Flax seeds: No More Fishy Smell

Good news for those who hate cod but do not want to be denied of the cardiac health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids that are mostly found in fish. For those who are strictly vegetarian, a very good option instead of fish is flax seeds. Flax seeds, also known as linseed, are tiny seeds endorsed with the goodness of fats similar to those found in fish.

The reason behind its heart healthy benefits is its high content of alpha linolenic acid – precursor of omega-3 fatty acids, an essential fatty acid, phytoestogens (lignin) and fiber. Omega-3 fatty acids are the fats present in fish that makes it a heart-disease fighter. Flax seeds are also known as heart disease fighter. Flax seeds have the good fat that lowers the blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, decreases inflammation, balances immune system. It also keeps the blood platelets from becoming sticky, thereby reducing the risk of heart disease. Omega-3 fatty acids also improves brain function, provides protection from asthma, premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and certain types of cancers.

Apart from alpha linolenic acid, flax seed is also very rich in fiber and lignin. It contains both soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber lowers cholesterol levels and consequently lowers risk of heart disease and insoluble fiber helps to prevent constipation. Soluble and insoluble fiber both aid regular bowel movement. It is also gluten free and ideal for those with sensitive gastro-intestinal tracts.

Lignan is a phytoestrogen, which gets converted into compounds similar o estrogen on digestion. This helps to lower the risk of hormone-related cancers like breast cancers. Studies indicate the role of flax seeds in retardation of tumor growth in breast cancer patients to some extent. Due to its rich nutritional contents, flax seeds help to reduce risk of heart attack and stroke in people with atherosclerosis and diabetic heart disease, lowers blood pressure, lowers cholesterol levels and promotes relaxation and normal sleep patterns.

Flax seed oil is also very rich in omega-3 fatty acids but it is deficient in fibre and lignan. Omega-3 fatty acid content of one tablespoon flax seed oil is 6.6 gm and two tablespoon ground flax seed is 3.2 gm. Flax seed oil breaks down on eating, so do not heat the oil.

There is no clear recommendation but approximately 10-30 grams of ground flax seed daily is suggested. For flax seed oil, start with a small amount such as one teaspoon and slowly build up to two tablespoons in a week. People with bleeding disorders, type-2 diabetes, pregnant women and men at risk of prostate cancer should consult doctor before adding flax seed to diet.

Ways to include flax seeds in your diet:

• Sprinkle ground flax seed on your cereals and salads.
• Substitute flaxseed mixture for eggs in home baking such as muffins and pancakes (one tablespoon milled flax seed + three tablespoons of water = one egg). Final products will have less volume and taste gummier.
• Choose products added with flax seeds such as brown bread, cereal or baked goods.
• Include ground flaxseed in recipe when nutty flavor is preferred.
• Use flax seed oil for salad dressing.

Breast Cancer-free diet for women

Breast Cancer amongst women has become a major concern in these recent years. The rate at which it has been spreading among women is simply shocking. Researchers provide various causes like imbalanced diet, eating habits, lack of physical activity, deficiency or excess of food
nutrients, mental stress and anxiety, etc. However, here are few tips to lower the risk of breast-cancer.

• Vitamin D helps curb breast cancer. So help yourself with required level of vitamin D in your healthy diet to be less prone to cancer. Women deficient in vitamin D at the time of breast cancer diagnosis are more likely to die or see the tumor spread.

• Consuming garlic helps in killing the cancer cells. Always peel and chop and let it rest for 15 minutes before you heat. Heating right away doesn’t let the cancer fighting compounds develop.

• Eating a portion of spinach at least twice a week reduces the risk of cancer by half in comparison to women who avoid it. So, don’t neglect the intake of spinach from now!

• Women with Olive oil consumption are less prone to breast cancer. Commercial olive oil dressings are usually made with a mixture of oils. Make your own easy dressing with half olive oil and half balsamic vinegar.

• Choose whole grains instead of refined grains. Those who have refined grains have higher chances of breast cancer.

• Eating foods high in beta-carotene lowers rates of breast cancer. Baby carrots beta-carotene is 500% more absorbable than the one’s in regular carrots.

Preventing consumption of more than one alcoholic beverage reduces your risk of breast cancer. How about switching over to grapes instead of red wine?

Nuts to crack for nutrition

Weight gain is a common problem faced by most of the people all over the world. Weight gain can lead you to many diseases like cardiac problems and diabetes mellitus. Avoiding food or fasting is not an ultimate solution to weight gain. Selection of food can help you to reduce weight without any problem in the metabolic functions of the body. Nuts and seeds are the ideal food for people having problems with weight gain. Nuts and seeds can reduce your appetite as well as provide required nutrients to your body.

