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VARIETY
BOMBAY TIMES, THE TIMES OF INDIA
DTP
SLEEP DEBT CAN CAUSE OBESITY
AND INSULIN RESISTANCE
Pics: Thinkstock
ASK THE EXPERT
Pooja Makhija
Consulting nutritionist and
Clinical dietitian
Dear Pooja
During a regular health check up of my husband
(aged 40, height 6.2 feet, weight 74 kg), it was
revealed that TSH is 211, T3 as 0.38, T4 is 1.8. With
that uric acid came as 10 and creatinine as 1.5, total
cholesterol 281, triglycerides 140. In the last check
up everything was normal. After one month of medication (eltroxin and zyloric), TSH came as 12, T3 1,
T4 6.2 whereas uric acid as 5.8 and creatinine as 1.5.
Total cholesterol 127, triglycerides as 201.
My question is, is creatinine, uric acid linked with
thyroid? His USG abdomen, prostate and renal colour
doppler showed normal. Can you suggest some diet
chart so that the parameters remain in the range? He
does yoga and pranayam since a decade. Kindly
reply. May god bless you. I am very much distressed.
— Meghadatta Basu
Sleep debt can cause obesity,
insulin resistance,
irritability, depression, loss of
energy and fatigue.
[email protected]
H
ere’s some news that will probably not go
down too well with the weight conscious. A recent study has said that losing even 30 minutes of sleep per day could be a
cause for obesity and insulin resistance. Obesity
surgeon Dr Manish Motwani says that sleep is a
resting phase wherein the body tries to regenerate cells by increasing supply to the muscles
thus repairing the wear and tear of the body.
“Hormones, when released in right amount,
cause regulation of various metabolisms, which
decides the health of an individual. Therefore,
good sleep decides the well-being of an individual. Sleep-deprived people may be too exhausted
to exercise, they also consume more calories
because they are awake for longer and have
more opportunities to eat more. Lack of sleep
also disrupts the stability of key hormones that
manage appetite. Hence, sleep-deprived people
may be hungrier than those who get enough rest
every night,” he explains.
HEALTH PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH
SLEEP DEFICIENCY
There are several health problems associated
with sleep debt, the leading ones being obesity,
poor decision making ability and less concentration, which causes stress. Stress may cause
cardiovascular disorders and also alterations
in the hormone levels thus contributing to total
imbalance of hormones.
SLEEP DEBT BECOMING AN INCREASING
PROBLEM IN INDIA
Consultant obesity and metabolic expert Dr
Jayashree Todkar says that sleep debt is something that is increasingly seen in clinical practice today. “This occurs due to a lot of problems
associated with increasing stress levels and lot
of internet usage leading to sleep debt. Such
problems occur when stress levels get accumulated due to different time zones. Sleep deprivation usually occurs due to bad biological clock
followed by people. This in turn leads to a recycling kind of effect in the body, thereby creating
disturbance in the body clock,” she says.
Adds Dr Motwani, “We have seen increased
footfall of obesity patients related to sleep debt.
They gain weight in the first two to three years
of starting out with their sleep debt. Due to
work pressure, they ignore their health and
have considerable weight gain of 20 to 25 kgs in
just two years, which keeps increasing with
time and age. This leads to morbid obesity,
which may require bariatric surgery. One of
the leading causes of sleep debt is also sleep
apnoea, which has various causes, most common being morbid obesity. Unfortunately, sleep
Pics: Thinkstock
2
1
DID YOU KNOW?
3
4
POSITION 5:
Adho Mukha
Svanasan
(downward
facing dog)
POSITION
11: Hasta
Utthanasan
(raised
arms pose)
11
6
10
5
POSITION 6: Ashtanga Namaskar
(salute with eight
parts of your body
or eight points)
POSITION 10:
Padahastasan
(hand to foot pose)
8
9
10
11
12
4
9
8
POSITION 8: Adho
Mukha Svanasan
(downward facing
dog)
7
Thinkstock
Take care
of your
eyes this
summer
[email protected]
ith temperatures soaring, taking proper
care of our eyes is
essential, feel Mumbai’s ophthalmologists. We spoke to Dr
Keiki Mehta, ophthalmic surgeon, and Dr Nikhil V Nasta,
consultant cataract and refractive surgeon to share some
tips…
W
WEAR WRAP-AROUND UV
SUNGLASSES
Wearing sunglasses
that offer 100% UV
protection is a must
Just like sunscreen stops harmful UV rays from damaging skin,
UV treatment in eyeglass lenses
blocks those same rays from
damaging our eyes. Over-exposure to ultraviolet light is
thought to be a cause of
cataracts, retinal damage and
other eye problems. For summer
the ideal sunglasses are those
with a wrap around frame. It
lot of workout tutorials include sit
ups as one of the exercises that
help you lose those unwanted
pounds around the waist. But are sit ups
really helpful in belly fat reduction? Here
are a few things that one should know
before relying only on sit ups for belly fat
reduction...
