Tag Archives: healthcare

The Role of Preprints in Modern Research

Medical Publishing, Medical Writing, ,

Scientific research dissemination has undergone a significant transformation in recent years, largely owing to the rise of preprint repositories. Preprints, which are versions of scholarly papers that precede formal peer reviews and publications in academic journals, have become an integral part of the scientific communication ecosystem. This blog explores the rise of preprint repositories, their role in accelerating research dissemination, and their impact on traditional journal publishing.

The Rise of Preprint Repositories

They have emerged as vital platforms on which researchers can share their findings with the global scientific community. Repositories, such as arXiv, bioRxiv, and medRxiv, have become popular across various disciplines. The concept of preprints is not new; it dates to the early 1990s with the launch of arXiv, a repository for physics research. However, the proliferation of preprint servers across different fields is a relatively recent phenomenon driven by the need for quicker dissemination of scientific knowledge. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has accelerated the adoption of preprints. With the urgency to share critical research findings related to the virus, treatments, and vaccines, preprint repositories have played a crucial role in providing immediate access to scientific data. This shift highlights the importance of preprints in responding to global health emergencies and underscores their potential to expedite the research process.

Accelerating Research Dissemination

Preprints have revolutionized the speed at which research findings are shared. Traditionally, peer review and publication in academic journals can take months if not years. This delay can hinder the timely dissemination of important scientific discoveries. Preprints address this issue by allowing researchers to share their work with the community almost immediately after completing their manuscript. Rapid dissemination has several benefits:

  1. Immediate Access to Research: Researchers, clinicians, and policymakers can access the latest findings without waiting for a lengthy peer review process. This immediate access is particularly crucial in fields in which timely information can influence ongoing research and public health decisions.
  2. Increased Collaboration: By making research publicly available at an early stage, preprints foster collaboration and feedback from a broader audience. Researchers should receive constructive comments and suggestions to improve the quality of their work before formal publication.
  3. Enhanced Visibility: Preprints can increase the visibility of research findings. Studies available as preprints can attract the attention of the media, funding agencies, and other researchers, potentially leading to new opportunities for collaboration and funding.

Impact on Traditional Journal Publishing

The rise of preprints has significant implications for traditional journal publishing. While preprints offer several advantages, they also challenge the established norms of scientific communication.

  1. Peer Review Process: One of the primary roles of academic journals is to provide rigorous peer review to ensure the quality and reliability of published research. Preprints, by definition, are not peer-reviewed, which has raised concerns about the potential spread of misinformation and the and credibility of unreviewed findings. However, many preprint servers have implemented basic screening processes to mitigate these concerns.
  2. Citation and Credibility: The acceptance and citation of preprints in academic circles have been the subject of debate. Some researchers and institutions hesitate to cite preprints, preferring peerreviewed articles for their credibility. However, the scientific community is gradually recognizing the value of preprints, and many funding agencies and institutions now consider preprints in grant applications and tenure evaluations.
  3. Economic Model: The conventional journal publishing model, which is based on subscription fees and article processing charges, faces challenges from the open-access nature of preprints. Preprints offer an alternative that can reduce the financial burden on researchers and institutions. This shift has prompted journals to explore new business models and to consider the integration of preprints into their publication pipelines.

Preprints in Medical Research

Preprints are particularly influential in medical research. The importance of sharing findings quickly in the medical field, where discoveries can directly impact patient care and public health policies, cannot be overstated. Preprint repositories like medRxiv have gained prominence, providing a platform for medical researchers to disseminate their work before formal peer review.

However, the use of preprints in medical research also requires careful consideration. Since unreviewed medical research can influence clinical practice and public health decisions, a balanced approach is necessary. Researchers and readers must exercise caution, critically evaluating the credibility and reliability of preprint findings.

Future Directions

The incorporation of preprints into the scientific communication landscape will likely continue to evolve. Several trends and developments can be anticipated:

  1. Enhanced Review Mechanisms: Preprint servers may develop more potent review mechanisms, including post-publication peer review and community-based feedback systems. These enhancements can improve the quality and reliability of preprints while retaining the speed of dissemination.
  2. Integration with Journals: Some academic journals are exploring partnerships with preprint servers, offering streamlined submission processes that allow researchers to submit preprints directly to journals for peer review. This integration can bridge the gap between preprints and traditional publishing.
  3. Policy and Guidelines: Institutions, funding agencies, and publishers are likely to develop clearer policies and guidelines regarding the use of preprints. Standardized practices can help address concerns about the credibility and citation of preprints.
  4. Education and Awareness: As preprints become more prevalent, educating researchers, clinicians, and the public about their proper use and interpretation will be essential. Increased awareness can help mitigate the risks associated with unreviewed research while maximizing the benefits of rapid dissemination.

