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Hindustan Times
3 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Better than Ozempic? Nutritionist shares 3 powerful drinks that burn belly fat naturally
Looking for a natural alternative to fat-loss injections like Ozempic? Nutritionist Sakshi Lalwani shares in her June 6 Instagram post 3 simple yet powerful drinks that can help accelerate fat burn, boost your metabolism, and support long-term weight management, without the side effects. Discover 3 simple drinks for effective fat burn and metabolism support. (Pixabay) 1. Moringa and mint detox water: The hormonal fat burner Recipe: Add 1 tsp moringa powder and a few crushed mint leaves to 1 glass of warm water. Let it steep for 5 minutes. Why it works: Balances blood sugar levels Reduces cortisol (the belly fat hormone) Supports liver detox (crucial for burning stubborn fat) Best time to drink: Mid-morning or between meals Bonus: Boosts iron levels and energy during weight loss 2. Black jeera water: The deep belly fat mobiliser Recipe: Boil ½ tsp kala jeera (black cumin) in 1.5 cups of water for 5 minutes. Strain and sip warm. Why it works: Boosts thermogenesis (burns fat through heat production) Activates brown fat (which helps burn stored white fat) Improves thyroid function Best time to drink: On an empty stomach in the morning Bonus: Supports metabolism naturally with no side effects 3. Bael leaf and ginger infusion: The belly bloat blaster Recipe: Boil 4–5 bael leaves and ½ inch grated ginger in 2 cups of water. Reduce to 1 cup, strain, and sip. Why it works: Repair the gut lining for efficient fat digestion Regulates insulin levels Reduces bloating—ideal for those with PCOS or IBS Best time to drink: After lunch or in the evening Bonus: Aids digestion and enhances liver function Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Time of India
Fake medication is a problem across the world Matthew Ward Agius
Representative image Amid rising demand for popular medications, experts and industry groups are concerned regulators may not be able to keep pace with the speed of counterfeiters. "A doctor simply writes down the prescription. They don't care where the patient buys the drug," said Saifuddin Ahmed, a public health practitioner and epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University in the US. "It is critically important that a health care provider should be engaged. The [regulators are] not enough," Ahmed told DW. Nowhere else is the challenge more obvious than with the huge demand for products like Wegovy and Zepbound. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like What Happens When You Massage Baking Soda Into Your Scalp Read More Undo They contain active compounds called semaglutide or tirzepatide, which were originally designed to treat type 2 diabetes. But these drugs were found to have a side effect that triggered substantial, sustained weight loss. Demand rose from people wanting to lose weight, and that caused a shortage. Fakes have filled the gap. Fake drugs are a global problem Drug counterfeiting is a major global problem . The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that one in 10 pharmaceuticals are fakes that carry no guarantee of any health benefits. While this is mainly a problem in low-and-middle income countries, especially parts of Africa and Asia, around 1% of people in high-income nations also obtain medication from unregulated sources. In some cases, these drugs may have no effect. In other cases, however, ingredients in the fake medication may lead to adverse reactions or create new health problems. "Purchasing medicine online from unregulated, unlicensed sources can expose patients to potentially unsafe products that have not undergone appropriate evaluation or approval, or do not meet quality standards," said the US regulator, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2023, when it issued its first warnings about the problem. In 2024, the WHO issued a global warning that batches of fake Ozempic were flooding the black market. More recently, in July 2025, data from the UK National Pharmacy Association found one in five Britons had attempted to obtain weight loss treatments in the previous year. It warned that the high demand for these medicines carried the risk that people would "resort to unregulated online suppliers instead of regulated pharmacies." Where are people buying counterfeit medicine? Unregulated pharmaceuticals are being sold via online-only pharmacies, international drug shopping and organised criminal distributors. These digital marketplaces are not online stores for established pharmacies, but sites that seemingly offer medicine at a fraction of the usual cost. The drugs may look identical to genuine medicines online, but when delivered often have spelling errors on the packet or incorrect ingredient listings. But it's not only fake drugs or placebos. Regulators have raised concern about compounding, where medicines that have been approved individually can be formulated to produce non-regulated "compounds" for individual patients. In some regions of the world, including the US, trained pharmacists are allowed to compound medicines, but even then, the practice is less regulated than the stringent approvals that drug manufacturers must meet to bring their products to market. For example, when the FDA temporarily allowed the compounding of weight loss drugs to address a product shortage, some pharmacists used semaglutide salts — which are not approved by regulators — instead of semaglutide itself. This led to reports of side effects. And it wasn't just trained compounding pharmacies that were formulating these products in the US. Ahmed said, "this is done in [places] like gymnasiums and spas." The FDA has now stopped allowing compounded versions of these weight loss drugs, but it is concerned that unregulated online pharmacies are still making substandard products available. Raising awareness about fake drugs To address concerns that consumers may seek unsafe products from unregulated sources, the FDA operates a campaign called BeSafeRx that provides guidance for consumers to identify genuine pharmaceuticals. In the European Union, safety features on medicines are mandated, and include standardized labeling practices. In a statement provided to DW, the European Medicines Agency said "patients should only use online retailers registered with the national competent authorities in the EU Member States, to reduce the risk of buying substandard or falsified medicines." Europol, which is responsible for law enforcement for pharmaceutical crime across member states, has coordinated regular actions across the bloc in collaboration with US and Colombian partners. In a 2023 operation, more than 1,284 people were charged for offenses related to the trafficking of counterfeit and misused medicines and doping substances. As well as local awareness campaigns and enforcement initiatives, the key measure, Ahmed said, was to help improve awareness between patients and their health practitioners. Ahmed heads the Johns Hopkins University's BESAFE initiative, which investigates risks and interventions to prevent the uptake of substandard and counterfeit medication. Surveys undertaken by BESAFE have found that within the US and South Africa, awareness of where to safely buy prescriptions and report fakes or adverse events is low. He said building trust between consumers, medical practitioners and regulators may help avoid the risks of counterfeit and unregulated drug purchases.