They will be more effective if consumed unsalted. Nuts can be included in many forms in your daily meal as snacks or as ingredients in salads, oatmeal and salmon fillets. Nut butter can be used as a spread on toasts. Crushed nuts are very tasty when mixed with yogurt, syrups etc. or can be added to cookies and cakes before baking. Nuts are a storage house of fats, proteins and vitamins that can help you to over come heart related problems.

Fatty acids found in many food materials we eat are responsible for the degradation of cell membrane resulting in swelling and infection in the body. These food stuffs contain trans-fatty acid and saturated fats which can weaken insulin functions resulting in type 2 diabetes mellitus. But nuts contain monounsaturated fats and omega 3 fatty acids which enhance cell membrane and its functions. Eating nuts can hence improve the production of insulin and reduce the risk of diabetes mellitus. Nuts like almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts and walnuts decrease the LDL cholesterol and control the total cholesterol level in the body. Including nuts in your diet can replace the harmful saturated fats with monounsaturated fats thereby reducing the risk of heart diseases to 45%.

Other benefits of eating nuts include:

• Nuts are rich in arginine, antioxidants and vitamin E that can reduce cholesterol levels.

• Nuts contain folic acids that can reduce homocysteine, which induces heart diseases.

• Magnesium, calcium and potassium in nuts reduce the blood pressure.

• Ellagic acid in nuts is anti-carcinogenic.

• Campesterol and beta-sitosterol can decrease the risk of prostate and breast cancers.

• Arginine in nuts increases immunity and reduces the risk of tumor growth.

• Magnesium can improve the blood flow.

Almonds contain fats, proteins and vitamins that can fight many diseases in your body. Almonds contain plant sterols and flavonoids like naringenin and catechin which are effective antioxidants. Almonds are rich source of magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, riboflavin, copper and vitamin E. Almonds helps to reduce body weight.

An almond rich diet can decrease waist, blood pressure, body fat and body mass index (BMI). Walnuts are rich in nutrients and are the main source of omega-3 fatty acids. This can reduce cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases, and even enhance cognitive function. Omega-3 fats supply nutrients to brain cells and enhance their growth. Omega-3 fats can also help to reduce disorders in sleeping, behavior and learning, commonly found in children.

Almonds to improve your digestive health

Almonds – rich in vitamin E and other minerals – are known to reduce cholesterol. But a new study says they are also good for digestive health. The nut, the study found, has ‘prebiotic’ properties and helps improve digestive health by boosting the numbers of beneficial gut bacteria.

The digestive system houses bacteria in the colon. These fuel their own growth and activity by feeding off prebiotics or non-digestible parts of foods. These ‘good’ bacteria also form part of the body’s defense against harmful bacteria and have a significant role in the development of body’s immune system.

This, however, requires that prebiotics get through the upper part of the intestine without being digested or absorbed by the body. Institute of Food Research (IFR) scientists first used the Model Gut – a physical and biochemical simulator of the gastro-intestinal tract – to subject almonds to the same conditions experienced in the stomach and small intestine.

They then added the digested almonds to an in-vitro batch system to mimic the bacterial fermentation in the large intestine and monitored its effect on the populations of intestinal bacteria. The study found that finely ground almonds significantly increased the levels of certain beneficial gut bacteria.

This effect was not seen when the fat content was removed from the almond preparation, suggesting that the beneficial bacteria use the almond lipid for growth, and this is the basis for the prebiotic effects of almonds. The findings of the study have been published in the latest issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

Know your cheese

Taleggio: Available in solid square or rectangular blocks, this cheese is made only from cow’s milk. The taste varies from mild to sharp, depending upon age. When it is young, it’s pale yellow and semi-firm. With age, the flavor gets more pronounced, the color deepens on the inside and it gets less firm. The orange pink rind is coated in mould and therefore it has a stronger taste.

Gorgonzola: This Italian cheese earns its name from a village which was once on the outskirts of Milan; it is now a suburb of the city. Made from pasteurized cow’s milk, it is ivory-colored with blue-green veins. Gorgonzola is sweeter and softer when it is young and is called Gorgonzola dolce. And as it ages, it becomes firm, crumbly and spicy and is called Gorgonzola Picante. The flavor comes out when paired with full-bodies red wines.

Castelmagno: This cylindrical cheese is a semi-fat cheese made primarily from cow’s milk, added to some sheep and goat milk. It has a delicate, savory flavor which becomes almost salty as it ages. The interior is crumbly and of pearl-white or yellow color. The rind is thin and reddish yellow, and becomes darker and more wrinkled with age.

