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.
Laughter- A Best Medicine

Laughter is the best medicine

If you are not using your smile, you are a man with a million dollars in the bank and no checkbook! -Les Gibbin

Laughter is part of the universal human vocabulary. Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Laughter is your birthright, a natural part of life that is innate and inborn. Infants begin smiling during the first weeks of life and laugh out loud within months of being born. Even if you did not grow up in a household where laughter was a common sound, you can learn to laugh at any stage of life. The first laughter appears at about 3.5 to 4 months of age, long before we’re able to speak. Laughter, like crying, is a way for a preverbal infant to interact with the mother and other caregivers. One pioneer in laughter research, William Fry, claimed it took ten minutes on a rowing machine for his heart rate to reach the level it would after just one minute of hearty laughter.

Physical Health Benefits:

  • Boosts immunity
  • Lowers stress hormones
  • Decreases pain
  • Relaxes your muscles
  • Prevents heart disease

Social Benefits:

  • Strengthens relationships
  • Attracts others to us
  • Enhances teamwork
  • Helps defuse conflict
  • Promotes group bonding

Mental Health Benefits:

  • Adds joy and zest to life
  • Eases anxiety and fear
  • Relieves stress
  • Improves mood
  • Enhances resilience

More than just a respite from sadness and pain, laughter gives you the courage and strength to find new sources of meaning and hope. Even in the most difficult of times, a laugh–or even simply a smile–can go a long way toward making you feel better. And laughter really is contagious—just hearing laughter primes your brain and readies you to smile and join in the fun.

Creating opportunities to laugh

  • Watch a funny movie or TV show.
  • Go to a comedy club.
  • Read the funny pages.
  • Seek out funny people.
  • Share a good joke or a funny story.
  • Check out your bookstore’s humor section.
  • Host game night with friends.
  • Play with a pet.
  • Go to a “laughter yoga” class.
  • Goof around with children.
  • Do something silly.
  • Make time for fun activities (e.g. bowling, miniature golfing, karaoke).

Incorporating more humor and play into your daily interactions can improve the quality of your love relationships— as well as your connections with co-workers, family members, and friends. Using humor and laughter in relationships allows you to:

  • Be more spontaneous. Humor gets you out of your head and away from your troubles.
  • Let go of defensiveness. Laughter helps you forget judgments, criticisms, and doubts.
  • Release inhibitions. Your fear of holding back and holding on are set aside.
  • Express your true feelings. Deeply felt emotions are allowed to rise to the surface.

The ability to laugh, play, and have fun with others not only makes life more enjoyable but also helps you solve problems, connect with others, and be more creative. People who incorporate humor and play into their daily lives find that it renews them and all of their relationships.

Here are some ways to start smiling:

Smile. Smiling is the beginning of laughter. Like laughter, it’s contagious. Pioneers in “laugh therapy,” find it’s possible to laugh without even experiencing a funny event. The same holds for smiling. When you look at someone or see something even mildly pleasing, practice smiling. Count your blessings. Literally make a list. The simple act of considering the good things in your life will distance you from negative thoughts that are a barrier to humor and laughter. When you’re in a state of sadness, you have further to travel to get to humor and laughter. When you hear laughter, move toward it. Sometimes humor and laughter are private, a shared joke among a small group, but usually not. More often, people are very happy to share something funny because it gives them an opportunity to laugh again and feed off the humor you find in it. When you hear laughter, seek it out and ask, “What’s funny?”

Spend time with fun, playful people. These are people who laugh easily–both at themselves and at life’s absurdities–and who routinely find the humor in everyday events. Their playful point of view and laughter are contagious. Bring humor into conversations. Ask people, what’s the funniest thing that happened to you today? This week? In your life?.  Humor takes you to a higher place where you can view the world from a more relaxed, positive, creative, joyful, and balanced perspective. Laughter may also improve the memory and quality of life during old age.

Sources:

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: November 15, 2016
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Benefits of Rice Water

Rice water and its benefit

Rice is a staple food for almost half of the world’s population, supplying as much as half of the daily calories. Rice is also an important beautifying ingredient. For centuries, Asian women have used rice water to beautify their face, body and hair. Traditionally, female rice farmers in China, Japan, and other Southeast Asian countries used to bathe and wash in the water used for cleaning rice.

