Health

For decades, the conversation around brain health has been dominated by a single image: a piece of salmon or a bottle of fish oil. For vegetarians, vegans, or those participating in Veganuary, this has often felt like an exclusion from essential cognitive nutrition.However, as we enter a new era of nutritional science, the focus is shifting. Experts argue that the brain can thrive on plant-based sources—if you know the kitchen chemistry required to unlock them.  This Veganuary, we look at strategically using walnuts, chia seeds, and flaxseeds to help you feed your brain effectively while adhering to a plant-based lifestyle. The cognitive engine: Why your brain craves omega-3s The human brain is nearly 60 per cent fat, making the quality of your dietary fat intake a direct reflection of ...

With stroke cases rising rapidly across India and delays in diagnosis often costing patients their lives or mobility, a Mumbai hospital has taken a unique step to bridge this critical gap. Keeping the importance of the “golden window” of 4.5 hours in mind, the hospital has launched an AI-based Hub-and-Spoke stroke care model, with diagnostic centres acting as spokes and Gleneagles Hospital in Parel functioning as the central hub. This initiative ensures that the moment a suspected stroke is detected on CT or MRI, the hospital’s stroke team is alerted instantly, allowing faster decisions, quicker transport, and timely treatment. AI-enabled stroke response network Under this model, Dr Nitin Dange heads the stroke response team, supported by Dr Shirish Hastak and Dr Pankaj Agarwal, Dr Kush...

Obesity is rising at an alarming rate and is today a major public health challenge in India, said Economic Survey for 2025-26 on Thursday.  According to the Economic Survey, tabled in the Parliament by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the concerning trend was driven by unhealthy diets, lifestyle changes, including sedentary lifestyles, increased consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs), and environmental factors. “It is affecting people across all age groups and increasing the risk of NCDs such as diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension, impacting both urban and rural populations,” the Survey said. Citing data from the 2019-21 National Family Health Survey (NFHS), the Survey said that 24 per cent of Indian women and 23 per cent of Indian men are overweight or obese. Among...

Doctors in Thane have performed a combined liver–kidney transplant on a 55-year-old man who had been on dialysis for 15 years, offering him a renewed lease on life. The man had end-stage renal disease and was undergoing alternate-day dialysis for over a decade under the care of Dr. Pooja Binani, consultant nephrologist at Jupiter Hospital. Eight years ago, he was also diagnosed with liver cirrhosis caused by Hepatitis C. Although antiviral therapy cured the infection, his liver function progressively deteriorated, eventually leading to liver failure. The liver disease was managed by Dr Parijat Gupte, consultant hepatologist, who closely monitored the worsening hepatic function. With two vital organs failing simultaneously, the physiological stress on the patient’s body — particularly th...

A team of Indian and US researchers has developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-based technique to detect diabetes without the traditional blood tests.  The technique can detect whether a person has high blood sugar by taking a high-resolution photo of the retina (back of the eye). The study, published in the Diabetes Technology and Therapeutics journal, showed that AI can spot tiny warning signs in the eye’s blood vessels that are invisible to the human eye, which can differentiate people with and without diabetes without a finger-prick blood test. "India has over 100 million people with diabetes, and very often, many do not even know they have it. If the use of AI tools with simple retinal photos can help early diagnosis of diabetes, it can be used in real-time in the future to scre...

Lack of awareness on timely treatment is fuelling mental health disorders in young Indian adults, said health experts on Wednesday, January 28.  Speaking at the 77th Annual National Conference of the Indian Psychiatric Society (ANCIPS 2026), leading mental health experts noted that the excess use of digital devices may further drive mental disorders. The high-level scientific deliberations revealed that nearly 60 per cent of mental disorders in India are diagnosed in individuals below the age of 35. They pointed out that the Covid-19 pandemic, combined with economic uncertainty and changing social structures, has further intensified stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in this age group. “When 60 per cent of mental disorders are affecting people below 35 years of age, it becomes cl...

Health experts on January 27 have urged the government to introduce tax-funded Universal Health Care, and boost resources at government hospitals in the upcoming Union Budget 2026.  The experts also highlighted the lack of funds to in public health care institutions to deliver adequate services to a large number of patients and stressed the need to expand PMJAY to include outpatient care. “We advocate tax-funded Universal Health Care with a basic health package for all citizens and to increase public health allocation to 2.5-5 per cent of GDP, strengthening government hospitals and human resources,” said Dr Vinay Aggarwal, past National President, Indian Medical Association. “The government should reform PMJAY to include outpatient care, realistic package rates, DBT, copayments, and tim...

In the modern digital landscape, the glow of a smartphone is often the last thing we see before closing our eyes. While the impact of blue light on sleep quality is well-documented, a new frontier of endocrine research is emerging: the connection between high-energy visible (HEV) light and the thyroid gland. This Thyroid Awareness Month, we delve into the surprising biological link between our late-night screen use and the endocrine system. Does scrolling through social media at midnight actually interfere with your body’s metabolic pace? To answer this, mid-day spoke to Dr Pranav Ghody, consultant endocrinologist and diabetologist at Wockhardt Hospitals in Mumbai Central, and Dr Tejaswi V, consultant in diabetes and endocrinology at Manipal Hospital in Kanakapura Road in Bengaluru.  The...

The concept of ‘Dry January’ has evolved from a simple New Year’s resolution into a global phenomenon. For many, it is a metabolic reset button after the indulgence of the holiday season.  But what occurs beneath the surface? To separate clinical fact from detox fiction, we turn to the specialised insights of hepatologists who delve into the multi-pronged impact of 30-day abstinence, including the timeline of cellular repair, metabolic shifts, and structural limitations The biological timeline: When does recovery begin? While many people wait for the 30-day mark to celebrate their success, Dr. Tushar Madake, consultant in the department of transplant hepatology at Ruby Hall Clinic in Pune, notes that the biological pivot happens almost instantly. The liver, being the only self-regenerat...

Burning firewood at home can be a major contributor to air pollution and premature deaths in winters, according to a study. The study, published in the journal Science Advances, showed that residential wood burning comprises about 22 per cent of PM2.5 pollution in winter, making it one of the single largest sources of fine particle pollution during the coldest months. The modelling study led by researchers from Northwestern University found that pollution from residential wood burning is associated with about 8,600 premature deaths per year in the US. They suggested using alternative appliances to heat homes instead of burning wood, which can have a big impact on fine particulate matter in the air -- and increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. "We frequently hear about the negati...