How To Make Sour Cream At Home

You find them in dips, you find them in dressings and you even find them in desserts. Sour cream has become our favourite relish, ever since we have gotten too familiar with the American and European cuisine. Used majorly as a condiment in culinary preparations hailing from Europe and North America, sour cream is traditionally used as a topping for baked potatoes, it also serves as a base for some creamy salad dressings, and used as a main ingredient in Chicken Paprikash or a Stroganoff.

Interestingly, sour cream also plays a key role in baking. American style doughnuts, biscuits and scones, all use sour cream as a significant ingredient.  Added in the baking mixture of cakes, and cookies, sour cream gives a distinct flavor to the sweet delights. One can also see a dollop of sour cream on top of waffles and with addition of strawberry jams. A characteristic Central American breakfast or Tex-Mex cuisine would always have serving of crema (a variant of sour cream) as a staple. However, in India the tangy relish is most commonly used as a base for various kinds of dips for chips, nachos, wedges or crackers. 

The traditional preparation of sour cream is drawn out by fermenting the cream that was skimmed off the top of milk on moderate temperature. The lactic bacteria developed in the fermentation process gives the cream its characteristic tang and thickness. With about 18 percent butterfat, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, regular sour cream contains about 23 calories in one tablespoon.

Here’s how you can quickly prepare  sour cream for yourself at home for a nice Sunday brunch.

The fat around the tummy is the easiest to gain and sadly

The fat around the tummy is the easiest to gain and sadly, the toughest to shed. It is known as the visceral fat, and some amount of it is required to provide cushioning to the organs, but too much of it can pose a major risk to your health. Consultant Nutritionist Dr. Rupali Datta shares, “There is a strong co-relation between belly fat and cardiovascular

diseases. We have heard of apple and pear-shaped bodies. Those who are apple shaped have a considerable amount of body weight around the abdominal area and are at a higher risk of developing cardio-vascular diseases." There are a couple of factors that contribute towards belly fat and you need a combination of a good diet and regular exercise to get rid of the extra pounds. In some cases, the hidden reason for a bulging belly may be an unrelated factor like stress or sleep deprivation. Here are six secrets to losing belly fat that you may not have known.

Simply cutting down on your carb intake may not be sufficient.  You also need to look out for the Glycemic Index. Glycemic Index (GI) measures the impact of different food items on our blood sugar levels. Bangalore based Nutritionist Dr.Anju Sood  explains the consequences of having foods with a high glycemic index, “It is a matter of how you mobilize the fat you consume which will affect the visceral fat accumulation. The moment you load up on high glycemic index foods, your blood sugar levels spike up suddenly. This excess sugar would eventually be stored as fat, and result in a bigger belly. Low glycemic foods do not cause sudden sugar spikes, they delay your digestion and are also rich in fiber.” So, load up on  nuts, legumes and vegetables without starch  and steer clear of potatoes, white rice, white bread and sugary canned juices as much as possible.

Fiber take a long time to digest, hence it gives you the feeling of fullness and prevents you from binging on other high-carb foods. Consultant Nutritionist Dr. Rupali Dutta suggests, “You must include high fibre foods such as leafy vegetables and whole grains in your diet. Whole grains have a positive impact in maintaining satiety. Eat a lot of beans, brown or whole grain rice, nuts and dry fruits to maximize on your fibre intake.”

Most of our Indian meals are high on carbohydrates which may make you lose out on the adequate protein intake, but proteins are essential. There is a good reason why all nutritionists and fitness experts always stress on increasing your protein intake. It boosts metabolism, reduces your appetite and controls several weight-regulating hormones. High protein intake increases thelevels of satiety (appetite-reducing) hormones such as GLP-1, peptide YY and cholecystokinin, while reducing the levels of the hunger hormone called ghrelin.  Proteins take the longest to digest, which aids weight loss. Eggs, oats, broccoli, poultry, fish almonds and milk are great sources of protein.

Yes, you heard us. Shunning fats completely may not be the best idea as fats make up the majority of your cell walls andare instrumental in balancing hormones. Not all fats are bad, one must know the difference. Consuming healthy unsaturated fats like avocado, olive oil, coconut, fish and nuts and seeds, not only keeps you satisfied but also stimulates the fat-burning process in your body.  Dr. Sood recommends, “Around 15 to 20 percent of your calorie intake has to be fat, out of which 50 percent should be from visible origins (ghee, butter, and oil) and the remaining half from invisible origins which are already present in the food you eat. Recent studies have noted that you need to have 3 parts of poly-unsaturated fatty acids and 1 part of saturated fats for optimum health."

When you are sleep deprived and low on energy you automatically inch towards comfort foods that are high on sodium and carbs. Lack of sleep also slows down the metabolic activity.  The two hormones working in this process are ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin is the hormone that tells you when to eat, and when you are sleep-deprived, your body produces more ghrelin . On the other hand, leptin is the hormone that tells you to stop eating. When you are sleep deprived, you have less leptin in your body. Increased amounts of ghrelin, and less leptin may lead to weight gain. Dr. Rupali says, “ You need eight hours of good quality sleep daily. People might argue that it is not essential, but sleep deprivation along with damaging your health, may also induce weight gain.”

Tried all possible exercises to lose belly fat but no desired results? You probably need to calm down. Stress induced weight gain is becoming a popular phenomenon these days, and a certain hormone called cortisol may be tagged as the culprit here.  Shilpa Arora, Macrobiotic Nutritionist and Health Practitioner, explains, “When you are tensed, the body releases cortisol as a result of which there is a rise in the insulin levels in the body. This results in a drop in the blood sugar level and that's why you crave high carbohydrate and sugary foods.” The body releases chemicals in response to the food you eat, which might have a calming effect, and this is how you may end up gaining those few extra and unwanted pounds around your belly in an attempt to beat stress.

How to Check if Your Honey is Pure or Adulterated

Honey can be a wonderful alternative to your refined sugar which is just a source of empty calories. This lovely ingredient made by nature can not only sweeten your life but it is also abundant in minerals, nutrients and living enzymes. If you want to enjoy the benefits of using honey, you must consider its purity before buying. The biggest problem with honey is its quality. It can be quite a challenge to find good, pure honey. Like many other food commodities, adulteration is common. It is easy to cheat you as commercial honey can often be mixed with glucose solution, high fructose corn syrup and other ingredients you may not even know about. Sometimes, when you open the jar of honey and hear a little 'pop' sound that could signal that the honey has been adulterated as some fermentation process may have take place inside it. 

The best quality of honey comes from bees and not factories and so, a good starting point would be to read the ingredient label. Look out for words like 'raw', 'natural', 'forest honey' or 'organic' - they may be safer than regular honey. But, since food regulations remain a bit dodgy, you can never be too sure and this may not be a foolproof way. So, can you really tell the difference between real and fake honey? To know the truth, test it at home. Here are some easy tricks to check its purity and ways to spot adulterated honey. 

Place a small amount of honey on your thumb and check if spills or spreads around like any other liquid. If it does, it may not be pure. Pure honey is thick while impure honey will be runny. Pure honey sticks to the surface it is applied to and doesn't drip away. Moreover, the taste of impure honey may linger due to the presence of added sugar.

