All posts by HealthyLife

HealthyLife is a part of www.WeRIndia.com, an all India – centric website (https://healthylife.werindia.com) and is solely owned and operated by WeRIndia.com. It is a Indian nutritional portal providing educational articles.This nutritional port was launched on February 5th, 2015.
Tips To Reduce Eye Strain

Tips to reduce eye strain

Eyes gets strained due to various reasons. Insomnia, late sleeping, staring at screen, watching TV continuously, traveling, looking under microscope (students and lecturers) etc. are few reasons. It can also cause puffiness. Sometimes puffiness is due to age and weakened muscles around the eyes. Salty food, allergy reactions, crying, stress – all these are also reason for puffiness.  Grandma has listed several tips to reduce strain on eyes.

  1. Use palms to soothe eyes: Rub your hands together for 15 to 20 seconds to warm them a little. Gently position palms over closed eye lids. Hold for few minutes and breath. This will help to rejuvenate eyes and gives rest and relaxation to eyes
  2. Muscle relaxation:Take a deep breath while raising both shoulders and squeeze eyes and fists. Keep eyes closed. While tightening, and releasing the voluntary muscles in shoulders and fists, involuntary muscles of eyes will release and relaxes to take out strain
  3. Chilled spoons: Keep two steel spoons in a wet paper towel and fold it. Place this in refrigerator. After few minutes remove the paper towel and spoon. Unwrap the spoon. Place the spoons one on each eye. When the spoons become warm again repeat the process of chilling and placing it on eye lids. This helps to reduces the puffiness and removes tiredness around eyes.
  4. Tea bags: Tea has natural astringents (tannins). Place two tea bags in wet paper towel and place in refrigerator for half an hour or so. Remove the paper towels containing tea bags and place them on each eye for few minutes. Don’t remove the paper towel- if not tea bags may stain your skin. Repeat the process to get rid of puffiness and tiredness.
  5. Stop wearing eye makeup: Till your eyes feel better, stop wearing eye makeup. If you must then go with light make up.
  6. Castor oil and olive oil: Warm little castor oil or olive oil and apply on eye lids and around eyes. Wash eyes after few minutes.
  7. Cucumber slices: Keep cool cucumber slices on the eye lids. This will help to reduce puffiness and soothes eyes.
  8. Focusing on thumb: This exercise helps to release stress. Hold one arm straight in front of you in a loose fist. Point the thumb up. Now focus on the thumb. While focusing on the thumb slowly move thumb towards your nose until you can no longer focus on thumb. Then take a deep breath. Repeat the exercise 10 times a day. This helps the vision as well as releases stress on eyes.
  9. Eyes rolling: Sit up in a straight position and without moving head roll your eyes up and down and sides. Then slowly circle your eyes in clockwise direction. Repeat the process 3 times and relax the eyes. Next time circle the eyes counterclockwise direction.
  10. Blinking: Take a break from your work and blink few times. Repeat this few times in a day.
  11. Massage: Gently, using your fingertips massage your upper and lower lids 15 to 20 seconds. While massaging upper lids, massage the muscle above the eyes and similarly when massaging lower lids massages the muscles and cheeks beneath.
  12. Early morning sun rays: Stand in a place where early morning Sun rays falls on your face. Close eye lids and let sun rays fall on your eyes for few minutes. Feel the warmth and slowly open and close your eyes and roll the eyes up – down and sideways. This helps in relaxing eye muscles and reduces strain. Don’t wear sun glasses or eye glasses while doing this exercise.
  13. Massage between two eye brows: Using finger tips gently massage the space between the two eye brows. Hold finger on the center and gently press and release to take out any tension as tension can also be the reason for your eye stress.
  14. And, with all these tips try to get enough sleep every day. Sleep is a good remedy for tired eyes!

Grandma’s tips: www.werindia.com

Image credit: Photo by Quinten de Graaf on Unsplash

Author: HealthyLife | Posted on: August 9, 2017
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Spicy Kodubale

Kodubale Karnataka special

Kodubale is a type of murukku or spicy rings from Karnataka.

