blood glucose raised by the rice alone.

Both rice and wheat have same calories and it does not matter whether you eat rice or roti as long as the amount is restricted.
Besides, the quality of the protein in rice is better than that of wheat.

What about potato?

It is true that boiled potato raises the blood sugar by 78%
But you do not eat only potato in your meals. It is a mix of cereals, pulses, vegetables, curds which will bring down the potato induced rise in blood glucose significantly.

Protein content of potato is low(2g/100g) but its biological value is equal to that of egg protein. It is a good source of carbohydrate and it must be a part of our diet. You cannot discard it just because it raised the blood glucose by 78%.
Potato has very low calories (80/100g), high nutritive value and fibre content.

Mango?

 Mango raises the blood glucose by 51% which is much less than rice or potato, which gives us an indication that it is safe to eat a mango. It has low calories (74 / 100G)

Mango has high fibre content and vitamins and 
anti oxidants.

And banana?
It raises the blood sugar only by 51%.Banana has high fibre contents and low calories (115/100g)

Both mango and banana have high fibre content  which helps blood sugar to rise gradually and not quickly. 

Regular consumption of fruit is generally associated with reduced risks of several diseases and functional declines associated with aging. It is true for a normal person as well as a diabetic. So, a diabetic has no reason to avoid fruits.

So eating 1-2 mangoes in summer and one banana daily round the year is healthy. (Don't eat 6 mangoes or bananas)

Eating Marie biscuits every day and avoiding mango or a banana is strange

What is depression?

             

Sadness is not depression:

Sadness or grief is seen after the death of a loved one, loss of a job or the ending of a relationship. but eventually the person is able to overcome this grief and move on with his life.
"Time heals all wounds" is true for a normal person,but not for a depressed person because he is highly vulnerable to stress than a normal person..

Being sad is not the same as having depression. 

Depression can occur without any "loss" or a trigger
He feels sad even when everything is fine in his life.
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Characteristics of depression:
low self esteem,
Feels worthless
Unable to derive pleasure and enjoy
Indifferent 
Feeling of hopelessness and helplessness
All these features interfere with every aspect of a person's life and make him miserable.

Risk factors for depression

Biochemical :

There is a deficiency of some chemicals in brain which give rise to the symptoms. Anti depressants elevate the levels of these chemicals, and elevate the mood.

Genetics:
Depression runs in families. If one identical twin has depression, the other has a 70 percent chance it sometime in life.

Personality:

These people have low self esteem.They are easily overwhelmed by stress,They are generally pessimistic and more likely to experience depression.

Environmental factors:

Continuous exposure to violence, neglect, abuse or poverty may make some people more vulnerable to depression.

How Is Depression Treated?

Depression is a highly treatable illness.and hence you need not suffer needlessly. Between 80 and 90 percent of people feel better with the treatment. 

Self - help and coping

Regular exercise will improve the mood. 
Ensure a good quality sleep.
Eat a healthy diet
Avoid alcohol (a depressant).
Majority of alcoholics are suffering from underlying depression.and get habituated to drink. If depression is treated they will not feel like drinking and if they avoid alcohol it will help to improve the mood.

Depression is associated with low blood pressure 
Increase salt intake.
There is no medicine to elevate low blood pressure.

Depression is a real illness and help is available. With proper diagnosis and treatment, the vast majority of people with depression will overcome it. 
If you are experiencing symptoms of depression, a first step is to see your family physician or psychiatrist. Talk about your concerns and request a thorough evaluation. 

Childhood depression

   

Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity. 

Often it is caused by a mixture of things.  For example,your child may have inherited a tendency to depression and also have experienced some difficult life events such as bullying in the school or sexual abuse or separation of parents,

What are the symptoms?

Irritability (not sadness)
Aggression
Aches and pains
Lethargy 
Not spending time in play                                 
Disturbed sleep and appetite
Feeling of being not loved
Bed wetting


Consequences:

Drug abuse
obesity
run away
Loneliness
Risk of heart attack in adulthood


The problem remains undiagnosed, and untreated, because the parents are not aware

If you think your child is depressed

It's important to talk to them. Try to find out what's troubling them and how they are feeling. Take it seriously. It could be a major problem.
The word depression carries a 'stigma' and it is very hard for the parents to accept the diagnosis.They need to take action and take the child to a psychiatrist.