Take a teaspoon of the honey and put in a glass full of water. Fake or adulterated honey will dissolve in the water while pure honey which has a more dense texture will settle right at the bottom of the glass as lumps. The same is the case with blotting paper or a white cloth. If you pour pure honey on the two, it will not get absorbed or leave stains. 

You may have not known this, but pure honey is inflammable. Although, we'll request to you observe utmost caution while performing this test and do it at your own risk. Take a dry matchstick and dip it in honey. Strike the matchstick against the matchbox. If it lights, your honey is pure. If it doesn't light, it may be adulterated and may also contain some amount of moisture added while contamination. 

Mix a tablespoon of honey, some water and 2-3 drops of vinegar essence together. If this mixture foams up, there's a very high chance that your honey may be adulterated. 

If you heat pure honey, it will caramelise quickly and not become foamy. But, in case of impure honey it may not caramelise and become bubbly on heating. 

A lot of the differences between pure and adulterated honey can also be identified just with the naked eye by examining its physical properties. Pure honey is dense and trickles only into a stream. It has a soft texture, will never separate into layers and offers a distinct sweet aroma. Raw honey, which is honey in its purest form, often leaves a slight tingling feeling or a mild burning sensation in your throat when consumed.

How to Make Ghee at Home

Ghee or clarified butter is one product that generates the most amount of familiarity as it is one of those essential elements that every Indian household possesses. It caters to a variety of usages on a daily basis. Personally, my encounters with ghee takes me back to the times i have spent with my grandmother, who never failed to incorporate ghee in almost everything i ate at her place.She never believed in buying processed ghee from the supermarkets, instead she used to enjoy the whole procedure of converting malai(white cream residue from milk) into desi ghee. My Grandmother used to explain numerous advantages of consuming ghee and also how to use it for different purposes, which i could never really understand back then but now it turns out that she was completely right. Let's dig in deep to see how!

We have always believed that ghee is fattening and it causes obesity and if you are trying to lose weight or trying to eat healthy then you need to remove ghee from your diet. Contrary to the belief, it is actually proven that ghee is an essential fat that is needed by our body. However, the consumption should only happen in moderation as excess of anything is harmful. Eating two to three spoons of ghee a day can give you energy and pump you up with all the essential nutrients. Plus it helps in pushing bad cholesterol away. So if you are planning to go on a diet and are thinking of eliminating ghee from your meals, think again!

Some of the benefits are listed below

1. Improves Digestion and Strengthens Immunity

It contains intestinal bacteria that help in converting fiber (from food) into butyric acid, which generates energy so much so that it can support the intestinal wall. It is rich in nutrients that are quite essential for the body like Vitamins A, D and E.

2. Suitable for People Who Are Lactose Intolerant

Although ghee is a by product of butter (churned out from milk) it is still suitable for people who cannot digest milk. This is because ghee's preparation involves removing all the milk solids which is responsible for causing indigestion.

3. Great Hair Conditioner

A common ingredient for oiling our hair entails the usage of either coconut or olive oil but few know that ghee deeply conditions the hair, which facilitates hair growth making it stronger and shinier. So ditch the coconut oil for a while and try nourishing your hair with ghee.

4. Hydrates and Brightens the Skin

Shelling a lot of money on expensive creams and toners? Ghee is the solution for you. It hydrates your skin, provides all the moisture your skin needs and also works wonders on dry and chapped lips. It brightens your skin and gives it a very natural glow.

Ghee is obtained by churning cream or malai (a residue of warm milk) followed by simmering the converted butter (by churning malai) on low heat, which produces milk solids that have to be sieved properly. After removal of the by-product, you get that almost transparent golden liquid, which is nothing but ghee.

If you are looking for a recipe, try Chef Aditya Fatepuria's method, which teaches us just how to make that perfect creamy consistency of ghee.

How To Lose Belly Fat

The fat around the tummy is the easiest to gain and sadly, the toughest to shed. It is known as the visceral fat, and some amount of it is required to provide cushioning to the organs, but too much of it can pose a major risk to your health. Consultant Nutritionist Dr. Rupali Datta shares, “There is a strong co-relation between belly fat and cardiovascular

diseases. We have heard of apple and pear-shaped bodies. Those who are apple shaped have a considerable amount of body weight around the abdominal area and are at a higher risk of developing cardio-vascular diseases." There are a couple of factors that contribute towards belly fat and you need a combination of a good diet and regular exercise to get rid of the extra pounds. In some cases, the hidden reason for a bulging belly may be an unrelated factor like stress or sleep deprivation. Here are six secrets to losing belly fat that you may not have known.

Simply cutting down on your carb intake may not be sufficient.  You also need to look out for the Glycemic Index. Glycemic Index (GI) measures the impact of different food items on our blood sugar levels. Bangalore based Nutritionist Dr.Anju Sood  explains the consequences of having foods with a high glycemic index, “It is a matter of how you mobilize the fat you consume which will affect the visceral fat accumulation. The moment you load up on high glycemic index foods, your blood sugar levels spike up suddenly. This excess sugar would eventually be stored as fat, and result in a bigger belly. Low glycemic foods do not cause sudden sugar spikes, they delay your digestion and are also rich in fiber.” So, load up on  nuts, legumes and vegetables without starch  and steer clear of potatoes, white rice, white bread and sugary canned juices as much as possible.

Fiber take a long time to digest, hence it gives you the feeling of fullness and prevents you from binging on other high-carb foods. Consultant Nutritionist Dr. Rupali Dutta suggests, “You must include high fibre foods such as leafy vegetables and whole grains in your diet. Whole grains have a positive impact in maintaining satiety. Eat a lot of beans, brown or whole grain rice, nuts and dry fruits to maximize on your fibre intake.”

Most of our Indian meals are high on carbohydrates which may make you lose out on the adequate protein intake, but proteins are essential. There is a good reason why all nutritionists and fitness experts always stress on increasing your protein intake. It boosts metabolism, reduces your appetite and controls several weight-regulating hormones. High protein intake increases thelevels of satiety (appetite-reducing) hormones such as GLP-1, peptide YY and cholecystokinin, while reducing the levels of the hunger hormone called ghrelin.  Proteins take the longest to digest, which aids weight loss. Eggs, oats, broccoli, poultry, fish almonds and milk are great sources of protein.

Yes, you heard us. Shunning fats completely may not be the best idea as fats make up the majority of your cell walls andare instrumental in balancing hormones. Not all fats are bad, one must know the difference. Consuming healthy unsaturated fats like avocado, olive oil, coconut, fish and nuts and seeds, not only keeps you satisfied but also stimulates the fat-burning process in your body.  Dr. Sood recommends, “Around 15 to 20 percent of your calorie intake has to be fat, out of which 50 percent should be from visible origins (ghee, butter, and oil) and the remaining half from invisible origins which are already present in the food you eat. Recent studies have noted that you need to have 3 parts of poly-unsaturated fatty acids and 1 part of saturated fats for optimum health."

