Gayathri Kallukaran is a Junior Journalist with Eastern Eye. She has a Master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from St. Paul’s College, Bengaluru, and brings over five years of experience in content creation, including two years in digital journalism. She covers stories across culture, lifestyle, travel, health, and technology, with a creative yet fact-driven approach to reporting. Known for her sensitivity towards human interest narratives, Gayathri’s storytelling often aims to inform, inspire, and empower. Her journey began as a layout designer and reporter for her college’s daily newsletter, where she also contributed short films and editorial features. Since then, she has worked with platforms like FWD Media, Pepper Content, and Petrons.com, where several of her interviews and features have gained spotlight recognition. Fluent in English, Malayalam, Tamil, and Hindi, she writes in English and Malayalam, continuing to explore inclusive, people-focused storytelling in the digital space.
Nuts and seeds are nutritional powerhouses, making them a perfect addition to your breakfast routine. Packed with essential nutrients, they offer a host of health benefits that can boost your day from the start.
1. Rich in healthy fats
Nuts and seeds, such as almonds, walnuts, chia, and flaxseeds, are rich in heart-healthy fats, particularly omega-3 fatty acids. These fats are essential for maintaining healthy cholesterol levels and reducing inflammation in the body. Including a handful of nuts or a sprinkle of seeds in your breakfast can promote cardiovascular health and lower your risk of heart disease. Omega-3 fats also play a role in improving brain function and maintaining mental clarity, which can be particularly beneficial at the beginning of your day.
Moreover, the fats found in nuts and seeds are predominantly unsaturated fats, which are considered beneficial. These fats help keep you feeling full and satisfied, curbing mid-morning hunger pangs and reducing the likelihood of eating unhealthy foods.
2. Loaded with fibre
Fibre is crucial for digestive health, and nuts and seeds are excellent sources of both soluble and insoluble fibre. Soluble fibre can help regulate blood sugar levels and lower cholesterol, while insoluble fibre supports regular bowel movements and prevents constipation.
Starting your day with a fibre-rich meal can promote a healthy digestive system, ensuring your metabolism stays on track. Seeds like chia and flaxseeds are particularly high in fibre, and incorporating them into your breakfast, such as in smoothies, porridge, or yogurt, can give your digestive health a major boost.
3. Protein powerhouse
Protein is an essential macronutrient that plays a key role in building and repairing tissues, as well as supporting muscle function. Nuts and seeds are an excellent plant-based source of protein, making them a fantastic addition to your breakfast, especially for those following a vegetarian or vegan diet.
A protein-packed breakfast helps to stabilise blood sugar levels and provides sustained energy throughout the morning. Combining nuts and seeds with other protein sources like yogurt, oats, or whole grains can help keep you feeling fuller for longer and prevent energy slumps later in the day.
4. Packed with essential vitamins and minerals
Nuts and seeds are incredibly nutrient-dense, offering a variety of vitamins and minerals that contribute to overall health and well-being. Almonds, for instance, are rich in vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant that protects cells from damage and supports skin health. Walnuts and sunflower seeds are high in B vitamins, which are important for energy production and reducing fatigue.
Additionally, seeds like pumpkin and sesame seeds are great sources of minerals like magnesium, zinc, and iron, all of which are vital for maintaining healthy bones, supporting immune function, and improving mood and energy levels. Including a small portion of mixed nuts and seeds in your breakfast can provide a range of these important nutrients, helping to set you up for a productive day.
5. Aid in weight management
Despite being calorie-dense, studies suggest that regular consumption of nuts and seeds can aid in weight management. The combination of healthy fats, fibre, and protein helps to promote satiety, reducing the urge to overeat later in the day. Since they take longer to digest, nuts and seeds can help regulate your appetite and reduce unnecessary snacking.
Furthermore, certain nuts like almonds have been shown to increase metabolism and improve fat-burning, making them an ideal snack for those trying to manage their weight. Including a moderate portion in your breakfast can help control hunger and support your weight loss or maintenance goals healthily.
How to incorporate nuts and seeds into your breakfast
Adding nuts and seeds to your breakfast can be simple and versatile. You can sprinkle a handful of mixed nuts or seeds onto your oatmeal or cereal, blend them into smoothies, or use nut butters as a spread on whole-grain toast. Chia seeds can also be soaked overnight to create a delicious chia pudding, while flaxseeds can be mixed into yogurt or added to baked goods.
