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.

Often, we underestimate the way our brain works and daydreaming has long been seen as a major sign of creativity. Many artists have used their imagination to bring their work to life. However, science offers a different perspective.

Coined in 2002 Dr. Eliezer Somer, those who experience “maladaptive daydreaming” often fantasize about celebrities, historical figures or idealized versions of themselves. Their imaginations are more elaborate, diverse, and complex as compared to other daydreamers.

A 2012 Consciousness and Cognition study found that maladaptive daydreamers spend, on average, 57 percent of their waking hours daydreaming far more than their counterparts.

Dr Somer explains: "The greatest difference is the maladaptive daydreamers reported that the activity interfered with their daily life. They also reported higher rates of attention-deficit and obsessive compulsive symptoms, and more than 80% used kinesthetic activity or movement when daydreaming, such as rocking, pacing or spinning"

He further noted that while everyone experiences moments of mind-wandering, it usually does not interfere with daily life. But maladaptive daydreaming does interfere in regular life. The condition has not been classified as a mental illness and there is no treatment for it yet.

What Do People Say?

Many Reddit users have shared their experiences with maladaptive daydreaming, often asking questions such as: “Is it normal to daydream for such long hours?”

While some responses described daydreaming as a form of dissociation when bored, others relied on music or movies to fuel fantasies of being a “better version” of themselves, often struggling to return to reality.

Common Symptoms Of Maladaptive Daydreaming

Here are some early signs of maladaptive daydreaming to keep an eye out for:

• Compulsive need to daydream
• Avoiding social interaction and activities
• An inability to perform work or other daily tasks
• Extreme feelings of shame or guilt
• Feeling a compulsive need to daydream that you can't control
• Making a conscious effort to stop or lessen daydreaming episodes.
• Intense and extremely vivid daydreams
• Complex and elaborate daydreams, often with many people involved
• Daydreams accompanied by repetitive movements such as pacing
• Prolonged daydreams that may last hours at a time
• A feeling of disconnect or dissociation from people and reality during the episode.

What Does Science Say?

Rachel Bennett, a member of Dr. Somer’s online community, shared she usually dreams up new episodes of her favorite Japanese animé characters and TV shows. She’s also created four families of fictional characters which have grown with her over the years.

“I’d much rather stay home and daydream than go out,” she said.

What Causes Maladaptive Daydreaming?

Dr. Somer noted that about one-quarter of maladaptive daydreamers are trauma survivors who use daydreaming as an escape. Many report family members with similar tendencies, as well as being shy or socially isolated.

Meanwhile, a Harvard Medical study found that 80 percent of maladaptive daydreamers have ADHD, followed by anxiety disorders, depression, and OCD. Researchers believe daydreaming often acts as a coping mechanism for pent-up emotions that cannot be expressed in real life, so they are released through imagination instead.

How Do You Cope With Maladaptive Daydreaming?

Experts emphasize that maladaptive daydreaming is not an extreme condition requiring formal diagnosis, but many people have shared strategies that help:

• Exercise: One forum user reported swimming daily, gradually reaching 2,000 meters, which acted as meditation and grounded them in reality.
• Remove triggers: Avoid activities that spark daydreaming episodes.
• Practice mindfulness: Stay present and aware of thoughts.
• Limit music use: Music is a common trigger.
• Scheduled daydreaming: Set aside specific times with a timer, then consciously exit the session.
• Seek professional help: Therapies such as CBT, DBT, and mindfulness-based stress reduction have shown benefits.
• Stay busy: Engage in tasks to prevent wandering thoughts.
• Improve sleep quality.
• Make daydreams less appealing: Reduce instant gratification.
• Self-development and creativity: Channel imagination into productive outlets.
• Journaling: Record thoughts daily or weekly.
• Practice self-acceptance.
• Find group support.

A new review published in The Lancet highlights how close this shift may be. The study underscores a hard truth: despite having effective medicines for years, global blood pressure control remains disappointingly poor. The real challenge, experts say, is not the absence of drugs—but problems with adherence, health systems, and long-term patient engagement.

The Unrelenting Burden of a Silent Killer

Hypertension continues to be the leading cause of heart attacks, strokes and premature deaths worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines high blood pressure as readings at or above 140 mm Hg systolic and/or 90 mm Hg diastolic. A normal reading is below 120/80 mm Hg.

The numbers are staggering. Between 2024 and 2025, an estimated 1.4 billion adults aged 30 to 79—roughly one in three people in this age group—are living with hypertension globally. Nearly 44 percent do not even know they have it. Among those diagnosed, fewer than one in four have their blood pressure adequately controlled.

