All posts by Sumana Rao

Don't worry about the people in your past; There's a reason they didn't make it to your future.
Cayenne pepper & Naga bhut chilis

Cayenne & Naga Bhut jolokia chilis

Cayenne chilis: One of the hot chili variety cayenne pepper is commonly available in Mexican and South American stores. It grows to a length  of  6 to 10 inches. Unlike other hot chilis, it is less pungent. For this reason cayenne is more popular as dry chili. Dried cayenne is a popular spice in Mexican cuisine, It is also sold in other names such as Arbol, Thai, Bird etc.

Cayenne pepper is  used in both food and medicine for more than 9000 years. It is known to stimulate blood circulation, reduces acidity and is a powerful spice that helps in detoxification!

Scoville units: 30,000-50,000.

Hotness Scale: 6-7

Naga Bhut Jolokia :Cayenne Diane or Naga Bhut Jolokia variety of chili from India. Here bhut mean Ghost, Naga bhut jolokia is also known as ghost chili. It is one of the hottest chili in the world. It is almost 400 times hotter than Tabasco sauce. It is grown in India in two regions. Naga Bhut jolokia from Assam is twice hotter than Gwalior’s variety. Ripe chilis measure about 2.5 to 3.3 inches long with a red, yellow, orange, white, purple or chocolate color. Flavor of these chilis in intense sweet in the beginning and heat kicks off literally in 30-40 seconds. Sweating, hiccups, teary eye, shortness of breath and severe burning in mouth and system is expected.

Scoville unit: 1,041,427

Hotness scale : >10

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: July 8, 2019
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Thai and gandhari chilis

Thai and Gandhari chilis

Thai chili: Thai chilis are small chilis that grow 1-3 inches longs and jus t1/2 inch wide.  Don’t deceived by its appearance. Even though they appear small, thai chilis are also in hotness list. Thai chilis are bit curvy and appear bright green to red in color with pointed tip. It is common ingredient in Thai coconut soup and other noodle, rice dishes.

Scoville units: 50,000-100,000

Hotness scale: 8-9

Gandhari chili: Also known as Indian Bird’s eye chili or piri piri is a wild form of chili with small fruits and are dispersed by birds. These are small and highly pungent chilis. Unlike many other chili varieties, these contain high amount of B carotene, ascorbic acid and tocopheroal (Vit E).  Plants look beautiful like small tree, sometimes grow up to 4 feet or more. Fruits appear green and upright up to maturity and appear above foliage. These chilis are known for high medicinal properties and dried powder is used in Indian pickles and cooking.

Scoville unit: 50,000 to 100000

Hotness: 7-8

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on:
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Infant constipation remedies

Effective home remedies for infant constipation

It is normal for a baby to undergo constipation for a day or two. Sometimes the bowel movement might not happen unless parents help out baby and give  a relief from constipation. Several home remedies helps infants to come out from constipation.

When constipated babies might show following symptoms: Hard stool, pellets like stool, lack of appetite, crying continuously, hard belly, not regular stool, smelly and hard stool and sometimes streak of blood in stool

  1. Exercise: Give baby exercise and movement that stimulate baby’s bowel. Gently move baby’s legs up and down, in circles. Hold baby’s feet and knee and gently push feet forwards belly.
  2. Massaging: Put little oil around baby’s belly and massage in circular motion, in clockwise pattern. Give gently stroke below rib cage up to belly button using finger. This helps to release gas.
  3. Bath: A warm bath will help too. Warm bath relaxes abdominal muscles and strain on tummy. It relieves some discomfort related to constipation.
  4. Water and liquids: Babies does not need any supplemental liquids. However, small amount of water  or fruit juice (occasionally) will help babies that are over 2-4 months old. Feed baby warm water with help of spoon. Without consulting pediatrician do not give fruit juice to baby. If pediatrician recommends then give baby 100 percent pure apple or prune juice to relieve constipation.
  5. Rectal temperature: Using clean, lubricated thermometer take baby’s rectal temperature. It might help to pass the stool. Do not use this method often as it can make baby’s constipation problem worse by causing discomfort.
  6. Diet: Baby’s bowel movement depends on type of food both mother and baby take. Mother if breastfeeding baby, then must eliminate certain food. If baby is on formula then to understand constipation problem, talk to pediatrician and he or she might recommend different formula.

Give baby – soft boiled broccoli, skinless apple, whole grain bread, peach, plums, pears, boiled carrot pieces – food be soft and contain some digestive fiber that helps baby to release bloating, gas and constipation.

If you see blood in baby’s stool, baby does not stop crying, and appears to have tummy pain and nothing works out and symptoms does not show improvement in a day – consult pediatrician and understand what is causing constipation in baby and follow the instructions.

