All posts by Sumana Rao

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Preventing gum recession

Gum Recession And Prevention

Gum recession happens when your gum tissue pulls back from your teeth, exposing the roots. It can be caused by many factors—some are preventable, some not—but you can take steps to slow or avoid it.

Common symptoms:

  1. Longer-looking teeth – Teeth may appear long because more of the root is exposed.
  2. Visible root surfaces – The normally hidden yellowish root can become visible.
  3. Tooth sensitivity – Discomfort or pain when eating/drinking hot, cold, sweet, or acidic foods.
  4. Notches or grooves at the gum line – “V-shaped indentations appear where gum tissue has worn away.
  5. Gums pulling away from teeth – You may see small gaps between gum and tooth.
  6. Inflamed, red, or swollen gums – Often due to irritation or infection.
  7. Bleeding while brushing or flossing – Especially if gum disease is present.
  8. Bad breath or bad taste in the mouth – Can occur with gum infections.
  9. Loose teeth – In advanced stages, the supporting bone may be affected.

Common reasons for gum recession

  1. Aggressive toothbrushing: Brushing too hard or using a hard-bristled toothbrush can wear away gum.
  2. Poor oral hygiene: Plaque buildup turns into tartar, which irritates gums and causes them to recede.
  3. Periodontal (gum) disease: Infection and inflammation damage gum tissue and supporting bone.
  4. Teeth grinding or clenching : Clenching known as bruxism. Both teeth grinding and bruxism puts extra pressure on teeth strains the gums.
  5. Misaligned teeth or bite: Uneven forces during chewing can stress certain gum areas.
  6. Genetics: Some people inherit thinner gum tissue or higher gum sensitivity.
  7. Hormonal changes: Pregnancy, menopause, and hormonal fluctuations can make gums more vulnerable.
  8. Tobacco use: Smoking or chewing tobacco restricts blood flow to gums, weakening them.
  9. Lip or tongue piercings: Jewelry can rub against gums, causing irritation.
  10. Aging: Over time, gums naturally wear slightly, even in healthy mouths.

Ways to prevent gum recession

  1. Brush gently, twice daily –Use a soft-bristled toothbrush and gentle circular motions. Avoid scrubbing side-to-side at the gum line.
  2. Floss daily- Clean between teeth to remove plaque where brushes cannot reach.
  3. Regular dental checkups and cleanings-Professional cleanings remove tartar and catch gum issues early.
  4. Treat grinding and clenching-If you grind while sleeping at night, ask about a custom night guard.
  5. Fix bite or alignment issues-Orthodontic treatment can reduce uneven gum stress.
  6. Avoid tobacco– This helps to improve gum health and healing ability.
  7. Stay hydrated and eat gum-friendly foods-Vitamin C, antioxidants, and minerals support gum tissue repair.
  8. Manage hormonal changes-Women should be extra vigilant with oral hygiene during pregnancy or menopause.
  9. Avoid oral piercings or keep them well-maintained-Reduce irritation to gums.
  10. Address gum inflammation early- Swelling, redness, or bleeding are early signs that result in pain which could be unbearable. Don’t wait for pain.

Your oral health is important. Take care of your gums and teeth as it will help at your old age.

Image credit: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1401259 CC0 public domain, Free for commercial use (image published 05/13/2017)

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: August 14, 2025
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Storing Indian sweets

Festive Food Preservation Tips

In India Festival Season begins this month! Every week there will be a festival to celebrate. Festival means preparing snacks, sweets, and varieties of foods. If you are looking to store the delicacies for long time here are some tips for preserving Indian festive foods so they stay fresh, flavorful, and safe for longer — especially useful when you have a kitchen overflowing during Ganesha festival, Navratri, Diwali etc.

1. Store in airtight containers

  • Always let sweets and snacks cool completely before storing — warmth traps moisture and causes spoilage.
  • Use steel tins or glass jars for snacks like chakli, shakkarpala, murukku, or mixture.

2. Keep moist and dry foods separate

  • Never store dry namkeen with moist mithai — moisture will soften crunchy snacks and speed up fungal growth.
  • If you have a thali with multiple sweets, place each in its own small container inside the fridge.

3. Sugar and ghee as natural preservatives

  • For sweets like laddoos or Mysore pak, extra ghee not only adds flavor but keeps them moist and mold-free longer.
  • Sugar syrup for rasgullas or gulab jamun should be slightly thickened if you’re storing — thin syrup ferments faster.

4. Sun-drying technique

  • If the weather allows sun-dry snacks like sev, murukku, or boondi for 1–2 hours before storage — removes hidden moisture.
  • Wrap them in a clean muslin cloth before sun-drying to avoid dust.