A
SIT UPS BURN OVERALL FAT:
POSITION 9:
Ashwa
Sanchalansan
(equestrian
pose)
POSITION 7:
Bhujangasan
(cobra pose)
6
Please email your queries to
[email protected]
12
7
2
Several studies have clinically proven that renal function
is influenced by thyroid status. The pattern seen in your
husband’s case clearly highlights what clinical findings
state – TSH levels have a positive correlation with creatinine and uric acid values
and T4 levels have a negative correlation with uric acid in
overt hypothyroidism. Of course your endocrinologist
and/or nephrologist must be taking care of the dosages to
get these parameters as close to normal as they can. As a
nutritionist, I would keep the focus in controlling the load
on the kidneys by curtailing excess protein intake – limit
your intake of dals, pulses, chicken, fish and meat –to a
maximum of 0.5-1 serving a day. Drink plentiful of water
to help kidney expels the by products of digestion easily.
Keep the focus of small regular meals, limit the sugar and
fat intake as we do want to keep the weight and insulin
usage under good control to avoid any further load on the
thyroid gland. Fresh fruits and vegetables (limit some raw
veggies like – cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, turnips)
should be part of daily diet with adequate focus on sleep
and a minimum three to four hours of aerobic exercise a
week. Don’t worry with the right medical and nutritional
help your husband is on the road to speedy recovery. Good
luck and God bless.
Do sit-ups really help
one reduce belly fat?
POSITION 12:
Pranamasan
(prayer pose)
5
1
POSITION 4:
Ashwa
Sanchalanasan
(equestrian
pose)
“Given today’s hectic lifestyles, it is difficult to
expect that everybody will sleep and wake up
at the same time. But more or less, we should
try to sleep for a consistent six to eight hours.
There is a chain of endocrine glands in the
body, which works as per the cicardian rhythm.
In the morning, cortisol levels are high, which
tend to drop late evening. That is why our natural sleep pattern is to sleep properly
overnight when energy hormonal levels are
typically low. Sleep deprivation causes the
body to go into chronic fatigue syndrome,” says
Dr Todkar.
“Our body has a biological clock that adapts
to the time when we sleep and wake up every
day. It takes about a week for our body to adapt
to new timings. Hence, sleeping everyday at
irregular timings can cause a lot of confusion
to our body to adapt to timings. This leads to a
lot of imbalances in your body’s functions.
Thus, it is important to sleep and wake up at
the same time every day. A healthy lifestyle
helps maintain a normal appetite as well as
balance in your hormones.”
Sleep deficiency usually affects people engaged
in stressful work. “Nowadays, the problem is
also seen in teenagers engaging in a sedentary
lifestyle. Studies show that people who use
audio-visual stimulation beyond particular
hours are unable to lose weight and have proper sleep. So, they suffer from deprivation of
sleep and inability to lose weight. They also
gain weight quickly. People engaged in long
working hours try to keep their brain alert,
thereby resulting in consumption of sugary
foods to remain awake. Extended working
hours doesn’t give the body enough time to
repair itself, which leads to chronic fatigue.
Such a person is unable to do any kind of good
physical activity. This eventually leads to obesity,” says Dr Todkar.
“Due to their health problems, the elderly also
floor and the left knee and
ankle should be in a line.
he
classical
Surya
Take your leg back to a plank
Namaskar is made up of
position. Exhale and push
12 postures for the right hips toward the ceiling, whlie
side and 12 postures for the left. These your body forms an inverted-V.
make one complete cycle. Here’s how
Keep the back straight, front ribs
to do it...
tucked in, legs straight and heels
Begin by standing with
on the floor.
your
feet
together.
Exhale, bend your knees
Breathe evenly and bring the
chest and forehead down
palms of your hands togethon the floor into ashtanga
This set of asanas when
er by folding your hands
namaskar — with eight
performed at a gentle, slow
and bringing them at your
parts of your body touching
pace, can be meditative and
chest
—
the
basic
the floor.
help your body to stretch pernamaskar.
Inhale and keep your
fectly. When the same set of
Inhale and stretch your
hands firmly on the
arms towards the back
ground and elbows close to
asanas are done at a fast
of your head. Your palms
your ribs. Slide
pace, it is an excellent
should be facing each
your body and
cardiovascular exerother.Your head should be
look up as you feel
cise regime.
between your arms.
a stretch on your
As you exhale, bend down
neck.
and let your hands touch the floor
Exhale and repeat step 6.
while your nose touches your knees. You
should bend from the waist and try to
Repeat step 4 but with the other
keep you back straight, not rounded,
leg — the Ashwa Sanchalanasan
even if you knees bend slightly.
