TESTING TIMES

A check-up is often a warning bell for dangers ahead. Here’s why you shouldn’t miss your yearly appointment with the doc

AGE 25

TESTS:
Blood and urine test, chest X-ray and an ECG

WHY: You might be perfectly healthy, but tests at this age give you a baseline for the future.

BENEFITS: The tests primarily tell you if there is any deviation from the norm.

• Chest X-ray is important considering the city lifestyle — long working hours, train travel, dust and pollution. Very useful in detecting lung cancer, early TB and emphysema (a chest ailment).

AGE 30

TESTS: All tests at 25 plus tests to check cholesterol and glucose levels

WHY: It’s that time when you are well-settled in your career. But it’s also when unhealthy lifestyle practices creep in. BENEFITS It gives a clear indication of stress-related ailments — mainly blood pressure and diabetes.

• Ultrasounds detect Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), indications of which are weight gain, lethargy, irregular periods etc.

AGE 35

TESTS: Everything you have done at 30 plus thyroid tests

WHY: You are slowly approaching middle age. Hence any disease, if lurking around can be detected and treated early.

FOR WOMEN: Pap smear and mammogram; blood tests to check sugar levels and blood pressure.

BENEFITS: Thyroid function tests can help rule out any thyroid disorder, especially hypothyroidism. Ideally these tests can begin from 25 onwards.

• Pap smear, which should ideally be done as soon as women start becoming sexually active, can detect cervical cancer at an early stage and improve treatment outcomes. Ditto for breast cancer.


•DID YOU KNOW?

The growing risk of cervical cancer in women in India (aged 0-64 years) is 2.4 per cent compared to 1.3 per cent for the rest of the world.

AGE 40

TESTS: Everything you have done at 35 plus an eye exam

WHY: Because you are most vulnerable to diabetes and cholesterol troubles at this age.

FOR WOMEN: Pap smear, mammogram and ultrasonography of abdomen.

BENEFITS: Headaches, fatigue and other problems are often caused by vision problems. Many diseases can be detected by an eye-doctor including diabetes.

• Women approach menopause hence a sonography that screens everything — the liver, pancreas, spleen, bladder etc — is essential.


•DID YOU KNOW?

Indians develop diabetes at least 10 to 15 years earlier than the western population

AGE 45

TESTS: Include 2-D Echo cardiogram

WHY: Heart ailments are more likely to strike.

FOR WOMEN: Bone densitometry and mammogram.

BENEFITS: A 2-D echo cardiogram shows the functioning of the heart.

• Women at this age are more vulnerable to osteoporosis, especially at the perimenopause stage, hence such tests can help prevent and treat the condition.


•DID YOU KNOW?

A woman’s risk of developing an osteoporosis-related hip fracture is equal to her combined risk of developing breast uterine and ovarian cancer.

AGE 50

TESTS: Cardiac stress test

WHY: As you get old er, there are more chances of cardiac problems increasing

FOR WOMEN: Sonography of the uterus and ovary; stress tests.

BENEFITS:

• Early tests can - help detect cancers.

• Cardiac stress tests diagnose the presence and extent of Coronary . Artery Disease.


•DID YOU KNOW?

Rate of heart attacks among Indians younger than 45 years of age is five times higher than in other population

AGE 55

TESTS: Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test

WHY: PSA is a blood test that can indicate prostate cancer. If the level is high, a biopsy of the prostate may be indicated.

BENEFITS:

• Early detection can prevent the cancer from spreading.

LIFESTYLE REVIEW

These tests should ideally be a part of your annual routine.But at a younger age, you can even do them once in two-three years.But after 40, try to allot at least one day in the year for your health. Also if there is a family history of the disease, conduct the tests more frequently. Plus these tests give you an opportunity to review your lifestyle. Work towards your health accordingly.


• MAKE A FOOD LOG

Write down everything you eat and drink for a day (including amounts). Review the list for easy calories to drop, bad habits, and opportunities for improvement.

• EXERCISE CHECK

If you are exercising less than three times a week, know that you need to do more.

• STRESS CHECK

Make a list of things that stress you and things that you do that relax you. Subtract stressors and add relaxers until you have the same number on each list.

YUMMY BOX IDEAS!

This article gives a quick insight on the tasty recipes for school going kids.