5. Avoid hand contact

  • Always use tongs or a clean spoon when taking out sweets/snacks — oils and moisture from hands reduce shelf life.

6. Layering for delicate sweets

  • For fragile items like soan papdi or barfi, layer with butter paper or banana leaves in between to prevent sticking.

7. Refrigeration guidelines

  • Milk-based sweets (rasmalai, kalakand, peda) → refrigerate immediately, consume within 2–3 days.
  • Ghee-based sweets (laddoo, halwa) → last up to 10 days in an airtight container in a cool place.

8. Reheating for freshness

  • Snacks like samosas, kachoris, or pakoras can be revived by warming in an oven/air fryer at low heat for 5–7 min.
  • Avoid microwaving fried snacks — they’ll turn soggy.

9. Spice as a preservative

  • Adding a pinch of clove powder or cardamom in laddoos and sweets not only enhances aroma but slows fungal growth.

10. Storage corner

  • Keep all festive food tins in a dark, cool cupboard, never near the stove or in direct sunlight.
  • For large batches, she’d wrap containers in an old cotton saree — extra protection from heat and humidity.

Image credit: AI image creation

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: August 12, 2025
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Banana Flower masala vada

Crispy And Spicy Banana Flower Ambode

Banana flower ambode or masala vade is a South Indian-style deep-fried lentil snack, is delicious, nutritious, and has that earthy, slightly floral flavor of banana blossom balanced with spices.

You can prepare and serve it with lunch during festival or as snack with evening hot coffee/tea.

Ingredients:

  1. Chana dal (split Bengal gram) – 1 cup
  2. Dry red chilies – 4–5 (adjust to spice level)
  3. Banana flower – 1 medium (about two cups cleaned & chopped)
  4. Ginger – 1 inch
  5. Curry leaves – 8–10
  6. Coriander leaves – ½ cup
  7. Green chilies – 2 (optional)
  8. Fennel or jeera seeds – 1 tsp
  9. Salt – to taste.
  10. Finely chopped onion – 1 medium (optional)
  11. Rice flour – 1 tbsp (for crispiness)
  12. Oil – for deep frying.

Preparation:

1. Clean the banana flower: Remove the outer purplish bracts. Inside each layer, you’ll see a cluster of florets—remove them. From each floret, pull out the hard stick-like stamen and the papery petal (both are not pleasant to eat). Finely chop the cleaned florets and soak them immediately in water with a little buttermilk or lemon juice to prevent darkening.

2. Soak dal: Wash the chana dal well. Soak it with dry red chilies for about 2–3 hours. Drain excess water completely.

3. Grind the base: In a mixer, coarsely grind the soaked dal and red chilies with ginger, curry leaves, coriander leaves, green chilies, fennel seeds, and salt. Add little water or no water- the mixture should be coarse, not pasty.

4. Mix everything: Drain chopped banana flower from the buttermilk water and squeeze out excess moisture. Add to the ground dal mixture. Add chopped onions (if using) and rice flour. Mix well—if the mix feels too wet, add a spoon more rice flour.

5. Shape the ambode: Heat oil in a deep pan over medium flame. Take small portions of the mixture, flatten slightly into discs in your palm or you can use banana leaf.

6. Fry until golden: Slide the discs into hot oil and fry until crispy golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels.

7. Serve: Serve hot ambode with coconut chutney, tomato chutney, or even with rasam-rice.

Best enjoyed fresh—ambode loses crispness if stored too long.

Image credit: Banana tree: Mokkie, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Banana flower ambode: www.werindia.com – AI image

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: August 11, 2025
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Ayurveda food

Healing With Food According To Ayurveda

Have you heard about Ayurveda’s Satvik, Tamas and Rajasic food types and wonder why Ayurveda recommends specific food for a person? Traditional Ayurveda considers food as medicine, and this idea is deeply woven into its approach to health and healing. The Ayurvedic view is that the right food, eaten properly, can prevent disease, support healing, and maintain overall balance—often even more effectively than herbs or medications.

How ayurveda treats food as medicine?

1. Food balances or aggravates the doshas

Each food has inherent qualities (called gunas) that influence the body’s dosha balance—Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. When these are out of balance, disease can occur.

For example:

  • Warm, oily foods calm Vata (which is cold and dry).
  • Cooling, bland foods soothe Pitta (which is hot and sharp).
  • Light, spicy foods reduce Kapha (which is heavy and sluggish).

By choosing foods that counteract imbalances, you can support the body’s natural healing response.

2. Food supports digestive fire (Agni)

In Ayurveda, strong digestion (called Agni) is key to health. Even the healthiest food can become a toxin (ama) if not properly digested.