India reflects this alarming trend. The ICMR-INDIAB study (2023) estimated that about 315 million Indians—35.5 percent of the population—have hypertension. Data from NFHS-5 further showed that nearly half of hypertensive men and more than a third of hypertensive women in India do not have their condition under control.

Why Daily Pills Are Falling Short

For decades, hypertension treatment has relied on daily oral medications—often combinations of two or more drugs. These may include ACE inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers paired with calcium channel blockers, and thiazide diuretics.

On paper, these regimens are effective. In reality, adherence is the weak link.

Many patients with hypertension also manage diabetes, obesity or high cholesterol. The result is polypharmacy—multiple pills, multiple times a day. Over time, missed doses, side effects and simple “treatment fatigue” erode consistency. Therapeutic inertia—where doctors do not intensify treatment despite poor control—further worsens outcomes.

The Rise of Long-Acting Injectables

This is where long-acting injectable therapies come in. According to Dr Mohit Gupta, cardiologist at G B Pant Hospital and UCMS, the field is now moving toward therapies that may be administered just twice a year.

Unlike traditional medicines that work downstream to reduce blood pressure numbers, these new drugs target upstream molecular pathways that drive hypertension.

One promising approach involves small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapies that inhibit angiotensinogen production in the liver. By silencing this protein, they dampen the renin–angiotensin system—central to blood pressure regulation. Zilebesiran, developed by Roche and Alnylam, is currently in global phase 3 trials.

Another candidate, ziltivekimab by Novo Nordisk, targets inflammatory pathways increasingly linked to cardiovascular risk. There are also newer strategies aimed at selectively modulating aldosterone, a hormone that increases blood volume and pressure.

The appeal is simple: durability. A twice-yearly injection could eliminate the daily burden of pill-taking, improve adherence and provide more stable blood pressure control over time.

Promise, But With Caution

However, excitement is tempered by concern. Cost remains a major question. The recent introduction of inclisiran, an injectable cholesterol-lowering therapy priced between Rs 1.8 and 2.4 lakh annually in India, highlights affordability challenges.

Long-term safety is another critical issue. Hypertension is lifelong. Patients may require these treatments for decades. Experts stress the need for robust long-term data across diverse populations before widespread adoption.

The promise is undeniable. A twice-yearly injection that reliably controls blood pressure could transform preventive cardiology. But its true impact will depend not only on scientific success—but on accessibility, affordability and sustained safety.

A new Lancet study titled Burden of MASLD and liver fibrosis: evidence from the Phenome India cohort published in The Lancet Regional Health - South Asia found that nearly four in 10 Indian adults have fatty liver or what scientifically is known as the metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), formerly non as NAFLD or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

The study also highlights a more worrying condition that a sizeable proportion of the Indian population already show signs of liver fibrosis. This is an early scarring process that could lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer if left unchecked.

Lancet Study: How Was It Conducted?

The study analyzed data from more than 7,700 adults across 27 cities in India. The study found that 38.9 per cent of participants had MASLD. The authors also noted that this figure is similar to the global estimates, however, is deeply concerning for India's population and size of the country, including the ever-rising burden of diabetes and obesity.

The study also found that 6.3 per cent of people who live with MASLD had significant liver fibrosis, as compared to 1.7 per cent of those without fatty liver.

Read: Indians Are At Most Risk Of Having Fatty Liver Disease, According To Doctor

The study also found that 2.4 per cent of the entire population analyzed showed evidence of significant fibrosis. Why is this concerning? Fibrosis is a strong predicator of future complications. With the advancement of scarring, liver failure, cirrhosis, and liver caser risk also rises.

Lancet Study: Who Are At Risk?

The study found that people with obesity, diabetes, and central or abdominal fat were more likely to have MASLD. Obesity also was seen as the strongest risk factor, with likelihood rising steeply from overweight to severe obesity.

Another factor was also age. Liver fibrosis was seen in adults over the age of 60 years and in people with diabetes, among whom nearly one in ten showed fibrotic changes.

The study also showed that there was a presence of "Lean MASLD", which means it could also happen in people who are not overweight and have a normal body mass index. This is often linked to insulin resistance and visceral fat, which is the fat around internal organs. This tend to accumulate abdominal fat even at lower body weights.

Lancet Study: Can MASLD And Other Liver Diseases Be Prevented?

As per the authors of the study, MASLD is highly modifiable, especially at early stages. There are evidence that show that weight loss reduces liver fat and inflammation. Regular physical activity also improves insulin sensitivity, along with balanced diet. The diet must be consumed without or with very low sugar and ultra-processed food, which helps in control of diabetes and cholesterol and slows down disease progression.

Authors also noted that people should get their fatty liver disease scanned regularly. Especially because MASLD is common among people with obesity and diabetes. There are many non-aggressive tools that could also detect fibrosis early.