We all have days when you’re so hungry that you end up eating more than what your body allows. While it may seem satisfying at the moment, practically inhaling your food like that can cause you issues later on, like causing you bloating. You may have noticed how you get bloated after you eat food like ramen noodles and other processed snacks like chips etc., but what is that? Basically, you get bloated because there is a lot of air in your stomach. Bloating is that feeling of fullness or swelling in your abdomen, is often caused by gas buildup in your gut. While everyone swallows some air while eating and drinking, excessive air intake can lead to bloating, burping, and discomfort. Certain foods and drinks can also contribute to gas. Bloating can sometimes make your belly appear larger (distention) and can be uncomfortable or even painful. Though usually more of a nuisance than a serious medical issue, bloating after eating is often preventable.

The Best Way To Avoid Bloating

The most effective way to combat post-meal bloating is to eat slowly and thoroughly chew your food. This helps prevent swallowing excess air, a common culprit behind bloating, especially for those who frequently burp. Thorough chewing also aids digestion by breaking food into smaller particles, making it easier for your gut to process.

This simple change can involve taking smaller bites, using smaller utensils, chewing your food more times before swallowing, or taking short breaks between bites to sip water or put down your utensils.

This practice offers additional benefits. Eating slowly can help you feel full with less food, which can be beneficial for weight management. It takes approximately 20 minutes for your brain to register fullness. Eating too quickly, on the other hand, is associated with weight gain.

Slowing down also helps you eat more mindfully. While it is understandable that sometimes you are eating because you have had a long day or no proper meal, when you are eating too quickly, not only are you not giving your body time to understand the amount of food it is consuming, causing you to overeat, but you are also not chewing properly, aiding to the inevitable bloating. Chewing properly allows you to focus on the aroma, flavors, and textures of your food. Mindful eating involves minimizing distractions and paying attention to your body's hunger and fullness cues without judgment. This practice can reduce stress and support healthy digestion by promoting relaxation.

More Ways to Prevent and Treat Bloating

Beyond slowing down, several other strategies can help prevent bloating. Eating smaller, more frequent meals prevents overloading your gut and reduces gas production. Remember to sit down and eat, avoiding eating on the go, which often leads to rapid eating and overconsumption. Regular exercise can also improve digestion and prevent bloating. Gentle activities like walking can be particularly helpful when you're feeling bloated. Massaging your stomach from right to left can also help release trapped gas.

Over-the-counter (OTC) medications like simethicone or charcoal capsules can provide relief. If you're also experiencing constipation, consult your doctor. While fiber is generally beneficial, insoluble fiber (found in the outer layers of plant foods like whole grains, nuts, and seeds) can sometimes exacerbate bloating and gas. Soluble fiber supplements, such as psyllium, are often better tolerated.

Several habits can contribute to bloating and should be avoided or limited. These include chewing gum, sucking on hard candy, drinking carbonated beverages, using a straw, and talking while eating or drinking. All of these can increase the amount of air you swallow. Certain carbohydrates can also trigger gas production in some individuals. When these carbohydrates reach the large intestine, bacteria break them down, leading to gas. Consuming too much fiber or high-fat foods can also contribute to bloating. If you suspect specific foods are triggering your bloating, consult your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian for personalized advice.

Awareness about mental health has grown, but access to care remains a challenge. For women, stigma is only one barrier. Social and family responsibilities, financial dependence, caregiving, geographical gaps, and the tendency to dismiss symptoms as “hormonal” can also delay care, said experts on World Suicide Prevention Day 2026.

HealthandMe spoke to mental health experts about why awareness has not translated into equitable access to care.

WHO estimates that 6.9% of adult women globally have depression, compared with 4.6% of adult men — making depression about 1.5 times more common among women.

“Awareness has grown faster than access, but this isn't a gap women are failing to close on their own; it's a reflection of where women are placed in our social and family structures to begin with,” Dr Kavita, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Founding Cohort Member, India Mental Health Alliance and Co-founder, Children First, told HealthandMe.

She said the gaps extend across diagnosis, research, interventions and care pathways. “Currently, care pathways, definitions, interventions and policies do not center women,” she said.

Why Women Delay Mental Healthcare

Dr Mimansa Singh Tanwar, Senior Clinical Psychologist and Head of the Fortis School Mental Health Program, said stigma is compounded by social and cultural barriers.

“Gender roles, unequal distribution of power, financial dependence, even the caregiving responsibilities, safety concerns, all of these are some of the social and cultural factors that affect women's access to mental health care,” she said.

