Don't worry about the people in your past; There's a reason they didn't make it to your future.
Marshmallow root for sore throat
Marshmallow root is a good remedy for cold. It contains mucus like slimy substance that coats sore throat and soothes aching throat. It is also a good remedy for digestive problems related to stomach ulcer.
Afternoon nap or sleeping for a short time is good for various reasons. Did you know that more than 85% of mammalian species are polyphasic sleepers, meaning that they sleep for short periods throughout the day. Not a longer nap but a little nap up to half an hour in the afternoon – after lunch helps in boosting your health.
Nappers are in good company: Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Napoleon, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison and George W. Bush are known to have valued an afternoon nap.
Types of naps!
Naps can be typed in three different ways:
Planned napping (also called preparatory napping) involves taking a nap before you actually get sleepy. You may use this technique when you know that you will be up later than your normal bed time or as a mechanism to ward off getting tired earlier.
Emergency napping occurs when you are suddenly very tired and cannot continue with the activity you were originally engaged in. This type of nap can be used to combat drowsy driving or fatigue while using heavy and dangerous machinery.
Habitual napping is practiced when a person takes a nap at the same time each day. Young children may fall asleep at about the same time each afternoon or an adult might take a short nap after lunch each day.
There are several benefits of taking a nap in the afternoon. People who are able to take a nap in the afternoon should not miss the opportunity for the following reasons.
Afternoon nap helps in reducing stress hormone level and helps in gaining body strength. It reduces lethargy and helps in increasing the productivity level.
A short nap is usually recommended (20-30 minutes) for short-term alertness.
It increases concentration and keeps mind in active condition. Little sleeps helps in boosting the memory! When the mind is active, person feels a task is easy to handle rather than hard.
Studies show that by sleeping 10 to 20 minutes in the afternoon conditions related to heart reduce by 40%. It reduces coronary mortality.
Creativity level increase!! Little nap for an hour or so enhances creative thinking, boost cognitive processing, improve memory recall and generally clear out the cobwebs of mind.
By sleeping for few minutes in the afternoon, body muscle stress goes down and exercising becomes easy afterwards.
Nap after lunchtime helps the nerves to calm down. Studies also show that, people who sleep in the afternoon feel more relaxed, happy and less anxiety level in the system.
According to Psychology today, will power is often highest in the morning because the brain is refreshed by sleep. And, sneaking a mid-day “power nap” into your schedule can reverse the usual willpower drain from morning to night.
Scheduled napping has also been prescribed for those who are affected by narcolepsy (Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder characterized by excessive sleepiness, sleep paralysis, hallucinations)
Tips to nap:
Your sleep environment can greatly influence on your ability to fall asleep. Make sure that you have a restful place to lie down and that he temperature in the room is comfortable.
Try to limit the amount of noise heard and the extent of the light filtering in. While some studies have shown that just spending time in bed can be beneficial, it is better to try to catch some sleep.
If you take a nap too late in the day, it might affect your nighttime sleep patterns and make it difficult to fall asleep at your regular bedtime. If you try to take it too early in the day, your body may not be ready for more sleep.
What happens if your nap time exceeds too much?
Naps can leave people with sleep inertia, especially when they last more than 10-20 minutes. Sleep inertia is defined as the feeling of grogginess and disorientation that can come with awakening from a deep sleep. A long nap or a nap taken too late in the day may adversely affect the length and quality of nighttime sleep. If you have trouble sleeping at night, a nap will only amplify problems.
Napping has psychological benefits. A nap can be a pleasant luxury, a mini-vacation. It can provide an easy way to get some relaxation and rejuvenation. Keep in mind that getting enough sleep on regular basis is the best way to stay alert and feel your best. But when fatigue sets in, a quick nap can do wonders for your mental and physical stamina.
Recipe for Potato curry and red coconut chutney is below.