Rice water is useful when somebody is having stomach issues like vomiting or diarrhea. It is calming to the upset stomach, amazingly bland, starchy, and gets some nutrients in your patient. Rice water contains vitamins such as B1, C, E, as well as minerals.

How do you prepare rice water?

This is a very simple procedure.  Rice water is the suspension of starch obtained by draining boiled rice or by boiling rice until it completely dissolves into the water or washed rice water.

2 cup uncooked rice (brown, white long grain, white short grain, jasmine, or whatever you have)

2 cups water

1) Wash two cups of raw rice in water and collect the water. OR

2) Boil the rice or cook the raw rice in water in a container. After rice cooked, collect the water. Cool and store the water.

Health benefits:

  • Provides energy
  • Successfully prevents gastroenteritis
  • Excellent in preventing cancer
  • Regulates body temperature
  • Prevents and cures constipation
  • Raw rice water can be a good summer drink: Add sugar or jaggery, powdered cardamom to rice water and drink to cool the system
  • After cooling down the boiled rice water – add buttermilk, salt and little asafetida and drink. This helps to cure upset stomach. 

Cosmetic benefits:

  • If you wash your face with rice-water, your skin will be softer
  • It is an excellent tonic replacement
  • Assists in the closed pores on face
  • If you wash your hair with rice-water, hair will become more shinier and healthier.
  • The rice water and salt solution makes an effective ointment for itchy skin as it mildly cleanses and suppresses germs on the surface.

Image courtesy: http://womenguides.com/

See more at:

http://www.healthandhealthyliving.com

http://foodstorageandsurvival.com/how-to-make-rice-water/

http://www.hairbuddha.net

Image credit: https://www.needpix.com/photo/928026/rice-jasmine-rice-rice-grains-box-porcelain-white-blue-natural-product-food-supplement (Free for commercial use)

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on:
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Lip care

Many tips to take care your lips

Many habits can lead to lip dryness, irritation, soreness and bleeding. Licking lips feels great and it calms down the burning lips. However, did you know that it could worsen the problem? When the saliva evaporates, it leaves lips drier than before with those enzymes that helps to digest the food. This can cause more damage to your lips.

What causes damage to lips?

Many habits such as smoking, chewing tobacco, biting lips unnecessarily and using products that contain harmful chemicals will damage the lips. People who smoke often develop darker lips due to the nicotine content in the tobacco. It also can cause mouth cancer.  Many ladies forget to remove the lipsticks before going to bed or after coming back home. This habit of forgetting to remove the lipsticks can result in damage to lips by causing dryness and irritation.

Mouth to mouth kiss can cause damage too! It causes sore or infection on the mouth and side of lips. Do not expect people to be very hygienic when it comes to mouth. Microorganisms can easily enter the cracks of the lips. This can cause severe sore due to the virus namely Herpes simplex type1 or 2.

Lipsticks and lip balms are also can be culprit. Some lip balms can cause more dryness because of the ingredients which is present. The salicylic acid that helps in acne can dry the lips. Similarly, the preservative methylparaben and tocopheryl acetate are not good for lips. Mehtylparaben is linked to cancer and tocopheryl causes irritation of the skin

Tips to take care of lips:

1. Use beeswax, petroleum jelly or paraffin products. Because these seal in moisture of the lips and won’t evaporate like other thin balms or glosses.

2. Use Aloe vera based lip balms which is a lip friendly herbal product. Applying Aloe vera gel helps too, as it contains good antioxidants that protect the skin.

3. Use sunscreen during winter and summer. This is because lips are susceptible to sunburn due to lack of melanin pigment. Apply a layer of a sun-protective product daily like neutrogena lip moisturizer SPF 15.

4. Use lipsticks that contain vitamin A, C and E.

5. Add rose petals to milk cream and make a paste – apply to lips for keeping your lip fresh and nourished.

6. Do not try removing any acne or pimple that is growing on and around the lips. It can result in severe infection. Because of its high amounts of nerve endings, the lips make an erogenous zone.

7. Do not kiss or allow your pets to lick your face and lips. Bacteria and virus from the pets can transfer onto your lips causing infection.

8. Exfoliate with a lip scrub: Sugar scrub is best exfoliate agent. Rub little sugar on the lips to remove dead skin and it also helps to generate the new cells.