Tip: When refrigerating cheese, wrap it in wax paper. This prevents it from drying, but allows it to breathe and develop its taste.

Why Vitamins and Minerals are essential?

Vitamins and minerals are nutrients that boost the immune system; support normal growth and development, and help cells and organs do their jobs. Vitamins do not supply the body with either energy or calories directly but they remain essential nutrients for the healthy maintenance of the cells, tissues, and organs. There are many types of vitamins which benefit your body depending on their properties.

I remember once when I had too many ulcers in my mouth and I showed to my doctor. He informed me that it was due to lack of vitaminB2 in my body. He also advised me to eat food which has high vitamin B2 content. Then, I found some interesting information on vitamins and to ensure that I have all kinds in my daily diet, I made a chart and stuck in my kitchen. This is how it looks:

VITAMIN	RICH FOOD SOURCES	HELPS BODY FUNCTIONS
VIT A	Carrots, spinach, milk, cheese, peaches, eggs, melon, apricot	Maintains eyes, skin, mucous membrane; prevents night blindness, promotes normal growth of bones
VIT C(ASCORBIC ACID)	Citrus fruits, potato, tomato, green vegetables	Promotes growth of skin, bones, teeth, tendons; prevents scurvy
VIT D	Milk, eggs	Essential for growth and maintenance of strong bones
VIT K	Green leafy vegetables, cauliflower, cereal, fruits	Maintains normal blood clotting
VIT E	Vegetable oils, eggs, margarine	Essential for blood functioning
VIT B1(THIAMIN)	Breads, cereals, legumes, leafy vegetables, nuts	Aids in transmission of nerve impulses and reactions providing energy
VIT B2(RIBOFLAVIN)	Milk, breads, cereals, green leafy vegetables	Promotes healthy skin, nerves & eyes, aids in release of energy
VIT B6(PYRIDOXINE)	Whole grain cereals, bananas, vegetables	Maintains nervous tissues, regenerates red blood cells
VIT B12	Dairy products	Required for proper functioning of all cells
VIT B3(NIACIN)	Grains, breads, nuts, vegetables	Helps convert food into energy
POLACIN	Leafy vegetables, eggs, legumes	Prevents blood disorders; helps body use proteins

Secrets for healthy diet:

With so many books and reading material available in the market for dieting, most people think that dieting is a difficult task with the prospect of eating dull, monotonous and insipid food like boiled vegetables and so on. There are so many other aspects to our eating culture.

I found some interesting notes to ensure good health.

• Drinking as much water as possible, about 2-3 litres a day will keep you away from dehydration. Don’t forget your body constitutes of nearly 70% water.
• Avoiding processed and preserved foods; instead eating more fresh and natural foods. The available ready to cook snacks being processed with preservatives and other chemicals lose their natural nutrients.
• Reducing the amount of sugar consumed and the cholesterol intake. A high level of blood cholesterol increases the risk of heart diseases.
• Keeping fat at a minimum, especially saturated fats. To reduce fat intake use low fat cooking methods like steaming, poaching or baking instead of frying.
• Limiting salt intake; using herbs and spices to reduce salt and bring out the flavors. Consuming a moderately reduced intake of sodium contributes to lowering blood pressure.

Immune your system against diseases

• We owe much to our body’s wonderful immune system for fighting off illness and keeping us in good health. Supporting our immune system through healthy dietary and lifestyle choices will help to boost it fighting power. Certain nutrients in food are especially effective in building up resistance....
• Vitamins C and E is at the top of the list as they contain antioxidants that counteract the harmful cellular by-products created during normal metabolism. Though oxygen is an essential element for life, it can create these damaging by-products that affect the immune system.
• Also eating enough of vegetables that are rich in beta-carotene can ensure that our bodies get enough of vitamin A to mop up the damaging molecules that speed-up ageing.
• Very necessary for the production and maintenance of the infection-fighting cells is protein.
• Among the minerals, zinc is vital for increasing the production and also the effectiveness of cells that fight viral infections.
• Infection preventing and immunity-boosting foods will help to keep your immune systems at their peak operating efficiency.

Beat the heat this summer with coolants

Summers are great as long as you are prepared to beat the heat and stay away from extreme sweating. We tend to expose more of our body to sun during the summer, which results in the loss of water from our body by process of sweat. This results in lacks of resistance and energy and hence maintaining the water level in body becomes very important.

Summer heat can affect the body’s internal temperature regulation and cause everything from rashes, cramps and exhaustion to heatstroke. So don’t hydrate your body with all the wrong drinks. Instead use the coolness of fresh foods available around you. Intake of liquids is the most effective way to protect you from heatstroke, exhaustion and dehydration. Consuming more fluids even after strenuous activity enables your body to maintain optimum hydration level and helps prevent from the after effects of headaches and fatigue.