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

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: July 2, 2019
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Minimize energy usage

Tips to minimize energy usage

To minimize energy consumption at home during summer follow these tips and you will see minimum energy usage at end of month.

1.       Clean your refrigerator condenser coils. Make sure air circulates freely. Dust accumulation makes fridge motor work harder and uses more electricity.

2.       Rain harvest is very useful to water garden – collect rainwater using rain barrel. Make arrangement to collect rain water from the house terrace and use it for gardening purposes.

3.       Clean all the exhaust fans, check filters and replace bad filters

4.       Drain sediments from hot water heater. Sediments collected at bottom of the water heater makes heater work hard to heat water and energy consumption goes up.

5.       Ventilate house properly to remove moisture inside home and allow fresh air to come in. A heat recovery ventilation system is helpful to replenishing home with fresh outdoor air and creates healthy environment inside home.

6.       Fix all leaky taps and fixture. This applies to garden hose too. Use low flow shower heads

7.       Use cold water to wash and rinse clothes. It saves money as less or no use of hot water saves money.

8.       Keep the curtains, shades or blinds down on Sun facing windows and glass doors, it keeps house cool. It will cost you less as you don’t need to cool the house often.

9.       Check for air leaks in all windows and doors. If any this is time to fix and save money on air conditioning unit. This will also help during winter to heat loss.

10.   If you can afford, considering selling or getting rid off old appliances that you might have. Look for energy efficient appliances that reduces your bills while saving energy.

11.   Turn off lights, turn off computer monitor, unplug machines and tools that you don’t use.

12.   Use stand, box or ceiling fans to cool yourself. Fans don’t need to cool entire place like air conditioner. Fans will give chill effect while cooling body. Set the fans blades counterclockwise to cool home more efficiently and you will feel air blowing on skin in the summer.

13.   Set up your thermostat between 72-78 degrees. Every one degree raise in temperature above 72 degrees (up to 78) will save up to 3% cooling expenses.

14.   Use LED bulbs and upgrade your house with cost efficient LED bulbs in all rooms. LED bulbs stay cool to touch and while drawing a fraction of the power used by other types of bulbs.

15.   Spend more time in lower floor or lowest area in your house such as ground floor, basement as those areas will be much cooler.

 

References:

Home

https://www.directenergy.com

https://money.usnews.com/

Image credit: Photo by Zain Ali from Pexels (Free for commercial use)
 

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on:
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Essential oils for yoga practice

Essential oils for enriching yoga practice

Yoga is disciplined practice for well being of both body and mind. Disciplined practice helps us to connect, align and balance the body and mind. Yoga helps us to rejuvenate body by overcoming the impurities while stretching and balancing. The focus of yogis is to achieve overall wellness and to overcome negative thoughts to achieve mental clarity. Sometimes one can practice yoga combining with certain essential oils as essential oils helps to bring positive emotional state and mental clarity. Essential oils are product of plants and help both physically (to relax muscles) and energetically (by creating energy channel).

When used properly with yoga practice, essential oils can be powerful in terms of healing body and mind. Essential oils that support yoga practice -,

  1. To feel grounded: Yoga practice helps us be grounded. To achieve this use tree derived oils. Because tree oils will connect our roots to earth and keeps us balanced. Use cypress, vetiver or cedarwood. Ginger essential oil also helpful if this is your purpose.
  2. For creativity: To open creative chakras use tangerine, peppermint, patchouli, orange, citrus oils.
  3. To achieve intuition: Frankincense, sage, rosemary, rose, lemon essential oils help to enhance intuition in third chakra.
  4. To connect to universe: Sandalwood, basil,  ginger and lotus oil will help in opening crown chakra. Crown chakra is what gives us experience of presence of divine and highest self.
  5. Gratitude: Clove, orange oil, bergamot, ylang-ylang oil, grapefruit oil opens heart and keeps mood balanced by bringing the feeling of gratitude in mind.
  6. To promote sleep: Use lavender, neroli, ylang-ylang, eucalyptus oil calms the mind. If you are practicing Chaduranga dandasana and Vinyasa then these oils are good to achieve relaxation after intense practice.
  7. To achieve peace and calm: Use Frankincense essential oil as it is regarded as one the most spiritually charged oil
  8. For meditation session: Use rose oil as it is helpful for those who want to feel the self worth and boost self-confidence. As we know rose fragrance indicates love and opens up heart.
  9. For total relaxation: Lavender oil is good for relaxation purposes. It is also known as starter oil as it is preferred for beginners of yoga.
  10. To reduce tension: Any tension during yoga practice can disturb the pose. To reduce tension and get into meditation and to improve flexibility use ylang-ylang or chamomile essential oil.
  11. To improve breathing technique: Peppermint oil has positive influence on respiratory system. Apply peppermint oil on wrist before breathing practice to improve breathing session.
  12. For uplifting: Orange essential oil is helpful to uplift your spirit during yoga practice. It helps in focusing and boost concentration by reducing stressors.

