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Cereals, pulses and condiments adulteration
Adulteration of cereals and pulses are very common and the visual test is the only solution for this problem. Be careful when you buy cereals and pulses – make sure there is no worms, visible dusts, flies, wood pieces etc.
Pulses: Kesari daal adulteration with yellow color, saw dust, husk, stones in all pulses.
Black mustard seed: Adding argemon seedss which is dangerous for health and it caused epidemic dropsy.
Wheat and bajra: Ergot fungus which appears like grain that floats when put in water and datura seeds that are highly poisonous. Datura seeds are flat with blacking brown color in the edges.
Black pepper:Papaya seeds mix and light black pepper seeds that are quality rejected. Put few seeds of black pepper in alcohol. Papaya and light seeds will float and heavy black pepper seeds will settle down at bottom.
White rice: Plastic rice adulteration: Recently in Kerala plastic rice is detected in white rice. According to recent reports the rice that are coming from China is made by mixing potatoes, sweet potatoes and plastic. The rice stays hard even after being cooked and the soup forms a plastic sheath on its layer. This sheath while after drying burns like plastic.
Sugar adulteration is common especially when the prices of jaggery and sugar goes up. Common adulteration materials for sugar are: chalk powder and urea.
How do you find out?
Chalkpowder: Dissolve 10 grams of sugar in water and allow it to settle down for 15 minutes. Chalk will settle down at bottom of the cup.
Urea: Dissolve sugar in water and smell it. If it gives ammonia odor then sugar contains urea.
Washing soda in jaggery: Add few drops of HCl to jaggery and if effervescence appears then it indicates presence of soda.
Metanil yellow color in jaggery: Take 1/4 tsp of jaggery, add 3 ml of ethyl alcohol and shake it. To this slowly add 10 ml of HCl. A pink color appears indicating presence of adulteration of metanil in jaggery.
Image: Food Security officials inspecting a jaggery unit at Omalur in Salem district, www.thehindu.com
Ghee is clarified butter which people use for day to day cooking – for making sweets, medicines, offerings etc. Even ghee is no exception for adulteration.
How do you find out?
Vanaspathi & margarine: Take 2 ml of melted ghee and slowly from inside of the test tube add 2 ml of conc. Hydrochloric acid. Add pinch of sugar. Shake and keep it for few minutes. A crimson color at the bottom of the mix indicates vanaspathi or margarine is mixed with ghee!
Potato, starch : Add few drops of iodine to melted ghee. If any of potato or other starch materials mixed with ghee, the mix will turn to blue.
Vegetable oil mixing: Ghee is an animal fat with cholesterol and all other oils that are plant based contains sterols. The Baoudoin test helps to detect oil mixing in ghee. Add few drops of **Hydrochloric acid and freshly distilled 2% furfural in 95% ethyl alcohol. The development of pink color in the mix indicates presence of sesame oil.
** Be careful while handling Hydrochloric acid as it is dangerous. You can take milk sample to local colleges and labs seeking their help for this test.
Water:Run a drop of milk on a slope surface. Water added milk will run fast on the slope not leaving white mark behind. Whereas pure milk runs slowly leaving white thread mark behind
Starch:Add few drops of iodine or tincture to milk, if milk changes to blue color starch is added.
Urea: Add 1/2 teaspoon of soybean powder to milk in a test tube and mix it. After 5 minutes, dip a litmus paper in the mix. If the color changes from red to blue then the milk is adulterated with urea.
Formalin:Take 10 ml of milk and slowly from the inner side of the test tube add 5 ml of conc. Sulphuric acid**. If a blue ring forms in the center of the intersection of two liquids then there is formalin adulteration.
** Be careful while handling sulphuric acid as it is dangerous. You can take milk sample to local colleges and labs seeking help for this test.
Tulsi plant is the most worshipped plant in the world. In India Tulsi plant will be present in almost every house. Tulsi is worshipped by women and the place where the main Tulsi plant grows is known as Brindavan. Tulsi plant has many medicinal properties and cures many conditions. The plant is sensitive to cold and very high temperature. It needs lots of Sun light and likes clean water condition to grow.
Here are some uses of Tulsi plants.
Daily consumption of few drops Tulsi leaves juice increases red blood cells.
Applying Tulsi juice and turmeric powder mix helps to reduce skin allergy.
Drinking mixture of Tulsi and lemon juice reduces conditions related to urinary tract
To reduce cough chew 4-5 leaves of Tulsi everyday.
For tooth ache chew few leaves of Tulsi and tooth ache will reduce.
Growing Tulsi plants around not only brings fresh, good air but also reduces mosquitoes.
Tulsi is a immune booster. Pluck a few Tulsi leaves, rinse them well and chew these leaves to boost your body’s immunity power.
Mix Tulsi juice, ginger powder with honey to get rid of dry cough and cold.
Applying Tulsi leaves juice to scalp reduces dandruff.
Consuming equal amount of Tualsi leaves juice, onion juice and pepper powder reduces pile condition.
To remove bad breath chew Tulsi leaves.