9. During winter and dry summer use humidifier to infuse more moisture into the air as it helps the entire body against drying.

10. Drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration of lips and it keeps lips soft and texture of lip will be in good condition.

11. Eat lip-friendly foods like fruits, vegetables that provide good amount of vitamins and necessary nutrients to keep lip nourished. Reduce spicy and salty food intake that can cause inflammation. Avoid hot drinks too.

12. Apply olive oil, coconut oil, sesame oil, clarified butter or butter to lips for natural healing of cracks. Apply honey to lips once a while. Honey contains the properties of those enzymes that help our lip skin to absorb moisture and lip becomes soft and smooth.

Take care of your lips not just for beauty reason, also for health reasons.  It is one of the important sensory organs of our body and helps us for safe food intake and in articulation of our speech, sound and facial expression.

Source: www.werindia.com

Image credit: Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on:
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Dementia, Alzheimer‎'s And Coconut oil

Dementia, Alzheimer‎’s & Coconut Oil

In past five – six years, coconut oil has gained lot of importance especially in the life elders who crossed 70 years. Reason for this is the many benefits of coconut oil including the “reversing action on dementia and Alzheimer’s disease”. Even though there is limited research and experiments to prove that coconut oil has a magical medicinal effect the theory that supports this view, is based on a chemical compound present in coconut. The neurons in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease are unable to use glucose to produce energy properly and therefore cells ‘starve’. The theory is that coconut oil may act as an alternative energy source and the ketones found in coconut oil provide fuel to the brain cells.

Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D., medical director for the Nutritional Magnesium Association feels that many people are hesitant to give coconut oil a serious consideration because it has been given the black mark of a saturated fat. Coconut oil is often included in the same list with well-known artery-clogging culprits, such as butter, beef, lard, and full fat dairy products.

The diabetes-dementia link:

Sugar in the form of glucose is brain cells main and preferred energy source. Brain scans of elderly people who are suffering form dementia and Alzheimer’s indicated that with progress in the condition certain section of the brain start to have trouble using sugar as energy. The outcome of an increasing number of scientific studies in recent years has begun to highlight the connection between diabetes and Alzheimer’s condition. Research conducted in 2011 has also looked at the role of diet in developing Alzheimer’s, and the role of cholesterol uptake to the brain- the brain represents only 2% of the body’s total mass, but contains 25% of the total cholesterol .

Some researches and medical professionals believe that Alzheimer’s disease is nothing but “Type III Diabetes”. According to National Institures of Health (NIH) diabetic patients who do not keep their blood sugar levels under check can experience a certain amount of cognitive impairment. Japanese researchers recently discovered that people with diabetes have an overall increased risk of developing dementia, regardless of whether their disease is well managed, or not. On the flip side, scientists from School of Medicine, University of Washington found that people with mild Alzheimer’s derive a minor memory boost, after receiving insulin.

Is Coconut oil a saver?

Everyone needs some source of fat (or oil) supply to brain cells. Coconut oil has been in use from centuries in Tropical countries like India, South Africa, South American countries. Infact, many coastal regions grow coconut and consume coconut without any hesitation or hindrance. People who has been using this for centuries know that coconut and it’s products are good for the body. The biological byproducts of coconut oil is called ‘ketones” . The idea that coconut oil could provide an alternative energy source for brain cells comes from the successful treatment of children with epilepsy with a ketogenic diet. In this diet, carbohydrates are strictly limited and replaced by high fat intakes, forcing the body to use fat as a primary energy source Researchers believe that ketones are one of the few things that can serve as an alternate fuel source for the brain cells in the absence or low level of glucose in the brain as in case of Alzheime’s patients. The challenge is the human body generally does not produce enough ketones on its own, unless the person is following a diet that is extremely low in carbohydrates. Coconut oil consumption creates a state called hyperketonemia which is a temporary state where the number of ketones in a person’s body gets elevated.

How to use coconut oil?

Being a food, coconut oil is very safe and it can be very beneficial. However, if one has never tried coconut oil in their entire life then start coconut oil consumption slowly and with low dosage. Some people experience extreme fullness and diarrhea when they first take coconut oil.

