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Butternut squash Spicy Veggie Noodle Recipe

This Thanksgiving prepare and serve this delicious Butternut squash spicy noodle for dinner. Recipe has all necessary ingredients that make your Thanksgiving dinner delicious and memorable!!

Ingredients:

1.5 Kg-Butternut Squash Noodles
1 1/2 tsp- salt
2 Tbsp -Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp -Sugar
1 Tbsp – Lime juice
1 Tbsp -Peeled and cut Garlic
2 Tbsp – Canola or Sunflower oil
1& ½ cup -Onion, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp – Curry powder
½ tsp – Chili powder
1 & ½ cup – sweet red pepper, thinly sliced
10 -Snow peas, thinly sliced
1 bunch green onions, cut in to 1-inch pieces

Preparation:

Wash and remove butternut squash skin. Prepare butternut squash noodles.
Transfer butternut squash noodles to a large bowl. Sprinkle little salt and keep it in room temperature for about 10 mins.
Transfer noodle into a colander, using a paper towel gently press the noodle to remove little water that is oozed.
Now whisk sugar, lime juice, garlic paste and soy sauce. Keep it aside.
Heat canola oil in a pan on medium heat. Add onions fry slightly. Add little curry and chili powder continue stirring a little. Now add sliced red peppers and cook slightly.
After a minute or so, add butternut squash noodles and snow peas. Continue stirring for about 2 to 3 minutes until noodles soften a little.
Add prepared sauce mixture, green onions. Toss and mix well.
Transfer hot veggie noodles to serving plate. Garnish with chopped green onions and serve.

Original Recipe from Wegman’s recipes.

Image credit: Wegmans.com

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: November 25, 2020

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What Lymphatic congestion can do to our health

Are you feeling tired all the time? Do you have edema, rashes, low energy, constipation and chronic pain? Studies say that it could be due to lymphatic congestion !

Lymphatic system is our body made up of lymph vessels and lymph nodes that drain fluids from body’s tissues. These fluids carry immune cells, waste products and toxins from lymphatic nodes. Lymph vessels help in keeping fluid balance in the body and will return filtered fluid back to blood stream. Lymphatic system acts like drains in our houses!

How lymphatic system function?

Primary lymphoid organs are thymus and bone marrow. Secondary lymphoid organs are lymph nodes, spleen, appendix, tonsils, adenoids, and Peyer’s patches (in small and large intestine). Function of all these organs – to defend body against anything that cause harm to body and destroy accumulated waste.

Do you know in our body there are 6 to 10 liters of lymph fluid when compared to blood volume which is 5 liters. Lymphatic system flow in one direction. Lymph passes through lymph nodes which acts a filtration and purification center for lymph, destroys toxins, taps cancer cells and produces lymphocytes and monocytes.

What lymphatic congestion can do our health ? What if lymphatic system does not work the way it should be?

When the lymphatic system does not work properly tissues will swell with fluid. This is lymphatic congestion. Toxins build up in body. Toxins builds up means alteration and imbalance in function of cells to organs. It can lead to various conditions of the body from cellulite to cancer, high BP to diabetes!

Symptoms of Lymphatic congestion

Accumulation of water in body parts including edema of legs
Feeling tired and low energy
Soreness, body inflammation, stiffness of body
Extra belly fat and thigh fat
Swollen glands
No clarity – brian fog
Breast swelling and soreness
Dry, itchy skin, eczema
Rashes, acne and dull skin
Headache and poor eye vision
Swollen fingers, feet and toes
Constipation, diarrhea and indigestion
Low histamine and low immunity
Emotional shock
Microbial infections
Obesity, arthritis, low back pain,
Cancer

When lymph vessels get clogged?

High protein deposition causes clogging in lymph system and flow of lymph becomes slow and stagnate. Infections, fatigue, stress, lack of physical activity, unhealthy food choices, dehydration, anxiety and stress – these are several reasons for lymph vessel congestion. Toxic substances accumulated thus makes cells and organs function not effective and body responds negatively.

Prevention and treatment:

Rebounding lymph flow and reducing lymphatic congestion is known as lymphasizing. To bring back normalcy in lymphatic system function here are the tips

Red colored fruit and vegetables: Consume beet, pomegranate, red amaranthus, cranberries, berries, cherries, echinacea – all these are known for detoxifying effect and detoxifying agents.

Beet root is known to thin the bile. Bile is responsible for 80% of immune system response as it regulates fat and stool. Beet root is a preferred vegetable to start detoxification of body.