Method:
Wash and soak sago, idli rice, urad daal, fenugreek seeds and chenna daal in 2 cups water for 4 to 5 hours
Grind soaked ingredients using a grinder using same soaked water or add by adding fresh water. Grind the ingredients to masala dosa consistency.
Add required amount of salt and keep the batter for fermentation at appropriate temperature. If the temperature is favorable for fermentation then keep it overnight on kitchen counter top or use oven by setting the temperature between 78-83 F and leave it overnight. Place a plate beneath the vessel in case batter overflows.
Next day, remove the batter and stir it once or twice.
Heat a dosa pan or cast iron pan on medium heat. Pour a ladle of batter on center of the pan and spread it thin. Put little oil around and on the dosa batter.
Cook both sides of the dosa. Before removing dosa from the stove apply ½ tsp of red cocounut chutney on dosa and place a Tbs of potato curry at the center. Fold and serve hot dosa.
Serve hot dosa with potato curry, sambar or red coconut chutney.
Potato curry recipe: Boil 4-5 potatoes, peel the skin. In a deep vessel add 2 Tbs oil. When the oil is heated, add 1 tsp mustard, 1 tsp grated ginger, few curry leaves and chopped onion (1/2 cup). Add salt and turmeric powder. Cook onion and now add smashed potato. Mix well on low flame. Turn off the flame and add 2 Tbs chopped cilantro and little lemon juice. Potato curry is ready for serving with dosa.
Red coconut chutney: This chutney is easy to prepare. Dry fry 1 Tbs of chenna daal, 1 inch tamarind, 6-8 red chillis together. Remove and allow it to cool. Grind these fried ingredients with 1 cup of grated coconut by adding ¼ cup water. Add salt as per your taste while grinding. Transfer chutney to a vessel and add seasoning on top. For seasoning – heat 2 tsp oil, add mustard, hing and few curry leaves.
If you have felt frightened or intimidated when walking
alone without company or alone at home? Then, you are not alone. Millions of
women face this issue. What should you do if are approached by a stranger or an
attacker? Have you thought about your safety
at work place, while walking and being alone at home? Are you afraid of
becoming victim of another violence or rape?
Unfortunately, there is an increase in the violence and rape
incidents in the society. Personal safety is an issue for everyone, especially
for women. How one can protect themselves while being alone?
Following violence are commonly recorded when women are
alone
Practice awareness: Self defense awareness is very critical. While alone, beware of yourself, your surroundings and be alert of any movements around you. Studies show that most criminals are adept at selecting or choosing victims who are unaware of their surroundings. What helps is, by being alert and keeping distance by projecting force presence, many such incidents can be stopped or avoided.
Sixth sense: Also known as gut instinct will help to bring insight on situations and people around. Women especially have this gift of gut instinct. Take full advantage of it and if you feel you are not safe, then probably it is time for you to get out of that place of not to be in the place.
Learn self-defense art before you get assaulted: Now a day’s self defense mechanisms are taught in most places. Watch videos and learn few moves. These self defense mechanisms are not like martial arts where you are aware of attacker. Self-defense training is with simulated assaults with an instructor who will show different scenarios of attacks and how to protect oneself.
Never go with predator: Stay in the primary crime scene, it means if someone confronts you and demands you to go with him, be quick to observe and do something that attracts people. Yell for help, run, use pepper spray, throw a stone towards something that gets attention. Throw your purse on one side and run other way.
Fight: You must fight. Defend yourself physically. It is your legal and moral right. As per the statistics, your odds of survival are greater if you fight back. Aim for attackers’ eyes first and then groin. If the person is holding, don’t hesitate to injure him and escape. Remember you will get only one chance.
Use pepper spray: This is a good tool, keep one in car or your vehicle where you can reach and one in your handbag or pocket. However, some people are surprisingly cannot be incapacitated. Along with spray, use your wits and body.