  • Typical recommendation: Anywhere from 3-5 tablespoons of coconut oil per day for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Coconut oil comes in either liquid or pill form.
  • Add to food: Liquid coconut oil can be used in a variety of different ways. Add couple of tablespoons of coconut oil into oatmeal, yogurt or smoothie. Use it for seasoning purpose. Use coconut oil for in place of vegetable oil or butter when sautéing vegetables and stir -fry.
  • Try to use only non-hydrogenated and trans-fat free versions, often referred to as “virgin” coconut oil. Just make sure coconut oil that you use is non-hydrogenated. Avoid any hydrogenated oils as they are similar to dangerous trans fats. Check the list of ingredients for the word, “hydrogenated.”

What Ayurveda says? Coconut oil also can help to regain Intellectual, emotional and physical conditions. Coconut oil is known to promote health as part of India’s ancient Ayurvedic healing tradition. It’s been used for beautiful and healthy skin and hair as well. Human brain specifically needs cholesterol. The brain has higher cholesterol content than any other organ with about 25% of the body’s cholesterol found in the brain. Low cholesterol increases the risk of suicide, depression, and dementia. The risk of dementia is reduced by 70% in those with high cholesterol.

Disclaimer: This article is for educational and information purpose. If you or your loved ones are suffering from any of these conditions please contact your family physician before taking coconut oil. Medical warnings states that coconut oil is very rich in fat and so adding it to a person’s diet could increase blood levels of cholesterol and may show other side effects.

References:

Image credit: “Father Aloizy, Jesuit – tenacious monk from Częstochowa” by Irda in Action is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: November 10, 2016
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Safe toys for kids

Select safe toys for Infants & Toddlers

Safe toys for young children are well-made (with no sharp parts or splinters and do not pinch); painted with nontoxic, lead-free paint; shatter-proof; and easily cleaned. It is important to remember that typical wear and tear can result in a once safe toy becoming hazardous. Adults should check toys frequently to make sure they are in good repair.

Toys for young infants—birth through 6 months

Babies like to look at people—following them with their eyes. Typically, they prefer faces and bright colors. Babies can reach, be fascinated with what their hands and feet can do, lift their heads, turn their heads toward sounds, put things in their mouths, and much more!

Good toys for young infants:

  1. Things they can reach for, hold, suck on, shake, make noise with—rattles, large rings, squeeze toys, teething toys, soft dolls, textured balls, and vinyl and board books
  2. Things to listen to—books with nursery rhymes and poems, and recordings of lullabies and simple songs
  3. Things to look at—pictures of faces hung so baby can see them and unbreakable mirrors

Toys for older infants—7 to 12 months

Older babies are movers—typically they go from rolling over and sitting, to scooting, bouncing, creeping, pulling themselves up, and standing.

Good toys for older infants:

  1. Things to play pretend with—baby dolls, puppets, plastic and wood vehicles with wheels, and water toys
  2. Things to drop and take out—plastic bowls, large beads, balls, and nesting toys
  3. Things to build with—large soft blocks and wooden cubes
  4. Things to use their large muscles with—large balls, push and pull toys, and low, soft things to crawl over

 Toys for 1-year-olds

One-year-olds are on the go! Typically they can walk steadily and even climb stairs. They enjoy stories, say their first words, and can play next to other children (but not yet with!). They like to experiment—but need adults to keep them safe.

Good toys for 1-year-olds:

  1. Board books with simple illustrations or photographs of real objects
  2. Recordings with songs, rhymes, simple stories, and pictures
  3. Things to create with—wide non-toxic, washable markers, crayons, and large paper
  4. Things to pretend with—toy phones, dolls and doll beds, baby carriages and strollers, dress-up accessories (scarves, purses), puppets, stuffed toys, plastic animals, and plastic and wood “realistic” vehicles
  5. Things to build with—cardboard and wood blocks (can be smaller than those used by infants—2 to 4 inches)
  6. Things for using their large and small muscles—puzzles, large pegboards, toys with parts that do things (dials, switches, knobs, lids), and large and small balls

 Toys for 2-year-olds (toddlers)

Toddlers are rapidly learning language and have some sense of danger. Nevertheless they do a lot of physical “testing”: jumping from heights, climbing, hanging by their arms, rolling, and rough-and-tumble play.

