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.

Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) is one of the simplest yet most effective life-saving solutions that every household should keep readily available, doctors said on World ORS Day.

Observed every year on July 29, World ORS Day raises awareness about the importance of ORS—a scientifically formulated mix of glucose and electrolytes, including sodium and potassium—that helps prevent and treat dehydration caused by diarrhea, vomiting, fever, heat, and excessive sweating.

First introduced in 1969, ORS has transformed the treatment of dehydration worldwide. Since 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF have recommended a low-osmolarity ORS formula, which improves fluid absorption and reduces the need for intravenous fluids. Today, ORS remains the gold standard for preventing and treating dehydration, particularly in children and people living in resource-limited settings.

ORS Prevents Dehydration, It Doesn't Treat the Illness

Dr. Ranjana Bhatt, Associate Director - Internal Medicine, Paras Health, Panchkula, told HealthandMe that ORS is not a medicine that cures the underlying illness but is designed to prevent and correct dehydration.

Dehydration occurs when the body loses more water and electrolytes than it takes in, most commonly due to diarrhea or vomiting. It can develop rapidly, especially in young children, older adults, and people with chronic illnesses.

Why ORS Works Better Than Water

ORS works through a well-established biological process in the small intestine. It contains the right balance of glucose and sodium, which are absorbed together through special proteins called sodium-glucose cotransporters (SGLTs). As sodium enters the bloodstream, water follows, allowing the body to rehydrate efficiently.

This mechanism makes ORS more effective than plain water—and often more effective than many commercial sports drinks—for replacing lost fluids and electrolytes quickly and safely.

"Recognizing the early signs of dehydration, such as excessive thirst, dry mouth, dizziness, reduced urination, and unusual fatigue, and starting ORS promptly can prevent serious complications. On ORS Day, we encourage every family to make ORS a household essential and use it appropriately while seeking timely medical care whenever symptoms are severe or persistent," Dr. Bhatt said.

Why Every Household Should Keep ORS

Dr. Amit Prakash Singh, Consultant - Internal Medicine, CK Birla Hospital, Delhi, told HealthandMe that ORS is one of the simplest, most affordable, and most effective ways to prevent dehydration.

"ORS is accessible for almost everyone, and the product is recommended by the World Health Organization to start treating dehydration caused by diarrhea at home. Having ORS packets at home enables treating dehydration without going to the doctor first and potentially avoiding hospitalization," he said.

When Should You Use ORS?

Besides diarrhea, ORS can help replace fluids and electrolytes lost due to:

• Fever-related dehydration
• Vomiting and gastroenteritis
• Heat exhaustion and heatstroke
• Heavy sweating after strenuous exercise
• Hangovers caused by dehydration
• Viral illnesses such as dengue
• Dehydration in older adults and people with chronic illnesses.

"ORS is not just for diarrhea. Whenever there is a lot of fluid loss or electrolyte loss, ORS can be used. ORS can be consumed for vomiting due to gastroenteritis, food poisoning, or viral infection (provided the person can sip small amounts repeatedly)," Dr. Singh said.

ORS Is Not A Cure

Doctors caution that ORS only replaces lost fluids and electrolytes—it does not treat the underlying disease.

It may help prevent dehydration after fever, vomiting, or excessive sweating, but it is not a treatment for abdominal pain, acidity, indigestion, constipation, gastritis, or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Persistent or severe symptoms should always be evaluated by a healthcare professional, Dr Singh said.

How To Identify Original ORS

When buying ORS, check the following:

• Look for packaging that states "WHO Recommended Formula." Any other mark or logo may not indicate a WHO-recommended ORS formulation.
• Read the label carefully. Some products may be marketed as "Ready-to-Serve Fruit Beverage" or carry a disclaimer such as: "This is only a trademark and does not represent its true nature. Not a WHO Oral Rehydration Salts." These products are not WHO-recommended ORS.
• Check the ingredients. Genuine ORS should contain glucose, sodium, and potassium in the recommended proportions.

Liver disease is unusual among serious conditions in that it can progress significantly without producing symptoms that would prompt most people to seek medical attention. Hepatitis, which is inflammation of the liver, is the most common starting point for that progression.

It may be caused by viral infections including Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C, excessive alcohol consumption, fatty liver disease, certain medications, or autoimmune conditions. In many cases, the person carrying it feels entirely well while damage accumulates over months and years.

How Chronic Inflammation Causes Lasting Liver Damage

The liver does regenerate, but that capacity has limits. When inflammation persists, healthy liver cells are progressively replaced by scar tissue, a process called fibrosis.

Continued scarring eventually produces cirrhosis, where the liver loses its structural integrity and its ability to perform the functions the body depends on it for, such as processing toxins, producing proteins involved in blood clotting, regulating metabolism, and supporting digestion. At this stage, the damage is largely irreversible.

The timeline from hepatitis to cirrhosis typically spans years or even decades, which is precisely what makes delayed diagnosis so consequential. Each year of untreated inflammation is a year of accumulated scarring.