If anyone is suffering from stomach infections, digestion problems and constipation, drinking Tulsi juice on an empty stomach helps to reduce the problem.
If you are suffering from headache mix Tulsi juice with cardamom powder and apply behind ears and on forehead.
Tulsi has germicidal, fungicidal and anti- bacterial properties. In ayurveda, it is advised that a person suffering from fever should have a decoction made of tulsi leaves.
The essential oils present in Tulsi leaves helps in diabetic condition by increasing sensitivity of insulin.
Eugenol helps the blood pressure to be under control and lowers cholesterol content.
Tulsi helps to maintain the balance of stress hormone and controls the anxiety.
Tulsi is a great diuretic and detoxifier and helps in reducing the uric acid that forms kidney stones.
Recent studies says that Tulsi helps in quitting smoking habit by lowering the stress and make a person to urge quit smoking.
Do you feel like having low energy and lethargic? Here is a way to invigorated and relaxed – Salt therapy. When people visit beaches they feel refreshed and swimming or just striding through the salt water makes people happy. The ocean has amazing healing properties. Main reason for this is the salt content of the sea or ocean. The aura cleansing properties of the sea water refreshes body and mind.
Salt therapy is one such method, which helps to relax and overcome the stress. It helps the body to get rid of those stress pain and energized. When water and this salt come together, they create a dimension called sole. In German, the word sole, which is derived from the Latin word “sol”, means sun. Sole means fluid sunlight or fluid light energy. Sole is the fluid materialization of sunlight. When water combines with salt the positive ions of sodium surround the negative ions of the water molecules and the negative ions of chloride surround the positive ions of the water molecules. The other 82 mineral elements found in the salt also ionize and split into other complex ionized compounds. In this process the physical or geometrical, as well as the chemical structure of the salt and the water, is changed and a totally new structure is formed, a third dimension. Water is no longer water and salt is not salt anymore. This combination produces an ocean of pure energy for human body.
Salt water treatment should be done when we experience symptoms such as :
Lethargy
Reduction in promptness
Inability to think
Excessive thoughts especially when they are negative in nature
Anger or any other extreme emotion
Stress
Any form of physical illness
Low energy level
Feeling rejected and alone
Salt water cleanse has other wonderful health benefits:
Skin is an organ of elimination and a salt water soak will draw toxins and heavy metals from the tissues. This effect is enhanced when baking soda and Epsom Salt are also added to the water. Add one cup of each to the bath.
The essential trace minerals in the body needs are absorbed through the skin to enhance your health.
Skin conditions can benefit as bacteria and other debris are also drawn from the skin, leaving it feeling fresh and rejuvenated.
A salt water bath can help to relieve muscular aches and pains as well as sore joints.
Circulation is increased which has a variety of health benefits.
Salt therapy can also be a beneficial treatment for skin conditions like acne, psoriasis eczema and dermatitis.
A Salt Room’s abundance of negatively charged ions improves moods and relieves fatigue and depression.
Salt therapy is a technique is in practice from many centuries. The Greeks placed great faith in the healing powers of the salt-rich Mediterranean. Plato wrote, “The sea cures all ailments of man.” Hippocrates, the “Father of Medicine,” made frequent use of salt in his practice, including the inhalation of steam from salt water for the relief of respiratory ailments. One can use cooking salt for therapy but not for the entire body. To remove pain, strain and edema conditions one can soak feet and leg inside regular salt water.
How to do a salt therapy at home:
Once a week or so one can take this salt water bath.
First of all make sure you are left alone and there is not much house work for you. Shut off your phones, TV and turn on your favorite soothing music.
Fill your bath with warm water, the level is up to you. Don’t make it so hot that you’ll get uncomfortable.
Add 2-3 good handfuls of salt. Use a good quality unprocessed salt, such as unrefined sea salt or Epsom salt.
If you like, you can add a few drops of pure essential oils for a lovely fragrance. Lavender is a good choice, because it will also help you to relax and unwind, and is generally very safe. In many stores Epsom salt fragranced by various oils will be available.
Soak for about 20-30 minutes. You can assist the process by relaxing and feeling good about allowing yourself this time just for you.
If you feel like after half an hour take a shower.
You will feel relaxed and vibrant after salt water soak.
Salt therapy is both an age-old and a new-age healing treatment for the body and soul, a completely non-invasive,natural treatment with no side effects to harm the body in any way.
Having diabetes does not mean that you should not eat the food that you want to but make sure to eat healthier food. Some modifications in the food according to your condition help you to cheer up and fill the stomach. Here are some foods that can be good snacks for the diabetic condition.
For years, various studies have reported that coffee drinkers are less likely to develop Type 2 diabetes. A recent UCLA study found that women who drink at least four cups of coffee a day are less than half as likely to develop diabetes as non-coffee drinkers. The UCLA researchers have found that a protein called sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) somehow lowers insulin resistance. Do not add sugar to your coffee, consume black coffee or go with light milk.
Image credit: Photo by Emre Gencer on Unsplash (Free for commercial use)