Preprints have transformed the way scientific research is shared and accessed, offering a faster, more collaborative approach to dissemination. Their rise has had a profound impact on traditional journal publishing, challenging established norms and prompting innovation in the peer review process. As the scientific community continues to embrace preprints, their role in accelerating research dissemination and enhancing public engagement with science is likely to expand, shaping the future of scientific communication.

At Turacoz, we specialize in assisting researchers with the preparation of preprints. Our team of experienced medical writers and reviewers ensures that your preprints are clear, accurate, and impactful, maximizing their potential to reach and engage a broad audience. Visit www.turacoz.com or contact at [email protected] to learn more about how we can support your research communication needs.

Biosimilars: Advantages & Challenges

Publication Writing, , , , ,

Introduction

A biosimilar product, as defined by USFDA, is “a biological product that is highly similar to and has no clinically meaningful differences from an existing FDA-approved reference product.” By 2020, the biosimilar market is expected to reach $15 billion booming market, which is thrice the presentmarket(Ragunadhan 2018).Latest additions to this category of drugs are Hadlima(adalimumab-bwwd), Ruxience (rituximab-pvvr), Zirabev (bevacizumab-bvzr) and Kanjinti (trastuzumab-anns), which were approved on June, 2019(USFDA).

Advantages of Biosimilars

Biosimilars are nowadays gaining significant interest due to the advantages associated with it. They are as follows(Ragunadhan 2018)

  1. Reduction in cost:Biosimilar drugs are similar to original drugs, produce equivalent clinical outcomes to that of the original biologics but are less expensive (because their development is not associated with some of the costs borne by pharmaceutical companies in the development of reference agents).The reference drug monopoly is broken when multiple biosimilars are introduced in the market.
  2. Improved patient accessibility: As a number of biosimilar drugs are being launched in the market, and biosimilar drugs are found to reduce the healthcare cost by 40%, more patients can have access tosuch medical innovations at an early stage.
  3. Incentives for innovation:In the wake of expiring patents on reference drugs, innovative and patentable new biologic products may be necessary to maintain a large market share. This will encourage the pharmaceutical companies to invest more to foster innovation in biosimilar drugs.

Challenges of Biosimilars

Despite the benefits, there are few challenges and issues faced by biosimilar market which are as follows(Ragunadhan 2018, Stenger 2018)

Figure 1: Challenges of Biosimilars

Figure 1: Challenges of Biosimilars

  1. Education:Mass education is required in healthcare and pharmaceutical industry/patient and prescriber to enlighten them on the benefits of switching to biosimilars.
  2. Extrapolation issue:“Extrapolation is the process of granting a clinical indication to a medication without its own or new clinical safety and efficacy studies to support that indication”. Guidelines need to be developed to avoid confusion over whether the biosimilar can be used for the off-labelindications also.
  3. Interchangeability issues:Interchangeability issues ariseas the reference product can be substituted with biosimilar. Though guidelines have been published, there is uncertainty prevalent at the prescriber and pharmacist level.
  4. Rare diseases:Orphan drugs are developed for rare diseases. Though biosimilars are developed for the same, but there are many obstacles. It is a challenge to obtain sufficient  non-heterogeneous population for trials. Also, the cost for developing biosimilars to run batch-to-batch variability studiesis high.
  5. Approval process:Common challenges faced by biosimilar manufacturers in processing and packaging are the variability in critical quality attributes between the biosimilar drug and the reference drug which requires manufacturer to provide the FDA with adequate proof of clinical safety.
  6. Post-marketing reporting: As there is no clinical data available, post marketing surveillance is the only tool available to assess the efficacy and safety of biosimilars. However, as the post marketing surveillance process is a herculean task as felt by clinicians, many do not participate in the samedue to time and resource constraints.

Future of biosimilars

There will be a giant leap in biosimilar market in the coming decades(Ragunadhan 2018). As the reference products are nearing their expiry date, the biosimilars market is poised for added growth. Also, it is essential for the professional organizations to provide education and training about biosimilar drugs. This would spread awareness among consumers and healthcare professionals about opportunities and the challenges that these new agents are associated with.

