Magnesium is known as an ultimate relaxation mineral. Healthy levels of magnesium calm the nerves, promote good sleep and good mood, and bring anxiety and depression levels several notches down. In simple words, magnesium equips our nervous system to respond to stress better. Magnesium deficiency has been associated with a wide range of stressful conditions – jingled nerves, migraine, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, audio-genic stress, depression, anxiety and poor sleep.

Our body is an amazing machine. Even when we are sleeping, it is working hard, doing amazing stuff at the backend to keep us healthy and rejuvenated. We all know how an all-nighter can make us feel all grumpy, tired and stressed. It is because sleep has a direct impact on the functioning of our central nervous system, the information highway of our body – affecting our mood, internal balance, cognitive and decision making abilities. Sleep deficiency is often cited as one of the biggest reasons for road and aviation accidents. In fact, two of the most tragic nuclear disasters in the recent history such as the 1979 Three Mile Island and the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear reactor meltdown have been linked to the lack of sleep.

This may very well be one of the most debatable topics in oncology. High dose vitamin C has been studied as a cancer treatment since 1970’s but not without its share of controversies. But a new study from the University of Iowa (UI) published in Redox Biology shed some light into why the efficacy of high dose vitamin C as cancer therapy has shown mixed results.

High levels of LDL cholesterol, triglycerides - or both - in the blood plasma are one of the leading risk factors related to cardiovascular diseases. Lifestyle modifications – involving weight loss and reduced intake of saturated fats – are a recommended strategy to overcome the perils associated with high LDL cholesterol levels and to improve the lipid profile.

If you have you ever tried to cut back on sugar, you may know how incredibly tough it is to wean yourself off from the sweet devil. In fact, eliminating sugar from the diet may leave some people with strong withdrawal symptoms such as intense cravings, headaches, edginess, feeling of depression and worse. Sounds like substance addiction? Well, science suggests that sugar is even more addictive than cocaine [1]. You heard it right. That gorgeous piece of chocolate cake or those delectable muffins seem to serve the same purpose as crack. So, what makes sugar so addictive? Why it does often makes you lose control? What exactly drives sugar cravings?

Researchers have long known that insulin resistance sets the stage for the development of Type 2 diabetes. Insulin resistance is a condition where beta cells of the pancreas produce insulin but muscle, liver and fat cells are not able to efficiently use it to absorb glucose from the bloodstream. This leads to excessive build-up of glucose in the blood. As a result, the body gets signals to produce more insulin to take care of increased glucose levels until beta cells fails to keep up with this increased demand, finally leading to prediabetes and possibly Type 2 diabetes.

The WHO (World Health Organization) has declared Zika virus a public health emergency of international concern, mainly because of the virus’s suspected association with microcephaly, a neurological birth defect. And then you hear that the government of El Salvador is advising the women in the country against pregnancy until 2018, a strange recommendation indeed, but it only underscores the seriousness of the Zika outbreak and the underlying complications, no matter the debate on its origins.

The majority of us believe that taking Vitamin C will help us build a strong immune system. But if you smoke, you are likely to need more of this important vitamin to fight the harmful effects of smoking.

While it may be hard to define stress, most of us think of it as something psychological; worrying about bills, money, loved ones, meeting deadlines at work, and countless other issues. The truth is stress can be physical or environmental too. Factors such as poor sleep, fatigue, not eating well, exposure to toxins, getting sick and chronic infections also stress out the body at many levels

What is one thing you likely to never forget when stepping out of your home?

Yes, we are talking about your mobile phone. To say that the device has become an integral part of our life will be an understatement. With the world going more digital, the mobile phone too has transformed from a simple communication gadget to a smart device that has changed the way we live. Whether it is talking, texting, sharing e-mails, browsing the internet, playing games or staying connected on social media channels, the fact is we are spending more and more time using our mobile phones.