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Do you get harmless but frustrating hiccups often? An involuntary spasm of the diaphragm (a large muscle that separates abdomen and chest) is termed as hiccups. It must be noted that sudden closure of glottis could lead to hiccups and this is often revealed by a gulping sound. There are some common reasons for getting hiccups and these are Daily habits: It must be taken into note that by eating fast or overeating or eating spicy foods our diaphragm would get irritated. This can lead to hiccups. Sudden changes in temperature: We can get hiccups if we suddenly change from hot teat to chilled water. The nerves linked to diaphragm would get stimulated by this. This can lead to spasms. Excitement & stress: Our nervous system can get over-stimulated when w e feel anxious, stressed or even in excitement etc. This can lead to hiccups in us. Metabolic issues: There are also possibilities of getting chronic hiccups due to kidney disease or dye to electrolyte imbalance etc. Medical conditions: There are chances of getting chronic hiccups when we have GI disorders, injury to nerves, strokes, encephalitis etc. Lung conditions like pulmonary embolism pneumonia etc can also cause chronic hiccups. Length of hiccups: It is worthy to note that most hiccups would be there for some minutes. No treatment is needed for this. Sometimes, hiccups would be present in us for hours or even days tighter. This is serious and must be treated without fail. In such a situation, it is necessary to visit a gastroenterologist or a doctor compulsorily. Home remedies for hiccups: By holding breath: In the first step, we must inhale deeply and next we must hold the breath for 10 to 20 seconds. By this, carbon dioxide would get increased in the lungs and diaphragm would get relaxed. Hiccups would not be there By sipping cold water slowly: Vagus nerve would get stimulated by sipping cold water slowly. This would further cause the diaphragm to relax. By pulling knees to chest and leaning forward: Diaphragm would get relaxed by pulling knees towards the chest. This would stop hiccups. By gargling with ice water: Nerves in the throat would get stimulated by doing this. This would disrupt the hiccup cycle. By biting a lemon: Taste receptors would get activated due to sourness of the lemon and this would stop hiccups from coming. By eating peanut butter: Not many would know that eating peanut butter can also stop hiccups from happening. Truth is that sticky texture would make us focus on swallowing. Breathing would get altered. By gentle burping etc: When we swallow air, we could get hiccups. We could get relief by releasing the air. Therefore, this is also an important and effective remedy.  

Cravings for all kinds of foods are common during the pregnancy stage. Hormone base changes, increased nutritional requirements etc could cause the food cravings in the pregnant mothers. Pregnancy is a very important stage in the lives of a woman and during pregnancy she must not eat all kinds of foods.  Bitter fact is that there are some foods that could be harmful for her health. These below mentioned foods must be avoided by pregnant mothers. The foods are Avoid high mercury fishes: It is worthy to note here that fishes like mackerel, tune etc would accumulate mercury in them and consuming these fishes would be risky for a pregnant mother. If a pregnant mother consumes these types of fishes then it could impair the foetal brain development. There would be more chances of cerebral palsy and cognitive delays in the newborns. Please be careful. Avoid uncooked meat, poultry, eggs etc: Pregnant women could get listeriosis if she eats uncooked or raw meat, poultry foods, eggs etc. Listeria bacteria could lead to miscarriage in pregnant women. There are chances of stillbirth and newborn infections even without symptoms in the mother. It is worthy to note that undercooked eggs would have Salmonella that could infect the foetus and lead to meningitis and sepsis etc. Avoid unpasteurised milk, juice etc: Point is that raw milk could have Salmonella, Listeria etc and these bacteria could cause miscarriage or other serious problems in newborns. Therefore, the pregnant woman must drink only juices and dairy labelled pasteurised. Avoid unwashed produce and raw sprout etc: Bacteria E. coli could grow on the sprouts as sprouts are often found growing in humid and warm conditions. If a pregnant mother consumes these sprouts, then she could get pregnancy loss and neonatal infections etc due to E.Coli and Listeria from unwashed sprouts. It is necessary to wash sprouts thoroughly with water and cook them before consuming them. Avoid herbal teas also: In the early pregnancy, drinking herbal teas could be unsafe. Few examples of herb based teas are nettle, alfalfa etc. Point is that pregnant mothers can drink these herbal teas in moderate amounts but not in excess amounts.  Concentrated homemade infusions must not be consumed unless it is approved by the provider. Truth is that these herbal teas can lead to menenstrual bleeding, miscarriage, birth defects etc. Avoid excess caffeine: It is said that excess intake of caffeine could cross the baby. It is better to consult the doctor before drinking caffeine based drinks. It must be noted that excess intake of caffeine by pregnant mothers could cause miscarriage plus other complications in them. So, please be careful.

Have you come across the term beer belly and thought what it is all about? Cracking open a beer bottle with a group of friends is one of the most common ways to relax for many youngsters these days. It is okay to drink beer once a while or rarely. The alcohol content in beer (4% to 6%) is less than those like whiskey, vodka, wine etc. This doesn`t guarantee that drinking beer can be safe for health How many know the bitter truth that drinking beer frequently or daily can be harmful for health? From the malted cereal grain, a carbonated fermented alcohol based drink is prepared and this is beer.  Beer contains numerous ingredients like calories, proteins, carbohydrates, sugar plus others like alcohol, magnesium, phosphorus etc. There are several signs that could indicate that you might be drinking too much beer or drinking beer daily. These are constant bloating, bloating, digestive discomfort, interrupted sleep, mood swings, irritability etc . Drinking beer every day or frequently can harm us in these ways. Liver health would get affected: Our liver would get affected if we consume beer frequently or daily. Inflammation in our body would get triggered by drinking beer. Our liver would get damaged by excessive beer intake due to oxidative stress. Gut heath would deteriorate: When we consume beer frequently our gut microbiome would get affected. Gut microbiome refers to both good and bad bacteria in equal amounts.  We could get many issues like bloating, diarrhoea, poor nutrient absorption etc by drinking beer often. Heart health would get affected: It is known that the heart is a very important organ in our body. Therefore, it is highly necessary that we must keep our heart health in good shape. By drinking beer daily, our blood pressure would increase and we could get serious issues like heart disease, strokes etc. It must be noted that long term intake of beer could lead to strain on our cardiovascular system. Brain health would decline: Drinking beer with friends could be great fun but it would affect brain health. It is believed that drinking beer daily would interfere with the brain`s communication pathways. This would slow down the reaction time, create confusion and might lead to memory issues. The risk of getting dementiaia would be more if we drink beer frequently. This has been published in a health magazine also. Leads to belly fat and obesity etc: It is true that drinking beer frequently or daily could lead to weight gain or beer belly. Visceral fat would accumulate especially around the abdomen area. This could lead to obesity issues. The reason for this is due to the presence of calories in beer.