When you are sleep deprived and low on energy you automatically inch towards comfort foods that are high on sodium and carbs. Lack of sleep also slows down the metabolic activity.  The two hormones working in this process are ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin is the hormone that tells you when to eat, and when you are sleep-deprived, your body produces more ghrelin . On the other hand, leptin is the hormone that tells you to stop eating. When you are sleep deprived, you have less leptin in your body. Increased amounts of ghrelin, and less leptin may lead to weight gain. Dr. Rupali says, “ You need eight hours of good quality sleep daily. People might argue that it is not essential, but sleep deprivation along with damaging your health, may also induce weight gain.”

Tried all possible exercises to lose belly fat but no desired results? You probably need to calm down. Stress induced weight gain is becoming a popular phenomenon these days, and a certain hormone called cortisol may be tagged as the culprit here.  Shilpa Arora, Macrobiotic Nutritionist and Health Practitioner, explains, “When you are tensed, the body releases cortisol as a result of which there is a rise in the insulin levels in the body. This results in a drop in the blood sugar level and that's why you crave high carbohydrate and sugary foods.” The body releases chemicals in response to the food you eat, which might have a calming effect, and this is how you may end up gaining those few extra and unwanted pounds around your belly in an attempt to beat stress.

How to Grow Okra At Home

Okra, commonly known lady's finger or Bhindi in India, is a seasonal plant which belongs to the melon family and has beautiful flowers. The vegetable can be cooked and consumed in different ways. It is rich in vitamin C, vitamin K and vitamin A along with calcium and fiber. It is low in calories containing about 25 to 40 kcal per 100 grams and is mainly made up of water (90%), protein (2%) and carbohydrates (7%). You may have been buying this healthy and versatile green from your nearest grocery store but it can be easily grown at home. Let us show you how. 

It is suggested that okra should be planted during early summer months or the spring season in the coolest region of the garden (so that the seeds don't rot) for them to be harvested at the right time. The seeds of okra should be soaked in water for at least 12-18 hours allowing them to absorb the moisture before being sowed. Okra can grow in different types of soil but it must be fertilized well. The seeds should be sowed an inch deep in the soil and in rows that should be at a distance if 3 feet from each other. One should be careful with the distribution of the seeds so that they have enough space for their roots else they may not grow properly. 

After around 12 days, the seed will begin to germinate. The plants should be narrowed by tying them loosely to branches, 12 to 18 inches apart from each other, so that they grow straight upwards. Okra flourishes under a bright sun and requires proper sunlight at this stage. It also needs regular watering specially during the flowering stage. Okra is know to attract beetles and worms that can damage the plant. Therefore, measures like soil management and crop rotation should be undertaken to prevent diseases.

Within two months, the okra plant will mature and it takes up to 12 weeks for production. You should start harvesting okra after the bloom fades but don't take so long that it turns black and dies. You will know it is time to harvest when the seed pods are 2-3 inches long. Handle okra with care because it is a delicate plant and bruises easily. Pick the pods every second day, so that they don't get too tough and are still soft. It is advised to wear glows while picking the pods because they have spines irrespective of whichever variety of okra you have grown. 

It is suggested to wash the pods gently and let them dry for at least half an hour before you store them. The storage of okra is easy since it can be placed in a paper or zip lock bag in the refrigerator. Ideally, you should eat them within 3 to 4 days of harvesting to enjoy the freshness.  

How to Make Your Fruit Salad Deliciously Healthy in Your Diet

It's that time of the year when sunburns, dehydration, loss of appetite, mood swings and so on become a constant feature. Yes, we are talking about the severe summer months especially in the capital region. People often dread the approaching of summer. Well, who likes going out under the scorching sun, sweating profusely and tanning excessively? However, there's no need to crib. There are always two sides to a coin and summer too comes with its positives that outnumber the negatives it brings along. We just need to build on these positives to set our mood right.Swimming and pool parties, weekend getaways to the hills, cooling juices like honeydew lemon and watermelon, which are known to reduce body heat, are effective means to beat the heat. Apart from these, fruit salads come effectively to the rescue. Think summer and the first thing that comes to mind are refreshing fruits. With a great range of fruits available in the market, you could consume fruit salads as a coolant in the harsh summer months. Not only are they refreshingly delicious, but come with health benefits too.

It is essential to keep in mind the kind of fruits that could be utilised in a salad during summers. This is because several fruits have a tendency to blacken, rot and so on if exposed to long hours of heat. There is a huge list of summer fruits that form great salads topped with some of the most nutritious items from the food chart including nuts, seeds, yoghurt and others.

The most sought after summer fruit is watermelon. In fact it is the most ideal choice for a salad in the summer. Owing to its composition, it tremendously helps to keep the body temperature down. Mango, the king of fruits, is the most widely consumed fruit in the summer months. With vitamins and anti oxidants all packed into a single fruit, it is a healthy and delicious inclusion in a salad.

Berries too are a hot favourite for the burst of colour and flavour they add to a fruit bowl. Be it strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and so on, they are an excellent storehouse of antioxidants and fiber. They are known to reduce body inflammation. Litchi and plums are great seasonal contents for a refreshing summer salad too.

Looking for exciting ways to spruce up your fruit bowl? Well, to add to the flavour, you could tip in yoghurt, honey, fresh juices, nut butter and so on. It is observed that a majority of individuals consume their salad based on how good it looks. Diverging away from the "never judge a book by its cover" concept, this is a reality. Thus, some chefs recommend using colourful fruits along with interesting toppings, for instance. Another viable option would be to grill the fruits to lend a caramalised flavour to the salad.

Unique ways of serving could include placing the salad in a watermelon cover, pineapple or a hollow coconut. It simply adds character to the fruit salad and is more tempting. All you need to do is take the whole fruit, slice it into two and scoop out the flesh to make room for serving the salad. Today, there are a variety of edible flowers that can be added to a fruit salad too.

Thus, going with the current trend of being fit yet consuming food items that satisfy one's taste buds, fruit salads are the most suitable alternatives and must be incorporated in our daily diets for a boost of health.

Why Do Doughnuts Have a Hole at the Centre?

They are soft, spongy, and they mostly come with their characteristic hole at the centre. All of us at some point in time must have wondered about the hole in the doughnut. Why would the makers of the delicacy want to keep us away from a chunk of goodness from a whole doughnut? Turns out that it was a deliberate move by a certain American sailor way back in the 19th century. And we all have much to thank him for the novel idea.

The most popular theory behind the hole in the doughnut is credited to Captain Hanson Gregory, a native of Maine and a sailor on the American shores. Incidentally, the original doughnuts were whole pieces of sweetened flour dough, fried deep in oil, and were referred to as fried cakes. The ‘cakes’ were shaped into rounds, diamonds, and also as long strips, bent in half, and then twisted (called twisters). When the cakes were fried, they used to turn up fine around the edges, but in the middle the dough would remain raw.

This raw dough got Captain Gregory thinking, and he came up with a novel idea for the even cooking of these cakes, which was to get rid of the centre completely. 

As the cruise got over, he went back home and showed his mother how to cook the doughnuts in the new style he just discovered. For his later voyages, she made the doughnuts the way he had showed her, and thereon it got popular with others. Soon no one made the doughnuts in any other way than the way he had designed.

