How much Coffee is good (or bad) for you ? 

 Ultimate idea of relaxation on a Sunday morning is having a good hot cup of coffee and reading the Sunday morning newspaper and lazing around in the house. I am sure many of us like this and is part of the Sunday morning drill for years. Some of you might be occasional drinkers and some of you might have downed cups of coffee during exam days. Or you might be the types who are constantly gulping down coffee at office or maybe a coffee aficionado. 

Whatever maybe the reason, coffee is part of life for most of us. So how much coffee is safe for us or recommended. Is it good or is it bad ? Should you be avoiding it all-together or maybe restrict it. Well let me try and help you out on this.

What does coffee do ? 

Coffee is extracted from the roasted fruit of Coffee arabica bush. It contains caffeine and works by stimulatingthe Central nervous system (CNS), heart and muscles. It improves alertness and clear thinking. Along with glucose the effect is further improved. 

It has other beneficial health effects also. It is known to prevent or delay Parkinson’s disease, prevent Type -II Diabetes and Gallstone formation. It is also possibly effective for some cancers of digestive tract and breast.

How much can I take ?

Each percolated cup contains about 100-150 mg caffeine, instant coffee  about 85-100 mg and decaffeinated about 8mg.

2 cups or about 250 mg is the average recommended dose. 

So average consumption should be about 2-4 cups, although higher doses are more effective for Diabetes and Gallstone prevention. So, sticking to 2-4 cups is most prudent as it will prevent side effects also.

What are the side effects ?

Excessive consumption can cause anxiety, agitation, restlessness, insomnia. It can cause heartburn, acidity, ringing in the ears and irregular heartbeats.

Not to be used excessively in pregnancy and during breast feeding. Should not be used in children, anxiety disorders, heart disease, hypertension and other serious medical conditions.

 

Five things you can do to fight boredom

 Five things you can do to fight  boredom

1.      Listen to your favorite music playlist

Keep a playlist of your favourite songs ready. Select songs which are generally happy and upbeat. Play it up loud and maybe dance to it or start a workout. It will surely help you get out of the down feeling.

2. Pick up Coffee and a book

Grab a cup of coffee and pick a motivating book and read it. Keep your favourite book handy or maybe keep a ebook with you always. Coffee is a known stimulant and book will inspire you. Preferably read from the motivational gurus. It will help.

3. Listen to an Audiobook

Audiobooks are a great way to read. It requires less effort on your part. Put it on with a headphone or just play it aloud. Again goes without saying, choose a positive, motivating author. Don’t read something which is dull and dark!!

4. Go for a long walk or run

Exercise is known to stimulate your hormones and in a short time, they are known to boost your mood and morale. Also,it always good to exercise to stay healthy. So walk, jog or hit the gym.

5. Make a bucket list

     Making up a bucket list is known to make you think about the dreams and things which you wanna do. It will help in conceptualizing your thoughts. In composing the list you will stumble upon new ideas and things you want to learn. That may inspire you to take up something new and push that dull and empty feeling away.

Desperate for Motherhood

The urge and drive to be a mother is the most beautiful and basic desire of every woman. It is said to have strong genetic undercurrents which is manifested by the strong desire to have a baby. Science has not been able to pinpoint the exact mechanism of this phenomenon , but it is like the most fundamental basic desires of humans and animals as well.

Although it is not incorrigible to understand this behaviour of humans, what is perplexing and often shocking to see is the extent to which your patients will go to achieve the aim. This is often done to the extent of endangering one's own life.

As a clinician you are also part of the dream of the couple to have a little one and guide them and help them in reaching their destination. You are also frustrated like them when the results are negative, and painstakingly continue the fight. But when things go wrong and at times horribly wrong to the extent of putting the lady in grave danger, you have to convince them out of this dangerous journey. It is in those moments that you have to sit back and think. Think about the desperation these couples are going through and the amount of risk they are willing to take !!

I then think, is this really needed ? To what extent should you as a human being go towards achieving this goal. There are lots and lots of examples wherein people stay out of marriage by choice and don't nurture these feelings. Then there are those who sacrifice and put this issue away to pursue their dream career. Then we also have plenty of people who are caught in the patriarchal mindset and the desire for having a boy makes them resort to sex determination and female foeticide. 

Whatever may be the genesis of these desires....maybe biological, genetical, societal, material,philosophical, religious or purely psychological, it is really intimidating and disturbing to witness this brut force of nature at work from such a close distance !!

Doctor we trust you !!

          It is a great privilege to be a doctor and practice medicine. The love, trust and respect that you earn from your patients is phenomenal. The opinion and judgement is valued and taken with a lot of seriousness, often altering the course of the disease and the life as well. This has been the norm for thousands of years and medicine has been indeed practiced in families. But things are changing. The automatic trust bestowed by patients on the medical fraternity is showing signs of erosion. It is onto us , the medical fraternity to stop this breakdown.

