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NDTV
13-06-2025
- Health
- NDTV
What Happens To Your Body When You Eat Too Many Carbs
We all know that carbohydrates fuel the body. In Indian homes, they are practically the foundation of every meal, whether it is rotis, rice, or a quick plate of snacks. While carbs are important for energy, balance is key. Too much of a good thing can mess with more than just your jeans. A carb-heavy diet can quietly throw your body off track, especially if you are loading up without even realising it. Some of the signs are so subtle, they often slip under the radar. If you have noticed a shift in your weight, energy levels or even your mood lately, it might be time to take a closer look at your plate. These five signs might just confirm what your body has been trying to say. Here Are 5 Things That Happen To Your Body When You Eat Too Many Carbs 1. You Are Constantly Hungry If you feel like you just ate and are already rummaging for a snack, blame the carbs. Especially the refined ones. A 2014 study published in Appetite found that simple carbs like white rice and bread digest fast, spike your blood sugar, and then crash it just as quickly. That crash tricks your body into thinking it is still hungry, even when it is not. So yes, even a full thali can leave you reaching for chips within the hour. Try switching to complex carbs and adding more fibre and protein to keep the hunger in check. 2. Your Energy Keeps Dropping You eat, you feel pumped, and then suddenly - bam - you are crashing harder than your Monday motivation. These post-meal slumps are classic signs of a carb-heavy meal without enough fibre or protein. When your blood sugar spikes and drops too fast, your energy goes down with it. Sluggishness, brain fog, and that irresistible urge to nap right after lunch? They are not just 'office vibes', your diet could be dragging you down. 3. Sudden Weight Gain Is Showing Up Your clothes are tighter. The weighing scale is not your friend. But your routine has not changed. The culprit might be those extra helpings of white rice, maida treats, or sugar-loaded snacks. A 2023 study in The BMJ points out that unused carbs get stored as fat, especially if you are not moving enough. This is not about cutting carbs completely. It is about keeping a check on portions and balancing your plate better. 4. Your Mood Is All Over The Place If your fuse feels shorter than usual or you are swinging between low and lower, your high-carb diet might be behind it. Refined carbs can mess with your blood sugar levels, and that ripple effect does not just stop at energy dips. Mood changes, anxiety, and even feeling extra irritable could be linked. A more balanced mix of nutrients might help bring that emotional rollercoaster to a gentler pace. 5. Your Skin Is Not Happy If your skin has been breaking out more than usual, and your skincare routine is still on point, you might want to zoom out to your diet. A high intake of processed carbs and sugary foods can spike insulin, affect hormones, and trigger inflammation - none of which your skin loves. The result? Acne, dullness, and an oily sheen you did not sign up for. If you are hunting for snack swaps that are satisfying without sending your sugar levels into a spin, we have some easy, healthy options waiting for you.
Scottish Sun
11-06-2025
- Health
- Scottish Sun
Taking common contraceptive pill long-term could increase your risk of life-threatening brain tumour, scientists warn
Find out all the pros and cons of the contraceptive pill below BITTER PILL Taking common contraceptive pill long-term could increase your risk of life-threatening brain tumour, scientists warn TAKING a progesterone-only contraceptive pill for more than five years is linked to an increased risk of a life-threatening brain tumour, say scientists. Desogestrel is a synthetic progestogen hormone used in oral contraceptives, specifically the progestogen-only pill (POP) or mini-pill. 1 Long-term use of desogestrel has been linked to intracranial meningiomas Credit: Science Photo Library - Getty While it offers several benefits beyond preventing pregnancy, such as regulating the menstrual cycle, reducing heavy or painful periods, new research suggests taking it continuously for more than five years is linked to a small increased risk of developing an intracranial meningioma. An intracranial meningioma is a tumour that develops from the meninges, the layers of tissue that cover the brain and spinal cord. These tumours are typically benign (non-cancerous) and slow-growing. But they can be life-threatening depending on size, location, and growth rate. The tumours are more common in older women, but previous studies lack information on the specific type of progestogen used - and risk has not been measured for continuous, current, and long term use. In the study from France published by The BMJ, researchers set out to assess the real-life risk of the brain tumour and short-term (less than a year) and prolonged (one to seven or more years) use of oral contraceptives containing desogestrel 75µg, levonorgestrel 30µg, or levonorgestrel 50-150 µg combined with oestrogen. Their findings were based on data from the French national health data system (SNDS) for 8,391 women who had undergone surgery for intracranial meningioma in 2020-2023. Each case was matched to 10 control women without meningioma of the same age and area of residence. The results showed a small increased risk associated with use of desogestrel for more than five continuous years. An increased risk wasn't found for shorter durations or when desogestrel had been discontinued for more than one year. Women taking fat jabs need 'effective contraception' - as health chiefs warn of serious harm to unborn babies The risk was greater in women older than 45 and after prolonged use of one of the known high risk progestogens before desogestrel. Although the researchers added the risk disappeared one year after stopping taking the pill. It was estimated that 67,000 women would need to use desogestrel for one woman to need surgery for intracranial meningioma, and 17,000 women if current use was for more than five years. No increased risk was found for levonorgestrel, alone or combined with oestrogen, regardless of duration of use. The researchers suggested desogestrel be discontinued if an intracranial meningioma is identified and patients monitored rather than undergoing immediate surgery.