An outlandish theory also suggests that Gregory was a man who loved his doughnuts  as much as his sails. The theory goes on to state that Gregory needed both hands to steer his ship during a storm, so he skewered some of the fried cakes on the spokes of the ship's wheel so that he didn’t have to miss out on his beloved doughnuts even in the midst of a hailstorm. The theory was put to rest as soon as Gregory himself went on record in 1916 and confirmed the first theory.

In Rockport, ME, one can find a plaque inscribed with the following: "In commemmoration. This is the birthplace of Captain Hanson Gregory, who first invented the hole in the doughnut in 1847. Erected by his friends, Nov. 2, 1947."

Some Historians also claim that the doughnut hole was in fact a Dutch discovery in the U.S,  that the Pennsylvania Dutch cut the centres to ensure even frying and easier dunking. 

While the ease in even frying of the doughnuts seem to be a plausible theory, the theory of adapting to the doughnuts with a hole can also be linked with the rising popularity of bagels, which were frequently sold on sticks on the Lower East Side of New York City. The hole-y doughnuts cashed in on the success of the street side popularity of the fried bagels and carved a niche for themselves on the streets of New York, and now the whole world.

Salad Packages Recalled After Finding a Dead Bat!

On April 8, 2017, Fresh Express issued a recall of a limited number of cases of Organic Marketside Spring Mix in Florida after two people allegedly found a dead bat inside the salad package. Fresh Express is a popular producer and distributor of fresh, packaged salads made with healthy and organic ingredients in the United States. As per the statement issued by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, at least two people consumed a part of the salad in which the dead animal was found.

The salad package has been recovered and the dead bat has been sent to the CDC laboratory to test for rabies. The salad was purchased from a grocery store in Florida 

Experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are working along with the Florida Department of Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate the matter. This particular salad was only distributed to Walmart stores located in the South-eastern region of the United States. It was distributed across the states of Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. All the other packages of this salad have been removed from the stores in every city but no other such episodes of contamination have been reported yet. 

The two people who consumed a part of the salad before finding the dead bat are being evaluated by health officials and have been recommended to begin post-exposure rabies treatment. They are, reportedly, in good health and haven’t showed any signs of disease or poisoning. 

The other consumers who may have bought the particular salad and not consumed it have been asked to discard it. Fresh Express has offered a full refund to all of them. In its statement, the CDC has assured that people who have eaten the salad and not found any animal material were not at risk. It has requested anyone who ate the salad and found animal material to contact their health department immediately. 

How to be healthy

With depression, cancer, menopause, and other ailments, I take my health very seriously and never take it for granted. I know firsthand the pain and the nightmares of both the body and the mind. Although it took awhile, I’ve learned that I am ultimately in control of my health. Therefore, health has to be top priority.

Health is not just about our external body. It’s the care and the balance of our whole being, which includes our body, mind, and soul. How you take care of your body and mind now can greatly influence the length and the quality for the rest of your life. It can also prevent, decrease and minimize medical and mental issues, reduce pain, and prolong how good you look and feel every day.

Today, health has become incredibly confusing with conflicting studies, information, and manipulative companies out to use it for profit. I had to rummage and detangle all the mess in order to save my own health. It wasn’t easy, but I managed to seek the truth in order to stay alive and thrive. Once you learn how to do health, it can sustain you on a daily basis for the rest of your life, and pass it on to your friends, children and future generations.

Come and learn how to be healthy. There’s nothing more fundamental and crucial. This program is what I developed and practice on a daily basis for my own health and survival. It helps me with all my medical and mental issues, anxiety, depression, as well as enhance my physical and emotional well being all around.

Health is also the greatest gift you can give to yourself and your loved ones, because when you’re healthy physically and emotionally, you can care for others, not be a burden, and pursue your dreams, and enjoy life more.

What is Food Therapy?

Food therapy is a program I developed initially for my own survival; to combat cancer, depression, menopause, stress, and other health, mental, and daily issues, through powerful eating and cooking.

Eventually, FT turned out to be my life savior and it improved all aspects of my life in a positive and rewarding way, not to mention save my life. Eventually I shared the program with my family, friends, clients & students, and educated them about using powerful food to prevent medical and mental diseases, heal from harsh treatments, improve mental balance, and even increase self-esteem. When your body feels strong and healthy, your attitude and outlook will be positive and hopeful.

We are in a health epidemic!

Straying far from our natural diet and relying on heavily processed food is causing allergies, hormonal imbalance, diseases, premature death, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, just to mention a few. Unhealthy eating is also increasing mental health symptoms and lowering our quality of life. But all this can be fixed through FT’s healthy eating, and you can use this for a lifetime and pass it onto your children and future generation.

Let me show you what and how I eat everyday to not only survive, but to enjoy incredibly culinary feast that seems to be limitless. 

11 Powerful Superfoods for Diabetes

11 Powerful Superfoods for Diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic disease where your diet plays an important role. In fact, regulating and controlling your diet can improve your body’s repose to insulin and help in managing the ailment in the long run. The good thing is that the best foods for diabetes are simple every day staples and not some exotic ingredients. A healthy meal plan for a diabetic should include the following: high fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, lean protein and fresh fruits and veggies.

We asked Dr. Sanjay Kalra, Consultant Endocrinologist at Bharti Hospital Karnal, to help us out here. “A diet that is low in carbohydrates

and calories and naturally rich in nutrients with healthy fats in moderation is ideal for a person with diabetes,” he says. However, keeping a tab on your eating habits does not necessarily mean that you should live a life of deprivation. Managing diabetes is all about making some adjustments in terms of what you eat, how much you eat and when you eat. Here are some superfoods that can help you fight diabetes effectively.

1. Beetroot

Beetroots are not only delicious and satisfying but also low on the carbohydrate content. They are also a rich source of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytonutrients – all of which help in managing diabetes. When consumed the natural sugars in beetroot don’t get converted into glucose in the body too quickly which makes them good for diabetics. Beetroots are also high in a type of antioxidant called lipoic acid which protects your cells from the damage caused by aging.

2. Tomatoes

Rich in lycopene, tomatoes are great for your heart. They also reduce blood pressure and the risk of heart complications associated with diabetes. Tomatoes are packed with Vitamin C, Vitamin A and potassium. They are low-carb and also low in calories which make them a superfood for diabetics.

3. Pumpkin Seeds

Keep a handful of pumpkin seeds

with you to fight cravings for fatty and sugary foods. They are rich in iron and unsaturated fats and help in suppressing your appetite. When it comes to snacking, always remember that the key is portion control.

4. Flaxseed

Flaxseed contains large amounts of an insoluble fibre called lignan. Flaxseeds help in reducing the chances of heart complications and also the risk of strokes linked with diabetes. It regulates blood sugar levels in the body and improves gut health and insulin sensitivity.

5. Mixed nuts

Nuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and have low glycemic index scores. The essential oils and overall nutrient content of nuts helps in reducing diabetic inflammation, blood sugar, and LDL (bad cholesterol) levels. A handful of nuts or roughly 30 grams consumed daily is good for your overall health. Nuts can be a good substitute for carbs.

6. Whole grains

Whole grains like barley and oats are full of fibre which digests slowly to keep you blood sugar from spiking suddenly. Consuming whole grains regularly helps in preventing weight gain which is a big risk factor for diabetes. They are excellent sources of vitamin B, iron, and minerals. They also help in keeping the digestive system healthy, reducing LDL cholesterol and stabilizing blood sugar levels.

