Condition - Antinatal

Pregnancy is an important time for both mother and baby, and a proper diet becomes more important than ever during that time. Clearly, a healthy diet during pregnancy goes a long way in paving the way for a healthy delivery. What you eat during pregnancy can have lasting effects on the health of your newborn. A proper antenatal diet should provide both mother and baby with good nutrition for the best of health, both during pregnancy and in the months and even years after birth. Consult your Dietician at Max for specific antenatal diet recommendations, and before beginning any new diet. Though there are some complication that arise during pregnancy if proper diet is not consumed

Complications

• Gestational diabetes
• Iron deficiency anemia
• Low weight gain
• IUGR

Treatment

Proper Diet and medication for each complication is recommended.

Condition - Diabetes

Diabetes is a disease which affects the production and supply of insulin in the body. The food we eat is converted into glucose, a type of sugar. This sugar is then used as energy needed by our body to perform various activities. Glucose is then transported in our blood. In order for our muscles and other tissues to absorb glucose from our blood, we need a hormone called insulin. Without insulin, our bodies cannot obtain the necessary energy from food.

In case, a person is suffering from diabetes, his or her body doesn’t produce enough amount of insulin as required. This leads to increase in the amount of glucose in the blood. This high level of glucose or "high blood sugar" is called hyperglycemia. High levels of glucose in the blood can lead to serious complications. Diabetes is generally a chronic disease in which there are high levels of sugar in the blood. There are mainly two types of diabetes.

• Type 1 diabetes can occur at any age, but it is most often found in children, teens, or young adults. In this type, the body makes little or no insulin. Regular injections of insulin are required.
• Type 2 diabetes consists of most diabetes cases. It occurs most often in adulthood. However, due to high obesity rates, teens and young adults are also being diagnosed with it. Many people with type 2 diabetes do not know they have it.

Signs and Symptoms

There could be many signs and symptoms of high blood sugar including:

• Blurry vision
• Increased thirst
• Fatigue
• Hunger
• Urinating often
• Weight loss

Causes

Insulin hormone is known to be the major cause of diabetes. Other causes are:

• Genetic defects of β-cell function
• Genetic defects in insulin processing or insulin action
• Exocrine pancreatic defects
• Growth hormone excess
• Infections
• Drugs

Treatment

When it comes to the treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, doctors primarily suggest making lifestyle changes to ensure a happy life. It is also true that type 2 diabetes can be cured with weight-loss surgery.

• There is no cure for type 1 diabetes
• General treatment involves medicines, diet, and exercise that control blood sugar level and prevent symptoms and problems
• Controlled diet
• Insulin - Type 1 diabetes is generally treated with combinations of regular and NPH insulin, or synthetic insulin analogs
• Physical exercise
• Medication
• Weight loss surgery
• Bariatric surgery

Condition - Malnutrition

Malnutrition is a condition when your body doesn't get the proper supply of nutrients. This problem arises when you do not eat enough food as needed by the body. Starvation is a type of malnutrition. There are chances of developing malnutrition if you lack a single vitamin in the diet. Generally, people don't know they are suffering from malnutrition unless it becomes severe and causes other health issues. Malnutrition continues to be a major problem all over the world, especially among children.

Signs and Symptoms

The symptoms of malnutrition vary and depend on the root cause of malnutrition. However, some general symptoms are:

• Fatigue
• Dizziness
• Weight loss

Causes of Malnutrition

There are various causes of malnutrition including:

• Inadequate or unbalanced diet
• Digestion problems
• Certain medical conditions
• Epidemic
• Other problems such as poverty, natural disasters, etc.

Treatment

As malnutrition is caused by the lack of nutrients, its major treatment includes replacing missing nutrients in your diet. If malnutrition is due to any digestion problem, it should be treated first to ensure that your body gets the best out of nutrients you eat.

Condition - Obesity

In general terms, Obesity refers to the excess amount of fat stored in the body. It is also known as overweight which means weighing too much. A person may be overweight from extra muscle, bone, or water, as well as from having too much fat. Obesity is generally not a disease but is known to be a major cause for the onset of various other diseases.

