Author: Sameed Chaudhary

Vitamin B complex with zinc is one of the most commonly recommended supplement combinations at pharmacies across Pakistan, from Karachi’s Burns Road to Lahore’s Liberty Market. Yet most people picking up a strip of Surbex Z or a bottle of Berocca tablets have only a vague idea of what each nutrient actually does, let alone why the two are sold together. The combination makes sense once you understand the biology. B vitamins and zinc share overlapping roles in energy metabolism, immune defence, and skin repair. A deficiency in one often masks or worsens a deficiency in the other. In Pakistan,…

Cranberry juice has quietly become one of the more popular imported health drinks in Pakistan, sitting on shelves at supermarkets in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad alongside familiar local options. Its deep ruby colour and sharp, tart flavour set it apart from the sweeter juices most Pakistani households reach for. The drink draws most of its attention from women who have heard it helps with urinary tract infections (UTIs), a condition that is genuinely common in Pakistan’s hot, humid climate, particularly during summer months when dehydration is a daily reality. But the benefits go further than that, and so do the…

Toothache in Pakistan is rarely a minor inconvenience. It tends to arrive at night, during a fast in Ramadan, or right before an important day when a dentist appointment is nowhere near. Many Pakistani patients reach for a painkiller tablet in those moments, and flurbiprofen, sold here under brand names like Ansaid (Pfizer Pakistan) and Froben (Abbott Pakistan), is one of the medicines dentists and general physicians commonly prescribe for exactly this situation. Flurbiprofen belongs to the NSAID family, the same group as ibuprofen and naproxen. What sets it apart is how efficiently it targets the inflammatory process behind dental…

Mutton is one of the most beloved meats in Pakistani households. Whether it’s a slow-cooked karahi on a Sunday afternoon, a pot of nihari simmering overnight, or the Eid-ul-Adha rush of fresh gosht, bakra gosht holds a special place on the dastarkhan. What many people don’t stop to consider is what that plate of mutton actually does inside the body. It’s not just a festive indulgence. Eaten in the right amounts and cooked the right way, mutton is a genuinely nutritious red meat, and in some respects leaner than beef. The problem in Pakistan isn’t the meat itself; it’s often…

Platelet count drops are a familiar worry for Pakistani families, especially during dengue season. Every monsoon, hospitals in Lahore and Karachi see a surge in patients whose platelet levels have fallen sharply after a viral fever, and families scramble for advice on what to eat and what to do. Platelets are tiny blood cells produced in the bone marrow that help your blood clot when you bleed. A healthy count sits between 150,000 and 450,000 platelets per microlitre of blood, according to standard clinical references. When the count drops below that range, the condition is called thrombocytopenia, and it can…

Sattu is a roasted grain flour that has been part of Pakistani households for generations, especially in Punjab and Sindh. Called ستو in Urdu, it’s made by dry-roasting chickpeas (chana) or barley (jau) and grinding them into a fine powder. The result is a humble, nutty flour that dissolves in water in seconds and keeps you full for hours. During the summer months, when Lahore and Karachi temperatures cross 40°C, sattu sharbat is one of the most practical things you can drink. It cools the body, replaces lost minerals, and provides steady energy without the sugar crash that comes from…

Misri is one of those ingredients that sits quietly in almost every Pakistani kitchen, often tucked next to the saunf in a small steel bowl. Most people know it as the sweet crystal you chew after a heavy meal, but its traditional uses go well beyond a mouth freshener. In Unani and Ayurvedic medicine, misri has been used for centuries to soothe the throat, support digestion, and cool the body during summer heat. In Pakistani households, a common practice is to mix misri with saunf (fennel seeds) and serve it after lunch or dinner. It’s also dissolved in warm doodh…

Vitamin D3 deficiency is quietly common across Pakistan, and the numbers are striking. The National Nutrition Survey 2018 found that 54% of women of reproductive age in Pakistan are vitamin D deficient, and a study published in BMC Women’s Health found that 57% of women in Karachi had deficient levels despite living in one of the sunniest cities in the world. The paradox is real: abundant sunshine, yet chronically low vitamin D. The reason is not just sun avoidance. Most Pakistanis eat a diet built around roti, dal, chawal, and sabzi, which are nutritious staples but naturally low in vitamin…

Almost every Pakistani household has heard it at least once: “Machli ke baad doodh mat peena — phulbehri ho jaayegi.” The warning gets passed from grandmothers to mothers to children, repeated so often that most people accept it without question. It’s one of those beliefs that feels too specific and too old to be wrong. The thing is, it is wrong. Or at least, the part about vitiligo is. The science on this is clear, and it has been for years. What’s less clear to most people is why the myth exists, what the body actually does when you combine…

Stomach infections are one of the most common reasons people visit a general physician in Pakistan, especially during the summer months when contaminated water and street food are everywhere. Metronidazole, sold widely under the brand name Flagyl, is one of the most frequently prescribed antibiotics for gut-related infections across Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad. Yet many Pakistanis buy it over the counter without a prescription, sometimes for the wrong type of infection entirely. Understanding what this medicine actually does, and when it genuinely helps, can save you from a failed treatment course or an avoidable side effect. Amebiasis and giardiasis, two…