Nutrihealth - Your Daily Diet Gyaan

Kitchen Remidies for Acidity

tssundaram — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:00:56 +0000

I have read in some of the health journals that to get relief from Acidity, there are certain Kitchen Remedies.

I understand that Acidity is a condition in which the stomach produces too much of acid of certain foods fermenting in the stomach leaving a lot of acid residue. The usual symptoms are heart burn, belching and pain in the upper part of the abdomen. These days we hear of stomach acidity very often. The remedies are:-

1) The juice of emblic myrobalan ( amlaki ) is very effective remedy for acidity. It is to be taken before meals.

2) The juice of chebulic myrobalan( Haritaki) if taken after principal meals reduces acidity in the stomach and cures it permanently.

3) Two or three cloves of garlic be chewed daily in the morning.

4) Half-ripe tomatoes are very useful in acidity.

5) Ripe Papaya fruits are very helpful for acidity

6) A few drinks of lemon juice will certainly give prompt relief, say four to five times.

7) Small pieces of onion taken with half formed sweet curds and sugar relieves the burning sensation.

All the items mentioned above are somewhere in the kitchen shelf where normally hands do not reach. So please search for them.

While on this, it is worth mentioning here for the benefit of our readers that one need not wait till the day he gets the symptoms of acidity for putting to use the above simple remedies. Whenever one feels like, he/she can take an item mentioned above and use it as a preventive measure rather than waiting for the bout and then searching for the remedy.

Making Healthy Food Choices

Sanjana - Dietitian — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:47:23 +0000

We are given choices to choose some of the most healthiest foods…Lets have a look at them.

Fresh fruit instead of juices- Fruits are rich in fiber and low on sugar and calories while fruit juices are devoid of fiber and high in sugar. Hence it is healthy to munch on a fruit than gulp juices.
Avocado instead of butter and margarine- Avocado is rich in good fats aka monounsaturated fats while butter is rich in saturated fats and margarine of transfats etc.
Multi grain bread instead of white bread- Whole grain breads are great on fiber and balance sugar levels and give the feeling of fullness and white bread is stripped of all its nutrition and has no fiber.
Baked potato instead of potato chips- Potato with the jacket helps to retain all its nutrients while chips are refined and deep fried and also have lots of salt.
Brown rice instead of white rice- brown rice is rich in fiber and is more nutritious than white rice.
Skimmed milk instead whole milk- Low fat milk helps to cut down on saturated fats while whole milk is rich in calories and fats.
Steamed rice instead of fried rice- Steamed rice helps to retain more nutrients than fried rice.
Lean meats instead of sausages and other processed meats- sausages are high in saturated fats while lean meats are trimmed of all the artery clogging fats.
Fresh fruit instead of dried fruits-Dried fruits are richer in calories compared to fruits and are lesser filling.
Eat more beans rather than meats- You get the protein without the calories and fats and beans have more fiber.

Making such choices choices help you to get healthy and fit….

Benefits of using vinegar

Sanjana - Dietitian — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:15:52 +0000

My favorite ingredient in a veggie stirfry or a salad is vinegar. Vinegar has been used for ages but have you ever wondered what could be the benefits of vinegar. Lets have a look at them why you need to add them in your cooking

Firstly vinegar helps to slow down the absorption of sugar from the blood. Hence is great for diabetics or others who want to maintain their blood sugars.
I love the fact that adding vinegar helps to cut down the amount of salt I need to add and plus it tastes great and makes the veggies crispy and scrumptious.
Adding vinegar helps to replace the amount of fats you need to add and can replace mayonnaise which is high in calories and cholesterol.
You can marinate fish, chicken and other meats with vinegar for tenderizing and for faster cooking.
Kids love the tangy flavour and you get them to eat their veggies.
Greens and most of the veggies should be washed in vinegar to remove worms, eggs etc. hence you will have squeaky clean veggies.

This does not mean downing apple cider vinegar for weight loss. It is completely baseless and is really hard on the stomach. So next time when you need a healthy dressing reach for vinegar…..