Castor oil: Castor oil is a stimulant for lymph system. Applying warm castor oil on body parts and massaging helps to improve lymph flow and cleansing
Lymphatic massage: Lymphatic massages also known as lymphatic drainage t helps to drain the lymph fluid from cells. Ask your doctor how to perform lymphatic massages for better health. Lymphatic massage is helpful for cancer patients who are undergoing treatment or in recovery.
Drinking water: For best lymph function drinking recommended amount of water is essential. Dehydration poses lot of threat to cells and organs. Drinking water, coconut water and natural juices helps to fight lymph congestion.
Avoid food allergens: If you are planning on detoxification avoid foods that can cause allergy to your body, avoid them during detoxification. Dairy, gluten content, corn, food preservatives and food additives should be avoided.
Cut down on trans fatty acids: Like margarine, fried food items, sweets prepared using saturated fat etc.
Exercise: Physical activity daily for one hour helps. Sweating removes toxins
No refined and processed food: Say no to heavy food items such as donuts, bread, pasta, cookies, cereal, and items that have added sugar and salt.
Monitor what you drink: Limit your coffee intake. Say no to alcohol, soda.
Smoking & drugs: Stop smoking. Smoking is a severe punishment that one can give to body. And, say no to drugs.
Clothing: Do not wear tight fitting clothes. Tight clothes interfere in blood circulation and lymph flow
Manage stress: Stress changes chemicals flow in the body. Practicing meditation, yoga, pilates and taking part in mind rejuvenating activities helps to manage stress.

Lymphatic system is base for healthy body. There are many ways to detoxify body. Keeping lymphatic system out of congestion is critical to avoid any diseases, chronic pain and other conditions. To lead a better health adopting healthy eating as well as healthy habits is necessary. This will keep lymph to move smoothly without accumulating toxins and lifelong better health.

References:

https://functionaldiagnosticnutrition.com
https://www.diagnose-me.com/
https://www.mindbodygreen.com
https://fitlife.tv/

Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blausen_0623_LymphaticSystem_Female.png

Attribution:BruceBlaus. When using this image in external sources it can be cited as:Blausen.com staff (2014). “Medical gallery of Blausen Medical 2014”. WikiJournal of Medicine 1 (2). DOI:10.15347/wjm/2014.010. ISSN 2002-4436. / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: November 24, 2020

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Last minutes preparation tips for perfect Thanksgiving

Just four days left for Thanksgiving and if you are looking to get ready and don’t have proper plan then here are few tips.

Make a list of food items, ingredients and stuffs that are essential for thanksgiving day. Buy non -perishables three days before. Have a checklist ready with your last minute plans
Buy perishable food items just a day or two before.
Buy flowers that need for decoration two days before and don’t forget to keep them in flower vase. You can arrange them a day before thanksgiving.
This year it might be a social distancing or virtual thanksgiving. In case you are going to have your family, plan on sitting arrangements.
Check kitchen ingredients that are needed for dinner preparation. Make a list or if you have a list go through the list to make sure you have not forgotten anything.
Get ready with ingredients preparation for dinner previous day and store them in pantry and or in the fridge depending upon what food items they are.
For dinner preparation and serving – separate utensils. Sort out vessels based on menu and keep a post-it inside the vessels with dish name.
Bake desserts or pies previous day.
You can prepare any such dishes that does not spoil previous day itself. Some final touchups and seasoning you can give on the thanksgiving morning. Following thanksgiving dinner items can be prepared one to two days before- Cranberry sauce, veg gravy, pie crust, dinner rolls can be prepared previous day. Prepare mashed potatoes and store in the refrigerator.
Soup can be prepared few days before. It is not late – prepare soup two to three days before and freeze. Take it out in the morning of thanksgiving to rethaw and reheat to serve.
Two days before going through your dinner serving sets is a good idea. See are there any chips and cracks in serving plates and bowls. Keep good ones separated in the cabinet to use.
Clean wine glasses and keep wine bottle opener handy.
On the day of thanksgiving – make floral arrangements and get ready. Remove washed dishes from dish washer. Make space on countertop. Bring out items from freezer and refrigerator to complete dinner work.
You can work on salad assemble an hour before dinner.
Use slow cooker, toaster oven, insulated cooler to keep food warm.
If you are vegetarian and vegan – your job is much easier for main course. Here are the dishes you can prepare instead of Turkey! – Stuffed squash, Lasagna, pumpkin pot pie, bread turkey role that looks like turkey, stuffed tofu etc.
Don’t forget to investigate your check list to cross check all things are in place!