Turacoz Healthcare Solutions, being an active provider of medical communication services, aims to inform people about the advantages and challenges of biosimilars. For any queries, write to us at [email protected]

References

Ragunadhan, M. (2018). Biosimilars: Benefits, Challenges and Futurehttps://blog.kolabtree.com/biosimilars-benefits-challenges-and-future/.
Stenger, M. (2018). “Opportunities, Issues, and Challenges for Biosimilars in Oncology.”  https://www.ascopost.com/issues/july-25-2018/opportunities-issues-and-challenges-for-biosimilars-in-oncology/.
USFDA “Biosimilar Product Information.”

A guide to Alzheimer’s care: Tips for daily tasks

Drugs and Disease, , , ,

It is estimated that nearly 44 million people worldwide have Alzheimer’s or related dementia. The total number of people with Alzheimer’s is projected to almost double every 20 years.

What really scares me is Alzheimer’s or premature senility, losing that ability to read and enjoy and to write. And you do it, and some days maybe aren’t so good, and then some days, you really catch a wave, and it’s as good as it ever was: – Stephen King

Patience and flexibility are of most importance in Alzheimer’s patients care. Practical tips to be considered by caregivers when handling patients with Alzheimer’s are illustrated in the figure. This helps maintain a sense of independence, dignity and boost their confidence as the patient becomes dependent on caregiver for his/her daily needs.

A guide to Alzheimer’s care: Tips for daily tasks

Figure 1: Tips for caregivers’ family and friends of patient on how a person with Alzheimer’s disease should be cared.

Handling patients with Alzheimer’s disease

Caring for patients with Alzheimer’s disease is challenging, and in many instances the caregiver also falls into depression if they are not supported by friends and family. One of the major challenges a caregiver faces is the change in behaviour of the patient. Both the patient and the caregiver find it difficult to manage the daily basic activities like bathing, eating dressing etc.

  • Tackling communication challenge in Alzheimer’s Disease

Communicating with a patient with Alzheimer’s can be challenging as both understanding and being understood pose a problem. Thus, always try to communicate in simple words and short sentences, avoiding distractions. In many cases the patient finds it difficult to frame sentences to communicate. Have patience and provide them the words he/she is looking for. Give them enough time to respond.

  • Tips to reduce bathing and showering challenge in Alzheimer’s disease

Plan bathing or shower for time of the day when the patient is calm and is ready for bathing. Try to make it a routine. The patient must be made comfortable. As the patient is sensitive to temperature, test the water temperature before bath.

  • Dressing a person with Alzheimer’s disease

Try to get the patient dressed same time each day and make it a routine. Give the patient time to dress and encourage the patient to dress himself/herself.

  • Getting a Person with Alzheimer’s disease to Eat

Try to maintain familiar meal time routine. Ensure a calm, relaxed environment free of distractions during meal time. This helps to reduce confusion and anxiety of patients. Caregivers must ensure that patients are drinking enough water to avoid dehydration. Routine oral check-ups have to be done.

  • Exercises and Activities for people with Alzheimer’s disease

Always watch for agitations. Simple and easy activities which will enhance his/her skills will be more effective than teaching them something new. Exercises can improve the patients’ health and help them to sleep better.

  • Incontinence in patients with Alzheimer’s disease

This is a common problem faced by the patients as the disease progress. Limit fluids containing caffeine and other diuretics.

  • Sleep Problems for Caregivers and a Person with Alzheimer’s disease

Many patients with Alzheimer’s faces ‘sundowning syndrome’, where the patient gets agitated and irritated during bed time. Exercises and physical activity with minimized day time naps helps the patient to get a sound sleep during night.

  • Hallucinations and delusion in patients with Alzheimer’s disease

In most cases hallucination and delusions are signs of physical illness. In such situations avoid arguing with the patient and distract the patient attention to some other topics. Check whether the patient has access to any dangerous objects that can cause harm to others and the patient himself/herself.

  • Wandering: A problem for a person with Alzheimer’s disease

People with Alzheimer’s tend to wander away from their home. Always ensure that the patient carries some sort of identification. Notify local authorities in advance regarding this problem. Always try to keep the doors locked.

Turacoz is a medical communications company, providing customized and cost-effective services in regulatory writing, publication writing, medico-marketing writing, and support for conducting medical advisory board meetings.

Turacoz healthcare solutions, aims to increase awareness about Alzheimer’s disease and with this blog, provide useful tips to caregivers, family and friends of Alzheimer’s patients.