Good toys for 2-year-olds:

  1. Things for solving problems—wood puzzles (with 4 to 12 pieces), blocks that snap together, objects to sort (by size, shape, color, smell), and things with hooks, buttons, buckles, and snaps
  2. Things for pretending and building—blocks, smaller (and sturdy) transportation toys, construction sets, child-sized furniture (kitchen sets, chairs, play food), dress-up clothes, dolls with accessories, puppets, and sand and water play toys
  3. Things to create with—large non-toxic, washable crayons and markers, large paintbrushes and finger-paint, large paper for drawing and painting, colored construction paper, toddler-sized scissors with blunt tips, chalkboard and large chalk, and rhythm instruments
  4. Picture books with more details than books for younger children
  5. CD and DVD players with a variety of music.
  6. Things for using their large and small muscles—large and small balls for kicking and throwing, ride-on equipment (but probably not tricycles until children are 3), tunnels, low climbers with soft material underneath, and pounding and hammering toys.

For more information on toys and safety please visit: https://www.naeyc.org/toys

 

Image credit: webdesignprof0 from Pixabay (Free for commercial use)

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: November 4, 2016
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Alzheimer's Awareness Month

Stages & Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease

November is Alzheimer’s awareness month! It is important to understand the symptoms and stages of Alzheimer’s disease as you may come across a person with these symptoms. The symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease worsen over time, although the rate at which the disease progresses varies. On average, a person with Alzheimer’s lives four to eight years after diagnosis, but can live as long as 20 years, depending on other factors.

Stage 1: Normal Outward Behavior : Only a PET scan, an imaging test that shows how the brain is working, can reveal whether he has Alzheimer’s or not. One can see more changes  as the person goes through next stages.

Stage 2: Very Mild Changes : At this stage, some symptoms of Alzheimer’s that starts showing in a person generally  do not interfere with his ability to work or live independently.

  1. Problems coming up with the right word or name
  2. Trouble remembering names when introduced to new people
  3. Having greater difficulty performing tasks in social or work settings
  4. Forgetting material that one has just read
  5. Losing or misplacing a valuable object
  6. Increasing trouble with planning or organizing
Signs of Alzheimer’s/dementia Typical age-related changes
Poor judgment and decision-making Making a bad decision once in a while
Inability to manage a budget Missing a monthly payment
Losing track of the date or the season Forgetting which day it is and remembering it later
Difficulty having a conversation Sometimes forgetting which word to use
Misplacing things and being unable to retrace steps to find them Losing things from time to time

Stage 3: Mild Decline: It is at this point that you start to notice changes in your loved one’s thinking and reasoning, such as:

  1. Forgets something he just read
  2. Asks the same question over and over
  3. Has more and more trouble making plans or organizing
  4. Can’t remember names when meeting new people
  5. You can help by being your loved one’s “memory” for him, making sure he pays bills and gets to appointments on time. You can also suggest he ease stress by retiring from work and putting his legal and financial affairs in order.

Stage 4: Moderate Decline: During this period, the problems in thinking and reasoning that you noticed in stage 3 get more obvious, and new issues appear. Your friend or family member might:

  1. Forgetfulness of events or about one’s own personal history
  2. Feeling moody or withdrawn, especially in socially or mentally challenging situations
  3. Being unable to recall their own address or telephone number or the high school or college from which they graduated
  4. Confusion about where they are or what day it is
  5. The need for help choosing proper clothing for the season or the occasion
  6. Trouble controlling bladder and bowels in some individuals
  7. Changes in sleep patterns, such as sleeping during the day and becoming restless at night
  8. An increased risk of wandering and becoming lost
  9. Forgetting about amount on checks

Stage 5: Moderately Severe Decline: Your loved one might start to lose track of where he is and what time it is. He might have trouble remembering home address, phone number, or where he went to school.  Person may ask same question and may get more attached to one person whose face he may remember. He may able to tell a story and  may not like certain people around him.  He may not remember the facts and may forget where he wanted to go.

Stage 6: Severe Decline:   As Alzheimer’s progresses, one might recognize faces but forget names. He might also mistake a person for someone else. They may behave like a child. Delusions might a set in, such as thinking he needs to go to work even though he no longer has a job. Other symptoms include:

  1. Require full-time, around-the-clock assistance with daily personal care
  2. Lose awareness of recent experiences as well as of their surroundings
  3. Require high levels of assistance with daily activities and personal care
  4. Experience changes in physical abilities, including the ability to walk, sit and, eventually, swallow
  5. Have increasing difficulty communicating
  6. Become vulnerable to infections, especially pneumonia
  7. You might need to help him go to the bathroom.

