BANANAS WITH DARK PATHES ON YELLO SKIN

KELEY KE DAAG ACHHEY HEIN

 

BANANAS with dark patches on yellow skin
The fully ripe banana produces a substance called TNF which has the ability to combat abnormal cells.
So don’t be surprised very soon the shop will go out of stock for bananas.
As the banana ripes, it develops dark spots or patches on the skin. The more dark patches it has, the higher will be its’ immunity enhancement quality.
Hence the Japanese love bananas for a good reason.
According to a Japanese scientific research, banana contains TNF which has anti-cancer properties.
The degree of anti-cancer effect corresponds to the degree of ripeness of the fruit, i.e. the riper the banana, the better the anti-cancer quality. In an animal experiment carried out by a professor in Tokyo, comparing the various health benefits of different fruits, using banana, grape, apple, water melon, pineapple, pear and persimmon, it was found that banana gave the best results. It increased the number of white blood cells, enhanced the immunity of the body and produced anti-cancer substance TNF. The recommendation is to eat 1 to 2 banana a day to increase your body immunity to diseases like cold, flu and others. According to the Japanese professor, yellow skin bananas with dark spots on it are 8 times more effective in enhancing the property of white blood cells than the green skin version.


Link:  http://kutumbakam.wordpress.com/2012/03/02/bananas-with-dark-patches-on-yellow-skin/

CLOSING THE CHASM BETWEEN ALTERNATIVE AND MAINSTREAM MEDICINE

THE IMPORTANCE OF Dr. SUNITA VOHRA

"Alternative medicine" was once the domain of new-aged mystics, in shadowy back rooms. It was to be approached with skepticism ---  perhaps as a last resort.

But over the past few decades, things have changed.
Acupuncture and  echinacia are in common use.

And what used to be a shadowy unknown has been pulled into the light of scientific medical research. One of the doctors leading this change is a Canadian --- Dr. Sunita Vohra.

She has become a leader in both complementary and alternative medicine, and conventional medicine. She is working to bring the two communities closer together.

WEIGHTLOSS THROUGH FOOD

Eat Raw Food To Lose Weight, Cooked Food Contains More Calories

We’re often encouraged to get into the kitchen and prepare more home-cooked meals. In fact, nutrition experts suggest that this strategy could go some way toward a healthier, thinner nation. But, if the results of a study published last month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is anything to go by, we should be encouraging people to cook less, or rather, to eat more raw foods – especially if they have a few extra pounds they need to shift. The reason? Harvard scientists responsible for the research, found that cooking food increases the amount of energy or calories that it provides to your body.
This disparity  between cooked and raw fodder is due to the fact that the body uses more energy in digesting raw food than it does cooked food; that more of the energy available from raw food is lost to bacteria in our gut than is the case with cooked food, and that the body expends energy fighting off pathogens that are more prolific in raw food than in cooked.
The unique study which lasted 40 days, relied on 2 groups of mice that were fed a series of diets that consisted of either cooked or raw meat or cooked or raw sweet potatoes. Over the course of the study, the researchers tracked changes in the body mass of the mice, controlling for how much they ate and ran on an exercise wheel.
The results clearly demonstrated that both the cooked protein and cooked starch-rich tuber delivered more energy to the mice than raw variants of both.
“The starting energetic value of a food is based on the composition of that specific food, and that’s not going to change by cooking,” says Rachel Carmbody, the lead researcher on the study. “What cooking alters is the proportion of the energy that our bodies absorbs versus what is lost to gut bacteria, and what is excreted by our bodies. Specifically we believe that cooking reduces the energy that we use up in digestion, while increasing the amount that we absorb.”
“Because cooked food has been processed before it entered the body, some of the work in terms of breaking down that food has already been down so it saves our digestive system from working as hard. Basically cooking externalizes part of the digestive process.”
When it comes to the cooked meat, the heating process gelatinizes the collagen in the muscle and causes the muscle fibers to loosen and separate. This not only makes it easily to chew the meat, but it also increases the surface area exposed to digestive enzymes and gastric acids. As for the cooked sweet potato, here heat gelatinizes the starches and transforms semi crystalline structures into loose, amorphous compounds that are readily broken down or hydrolyzed into sugars and dextrins.
Part of the the gastrointestinal tract also includes a whole host of bacteria, and those bacteria metabolize some of our food for their own energy needs. The small intestine is where most chemical digestion take places. It’s in this 7 meter long tube, that energy for the “human” is absorbed. What remains, passes into the large intestine, and here huge volumes of gut bacteria  draw energy from it. “The cooking process allows food to be almost completely metabolized by the time it reaches the end of the small intestine. This means that the body has extracted nearly all of the available energy, leaving little for the bacteria” explains Carmbody. In the case of cooked meat, heating denatures the proteins which unwind from their tightly bound structures and take on a random coil configuration that makes them more susceptible to the enzymes in the small intestine. This ultimately serves to increase the proportion of the protein digested by the body compared to what is digested by gut bacteria in the large intestine.
With raw food, on the other hand, this isn’t the case, and there’s more energy available for the gut bacteria which uses it to carry out a number of functions. For example, energy is used and lost through the production of combustible gases. Also, undigested polysaccharides (fiber) are metabolized by the bacteria through fermentation to produce short-chain fatty acids which are in turn consumed as fuel by the bacteria. “The more energy that’s leftover for the bacteria, the fewer the calories absorbed by the human being,” continues Carmbody.
So what does this all mean, then? Quite simply: If you want to absorb less calories, you should cut down on the cooked portion of your diet, and consume more raw foods. While there is currently no formula to calculate the actual difference in energy absorbed by the body from cooked and raw food, what this study has made clear, is that the existing system of calorie measurement isn’t accurate.
This system, known as the Atwater system, has been used for over 100 years. It measures the calories absorbed by the body by taking the gross calorie measurement of a food and subtracting an estimation of the calories that the body passes out as waste. “It’s basically calories in minus calories out,” explains Carmbody. “But this ignores the differences in how our bodies metabolize cooked and raw foods, and doesn’t account for the energy used in digestion, by gut bacteria, and by the immune system to fight off pathogens.”
Despite the catch-all figure on nutritional labels, you would gain more calories from cooked carrots, spinach or broccoli, for example, than you would if you ate them completely raw as a salad. Of course, if you slather them in Ranch Dressing, well that’s a different story altogether.