World Senior Citizen Day- Let us join hands to create awareness about quality healthcare to the elderly

Awareness Day/Month, , , , , , ,

The World Senior Citizens Day is observed on 21st August every year with the intention to acknowledge the contributions of senior citizens of to the society. Further, it intends to make people aware about the condition of elderly and support them while aging. Aging is an unstoppable phenomenon which is also related to numerous health concerns. The global improvement in standard of living has increased longevity and is associated with aging of population. In the year 2011, the estimated number of adults living in India over 60 years of age was about 104 million. This number is expected to increase up to 323 million by 2050, thus constituting approximately 20% of the total Indian population. Furthermore, older people across the globe are estimated by World Health Organization (WHO) to outnumber children under age of 14 years by the year 2050.

With such drastic increase in elderly population, there has been increased burden of geriatric health problems worldwide including India. Therefore, for any nation to prosper in current scenario, wellbeing of its geriatric population is very important. This necessitates proper understanding of their health issues and related needs.

In view of this, WHO in collaboration with the Government of India conducted a cross-sectional survey on elderly population of 60 years and above in 10 different sites of different states and union territories of India. As per this survey, older people are commonly afflicted by diseases such as visual impairment (including uncorrected long sightedness/ reduced near vision), unoperated cataract, uncorrected hearing impairment, urinary problems, obesity, poor nutrition, hypertension, diabetes, ischemic heart disease, dental problems, and depression. Thus, overall morbidity is higher in older population of any country. This highlights the need for preventive health checkup camps for them, with affordable laboratory investigation packages, transport service to labs and hospitals. Furthermore, government and other private/charitable hospitals/organizations should come forward and take initiatives either individually or in collaboration to strengthen the healthcare facilities for senior citizens in the country which may be in form of immunization programs or measures for improving their nutrition or simple health awareness programs for elderly.

Further, it is certain that older people suffer from multiple comorbid conditions which leads to polypharmacy i.e., concurrent use of multiple pills. It is known that polypharmacy negatively affects patient’s adherence to treatment protocol which makes medication schedule irregular. Medication non-adherence basically, is a failure to adopt a prescribed medication regimen adequately. It involves either stopping the intake of prescribed medicines, and/or alterations in their dosage or missing doses in between. This non-adherence adversely affects individual’s health. This results in worsening of health issues and leads to increased medical emergencies and hospitalizations, and thus decreases quality of life.

Apart from polypharmacy, medication non-adherence in elders may be due to physical barriers such as cognitive deficits or diminished physical senses. Low health literacy and low socioeconomic status can also negatively impact individual’s ability to manage the prescribed medicines adequately. Furthermore, medication non-adherence might sometimes be because of more faith of elderly people on traditional medicines and the local doctors than specialists. In view of above mentioned health issues related to elderly people, it is of utmost important that they take good care of their health to lead healthy and quality lives. So, below mentioned are few health tips for them.

Tips to keep yourselves healthy while aging:

  • Keep yourself physically active as much as possible by doing regular exercise and walking.
  • Remain socially active by meeting friends, relatives or joining some social clubs, yoga clubs etc.
  • Eat healthy and balanced diet as per your medical condition. Seek advice from dietician or nutritionist if required.
  • Avoid use of tobacco in any form.
  • Visit your doctor and get your health checkups done at regular intervals.
  • Take your medicines as prescribed. If you tend to forget, set alarms in your phone or watch or ask someone you trust to remind you.
  • Join a pharmacy that delivers medicines to you. Your pharmacist can also remind you when your next prescription is due.

Elderly people many times are either completely or partially dependent on their care providers who are usually of comparatively younger generation. Therefore, onus lies on these care givers from younger generation or the youth of nation to take adequate care of older people. So, below mentioned are few tips which can help younger care givers provide adequate care to their elderly to improve their quality of life.

Tips for caregivers for taking care of elderly:

  • Keep track of health of dependent elderly and take them to visit their doctor at regular intervals for routine health checkup and other body investigations.
  • As elderly people tend to become forgetful and miss their medicines, therefore keep track of their medications and ensure a regular intake of medicines.
  • Ensure that the dependent elderly is fed with healthy and nutritious diet as per their health requirements.
  • Accompany dependent elderly during morning and evening walks so that they feel refreshed.
  • Spend some time with dependent elderly so that they do not feel lonely and depressed.

If it is the responsibility of caregiver to take care of good health of their elderly, it is important for caregivers to keep themselves fit and healthy.

If our elderly become self-reliant and if their caregivers and the society become sensitive to their needs, the elderly can lead a healthy meaningful life. The society can benefit from their experience and the growing geriatric population can be a healthy one.