Women may also put family responsibilities ahead of their own health.

“Women still tend to forego care because of the added responsibility that they continue to have when it comes to taking care of family and other responsibilities,” Tanwar told HealthandMe.

Dr Priyanka Mittal, Clinical Psychologist and Lead, IMHA, said financial dependence can limit women's ability to seek care.

“When a woman doesn't control her own finances, seeking help for her mental health isn't a decision she gets to make independently,” she said.

The expert highlighted how women's distress are often minimized.

“She's called ‘sensitive,’ ‘hormonal,’ or ‘going through her problems’ — rather than recognized as someone with a mental health concern worth addressing,” Mittal told HealthandMe.

When Symptoms Are Dismissed As ‘Hormonal’

Pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause and menopause can involve biological changes that affect mood. But experts caution against treating persistent distress as simply hormonal.

WHO estimates that about 10% of pregnant women and 13% of women who have recently given birth experience a mental disorder, primarily depression.

“While there are biological changes that can affect our mood and can lead to anxiety, depression, irritability, and emotional exhaustion, these biological changes should not be only connoted as being hormonal and phase-like,” Tanwar said.

Dr Jothi Neeraja, Founder, Chairwoman and MD, Maarga MindCare Hospitals, said women's distress is often attributed to life circumstances rather than recognised as a mental health concern.

“During pregnancy, after childbirth and around menopause, symptoms may also be attributed only to hormonal changes,” she said.

Dr Kavita said even well-meaning explanations can delay care.

“A lot of it comes from genuinely well-meaning explanations,” she said. “Mood changes after childbirth are common, so families, and sometimes clinicians, default to ‘it's just hormones’ or ‘every new mother feels this way.’”

“Duration, severity and functional impact matter more than the explanation someone reaches for,” she said.

Rural Women Face Another Care Gap

The experts noted that access to mental health can be even more limited outside urban centers.

“If a woman reaches a medical system at all, it's usually a PHC, and usually for an emergency or childbirth — not for mental health,” Mittal said.

Tele-services such as Tele-MANAS and other free or affordable services have started helping bridge some of the gap, particularly in tier-two and rural areas, she said.

Dr Kavita also pointed to gaps in community-level mental health infrastructure, saying services closer to women may be too limited to provide meaningful care.

Access Is Not Enough

Starting treatment does not guarantee continuity of care. “Even if, let's say, care is started, the continuity with which one is able to maintain that may not be there again because of the multiple responsibilities that they have to bear,” Tanwar said.

Neeraja said mental healthcare must extend beyond helplines. “For women, however, access cannot end with a helpline,” she said.

She called for continuity of care, affordable specialists, screening through reproductive and primary healthcare services, privacy and stronger referral systems.

“Mental healthcare becomes meaningful when seeking help is easy, safe and followed by appropriate care,” she said.

Mittal described treatment as a chain in which every step matters.

“It's a series of events... you need to know it exists, then know where to go, then know the steps that follow. Miss any link, and the cycle of treatment or intervention breaks,” she said.

Building Women-Centered Mental Healthcare

The experts said mental healthcare should be integrated into services women already use.

“It would meet women where they already are, rather than expecting them to seek out psychiatry or therapy separately,” Dr Kavita said.

This could include mental health screening during antenatal and postnatal visits, training obstetricians and gynecologists to identify concerns, and helping primary-care providers recognise warning signs.

Families and partners can also play a role in recognizing changes and encouraging women to seek help.

Awareness, the experts said, must ultimately translate into accessible, affordable and continuous care. “Women-centered care isn't a separate track; it's the standard track for care, done well,” Dr Kavita said...

Are urologists seeing more difficult or complex kidney stones in recent years? Yes, it’s true. Nowadays the trend for oxalate stones and infective stones are rising

They both are complex in their treatment. Oxalate stones are hard, they are known to grow as per the shape of the internal structure of the kidney and are one of the hardest of all stones, at times, even hard for a laser to break them into fragments. Harder stones may need a second procedure to break them into finer fragments.

Infective stones primarily have infection within them, very common in diabetics and long term infected stones. These stones can fill up the kidney with pus and can be life threatening as well, causing diffuse infection in the blood, called as sepsis. With incidence of diabetes the management of these stones require considerable expertise and caution.

How can dehydration and not drinking enough water increase the risk of kidney stones?