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This article is available online at:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/nadiaarumugam/2011/12/28/eat-raw-food-to-lose-weight-cooked-food-contains-more-calories/

PEPPERY WAY TO SHED WEIGHT

Love to have your food with extra pepper? Well, other than spicing up your taste buds, it will also help you lose those extra inches around the waist.

Food scientists have said that hot peppers contain a substance called capsaicin that can actually cause your body to heat up.

However, now researchers have found growing evidence that the body-heat-generating power of peppers might even lend a hand in our quest to lose those extra inches accumulating around the waistline.

And fortunately for those who do not appreciate the "burn" of hot peppers, there are plants that make a non-burning version of capsaicin called dihydrocapsiate (DCT) that could have the benefits of peppers without the pungency.

In a study aimed to test the weight-loss potential of this DCT containing, non-spicy cousin of hot peppers, researchers at the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition set out to document its ability to increase heat production in human subjects consuming a weight-loss diet.

Led by David Heber, the researchers recruited 34 men and women who were willing to consume a very low-calorie liquid meal replacement product for 28 days.

The researchers then randomised the subjects to take either placebo pills or supplements containing the non-burning DCT pepper analog.

Two dosage levels of DCT were tested. At the beginning and end of the study, body weight and body fat were assessed, and the researchers determined energy expenditure (heat production) in each subject after he or she consumed one serving of the test meal.
Their data provided convincing evidence that, at least for several hours after the test meal was consumed, energy expenditure was significantly increased in the group consuming the highest amount of DCT.

In fact, it was almost double that of the placebo group, which indicated that eating this pepper-derived substance that does not burn, can have the same potential benefit as hot peppers at least in part by increasing food-induced heat production.

They also showed that DCT significantly increased fat oxidation, pushing the body to use more fat as fuel.

This may help people lose weight when they consume a low-calorie diet by increasing metabolism.

However, the study has a limitation-researchers only tested the effect of DCT on the thermic response to a single meal.

The study was presented at the Experimental Biology 2010 meeting in Anaheim, CA.

DIETERS REGAIN WEIGHT AFTER A YEAR

More than 80 per cent of obese dieters fail to maintain their reduced weight after one year of initial weight loss due to hormonal changes, a new study has revealed.

The study involved 50 overweight or obese adults, with a BMI of between 27 and 40, and an average weight of 95kg, who enrolled in a 10-week weight loss program using a very low energy diet.

Levels of appetite-regulating hormones were measured at baseline, at the end of the program and one year after initial weight loss.

Results showed that following initial weight loss of about 13 kgs, the levels of hormones that influence hunger changed in a way, which would be expected to increase appetite.

These changes were sustained for at least one year. Participants regained around 5kgs during the one-year period of study.

The study revealed the important roles that hormones play in regulating body weight, making dietary and behavioural change less likely to work in the long-term, said Professor Joseph Proietto from the University of Melbourne and Austin Health.