One can use essential oil in different ways during yoga practice. To use essential oil in yoga practice, make sure you are not allergic to that essential oil. Or if you are a yoga instructor get consent from students and tell them what type of essential oil you will be using. If they don’t want to use essential oil they can opt out.

  • Dilute oils with proper carrier oil before applying it on the skin.
  • Before beginning of yoga apply the oil on feet, temples, back of neck, back of wrist
  • Spritz the blend in the space at beginning and end of class
  • Keep diffusers in the corners or in spaces
  • Spray blend of essential oils on the mat before or after the class.
  • During shavasana apply on temples or feet and continue with shavasana. With students permission, apply it on their forehead or feet.

There are hundreds of essential oils available. Check the source and purity, understand how to dilute the essential oil and use it for your yoga practice. To optimize yoga practice session, to achieve peace, balance, well being of body, one can incorporate proper essential oils during yoga practice and thus get best health benefits of both yoga and aromatherapy!

Image credit: yoga pose: Photo by Sonnie Hiles on Unsplash (Free for commercial use)

Lavender Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash (Free for commercial use)

Floral image -Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash (Free for commercial use)

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: July 1, 2019
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Drugs from venom

Now Scorpion venom can control infectious bacteria

Many animals contain venom that can be poisonous to predators. Venom of animals is one of the nature’s great paradoxes as it is designed to kill but at the same time properties of venom can be used to cure human conditions. Venom of some animals produce mild irritation and discourage predators.  On the other hand, there are animals whose venom can easily kill an adult human within few minutes. The most heard venoms are of wasps, spiders, snails, snakes – cobra, viper, king cobra scorpion, octopus, frogs and fishes.

In recent years researchers attracted to chemotherapeutic properties of various animal venoms. So far nearly 1000 types of venom toxins have been analyzed by scientists. Scientists use animal venoms to cure and control certain human diseases. Venoms of cobra, king cobra, viper and frogs are used in several experiments to cure human conditions.

According to researchers many venoms might hold answer for several infections and diseases.  Venom of a southeast Asia’s viper species could improve treatment of blood clots, venom from funnel web spider helps in preventing brain damage related to stroke.  Toxins present in centipede, snakes, snails have shown promising effect in treating heart conditions, chronic pain, blood clots, type 2 diabetes, wound heal etc.

A study in 2017 from National Taiwan University in Taipei showed the protein derived from the venom of Tropidolaemus wagleri, which is a snake effectively reduced blood clots in lab mice without causing the side effect such as any excessive bleeding.

A recent collaborative study by scientists of National Autonomous university of Mexico, Mexico city and Stanford University California made a discovery which is highly promising. Venom of a scorpion species ( Diplocentrus melici, Native to Eastern Mexico) was tested on mice and tissue samples for infectious bacteria. Compound present in the venom can fight off infectious bacteria without causing any harm to healthy tissue.

The compound 1,4 Benzoquinone derived from the venom of this scorpion acts as an antimicrobial agent against Staphylococcus aureus and Mycobacteriaum tuberculosis. This compound which is extracted from scorpion are two 1,4-benzoquinone compounds appear in red and blue. Both benzoquinones showed remarkable antimicrobial activities on two types of bacteria.

As of today, only few drugs derived from animal venoms are approved (by FDA) and rest are under clinical trials.

  1. Brazilian lancehead viper: Venom used in tips of arrowheads to help treat high BP and the drug derived from venom approved by FDA in 1981.
  2. Marine snails: Cone snail venom used in drug ziconotide to treat chronic pain
  3. Sea anemones: Extraction from venom used to treat autoimmune disease.
  4. Death stalker scorpion: Use in trials to help locate tumors during surgery!
  5. King cobra: Compound from venom is used in drug to treat chronic pain
  6. Saw-scaled viper: Use to create the myocardial infarction drug tiroban. Viper venom is known to have anticoagulant property and used in anticoagulant drugs
  7. Gila monster: Drug exenatide contains the venom extract and is used in type – 2 diabetes
  8. Fire bellied toad: Venom used to develop drugs to help imaging and identifying prostate cancer

Both sea snakes and venomous fishes are not largely explored.