7. Bitter gourd

Bitter gourd contains active substances that lend anti-diabetic properties like charantin which is known for its blood glucose-lowering effect and an insulin-like compound known as polypeptide-p. The best way to consume it is to have fresh bitter gourd juice early morning on an empty stomach. You can add a piece of amla or Indian gooseberry to get you dose of Vitamin C  for stronger immunity.

 8. Jamun

Jamun is one of the best super fruits for diabetics. Consumption of jamun is known to improve insulin activity and sensitivity. In Ayurveda, jamun is used for treating digestive disorders and jamun seed powder is touted as a great home remedy for controlling high blood sugar levels. Jamun has a low glycemic indexand helps to convert starch into energy keeping your blood sugar levels in check.

9. Fenugreek

Methi seeds and methi leaves are both superfoods for diabetes. They contain fiber and help in slowing the digestion process and thus regulate the absorption of carbohydrates and sugars in the body.  They improve glucose tolerance and also lower bad cholesterol levels. Methi seeds can be soaked overnight can the 'methi ka paani'

should be consumed early morning on an empty stomach for good health.

 10. Guava

Guava has a low glycemic index score and is very rich in dietary fiber that helping in treating constipation which is a common complaint people with diabetes have. Some studies indicate that guava may help slow down sugar absorption in your body. It serves as a great mid-meal snack.

11. Turmeric

Turmeric is considered to be a great Ayurvedic superfood for diabetes. It can be an effective herbal way to control blood sugar. It regulates the functions of the pancreas and balances the insulin levels in the body.

In his book, 'Ayurvedic Home Remedies', Dr. Vasant Lad suggests that diabetics should follow the kapha-pacifying diet and especially avoid excess intake of sugar, carbohydrates and dairy products. Instead, they should take more fresh vegetables and bitter herbs.

Amazing Skipping Benefits

How you use this basic tool can help you a great deal in staying fitFitness experts suggest including skipping in one’s fitness regimeSkipping is the best and the most simple way to burn calories

Remember those neon-hued ropes we used to play with, rather hop around with back in our childhood days? That was a time when we could eat an entire heap of pancakes, a whole pizza or a cheesy burger and not put on even an inch of fat. All that bouncing around always ensured that we were burning those extra calories.

It may be just a rope, but the fact is, how you use this basic tool can help a great deal in keeping you fit. Fitness experts often suggest including skipping in one’s daily fitness regime, and of course teaming it up with other exercises. There are many individuals who lean towards skipping than running. If you look at it, it’s simple, easy and a whole lot of fun, plus you get to burn a lot of calories while you are at it. According to Shakti Kumar Yadav, Head Trainer at Gold's Gym, Delhi, “10 minutes of skipping burns more calories than 45 minutes of running.”

Dr. Amal Ghosh, Clinical Tutor (Rtd) of N.R.S. Hospital in Kolkata says, “skipping is one of the best and most effortless approach to shed that additional fat in your body. It also helps in improving your heart rate.”

There are many ways you can use a skipping rope, either on your own or with a bunch of your friends, to exercise. The most essential way is when a solitary member uses it to hop. Then there’s ‘long rope’, which includes at least three members, two of whom turn the rope while one or more people bounce with it. The most troublesome variant, frequently called Double Dutch, additionally includes three or more members, and utilises two ropes turned as a part of inverse headings. Back in the days, rhymes were frequently chanted during this activity. 

What is CrossFit Training?

What do we know about CrossFit? It's a gruelling workout regime that compels you to stretch your limits and push yourself to new heights. Sledge hammers, monkey bars, workout bands and dumbbells - they soon become more than just workout tools. CrossFit is a core strength and conditioning programme based on functional movements which reflect the best aspects of gymnastics, weightlifting, running, rowing and more. The actual workout is just about 20 minutes long but it maximises the amount of work done in the shortest time.

With over 13,000 centres just in the United States, CrossFit promotes a sense of community; one where those obsessed with fitness can observe and measure results of rigorous and consistent workouts. But it isn't just limited to daily fitness levels; CrossFit prepares trainees for any kind of physical contingency. BodyPower met with James Shields, director of the Athlete Centre in Oxford, who offers Crossfit trainings as well as many other workouts

, allowing you to become a better and fitter you.

In every CrossFit centre, you'll find a white board with a whole lot of fitness jargons - 3 reps of 50 squats, 2 reps of pull ups, etc. Don't let this intimidate you. It's not just the numbers or reps aka repetitions that'll propel you towards fitness, it's the posture and the technique you apply while doing these exercises.

BodyPower asked James to give a quick run through of the various terms used in a CrossFit class.

Does CrossFit work you down to the bone? Well, yes. But it also helps you reform your fitness levels remarkably. If you're planning to sign up for CrossFit, get ready to push yourself instead of slowing down.

Effective Workouts to Burn Calories

An hour of workout is important daily to be fit and healthy in our busy routine. It takes a lot to figure out which form of workout is the most beneficial and impactful for one’s body. One of the main reasons to workout is to be in shape and burn calories. However, most of us try and work on them without the guidance of a trainer or an instructor. One should know whether the form of workout picked helps in losing weight or not, or being carried out in the right manner. There are a lot of workouts that can be done at home and have resulted positively, however, workouts like kettle bell, yoga and others are recommended to be down under a trainer.

Exercising is a must because it results in a healthy and fitter body, besides releasing those happy hormones to keep you active. Here are some workout forms which are best to burn calories but one might have to be patient to see better and effective results.

Without any particular techniques to follow, walking is one of the easiest and effective ways to burn calories. One requires dedication and discipline to make sure that he or she is walking everyday for a certain amount of time. You can increase the minutes of walking once you have developed stamina. Patience is the key here. Although walking doesn't give immediate results, it gives effective and long term results.

walking

Walking is one of the easiest ways to burn calories. Photo Credits: iStock

Kettlebell workout has proven to be one of the best forms of exercise using just one equipment. It doesn't just burn calories, but also helps you lose weight in a short duration and develop strength. One should use kettle bell under someone’s supervision because of the breathing techniques that have to be followed to perform it correctly and ensure that it doesn't result in back pain or any other injury.

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With our housekeeping services, you’ll receive consistent and professional quality house cleaning service from the same Nuza Cleaning Personnel who will come to your home for all of your regularly scheduled cleanings. Our housekeepers will focus on providing detailed cleaning for all agreed upon areas of your house. Don’t wait up and make a service inquiry today.

Acupunctural treatment of acute ichaemic coronary heart disease

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the major causes of death in the whole world. Angina pectoris and myocardial infarction are expressions of CAD. Angina is a symptom complex that results from myocardial ischemia; most commonly caused by narrowing of the coronary arteries. Angina is usually precipitated by exertion, nevertheless, angina variant may also occur at rest. Symptoms typically resolve within minutes with rest or after taking prescribed antianginal medications. In myocardial infarction (MI) there is a necrosis of the myocardium owing to an inadequate supply of oxygen. The syndrome is usually caused by a sudden and complete, or nearly complete, blockage of at least one major epicardial coronary artery. According to traditional Chinese medicine, the aetiology of those disorders could be deficiency of yin and yang in general, Kidney yang deficiency is not able to warm the yang of zang and could appear deficiency of Heart. There are different ways that lead to deficiency and stagnation of qi ofn Heart. Acupuncture and moxibustión have helped in the recovery of that kind of disease.