Low blood pressure and low mood

Low blood pressure has been defined as systolic pressure below 100 mm Hg and diastolic below 70 mm Hg . ..

Chronic constitutional low blood pressure is seen in the general population. It affects quality of life, because of many symptoms. Its mechanisms are not well understood and there are no medicines to bring it to normal level. 

What's considered low blood pressure for one individual may be normal for someone else. Most doctors consider blood pressure too low only if it causes symptoms. Some experts define low blood pressure as readings lower than 90 mm Hg systolic or 60 mm Hg diastolic. If either number is below that, your pressure is lower than normal.Low blood pressure is more common in women





Low B.P. and depression

Many symptoms associated with low systolic blood pressure such as tiredness, giddiness, tendency to cry, disturbed sleep, and suicidal thoughts. These are the characteristic symptoms of depression.
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Some relationship exists between low blood pressure and depression. It does not mean that low blood pressure is causing depression.or depression is causing low blood pressure. These two conditions are commonly seen together in the same individual. There could be a common underlying cause for both these conditions, but we do not know.

What should we do?

• There is no treatment for low blood pressure, but we should treat depression to give symptomatic relief to the patient. 
• Take iron, vitamin B12 or vitamin D if there is deficiency
• Take more salt
• Avoid alcohol (strictly)
• Drink coffee
• Regular physical exercise improves mood and positive feeling

Depression is a real illness and help is available. With proper diagnosis and treatment, the vast majority of people with depression will overcome it. The first step is to see your family physician or psychiatrist. Talk about your concerns and request a thorough evaluation. .

Diabetic diet

           
          
It consists of cereals, pulses, fruits and vegetables.

Cereals:

wheat, rice, jowar and bajra.

Pulses:
They are of various types

Bengal gram (chole or chana)        
Black gram (udad)
Green gram (Mung)                          
Lentils (Masur)
Peas (Vatana or matar)
Rajmah
Red gram (Turdal)
Soybean 


Pulses are a rich source of fiber, which is not absorbed in intestine and it helps to reduce the rise of blood sugar after a meal

We eat cereals in large amounts but eat very little pulses.There is a need to restrict the amount of rice and wheatand increase the intake of pulses.This approach will reduce the level of blood sugar after lunch and will help in reducing the dose of insulin and oral hypoglycemic drugs over a period of time.

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Physicians of ancient India used to treat diabetes with barley and green gram(Mung) 

Please eat less and less of rice,and wheat and more and more of pulses like chole, rajmah, mung,

How much?

Chole or rajmah prepared from 50 g or more of raw portion.
The entire amount to be finished by the patient in one day

Diabetics can eat fruits

 Many diabetics feel that they are not supposed to eat fruits.This is wrong. A diabetic can eat everything that a normal man can eat, but in a less quantity because he has to restrict calories.

     Fruits have less calories, as shown below. 
    At least 3 types of fruits should be consumed every day

     In summer season, one mango should be eaten daily. So,there is no reason to avoid mango or banana. Off course,you are not eating 4 mangoes or bananas in a day.(moderation in every thing)

   People eat Marie biscuits every day, but avoid a banana.

   This is strange.

Fruit                  Calories (100 G)

Banana                 116

•Mango                  74

•Chiku                         98

•Apple                    60

•Grapes                 70

 •Papaya                  32

•Water melon         17

     Regular consumption of fruit is generally associated with reduced risks of several diseases and functional declines associated with aging.
         


Fruits have high nutritive value:

Low calories
Fructose (very delicious taste)
Vitamins
Minerals
Fiber 
Anti oxidants                             

What is stress?

             

Concept of stress has it's origin in physics and engineering.

Stress: Force or pressure exerted upon a material object

Strain:  Reaction of the object to the force exerted.

This concept was borrowed in life sciences by Hans Selye in 1936

Stress means different things to different people. For a businessman it is fear of loss. For an exam going student it is a problem of concentration,for an athlete it is anxiety of performance, for an executive it is the fear of failure and being sidetracked, for a patient it is fear of pain and suffering.