Time of India
19 hours ago
- Time of India
From 189 to 103 kg: How a 25-year-old designed his own diet and lost 86 kilos
This is not just a story of weight loss, it's a story of survival, self-respect, and reclaiming life from the edge. At 25, Aditya Subramanian reached 189.6 kilos, battling health issues, emotional isolation, and the aftermath of a pandemic. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now But instead of giving up, a decision was made, not to fit into a certain size, but to find a future again. What follows is an honest, deeply human story of a transformation that was much needed. 'I wasn't just heavy, I felt invisible, broken, and tired of pretending I was okay' At 189.6 kilos, everything felt like a struggle. My bed literally gave up on me. Twice. I needed machines to breathe at night. Blood pressure? Off the charts. Fatty liver? Check. Prediabetic? Almost there. At just 25, my body was screaming for help, but my mind was too exhausted to listen. COVID didn't just change the world, it changed my relationship with food, my body, my emotions. I ate because I was anxious. I ate because I was lonely. And no matter how much I ate, I never felt full. Hunger wasn't physical anymore, it had become emotional. I even tried Ozempic for a while. It didn't help, and honestly, as a student abroad, I couldn't afford it. What hurt the most? The silence in my parents' eyes when they saw me at graduation. They didn't say a word, but it broke me. That look stayed with me longer than any diet ever did. It was the moment I knew, I had to do something. Not for them. Not for the world. But for me. 'Surgery was a tool, not a shortcut' I came back to India and made a decision that many still hesitate to talk about openly, I went for bariatric surgery. It wasn't a magic fix. It wasn't about losing weight fast. It was about surviving. It was about wanting to live without machines, without pain, without shame. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now But the surgery was just the beginning. The diet plan I was given post-op didn't work for me. It was too basic, too rigid, and didn't consider how I lived, especially as someone moving back and forth between India and Australia. Most of the products weren't available where I lived. It felt like a one-size-fits-all plan for a life that was anything but standard. So, I started building my own blueprint. I asked questions, lots of them. I spoke with doctors across countries, reached out to real people who had gone through this, and figured out what my body needed, not what the textbook said it did. I experimented with food, timing, and nutrients until I found balance. I built my own rhythm. 'I didn't punish my body, I partnered with it' There's this myth that weight loss has to be brutal. That it should be filled with shame, restriction, and endless hustle. I didn't want to lose weight out of hate. I wanted to heal out of care. I ditched the harsh rules. No starving. No extreme workouts. I focused on nourishment. I made movement gentle and joyful, walks, stretches, anything that felt doable on bad days. And when I couldn't show up at 100%, I showed up at 20%. But I showed up. (Representational image: iStock) And slowly, my body responded. No more CPAP. No more medications. My liver started healing. My blood sugar stabilised. It felt like I had been underwater for years, and suddenly, I could breathe again. 'Progress didn't come fast, it came real' People love dramatic before-and-after stories. But mine wasn't a three-month makeover. It was three years of showing up even when no one else was watching. From 189 to 103 kilos, 86 kilos gone. But what I gained was so much more. Yes, I look different. But more importantly, I feel different. I trust myself now. I'm not afraid of food. I'm not afraid of relapsing. Because I didn't sprint to this place. I walked here. One stubborn, hopeful, deliberate step at a time. 'This isn't just my story, it's a mirror for many who feel unseen' Back in Australia now, life isn't perfect. There are still bills to pay. Emotions to manage. Skin I'm planning to have removed. But there's one thing I hold close, I did this my way. With honesty. With heart. With no shortcuts. And I want to say this, especially for people from India or the diaspora: weight struggles are not just about food or fitness. They're about loneliness, about silence, about systems that don't always listen to our needs. We don't talk about it enough. We shame people instead of supporting them. So here I am. Sharing not to impress, but to connect. If this story makes even one person feel seen, feel less alone, feel like healing is possible, then every difficult day, every hard choice, every quiet win was worth it. If you have a weight loss story to share, send it to us at These views are not generic in nature. Weight loss results vary for individuals and the views shared in this article offer no guarantee of specific results. The content is not intended in any way as a substitute for professional advice. Boney Kapoor Drops 26 Kg Without Gym: Emotional Journey Behind the Transformation