Remember to opt for unsalted and unprocessed varieties of nuts and seeds to avoid added sugars or unhealthy fats. Moderation is key, as while nuts and seeds are highly nutritious, they are also calorie-dense, so it’s important to enjoy them in sensible portions.
Staple of your morning routine
Incorporating nuts and seeds into your breakfast is a simple yet effective way to boost your nutrition and start your day on the right foot. With their combination of healthy fats, fibre, protein, vitamins, and minerals, these nutrient-packed powerhouses can support heart health, digestion, energy levels, and even weight management.
Eli Lilly had announced a steep price rise of up to 170% for Mounjaro.
A new discount deal with UK suppliers will limit the increase for patients.
Pharmacies will still apply a mark-up, but consumer costs are expected to rise less than initially feared.
NHS pricing remains unaffected due to separate arrangements.
Eli Lilly has agreed a discounted supply deal for its weight-loss drug Mounjaro, easing fears of a sharp rise in costs for UK patients. The new arrangement means that, from September, pharmacies and private services will face smaller wholesale increases than first expected, limiting the impact on consumers.
Why the price rise was announced
Earlier this month, Eli Lilly said it would raise Mounjaro’s list price by as much as 170%, which could have pushed the highest monthly dose from £122 to £330. The company argued that UK pricing needed to align more closely with higher costs in Europe and the United States.
Discount deal for UK suppliers
The revised agreement will see the top-dose price set at £247.50 for suppliers. While pharmacies and private providers will still add their own margins, the increase for patients is now likely to remain under 50% for higher doses, and even lower for smaller doses.
Eli Lilly confirmed:
“We are working with private providers on commercial arrangements to maintain affordability and expect these to be passed onto patients when the change is effective on 1 September.”
Impact on consumers
Around 1.5 million people in the UK are currently on weight-loss drugs, with more than half using Mounjaro. Most of these patients—around 90%—pay privately through online services or high street pharmacies.
Prices vary between providers, depending on the level of lifestyle and dietary support offered alongside the injections.
Olivier Picard of the National Pharmacy Association said:
“This rebate will mitigate some of the impact of the increase, but patients should still anticipate seeing a rise in prices from 1 September.”
NHS pricing unchanged
The deal does not affect the NHS, which has secured its own heavily-discounted price for patients prescribed the weekly injection.
Mounjaro works by helping patients feel fuller for longer, reducing food intake and supporting weight loss of up to 20% of body weight.
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The Department of Health said the rollout would reduce missed days at nursery and school, cut time parents take off work, and save the NHS about £15 million a year. (Representational image: iStock)
CHILDREN in England will be offered a free chickenpox vaccine for the first time from January 2026, the government has announced.
GP practices will give eligible children a combined vaccine for measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV) as part of the routine childhood vaccination schedule. Around half a million children each year are expected to be protected.
The Department of Health said the rollout would reduce missed days at nursery and school, cut time parents take off work, and save the NHS about £15 million a year. Research estimates chickenpox in childhood leads to £24 million in lost income and productivity annually.
Minister of State for Care, Stephen Kinnock, said: “We’re giving parents the power to protect their children from chickenpox and its serious complications, while keeping them in nursery or the classroom where they belong and preventing parents from scrambling for childcare or having to miss work. This vaccine puts children’s health first and gives working families the support they deserve. As part of our Plan for Change, we want to give every child the best possible start in life, and this rollout will help to do exactly that.”
Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, Deputy Director of Immunisation at the UK Health Security Agency, said: “Most parents probably consider chickenpox to be a common and mild illness, but for some babies, young children and even adults, chickenpox can be very serious, leading to hospital admission and tragically, while rare, it can be fatal. It is excellent news that from next January we will be introducing a vaccine to protect against chickenpox into the NHS routine childhood vaccination programme – helping prevent what is for most a nasty illness and for those who develop severe symptoms, it could be a life saver.”
