Healthy Diet with Veggies

Vegetables are a healthy part of any diet. Whether you're interested in sculpting your body, or just want to tone it that extra bit, vegetables help in improving your overall health by maximizing your weight loss efforts. 
 
It is said that just eating 8-9 servings of vegetables in a day, you can improve your body's immunity against diseases such as diabetes, cancer and heart ailments. But which vegetables are better disease-fighters than others? Here are top 10 vegetables for a healthy diet, that definitely set the ball rolling. 
 
Tomatoes. Technically called a fruit, tomatoes are mostly eaten as a well-liked vegetable. Tomatoes have lycopene and red orbs which are well known for their cancer-defending properties. They are full of Vitamin A and Vitamin K which help in keeping your blood pressure levels under control. 
 
Broccoli. When one talks about vegetables which can fight diseases effectively, broccoli ranks amongst the highest. They are a storehouse of antioxidants which help in fighting rectal, lungs and stomach cancers. They are also rich in folate, Vitamin C and beta-carotene which help in boosting your immunity to fight against colds and flus. 
 
Brussels sprouts. Excellent for pregnant women, these little veggies are full of B-vitamin and folic acid which keeps women away from uteral tube defects. They are also quite rich in omega 3 fatty acids, potassium, fiber and Vitamin C and K. 
 
Carrots. Carrots are full of nourishing properties for eyes, hair and skin. They are the best source of pro-vitamin and A carotenes. Known for improving night vision, carrots are rich in Vitamin C, Vitamin A which helps in regulating healthy blood sugar levels - good for the heart. 
 
Asparagus. Again, an excellent food for pregnant women, asparagus is full of fiber, folate and Vitamin B6 qualities which help in maximizing heart's health. These long veggie sticks are also pretty low in sodium and high in potassium content, which makes them ideal for the healthy working of our large intestine. 
 
Sweet potatoes. Grown under earth, sweet potatoes are full of ant-defending qualities as they are rich in manganese, Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Good for our digestive system, they are full of iron and fiber which helps in giving us good amounts of energy. 
 
Eggplants. Eggplants have a unique antioxidant in them like nasunin (a complex compound which defends your brain cells against damage). Many studies have proved that they are good for lessening your risk of stroke and dementia as they are packed with fiber and potassium. The best quality about eggplants is that they are pretty low in calories, thus they have a positive effect on one's heart health. 
 
Bell peppers. Whichever colour of bell peppers you may go for - red, orange or yellow- they are full of heart-healthy properties because of folic acid and lycopene present in them. Again, they have been substantially proved to lower your risk again cancer too. 
   
Spinach. Popeye the sailor was quite right when crediting his muscle power to this green leafy vegetable. It is believed that spinach contains around 13 flavonoid compounds which keep us away from cancer, heart diseases and osteoporosis. 
 
Onions. Including onions in your daily food intake, gives your body's immunity levels a royal boost. They are full of peptide known as GPCS which helps in keeping your body's calcium level under control. Packed with Vitamin C and folate, onions promote good cardiovascular and gastrointestinal health.  

CC kills more people than cervical cancer.....“cholangiocarcinoma”

There is a disease, a cancer, that kills more people than cervical cancer and whose incidence is rising in the UK and most of the industrialised world. However, most people have never heard of this cancer, and even amongst most doctors, the rising death toll from this disease is unknown. This disease is called “cholangiocarcinoma”, or CC, and unless you or someone you care about has been affected by this cancer, it is unlikely you’ll have come across this term before. I believe this is a disease whose profile needs to be raised and I would like to take this opportunity to tell you about CC.

As a liver specialist, I am continually amazed at the liver’s incredible diversity. It has, literally, hundreds of different functions in the body. One of these is to make bile, a green to yellowish fluid, which aids the digestion of fats and also carries away potentially harmful toxins into the gut for excretion from the body. The bile ducts are a system of tube like structures which carry this bile from the liver to the gut. Cholangiocarcinoma is a fatal cancer arising in these bile ducts. This particular form of cancer kills almost 2000 people per year in this country, and affects both men and women. Most people who get CC will die from the disease. Moreover, studies from around the world suggest that CC is increasing. The reasons for this are unknown.

So what causes CC and why might it be increasing? CC is believed to occur due to a combination of factors, including other illnesses that damage the liver and/or bile ducts over a prolonged period of time. Some chemical toxins have also been linked to CC and there may be a small genetic predisposition, although CC is not a directly inherited disease. In Thailand and other parts of Southeast Asia, CC is relatively common and this is thought to be due to liver flukes which are endemic in that part of the world. However, in the Western world, the majority of cases of CC have no known risk factor. Studying the cause(s) of CC is an important area of on-going research in this field, as only by understanding the underlying mechanisms can effective treatments be developed.

CC is a difficult cancer to treat as the only cure currently available is to surgically remove the whole cancer. It is also difficult to diagnose this disease in the early stages and by the time most patients present with symptoms, the cancer has spread too far for surgery to be effective.

So how does CC present itself and how do we go about diagnosing it? CC, as with several other diseases in and around the liver, typically causes blockage to the flow of bile, leading to the symptoms of jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes), pale stools and dark urine. Patients may also complain of malaise, fatigue and weight loss. Severe pain is not a typical feature. As many other diseases can present in a similar way, it can be difficult to confirm the diagnosis of CC. There is no single test that proves a diagnosis of CC. Specialists rely on a combination of the patient’s history, a clinical examination, blood tests for cancer “markers”, imaging scans (ultrasound, CT and MRI), and endoscopy techniques (to get bile and tumour samples from within the bile ducts) to investigate a case of possible CC. An important area of CC research is the development of new techniques to get an accurate and early diagnosis of CC.

Aside from surgery, there are other treatments which, although not curative, can help control symptoms such as jaundice and may delay progression of the cancer and/or its fatal effects. These treatments include placing “stents” into the bile duct to allow bile to flow again, and combinations of chemotherapy drugs. Several new treatments are being researched and developed to tackle CC. These include new cancer drugs; better stents and ways to directly visualise and kill cancer cells inside the bile ducts.

CC is a devastating cancer. It presents late in its course, is difficult to diagnose accurately and early, and in most cases cannot be cured. Furthermore, CC seems to be increasing and we don’t know why. Most of us haven’t even heard of it. This is a disease about which we need to raise awareness, and it’s essential we find out the causes of CC so we can develop better diagnostic tests and more effective treatments for the future.

Dr Shahid A Khan is a Consultant Physician & Senior Lecturer at Imperial College London; &advisor to AMMF, the UK’s only Cholangiocarcinoma Charity