How much water should you drink per day?-by Dr Harold Gunatillake “Thirst is an evolutionarily conserved mechanism to make sure that we drink an adequate amount of fluids but not too much” First, let us discuss why you need to drink water a fair quantity daily. Water’s role as a solvent helps cells transport and use substances like oxygen and nutrients. It is an essential constituent within the living cells because it is directly involved in many biological reactions like photosynthesis and respiration. Without water each cell could not move waste and biproducts, take nutrients, perform intracellular transportation, functioning and signaling. Water makes 60-75% of human body weight. A loss of 4% water leads to dehydration, and a loss of 15% can be fatal. One could survive for weeks without food but without water one couldn’t survive for more than 3 days. Hydration is not fully understood by many. It ...

Doctor my Pulse (heart rate) is Rapid- By Dr Harold Gunatillake Transcript: When you check your blood pressure with your personnel BP monitor next time, pay attention to your pulse rate in addition to the systolic and diastolic pressure readings. The systolic should reading between 120-130 mmHg and diastolic in the ranges between 70- 80 mmHg. Pulse reading at rest should be approximately between 60 and 80 and should be regular. Count for at least 30 seconds. It is mentioned in the text that a normal resting heart rate for adult’s ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute. Women’s heart rates are about 2-7 beats per minute faster than men’s on average. Also, when you feel the pulse in your wrist, roll the radial artery placing your index and middle fingers, to check the thickness of the arterial wall which reflects the thickness of your coronary vessels. If you ...

Leg swelling an early symptom of Heart Failure-By Dr Harold Gunatillake ‘Heart failure occurs when the heart cannot pump enough blood to the body to provide enough nutrition and oxygen’. Your legs can swell temporarily from injuries, inflammations, prolonged standing or sitting on the plane, or for no reason at all. These are due to temporary lymphatic stasis situations and need no special investigations and treatment are required. What is important is when both legs gradually swell with pitting oedema, which is a depression caused due to pressure with your thumb, due to causes not in the legs, but more central in the body, in middle age and beyond. There is pitting oedema when you are on beta-blockers and Calcium channel blockers and other drugs. Do not mistake such mild swelling of legs is due to heart failure As home measures, you could put your legs on pillows to raise ...

Why should you keep your blood triglycerides within the normal range when you are having diabetes?-By Dr Harold Gunatillake Transcript: Excess Dietary fats and carbs you consume are ultimately stored as triglycerides and form most of the fat stored in the human body. They come from butter, margarine, meat, and oils we eat. Foods and beverages high in triglycerides include sugary foods, and drinks, alcohol, starchy foods, foods with saturated fats, high calorie foods and refined grains. Triglycerides from all above foods are stored in the fat cells and the liver. These stored triglycerides in your body are released through hormonal activities for energy between meals. ...