Amanda Doyle, National Director for Primary Care and Community Services at NHS England, said: “This is a hugely positive moment for families as the NHS gets ready to roll out a vaccine to protect children against chickenpox for the first time, adding to the arsenal of other routine jabs that safeguard against serious illness.”
The eligibility criteria will be set out in clinical guidance, and parents will be contacted by their GP surgery if their child is eligible.
WHEN broadcaster and journalist Naga Munchetty began speaking openly about her experiences with adenomyosis and debilitating menstrual pain, the response was overwhelming.
Emails and messages poured in from women who had endured years of dismissal, silence and shame when it came to their health. That outpouring became the driving force behind her new book, It’s Probably Nothing, which calls for women to be heard and to advocate for themselves in a medical system that has too often ignored them.
“For so long, so many women haven’t been listened to by the world of medicine,” Munchetty said. “I knew this from my own experience of not being given adequate pain relief, or waiting years for a diagnosis. My motivation was to help women and people who love women to advocate better for women’s health.”
The book blends Munchetty’s personal journey with the voices of other women who have faced similar struggles, alongside expert insights from medical professionals. Its purpose, she said, is clear: to empower people to fight for their health.
“We need to be unafraid of saying how we have been weakened by our symptoms,” the BBC presenter said.
“Too often, we try to keep afloat, keep our head above water, but we don’t want to seem weak. That needs to change.”
Munchetty’s candour is striking. She describes the shame of being told her excruciating periods were “just normal,” leaving her to feel weak and whiny for struggling.
“You might as well have told me people have heart attacks while I’m having a heart attack,” she said. “Debilitating pain is serious — it may not be lifelimiting, but it is life-impacting.”
Her determination to challenge that culture led to her giving evidence in parliament, contributing to what became a Women and Equalities Committee report, published in December 2024.
The report made headlines for its stark conclusion: medical misogyny exists.
For Munchetty, seeing that phrase in black and white was transformative. “It was almost self-affirming,” she said. “We now know it’s there, so we can challenge it. Women can say: I know my body, I know there’s not enough research, and I am entitled to push for answers.”
The parliamentary report went further than acknowledgement. It called for ring-fenced funding for women’s health hubs, better training for GPs, and greater investment in research into reproductive conditions like adenomyosis and endometriosis.
It highlighted how symptoms are routinely dismissed as “normal,” delaying diagnosis and disrupting women’s careers, education and daily lives. Munchetty wrote in her book — referencing the report — that medical misogyny is not about blaming individual doctors, but about challenging a system built on insufficient research into women’s bodies.
“It gives women the language and the confidence to not just be heard, but to insist on being taken seriously,” she wrote.
Her book also tackles the additional barriers faced by women from minority communities, who may be discouraged by stigma or embarrassment from speaking about menstruation or menopause. To them, Munchetty has a clear message: “You are so much more valuable than you realise. If you don’t prioritise your health, you are lessening your ability to hold up everyone around you.”
Those featured in the book are friends, colleagues, charities and everyday women who contributed their stories, many for the first time. “I was surprised at how many friends are in that book with such powerful experiences,” Munchetty said.
“It told me all the more that we’re not speaking about it, and that it is sadly so very common.”
At a launch event for the book, contributors, family and experts filled the room with what Munchetty describes as an “electric and inspiring atmosphere.”
She said, “It was full of joy, of women who felt safe to speak up and be heard. This is not a whiny book — it’s a positive book. People felt they were part of making things better, part of this women’s health revolution.”
For Munchetty, writing the book was exhausting, but transformative, she said.
“I never thought I’d be an author. I’m a journalist. But this is journalism — facilitating people’s stories to be told powerfully and truthfully. People trusted me, and I’m proud of that.”
And Munchetty’s aim is for the book to be a tool for change: arming women with the language, confidence and strategies to advocate for their health.
“It’s not easy to admit you need help, and it’s not instinctive for women to prioritise themselves,” she said. “But this book will help you do that. It’s the silent friend who has your back and gives you strength.”