Home invasion: Put a camera outside in places – front door, back door, balcony, patio. Never open the door unless you are certain that you know who’s there outside. Verify and ask for the reason. Peep hole can tell you who is outside. Trust no one. Sometimes thieves and intruders can come in different disguise – policeman, postman or as handyman. Install deadlock and strong door. In case intruder breaks in and you are aware, move to a safe room to retreat. Do not keep windows open all the time.
Vehicle safety: Before getting inside the vehicle, if you find some materials like – paper, ruler, cloth etc. on your car, do not touch them, just walk back to the building. Seek help from trustworthy people. They will escort you to your vehicle. While inside the car, lock all doors and keep windows up while driving. Car jacking takes place in intersections, most time attacker approach from blind spot. Beware of someone approaching you in the intersections. Being generous is good, but don’t give lift to strangers or don’t pull window down to give money to beggars unless you feel safe. Never pull your car if someone points their finger pretending something wrong with your vehicle. While servicing your car, give only the car keys to service person. Keep your house keys safe. In case you are thrown into trunk, kick the back-tail lights and stick your arm out, wave wildly. This attracts everyone else but the predator.
Staying in hotel: If you have travel alone for work reason, stay in known hotels. Do not open the door to strangers. Make sure the person knocking on door is legitimate. Carry a door wedge while traveling. It secures door well.
Social media: Never talk about your whereabouts, tour, your status on social media. Be careful on what you are going to put on your social wall. Keep your address, phone number and other personal information confidential and absolutely there is no need to enter this information in your profile.
More than one stranger: If you are approached by more than one stranger, back off and run to a safe place. Yell for help, distract them somehow. If they offer help, don’t take it. Walk away.
Clothing, jewelry, late night: Unless you are accompanied by more than one person, avoid stepping out at late night. When parking vehicle at night, park under bright light and close to the building that you are visiting. Wear clothes that are comfortable for walking, avoid high heels as much as possible and wear less jewelry or no jewelry. Tight skirts will not help you to run, so also high heels.
Image: Courtesy: Delhi police & Wikipedia
In case you get into a situation, run, run, run! Stat put and do not allow predator to take you to abandoned area. If it happens, then the likelihood of you getting injured seriously increases multi-fold. Never give up on your self-defense. With increasing crime on women, whether it is home or outside it is never late to learn the safety tips and to be alert where ever you go.
Rust stains not only spoil the look of items, we might have to end up discarding or trashing the items or end up replacing the items. Iron and iron alloys can get rust when exposed to moisture as well as air. When rust come in contact with many materials including clothes, it can leave behind stains that won’t come off easily. One can use commercial stain remover to remove rust stain. However, the chemicals that are present in the commercial stain removers can be harsh and exposing ourselves to harsh chemicals can make us sick. Try these tips to remove rust stains at home with easily available non-harmful materials.
Rust stain from knife: Take a large onion and plunge the knife few times in onion. Strong natural chemicals present in onion can help to remove stain.
Surface rust: Mix turpentine and salt – use a old cloth and apply the mix on surface.
From porcelain dish: Apply toothpaste using old toothbrush and brush the stain.
Ceramic tiles: Use hydrogen peroxide and tartar- mix 3:2 of hydrogen peroxide and cream of tartar and prepare paste. Using a sponge apply paste on rust stain. Let it sit for few minutes. Scrub using a brush and wash with water.
Metal boxes: Use car wax to clean the metal box and remove rust
Iron skillet: Place coffee filter to absorb moisture that prevents rusting.
Stainless steel: Apply lighter liquid using a old cloth and rub it on the surface followed by washing liquid.
On many surfaces: Mix lemon juice and salt, prepare paste. Apply the mix on rust stain. Let it sit for few minutes (an hour). Wipe using dry cloth. The abrasive properties of both salt and acid removes the stain.
Floor and carpet: Mix vinegar and salt in a bowl. Saturate a cloth with the mix and rub it over the stain or leave soaked cloth on surface for an hour or so. The action of vinegar and salt is like lemon juice and salt – both are abrasive and act on stain.