Enjoy your Thanksgiving and plan on Christmas Holidays!

Image credit: https://www.pickpik.com/thanksgiving-fall-pumpkin-flowers-fall-colors-orange-41664 (Free for commercial use)

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on:

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Parents Beware of Growing Social Media Challenges During Pandemic

Social isolation is a big problem in the Covid-19 pandemic. Recently TikTok videos going around asking children to accept the Benadryl challenge. This is the latest social media craze encouraging teens to consume more doses. In September month of this year, after the hospitalization of three teens and death of one in Fort Worth, Texas FDA issued a warning against taking Benadryl (Diphenhydramine) at more than the recommended dosage. Teens/adolescents are accepting the challenges and it can be fatal.

Benadryl is a medicine used for relieving allergy symptoms. Benadryl tablets contain antihistamine and consuming over-the-counter (OTC) allergy medicine can lead to several problems like seizures, heart problems, coma, and death. The medicine can cause hallucinations. Hallucination is what is attracting teenagers to accept the challenge!

Experimenting with medicine is not new for kids. However, popularizing in a bad way on TikTok videos by challenging others to take more doses than recommended and challenging them to take medicine sick or not could be fatal.

FDA is recommending parents to store all medicines including the OTC to store and lock up medicines to prevent poisoning and misuse by teens and young children at home. Pandemic is making children restrict from mingling and stay away from friends. When these types of challenges come out young mind will think it will be fun to participate and accept challenges. So they will experiment and get in trouble.

Johnson & Johnson Company that manufactures Benadryl has posted a warning about Benadryl challenge. FDA also warned tiktok to remove the videos from their social network platform and to be vigilant to remove any additional videos that might surface.

Benadryl challenge is not the first challenge that is going around on social media. There are many such challenges that were going around from the past few years. The deadly choking game challenge has been going around for many years. The cinnamon challenge, Tide pod challenge, the outlet challenge, fire challenge, salt and ice challenge, blue whale challenge to name a few.

Some social media challenges like the ice bucket challenge or the mannequin challenge could be fun. But the challenges that pose threat to kids are not acceptable and parents should be carefully watching what children are up to. Being alone at home while attending online classes and not seeing other kids causing mental health issues in children. They are more vulnerable than before. Such vulnerable minds can see such challenges as “fascinating fun games”. According to child psychologists, they are seeing more children patients who are self-harming due to depression because of social isolation.

The part of teens brain that handles rational thought namely the prefrontal cortex is not fully developed till they reach the mid 20s. They are more impulsive and act without thinking much. Social media many times encourages outrageous behavior. People on social media brag about their achievements. It is also quick-moving and impulsive. Teens mind will not think about the consequences of challenge, rather it will think about how many fans and followers one will get, how popular one can become by accepting and winning the challenge.

How to help children?

As children are not attending schools regularly as before, parents have more responsibility towards their children.
Get to know the challenges. Ask questions about child ‘s activities and encourage them to speak.
Encourage child for online meeting with friends and families. You can be listening on the side.
Explain the consequences of harmful challenges. If the child doesn’t talk about it, you initiate the topic. Discuss about the dangers of challenges.
Be a friend on your teen’s social media network. Be a watch dog. Take time to read communications and the child’s response.
Watch for any such clues that indicate something is going on in your child’s life
Ask questions about friends, their activities. Avoid passing judgment but listen carefully.

Help your child to develop thoughtful, rational, and skillful thinking. It will help them to overcome dangerous situations and peer pressure. For more about social media challenges and how to help your child please visit:

Warning to parents – Your child’s life is in danger

Image credit: https://www.pxfuel.com/en/free-photo-xdtqz (Free for commercial use)

References:

https://www.healthychildren.org/

https://www.wfla.com/

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: November 23, 2020

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Is your Child studying in Eat Right School ?

Often parents worry about school lunch program. However very few parents are aware of the nutrition quality of the food their child get in the school. Question to parents is, Is your child’s school an eat right school?