It is a traditional snack item and many households will make and keep it for everyday snack purposes.

It carries some calories because it is a deep fried food item.

Serving size: About 30 gram, Calories = Approx -146

Ingredients

  1.  Maida/all purpose flour-1/2 cup
  2. Roasted gram flour -1/2 cup
  3. Rice flour – 1/2 cup
  4. Fine semolina – 1/4 cup
  5. Ajwain– 1/2 tsp
  6. Sesame seeds – 1/2 tsp
  7. Asafoetida– a pinch
  8. Curry leaves – Few fine chopped
  9. Salt – to taste
  10. Oil/butter – 1 Tbs
  11. Grated coconut -1/4 cup
  12. Cumin seeds (for grinding)
  13. Dry chili – few (6-8)
  14. Vegetable oil – for frying

 Method:

  1. Prepare kodubale dough by mixing rice flour, all-purpose flour, roasted gram flour, semolina, ajwain, sesame seeds, hing, chopped curry leaves and salt in a bowl.
  2. Heat oil or butter for a minute and add to the above mix and mix well
  3. Grind grated coconut, cumin seeds, dry red chili with ¼ cup water to a paste
  4. Add this paste to flour mix and prepare dough. Dough should not be too soft or nor watery. You should be able to roll it using your fingertips. Knead the dough properly.
  5. Take a small lemon size dough and start rolling it on a flat surface. Apply little oil on the surface and roll the dough like a rope. Banana leaves are preferred surfaces to get good taste. Prepare about 5 inches of dough rope and join the two ends of the rope to form a ring shape. Make sure the edges are sticked together to form a “O” or ring shape.
  6. Now heat oil in a deep pan on medium flame
  7. Pick the rings from the surface and carefully drop them in the heated oil for deep frying
  8. Fry the kodubale for few minutes or till the oil bubbles stops
  9. Remove kodubale from the oil and place them on a tissue paper to remove excess oil
  10. After cooling you can store kodubale in air tight container for few days. Or serve hot kodubale with tea or coffee as evening snack.

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Reference: www.werindia.com

Author: HealthyLife | Posted on: August 8, 2017
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Toxic countries in the world

Most toxic countries in the world

One of the greatest threat we, humans are facing today is continued emissions of greenhouse gases due to climate change. Year 2016 was officially named the hottest year on record with temperature having not been warmer 115,000 years. There was a huge crack in the Larsen C ice shelf in Antarctic region.

It is the duty of every country to launch plans to tackle climate change in order to save mother earth from catastrophic situation and consequences. US President Trump’s recent policy changes is a setback to previous administration effort to change the massive global problem.

Per the World Meteorological organization, today’s world is almost 5 times as dangerous and prone to catastrophe as it was in the 1970s due to the worst climate change. Climate change is a reality today and is having a huge impact on all countries with extreme climate events.

International Energy Agency and WHO released a data earlier this year showing the most toxic countries in the world and these countries need to do the most to limit their impact upon both human health and environment. The ranking was based on each country’s performance with respect to five different factors.

  • Per capita energy consumption
  • Air pollution
  • Per capita Carbon dioxide emissions from fuel combustion
  • Per 10,000 capita – deaths attributed to air pollution
  • Renewable energy production.

Eco Experts, an UK based Company created the toxic map based on the research data. In a press release, Jon Whiting from The Eco Experts said that “This research is a way of naming and shaming the worst offenders around the world. Their lack of action against emissions not only puts their populations at risk of deadly pollution-related diseases but also threatens the future of our planet. These threats are not distant concerns for future generations; their effects are being felt now and lives are already being lost. This research highlights the need for every country to act fast and put more investment into renewable energy alternatives.”

 Important Findings:

In order to determine which geographical locations are highly toxic an UK based Company studied air pollution data from 135 countries. They also considered carbon emissions, energy consumption and other factors as stated above.

