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Mild to Moderate - 10-20% above desirable weight.
Moderate to severe - 20-30% above desirable weight.
Severe obesity - 30% above the desirable weight.
Treatment
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Cold hip bath twice
daily. (If the weather is favorable) 15-20 minutes is advisable.
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Oil massage once a
week improves the general health and also helps in mobilizing fat.
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Steam and sauna baths
increase the body's basal metabolic rate and also help as an
adjuvant in losing weight.
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Warm
water immersion baths with Epsom salt for 15-20 minutes duration too
are helpful.
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Friction baths,
graduated immersion baths, neutral whirlpool and underwater massage
are also beneficial.
-
Any other treatment
used for improving the general health could be employed in the
treatment of obesity.
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Warm water enema,
regularly for the first 3-4 days of fasting and thereafter every
alternate day during extended periods of fasting is beneficial.
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Fasting initially for
a period of 3-4 days on low calorie liquids such as lemon juice and
adequate intake of fluids is useful.
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Fasting once a week
thereafter is adequate.
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After breaking the
fast one should be mentally prepared to go on a low calorie diet
coupled with regular physical exercise like walking at a place of 5
Km/hour for an hour, yoga and freehand warm up exercises till the
desirable weight is reached. However, some exercises should be
continued even after that.
Diabetes Mellitus
High standard of living has enabled almost everyone to
select and eat from a vast array of food items. In the industrially
developed countries, the sheer abundance of food has proved a mixed
blessing. Refrigeration and sophisticated food preserving and
processing techniques have made it possible for storing for long the fatty
foods, which otherwise would have turned rancid, if kept unused, within a
short duration. In addition, the lack of physical exercise due to
sedentary habits coupled with stressful living has led to greater health
hazards such as obesity, diabetes, coronary hearty ailments, kidney
diseases, neck and back pains etc.
Natural surveys done in the field for the last 25
years show that the incidence of Diabetes Mellitus is 3-4%, both in
developed countries of the West as well as in the developing countries.
Urbanites appear to be more prone to diabetes than the rural people.
Diabetes is a condition where the blood sugar levels
increase. It is broadly classified as insulin-dependent or juvenile
diabetes, (where insulin should be given to control blood sugar) and
non-insulin dependent diabetes which can be controlled by diet and
exercises alone.
There are several factors which pre-dispose a person
to diabetes such as strong family history of Diabetes Mellitus, obesity,
physical inactivity, stress and trauma and overeating. General
symptoms of diabetes are excessive thirst, hunger and urination.
Weight loss and weakness may also be seen.
Treatment
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Mud packs over the abdomen daily for 15-20 minutes
improve blood circulation to abdominal and pelvic region, enhancing
their functional capacity, especially of liver and pancreas. Cold towel compress (Towel pack) can also be used instead of mud
packs.
-
Cold hip baths for 15-20 minutes daily if the
weather is conducive also yield the above benefits.
-
Warm water enema regularly in the morning for 2-3
days help in clearing accumulated wastes from the large intestine.
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Warm water immersion baths and cold friction baths
for a period of 20 and 10 minutes respectively are also beneficial.
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Body massage, once a while, improves blood
circulation, tones up the muscles and improves the general health.
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Abdominal pack applied at night, 3 hours after
food, activates abdominal organs, especially liver and pancreas.
It also helps to induce good digestion and enhance the metabolic rate.
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Steam and sauna baths generally raise basal
metabolic rate; burn up excessive calories by breaking down the
carbohydrates. They also help in proper peripheral utilization
of glucose.
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Alternate hip baths (hot and cold): 3 minutes hot
and 1 minutes cold, 4 to 5 times ending with cold hip bath helps to
stimulate digestive organs. They can be taken twice a week.
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Gastro-hepatic pack is also useful in diabetes and
other gastro intestinal problems. It should be taken 2-3 times a
week.
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Mud bath improves blood circulation to skin
diverting a large amount of blood to periphery, improving skin
function, which is usually poor in diabetic patients.
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Regular exercise such as walking, yogasanas,
pranayama and yoganidra should also form an important aspect of
treatment.
Many of the non-insulin dependent diabetes do not
require drugs to control blood sugar levels. Regulated diet and
regular physical exercise is all that a diabetic required to do to control
blood sugar levels.
Though the diet of a diabetic is in no way different
from the diet of normal individual, the following aspects should be kept
in mind:
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Daily intake of calories must be reduced by those
who are overweight.
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Fat intake should be restricted, especially oils
rich in monosaturated and saturated fatty acids (e.g. ghee, vanaspati
oil, butter etc.)
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Intake of food should be restricted to small
frequent meals. Skipping meal between or prolonged fasting or
fasting without guidance from a professional should be avoided.
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Fiber-rich foods should be included in the diet.
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Complex carbohydrates to be preferred to simple
sugars (e.g. carbohydrate derived from cereals, grains and legumes)
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The diet of a diabetic should consist of 60-70%
carbohydrates, 10-15% fats and 15-20% proteins.
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Sugar, honey, cakes, serbeths, fried foods,
syrups, alcohol, tender coconuts, Jackfruit, mango, banana, sapota (chickoo)
and custard apple should be totally avoided.
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