Turacoz Healthcare Solutions take an initiative to draw attention of youth towards health concerns of elderly people in nation and shares tips to ensure a better quality of life for them. Turacoz is a medical communication company that provides scientific/medical writing support to the industry and academicians.

Transparency in Scholarly Publishing

Publication Writing, , , , , , ,

A research publication is considered as the highest-level medium of dissemination of research findings. Scholarly publications play an important role in disseminating findings, thoughts, and analysis to the scientific, academic, and lay communities. Transparency is an ethic that strengthens the credibility and integrity of research work as well as bonding among the scholarly communities. Due to frequent questioning on research credibility, pressure for open access by governments, and high incidences of research frauds, it has become important to form and follow the principles of transparency.

Principles of Transparency

The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) together have structured the principles of transparency, discuss all aspects of publication ethics and formulate the best practices to overcome any issue in this regard. The various principles of transparency and best practice in scholarly publishing are described as under:

These principle also help in differentiating the legitimate journals and publishers from the non-legitimate ones.

As per transparency, the scholars should give an access to the research data and methods employed for deriving the conclusion. The data production methods should be shared in a much wider platform. If scholar’s research is based on another researcher’s data, he or she should always cite their data clearly. The rules of data confidentiality, wherever applicable should be followed ethically.

Both the perspectives of transparency, viz. transparency in policy context and transparency in research process should be followed to make the scholarly publishing stronger and more reliable.

Publication plan carrying complete information about all types of publications or articles to be formed from the research or clinical studies also contributes towards ethical practice. A proper and firm publication planning can help researchers follow appropriate publishing practices, in time publication of research and hence, increased transparency.

Turacoz Healthcare Solutions (THS) provides end-to-end medical publication writing support including scholarly or academic publication, research publication, manuscripts, slide deck as well as regulatory writing support for clinical trials which includes Prescribing Information (PI), Investigator Brochures (IBs), Protocols, Clinical Study Reports (CSRs), Clinical Evaluation Reposts (CERs) and Common Technical Documents (CTDs). Our documents are guideline compliant and are as per the current pharma and the healthcare standards. We aim to extend our services to different domains of the industry around the globe.

Regulations of Drug Approval in United States, European Union and Canada

Medical Devices,

Introduction

Drug regulations can be defined as the overall control of drug by following rules and regulations which are enforced by the government to protect the health and well-being of humans. They are crucial for ensuring high quality of the drug by confirming its efficacy, safety and quality. Every country has its own regulatory authorities such as the United States Food and Drug Administration (US-FDA for US), the European Medicines Agency (EMA for Europe) and Therapeutic Products Directorate (TPD for Canada which frame the regulatory requirements for development, approval, manufacturing and marketing of the drugs.

Regulations for Drug Approval in United States

USA is the main regulatory agency in the world and hence, it has the strictest standards for approving a new drug in US market. The regulator y authority of US, i.e., USFDA, is responsible for the safety regulation of the food and drug products in US. The drug approval process in US includes filing of Investigational New Drug (IND) application followed by New Drug Application (NDA).

Investigational New Drug Application

Once the drug is found to be safe, as per the reports of the preclinical trails, IND application (IND) is filed to the FDA to start the clinical trials or Phase I trial. The sponsor appointed by the firm or institution is responsible for submitting the IND application to the FDA for which a pre-IND meeting with FDA may be arranged in order to discuss the intended protocol for conducting the trial. The sponsor also provides information related to the chemistry, manufacturing details and quality control of the investigational drug.

New Drug Application (NDA)

After completion of all the clinical trials (i.e. Phase I, II and III trials), if the studies confirm the safety and effectiveness of the investigational drug, the manufacturer can file a New Drug Application (NDA) to the FDA for manufacturing and selling the drug in the US market.

Regulations for Drug Approval in Europe

The regulatory authority of the Europe, i.e., EMA, is responsible for the safety of the public in Europe. Prior to approval for marketing in EU, the applicant has to follow two regulatory steps mentioned below:

  • Clinical trial application
  • Marketing authorization application (MAA)

Clinical Trial Application

In Europe, the drug can be approved by four types of procedures depending upon the drug class and preference of the manufacturer. The four procedures are presented in Figure 1

Figure 1: Drug approval procedures followed in Europe

Marketing Authorization Application

The MAA is an application which is submitted by a drug manufacturer to the EMA in order to seek permission to market a developed drug product in Europe. MAA is approved at both, the state or centralized levels while the clinical trial application is approved at the state level only.