Case Study

A 58-years-old male patient with a history of CAD, a myocardial infarction 8 month ago, suffered an acute onset of substernal chest pain during rest, weakness, profuse sweating and coldness of extremities. On physical examination there was pallor of face, lips, blood pressure in 60/40 mm Hg, and pulse deep, filiform, almost imperceptible, irregular, rapid, frequency of 125 par seconds. An electrocardiogram was performed as urgency and ST segment depression in the leads V2, V3, V4 V5, and biphasic T wave abnormalities were founded. While the action to refer immediately the patient to the emergency department was executed, acupuncture was applied. The unbalance was considered as a stagnation of Heart Qi, with sinking of Qi and Deficiency of Kidney Qi.

Treatment

The general strategy was to tonify yang qi and to promote free circulation of qi and blood, relieve the stagnation in zang Heart, and tonify Kidney. Acupuncture was then applied at Neiguan P-6 and Renzhong DU-26, slow manipulation, clock wise, needles during 20 minutes, manipulation each 5 minutes. It was practiced Qigong emission at Shanzhong REN-17, Guanyuan REN-4 and Qihai REN-6.

Result

15 minutes after starting the treatment with at Neiguan P-6 and Renzhong DU-26, the paleness star to disappear, the sweatiness stopped, the temperature became better, he recover from the confusional state and chest pain was then released.  25 minutes later the patient was clinical recovered, the electrocardiogram shows recovery of ST segment, normal T wave, but the blood pressure was 80/40 mm de Hg and the pulse was 120 pulses per minute. In the way to the intensive care unit Qigong was practiced in Tanzong (CV 17) without results on blood pressure or pulse, then the emission was performed at Guanyuan(CV 4), Qihai(CV 6), and 3 minutes later the pulse became 88 per minutes and the blood pressure 120/ 80 mm de Hg. When he was examined at care unit there were not signs or symptoms of acute coronary disease. Two weeks later the patients remains without symptoms and following the recommendation for care the balance of the body.

Comments

In this case acupunctural treatment was performed at the beginning of the intervention, just after the electrocardiogram. The recognition of the unbalance was crucial for the favourable evolution of the patient.  

In this case Neiguan P-6 was consider because his actions as a point of Pericardium Channel, as collateral and because it is the point of opening the extraordinary vessel  Yin wei mai which regulate the interior.

Acupuncture treatment of peripheral facial nerve palsy

Peripheral Facial Nerve Palsy is an inflammatory neuropathy. Patients can have a viral prodrome. Although it is not universally accepted, some authors consider that idiopathic facial nerve palsy is a polyneuropathy, with slight findings referable to the trigeminal, glossopharyngeal, and vagus nerves, and the second cervical nerve in a significant part of patients. Overall, 45% of patients improved within 3 weeks, and 94% with incomplete paralysis eventually have complete recovery. Patients with partial paralysis and no denervation can recover in 4 to 6 weeks. With partial denervation, recovery is possible to be maximal at 12 weeks. If a patient does not recover fully within 3 months, complete remission is unlikely. According to the traditional chinese medicine the Peripheral Facial Nerve Palsy is derived from invasion of the channels and collaterals on Yangming and Shaoyang in facial region by exogenous pathogenic wind and cold, which leads to malnutrition of muscle regions of channels.

Case history

An 35-years-old female patient with sudden onset of peripheral facial nerve palsy of the right side was admitted in our department of traditional chinese medicine after de 4th day of starting the symptoms. In the evaluation, she complain  about a headache on frontal region irradiated to occipital area, persistent, intense, which start 5 days to 2 days before de onset. The movements of the affected side of the face were lost: voluntary, associated, and emotional. The right side was immobile and expressionless, the nasolabial fold was erased, and the mouth was drawn toward the left side. The eyebrow was elevated , The palpebral fissure was widened on the affected. When patients tried to shut their eyes, the lids of the right side remained open, and the eyeball rotates up. Tears tend to flow over the lower lid. The lips couldn’t be pursed; the cheek puffed out with respiration and she said that food tended to collect between the gums and cheek. She felt numbness on the affected side of the face. She suffered insomnia since the beginning of the palsy characterized by to wake up during the night 3 to 4 hours after starting sleeping and difficult on falling asleep again. On physical examination we found pale, purple and swollen tongue with tooth prints; rolling pulse. According to the bioenergetic diagnostic, the unbalance was considered as an obstruction of channel and collaterals due to an attack and invasion by exogenous pathogenic wind and damp of the channels and collaterals on Yangming and Shaoyang in facial region; deficiency of Spleen’s Qi and Stagnant Qi of Liver.

Treatment

The general strategy was to eliminate wind and damp of channels and collaterals of Yang Ming and Shaoyang; to promote the circulation of Qi and Xue, to tonify Spleen and Stomach. We harmonized the Qi of Liver and Gallbladder and tonified the Lung. Acupuncture was applied first in Chengqiang REN-24 and Renzhong DU-26, then it was tonified in the healthy side and we dispersed in the affected side on points: Dicang Neiting ST-44, Daying ST-5, Jiache ST-6, Xiaguan ST-7, Touwei ST-8, Quanliao SI-18, Yangbai GB-14, Yuyao (M-HN-6), Yingxiang L.I.-20, Jingming BL-1, Fengchi GB-20. Other points were Hegu L.I.-4, Tianfu LU-3, Sanyinjiao SP-6, Taibai SP-3, Zusanli ST-36. Laserpuncture were then applied in Quchi L.I.-11, Shenshu BL-23, Pishu BL-20, 1 min. 10 mW, red laser on each point. We applied the treatment daily, 12 sessions with needles and laser, and tuina massage daily since the session 13 to 17, and then the treatment end. She received also instruction for voluntary facial exercises for the muscles implicated.

Result

The same day of starting treatment, numbness on the affected side of the face disappeared and she was able to sleep 7 hours without awakening. The second day it was observed increase of tonus in the cheek; when patients tried to shut their eyes, the lids of the affected side start to close, and she start to sleep 8 hour daily without interruptions. At 3rd day the nasolabial fold starts to recover and when sleeping the family noticed she could close the eye of the affected side. The 7th day, she had recovered nasolabial fold, the occlusion eyes and the movements of the affected side. At 11th day, she blow without difficult; she had recovered the expression of the affected side and can sleep without problem.

