The doctor answers

Fish oil is not as forgotten as you might think. It contains vitamins A and D. It is thanks to the latter that doctors prescribe fish oil to children suffering from rickets. Fish oil strengthens bones and has a beneficial effect on nails and teeth. Vitamin A ensures normal growth and regeneration of eye cells.

Pediatrician
Olesya Butuzova, Moscow

Don't make your child obese

I think my niece is obese. She is very plump, but my sister continues to treat her to French fries and ice cream. Please tell me, is childhood obesity dangerous?
Elena, 20 years old, St. Petersburg

Obesity is the formation and accumulation of excess fat in a child’s body. In boys, obesity is indicated by an increase in body weight by 25%, and in girls by 32%. Why is childhood obesity dangerous?

It can progress into adolescence and then into adulthood. And the person will suffer from obesity all his life.
It forms the strongest complexes in the child.
It is the main cause of the development of arterial hypertension in childhood.
It can become fertile ground for the development of heart disease and diabetes.

Excess body weight puts unnecessary stress on the joints.

First of all, determine the cause of excess weight. It needs to be eliminated as soon as possible. It is from this moment that weight loss will begin.

Then you need to establish proper, balanced nutrition. A nutritionist will help you with this. In addition to choosing the right foods and dishes, he will suggest a number of tricks to help in the fight against weight. This includes slowing down the speed of eating, introducing strict hours and number of meals, refusing to eat on the street, dry snacks, and fast food. And you should think about physical activity. Children's fitness combined with a healthy diet usually leads to positive results.

Gastroenterologist
Tatyana Kosheleva, Saratov

Fish oil does not need flavoring!

My sister is a fan of fish oil. She has been drinking it herself for many years and has introduced her husband and children to it. But it seems to me that fish oil is from our Soviet past and few people use it now. What do you say?
Maria, 36 years old, Sverdlovsk

Fish oil is not as forgotten as you might think. It contains vitamins A and D. It is thanks to the latter that doctors prescribe fish oil to children suffering from rickets. Fish oil strengthens bones and has a beneficial effect on nails and teeth. Vitamin A ensures normal growth and regeneration of eye cells. Therefore, this remedy is often prescribed by ophthalmologists in order to strengthen vision and somewhat prevent its deterioration.

Fish oil contains iodine, iron, bromine, magnesium, manganese, potassium, chlorine and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Therefore, the product strengthens the immune system and improves the health of both adults and children.

Unfortunately, this natural medicine is not for everyone. The exception is people who have an allergic reaction to fish.
I am also somewhat wary of aromatic fish oil. Imported products that can now be found in Russia are fish oil with strawberry or peach flavor. I would not recommend that you purchase this type of natural medicine. Not only is it imported, but it also contains flavorings, which automatically makes it not a 100% natural product!

Gynecologist
Tatyana Semenyuk, Engels, Saratov region

Sterilization of a woman is irreversible

My wife wants to undergo tubal ligation surgery, considering this the most reliable contraception. We already have three children; we do not plan to further increase our offspring. Please tell us more about female sterilization.

Female sterilization, or voluntary surgical contraception, is actually a highly effective method of contraception. The operation is based on ligation of the fallopian tubes and artificial creation of their obstruction. Therefore, the egg will no longer be able to meet the sperm in order to be fertilized.

It should be understood that the consequences of the operation are practically irreversible. Yes, in world practice there is evidence of operations to restore tubal patency, but such cases are few. Therefore, before you decide to bandage, you should carefully weigh the pros and cons; there will be no way back to childbearing.

In our country, it is not so easy to undergo female sterilization. Only women over 35 years of age who have at least one child are allowed to participate. You need to undergo psychological counseling and sign a lot of legal documents. All this is done in order to give the woman time to reconsider such a serious decision.

I would like to remind you that now there are many different means of protection that are reliable and safe. And even if you don’t plan to have children in the future, maybe you shouldn’t subject yourself to surgery?

Menopause as the best contraception

I am 46 years old, and I am very worried about the fact that menopause is coming soon. I'm afraid of hot flashes, sweating, mood swings. As if, in addition, some gynecological sores would come to light... What do you recommend doing, maybe taking some medications?
Irina Fedorovna, 46 years old, Barnaul

Dear Irina Fedorovna, in every woman’s body all eggs are deposited from birth. Every month during menstruation, one of them enters the uterine cavity for fertilization to occur. Thus, the supply of eggs gradually decreases. When it runs out completely, menopause occurs. It is almost impossible to predict its appearance, since each woman has her own individual number of these same cells.

As a rule, menopause begins at 50–54 years old, but I recommend preparing in advance. Visit your gynecologist regularly and get a mammogram (at least once every 1–2 years).

