Health Journey

Nowadays, people have become health conscious. With the sedentary lifestyle, life has also become challenging health-wise. With the advancement of technology and the medical field,  no decline in health issues seems noticeable.

1. Vitamin D: For the last two decades, the deficiency of vitamin D is heard quite often. Maybe it is one of the lifestyle blunders we are doing unknowingly i.e. following a fat-free diet. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin,  and lack of healthy fats in our diet makes it hard to absorb enough vitamin D in our bodies despite taking enough sunshine or vitamin D supplements. Vitamin D supplements should be taken during daytime for better absorption into the body. The excess of Vitamin D in our body is not good for our bodies either.
2. Iron: Females usually suffer from the deficiency of iron due to monthly periods. Deficiency of iron is closely linked to hair fall as well. According to Ayurveda, vata dosha (the excess of air component) also causes hair fall. A regular good scalp massage for 6-months can help in thickening of hair as well as regrowth, some trials in research have shown encouraging results.
3. Vitamin B12: The main source of Vitamin B12 is animal meat. So, the deficiency of Vitamin B12 is more prominent in those who are vegetarian or Vegan. It can store into the lever. This injection is given in the muscle.
4. Magnesium: This mineral is easily gained or lost through our skin. So, a salt bath is a good source of Magnesium.
5. Probiotics: For healthy gut flora or microflora in our body, people take probiotics pouches. But, we should not take probiotics more than 2-3 months at a stretch.  
6. Wheatgerm
7. Macadamia nuts: Highest fat content among the edible tree nuts; good for skin and hair due to its fat.
8. Brazilian Nuts: Good for thyroid.
9. Kombucha: Fermented tea
10. Refresh Tears: For dryness and irritation of eyes.
11. MgO7: Mag O7 works to break down and remove intestinal debris, helping to create a balanced, healthy gut. Through it's unique and gentle formulation, Mag O7 also works to break down intestinal build up and remove unwanted waste.

1. Probiotic: I used to think that only eating healthy is enough for good health. However, it is partially true. No doubt, eating healthy is the first step towards a healthy body and living. When we eat the food, we first break down the food using our teeth, and enzymes present in our saliva also help to break down the food. It then is swallowed through the neck and goes down to the stomach through the food pipe. The stomach releases the acids (Jathar Agni) and a lot of enzymes that further break down the food. The stomach releases the enzyme called Pepsin, which helps break down the protein.  It next reaches the small intestine. Juices from the liver called biles help to break down the fat; also juices from the pancreas (insulin) and gallbladder helps to digest the food in the small intestine. Whatever food is not digested by the small intestine, reaches the large intestine where it absorbs the water and other useful things and rest is discarded as waste from the body. 
2. Germs are like the invaders to our bodies. There are four major types of germs:

1. Viruses: They thrive in living cells and cause diseases like chickenpox and the flu. To prevent it, get yourself vaccinated, or get shots or get an immunization. 
2. Fungi: Microscopic organisms that can cause rashes and athletic foot.
3. Parasite: That can cause diarrhea. For parasite cleaning, n alkali environment is required for stopping the growth of parasites inside our body. For this, people usually take Besan powder in Europe.
4. Bacteria: That can cause infections like strep throat and pneumonia. In the case of a bacterial infection, a doctor can prescribe the antibiotics.

So, to assist our immune system, we can take dietary supplements with natural bacteria and yeast cultures that regulates the balance of bacteria in our intestine. We need bacterial and yeast strains for the healthy intestinal flora and intestinal mucosa, vaginal flora, oral and pharyngeal flora. (https://www.burgerstein-biotics.ch/) . It is advised that we should not take the probiotic for more than 3 months at a time. 

Endocrine System: They produce hormones. The pituitary gland is a very important part of our endocrine system. The thyroid gland produces hormones which regulate how our body uses the calories from the food we eat i.e. metabolism. Adrenal Gland: It releases hormones to handle emergency situations. Pancreas: It is the largest gland of our endocrine system and produces insulin. Reproductive Gland i.e. ovaries and testes: they produce the estrogen and testosterone 

The nervous system handles the adrenal.

Water bottles and water filters: Sometimes, I feel overwhelmed by the information and the modernization. In India, I have been brought up drinking the tap water. Then, we started using the filtered water and again shift came when we started using the bottled drinking water. Then, I heard about the BPA contamination, so further shift came with RO filtered water.

But, when I moved to Canada and Switzerland, I was amazed to see all the big grocery stores are stuffed with drinking water bottles. I asked many about this that why do we need filtered water bottles in developed countries where tap water is so pure and safe. Even I took a tour in Switzerland organized by the municipality about how water reaches in our homes and again asked this question why do I see so many filtered water bottles in the grocery stores when as they were suggesting tap water is so clean, refreshing and healthy. They said it is a big business and they can not comment much on this. It kind of satisfied my curiosity as Switzerland is a big capitalist country. 

But, lately, I come to know about the BPA and lead contamination in the drinking water while getting supplied through water pipelines. I only thought the water should be unpolluted but never thought the water supply pipelines made of PVC, brass and use lead as a stabilizer is of equal concern. Especially in Switzerland, where we take pride in saying that this house or building is 150-years old and so. So, it is quite possible that the water pipelines are made of old material and miss the recent guidelines, which results in water contamination. That is the reason that portable water filters and filtered drinking water is so common in the supermarkets.

Vinegar: It is acetic acid. While wine is ethanol. When wine is fermented with acetic bacteria, it turns into acetic acid.

Nature Love FOOTSPA: This natural therapy foot care treatment claims to promote healthy detoxification and helps to improve metabolism.

Sourdough Bread: This bread is better than regular bread because it is made by fermented starter than the standard baker's yeast. Therefore, it could be easily digested and causes no or less bloating after eating.