  • Unlike previous years these recent finding tells that West will be also impacted by climate change similar to Asia and Africa.
  • Russia, Italy, France, Spain Luxembourg, Belgium, Croatia, Portugal – all feature in the worst 20 global countries for death rate from extreme climate on average per year over the past 20 years
  • When looking at the 20 top economies, France, Italy, Russia and Spain alarmingly have high death rates from extreme weather condition events.
  • Saudi Arabia was ranked as the world’s most toxic country due to its highest air pollution levels. Other oil rich countries Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and UAE made into the top list as well.
  • Russia, Italy, France, Spain, Germany and USA are also in the worst 20 countries for overall deaths per year on average over the last 20 years!
  • Surprisingly USA ranked 66 ahead of other countries such as China, Canada and Russia. However, it ranked worse than India and UK!!
  • Another big surprise is countries like Norway and Iceland consume more energy than others.
  • The least toxic countries are present in Africa – Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique and Cameron.

In the present scenario, what we can see is, the climate change is having a huge impact on mother earth and most of it human made disaster. Pollution may not clearly visible to the eye but its impact is. Instead of being ignorant we need to understand what is that we are doing wrong and take corrective action for it.

 References:

  1. http://blog.theecoexperts.co.uk
  2. http://www.trueactivist.com/
Author: HealthyLife | Posted on: August 7, 2017
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Ajwain Home remedies

Ajwain Home remedies

Ajwain (Karpooravalli or Doddapatre, Patharchur) is a medicinal herb (Coleus aromaticus) which has been in use in Ayurveda for many centuries.

It is also known as Indian borage. Leaf, stem and seeds of the plant have many medicinal properties. It is very useful for parents who have little children at home.

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Cold, fever or respiratory issues:

  • Wash and chew couple of young leaves. If you don’t like the taste, then proceed with tea.
  • Tea: Boil Indian borage leaves, crushed dried ginger, crushed pepper, jaggery and holy basil leaves. Add ½ tsp honey and drink.
  • Heat the leaves on low flame in a pan to make them soft. Squeeze the juice (about 1 tsp), add ½ tsp honey and drink. Place the leaves on a hot pan to make them soft. Squeeze out the juice (1 tsp), add honey (1/2 tsp) and drink
  • Grind few leaves and apply the paste on head to reduce cold

Skin allergy and insect bites:

  • Squeeze leaves from leaves and young branches and apply on the affected area. This reduces itchiness and irritation.
  • From bug bites to eczema and psoriasis leaves can be used.

For congestion:

  • Take one or two garlic cloves and chop them to smaller pieces. Roast chopped garlic cloves with ajwain leaves from few minutes. Wrap it in a soft cloth and keep it on the chest for few minutes as a compress.
  • For blocked nose rub few leaves in palms and inhale the vapor!

Relief from stress and anxiety:

  • Indian borage tea helps in stress relief. Boil couple of young leaves in water, add honey or sugar and drink. It reduces chronic stress too.

Jaundice:

  • For 10 days add Indian borage leaves in your food and it will reduce jaundice

For lethargy and weakness:

  • The content of Indian borage helps in boosting energy. It contains some amount of Vitamin A and C -both help in boosting immune system.

Acts as a diuretic:

  • Including leaves in the diet in various forms (dishes) helps in removal of toxins from the body and thus balances the kidney.

Bowel movement:

  • Brewing Tea from Indian borage leaves also helps in movement of bowel and one must take one or two cups a day.
  • Eat couple of leaves with salt to increase digestion

Milk production:

  • For new mothers, leaves can be included in the soup to enhance milk production

One can prepare many varieties of dishes using lndian Borage leaves and young, tender stem.

See two such recipes here: https://healthylife.werindia.com/vegetarian-recipes/grandmas-ajwani-leaf-recipes

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Author: HealthyLife | Posted on: July 31, 2017
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Menstrual cycle

Menstrual cycle hygiene

Menstrual cycle length vary in women and also the amount of bleeding.