A case of severe depression and agarophobia treated by acupuncture

L.K. is a 65 yr old divorced female who lives with her 30 yr old son. She complains of depression and emotional issues since 2005. She is presently being treated by a medical doctor for a thyroid condition. She is a nonsmoker and denies alcohol consumption, but admits to wanting a drink to help her get through her day. She uses marijuana to aid her depression, but did not report the frequency of use. Current medications include Lexapro and Cytomel, as well as a multi vitamin, fish oil, vitamin D and calcium. General health concerns include poor appetite, insomnia, poor sleep, fatigue, chills, cold feet, poor concentration, cravings, odd tastes, and she sweats easily. She complains of ringing in her ears, poor hearing, teeth problems, sores on her lips and tongue, sinus problems, night blindness, and admits to teeth grinding at night. Her eyes feel heavy, and she has pain in her fingers of unknown origin, which she reports at about a 6. She takes no medication for this pain and it is not under control. Her hands feel hot, and the pain is sharp, short term in duration, and extends from the proximal joints to the finger tips. She reports that her bowels vary from constipation to diarrhea.

She reported several very traumatic events in her life—her son was in a coma for one month following a MVA (motor vehicle accident) and continues to suffer from TBI (traumatic brain injury); his best friend died in the same accident. Additionally, she cares for her son who suffers as well from PTSD. The accident occurred when he was 16. He is now 30. She also went through a messy divorce, and still has no desire to date. She has few if any friends. She considers herself religious, but does not attend any church due to her agoraphobia.

Her major concern was depression and agoraphobia. She is afraid to go out, and it takes her 2-3 days to get up the courage to go to the grocery store. She cries most days and returns to bed after breakfast, liking to curl up on her side. She describes herself as clumsy, impatient, and irritable. She sought me out for acupuncture, as she had tried it for depression about 20 years ago and felt it was successful.

When I examined her, I noticed numerous skin tags, otherwise there was nothing remarkable. Her tongue was a light crimson, with a distinctive blue stripe down the center, and scalloped. Her pulse on the left wrist was muffled at the distal position, soft in the middle position, and hidden at the proximal position. The right wrist was soft, choppy and tight in the spleen, and thin in the proximal position.

When we discussed her diet, I discovered that she did not eat sometimes for days, and had absolutely no appetite. Occasionally she drank coffee and perhaps had a slice of toast. There was no mention of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, or water. However, she was of normal weight. She had modest muscle tone.

I diagnosed her as Kidney Yang deficient, with lack of communication between Heart and Kidney, resulting in Phlegm misting the Heart. Basic acupuncture treatments revolved around : Neiguan P-6,Gongsun SP-4,Baihui DU-20,Yintang (M-HN-3), ear points Zero Point, Shen Men and Liver, with additions of BaXie for finger pain. Moxa was used on Qihai REN-6, as well as Shuifen REN-9 to Zhongwan REN-12 on various visits to boost appetite and improve digestion. I found Daimai GB-26 along with Zero Point to be helpful in integrating mind/body connection, and in settling the mind. Back shu points along with pedal Bladder points (Kunlun BL-60, Shenmai BL-62, Jinggu BL-64) were employed to utilize internal Qi and bring it to the surface.

By the third visit, she reported better sleep, and an improved appetite. Her craving for sweets diminished as well. Her foggy head was beginning to clear. By the fourth visit her depression was virtually gone, as well as the agoraphobia. She reported feeling hungry for the first time in years, and her finger pain resolved by the eighth visit. The patient is now on maintenance treatments monthly.

MODERN HUMANS WITH AGE-OLD PHYSIOLOGIES

We are modern humans. We can work and play throughout the night in 24-hour cities, travel between time zones, and behave as though the great yinyang cycles of day and night, summer and winter, barely impact on us.

Yet the evidence grows that our physiology is ancient and that this apparent modernity is just a thin skin over our long evolutionary past.

The latest finding is that a change as simple as putting the clocks forward by one hour (daylight saving time) contributes to significantly higher miscarriage rates among women undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

The article (published in Chronobiology International: The Journal of Biological and Medical Rhythm Research) found that women who had previously suffered a miscarriage, were much more likely to miscarry if implantation occurred within a 21-day period after the clock change, compared to other times of the year.

This seemingly small alteration in sleep patterns has previously been shown to have other negative health effects, for example increasing the rate of heart attacks, strokes and motor vehicle accidents.

The harmful effects of much greater sleep disruption are well known. We are all dependent on night workers – in hospitals, power stations, the emergency services and so on. Yet while working nights may suit some people more than others and is sustainable for moderate periods of time, there is evidence that prolonged night work can be harmful. Studies have shown that long-term it is associated with an increased risk of various diseases including breast cancer, heart attack, ischaemic stroke and ovarian cancer.

Emotions and heart disease

Chinese medicine has taught for over two thousand years that excessive or prolonged emotions can cause real and lasting harm to the mind and body.

One of the most challenging to understand is the emotion they called ‘joy’. For example, the 2000-year old Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine warned that, “Joy harms the heart”.

It is clear from other passages in this book (commonly considered the ‘bible’ of early Chinese medicine) that what is being referred to is not joy in the sense of quiet contentment, but rather joy in the sense of excitement or over-excitement.

The renowned Dr John Shen in London once told an old story of a famous doctor who observed the winner of the Imperial Examinations (China was an extraordinarily meritocratic society – in theory anyone could sit the exams and gain high office, fame and wealth if they succeeded) passing through the crowd on horseback, receiving the adulation of the crowd. The doctor scrutinised his face and rushed up to him. He told the candidate that his mother was dying and he had to go to her immediately. The young man set off straight away on the two-week journey to his mother’s village but when he got there, he found her hale and hearty. Returning to the city he sought out the doctor and berated him. The doctor replied, “Using my facial diagnosis skills I observed that the joy of gaining such high status was putting your heart and your life at risk. I had to act quickly to dissipate the joy.”

The accuracy of the observation that joy can harm the heart has now been confirmed by a Swiss study into the causes of takotsubo cardiomyopathy – a change in the shape of the left ventricle of the heart. The condition presents with chest pains and breathlessness which may lead to fatal heart attacks, although it is usually temporary and without severe consequences. In a study of 1750 patients, the study found that the condition could be caused by joyful events such as a birthday party, a son’s wedding, meeting a friend after 50 years, becoming a grandmother, a favoured rugby team winning a game, winning a casino jackpot, or having a CT scan which gave the all-clear on another condition.

Of course it was not only happy or joyful emotions that triggered this condition. The researchers found that the great majority of cases were triggered by negative emotions such as episodes of grief, anger or fear.

The negative effect of emotions on the heart was also revealed in another recent study. It was found that higher activity in a brain region known as the amygdala increased the likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease. The amygdala processes emotions such as fear and anger. They suggest that the amygdala signals the bone marrow to produce more white blood cells which then act on the arteries and cause them to become inflamed – increasing the risk of heart attacks, angina and strokes. They say that stress should be considered as just as important a risk factor for heart disease as smoking and high blood pressure.

Once more, this underlies the Chinese health preservation teachings that we should maintain a calm and steady emotional state and train ourselves (though practices such as meditation) not to be carried away by intense emotion.

Why do we get ill?

Once we understand that our lifestyle and behaviour have a big impact on our health and wellbeing, it’s easy to slip into thinking they are the only factors.

This can have negative consequences since we can then start casting blame when illness develops, even if it’s unrelated to anything that we or others do or fail to do.

So it’s helpful to be reminded of two other major factors that affect our chances of being well and leading a long healthy life – our inherited constitution and the good or bad fortune we encounter.

As far as constitution is concerned this was recognised up to 2500 years ago in Chinese medicine.