Kitchen stainless steel sink: A dash of friendly baking soda helps to remove rust from stainless steel. It has abrasive property and clears rust. Prepare baking soda paste with water, apply on the rust. Use a paper towel and clean after few minutes.
Fabric rust stain: Use white vinegar or lemon juice. Place the fabric on a towel. Saturate the stain with white vinegar or lemon juice. Using another towel blot the area. Put clothes to dry under Sunlight. Sunlight helps to fade the any left behind mark.
Action Plan for Safe and Quality milk and milk products
Growing concern over adulterated milk and milk products, FSSAI, India released a press note. Most adulteration of the diary product was with vegetable and animal fats with no concern about the presence of heavy metal contaminants. Out of the 1048 milk and milk samples collected by FSSAI, 399 samples were found to have quality and hygiene concerns. FSSAI in its press release gave a detail information of its action plan for protecting the consumers and for safe quality milk and milk products delivery. A 12-point action has been drawn up to ensure safety and quality of milk and milk products in the country -HealthyLife
New Delhi, November 26 2019: On the occasion of ‘National Milk Day’, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) released Action Plan for Safe and Quality milk and milk products Subsequent to the release of national milk safety and quality survey report which revealed that only 7% milk samples had contaminants or adulterants that rendered such milk unsafe, FSSAI carried out a survey on milk products. The results of 399 samples analyzed so far (out of total 1048) indicate only quality and hygiene concerns in milk products. Major quality concern observed is adulteration with vegetable fats with no concern about presence of heavy metal contaminants. Microbiological concern observed relates to poor hygiene, while no bacterial pathogens have been found. The interim report will soon be published. Taking into consideration the results of both the surveys and available testing infrastructure, a 12-point action has been drawn up to ensure safety and quality of milk and milk products in the country. These actions are broadly in three areas, namely – (1) testing and continued surveillance, (2) preventive and corrective action for implementation and monitoring; and, (3) consumer engagement. For testing and continued surveillance and to upgrade testing infrastructure, several rapid testing and high-end precision test equipment have been provided to States/UTs. In addition, FSSAI has notified NABL accredited private and other public food laboratories for primary, regulatory and surveillance testing which can be used by the States/UTs to complement testing by the state laboratories. As aflatoxin-M1 and antibiotic residues emerged as a major contaminant in milk, various preventive and corrective action are proposed for the stakeholders in milk sector. There is need for extensive capacity building at primary production levels for following Good Dairy Farming Practices through focused training programs in the areas of animal husbandry, animal health and Feed and nutrition. We also noticed quality issues in milk mostly related to proportion of fat and solid non-fat (SNF) which varies widely by species and depends on breed as well as quality of feed and fodder. This can be improved by proper feeding of Cattle and adopting good farm practices. The milk survey had revealed that even processed milk has both quality and safety concerns which is a serious matter. In this regard, FSSAI has developed and released a harmonized Scheme of Testing and Inspection (STI) to be adopted by dairy processing plants for the purpose of monitoring and self-compliance throughout their production chain in order to strengthen their internal controls. FSSAI also emphasizes the dairy plants to undertake fortification of milk with Vitamins A and D which are lost during processing. Since milk is consumed by all population groups, fortification of milk with specified micronutrients is a good strategy to address micronutrient malnutrition. To build up trust of consumers in safety and quality of milk, consumer awareness and engagement programs will be organized throughout the country. This will include dissemination of details about DART book, magic box containing simple tests to be performed at home to check adulteration in milk and Consumer guidance note on milk products. A guidance document on the Hygienic and Safe Practices for Handling of milk products will also be released. FSSAI has also undertaken a project under joint funding for comprehensive awareness campaign in Punjab through the Punjab State Farmers and Farm Workers Commission for improved awareness and knowledge of adulterants in milk and milk products. Learning from this would be extended as well as replicated in different parts of the country based on the outcome and its impact. Finally to address the unorganized sector which has a major share and to address the issue of raw milk quality, FSSAI would launch a “Verified Milk Vendors Scheme” where milk vendors can voluntarily register through online registration portal and would be provided photo-identity card and properly calibrated lactometer. Trainings would be imparted on clean milk practices with periodic sampling and testing of their milk. The hot spot areas identified would help stringent enforcement/surveillance activities. Food Safety Mitras will also be given a mandate to facilitate registration of these vendors at a very nominal cost. A dedicated portal will be created to facilitate these actions. In order to implement the action plan effectively, regional workshops would be organized jointly by FSSAI, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD), NDDB, NDRI and food safety departments of the States/UTs.
