Avocado oil has emerged as a standout choice in a world constantly looking out for healthy oil choices. The oil is praised not only for its unique flavour but also for its impressive health benefits. Rich in monounsaturated fats, avocado oil is a heart-healthy alternative that can elevate both your dishes and your well-being.

Avocado oil boasts a high smoke point of around 520°F (271°C), making it ideal for high-heat cooking methods such as sautéing and frying. This high smoke point ensures that the oil remains stable and retains its nutritional integrity even at high temperatures. Unlike some oils that degrade and release harmful compounds when heated, avocado oil maintains its beneficial properties, making it a safer choice for cooking.

One of the standout features of avocado oil is its content of monounsaturated fats, particularly oleic acid. These healthy fats can help reduce levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol while increasing HDL (good) cholesterol, contributing to overall heart health. Additionally, avocado oil is rich in vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant that helps protect cells from oxidative damage and supports healthy skin.

The oil also contains lutein, a carotenoid that supports eye health by filtering out harmful blue light and reducing the risk of age-related macular degeneration. This makes avocado oil a smart choice for those looking to enhance their eye health through diet.

Incorporating avocado oil into your kitchen is both simple and versatile. Its mild, buttery flavor enhances a variety of dishes without overpowering them. Use it as a base for salad dressings, drizzle it over roasted vegetables, or use it for grilling and pan-searing. Its neutral taste also makes it an excellent option for baking, where it can replace other oils or fats in recipes.

To make the most of avocado oil's health benefits, opt for extra virgin varieties, which are less processed and retain more of the oil’s natural nutrients. Store your avocado oil in a cool, dark place to maintain its freshness and nutritional quality.

Sometimes signs of chronic and serious diseases can show up in the most unexpected ways and places. One such condition is Bronchiectasis. It is a chronic lung condition that damages your airways, leading to excessive phlegm production. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute explains that this damage to your airways can hurt your lungs, as it will cause them to expand, become loose and scarred.

It has a big range of symptoms, some of which may seem unrelated to lungs. While there's typically no cure, the treatments available can help you manage the condition and also help you improve the quality of your life.

Bronchiectasis affects approximately one in 200 adults in the UK. The damage to your lungs and airways results in an overproduction of phlegm. This excess mucus can lead to various complications and presents a variety of symptoms.

However, an issue with conditions like this is that many times early warnings can go ignored or misidentified by people. Hence learning these crucial signs can help you get the treatment you need. Bronchiectasis may be a lung disease; however, its signs can be seen at your fingertips!

Unusual Early Warning Signs

According to Asthma + Lung UK, one surprising early indicator of bronchiectasis is "clubbing" of the fingertips. This refers to the swelling and rounding of the fingertips around the nails. It often occurs due to chronically low blood oxygen levels, which can be a consequence of lung diseases like bronchiectasis.

Pelvic Floor Issues

Lung conditions like bronchiectasis can put extra strain on your muscles, including those in your bladder, bottom, and pelvic floor. As a result, individuals with bronchiectasis may experience incontinence, such as slight urination or defecation, especially during exertion like coughing or laughing.

Common Bronchiectasis Symptoms

Beyond the more unusual signs, common symptoms of bronchiectasis include:

• A persistent cough with sputum (phlegm)
• Repeated chest infections
• Breathlessness
• Fatigue
• Chest pain or tightness

How Is Bronchiectasis Diagnosed

The American Lung Association explains that diagnosing bronchiectasis can be tricky because its symptoms often look like other lung problems. But getting an early diagnosis is really important to stop more damage to your lungs.

If your doctor thinks you might have bronchiectasis, they'll usually start by asking about your family's health history and ordering blood tests. These tests can help them figure out if you have an underlying condition that might be causing the bronchiectasis or if your body's infection-fighting cells are low.

Other tests include chest X-ray, lung function test which would measure how much can you breathe in and out, sputum culture, which will sample your phlegm to catch any infection. Sometimes, doctors order sweat test to see if you have cystic fibrosis, a genetic condition that can lead to bronchiectasis.

In some severe cases, if bronchiectasis isn't getting better with treatment, doctors might suggest a bronchoscopy. This procedure involves putting a thin, flexible tube into your airways. It helps them find any blockages or sources of infection that are hard to see otherwise.

Managing Your Condition

While bronchiectasis is generally incurable, treatment aims to control symptoms and prevent the condition from worsening. Management strategies include:

Lifestyle Changes

Quitting smoking is strongly advised to help manage the condition more effectively.

Respiratory Physiotherapy

A respiratory physiotherapist can teach you techniques to effectively clear excess phlegm from your airways.

Medication

These are often prescribed to fight chest infections and flare-ups. If you experience frequent flare-ups, long-term antibiotic use may be necessary.

Surgery

In rare cases, surgery might be needed to repair lung damage or if a ruptured blood vessel in the lung leads to coughing up blood.

We all love a bit of touch up, whether on a regular day or for an event. For millions of women across the globe, threading is a regular part of their beauty routine. From shaping eyebrows to removing unwanted facial hair, this grooming technique is practiced weekly or monthly and is widely considered quick, safe, and inexpensive.

But a recent video from a doctor turned influencer has caused a stir online by claiming that threading — like tattooing and body piercing — can potentially spread Hepatitis B, a serious liver infection.

What Did The Doctor Say?

In a video that has garnered over 400,000 views within two days, Dr Vishal Gabale, an internal medicine doctor from Navi Mumbai, narrates a case where three young women, all of whom had visited the same threading salon, tested positive for Hepatitis B with identical virus strains.

Dr Gabale says he investigated the case like a “medical mystery,” and found the common link between the patients was their visit to the same salon. Citing a 2022 World Health Organization (WHO) bulletin, he claims that Hepatitis B has been known to spread through tattooing, razor-sharing, and “even cosmetic procedures like threading.”

According to him, threading can cause micro-abrasions, and if contaminated tools or threads are used, the virus could survive for days — even without visible blood.

Medical Experts Respond with Skepticism

However, not all doctors are convinced. A dermatologist based in Hyderabad acknowledges that if threading causes skin abrasions, transmission is “theoretically possible,” but stresses that no confirmed case has ever been recorded.

“Tattoos are a different story — they break the skin and do carry a risk. But threading is far more superficial,” he said. “If threading was truly risky, we’d have seen documented evidence by now, considering how common the practice is.”

He also criticized the influencer’s decision to disable comments on the video, making it harder for experts to counter misleading claims.

Missing Evidence and Misleading Sources

Hyderabad-based neurologist Dr Sudhir Kumar also raised concerns. He pointed out a small disclaimer in the video saying it’s “only for educational purposes” and presents a theoretical risk — suggesting the doctor hadn’t treated any actual Hepatitis B cases linked to threading.

“The issue is that viewers may miss that disclaimer and assume the risk is real. But to date, not a single case report has linked Hepatitis B transmission to threading — that’s significant,” Dr Kumar explained.

About the WHO bulletin cited in the video, the doctor reportedly shared a screenshot of an unrelated 2010 article, which did not reference threading and wasn’t published by WHO.

Beauty Risks vs. Clickbait

Dr Kumar added that while there are documented links between Hepatitis B and procedures like tattooing, body piercing, manicures, or even shaving with unsterile equipment, threading has never been associated with such risk, reported The South First.

He warns against fear-mongering and called the video an example of “clickbait,” made worse by its origin — a doctor, not just an influencer.

“Threading doesn’t typically break the skin. Unlike tattooing or piercings, it doesn’t create the conditions necessary for virus transmission. We must focus on real risks — unprotected sex, reused medical needles, and poor hygiene in clinical settings — not unproven, hypothetical scenarios,” he said.

Our eyes can reveal a lot about us, you can say that they are not just the window to our soul but also to our health. Not only can you see signs of conditions like high cholesterol and diabetes, but doctors can also identify signs of a few other diseases.

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, doctors can spot signs of heart disease during a regular eye exam. They also explain how studies have found that people with heart disease often have tiny "eye strokes" in their retinas.

Harvard Health Publishing adds that sudden changes in your vision, like blurriness, dark spots, or shadows, could mean there's a blockage in an eye blood vessel. This can be a warning sign of a more serious stroke in your brain. Also, there's growing evidence that tiny, early damage to blood vessels in your eyes might predict heart problems. Other unusual eye changes can also hint at heart issues, like small yellow bumps around your eyes, or pupils that get bigger and smaller with your heartbeat.

How Your Eyes Reveal Heart Disease Risk?

Tiny blood vessels, as thin as a single strand of hair, supply blood to your retina. Harvard Health Publishing also explains that these tiny vessels, like arteries throughout your body, can be damaged by long-term problems like diabetes and high blood pressure.

Over time, high blood sugar, which is diabetes, makes the walls of these eye vessels weak and leaky. This condition is called diabetic retinopathy and can harm your vision. Poorly controlled high blood pressure can also make eye arteries narrow or break and bleed into the retina.

Both diabetes and high blood pressure are known to contribute to heart disease. But sometimes people don't even know they have these conditions if they haven't seen a doctor in years.

Yellow Bumps Around the Eyes

Harvard Health Publishing also specifies that some adults, usually middle-aged or older, develop soft, yellowish bumps filled with cholesterol on or around their eyelids, often near the nose. These are called xanthelasmas. They don't hurt and rarely affect vision. But they can be a sign of high levels of cholesterol or other fats in the blood. They're a bit more common in women. If you have them, you should definitely get a cholesterol test. Xanthelasmas are more common in people with genetic conditions that cause very high cholesterol.

About half of people with xanthelasmas have normal cholesterol levels, and for them, the bumps are just a cosmetic issue. But if heart disease runs in your family, make sure your doctor knows about these bumps, as they could be a sign of a higher risk of heart problems.

What Are Eye Strokes?

Eye strokes happen when the eye doesn't get enough blood and oxygen, causing some cells to die. This leaves a small mark called a "retinal ischemic perivascular lesion." Eye doctors can see these marks using a special camera called an OCT (optical coherence tomography) to look closely at the back of your eye.

American Academy of Ophthalmology says these eye scans are great for finding problems all over the body, not just in the eyes. They can even show signs of diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Rare Occurrence of Pupil That Pulsates with Your Heartbeat

Harvard Health also brings up a rare yet obvious sign of heart issues that affect your eyes. In serious cases, a rare eye sign can appear: your pupils might get bigger and smaller with each heartbeat. This is called Landolfi's sign, first described in 1909. People with this heart condition have a big difference between the two numbers in their blood pressure (the top and bottom numbers). The pupil movements show these big changes in pressure.

A 2017 issue of the American Journal of Medicine detailed a case study of a 60-year-old woman who was admitted with shortness of breath, lightheadedness as well as palpitations, which when checked, doctors heard a murmur. Another careful examination of the eyes revealed constriction and dilation of the pupils which synchronized with the patients' heartbeat. The study detailed how this was a sign of the “Landolfi's sign”.

How An Eye Check-up Can Save You

For people with heart disease, which is the leading cause of death worldwide, finding it early and getting treatment can help prevent a heart attack or a bigger stroke.

In the future, if an eye doctor sees these eye strokes on a scan, they might send the patient to a heart doctor, especially if the patient hasn't had a full health checkup or doesn't know if heart disease runs in their family.