The FSSAI has put together the Eat Right School – a program under the supervision and guidance of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to create a safe, healthy and sustainable food environment for the children through an interactive learning model. This program is aligned with School Health Program under Ayushman Bharat, a movement that Government of India initiated with several interesting features

“The key objective of the Eat Right School program is to create an enabling environment in schools so that children can have access to safe and healthy food. The Food Authority has recently finalized Food Safety and Standards (Safe Food and healthy diets for School Children) Regulations, 2019 that will ensure nourishing and wholesome food to the school children by not allowing any food item that is high in fat, salt and sugar, to be sold and advertised within school premises as well as in an area within 50 meters radius of the school gates. Each school will have a certified Health and Wellness Coordinator and will be supervised regularly by the State/ Municipal Authorities.” – Arun Singhal, Chief Executive Officer, FSSAI, New Delhi

Eat Right program Matrix is an amalgamation of the prerequisites that every school must incorporate in both teaching and management. It has three sections which judge performance of school based on Curricular and co-curricular inclusion, Alignment with Swatch Vidyalaya scheme and School health and nutrition programs. Based on the scores schools are then awarded with a recognition and certificate as an Eat Right School. Under this program all over India 35,000 schools have been registered.

Parents, teachers and students can be part of the team to engage children in co-curricular safe food, health and balanced diet activities. Upon completion of the training module those who participated in training will get certification as a health and wellness coordinator for the respective school.

Government of India is encouraging health eating habits in children to remove obesity and to make children stop eating unhealthy foods. Children while at school especially young adults tend to eat outside food during lunch time. With Eat Right Program students are encouraged to eat local and seasonal snacks like nuts, puffed rice, millets, makhana etc. and drinking water, lassi, buttermilk and coconut water instead of soda and sugary drinks. Students are encouraged to eat nutritious leafy and other vegetables during tiffin and lunch.

To support the program in schools, several resources are created.

The yellow books 1 & 2- Help students to understand healthy habits available in all languages
Training manual – Gives in-depth understanding of nutrition and food safety
Activity book- To teach and reinforce safe and nutritious food habit
Lesson plan booklet- For teachers to learn the fun way of conducting test food adulteration.
Eat right school portal – Online portal for Eat Right Program registration and to help access activities under the program.

To engage children in the program, Eat Right Creativity challenge idea was introduced on Mahatma Gandhiji’s 150^th Birth anniversary to promote and inculcate healthy eating habits in students. In the phase 1 -Over 75100 students from 3621 schools participated in the challenge. The second phase of the challenge will take place between October 16^th – December 16^th 2020. The challenge comprises two categories – Eat Right Poster competition and Eat Right Photography Competition and the theme is “Eat Safe, Eat Healthy’ and Food safety during Covid-19.

To make sure our children eat right at school, it is responsibility of both parents and teachers to understand and participate in this program that shapes the health and future of next generation.

References:

https://www.fssai.gov.in/

https://challenges.openideo.com/

https://www.eatright.org/

https://www.eatright.org/for-kids

Image credit: https://fssai.gov.in/CreativityChallenge/home

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: November 20, 2020

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How long spices and condiments last

How long spices and condiments last – do you know? Fresh and raw spices cannot be stored for long time. Dried spices, herbs and other condiments can be stored for long time. Two critical points one must remember while storing spices and condiments. It depends on how much water content is left in the dried item. Good drying and removal of water is essential to store spices for longer term. Storage container is another key factor. It should be air tight and material inside cannot be exposed to moisture. Once a while check the status – appearance, fragrance of the stored spices and condiments to make sure no insects or fungus has entered in to spoil stored materials. Store materials in cool, dark places helps to keep optimum flavor and keeping away from sun light helps to avoid color fading for longer time.

General tips to remember while storing spices and condiments:

Store in air tight container
Store in dark, cool places
Never store above store where heat reaches the container
Do not store above sink or dish washer to avoid humidity condition
Ideal temperature storage for spices and condiments is 70F
One can use amber color bottles to store. If not store them in dark cabinets or drawers in air tight jars/containers.

So, how long spices and condiments can last?

Dry herbs: Basil, oregano, parsley: 1 to 3 years
Whole spices: Clove, pepper, cinnamon stick: 4 years
Cinnamon powder: 4 years
Seasoning blends: 1 to 2 years – This include curry powder, chili powder, herbs (curry leaves) garlic salt and other seasoned salts.
Ground dry ginger: 3 to 4 years
Dry bay leaves: 1 to 3 years
Lemon grass – 2 to 3 years
Thyme – 2 to 3 years
Wasabi – 1 or 2 years
Nutmeg powder: 2 to 3 years
Turmeric powder: 2 to 3 years
Chilli powder: 3 to 4 years
Crushed red chilli: 2 to 3 years
Whole Nutmeg: 4 years
Fennel seeds – 3 years
Curry powder – 3 years
Lemon zest – 2 years
Saffron – 2 years
Coriander seeds – 2 to 3 years
Dry roots: whole roots ginger root, turmeric or galangal root: 3 years.
Salt: keeps indefinitely (if not exposed to water)

Once a while remove cap and test aroma of the spices and if you feel it is good then your spice is good to use for more days.