Women undergo lot of stress, body pain and sometimes depression during this time of the month.

Personal hygiene can also contribute for this. If we don’t follow proper hygiene method then it leads to irritation and anger as it feels very uncomfortable in private parts.

Here are instructions and tips to follow personal hygiene during period time.

1. Select your careful way of sanitation: Talk to your doctor, sister, mother and friends. Understand which sanitary protection is better and which brand. Try a best brand one month and if you are not satisfied then go to next brand. It takes couple of months to get acquainted to the new brand. It is important to select a brand that is comfortable for you because to avoid stain, irritation, rashes and more importantly comfortable.

2. Change pads or tampons regularly: Blood can be easily contaminated and menstrual blood is more prone for contamination. Changing sanitary pads are very important. If not changed regularly the warm blood sitting in the pad can get infected by microbes and it leads to vaginal infection. For tampons*, every 2 hours and sanitary pads every 5 to 6 hours (normal flow) is recommended.

*Toxic shock syndrome: If the tampons are not changed regularly, it can cause infection and results in fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle aches, rash and weakness. This is called toxic shock syndrome. It happens rarely. However, to avoid TSS, change the tampons every 2 hours.

3. Washing: Menstrual blood when it comes in contact with air leads to strong odor. We may not feel it ourselves. But, the odor can reach the person next to you! Clean genital area using warm water and don’t use harsh soap and other form of cleaning liquid inside. Such products break the natural bacterial balance in the vagina and it can lead to infection. Wash using warm water and if you feel that you should use soap, then make sure it does not go inside parts. Better to avoid deodorant and soap use. Washing is recommended after each use of toilet and urination.

4. Take care of a pad rash : Rash means you are not practicing a good hygiene. Generally, it happens when one over uses the pad causing chaff due to extra friction on the inner skin. To avoid this change the pads regularly and keep the area between the legs dry. Otherwise it may result in chafing. Apply antiseptic cream like boroline to avoid development of rashes.

5. Use one method of sanitization: Some people use tampons, pads and piece of cloth or double pads when they have fear of staining with over flow. This might not be a good thing for your health. If both pad or one of the sanitary tool is not totally used, there is a tendency to throw the one that is used up and retain the unabsorbed pad/tool. This leads to infection and rashes. It is always better to change the sanitary tool frequently.

6. Have a bath regularly: Have regular bath, once every day – during menstrual cycle taking bath two times a day is good. When you wash your lower parts, start cleaning vagina and move towards anus. This way bacteria will not enter from anal part to front. This is the correct way to wash your private parts.

7. Use clean undergarments and change them regularly: All women face the problem of leaking and getting undergarments stained. Keep a set of undergarments separate for menstrual cycle use. Wash undergarments every day and if needed change twice during period time.

8. Wear proper clothing: It is better to avoid wearing tight fitting clothes that cling to the vaginal area as they increase the heat causing irritation. Wear comfortable cotton cloths and undergarments. Body must need to breath in the cloth and this helps you to avoid any discomfort. Wear clean and dry clothes.

9. Menstrual cups: Menstrual cups collects the liquid instead of absorbing it like tampons or pads. Few brands are disposable and many are reusable. If you use a reusable menstrual cups, then follow the instructions about emptying the cup and cleaning the cups.

10. Dispose sanitary pads/tools properly: It is essential to dispose the pads in a proper manner to avoid spreading of infections. Learn how to dispose the sanitary pads and other tools that you might use in a proper way.  Fold the used pads into half exposing the adhesive side. Wrap a few layers of toilet paper or old newspaper. Put a “X” mark on the top. Throw them in the designated bin or area.  Make sure pets and other animals cannot reach the pads.  Empty the bin and trash cans that contains used sanitary napkins. Never flush sanitary tools in the toilet as it will cause blockage and damage.

11. Give your body rest: During menstrual cycle, it is normal to experience tiredness, stress, pain and lethargy. Take plenty of rest if you can. Drink water and juice to keep yourself hydrated.