         Every other day there is a fresh case of hooliganism and vandalism at some or the other hospital. Doctors are being beaten up, man handled and brought to court. The headlines in today's TOI is "Why Pvt. Hospitals push you to buy expensive medicines". A detailed analysis of the commercial transactions follows. It all boils down to the rampant greed of the pharmaceutical companies and the doctors who willingly or unwillingly become part of their business tactics. On the inside there runs a article which writes about the striking doctors in response to the suspension of a senior HOD after the loss of a patient's life.

         So the point is, there is growing sense of mistrust about the medical fraternity. We have to all come together and stop the deterioration in the doctor patient relationship. These values have to be emphasised at all academic meets and educational institutions. Undue perks and previlages offered by the companies have to be stopped. Focus on academic education and not sponsorships is the need of the day. The govt institutions and medical colleges have to lead the way and bring on more standardised healthcare. Violators have to be punished by the medical fraternity itself. MCI needs to do more and not let courts do the final justice. Hospital administrators need to be patient centric and facilitators of healthcare. They have to be there to help the practioners deliver the services to the clientele.

          A coordinated effort by all the stake holders in bringing down the cost of healthcare will help in bringing the trust back. Healthcare can thus become more affordable and all inclusive. The Pvt sector can then take on more patient load and reduce the dependence on govt institutions. The difference in standards in terms of infrastructure and facilities offered needs to be bridged. 

           It is not too late. We are having the solid foundation of values on which we have based our modern practice. So let it not wither away or go down the drain. Let us safeguard the trust bestowed upon us and rise to the occasion. Let's bring back the glory to the profession and wake up to some good news on a Sunday morning !!

      

What is the answer ??

The sudden increase in the number of incidents of suicide missions targeting innocent civilians is horrendous and scary. What is it that is driving these people to take up arms and massacre fellow humans? What reasons can justify these actions taken with no respect for one's  own safety? What is the thought process that goes in the minds of these normal looking people who suddenly turn violent and commit these barbaric acts. Time has come to start thinking and  tackle this thought process so as prevent these mass murders.

The first reaction of the world community is to immediately establish the ISIS link. True, but these attacks are not limited to only one radical organisation. There have been instances in the past wherein other groups have resorted to these methods, whether it is the LTTE , Naxalites or the Lashkar. The point is, it is not just confined to one radical school of thought namely ISIS. So then is it  the dream of going to heaven that motivates these madmen. Yes it can be only madnesses that can drive you to take such drastic steps. But what about the present life. Is it not worth living. What is the point in sacrificing something you have in bargain for something which nobody is even sure of ... Something which nobody has seen !! 

The fight for a bigger cause, freedom from oppression, freedom to live without fear, fight for your motherland..... the causes are endless and the list is endless. But when such acts are carried out for one of these reasons again the same question comes in. What is the point in sacrificing your present when you can not be part of the end result? Maybe it is the glorification and the celebration that is attached to the "sacrifice" of the person in question that makes him do what he does. So it is the society at large which is responsible for this thought process. We have to stop the glorification of these acts which drive people to do wild and weird acts. Had this been the case we as mankind would not have seen endless wars fought for always the "right" reasons!!

The aim of establishing various religions over time has always been to promote a healthy and pious lifestyle. But ironically it is religion which has  been used to radicalise people and urge them to take up violence for achieving the ultimate goal. It is religion which is responsible for deep fault lines that lie within our society today. They have been exploited by one and all. Politicians, religious leaders or godmen. So this glorification of religiousness has to stop. The blanket sanction that people take for granted when propagating their religious beliefs, must go away. The notion that whatever you do in the garb of religion is fine must be done away with. We should stop taking religion too seriously!!

People argue that what is required is spirituality for the society. It has all the answers. The Nirvana, the Moksha, The Heaven, Jannat.....the promise is the same. Again one is being asked to sacrifice his present for something which nobody has seen. Nobody is sure whether it exists. So is it in any ways different. The thought process remains the same. Aim for the ultimate "truth". So do we really want to follow this unknown path. The pursuit of this path ultimately leads to a path of self destruction. A family has to pay the price of the renunciation. So should it be encouraged. Should it be preached. Isn't it a form of violence against the gift of nature. A life which we have been blessed with. So why not lead it in the most simplest form. As it is. Without any complications due to all these factors. As Osho famously said that  , "first we have to learn to live in the present". Leave aside all these vague and unproven goals.

How about a scientific analysis of the brains of all such affected individuals. Can we find a clue as to what triggers the mind to act in such a rash and violent way? Can genetics provide an answer? Can we brain map the individuals and find clues. Or is it nature's way of controlling the human species. A method to control the population and limit the damage we inflict on nature. An auto control mechanism. Maybe it was destined to be....by the "Creator" !!  Nobody knows the truth. Till then we have to keep asking....What is the answer ??