It was understood that people could be born with innately strong or weak constitutions and this would affect their physical and emotional resilience, resistance to disease, stamina and longevity. Constitutional vigour could be recognised by a number of signs but one of the most important was the longevity of one’s parents and grandparents.

This has been confirmed by a slew of research conducted over the past hundred years or so.

This blog, in fact, is triggered by a new finding presented at a US conference of Clinical Endocrinologists – that cardiovascular disease (the world’s biggest killer) is lower in adults whose parents lived to at least 95 years of age. The offspring of these especially long-lived people had less high blood pressure, coronary artery disease or strokes.

Although previous studies have come up with similar results, what was special about this piece of research is that it took particular care to allow for lifestyle factors such as diet, obesity, exercise and socioeconomic status.

The second factor determining lifelong health is luck and its powerful effects cannot be underestimated. Children born to poor families, children who do not receive loving care, children who encounter war and hardship and fear – all are likely to have lives impaired or cut short by illness. And bad luck in the form of unique genetic inheritance (making us prone to specific diseases), encounters with accidents, wars, environmental toxins, economic hardship and much more – all these will impact on health and wellbeing.

The good news, however, is that what the Chinese call ‘nourishment of life’ – the cultivation of our mind and emotions, diet, exercise, sleep and more – can counter to varying degrees the disadvantages of poor constitutional inheritance and bad fortune.

The world of yoga offers an inspiring example. BKS Iyengar, who died in 2014 at the age of 96, was a sickly and weak child of a poor family. He suffered from malaria, tuberculosis, typhoid fever and malnutrition. Yet through the dedicated practice of yoga his transformed his fate and health and became one of the most famous and influential yoga teachers in the world.

Let’s campaign against pesticides and save the natural world.

Two things happened to me yesterday. My daughter gave birth to the most beautiful baby girl, and I went to see Professor Dave Goulson give a talk on pesticides and their effects on wild bee populations.

The two events are connected. The truth about the state of nature is deeply painful to hear. The world that my new grand-daughter is likely to have to live in will be very different from the one we do, or rather the one we used to.

We humans are simply wiping out life on earth. The population of farmland birds and wild animals of all kinds has declined by half in the past few decades and the holocaust continues. We are living through what is known as the sixth great extinction – the only one not caused by unavoidable climatic events, for this is an extinction of our own making.

The decline of wild bees, other pollinators and insects is even more severe than the general destruction of animals. Some species have been wiped out entirely. There are a number of factors involved, including modern farming’s transition to vast monoculture flatlands with no ecological diversity, but the use of pesticides is probably the main culprit.

Dave Goulson’s own research found that a single crop of oilseed rape (canola) grown in the area where I live in East Sussex, was treated with 22 different pesticides, fungicides and insecticides in a single growing season. These interact with each other, becoming synergistically more harmful (note they are only tested individually for safety). They not only poison insects (and the birds that feed on them) within the field, but the majority (up to 95%) spreads into surrounding hedgerow plants and water courses – decimating insects and aquatic creatures.

There is compelling evidence that this reckless use of life-destroying chemicals serves little purpose. Dave Goulson offered evidence that pesticides are generally ineffective in increasing crop yields. Given that we waste a third of all food grown, organic agriculture could easily feed the world, while sequestering vast amounts of carbon at the same time.

Every single species found on earth is a miracle of evolutionary development and thus unique and beautiful. The wiping out of even one is a crime and a tragedy. Yet when it comes to pollinating insects, the results hit very close to home, since we would lose one third of all our food crops  if wild bees continue on the path to extinction.

It’s hard not to despair, but for the sake of present and future generations we must transition from despair to =anger, and anger to action. So here are some actions we can take:

The healthiest diet in the world?

Something strange has happened in the fevered world of dietary debate over the last few years. Cereal grains, which we rely on for around 50% of our calories wordwide, have been deemed harmful – and even poisonous – by advocates of diets such as the fashionable Paleolithic diet. They argue that the advent of farming (and therefore cereal cultivation) around ten thousand years ago marked a low point in human development and that the many tens of thousands of years before that – during which we depended on a hunter-gatherer diet – mean we are evolutionarily ill-adapted to cereal grains and that they are an important cause of the epidemic of obesity, diabetes and other chronic non-infectious diseases that blight most societies.

At the same time, they say, fats (including saturated fat) have been unfairly blamed for causing heart and artery disease and that most of us should be eating much more fat in general.

The arguments about the harms and benefits of the transition to settled agriculture and its social, economic, political and health consequences, go on endlessly and are too lengthy for this short blog. I would only say that in the Chinese tradition, the legendary Emperor Shen Nong (the Divine Husbandman) who is credited with inventing agriculture, is revered for this gift – one that enabled the development of Chinese civilisation itself. We Cut Grasses – an ancient poem from The Book of Songs (15th to 6th centuries BCE) beautifully expresses this feeling: “We sow the hundred grains, those seeds so quick with life, they sprout in no time at all and rise up sturdy and tall, rise sturdy and lush and tall, weeded over and over again until we harvest such plenty, such rich plenty staking up a thousand million and more and more …”.

A recent study has thrown interesting light on the cereal and fat health debate. Featured on the BBC news website under the heading ‘Healthiest hearts in the world found’, it reported that the Tsimane people who live in the forests of Bolivia, show remarkably few signs of cardiovascular disease – even well into old age (by which time 80% of Americans show obstruction by coronary artery calcium). What is interesting about their diet is that they straddle the hunter-gatherer and farming lifestyles. The rice, maize and manioc they grow make up an astonishing 72% of their daily calories (compared to 52% carbohydrate consumption in the USA). The rest of their diet is composed of wild game (17%) and freshwater fish (7%), topped up with foraged fruit and nuts. Total fat consumption is 14% compared to 34% in the USA.

Of course their lifestyle as a whole plays a part. They are physically active (averaging around 16,000 steps a day), have strong social bonds and – interestingly – a high incidence of intestinal worms which are known to dampen down inflammatory immune reactions in the body.

The findings of this study are backed up by the fact that the Japanese have the highest life expectancy of any nation on earth. Once again, various factors are likely to be involved, but as far as diet is concerned it is built on a foundation of large amounts of rice and noodles (what and buckwheat) and relatively little saturated fat.

I am a great believer in the idea that precious human knowledge and wisdom is passed on – generation after generation, and we should always start considering optimum diets by looking at our ancestors. Nearly every traditional diet in the world is built on cereal grains and grasses (rice, wheat, oats, maize, barley, rye, buckwheat, quinoa etc.), while high quantities of fat and animal protein were (in most places) the preserve of the wealthy who were commonly thought to suffer form their overly rich diets. They were also much likelier to eat refined grains such as white rice and white flour.

So the evidence seems still to be in favour of relatively simple diets based on (preferably whole) cereal grains, accompanied by copious vegetables, pulses (beans/peas), fruits, nuts, seeds etc. and varying amounts of animal food (dependent on personal and ethical preference, climate, age, kind of work engaged in etc.).

Finally, it is blindingly obvious (but often missed by diet researchers) that whilst a bowl of brown rice and a Dunkin Donut are both carbohydrates, there is a world of difference between them.