Author: Sameed Chaudhary

Bhutta is one of those foods Pakistanis grow up eating without giving it much thought. A roasted cob from a roadside vendor in Lahore, sprinkled with lemon and chaat masala, is as much a part of summer evenings as load-shedding and mango season. What most people don’t realise is that this humble grain, known as makkai or maize, carries a solid nutritional profile. Corn is grown widely across Punjab and Sindh, making it one of the most affordable and accessible whole grains in Pakistan. According to the USDA, 100g of boiled yellow corn provides roughly 96 calories, 3.4g of dietary…

Gharami — the word most Pakistani households use before they even think of the clinical term — is one of summer’s most reliable visitors. From Karachi’s coastal humidity to Multan’s dry 45°C afternoons, blocked sweat glands are a near-universal experience between May and August. The rash shows up on the neck, chest, and back, stings when sweat touches it, and tends to be worse after load-shedding hours when fans and air conditioners go off. According to the Journal of Pakistan Medical Association (2022), dermatology clinics in Karachi and Lahore report a 40 to 60 percent rise in patient visits during…

Every Pakistani kitchen already stocks most of the best immunity booster foods available. Garlic, adrak, haldi, amla — these are not exotic imports. They are the everyday ingredients that generations of Pakistani families have reached for at the first sign of a cold or seasonal flu. Winter in Lahore and Karachi brings a familiar pattern: smog settles over the city, temperatures drop, and coughs spread through schools and offices within days. According to a 2023 review published in the journal Nutrients, a diet consistently rich in vitamins C, D, and zinc is associated with measurably stronger immune cell responses. The…

Tap water in most Pakistani cities is not safe to drink straight from the pipe. In Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi, municipal supply regularly carries bacteria, suspended sediment, and in some areas, elevated arsenic levels from bore water. Boiling helps, but it does not solve every problem. Knowing which purification method matches your actual water problem is what protects your family. According to the WHO, the World Health Organization has ranked Pakistan 23rd in terms of childhood mortality caused by diarrheal illness, with almost 6.4 million cases of pediatric diarrhea annually — most of them linked to contaminated drinking water. That…

You have tried two, maybe three anti dandruff shampoos. The flakes ease up for a week and then come right back, sometimes worse than before. If this sounds familiar, the real problem may not be dandruff at all. خشکی (khushki) is the word most people use for any flaking scalp, but scalp psoriasis and fungal infections look similar on the surface and need completely different treatment. If an anti dandruff shampoo has not helped after four weeks of regular use, the cause is likely scalp psoriasis or a fungal infection rather than ordinary dandruff. Here is how to tell them…

If you have started noticing more hair on your pillow, in your hairbrush, or clogging the bathroom drain, you are searching for the same answer as thousands of people across Pakistan every month, the real causes of hair fall. بالوں کا گرنا (baalon ka girna) is one of the most common concerns dermatologists hear from both men and women, and most causes can be identified once you know what to look for. Losing more than 100 to 150 strands a day, along with visible thinning at the crown, temples, or hairline, usually points to a specific cause rather than ordinary…

You go to bed on time, sleep a full night, and still wake up feeling like you never rested. If this sounds familiar, you are not alone, and you are not imagining it. Being always tired even after sleeping is one of the most common health complaints, and it usually has a real, fixable reason behind it. In Urdu, we call this ہر وقت تھکاوٹ (har waqt thakawat). If you feel tired even after a full night’s sleep, the cause is often not your sleep at all, but things like low iron, a thyroid issue, low vitamin D, unstable blood…

Most of us only see a doctor when something already hurts. We feel fine, so we skip the tests and carry on. The problem is that feeling fine and being healthy are not always the same thing, which is exactly why a yearly health checkup is worth it. In Urdu, this is your سالانہ ہیلتھ چیک اپ (saalana health checkup). A yearly health checkup is worth it even when you feel fine because conditions like high blood sugar, high blood pressure, and thyroid problems often develop silently and are far easier to manage when caught early. You can book an…

You get your blood test back, open the report, and stare at a page full of numbers, short forms, and arrows. For years, most Pakistanis have faced this moment with the same question, what does any of this actually mean. Now an AI lab report analyzer is quietly changing that experience for the better. In Urdu, we simply call it your لیب رپورٹ (lab report). AI now helps Pakistanis understand their lab reports by explaining each value in plain Urdu and English and flagging what needs attention, and Health+ by Marham builds this into every test alongside a free doctor…

Every monsoon, dengue returns to Pakistan, and every year families treat it like an ordinary fever until it suddenly is not. Rest and fluids help in most cases, but knowing the dengue warning signs can be the difference between a smooth recovery and a hospital emergency. In Urdu, this is ڈینگی بخار (dengue bukhaar). Most dengue gets better with rest and fluids, but you must see a doctor urgently if you have severe tummy pain, repeated vomiting, any bleeding, or sudden weakness, as these can be signs of severe dengue. If you notice any of these, consult a doctor on…