Economic Times
08-06-2025
- Health
- Economic Times
27-year-old Mumbai woman's heart attack case reveals how PCOS, contraceptive pills may be putting young women at serious risk
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel While many Mumbaikars dread April for its scorching heat, 27-year-old Payal (name changed), a resident of Mahim, looked back on the month with happy memories as a newlywed. But on June 2, her life took a frightening turn when she suffered a heart attack after a day of severe acidity and sharp chest pain late at night.'She showed ECG changes at 2 am that confirmed a heart attack,' said cardiologist Dr Kaushal Chhatrapati of Saifee Hospital near Charni Road. He added that he placed a stent in her circumflex artery early on June 3 to restore blood heart attack came as a shock to Payal's family, especially since she is young and women of childbearing age are generally protected against heart disease by the hormone estrogen. Estrogen helps keep blood vessels open and reduces to a TOI report quoting Dr Chhatrapati, the likely cause in Payal's case was the contraceptive pills she had been taking for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal disorder causing irregular periods and ovarian cysts. Payal's father said she had battled PCOS for nearly ten years and had been on contraceptive pills for seven years.A study from Denmark published in the medical journal The BMJ in February found that the commonly used combined estrogen-progestin contraceptive pill doubled the risk of ischemic stroke and heart attack. The study estimated that for every 4,760 women using the pill for one year, there would be one extra stroke, and for every 10,000 women per year, one extra heart attack. Estrogen-containing products like vaginal rings and skin patches were particularly noted as per the TOI report, gynaecologist Dr Kiran Coelho said strokes were more common than heart attacks linked to contraceptive pills. 'I have seen women as young as 22 and 28 with PCOS suffering strokes. But many women need these pills to suppress ovulation, which reduces cyst formation in the ovaries,' she often comes with obesity and insulin resistance, which can cause dyslipidaemia, high levels of fats in the blood that increase the risk of heart disease. 'Urban women face high stress levels, and childhood obesity is rising. These factors raise the chances of PCOS, which affects one in every five adolescent girls in urban India,' Dr Coelho Rajeev Bhagwat, cardiologist at Nanavati Hospital in Vile Parle, pointed out that while contraceptive pills are known to increase the risk of blood clots, doctors should carefully review a woman's family history of heart disease before prescribing them. 'Family history is a very strong factor for heart disease in young people,' he from TOI
Time of India
08-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
27-year-old Mumbai woman's heart attack case reveals how PCOS, contraceptive pills may be putting young women at serious risk
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel While many Mumbaikars dread April for its scorching heat, 27-year-old Payal (name changed), a resident of Mahim, looked back on the month with happy memories as a newlywed. But on June 2, her life took a frightening turn when she suffered a heart attack after a day of severe acidity and sharp chest pain late at night.'She showed ECG changes at 2 am that confirmed a heart attack,' said cardiologist Dr Kaushal Chhatrapati of Saifee Hospital near Charni Road. He added that he placed a stent in her circumflex artery early on June 3 to restore blood heart attack came as a shock to Payal's family, especially since she is young and women of childbearing age are generally protected against heart disease by the hormone estrogen. Estrogen helps keep blood vessels open and reduces to a TOI report quoting Dr Chhatrapati, the likely cause in Payal's case was the contraceptive pills she had been taking for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal disorder causing irregular periods and ovarian cysts. Payal's father said she had battled PCOS for nearly ten years and had been on contraceptive pills for seven years.A study from Denmark published in the medical journal The BMJ in February found that the commonly used combined estrogen-progestin contraceptive pill doubled the risk of ischemic stroke and heart attack. The study estimated that for every 4,760 women using the pill for one year, there would be one extra stroke, and for every 10,000 women per year, one extra heart attack. Estrogen-containing products like vaginal rings and skin patches were particularly noted as per the TOI report, gynaecologist Dr Kiran Coelho said strokes were more common than heart attacks linked to contraceptive pills. 