  • Spices like ginger, cumin, and black pepper are used to stimulate Agni.
  • Overeating, cold food, or eating when stressed weakens it.

Thus, food is chosen not just for nutrition but for how it supports digestion.

3. Food has energetic effects (virya & vipaka)

Ayurveda looks at:

  • Virya (potency): Is the food heating or cooling?
  • Vipaka (post-digestive effect): How does the food behave after digestion?

Example:

  • Chili peppers are heating (stimulate metabolism but may aggravate Pitta).
  • Milk is cooling (calms Pitta, nourishes tissues).

4. Food is tailored to the individual

There is no “one-size-fits-all” in Ayurveda. Food is prescribed based on:

  • Dosha type
  • Age
  • Season
  • Current imbalance
  • Emotional state
  • Environment

This personalization makes food highly therapeutic.

5. Healing protocols include diet first

Ayurvedic doctors often treat conditions like arthritis, anxiety, digestive disorders, or skin issues by changing the patient’s ahara (diet) before or alongside herbal or detox treatments.

Using food as medicine examples –

  • For excess Pitta (inflammation, acidity, anger):

Avoid: Spicy, sour, fried foods

Eat more: Sweet fruits (melon, pear), coconut, cucumbers, basmati rice, mint, coriander.

  • For weak digestion:

Use ginger tea, eat warm, soupy meals, and add carminative spices like cumin or fennel.

General guidelines for healing with food

  • Eat at regular times each day (largest meal at noon).
  • Favor warm, cooked foods for better digestion.
  •  Eat in a peaceful environment, chew slowly.
  • Use spices as medicine, not just for flavor.
  • Choose fresh, seasonal foods whenever possible.

Image credit: Sadhana@1986 (https://pixahive.com/photo/homemade-pure-vegetarian-food/) (CC0 – Free to Use)

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on:
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Legionnaire's disease in NYC

Legionnaire Disease Outbreak in New York City

Recently New York City has reported Legionnaire diseases in several areas. As of August 7, there are: 81 confirmed cases, 3 deaths and 24 currently hospitalized. Legionnaire’s disease is a type of severe pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria, most often Legionella pneumophila.

Causes: Legionella bacteria thrive in freshwater but can become a health hazard when they grow in man-made water systems like cooling towers, hot tubs, fountains, plumbing systems, and air-conditioning units for large buildings.

Spread: People get infected by inhaling small water droplets (mist) containing bacteria. It’s not spread person-to-person.

Who is at a high risk for Legionnaires’ disease?

  • People who are 50 years old or older
  • Smoking habit
  • Suffering from chronic lung disease
  • With weakened immune system
  • On medicines that might weaken immune system

Why and how New York City had repeated outbreak of Legionnaire disease?

New York has some of the strictest laws in the U.S. for routine testing of cooling towers, meaning cases are more likely to be detected and reported.

  • Dense urban infrastructure: Many large buildings with cooling towers, complex plumbing, and HVAC systems that can harbor Legionella.
  • Aging water systems: Older pipes and water tanks can allow biofilm and bacteria to build up.
  • Climate conditions: Warm, humid summers (especially July–September) create ideal bacterial growth conditions in water systems.

Symptoms:

Symptoms usually appear 2–10 days after exposure and may resemble the flu at first:

  • Early signs: Fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, fatigue.
  • Respiratory symptoms: Dry cough or with mucus, shortness of breath, chest pain.
  • Other signs: Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, confusion (especially in older adults).

Without treatment, it can progress quickly to severe pneumonia and even be fatal — particularly in people over 50, smokers, or those with weakened immune systems.

Treatment:

  • Antibiotics: Usually macrolides (azithromycin) or fluoroquinolones (levofloxacin, moxifloxacin).
  • Hospitalization: Often required for IV antibiotics, oxygen, and supportive care.
  • Prognosis: Most people recover fully if treated promptly, but death rates can reach 5–10%, higher in vulnerable patients.

How is New York city taking care to stop the outbreak?

City of New York has thousands of cooling systems in proximity that need to be monitored. Also, NY had learned hard lessons from a major 2015 Bronx outbreak (138 cases, 16 deaths), which led to the strict inspection and maintenance laws now in place.

1. Detecting the cluster: Doctors and hospitals are required by law to report any case of Legionnaire’s disease to the NYC Department of Health (DOH) within 24 hours. They map cases and see if patients live, work, or recently visited the same neighborhood.

2. Environmental investigation: The DOH sends inspectors to cooling towers, building water tanks, fountains, and other aerosol-generating systems within the suspected area. Water samples are tested; maintenance records will be inspected.

3. Matching the DNA: Using molecular fingerprinting they compare bacteria from patients with bacteria found in water systems. If there’s a match, that building is officially identified as a source.