Entertain you taste buds this summer with an array of mouthwatering drinks. Deep red watermelons, luscious mangoes, sweet melons and more juicy fruits to chill you out are great choices in summer. Preferring plenty of curd in summer and seasonal vegetables is a smart action. I personally enjoy raw salads with seasonal veggies as they are good cooling agents and get digested very easily too. I have tried mixing and matching my own combinations as per my taste and made some real delicious dressings with beaten curd, honey and mustard dips. Cherish your family with cold soups and keeping your starters light and fresh. Even Thai steaming is an amazing technique in hot months as the food retains its color, flavor and the most important part that is its nutrients.

And how can one forget the world’s best and healthiest drink! Don’t forget water at any cost. Our body requires extra water, at least 3-4 glasses more especially in summers. So eat less and drink more. And let summer be your friend, not a threat!

ABC’s of Nutrition

Nutrients are chemical elements essential for the functionality of living beings. These substances are derived from the food we eat. To name a few nutrients vital for our body is proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals and so on. Every nutrient has unique properties and a role to play in growing, maintaining and repairing our body. These nutrients are available in different proportion in the variety of food available in nature. Some highlight on basic nutrients:

• Proteins: This nutrient is an indispensable part of the diet, involved in the body’s vital functions such as growth, maintenance and repair of cells, for production of enzymes and hormones. Every protein is made up of amino acids and the combinations in which protein foods are eaten are very important. Animal source proteins are milk and milk products, eggs while grains like wheat, rice and corn are other good sources. Even vegetables like soybeans, chick peas, lentils complemented with animal proteins is highly recommended. About 10-15% of our daily dietary intake should constitute of proteins.

• Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates are the principal sources of energy. The two types – Simple and Complex carbohydrates play different role. Simple one’s like sugars produce energy quickly and if taken in excess, they convert to fat, adding undesirable weight. So, food such as cakes, chocolates, sweets are advised to be avoided. Complex carbohydrates like whole grains, beans, vegetables and fruits contain a lot of water and fibre which makes them more filling and less risk of adding weight. Your daily diet should contain about 60-65% of carbohydrates with large amounts of complex carbohydrates.

• Fats: These are a good source of energy as they insulate the body and are carriers of fat soluble vitamins. All extra calories are stored in the form of fat. Food like butter, cream, processed cheese and vegetable fats are high in saturated fatty acids which are implicated in heart disease. Unsaturated fatty acids contained in vegetable oils like soyabean, corn, sunflower are preferable to saturated fats. The modern day diet is very high in fats and precautions should be taken to reduce that. Not more than 15-20% of your food should comprise of fats.

Water therapy-All you need to know

Water therapy basically is all about the use of water to maintain and improve health. Drinking water helps in detoxification, prevents dehydration, and acts as the best cleansing medium. I happened to read that having few glasses of water early morning helps you cleanse the bowel.

And I was amazed by the way it worked for me! Though initially it causes frequent bowel movements, but when your body gets accustomed to this therapy, it creates wonders. Indians and Chinese have popularized this practice making it beneficial for all.

Consuming ordinary drinking water by the right method purifies human body and cures many diseases like kidney stones, constipation, headaches, obesity, hyper acidity and even Cancer. It takes time to be effective. But you must not forget that excess of water consumption can be hazardous too. It is generally recommended to drink 2-3 litres of water daily as part of a healthy diet.

Our body is comprised of 60%-70% water, so it becomes very vital to keep your body well-hydrated. This helps remove the wastes from the body and keep it well oxygenated. It also maintains the thickness of blood which is important in good functioning and curing ailments.

Continuous drinking of water through the day is all the more essential to keep you energized. Drinking enough water to stay well hydrated also helps with maintaining optimal weight or achieving weight loss as necessary.

Crystals for healing

I read this particular piece and found it quite interesting. I know many of you may not believe on this but when you experience the results yourselves you will be amazed!

· Rose quartz: A pink crystal, available in crystal or jewelers shops. Pick a pendant that nestles between the breasts, where the heart ‘Chakra’ is. Pick on you feel attracted to. Beware of glass imitations. A natural crystal has inclusions and is opaque. The bigger, the better.

· Fill a glass bowl with water and add two to three tablespoons of natural rock salt (not regular salt) to it. Soak the crystal in it for a day. Keep the bowl in sunlight.

· Wash it with plain water the next day, swing over incense smoke to remove negativity. Repeat weekly.

· Hold the crystal in your hand and repeat the affirmation “I resonate with love and release all else to the universe”.