'I have seen women as young as 22 and 28 with PCOS suffering strokes. But many women need these pills to suppress ovulation, which reduces cyst formation in the ovaries,' she often comes with obesity and insulin resistance, which can cause dyslipidaemia, high levels of fats in the blood that increase the risk of heart disease. 'Urban women face high stress levels, and childhood obesity is rising. These factors raise the chances of PCOS, which affects one in every five adolescent girls in urban India,' Dr Coelho Rajeev Bhagwat, cardiologist at Nanavati Hospital in Vile Parle, pointed out that while contraceptive pills are known to increase the risk of blood clots, doctors should carefully review a woman's family history of heart disease before prescribing them. 'Family history is a very strong factor for heart disease in young people,' he from TOI
Time of India
07-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Contraceptive pills linked to heart attack in young woman with PCOS
Mumbai: Unlike many Mumbaikars who disliked April for its sizzling temperatures, Mahim resident, 27-year-old Payal (name changed), has happy memories of the summer month as a new bride. That is, until June 2, when the software engineer spent a day nursing "terrible acidity" that worsened with acute chest pain in the middle of the night and turned out to be a heart attack. "She showed changes in her ECG when she was brought in at 2am that pointed to a heart attack," said cardiologist Dr Kaushal Chhatrapati from Saifee Hospital near Charni Road, who put a stent across her circumflex artery in the early hours of June 3. Payal's heart attack shocked her family because, for one, she is just 27, and for another, women are supposed to have 'protection' against heart disease/attacks during their childbearing years. The protector is the female hormone estrogen, which keeps blood vessels wide enough for blood flow and reduces inflammation. The culprit in Payal's case, according to Dr Chhatrapati, was contraceptive pills she was prescribed for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal disorder characterised by irregular periods and the presence of cysts on the ovaries. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like People Born 1940-1975 With No Life Insurance Could Be Eligible For This Reassured Get Quote Undo Payal's father said she struggled for almost a decade with PCOS, and her gynaecologist prescribed the contraceptive pills for seven years. A Denmark study published in 'The BMJ' medical journal in Feb found that the most commonly used hormonal contraceptive—the combined estrogen-progestin pill —was associated with double the risk of ischaemic stroke and heart attack. The article extrapolated this to mean "one extra stroke for every 4,760 women using the combined pill for one year, and one extra heart attack for every 10,000 women per year of use." The study maintained that estrogen-containing products, in particular the vaginal ring and skin patches, were of concern. Gynaecologist Dr Kiran Coelho said strokes are more common than heart attacks due to contraceptive pills. "I have seen 22-year-old and 28-year-old women with PCOS who suffered strokes, but women need the pills to suppress ovulation, which, in turn, reduces the number of cysts in their ovaries," she said. PCOS is often accompanied by obesity and insulin resistance, leading to dyslipidaemia, a condition in which the patient has high levels of lipids (fats) in the blood that can lead to an increased risk of heart disease. "Urban women have high levels of stress, and there is a higher incidence of childhood obesity than before. These factors increase the risk of PCOS in urban India, where one in every five adolescent girls has the hormonal disorder," said Dr Coelho. Cardiologist Dr Rajeev Bhagwat from Nanavati Hospital in Vile Parle said that while it's known that contraceptive pills can increase thrombosis, it's important for doctors to know the woman's family history of heart disease before prescribing these pills. "Family history is a very strong cause for heart disease among the young," he added.