4. Immediate containment: The implicated system is shut down and disinfected using high concentrations of chlorine or other biocides.

5. Public warnings: The city issues alerts through all types of media, health websites, conferences, and advertisement from the city.

References:

  1. https://www.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/legionnaires-disease.page
  2. https://health.mountsinai.org/blog/what-you-need-to-know-right-now-about-legionnaires-disease-in-new-york-city/
  3. https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/legionnaires-disease-nyc-outbreak-how-to-prevent/
  4. https://abc7ny.com/post/harlem-legionnaires-outbreak-3-people-dead-among-67-diagnosed-july-25/17434477/
  5. Image credit: Free New york city manhattan cityscape Image <a href=”https://pix4free.org/”>Pix4free</a> : https://pix4free.org/ (Free for commercial use)
Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on:
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Mind and body balancing act

Achieving Balance And Joy

Balance is not a fixed destination; it is something you continually recalibrate. Think of it like riding a bike, small shifts keep you upright, not staying perfectly still.

Balancing both physically and emotionally—is not about perfect symmetry or having everything in order. It is a state of inner alignment where your body, mind, and life rhythms support your well-being rather than drain it.

If you are practicing yoga and want to understand whether you are achieving the balance and how does the balance feel like in mind and body, there are few ways to understand what it feels like –

In the body:

  • Lightness and ease in movement
  • Steady energy throughout the day
  • Good sleep and digestion
  • Fewer cravings for stimulants (caffeine, sugar, etc.)
  • Feeling rested, not wired, or drained

In the mind:

  • Clarity and focus, even amid chaos
  • Calm response to stress rather than reactivity
  • A sense of spaciousness rather than overwhelm.
  • Confidence in saying no without guilt.
  • Feeling joy, presence, or contentment in small moments

How to achieve balance?

1. Anchor with daily rhythms

  • Wake up and go to bed at consistent times.
  • Eat nourishing meals at regular intervals.
  • Create morning and evening rituals (stretching, journaling, tea, drinking lemon water etc.)

2. Simplify and prioritize

  • Say yes only to what aligns with your values.
  • Let go of multitasking; focus on one thing at a time.
  • Create buffer time between commitments.

3. Nourish your nervous system

  • Try grounding activities: walking barefoot, deep breathing, nature time.
  • Limit overstimulation (watching negative news, intense movies, screens, noise)
  • Schedule real rest—not just sleep, but restful activities (reading, baths, silence)

4. Move your body intuitively

  • Choose movement that restores, not depletes (yoga, dance, walking)
  • Listen to what your body needs: rest, strength, flow, or stillness.

5. Make space for joy

  • Identify and protect small joys, rituals—music, creativity, laughter, sunlight.
  • Celebrating small wins or beautiful moments
  • Be present for things that feel good, not just things that look good.

Achieving balance of mind and body is essential for stress free life and for good health. Focus on your health by learning to balance mind and body.

Image credit: Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay (Free to use under Pixabay content license)

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: July 29, 2025
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Ajwain leaf bajji

Doddapatre Leaves Bajji

Indian Borage known as Doddapatre, Karpuravalli or Ajwain plant is medicinal and useful for many conditions. It also can be used for cooking and all recipes are delicious! Previously we have given two doddapatre recipes: chutney and tambuli. (Visit: https://healthylife.werindia.com/vegetarian-recipes/grandmas-ajwani-leaf-recipes ).

Here is another delicious snack recipe for all seasons is grandma’s doddpatre or ajwain leaves bajji.

Ingredients:

1. Gram flour = 1.5 cup

2. Ajwain/doddapathre leaves with petiole (stalk) = 15

3. Chili powder = 1 tsp

4. Asafoetida = a pinch

5. Cumin seeds =1/2 tsp

6. Salt= per your taste

7. Rice flour= 1 tsp

8. Chopped curry leaves = 1 Tbs

9. Cooking oil

Method:

1. In a bowl mix gram flour, rice flour, salt, chili powder, cumin seeds, chopped curry leaves.

2. Remove any clumps present in the gram flour.

3. Add water and mix well to desired consistency (not watery). You should be able to dip leaves in the batter and drop on oil.

4. Wash doddapatre leaves in running water. Soak washed leaves in salt water for a minute and transfer to paper towel to remove excess water.

5. Heat oil in a deep pan.

6. Dip individual leaves in the spicy batter and slowly drop in the oil.

7. Fry bajji on both sides – should be slightly crispy.

8. Remove bajji from oil and transfer to paper towel to remove excess oil.

9. Serve hot doddapatre bajji with tomato ketchup or green chutney of your choice.

.

Recipe and bajji image:www.werindia.com

Doddapatre image: Mokkie, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on:
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