The contemporary understanding of the genesis of kidney stones is the 'solute-solvent' theory. It means than more the amount of crystals (read solute viz oxalate crystals, uric acid crystals etc.) and less the amount of water, concentrated urine, lesser is the solubility of these crystals in the urine. Thus they sediment and cause faster stone formation.

Also read: What Happens When Kidney Function Declines: Understanding The Stages Of Chronic Kidney Disease

Can eating more processed foods, salt and protein than the body needs make kidney stones more likely?

Processed foods are high on oxalates and phosphorus. They act as the primary anion in stone formation. Thus promoting higher amount stone formation and harder stones as well. Also protein in urine helps in stabilising the already aggregated crystals, thus leading to a harder stone. Protein supplements are to be consumed only as per the contemporary need of the body after consulting a dietician

Can more fruits and vegetables and staying well hydrated help prevent kidney stones?

Definitely! Another point i want to make here is that there are some naturally occurring substances in urine which prevent stone formation, viz citrate. Higher the citrate levels in urine, lesser are the chances of stone formation. Thus it is advisable to have more citrate in diet (citrus fruits). For patients with recurrent stone formation in kidney, it is advisable to use citrate supplements. Another factor is blood uric acid levels.

Uric acid crystals can independently form a stone and it can deposit itself on already formed stone, making it later and more complex to treat. Uric acid is majorly found in animal based diet. There are other factors which may reduce the stone formation, however till date only proven thing to prevent stone is abundant citrate and good amount of water intake. All fruits have variable amount of citrate however citrus fruits have the most.

By Dr. Sony Mehta, Consultant Urologist, Saifee Hospital, Mumbai

Not all of us are able to drift off soundly in a completely blacked-out bedroom. So, if you need a little light to fall asleep, you may need to reconsider the habit as a new study suggests that it could be harmful for your heart.

The study does not recommend a minimum amount of light that could be suitable for sleeping and indirectly heart health. It says that even the dimmest light may not work in your favour.

Researchers have found that people exposed to higher levels of light while sleeping showed changes in the structure and function of their hearts several years later. The findings has therefore raised concerns that nighttime light exposure may be another cardiovascular risk factor that could be modifiable.

More About The Study

The research, led by Professor Lu Qi of Tulane University, involved more than 11,000 UK adults. Participants wore light sensors on their wrists for a week, allowing researchers to estimate how much light they were exposed to during nighttime sleep.

Around three years later, participants underwent cardiac MRI scans. Researchers then compared their heart structure and function with their previous nighttime light exposure.

People exposed to 3 lux or more of light during sleep showed greater changes in their hearts compared with those sleeping in darker environments.

These included thickening of the wall of the left ventricle, the heart's main pumping chamber. The researchers also observed early signs of impaired heart function and changes involving the right ventricle and left atrium.

Also read: Are GLP-1 Drugs Actually Changing Asthma Biology, Or Are People Simply Having Fewer Attack Due To Weight Loss?

'Cardiac Remodelling'

The changes identified by researchers fall under the term called 'cardiac remodelling'. Professor Qi explained that cardiac remodelling typically occurs when the heart biologically adapts to chronic stress or injury.

Over time, these structural changes can affect how efficiently the heart pumps blood and may contribute to heart failure.

“Light pollution has emerged as a new risk factor for cardiovascular disease,” Qi said, adding that reducing nighttime light exposure could become one strategy for preventing cardiovascular disease.

But this does not mean that every person who sleeps with a light on is damaging their heart. The study was observational, meaning researchers could identify a relationship but could not establish that light itself caused the cardiac changes.

Also read: This Common Heart Attack Risk Starts Silently In Healthy People In Their 20s

How Could Nighttime Light Exposure Affect Heart?

A possible explanation that could explain the association between heart and nighttime light exposure is is the body's circadian rhythm. It is our internal 24-hour clock that regulates sleep, hormones and other physiological processes.

Light at night can signal the brain that it is still daytime, which could interfere with melatonin production and normal sleep-wake regulation. Poor or disrupted sleep can, in turn, affect multiple processes connected to cardiovascular health, including blood pressure and metabolism.

Previous research has also linked greater nighttime light exposure with higher risks of cardiovascular disease.

How Dark Should Your Bedroom Be?

The researchers and an accompanying editorial suggest reducing unnecessary light exposure during sleep.

Simple measures include using blackout curtains, covering bright electronic LEDs and avoiding unnecessary screens or strong lighting close to bedtime. The editorial also recommends warmer-coloured bedside lighting if illumination is necessary.