It’s Probably Nothing - Critical Conversations on the Women’s Health Crisis is now available in all good bookshops
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Williams explained that her weight challenges began after the birth of her first daughter
Serena Williams reveals she has lost more than 31lbs using a GLP-1 medication
The tennis legend says the treatment enhanced her existing healthy lifestyle
She stresses that weight loss should not change self-image or self-confidence
Serena Williams has revealed she has lost more than 31lbs after turning to a weight-loss medication, saying the treatment has transformed both her body and her mindset.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion, 43, told PEOPLE that using a GLP-1 medication — a type of injection that works by regulating appetite — has helped enhance the healthy lifestyle she already maintained through diet and exercise.
“I feel great,” Williams said. “I feel really good and healthy. I feel light physically and light mentally.”
Postpartum struggles
Williams explained that her weight challenges began after the birth of her first daughter, Alexis Olympia, in 2017. Despite training intensively and eating healthily, she found it difficult to return to her preferred weight.
“I never was able to get to the weight I needed to be, no matter what I did, no matter how much I trained,” she admitted. “It was frustrating to work so hard and not see results.”
She experienced the same plateau after giving birth to her second daughter, Adira River, in 2023. Although she initially shed weight quickly, progress soon stalled. “I never lost another pound,” she recalled.
Turning to treatment
Determined to try a new approach, Williams consulted doctors through Ro, a direct-to-patient healthcare company, and began a GLP-1 course once she had finished breastfeeding. The medication, also known as a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, is commonly marketed under brand names such as Ozempic and Mounjaro.
“I did a lot of research before I started,” she explained. “I wanted to know if it was a shortcut or if it could really help me. In the end, it felt like the right decision.”
Williams, who is now a patient ambassador for Ro, said the injections made a noticeable difference. “I lost over 31 pounds and was really excited about that weight loss.”
Feeling better than ever
The Olympic gold medallist says she now feels stronger and more energetic.
“I can do more. I’m more active. My joints don’t hurt as much. Even simple things like moving around are easier. I feel like I have a lot more energy.”
She emphasised that GLP-1 was not a substitute for discipline but a way to support her existing healthy habits. “GLP-1 helped me enhance everything I was already doing — eating healthy and working out, whether as a professional athlete or just at the gym every day.”
Confidence and body positivity
Despite her transformation, Williams stressed that her self-confidence has never depended on her size.
“Weight loss should never really change your self-image,” she said. “Women are judged about their bodies at any size, and I’m no stranger to that. I’ve always loved myself at every stage. The difference was that my body didn’t feel good carrying that extra weight after having children.”
She added that she encourages her daughters to embrace body confidence too. “It’s important to teach them to be confident at any size, just as I try to be. Looking back, whether I was smaller or heavier, I always felt confident — and I looked great too.”
Looking ahead
Williams says she plans to continue with the weekly GLP-1 injections as needed, alongside training for a half marathon. The gym remains her “favourite place to be” — and she intends to keep sharing her workouts with fans online.
“I just feel pretty good about it all,” she said.
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Seles first began noticing symptoms around five years ago
Nine-time Grand Slam winner Monica Seles diagnosed with myasthenia gravis three years ago
The 51-year-old revealed her condition ahead of this month’s US Open to raise awareness
Disease causes muscle weakness and has no known cure
Former world number one Monica Seles has revealed she was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, a rare neuromuscular autoimmune disease, three years ago. The 51-year-old, who won nine Grand Slam singles titles, went public ahead of the US Open to raise awareness of the condition, which causes muscle weakness and can affect multiple parts of the body.
Symptoms and diagnosis
Seles first began noticing symptoms around five years ago when she experienced double vision and struggled with coordination. “I would be playing [tennis] with some kids or family members, and I would miss a ball. I was like, ‘Yeah, I see two balls,’” she told the Associated Press. These symptoms eventually led to her diagnosis, which took time for her to come to terms with.
Living with the condition
The former tennis star described the impact of the disease on her daily life as “significant” and said it was initially difficult to discuss openly. Myasthenia gravis currently has no cure, but treatments can help manage its effects. By sharing her experience, Seles hopes to use her platform to educate others.
Career highlights
Seles rose to prominence as a teenager, winning her first Grand Slam at the 1990 French Open aged 16 and claiming eight majors by 19. Her career was interrupted in 1993 when she was stabbed by a spectator during a match in Hamburg. She returned to the sport and won one more Grand Slam before retiring in 2003, having spent 178 weeks as world number one and capturing 53 career titles.