12. Always be ready: During period time carry tampons, pads or cups that are needed for your use. Along with it carry a paper bag/used paper to dispose the used tool, soft towel, paper tissues, a small roll of toilet paper, hand sanitizer, antibacterial cream, pain killers and drinking water to help you hydrate throughout the day.

Hygiene comes by practice. Understand what happens if don’t follow personal hygiene. If you have doubts talk to your close friends, family doctor or your sister.

Protect yourself from infections and uncomfortable situations following good hygiene practice during your period time.

Image credit: Photo by Annika Gordon on Unsplash (Free for commercial use)

Author: HealthyLife | Posted on:
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Laghu vajrasana

Little Thunderbolt Pose

Little thunderbolt pose is an advanced back bend yoga pose. It is included in Ashtanga yoga’s second series. If you are familiar with camel pose, then getting into thunderbolt pose is bit easy.

However, care should be taken when we perform this pose as it is totally a back bend pose. Important to remember is while performing this pose to avoid crunching of lower back, keep the chest moving up and the glutes soft to lengthen the spine.

Moving up the chest and lowering back gives flexibility to thigs. Advantage and benefit of doing this pose is: it opens throat, quadriceps, chest and  strengthens the spinal and abdominal muscle strength.

Another benefit is it increases spinal mobility. It is an intense pose and needs back bend practice.

If you are new to this pose, perform this pose under guidance of an instructor till you feel comfortable doing it on your own. Healthylife.werindia.com

Sanskrit: Laghu Vajrasana (lah-guu vahj-RAHS-anna) laghu = little, small ; vajra = thunderbolt

BENEFITS

  • Strengthens the legs
  • Increases spinal flexibility
  • Tones the spinal nerves
  • Stretches the abdominal muscles

 CONTRAINDICATIONS

  • Knee, neck, or low back injuries
  • High or low blood pressure
  • Headache
  • Insomnia

 HOW TO

  1. Kneel on the floor with your knees hip-distance wide and thighs perpendicular to the ground. Place your hands on your thighs.
  2. Slowly lean back while pushing your hips and thighs forward. Come into a deep backbend and rest the crown of your head on the soles of your feet.
  3. Slide your hands down to hold onto your knees.
  4. Stay in the pose for several breaths. To come out of Little Thunderbolt pose, strongly press the tops of your feet into the floor, and activate your core and legs. Push your pelvis forward and rise up, letting the head be the last to rise.

 MODIFY OR REPLACE

Alternatives:

  • Ustrasana (Camel pose)
  • Urdhva Dhanurasana (Wheel pose)

Modifications:

  • Come only halfway down and hold for a few breaths.
  • Place a block under the head for support.

 SEQUENCING TIPS

Before:

After:

  • Vajrasana (Thunderbolt pose)
  • Balasana (Child’s pose)
  • Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend)

TEACHING CUES

  1. Push your thighs and buttocks forward.
  2. Keep your head back as you come out of the pose.

 VARIATIONS

 WATCH OUT FOR

  • Weight bearing on the head

Image and description of Little thunderbolt pose is republished with permission from www.beyogi.com. Visit www.beyogi.com for more such poses.

Author: HealthyLife | Posted on: July 27, 2017
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Water is freedom

Water is freedom

Slovenia is a small beautiful country situated in Central Europe. It is economically advanced than its neighboring countries. Slovenian’s are very proud of their culture and are much protective about their nation. For this country’s citizen now drinking water is freedom!

Many developed and developing countries commercialized the drinking water and selling water especially for drinking purpose is a huge business and natural resources are tapped for personal gain.

Slovenia has gone in opposite direction and has taken a bold step to protect its citizens. Few months back, Slovenia’s has amended its constitution to make access for drinkable water a fundamental right for all citizens and to stop drinking water commercialization.

While US is trying to push to build more pipelines under freshwater and spoiling the natural water resources for profit, Slovenia’s step is very admirable.

