Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Benefits of Drum Stick

Available in plenty, the drumstick is valued mainly for its render pods, interestingly all its parts – bark, root, fruit, flowers, leaves, seeds and even the gum – have medicinal value. They are used in the treatment of ascites, rheumatism and venomous bites as antiseptic and as cardiac and circulatory stimulants. Its seeds are acrid and acts as stimulants. The oil of the seeds us used to treat gout and rheumatism. The leaves are rich in Vitamins A and C and are considered useful in catarrhal affections. The pods made into a soup are prescribed as a diet in sub-acute cases of enlarged liver and spleen, articular pains, tetanus, debility of nerves, paralysis, pustules, patches and leprosy. A curry made from unripe pods is effective for keeping intestinal worms at bay.
Drumstick is generally included in sambar or kurma. For a different recipe, add it your soup to give it a very oriental taste. The same can be said for drumstick leaves, which can be mixed in dosa batter or in channa dal vada. Add it to akki rotis or sambar for an interesting twist. Boil the leaves, blend it with some green chilies, garlic and cooked thuvar dal. Season and serve hot with rice and rotis.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Benefits of Cabbage

Cabbage is particularly rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants minimize damage and keep your cells healthy. It also contains significant amounts of fibre, folate, B group vitamins, vitamin K and minerals such as iron, potassium and calcium. A single cup of shredded cabbage has a substantial amount of calcium, potassium and vitamin A. It also contains varying amounts of many phytochemicals including some really important ones like vitamin C, flavonoids and carotenoids. It has virtually no sodium or fat, ample fibre, and contains compounds that fight the effects of cancer causing agents. It’s perfect for preventing high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, diabetes and obesity.
The best way to consume cabbage is in your salad or soup. Alternatively, shredded cabbage can be added to roti dough or dosa batter. Cabbage can be shredded, steamed and mixed with wheat flour and fired to make tasty pakodas. Stuff broad cabbage leaves with any stuffing of your choice and shallow fry to make cabbage packets.

Monday, March 31, 2008

Benefits of Ridge Gourd

Ridge gourd is low in saturated fat and cholesterol, high in dietary fibre, vitamin C, riboflavin, zinc, thiamin, iron, magnesium and manganese. The nutritional value of gourd makes it suitable for maintaining optimum health, weight lose. It has excellent cooling properties.
Ridge gourd can be cut into slices and fired in batter like our chilli bajjies. A healthier option would be to make gravy out of it. Fry some onions, tomatoes, garlic with some salt and chilli powder. Add some cubed ridge gourd and let it cook on a simmering flame. Add half a cup of milk and let the gravy thicken. After removing from flame, season and serve hot.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Benefits of Bitter Gourd

Bitter gourd is the most uncommonly used vegetable around the world. The name itself speaks of its taste, which is bitter. Its nutrient content surpasses all other vegetables. Bitter gourd contains Vitamin A, B1, B2, and C. It also contains minerals like calcium, phosphorus, iron, copper and potassium. It purifies blood, enhances digestion, and stimulates the liver. It is an excellent natural source of insulin. The skin, seeds and the vegetable on the whole can be consumed in many forms. Diabetics are recommended to drink the juice of tender bitter gourds to keep their sugar levels in check. It can be stuffed with potato masala and shallow fried. You can even grill it. It can be cut into thin slices and fried like chips with salt and chilly powder. The skin can be washed, fried well and ground with coconut, green chilly and tamarind to make chutney. In whole, bitter gourd plays a vital role in keeping the sugar under control for a diabetic.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Nutritional Values of Egg

The eggs are having the high nutritional values to the body. The latest research suggests that eating whole eggs may actually result in significant improvement in one’s blood lipids (cholesterol) profile, even in persons whose cholesterol levels rise when eating cholesterol-rich food. Lutein, a carotenoid thought to help prevent age-related macular degeneration and cataracts, may be found in even higher amounts in eggs than in green vegetables. Eggs are a good source of low cost high quality proteins, providing 5.5 gm of protein in one egg for a caloric cost of only 68 calories. Another half benefit of eggs is their contribution to the diet as a source of choline. Choline is a key component of acetylcholine. A neuro-transmitter that carries messages from and to nerves, acetylcholine is the body’s primary chemical means of sending messages between nerves and muscles.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Causes for Liver Damage

1. Sleeping too late and waking up too late are main cause.2. Not urinating in the morning.3. Too much eating.4. Skippingbreakfast.5. Consuming too much medication.6. Consuming too much preservatives, additives, food coloring , and artificial sweetener.7. Consuming unhealthy cooking oil. As much as possible reduce cooking oil use when frying, which includes even the best cooking oils like virgin coconut oil. Do not consume fried foods when you are tired, except if the body is very fit.8. Consuming raw (overly done) foods also add to the burden ofliver.Veggies should be eaten raw or cooked 3-5 parts. Fried veggies should be finished in one sitting, do not store.We should prevent this without necessarily spending more. We just have to adopt a good daily lifestyle and eating habits. Maintaining good eating habits and time condition are very important for our bodies to absorb and get rid of unnecessary style="FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt; COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">chemicals according to "schedule."Because :Evening at 9 - 11 PM : is the time for eliminating unnecessary/toxic chemicals (detoxification) from the antibody system (lymph nodes). This time duration should be spent by relaxing or listening to music. If during this time a housewife is still in an unrelaxed state such as washing the dishes or monitoring children doing their homework, this will have a negative impact on health.Evening at 11pm - 1 am : is the detoxification process in the liver, and ideally should be done in a deep sleep state.style="FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt; COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Early morning 1 - 3 am : detoxification process in the gall, also ideally done in a deep sleep state. Early morning 3 - 5 am : detoxification in the lungs. Therefore there will sometimes be a severe cough for cough sufferers during this time. Since the detoxificationprocess had reached the respiratory tract, there is no need to take cough medicine so as not to interfere with toxin removal process.

Morning 5 - 7am : detoxification in the colon, you should empty your bowel.Morning 7 - 9 am : absorption of nutrients in the small intestine, you should be having breakfast at this time.Breakfast should be earlier, before 6:30 am , for those who are sick. Breakfast before 7:30 am is very beneficial to those wanting to stay fit. Those who always skip breakfast, they should change their habits, and it is still better to eat breakfast late until 9- 10 am rather than no meal at all.Sleeping so late and waking up too late will disrupt the process of removing unnecessary chemicals. Aside from that, midnight to 4:00 am is the time when the bone marrow
produces blood. Therefore, have a good sleep and don't sleep late.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Brain damaging habits

1. No BreakfastPeople who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level.This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration.2. OvereatingIt causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power.3. SmokingIt causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.4. High Sugar consumptionToo much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing color=blue size=4>malnutrition and may interfere with brain development.5. Air PollutionThe brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency.6. Sleep DeprivationSleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells. 7. Head covered while sleepingSleeping with the head covered, increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects. color=red size=4>8. Working your brain during illnessWorking hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain.9. Lacking in stimulating thoughtsThinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage.10. Talking RarelyIntellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain.