There are several reasons for hair loss, balding or hairfall. But there are cases where iodine also plays an important role in the thinning of hair.

Dr. Ravindra Gupta of Internal Medicine from Columbia Asia Hospital, Gurgaon explains how iodine deficiency can cause hair loss.

There are several causes of iodine deficiency:
Alopecia areata
Androgenetic alopecia
Trichotillomania
Hormonal imbalances
Post-pregnancy and menopause
Anaemia
Stress
Crash dieting
Personal care of hair like use of shampoo, oil, lack of massage, brushing wet hair, etc.

However, lack of iodine also results in hair loss. Dr. Ravindra Gupta explains how iodine deficiency is linked to hair loss, “As we all are familiar that iodine deficiency leads to hypothyroidism and goitre.

But hypothyroidism leads to thinning of hairs by unknown mechanism. So, iodine deficiency causes hair loss due to deficiency of thyroid hormones.”

Balding or hair loss is a symptom of thyroid imbalance accompanied by other hypothyroid symptoms like fatigue, depression, weight gain, dry skin, muscle cramps, aches, swelling of the legs, and excessive sleepiness.

Instead of increasing salt intake, consult your doctor before changing your diet.

Rich sources of iodine in food:
1. Baked potato with skin
2. Milk
3. Prawns
4. Boiled eggs
5. Baked turkey breast
6. Cod fish

It is recommended that adult males and female should consume approximately 150 mcg of iodine per day.

Used coffee grounds can make the ideal beauty hacks, instead of hard-on-your-pocket products.

It might sound a tad icky, but actually used grounds present some excellent basic uses when it comes to grooming.

- They can un-stink smelly hands: just apply them on your hands, leave for half a minute and rinse.

- Use used coffee grounds as a scrub. They are an excellent way to exfoliate your skin. Caffeine has skin-tightening properties.

- Use it as a body scrub rinse to stay away from body odours.

- Caffeine is thought to help eliminate unwanted oils, and can temporarily reduce build-up of unwanted cellulite

- Applying the grounds on your hair can add an extra shine to your hair. Just use as a mask, apply, leave on for 15 minutes, rinse.

Lots have been said and researched about the harmful effects of excessive alcohol consumption by experts from across the globe. Regular alcohol consumption poses a severe threat to our health and may also make one susceptible to depression. Experts from the Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine have found a link between heavy drinking and ageing. It was found that patients who consumed excessive alcohol in their adult life showed reduction in the length of their Telomeres - a marker of ageing. Therefore, these patients were also more susceptible to age-related ailments such as Alzheimer's, heart ailments, dementia among others.

Telomere loss happens every time a cell replicates, this leads to shortened telomere over the span of time. Though telomeres loss and shortening can happen owing to various reasons, experts found alcohol dependence to be the primary cause in the patients that were investigated. Heavy drinking was therefore found to have triggered biological aging at a cellular level in the patients examined.

Previously, excessive drinking has also been linked to exposing a person to the risk of cardiovascular ailments.

"There is growing evidence that moderate alcohol intake may be a risk factor for atrial fibrillation, the most common heart rhythm disturbance in the world, but the mechanism by which alcohol may lead to atrial fibrillation is unknown," Gregory Marcus, researcher at the University of California, San Francisco was quoted by IANS.

A recently published study by the American Heart Association states that drinking more than 4 drinks in a day and repeating the pattern to form a habit can have severe health consequences. Even moderate drinking is now believed to have grave effects on human health including cognitive decline and brain damage. Experts revealed that those who consumed 14-to-21 drinks a week for decades were up to two to three times more susceptible to suffer from brain damage.

"Osteoarthritis is the single most common cause of disability in older adults.

According to the United Nations, by 2050 people aged over 60 will account for more than 20% of the world's population," WHO.

Osteoarthritis is a condition wherein the cartilage - that provides padding to the joints - begins to wear off. While ageing is one of the primary reasons for the condition, some other perpetrators would include past injury and even obesity.

Osteoarthritis is commonly reported in some of the pivotal weight bearing joints of the body.

Some of the most common symptoms of osteoarthritis would include pain and soreness in joints, stiffness after a period of inactivity, swelling or enlargement in joints.

A recent study points to the fact that women are more susceptible to osteoarthritis as compared to men. The key trigger is believed to be a type of fluid present in the joints.

Synovial fluid may be treated as a marker of joint health. Experts suggest minor lifestyle tweaks that can ensure stronger bones, ligaments and cartilage to stave off the risk of falling prey to age-related bone degeneration.

- Weight bearing exercises is important to maintain the strength of the bones and connective tissues and prevent them from falling weak.

- Regular and adequate calcium and vitamin D consumption is important for bone repair and development.

- Weight management is crucial. Excess weight puts pressure on your bones and joints making them prone to damage and even fracturing.

- Those who are susceptible to developing bone ailments should keep a check on inflammation in the body.

- Food items that cause inflammation may lead to trouble in people who suffer from or are likely to suffer from bone associated ailments.

- Steer clear of processed food items, sugar and food rich in purines to avoid joint inflammation and pain triggers.

- Make sure your posture is right all the time.

Sedentary lifestyle is one of the biggest perpetrators of lifestyle ailments in today's world.

With more and more hours spent glued to our workstations, most of us are leading an alarmingly inactive life.

The ill effects of prolonged sitting have long been highlighted by experts from all over.

While some link it with obesity, others have tied it with risks of developing hypertension, heart ailments and even premature death.

The World Health Organisation recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-rigorous level of physical activity for an average adult.

Many experts also consider walking at least 10000 steps a day as the benchmark of keeping fit in general.
Unfortunately, most of us fail to reach up to that level of fitness and become a feeding ground of a host of ailments.

A recently published study has gone a step further and linked prolonged sitting with the risk of premature death. After examining and studying close to 40 different studies, experts concluded that sitting for long significantly increases a person's risk of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and premature death.

Although regular exercising is more than recommended too ensure a healthy lifestyle, experts also suggest that regular physical activity cannot do much to offset and undo the damage done by the day-long sitting.

"The ill-effects of high levels of sitting may prove to be especially damaging given that so many people sit for long periods," added professor Stuart Biddle from Victoria University in Australia.

The idea is not to make up for the prolonged state of activity by adding a burst of exercise somewhere in the day, the ideal approach is to cut down this state of physical activity by taking regular breaks, doing basic body stretches at your workstation, taking stairs whenever possible and going for a small walk.

One should always get up from the seat every 15 minutes to avoid muscles from getting damaged.