Ghee and its Health Benefits

Sanjana - Dietitian — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:27:27 +0000

Every cuisine is unique in its way. Each cuisine has its distinct type of fat used in cooking. The Mediterraneans use olive oil, the Chinese use lard and the Indians use ghee and coconut oil. Ghee is used liberally in most of the indian dishes. Ghee is nothing but clarified butter. With the recent conflicting issues in nutrition, ghee was considered as a bad food and the main cause for heart disease and suddenly its consumption was reduced. But has it reduced the incidence of heart disease? No, in fact heart disease is rising at an alarming rate. So moving on to dry rotis has not helped.

I remember the time when my grandmother used to make clarified butter at home. The whole house used to have the fragrance emanating around. It is commonly used in making sweets and lathered on wheat rotis.

Nutritional benefits of Ghee

Ghee is said to be made of saturated fatty acids but of short chain fatty acids. This makes them easy to digest unlike the saturated fats found in animal meats which are difficult to digest.
It contains fat soluble vitamins such as A, D and E and hence can benefit vegetarians.
Ghee is said to be great for the lactose intolerant as the lactose sugar is broken down on clarification. Hence they can benefit the vitamins from it sans lactose.
Due to its fat content, it also absorbs the vitamins from the food it is added to, hence making the vitamins available to the body.
Its smoke point is high, hence can be used for cooking, But I still discourage using it for deep frying.
For infants and toddlers where they are in the phase of brain growth, ghee is the best fat to be added in their diet and is said to develop memory.

It is delicious to taste, does not go bad or get oxidized on exposure to air and can be made at home unlike other fats. It can be used as a chapstick too and can put Oriflame and other companies to shame.

It is recommended to have 4 teaspoons of fat per day, hence add a teaspoon of ghee in the cooking. Remember regular exercise and the right fats give better health and a stronger heart. Now say yes to desi ghee…..

Why eat green peas and other beans….

Sanjana - Dietitian — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:26:23 +0000

Many of us have been eating beans in our diet, but have we ever thought about their benefits. Yes, it is still great to eat baked beans for breakfast now.

Let us first look at the health benefits of beans.

They are rich in fiber, both soluble and insoluble fiber. The soluble fiber present helps to slow down the entry of glucose into the blood stream, helps to lower ‘LDL’ or bad cholesterol. The fiber combines with the bile salts and excretes it, thereby reducing the cholesterol content in the body. The insoluble fiber helps to relieve constipation with a laxative effect and hence helps to prevent gastrointestinal disorders.
It helps to lower homocysteine levels, a compound known to increase the risk of heart disease. Folate helps to lower homocysteine levels. Elevated blood levels of homocysteine are an independent risk factor for heart attack, stroke, or peripheral vascular disease, and are found in between 20-40% of patients with heart disease.
Manganese content in beans help to release various enzymes for energy production and for release of antioxidants.
The magnesium present in beans helps to improve the flow of blood through the veins and arteries and thereby prevents blood clotting and hence prevents heart attacks.
Beans are a good source of many of the B vitamins and also bring good supplies of calcium, copper, iron, zinc, phosphorus, potassium for our bodies.
It is the cheapest source of protein and is said to be low in fat. The bean protein on combination with whole grain cereals helps to provide the good quality of proteins required for vegetarians and also for others with out the saturated fats which are present in meats and dairy.
The phytoestrogens present in few of the beans such as soyabeans helps to protect against various cancers in women.
Beans has been quite beneficial in diabetes as it helps to maintain blood sugars, hence should be liberally used by diabetics. Diabetics can eat these to have healthy and satisfying meals. It provides energy but still stabilizes blood sugar levels.

Hence use beans in your diet for its health benefits. If using the canned variety, look for the ones that are not preserved in sugar and fat.

Beans can be incorporated in the diet in various ways such as

Bean soup- steam beans and do not throw away the water. Add the spices you like and have a bowl of this soup for your meals.
Saute beans in tomato puree and have them with whole wheat bread.
Add cooked beans in salad with lots of veggies.
Beans can be used for filling up sandwiches.

My favourite recipe with beans.

Ingredients for one serving

Cooked beans-25-30gms
Yogurt or curd -100ml
Kelloggs wheat flakes with bran
Salt, pepper, cumin powder, chilli powder.
veggies- chopped onions, tomato, coloured peppers etc

Mix all the ingredients together and serve immediately.