When the first signs of menopause appear, go to the doctor and he will select medications that will help you cope with unpleasant symptoms. There are not only hormonal drugs, but also herbal ones, which have a pronounced effect during menopause without harming the body as a whole. Most importantly, remember: menopause is not the end of a woman’s life. And many ladies, having gone through an unpleasant period, continue to enjoy intimate relationships, unencumbered by worries about a possible pregnancy.

Therapist
Vladimir Yashin, Moscow

Diarrhea can lead to malnutrition

Lately I have been experiencing diarrhea sometimes. What could be the reason? How to deal with it?
Leonid, Izhevsk

– Diarrhea, or, in scientific terms, diarrhea, is the frequent release of liquid feces due to increased intestinal motility and impaired absorption of water in its thick section. In most cases, diarrhea is a symptom of acute colitis, as well as exacerbation of chronic inflammation of the mucous membrane of the colon or enteritis (inflammation of the mucous membrane of the small intestine). They often occur as a result of poisoning or in the presence of an allergy to certain products.
First of all, it is necessary to exclude an infectious disease. If there is blood and mucus in the stool, consult a gastroenterologist immediately.

As for mild and short-term diarrhea, you need to pay attention to your diet. For diarrhea, a gentle diet is indicated: limiting carbohydrates, excluding fatty and spicy foods, chewing food thoroughly.

In case of poisoning accompanied by diarrhea, it is better to abstain from food for 24–36 hours, and then eat rice or oatmeal in small portions every 3–4 hours. After three days, you can include boiled meat or fish with mashed potatoes or carrots, an omelet, compote of dried apricots and raisins without sugar.

As for medications, Imodium is effective for diarrhea; calcium carbonate, bismuth preparations, and tanalbin also help. Decoctions of oak bark, St. John's wort herb, and an infusion of blueberries have a strengthening effect.

Dentist
Alexandra Zueva
Art practice, Moscow–Zurich

Oral cancer - a disease of smokers

I have been trying to convince my husband to quit smoking for a long time, but all my arguments are broken by his stubbornness. Maybe you can scare him more than I can?
Olga, Moscow

– Indeed, there is a disease that is little talked about in connection with smoking and its consequences. Everyone knows about lung cancer and heart disease. Oral cancer remains in the shadows.

Smoking leads to many problems for the teeth and mucous membrane of the oral cavity: for example, implants in smokers do not take root, and if they do take root, it is for a much shorter period of time than in non-smokers. It has been proven that inflammatory gum diseases in smokers are much more complicated, and therapeutic measures aimed at combating periodontal diseases (ligamentous apparatus of the tooth) lead to significantly worse results than in non-smokers.
In addition, the cause of the so-called halitosis - bad breath - partly lies in tobacco. Not to mention the appearance of the teeth - the appearance of brown plaque on the enamel.

The trend of cancer of the oral mucosa and tongue has been increasing in recent years in both male and female smokers. And a very poor prognosis for the life expectancy of these patients. So early recognition of oral cancer is the most important issue in dental practice.

Gastroenterologist
Tatyana Kosheleva, Saratov

Sea kale is both slimming and healing!

Recently, in a program about health and beauty, I heard that you can lose weight with the help of seaweed and this will be without the slightest damage to your health. There was also a recipe for a delicious soup with kelp and mussels, but I didn’t have time to write it down. Could you tell us about seaweed, its properties and the soup that promotes weight loss?
Margarita, 23 years old, Voronezh

Seaweed has long been rightfully called the seaweed of health and beauty. Kelp contains a large amount of alginic acid, which has the ability to capture and remove toxins from the body.
Algae also contains many vitamins and microelements necessary for healthy skin and the normal functioning of the nervous and digestive systems.

Another important quality of kelp is the abundance of iodine, as well as biologically active substances that help our body absorb this iodine.

Thanks to recent research, it has become clear that seaweed can help in the fight against excess weight.
Alginic acid actually reduces the absorption of fats in the intestine by three quarters! This acid belongs to ballast substances that transit through the human body. They are not digested, are not absorbed into the blood and do not provide energy and nutrients. But! They stimulate intestinal function.

As you know, most diets lead to a lack of vitamins and microelements in the body. The hated kilograms seem to go away, but the skin becomes pale, rough, hair dull, and nails brittle. With our diet this does not threaten. You can easily lose weight, but at the same time saturate yourself with vitamins and essential microelements. To lose weight with seaweed, you need to regularly include it in your diet. In any form: fresh, dried, added to stews and pastas.

Soup recipe

Currently, kelp soup is very popular. It is nourishing, healthy, and delicious!
Chop the mussels, mix with boiled rice, chopped cabbage and carrots, add seaweed and cook until tender. Towards the end of cooking, add tomato paste, olive oil and spices.
You can eat this soup every day, for variety, replacing mussels with shrimp or boiled chicken breast.

100 g boiled mussels, 100 g seaweed, 200 g white cabbage, 1 carrot, parsley, 3 tbsp. l. rice, 1 tbsp. l. tomato paste and 1 tbsp. l. olive oil (can be sunflower).