Animal venoms are complex mixtures of proteins and peptides. A single venom may contain up to several hundred different components that cause different physiological effect. Scientists have discovered several venoms that are used in medicines. When venoms are used to make drugs it is the toxin – compound present in the venom are used. Dosages will be monitored and it takes many years from the time a toxin is identified to the time a new drug using that particular toxin tested and  brought to market in the form of a drug.

Today most of the compositions of venom from various species are examined. Genetic studies at molecular level is helping to understand the composition of venoms. These proteomics and genomics studies may help to discover new compounds. All the studies that is going on in drug field and the development of various methods might result in the entry of many new drugs to market as cure to human conditions.

References:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com

https://www.pnas.org

https://healthypets.mercola.com

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

Image credit: https://escozulchile.cl/ficha/ & ttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: June 28, 2019
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Akshaya Patra mid day meal

Akshaya Patra A noble mid day meal program

Akshaya Patra is a midday meal program that is run by ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness ) is often credited for drawing school children to studies and to cut dropouts. It is an initiative of ISKCON Bengaluru, Karnataka of India. Under Akshaya Patra scheme mid-day meals are provided for rural schools for the underprivileged children and it supports children education through healthy meal.

The vision statement of Akshaya Patra is “No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger”

Akshaya Patra Foundation started feeding 1500 children in Bengaluru in the year 2000 ( June month) and as of today it has reached everyday more than 1.76 million children. So far it operating in 42 locations across 12 states of India and is conferred as the World’s largest NGO run Mid -day meal program. ISKCON’s this mission is to reach 5 million children by 2020!

The Foundation runs its operations through two kitchen models namely, Centralized kitchens – suitable for urban and semi-urban locations. It is mechanized and employ innovative technology to cook meals within few hours. Decentralized kitchen – is set up in areas which is not easily accessible and women employees cook the meals.

According to ISKCON, Akshaya patra has improve nutritional status of children and increased school enrolment and attendance of children. Rate of drop out reduced  and students are showing improved performance in studies. In addition, students attention span, academic progress improved. Harvard Business school included Akshaya Patra in their MBA curriculum for case studies on precision and time management.

This year, Akshaya Patra Foundation awarded with the prestigious Global Food Champion from BBC World Service. Chef Samin Nosrat one of he head judge of the panel said “I am really moved by getting school lunches paid for in the States and so to see it being done on such a large scale and in such an incredible way by Akshaya Patra that was a really moving and powerful thing to see. There is nothing more important to me than getting children fed. Several studies have proven that this is fundamental.”

This noble work of feeding children recently is going through a controversy. An article published in The Hindu, National daily – mentioned that school children are not happy with the food given by the organization as it lacked both onion and garlic. Many raised questions about the nutrition of mid-day meal  and some claimed food is going waste as it does not taste well. People criticized and tweeted Akshaya Patra meal.

Mohandas Pai, One of Board of the trustee of Akshya Patra shot back at the article published in The Hindu “you are lying: any data you have to make this statement”.

Akshaya Patra meal
Akshaya Patra meal

Who is making such accusation and meddles with children meal? The 20 year popular mid-day meal program which aims at protecting health of children and feeding poor children is questioned and abused by those who does not know the value and meaning of traditional meal. According to sources, Akshaya Patra saw an all-time high donations spree as thousands of first time donors donated liberally both in dollars and rupees for the noble cause. Those pseudo-activists who never admire and tolerate any Hindu organizations good work this time wrote a fake article that created ripples. Writer of the article visited two schools and found 3 fussy kids and claimed that food is not nutritious because it lacks garlic and onion! Writer did not provide names of the schools either. After realizing the bad impact of the article an apology came from the Director of the Hindu Magazine – according to sources!

How critical onion and garlic in our food? Not critical at all. Yes, both are nutritious and have medicinal properties. According to  Bhagavad Gita, Ayurveda and traditional food systems – both onion and garlic contain sulfur amount in higher concentration. Sulfur can distract our focus and agitate brain cells. Vedic literature says that onions and garlic are in the lower modes of nature which means are known for passion and ignorance. The foul breath and sweat that we get after consuming garlic can retain for several hours in our body. Consuming onion and garlic during breakfast or lunch time can disturb children.  This is the reason in India, food containing onion and garlic not offered to God. ISKCON is an organization of Krishna consciousness and follow vedic heritage and Hindu culture and does not include onion and garlic in Sathvik food.

Well, the attack on Akshaya Patra is conspiracy by non -Hindu groups ( also known as liberals). Akshaya patra provides nutritious meals to millions of children in India. Such great work should be appreciated and supported by all.

References:

https://iskcondesiretree.com

https://www.akshayapatra.org/

https://www.iskconbangalore.org/akshayapatra

https://m.ritam.app/

https://www.indiatoday.in/

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: June 27, 2019
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