After a summer filled with yummy snacks and great food, it is time for your child to return to the snack box! Quite a change, a snack box is not a very exciting thing to look forward to! Don’t believe me? Then try packing a hot snack into a snack box, put it in a bag full of books and then 3 hours later, open the box to eat it……… uugh! First the smell will assail you and then your eyes will open wide with disgust at the soggy contents, all mixed up and mashed up and then as the clock ticks to the end of the recess time, you have to eat it all to quieten the growls in your stomach. Not a very pretty picture, right?

Well, it need not be so bad, if you plan it well. Yes, one of the most important things that all mothers need to focus on is to prepare the child for a snack time.

Focus on your selection of a snack box

It should not be too heavy, don’t add more weight to what your child is already carrying to school. It should be able to keep food intact and compact. It should be easy to open and close. Look for boxes that have an inbuilt spoon etc, so that even if you forget to give that spoon, no problem.

Practise at home

The second step is to see that your child practises at home with the snack box! It is important that your child is able to use the snack box and if you do not help him use it, both of you will not understand what works and what does not. So mummies can start in the last week of the holidays by packing a snack in the school snack box in the afternoon and then give it to your child to eat at evening snack time. Keep in mind to pack the same snacks that you would give your child in school. This will give you an idea of what stays good and what gets soggy, what smells etc.

Most mummies have a complain, ‘My child does not finish his snack box’. Well, it is a basic need and if that is not met then the child will have concentration and attention problems. But what makes children not want to complete their snacks? It can be a variety of reasons like soggy food, broken food, leaking snack box, smelly snack box, etc.

Remember diet activates memory, so to remember what is taught in school, your child needs his snack. Another important fact is about brain development — the brain needs oxygen, glucose and chemicals. If your child is in a stuffy classroom then oxygen is already less and if he does not get glucose (from food and not glucose water, please!) then naturally he is going to be cranky and irritable, which are negative emotions and will release negative chemicals to the brain.

If your question is that, ‘I feed my child breakfast then why should I send a snack box with my child?’ Well, your child’s liver can only store glucose for 4 hours, so if you calculate from breakfast to his snack time, it is almost 4 hours and think of all the activity that the body has done in between, of course he needs a snack.

THINGS TO AVOID
Avoid oily food, no fried food, or only once a week. No snacks with maida. Substitute that white bread with a healthier option. No food items that will drip, stain and dribble. Cheese to be used in limited quantities.

Potato Wafers, and other packaged foods, a complete no-no. Find out three things that your child likes and alternate them, don’t aim to have 30 days different snack, remember it’s about your child and his snack and not about you winning some cookery contest. Avoid fancy recipes that look nice on the dining table, they may not stay nice in a snack box. Please tell your child what is in the snack box. Don’t play guessing games or surprise games your child may constantly try to open the snack box to take a peek. And yes, just because you send a snack box with your child, does not mean that you can skip that breakfast. Your child needs his early morning meal, and don’t stuff the snack box with breakfast left overs. Please send a napkin, and avoid tissue paper!

And don’t forget to send a small note, (can be taped on the box) with some cute messages, your child may just need that little pep dose after all that school work. We have a small selection of snacks for you, so have fun, and make your child’s back to school days as yummy as possible.

HONEY BEARS

Brown bread, honey, shredded Beetroot and carrots, butter Roasted crushed peanuts
Method
Apply butter on bread slices. Grate carrot and beetroot. Mix carrot, beetroot and peanuts. And then honey. Put mixture on bread.

MAGIC SLICES
Potato chip and french fries — all the time is not good for health. So try some magic slices made from tapioca (the richest source of calcium) and ‘kand’ and instead of frying, bake them.

SANDWICH FUN

For all your usual sanwiches, buy some big cookie cutters which come in different shapes, and cut the sandwiches with them. What a delight for your child when he opens his snack box and finds a cute star sandwich with a smile on it (put the smile with ketchup).

TRIED OF CHAPPATI?

Try Jumbo’s pizza. Make any sabzi, mash it and spread it on a chappati and make it look like a pizza. Here again use the cookie cutters and you have nice little bites that the child would love to eat. For very fussy children, add a thin layer of ketchup before spreading the sabzi and add some grated cheese. But avoid too much of ketchup and cheese on everything.

Other options to add on sandwich and parathas are palak chutney and mint chutney, spread thin on the chappati and paratha, crumble some paneer on it, cut with cookie cutter and tell your child to expect a small ‘green forest’ in his snack box.

The recipes given above are for a short snack time which is 15 to 20 minutes. You can try out different versions of recipes for the lunch time box.