"Our study has provided clues as to why obese people who have lost weight often relapse. The relapse has a strong physiological basis and is not simply the result of the voluntary resumption of old habits," he said.

The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

PERFECT DIET TO PREVENT HAIR LOSS

  If your receding hairline and bald spot are giving you sleepless nights, here are a few dietary modifications to help keep your mane and its sheen

Men are as touchy about hair as women are about their backsides. It's a sensitive subject, one that raises many concerns and results in paranoid treatments and extreme measures. However, until the problem begins, there is little thought put into nourishing hair other than the lather and rinse routine. Before you start losing sleep over hair loss and book appointments with trichologists, take a closer look at what you're eating. Chances are that even slight modifications made to what you eat by incorporating ingredients that aid hair growth and health will have a drastic impact. While genes and lifestyle will always have the upper hand, here's what you could eat to help curb that receding hairline.

Carrots                                                                                                             
It's not just the eyes, Vitamin A-rich carrots provide excellent nourishment for the scalp. A healthy scalp ensures shiny, well-conditioned hair that is strengthened and moisturised. An overall balanced diet of lean proteins, fruits, and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, fatty fish like the Indian salmon and low-fat dairy are great boosters for healthy hair.

Prunes                                                                                                
If your hair suffers from dryness, thinning, stiffness, discolouration or hair fall, depleting reserves of iron might be the culprit. Prunes are known to be great sources of iron and greatly help improve the quality of hair. Also ensure you get plenty of green vegetables and beetroots in your diet in  
addition to prunes.

Green peas                                                                       

Although green peas are not rich in antioxidants or any specific vitamin or mineral, they contain a well-balanced amount of vitamins and minerals such as iron, zinc and B group vitamins. These are essential for maintaining healthy hair.

Oats                                                                                



Not only are oats loaded with fiber that helps maintain a healthy heart and bowels, they also contain a high concentration of other essential nutrients such as zinc, iron and omega-6 fatty acids. Together, these are also knows as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Omega-6 fatty acids in particular are essential to maintain normal skin, hair growth and development. Since this essential ingredient is only obtained through the diet, make sure your breakfast includes a bowl of oatmeal every few days in the week.

Shrimp                                                                          
 
While red meats are best avoided in excess, finding an appropriate substitute for proteins might be a little difficult for those looking to build muscle etc. Alternatively, of the wide variety of sea food available, shrimps are a great substitute. They not only go excellently well in a number of curries and pastas, their potent concentration of Vitamin B12, iron, zinc contain all the necessary nourishment to prevent hair loss.

Walnuts                                                                            

Not to be outdone by the oats, walnuts are one of the most hairfriendly nuts in the category. Not only do walnuts have more omega-6 fatty acids than any other food, but they're also full of zinc, iron, B vitamins (B1, B6 and B9), and plenty of protein. However, a word of caution, walnuts also contain a small trace of selenium, a mineral known to cause hair loss in people who are selenium-deficient or have way too much in their system. So a handful of nuts over the week should tide you over without much trouble.

Eggs                                                                                 
For a head full of healthy hair, the egg is probably one of your best friends. It's loaded with essential nutrients such as proteins, Vitamin B12, iron, zinc and Omega 6 fatty acids in large amounts. Being deficient in any of these vitamins and minerals is known to result in poor quality of hair. In addition it's also a good source for biotin (Vitamin B7) which is a great aid to fight hair loss.

Low fat dairy products                                                   
Low-fat dairy products like skim milk and yogurt are great sources of calcium, an important mineral for hair growth. They also contain whey and casein, two high-quality protein sources. Add a cup of yogurt or cottage cheese to your snack list and to help prevent hair loss, stir in a few tablespoons of flaxseed or walnuts for your required dose of omega 3 fatty acids and zinc.

Hairy mistakes                                                                  
Here are a few common mistakes that severely damage hair
- Excessive stress and some medication are conclusively known to retard hair growth and promote hair loss.
- Cut down on the use of hair spray, hair gels, and styling creams that contain harsh chemical ingredients, which can dry out the scalp and cause the formation of flakes. Also harsh treatments such as perms, colours, relaxers etc take a toll on the health of your hair.
- Avoid changing your shampoo and conditioner constantly. Stick to one good mild cleansing shampoo for six months before changing.
- Excessive exposure to the sun, pollution, rain water and dust without proper protection makes the hair dry, brittle and limp. Use a live in conditioner during the rains to protect it from the humidity and wash and oil it regularly to maintain a healthy scalp. 


Courtesy; Mumbai Mirror

RELATED SITES: 

 1.  http://kesh-kathaa.blogspot.in/2012/03/hair-glasses.html