Many people with Alzheimer’s love hearing music, being read to, or looking over old photos.

Stage 7: Very Severe Decline : Many basic abilities in a person with Alzheimer’s, such as eating, walking, and sitting up, fade during this period. At this stage can no longer tell when they are thirsty.  The family must stay involved by feeding loved one with soft, easy-to-swallow food, helping  and making sure they drink.

References:

  • http://www.alz.org/
  • http://www.alzheimers.net/
  • https://www.alzinfo.org

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

Attribution: Visanji, Naomi P., Patricia L. Brooks, Lili-Naz Hazrati, and Anthony E. Lang. / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: November 3, 2016
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What Do You Know About Varakh (Silver Foil) On Sweets

What Do You Know About Varakh (Silver Foil) On Sweets

Silver traditionally represented wealth, and that association extended to sweets to convey ‘meant for the wealthy’ Silver was also considered an aphrodisiac. Silver is widely used for various purposes in the market today. Silver is considered precious and its utility is enormous. The reason behind this is that silver reflects back 95% of the light energy that falls on it.

Edible silver and gold foils on sweets, on confectionery and desserts is not unique to the Indian subcontinent; countries such as Japan and Europe have long used precious metal foils as food cover and additive. Silver is also used in saffron syrup.

The reason for silver foil usage on Indian sweets possibly for one of these two reasons:

  • The foil reduces moisture evaporation, and hence it would prevent the sweets from drying out.
  • It also acts as aphrodisiac.

Why people do not want to eat sweets covered by Varakh?

Traditional varakh is made by pounding silver into a sheet a few micrometers thick, and backed with paper for support; this paper is peeled away before use. It is extremely brittle and breaks into smaller pieces if touched.

According to vegans and vegetarians today’s varakh is non-vegetarian material. Few years back Indian Airlines instructed to its food suppliers that sweets should be supplied without silver foil.

The investigation conducted by organizations like Beauty without cruelty and FSDA of India sheds some light on this. VARAKH is prepared by using important parts of the cattle or ox. Guts of cattle/ox are obtained from the slaughterhouse after butchering. Pulled gur from the animal is later handed over to the manufacturers of VARAKH. Before handing over the intestines, they are washed in the slaughterhouse to get rid of the blood and other remains on these intestines in the limited facility that is present in the slaughterhouse. Intestines are cut into small pieces and then are bound together as pages in a notebook. A silver block will be placed in the middle of these bound intestines, and the whole thing is placed in a leather bag and sealed. Experts, who know how to make VARAKH, pound the bag with wooden sticks, till the entire bag flattens out. The silver block would by this time be turned into silver foil. This Silver foil would now be separated from the intestine pack and will be placed on paper. This is VARAKH, which reaches the market ready for use. Even staunch vegetarians, who shy away from egg, unknowingly consume this as a part of sweet, pan and areca nut. Why the intestines of the cattle/ox? Why not something else? The reason behind using the intestines of the cattle/ox for preparing the VARAKH is because of the elasticity of the intestines. They do not get cut even after a severe pounding. This aspect is brought out in the magazine “Beauty without cruelty” and the Television show of Maneka Gandhi, “Heads and Tails”. In India, on an average an estimate indicates that 2,75,000 kilos of “Varakh” is consumed. Can you estimate how many cattle/ox are sacrificed for just a bit of taste?

Whether Varakh is vegetarian or non vegetarian – further research conducted on silver foils revealed following information: The silver cannot be digested; therefore, there are no benefits from its consumption . A study done in November 2005 by the Industrial Toxicology Research Centre in Lucknow on varakh says that the silver foil available in the market has toxic and carcinogenic metals in the thin silver foil, nickel, lead, chromium and cadmium. Over half of the analysed silver foils had lower silver purity than the 99.9 per cent purity stipulated by the prevention of food adulteration act of India. When such foil enters into the body, it releases heavy metals that can lead to cancer. The report also details the unhygienic conditions in which workers put silver in small leather bags and beat it into foil in filthy shops.

This Deepavali (Diwali) before consuming the sweets that have the silver foil cover think twice!