This amendment was passed in Slovenian Parliament with a vote of 64-0. The 90-seat parliament added an article to the constitution saying “everyone has the right to drinkable water”.

Slovenian fantastic water quality is one of the reason for this amendment. Per Prime Minister Miro Cerar “Because of its value, in the future it will certainly be the target of foreign countries and international corporations’ appetites. As it will gradually become a more valuable commodity in the future, pressure over it will increase and we must not give in,”

“Everyone has the right to drinkable water and water is not a market commodity!”

‘Without taste, without color and without an owner – water is freedom’.

Slovenia’s constitution now reads. “Water resources represent a public good that is managed by the state. Water resources are primary and durably used to supply citizens with potable water and households with water and, in this sense, are not a market commodity.”

“As it will gradually become a more valuable commodity in the future, pressure over it will increase and we must not give in,” Cerar said in one of his statement.

Did you know? In Slovenia, tap water is often served to you even at the catering establishments, like order a cup of coffee, with wine, food and similar. On warm and hot days, there are also public drinking fountains with natural drinking water available in many Slovenian towns.

Well, there is someone must oppose the good move. The members of Slovenian democratic party (SDS) abstained from the vote saying the amendment was not necessary and only aimed at increasing public support. Per Amnesty International of the two million citizens of Slovenia, about 10,000 to 12,000 people still lack access to drinkable water and the government needs to do more by ensuring access to clean drinking water for all their citizens rather than settling for this amendment. The organization expressed concern and hoped that the law would extend to those in need of clean water.

Says Fotis Filippou, Amnesty International’s Deputy Europe Director “Enshrining access to drinking water as a constitutional human right is an important legal step forward for Slovenia, but Roma communities need more than legal changes. Action is now needed to ensure the changes flow down to all those without water and sanitation,”

There are 15 other countries across the world that have included drinking water right in their constitution. Slovenia is the first European country to include water in the constitution and is role model for other neighbouring countries.

References:

Author: HealthyLife | Posted on: July 26, 2017
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Roasted EggplantMosaru Bajji

Roasted Eggplant mosaru bajji

While providing recipe for “stuffed baby eggplant curry” we talked about the benefits of eggplant. Another eggplant recipe is here for eggplant lovers.

Roasted eggplant mosaru bajji is another traditional dish from Karnataka, India.

Eggplant is considered as one of the healthiest fruit. It contains phytonutrients like phenolic compounds, such as caffeic and chlorogenic acid, and flavonoids such as nasunin.

Nasunin helps in preventing free radical damage. Eggplant is also a very good source of dietary fiber, vitamin B1, and copper. It also contains good amount of manganese, vitamin B6, niacin, potassium, folate, and vitamin K.

 Ingredients:

  1. Eggplant- 1 big
  2. Curd -1 to 1 & 1/2 cup
  3. Salt – 1/2 tsp
  4. Asafoetida – a pinch
  5. Mustard -1/2 tsp
  6. Urad daal -1 tsp
  7. Red chilli -1
  8. Curry leaves – 1 string
  9. Oil/clarified butter (ghee) – 1Tbs

Method:

1. On low flame char the eggplant skin – it should turn tender and charred outside. Using a knife check whether eggplant turned soft inside.

2. Allow eggplant to cool and remove the outer charred skin and mash the eggplant using your fingers or with help of a spoon. Eggplant will give smoked flavor.

3. In a bowl take curd and whisk it till it becomes smooth.

4. Add whisked curd to roasted, mashed eggplant.

5. Heat oil in a ladle and prepare seasoning using mustard, red chilli, urad daal, curry leaves and asafoetida.

6. Add seasoning and salt to eggplant – yogurt mix and mix well.

7. Before serving add few chopped coriander leaves and chopped onions (option) and serve.

One can mix this dish with white rice or have with tamarind rice, chapatti, bread, roti, lemon rice etc.

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Reference: www.werindia.com

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Author: HealthyLife | Posted on: July 24, 2017
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