Consuming more food means consuming more calories which then leads to obesity because our body stores unused calories as fat. Not only a major causes of other diseases, obesity sometimes makes it really difficult for the people to carry out their daily activities like washing, walking, bathing, running, lifting etc. Therefore, it should be treated at the earliest to ensure minimal damage. Being overweight puts strain on your heart and can lead to serious health problems. These problems include:

• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Sleep apnea
• Type 2 diabetes
• Varicose veins

Signs and Symptoms

Following symptoms of obesity are:

• BMI – refers to Body Mass Index. This is actually a measurement to determine your weight with respect to your height. If your BMI is over 25, you will be considered overweight. However, if it goes beyond 40, you will come under the category – morbidly obese.
• Waist circumference - Extra weight around your middle or stomach area increases your risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
• Blood tests may be conducted to check for thyroid or hormone problems that could lead to weight gain.

Causes

In general, more calories stored means excess fat. However, the major causes of obesity are:

• Eating more food than your body demands
• Consuming too much alcohol
• Not involved in physical exercise
• Underactive thyroid gland
• Medicines such as birth control pills, antidepressants, and antipsychotics
• Smoking
• Stress, anxiety

Treatment

The most basic and foremost treatment of obesity is to gain control over your calories intake.

• Lifestyle changes – an active and healthy lifestyle combined with healthy eating is found to be the safest way to reduce weight.
• Reading nutrition labels before consuming something can help you know more about calorie intake you should choose.
• Medications and herbal remedies.
• Significant effort to lose weight through dietician advised dietary changes, exercise or changing your lifestyle.
• Bariatric Surgery – Surgery may help people who are obese for more than 5 years or more and have not lost weight through other ways such as diet, exercise, or medicine. There are different types of weight loss surgeries done to reduce weight significantly. There is a special diet after Bariatric surgery.

Condition - Postnatal

Most women want to return to their pre-pregnancy weight as fast as possible after giving birth. However, you might feel tired, sore and lack the time it takes to exercise and eat right with a new baby to take care of. Your hormones are changing so your mood may not be what it normally is either. All of these factors can affect your weight loss. However, if you eat healthy, well balanced meals with the right amount of calories and exercise as you're able to, the pounds should come off. Consult your dietician at Max healthcare, Gurgaon.

Condition - Rickets/ Vitamin D deficiency

Rickets is a disease caused by the lack of vitamin D, calcium, or phosphate. This disorder involves softening and weakening of bones. Rickets is considered as the most commonly found childhood disease in many developing countries. The major cause of rickets is a vitamin D deficiency, but lack of adequate calcium may also lead to rickets.

Signs and Symptoms

The various signs and symptoms of rickets include:

• Bone pain or tenderness
• Dental deformities
• Impaired growth
• Increased bone fractures
• Muscle cramps
• Short stature
• Skeletal deformities
• Bumps in the ribcage
• Spine deformities

Causes of rickets

The primary cause of rickets is a vitamin D deficiency in the body. Vitamin D is responsible for proper calcium absorption from the stomach. Sunlight is considered as the major source of vitamin D which lets human skin cells convert vitamin D from an inactive to active state. Due to the lack of vitamin D, dietary calcium is not properly absorbed, leading to hypocalcaemia. Foods rich in vitamin D are butter, eggs, fish liver oils, margarine, fortified milk and juice, and oily fishes such as tuna, herring, and salmon.

Treatment

The primary objective of rickets treatment is to relive symptoms and correct the cause of the condition. The cause should be treated to prevent the disease come back.

• The best treatment of rickets includes replacing calcium, phosphorus, or vitamin D that is lacking
• Eating vitamin D-rich food such as fish, liver, and processed milk
• Exposure to moderate amounts of sunlight is encouraged
• If rickets is due to a metabolic problem, doctors would suggest vitamin D supplements
• Surgery may be needed to treat some skeletal deformities