Repeat step 3 or the
Inhale and take your right
Padahastasan
leg back while you keep
Repeat step 2 or the Hasta
your right knee on the
Uttanasan
ground. Your left foot
Finally, repeat
and palms should
step 1
be on the
3
BEING CONSISTENT WITH SLEEP TIMINGS IS IMPORTANT
DOES IT AFFECT ANY
PARTICULAR AGE GROUP?
[email protected]
T
have sleepless nights. They might be emotionally disturbed or have health issues, which
cause sleep debt,” adds Dr Motwani.
Thinkstock
POSITION 3:
Padahastasan
(hand to foot
pose)
debt is an alarming issue and has become a
major health hazard in India due to lack of discipline and modernisation. Even children
nowadays spend more time watching TV rather
than playing outside, which causes sleeplessness and more strain to the eyes. Another major
factor would be the odd working hours of
young corporates, which is driving most of the
youth population to be sleep deprived.”
HOW TO
DO THE
SURYA
NAMASKAR
POSITION 1:
Pranamasan
a (prayer
Pose)
POSITION 2:
Hasta
Uttanasan
(raised arms
pose)
FRIDAY 3 APRIL 2015
If you think that doing sit ups alone will
help you get a flat stomach, then you are
mistaken. Sit ups don’t target your belly
specifically but can help you lose fat in
general. Doing sit ups at a moderate intensity for 10 minutes without rest, burns as
much as 60 calories. Your weight also has
a big role to play. If you weigh less than 68
kilos, you will burn lesser calories in the
stipulated time and if you weigh more,
you will burn more calories if you do
seven sit ups in one minute.
SPOT REDUCTION THROUGH SIT
UPS IS A MYTH:
Reduction of belly fat requires a disciplined and dedicated regime of a few well
balanced exercises. So, if you want to get
PSST....
rid of fat from your belly, the first thing
that you should do is include lunges, leg
raises, twist crunches and reverse crunches in your workout regime. Don’t be too
strict with yourself at the beginning —
start gradually and steadily increase the
number of lunges and crunches you do.
Don’t forget to do a light warm-up before
you begin your routine.
OTHER BENEFITS OF SIT UPS:
While sit ups might not be the best option
for losing fat overall, they do offer a lot of
other benefits. They strengthen the core
and help build abdominal muscles. Having
more muscles will, in turn, increase the
amount of calories that your body burns,
which will help you burn fat. Also, building your abdominal muscles will firm up
your stomach, and thereby give you a
sculpted look. This, however, is only possible once the fat is gone. So, include other
exercises like crunches and plank in your
fitness regime. They also help strengthen
your thigh muscles. If you’re struggling
with cellulite in your thighs, sit ups are a
good option.
— [email protected]
keeps the sun and the
summer, the incidence
dust out. Typically
of skin infection in
Unprotected sun
the ultraviolet light
swimming pools rises
tends to reflect off exposure increases the and
most
pools
risk of developing a
water and snow. If
increase the amount
you are planning
of chlorine or other
cataract. It can also
on water sports
chemicals to keep
lead to chronic
this summer, or a yellowing or redness the water safe. And
hill-station trip, be
this, often leads to
of the eye.
sure to use a good pair
swimming pool conjuncof sunglasses. If you leave
tivitis and also weepy irritayour eyes unprotected, redness ble eyes. The moment you get out
may occur and in some cases even of the pool, wash your eyes with
the cornea may get injured. Too fresh water.
much eye-strain due to bright sun- LUBRICATING EYE DROPS
light and staying outdoors for too Not just your skin but summer
long may give rise to a headache. tends to dry out your eyes too.
Avoid this by reducing sun expo- Lubricating drops are ideal at
sure — wearing a cap and proper
dark glasses.
EYE PROTECTION IN THE
SWIMMING POOL
A lazy swim is one of the most
inviting prospects this season,
but not without your goggles. In
this time of the year. The drops
should be preservative free.
STEER CLEAR OF THE
AC BLAST
When sitting in an AC room,
make sure the blast is not directed straight onto your eyes as this
leads to drying and sensitivity.
WEAR PROTECTIVE CLEAR
GLASSES
Summer holidays also translate
into a lot of outdoor activities.
Wearing protective clear glasses whenever you are outdoors
— camping, bicycling, cooking
around a camp fire and dirt
bike riding — is important.
TIP:
Selecting high-quality sunglasses that give 100% UV protection is
mandatory. Sub-standard sunglasses make the pupils dilate more,
thereby allowing more harmful UV rays to enter the eyes and cause
damage.