Read more at:
http://www.karmayog.org/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vark
http://www.sanskritimagazine.com/ethical_living/varakhsilver-foil-vegetarian/
http://www.harekrsna.com/

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: October 28, 2016
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Functional foods

Functional foods – Let food be thy medicine!

Hippocrates said 2500 years ago that “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food“! These wording of Hippocrates is regaining lots of attention in recent years. The reason behind this is the education and awareness that people are gaining about medicine and food. The role of health enhancing foods and the active physiological compounds that are present in food and the benefits we get has made us to be aware of our health and fitness.

Consumer interest in the relationship between diet and health has increased the demand for information about functional foods.

What are functional foods?

All foods are functional to some extent as they provide aroma, some nutrients and taste. However, foods are now being examined intensively for added physiologic benefits, which may reduce chronic disease risk or otherwise optimize health. This research on food resulted in the term Functional foods  and it was coined (in Japan). Functional foods can be considered to be those whole, fortified, enriched or enhanced foods that provide health benefits beyond the provision of essential nutrients (e.g., vitamins and minerals), when they are consumed at efficacious levels as part of a varied diet on a regular basis.

Many academic, scientific and regulatory bodies have developed, or are developing, guidelines to establish the scientific evidence base needed to support and further validate claims for functional components or the foods containing them. FDA regulates food products according to their intended use and the nature of claims made on the package. Five types of health-related statements or claims are allowed on food and dietary supplement labels:

1. Nutrient content claims indicate the presence of a specific nutrient at a certain level.

2. Structure and function claims describe the effect of dietary components on the normal structure or function of the body.

3. Dietary guidance claims describe the health benefits of broad categories of foods or diets and do not refer to a disease or a health related condition.

4. Qualified health claims convey a developing relationship between components in the diet and reduced risk of disease, as reviewed by the FDA and supported by the weight of credible scientific evidence available.

There are two types of functional foods:

a) Functional foods originated from animals:

The most intensively investigated class of physiologically-active components derived from animal products are the (n-3) fatty acids, predominantly found in fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines and herring. And, in recent years the another class of animal product has gained lot of attention – biologically active animal-derived component namely probiotics.  Defined as “viable microorganisms that are beneficial to human health”

b) Functional foods originated from plant sources:

Plants like oats, soy, paddy, tomato, flax, citrus fruits, tea, turmeric, ginger, garlic, Indian bitter melon, grapefruit, avocado oil, blueberries, olive oil, coconut oil, apple and many others who exhibit particular biochemical sources and elements that can be extracted for human use are real functional food sources. Functional plant foods fall into following categories:

1) Domesticated food plants: These plant species were derived from wild plant species decades or centuries ago and have been highly cultivated and bred for specific characteristics that appeal to the culture where they are sold. Food plants are primarily of interest for their nutritive properties.

2) Wild food plants: These plants are gathered by peoples throughout the world. They tend to be highly seasonal in nature, difficult to cultivate for an economic advantage, and little known outside of a specific culture or subculture. Sometimes they are merely locally abundant in the wild and have never gained widespread popularity within a culture. For example, in the southern United States, poke-weed is viewed as a delicacy, but while available as a wild species throughout the East and Midwest, its popularity has not grown beyond its traditional southern cultural roots.

3) Medicinal plants: These plants have traditional or cultural health attributes ascribed to specific parts of the plant.

4) Botanical supplements: These are derived from plants and may have both nutritive and medicinal properties, but they are viewed as supplemental to the basic diet for enhancing the structure and function of the body.

5) Plant parts and their derivatives used primarily as condiments. These include red pepper and additives such as peppermint.

6) Plants that have a wide variety of economic uses not typically associated with the diet in any way. These plants or plant parts may be toxic if ingested by humans or may have been used for hundreds of years for only one purpose and not fully explored with regard to the diet. This category can be subdivided by type of use, but for this discussion its use will be termed non-dietary.

7) Plants for which there is no known human use.

The scientific community continues to increase its understanding of the potential for functional foods and their role in maintaining and optimizing health.

For more information on functional food and components of functional food see this link:

http://www.foodinsight.org/Content/3842/Final%20Functional%20Foods%20Backgrounder.pdf

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

Author: Sumana Rao | Posted on: October 21, 2016
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