For media queries, contact: Ruchika Sharma Food Safety and Standards Authority of India E: sharmaruchika.21@gmail.com
Not just holidays or week ends also having one meal or dinner daily with family is always good for many reasons. Most importantly dinner time is the best time to meet and greet family members. Dining together helps to understand what is the new development in the family, upcoming activities, responsibilities and more over one will get support that boosts the confidence. There are many such benefits you get from having a family dinner. Don’t stay in room, go to dining room, sit with everyone and have a good dinner for these reasons.
See what Grandma has to say about this good habit.
Better communication: Conversations during the meal provide opportunities for the family to bond, plan, connect, and learn from one another. For young children, dinner time conversation boosts vocabulary even more than being read aloud to.
Understanding each other: Family meals foster warmth, security and love, as well as feelings of belonging. It can be a unifying experience for all.
Healthy cooking and eating: Food prepared and eaten at home will be healthy and nutritious. You will include fruits, vegetables and dairy products with other known nutrients. You will reduce consumption of beverages, fried items and other unhealthy snacks when you cook and serve at home.
Introducing new items in dinner: It takes about 8-10 exposures to new food before anybody accepts it. Children are always fussy about eating new items. Without forcing or bribing you can slowly expose to them with new healthy foods with some -stand by favorites. This expands knowledge about food.
Positive social behavior:A regular family dinner cultivates and encourages good behavior in children and teens. Teens who dine regularly with their families also have a more positive view of the future, compared to their peers who don’t eat with parents. A frequent five or more of family dinners, are associated with lower rates of smoking, drinking, and illegal drug use in pre-teens and teenagers when compared to families that eat together two or fewer times per week.
Faith and trust development: Eating meals together has the potential to strengthen family bonds as it provides a daily time for the whole family to be together. For younger children, routine family meals can provide a sense of security and a feeling of belonging in the family. They will trust family and will have faith in the relationships.
Importance of community:When we communicate during dinner we also include community and ongoing topics. Exposing your family to positive side of community helps in their personal development.
Relieving stress: A demanding job needs a relief. Finding time to eat with family helps in relaxation. Working parents will get relief while attending to family needs. Modern studies show that mothers who ate with their families often were also found to be happier and less stressed as compared to mothers who did not. Teens who ate regular family meals were also more likely to be adjusted, have good manners and communication skills. Parents will also notice change in children attitude – more polite and respectful to each other.
Kids day at school:When you are at dinner talk to your child about the school day. Express interest in their daily life and current events. Understand what is interesting for them while feeding a happy meal. Be an active listener to your children and spouse. Children will show interest in studies and their grade will improve too. Mealtimes offer opportunities for children to learn as they hear longer discussions that include explanations and narratives.
Activities of kids and parents: Family dinner is like an improvisatory theater performance or a family drama. They interact with each other in new ways too. Invite your children to make dinner and ask them to serve. Play meal related games and sing along.
Focusing on kids and their friends:Invite your kids friends for a dinner and understand their hobbies. If your kid shows aloofness for the talk then he might not be interested in that topic. Or you child may also enthusiastically participate in same topic. This will help you understand what is happening in child’s life, school, teacher, other activities and they may express their opinion and feelings better.