But in all these situations there is an identical biochemical response,which helps to cope with the increase demand or threat.

Stress is of 2 types;

Eu-stress (good stress)

Distress (Bad stress)  

Eu-stress:

Game of chess

An athlete in a competition

Pursuit of new occupation

Joy of creation

Making love

In all these situations the outcome is pleasant and it is rewarding.It helps to avoid danger or meet a deadline. The stress makes us organised and improves our performance. Eu-stress is desirable,beneficial and healthy.

Distress (bad stress):

It occurs due to various life situations in business, health, marriage,and natural calamities.It increases the risk of strokes, heart attacks, stomach ulcers,and mental illnesses. 

There are a few lucky ones who have a eu-stress in their life, but majority are facing a distress.

Stress arises from different life situations: 

• Domestic (maximum impact)

• Unemployment

• Threat of losing job

• Job dissatisfaction

• poor housing

Domestic situations create a maximum amount of stress. It involves a conflict with spouse,parents,or children. 

It means that maximum stress is given to you by your near and dear ones. Strangers have no time and interest in you.

   

Early signs of depression

     

• Loss of pleasure

• Joylessness

We enjoy our life, going to restaurants, movies, picnics. We plan these activities and derive pleasure. We have seen Sunset umpteen number of times, but still enjoy it again and again. We are happy to see roses. We enjoy pakodas in rainy season. Some people watch Hindi or Marathi serials on T.V. 
If they miss that time, then they watch the repeat telecast next day.

This shows we are enjoying life and not suffering from depression.But,if a person is unable to enjoy life,and does not find any pleasure for a period of 3 weeks, then he is suffering from depression, Although it is subjective, it is very 
reliable.
Diagnosis of depression does not require any tests such as 
X -ray, MRI, sonography, blood test or urine test. It is based on what the patient says.  

Then what happens?

The person does not report this to his family doctor.(what for? I do not have diabetes, blood pressure,backache, I just feel sad. what a doctor can do?) He or she may mention this to the spouse, who will brush it off as something trivial and not to be taken seriously 

If this depression is intense, then it induces some physical signs,such as neck pain or backache,tiredness,gastric upsets, This is called as somatization, (Mental distress transformed into physical  symptoms) Then the spouse and the relatives take the person to a doctor, get all the tests done,advise him to take care, and take some rest.

Physical complaints are respected but not the mental symptoms (they are all in the imagination)

What is Self esteem? Can you measure it?

 Self-esteem means feeling good about yourself. You believe in yourself and feel proud. you feel competent and worthy     

                
It is a personality trait, which means that it tends to be stable and enduring.

The outcome:

• Good academic achievement
• happiness,
• satisfaction in marriage and relationships.

Good self esteem

Confidence
Ability to say "No"
Positive outlook
Believe in certain values 
Learn from the past.
Enjoy what they do

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Low self esteem

• Negative outlook
• Hypersensitive to criticism; Resents his critics
• Focus on weaknesses
• Exaggerates past mistakes
• Excess desire to please others
• Look for the approval and praise
• Feelings of shame, depression, or anxiety
• Belief that others are better than you

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  • The Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSES), developed by the sociologist Morris    Rosenberg, is widely used in social-science research. It uses a scale of 0–30 where a score less than 15 may indicate a problematic low self esteem.
• Please read each statement and record your score.
• 0 = Strongly disagree
• 1 = Disagree
• 2 = Agree
• 3 = strongly agree
• A score of less than 15 indicates low self esteem

Measure your self esteem:

 I feel I am a person of worth,at least on an equal plane with others

I feel that I have a number of good qualities

All in all I am inclined to feel that I am a failure

I am able to do things as well as most of the people

I feel I do not have much to be proud of

I take a positive attitude towards myself

On the whole i am satisfied with myself

I wish I could have more respect for myself

I certainly feel useless at times

At times I feel I am no good at all

What you should do if you have a low self esteem?     Learn to tolerate criticism:

• Do not resent the person who criticizes you. He may be speaking truth but the way of saying is rude. Ignore the rudeness and introspect.

• Do nor feel insulted (so easily)

This is not that difficult to achieve, if you make conscious efforts.

Please help yourself. Good luck

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