Regulations for Drug Approval in Canada

Therapeutic Products Directorate (TPD) is Health Canada’s federal authority which regulates the drugs and medical devices in Canada for human use. The applicant must present the scientific evidence on the product’s safety, effectiveness, and quality to the directorate in order to obtain permission to sell a drug product.

The Canada’s system of regulating a drug is quite similar to US. If an applicant wants to get marketing authorization in Canada then a new drug submission (NDS) must be compiled with clinical trial information and details of production, packaging, labelling, conditions for use and side effects must be submitted to TPD. Post-submission, it undergoes administrative screening to check the completeness of the document with appropriate format followed by review and assessment of safety, efficacy and quality. The TPD then evaluates the submission and communicates the deficiencies of the NDS to the sponsor to resolve them. After all the issues have been resolved, TPD issues a notice of compliance (NOC).

Turacoz Healthcare Solutions (THS) provides end-to-end regulatory writing support for clinical trials which includes Prescribing Information (PI), Investigator Brochures (IBs), Protocols, Clinical Study Reports (CSRs), Clinical Evaluation Reposts (CERs) and Common Technical Documents (CTDs).

To Eat, or Not to Eat : Is Mediterranean Diet Good for All?

Health & Fitness, , , , ,

A lot of talking about Mediterranean food and its benefits has been doing the rounds for quite some time now. Indeed, there are many advantages of planning for such a healthy diet. But first, we should know about the so-called ‘Mediterranean food’.

What is Mediterranean Diet?

The food habits followed in the countries around the Mediterranean Sea is referred to as the Mediterranean diet. This diet-plan emphasizes on eating fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, food prepared in extra virgin olive oil, herbs and spices, and minimal use of salt. A typical Mediterranean diet includes lots of vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grain cereals and cereal products. It also contains moderate amounts of fish, white meat and some dairy produce.

What Are Its Benefits on Health?

Mediterranean diet is a combination of different elements that seem to bring health benefits. It includes healthy fats in the form of monounsaturated fats from olive oil and polyunsaturated fats from seeds, nuts, and fish oil. Such a diet plan is good for people who have:

  • Type 2 diabetes mellitus
  • High blood pressure
  • High blood cholesterol
  • Cardiovascular disorders

How to Start With?

The most important thing to do is to visit your healthcare provider or a registered dietician for a diet plan. Always seek expert advice from your dietician or healthcare provider before you set to take up a new diet plan.You will know about what to eat and what to avoid. In general, few things one should know about the foods included in Mediterranean diet:

  • Bing on fresh fruits- and vegetable salads
  • Cook food in extra virgin olive oil
  • Have about 100-125 grams fish at least twice a week
  • Have1-3 servings of dairy products daily (one serving equals 1 cup of milk /yogurt or 28 grams of cheese)
  • Include nuts, legumes and sprouted grains(wholegrain bread, pasta and brown rice)
  • Incorporate fermented grains (like, sourdough) for easier digestion and better nutrient absorption
  • Add herbs and spices to your food for taste enhancement
  • Reduce intake of salt
  • Include green tea with mint for antioxidant intake

Why Should we Think Twice Before Starting the Mediterranean Diet?

Mediterranean diet plan is based on the traditional food of the people residing in countries around the Mediterranean Sea which have maritime climate and Mediterranean vegetation. Though it has a lot of health benefits, it has some negative effects also.

  • Risk for Hypertensive patients– Mediterranean diet may not be healthy for all the hypertensive patients. Prefer having a diet which is suitable for your body-type and the place where you reside. Besides, food allergies can make this diet plan unsuitable for you.
  • Not cost-effective-Mediterranean food is not easily available in all countries and the cost of the food is also high. It is also not very easy to obtain the food items at places which have a different climate, or at places where seasonal fruits and vegetables are more easily available.
  • Only Mediterranean diet is not enough– Follow a healthy lifestyle to be fit. Regular physical exercise, staying away fromsmoking and alcohol consumption, and having an overall healthy diet is important for good health.
  • Increased intake of olive oil is unhealthy– Mostly people start with an increased consumption of olive oil in the form of fried food. Overeating of snacks which are deep fried in olive oil is definitely not a healthy way to gain the benefits of olive oil.

 

Turacoz Healthcare Solutions wants to make you aware of the health benefits and risks associated with Mediterranean diet. Mere following a new health trend and a new diet chart is not enough. You should know what kind of foods are suitable for your body. We hope to share more facts on healthcare in times to come.