By the time cirrhosis produces obvious symptoms such as jaundice, abdominal swelling from fluid accumulation, internal bleeding from enlarged veins in the oesophagus, cognitive changes from toxin build-up, kidney involvement, the disease has already reached an advanced stage. Cirrhosis also carries a significantly elevated risk of liver cancer.

Also read: Smoking, Diabetes, High Blood Pressure May Fuel the Most Dangerous Type of Artery Plaque, Study Finds

Early Detection Can Prevent Disease Progression

The clinical picture is meaningfully better when liver disease is identified early. Effective antiviral medications can control chronic Hepatitis B and cure most cases of Hepatitis C, substantially reducing the risk of progression.

Fatty liver disease, when caught before significant fibrosis has occurred, can often be reversed through weight management, blood sugar control, reduced alcohol intake, and consistent physical activity. These interventions are accessible, evidence-based changes that work when applied before the disease has advanced.

Screening is where early identification happens. Blood tests measuring liver enzymes and imaging studies can detect liver inflammation and early fibrosis well before symptoms appear.

For individuals with diabetes, obesity, a family history of liver disease, a history of blood transfusions, or other known risk factors, periodic liver assessment is a practical and important part of routine care rather than an optional precaution.

Also read: IIT Delhi, AIIMS Develop First Hindi Music Therapy for Stroke Patients: How Survivors Find Their Voice

Who Should Get Screened And Why It Matters

The pattern that gastroenterologists consistently encounter is patients presenting with advanced liver disease who had risk factors identifiable years earlier. Hepatitis B and C are both detectable through simple blood tests.

Fatty liver shows up clearly on ultrasound. The window for effective intervention exists, and it is considerably wider earlier in the disease than most people assume when they have never been tested.

This draws attention to a disease that carries a substantial global burden but remains widely undertreated because it does not announce itself. For anyone with known risk factors, or who has never had their liver function assessed, the appropriate response to that is a conversation with a physician, before symptoms, rather than after.

By Dr. Saswata Chatterjee, Senior Consultant – Gastroenterology, CMRI Hospital

Smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity have always been recognized as major risk factors for heart disease.

New research has emerged saying these preventable conditions may do more harm than simply contribute to plaque buildup in the arteries. They may also encourage the formation of the most dangerous type of plaque, the kind that is most likely to rupture and trigger a massive heart attack.

The findings, presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2026, show that people with a greater number of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors were more likely to have widespread coronary plaque.

They may also have unstable and vulnerable plaques that can suddenly rupture, disrupting blood flow to the heart.

More Risk Factors = More Dangerous Plaques

Researchers analyzed coronary artery imaging data to understand how both modifiable and non-modifiable cardiovascular risk factors affect the characteristics of plaque.

The study found that patients with a higher burden of modifiable risk factors had plaques distributed across all three major coronary arteries.

More importantly, these individuals were more likely to develop lipid-rich plaques with thin fibrous caps, a trait of vulnerable plaques that are more likely to rupture.

On the other hand, people whose risk profile was dominated by non-modifiable factors, such as age or genetics, tended to have more stable plaque types.

"Our findings suggest that modifiable cardiovascular risk factors are associated not only with a greater amount of coronary plaque but also with more vulnerable plaque characteristics that are linked to future heart attacks," the researchers said.

Also read: ICMR Study Highlights India’s Silent Cholesterol Crisis: 9 In 10 Adults Have At Least One Abnormal Blood Lipid

Why Vulnerable Plaque Is Especially Dangerous?

Some plaques gradually harden and remain relatively stable for years, causing slow narrowing of the arteries. Others contain large amounts of fat covered by a very thin protective layer known as a fibrous cap.

These unstable plaques can rupture unexpectedly, prompting blood clots to form and suddenly block an artery, leading to a heart attack or stroke.

According to the researchers, individuals with multiple preventable cardiovascular risk factors were significantly more likely to have these high-risk plaques.

Also read: Risks Of Plastic Pollution: Study Finds Microplastics In Heart Arteries Can Cause Severe Heart Attacks

Smoking, Diabetes And high Blood Pressure Pose High Risk

Smoking chronically damages the inner lining of blood vessels, making it easier for cholesterol deposits to accumulate while also promoting inflammation and blood clot formation.

High blood pressure places constant stress on artery walls, accelerating plaque development and increasing the likelihood of rupture.

When several of these risk factors occur together, their harmful effects can compound, increasing both the quantity of plaque and likelihood to rupture.

Also read: Vapers & Smokers Have Equally Poor Physical Fitness & Blood Vessel Health, Study Finds

What Is Atherosclerosis?

Atherosclerosis is a chronic condition in which fatty deposits made up of cholesterol, inflammatory cells, calcium, and other substances accumulate inside artery walls.

Over time, these deposits narrow the arteries and reduce blood flow to vital organs. The condition often develops silently over decades before causing symptoms.

If a plaque ruptures, a blood clot can rapidly block blood flow, resulting in a heart attack or stroke. Smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and elevated LDL ("bad") cholesterol are among its leading preventable causes.

The researchers said the study highlights the importance of early identification and management of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors through smoking cessation, blood pressure control, diabetes management, cholesterol-lowering treatment, regular physical activity, a healthy diet, and maintaining a healthy weight.