Image credit: Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay (Free for commercial use)

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: November 19, 2020

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Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in men- symptoms & prevention

The most common cause for prostate enlargement in man is Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia or BPH. Prostate in men goes through two growth cycles. The first one occurs early in the puberty with prostate doubles in size. The second growth starts around age 25 and it continues for most of rest of a man’s lifetime and it leads to BPH.

Having an enlarged prostate can cause some problems and sometimes a person may not able to handle it. When prostate enlarges it presses against urethra and the bladder wall becomes thick. Bladder eventually may become weak and lose the ability to empty urine fully. This narrowing of urethra and retention of urine in bladder results in problems associated with BPH.

BPH is benign and it does not lead to cancer. It is common in men aged between 51 and 60. Men over age 80 will also have BPH. Both BPH and prostate cancer can occur simultaneously.

Symptoms of BPH

Frequent urination
Interrupted and hesitant urine flow or weak urine stream
Leaking and dribbling at the end of urination
Feel of incomplete emptying
Trouble starting urination
Inability to empty the bladder completely.
Waking up often at night for urination (known as nocturia)

What affect BPH can have on men?

BPH symptoms can get worst with age. It can lead to bladder infection and damage. This could result blood in the urine and also can damage kidney.

Reasons for BPH

There is no particular reasons attributed for BPH. Aging and testicles are possible reasons for BPH. Because as men age, the amount of testosterone in blood lowers and there will be high amount of estrogen hormone. In presence of higher estrogen prostate cells grow. Another possibility is build up of another male hormone with age called dihydrotestosterone (DHT) that could make prostate cells to grow further.

Studies have shown that, in men who does not have testicles and does not produce DHT do not develop BPH symptoms.

Men who are aging and who has family history are at risk of developing BPH. In addition people who are overweight, obesity, inactive life style and erectile dysfunction increases risk of developing BPH.

Diagnosis of BPH:

If the symptoms are noticed then based on family history, medical examination and physical checkup doctors will be able to diagnose BPH.

Medical tests – cystoscopy, PSA blood test, ultrasound, urinalysis, uroflowmetry, urodynamic pressure – are some of the recommended tests. Post-void residual volume is the measurement of urine left in the bladder is also another recommended test for BPH diagnosis.

Prevention of BPH symptoms:

BPH can be controlled or prevented by healthy diet and losing weight. Reducing fat intake helps too.

Reduce stress by exercise and relaxation techniques (like meditation). This reduces tension and frequency of urination.
Empty bladder completely when you visit bathroom.
Do not drink water or fluids before going to bed. Do not take fluids 2 hours before going to bed.
Consult your doctor about your prescription medications. Sometimes medications may contribute to BPH. Adjusting dosage can help to reduce symptoms.

If the problem is severe doctors can suggest treatment. There are many types of medications available. Lifestyle changes like dieting and medications both will help. Surgical treatments are also effective. Minimally invasive surgeries are available and depends on following factors:

How big is the size of the prostate, how healthy a person is, symptoms are moderate to severe, have urinary tract obstruction, bladder stones, or blood in your urine, can’t empty the bladder completely, have bleeding from prostate, urination is interrupted and slow, medication is not effective and finally on personal choice

Invasive procedures are:

PLU -Prostatic Urethral Lift
Convective Water Vapor (steam) Ablation
TUMT -Transurethral Microwave Thermotherapy (TUMT)
Catheterization
Transurethral Water Vapor Thermal Therapy

Talk to doctor today if you have BPH symptoms and seek proper advice from the expert. The problem might not be big, and symptoms might disappear by simple lifestyle changes and with help of medications. Before the symptoms gets worsen seek medical help.

References:

https://www.urologyhealth.org/

https://www.prostateconditions.org/

Image credit: Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on:

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Improve White Blood Cells & Boost Your Immune System

While the pandemic is continuing its impact on the globe, winter with flu season is setting in too. We must take care of our health by keeping immune system in good shape, healthy and active to fight both Covid-19 and flu. Our White Blood Cells (WBC) also need attention to keep immune system in good condition. A change in WBC (high or low) can have several impacts on our body.

A low WBC count means – viral infections, immune disorders, fatigue, shortness of breath, weakness and other type of sickness. High WBC can result in microbial infection, stress, immune system disorders, thyroid problem, inflammation, lymphoma, leukemia etc.

In order to keep both WBC and immune system in good condition we sometime need help from food and other sources such as supplements

To Improve White Blood Cells generally one can, try: