Nutritious Foods

Is Ghee a friend or Enemy

2014-10-23T00:12:00.000-07:00

Ghee the mouth watering food condiment filled with great aroma that gives great taste to the food needs no introduction for Indians. Ghee is a class of clarified butter originated in India and is commonly used in the sub-continental cuisine of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

I intentionally chose the occasion of Diwali to throw some light on Ghee through my blog as ghee is one of the widely used ingredients in Indian dishes and desserts during Diwali. Ever since my childhood I learned from my parents, grandparents and other elders within and outside the family that Ghee is good for health and gives immense strength and stamina. In fact my father often used to say, if you don’t eat ghee how will you gain strength? There is no doubt that he learned from his father and his father from his and so on. If I am not wrong many of you might have experienced this personally.

Moreover Ghee is used as one of the main ingredients in some of the Ayurvedic medicines in India and other indigenous medical traditions of Sri Lanka and Nepal. Ayurveda considers ghee as Satvik (pure) food. Cow ghee is used preferentially for the diseases caused by pitta dosha. Further it is considered as a food that promotes intellect and vitality. It is also used for constipation and ulcers.

Our elders, even today consider ghee as a health tonic. I grew up with this notion all these years till one day when I came across Dr. Mantena Satyanarayana Raju’s “rogalu rani ruchulu” (tastes that don’t invite diseases) program on TV. In that he named Ghee as one of the seven harmful tastes that lead to diseases and gave a call to stop consuming it completely. He clearly explained in detail how the consumption of ghee leads to some of the deadliest disease and disorders.

My first reaction to that was, “oh man! He is now exaggerating things.” When someone comes up with an idea against what you believe to be true; without thinking it for another moment you write off calling it a crap. I too reacted that way condemning Dr. Raju for what he said. It bounds to happen; because when you are conditioned to a certain point of view or a specific practice and someone says against it you cannot accept. One great thing happened to me after that. Though I believed Ghee is healthy but never tried to know what makes it healthy.

Now let me put briefly the point of view of Dr. Raju before analyzing it further. According to him, Ghee is more harmful than it is useful. It takes a longer time to digest ghee items. Your hunger reduces if you eat items made of ghee. So if you don’t work, what little hunger you have also is affected by eating sweets made of ghee. Pure ghee gives a good taste to the food items and it increases your desire for food, but that desire only leads to diseases.

The vitamin ‘E’ in ghee is also available in unpolished rice and sprouts. So you will not miss anything by foregoing ghee. In fact you are only giving up fat. You try to eat a salt less curry with ghee. It takes one hour longer to digest it. You also feel very thirsty. The food that doesn’t make you feel thirsty is good for health.

Today it is rare to find a very hale and healthy person. Everybody has some problem or the other. Doctors say excess consumption of ghee leads to obesity, cholesterol, hypertension, Liver and other Cardiac ailments. If you already suffer from one or more of these conditions, or have been told that you are at risk of developing any of them, then it will be advisable to completely abstain from Ghee. But Dr. Raju’s mantra is very simple. Why to apply medicine after burning the hand? Why not we preserve our hand from burning? Prevention is always better than cure. In the first place why to eat something that leads to disease and again take the treatment? Is it not better if we keep such things away? So the first step we can do is to give up all those that can cause harm to the body. So let’s give up ghee in our daily food.

Now the question arises. Is ghee really an enemy to our health? You can’t believe that as an enemy just because Dr. Raju has said. I will not do that at least. Being a yoga practitioner I would like to learn and experience from both ends before I develop a belief. It is easy to gather information from people and books but that is not going to help unless you put them in practice and experience yourself. I very well understand and know that Dr. Raju has personally practiced and experienced all the facts he mentioned about the harms associated with Ghee but I can’t even neglect the experiences of my parents, grandparents and all others who speak in favor of ghee. Before sharing my experiences and understanding I would like to list out the nutrition facts of Ghee.

Nutrition Analysis of Ghee:

Fats and Fatty Acids	Amounts per 100 gms of Ghee
Total Fat	99.50 gms (153% of DV)
Saturated Fat	61.90 gms (310% of DV)
Mono Unsaturated Fat	28.70 gms
Poly Unsaturated Fat	3.70 gms
Trans Fat	4 gms
Omega-3 fatty acids	1447 mg
Omega-6 fatty acids	2247 mg
Other Non-fat nutrients	Amounts per 100 gms of Ghee
Carbohydrates	Nil
Minerals	Nil
Cholesterol	256 mgs (85% of DV)
Phytosterols	Nil
Vitamin A	3069 IU (61% of DV)
Vitamin B, C, D	Nil
Vitamin E	2.8 mgs (14% of DV)
Vitamin K	8.6 mcg (11% of DV)
Note: Fat percentages can vary. Units: ug = micro grams, mg = milligrams, IU=international units, DV= Daily Value. Source: http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/

I came across some interesting facts over internet on Ghee by Ms Pallavi Srivastava, Nutritionist at Evolve Medspa who explains the difference in the types of ghee. She breaks down the barriers around pure ghee and says "Cow's ghee is full of nutritive qualities. Pure ghee contains only those fatty acids or saturated fats that are primarily (89%) short chain fatty acids. It is the longer chain fatty acids that are associated with blood clotting and thrombosis."

She goes on to explain how pure ghee is healthier than vegetable ghee, "Short chains are not only easier to digest, but help hormone production and strengthen cell membranes. Ghee's short chain fatty acids are also metabolized very readily by the body. Lab studies have shown pure ghee to reduce cholesterol both in the serum and intestine. This is done by increasing the secretion of biliary lipids."

This happened to be the explanation of an expert citing the health benefits of ghee. Now let us try to assess the claims of our parents and ancestors who are either illiterate or less educated. To understand this you need to travel sometime back to the past. All the sub-continental nations named above are agriculture based nations with lack of resources, development and infrastructure. People then used to work really hard from dawn to dusk to earn their livelihood. They had no modern infrastructure and luxurious facilities as we have today. A yogi from US once told me that he is really astonished to see how Indian and Nepalese people lead their life with their limited resources. And he told this two year ago. You can imagine how would be the situation of India and some of these sub-continental nations during the time of our parents and grandparents.

People in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka pay great regards and respect to the food. They pray annapoorna (the goddess of food) that you find in no other tradition. With this you can understand how hard it would be to earn food. Because when you get things easily and abundantly nobody cares to pray. Ghee was considered not only nutritious but also sacred because it works as a health tonic for their daily hard work. As ghee is rich in Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids it keeps them strong and healthy. It not only keeps you strong and healthy but makes the food tasty. The aroma and flavor of ghee makes any food delicious. You can eat food with one tea spoon of ghee even in the absence of vegetable curries. Such is the specialty of ghee. The doctors during those days also considered ghee as a healthy food and would recommend ghee for children, pregnant ladies and old people to gain strength. Ghee always remained an expensive food condiment even in the past but it always been liked and purchased by all whether rich or poor. Gradually it gained popularity among all class of people and become a vital ingredient in festivals of India, Nepal and other countries. My father still loves to eat ghee and is very healthy without any lifestyle disorders like hypertension, diabetes etc which normally people own in their mid 70s. He has no regulations or restrictions with regards to his food. His energy levels still surprise me as he is most active than most of us (me and my brothers). I have been seeing him all my life. I had never seen him lazy and idle all his life; he keeps on doing something or the other even at this age. I guess it must be the same with many of your parents as well.

In that case, why people like Dr. Raju is so against that wonderful health tonic called ghee? For the last one year I had been doing some work on ghee. I have seen many fellow yogis consuming ghee for strength especially the cow ghee but I never tried before. Last year I decided to give it a try to know the facts. Within 6 months of its consumption I experienced astonishing changes in my body. It actually gave me an opportunity to learn both sides of ghee.

I began to consume 1 tbs of ghee along with a glass of cow milk a day in the form of breakfast. It took me no time to understand the increase in stamina and strength levels of my body. I was really happy with the result as I never felt that strong before. 3 Months later, I realized to gain some weight. I put on 3-4 kilos of weight during that time. Though I was little concerned about weight gain, I continued serving milk and ghee as usual because I was experiencing the rise in my stamina and strength. 6 months later I put on another 4-5 kilos of weight. Now fat began to garner around my belle and waist line. I might have gained around 10-14 kilos of weight during the period of six months. Then I gave a thought on my situation. Okay, I have gain strength and stamina but at what cost? If I continue this way for another year or so I would definitely become obese like before and might also lead to some other diseases associated with obesity. If you are following my blogs for some time now you would have known how I reduced my weight following Dr. Raju’s Natural way of Living in the past and I did not want to go back to that stage. Therefore I stopped consuming ghee then on. Believe me once you gain weight back, it is very difficult to lose. My case was no different. I tried to lose weight back following the same old path of Dr. Raju but I experienced certain difficulties in doing so. I did lose the weight but I began to feel weak and feeble. Since I have experienced what it means to be really strong I decided to maintain my weight around 84. Dr. Raju might consider these 8 kilos more than my BMI. And he may be true as well but there is a world of difference when I was 84 before and now.

Now you might be wondering what I consider ghee now – a friend or enemy? My personal experience says that ghee is off course a friend but can turn into enemy if you pay no attention. Mark my words – if paid no attention; that means if you don’t consume it with total awareness, it might harm you. Let us try to understand why the health tonic for our ancestors is now proving venom. Why the modern doctors are now raising alarm over the usage of ghee while the same doctors recommended in the past.

It is incorrect to put the whole blame on the ghee. It is the man who is making the mistake and blaming the food. Every food has its own characteristic and quality. One has to understand and use according to the requirement of the body. In olden days, people used to really exert their physical body as part of their work. Majority of people then were poor and were not in a position to buy ghee and consume everyday and therefore they used to consume occasionally during festivals or when they have problems like constipation etc. Basically ghee was used in sweets and special recipes only during festivals and special occasions but not every day as it requires lot of effort and time. Now things have changed. Standard of living of people increased, most people can afford to buy ghee now, the physical work is now replaced by machines, the number of festivals have increased (must be over 100 festivals) in India now. Moreover one doesn’t need to make or to wait till the festival comes to eat the sweets and desserts as hundreds of outlets are readily available in every nook and corner to deliver them at your doorsteps.

The problem is not ghee. It is us; you and me who are eating food without being aware. You try to learn everything that is going on in the world. Can’t you pay attention to what is going into your mouth and stomach? If you try to learn what is that you are eating before every gulp, you ever remain healthy. Are we really taking the nutrients that are required to the body or we are just dumping a junk into it? Think before you eat.

According to Nutritionist, Pallavi Srivastava, “be it a ghee or oil, the quantity of fat consumption per day should be limited to 10-15 grams per person assuming that the person in not obese. 1 gm of oil or ghee provides 9 to 10 calories. When ghee is consumed at levels above 10% total calories, it can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. At levels under 10% of total calories, however, ghee appears to help lower cardiovascular risks, especially when other fats consumed during the day are exclusively from plants. She further added that if you cook in ghee every day, you are allotting a large portion of your daily calorie intake to pure saturated fat. Even though this might be a 'healthy' saturated fat, it is still crossing your daily recommended allowance by being present in every meal or snack. Therefore, a good recourse would be to either limit it or limit other fats to meet the daily recommended intake, or simply switch to lighter calorie fats.

Ghee does have multiple benefits, but the catch is to consume it in moderation. Preferably one teaspoon of melted ghee, twice a day will do the job. People with high cholesterol levels are advised not to consume ghee of excess 10% of their total caloric intake."

It comes back to the question of portion control. However, the problem with ghee consumption is not one of health benefits or lack thereof; the problem is its presence in nearly everything consumed. From vegetables to curries, dals, snacks, etc, the use of ghee in such a rampant manner is not healthy.

Within the previously mentioned guidelines of portion control, pure ghee may be beneficial to your health. Again, this comes with a condition: If you are diabetic, pre-diabetic, have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or any other cardiovascular ailments, then you need to consult a medical professional before consuming any ghee at all.”

Taking the busy lifestyle and work schedule of people today into consideration, it is very difficult to think and maintain the calorie parameters mentioned by Dr. Pallavi. It is therefore Dr. Raju simply listed ghee in the list of seven harmful tastes. Instead of doing a friendship with a friend who is going to create trouble anytime, it is better to keep him away.

If you want to consume it do it consciously balancing the daily nutrients required for the body and if you think who cares to know what you are eating then you must ignore it. Moderate the consumption of ghee consciously if you want to lead a healthy life but remember, the moment you become unconscious; it is harmful to your health. By the time you realize you are already in the danger zone. Therefore making friendship with ghee is always like walking on the edge. You will be fine as long as you are totally focused and concentrated. The moment you lose your concentration, you will fall. There is no harm if you ignore and don’t consume ghee at all. You can supplement its nutrients from other foods that are less or not harmful at all. I know sweets are the weakness of many Indians and sweets without ghee is neither tasty nor healthy. Eat them but moderately. Diwali is the festival of light and sweets. Enjoy this Diwali moderating the consumption of sweets so that you can celebrate more Diwalis in future. My understanding is that one should not suppress their desires as it tends to bounce back. We have been used to these habits for a very long time and it is not easy to drop them suddenly. Therefore conscious eating reducing the quantity over a period of time will cease the desires and help your cause. So take this Diwali as your first action of conscious movement towards good health and healthy living.

I hope you like this update. Pass on your comments hereunder and keep watching the space for more updates.

Why Dr. Mantena Satyanarayana Raju says no to Tamarind

2014-10-13T01:06:00.000-07:00

Sweet and tangy, tamarind is one of the widely used spice condiments found in every Indian Kitchen, especially the South of India from times unknown. There won’t be an Indian who is not aware of a tamarind. The tamarind fruit is a hard brown shell that contains seeds and a pulp that becomes extremely sour when dried. The pulp of the fruit is the main portion of tamarind used in food production. When still slightly unripe, it has a very sharp, sour taste with a high level of acidity. Unripe tamarind is used in many candies and dishes throughout Asia and Latin America. The Indians prefer to use ripe tamarind though unripe tamarind and its leaves are also occasionally used in their Kitchen.

Tamarind fruit contains certain health benefits with essential volatile chemical compounds, minerals, vitamins and dietary fiber.

Health benefits of Tamarind:

1. Prevents Constipation: Its sticky pulp is a rich source of non-starch polysaccharides or dietary fiber such as gums, hemicelluloses, mucilage, pectin and tannins. 100 gms of fruit pulp provides 5.1 or over 13% of dietary fiber. Dietary fiber in the food increases its bulk and augments bowel movements thereby help prevent constipation.

2. Protects the Colon: The fiber also binds to toxins in the food thereby help protect the colon mucus membrane from cancer causing chemicals.

3. Reduces Bad Cholesterol or LDL: In addition, dietary fibers in the pulp bind to bile salts (produced from cholesterol) and decrease their re-absorption in the colon; thereby help in expulsion of the bad cholesterol or LDL (Low density lipoprotein) levels from the body.

4. Fights free Radicals: While lemon composes of citric acid, tamarind is rich in tartaric acid. Tartaric acid gives sour taste to food besides it inherent activity as a powerful antioxidant. It thus, helps the human body to protect from harmful free radicals.

5. Controls heart rate and blood pressure: This prized fruit is a good source of minerals like copper, potassium, calcium, iron, selenium, zinc and magnesium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that help control the heart rate and blood pressure. Iron is essential for red blood cell production and as a co-factor for cytochrome oxidases enzymes.

6. Boost Metabolism: In addition, it is also rich in many vital vitamins, including thiamin (36% of daily levels required), vitamin A, folic acid, riboflavin, niacin and vitamin C. Much of these vitamins play the role of antioxidant as well as co-factor functions for enzyme metabolism within the body.

Why Dr. Mantena Satyanarayana Raju says no to Tamarind?

Like many of you, this question haunted me as well. It is understandable if someone tells you not to eat salt, sugar, ghee, oil, spices etc. as they have been proved harmful to the body by many scientists, doctors and researchers. Even if they contain any benefit, they are more harmful than beneficial. Whatever the information I had about tamarind was really positive. I was really surprised to see tamarind in the list of 7 harmful tastes by Dr. Raju. I therefore tried to find out the facts from both Dr. Raju’s point of view and others point of view.

Thankfully we have ‘Google’ to get all sorts of information to clarify the doubts. You type tamarind and hundreds of pages tumble upon describing the benefits of tamarind. I have listed out some of the benefits of tamarind gathered from various sources on internet. I also went through some of the books and articles of Dr. Raju to know his point of view. After reading them, I did not find his claims really valid and convincing. A few days later, I came across one of his video on you tube where he explained the side-effects or harms associated with tamarind. On keenly watching his talk, I understood some of these amazing facts which is quite contradictory to what is been written above.

Is tamarind really beneficial to health?

If you are someone who doesn’t belong to South Indian states especially Andhra Pradesh you simply write off his claims. You never agree that tamarind is harmful to health. You might call him crazy for making such non-sense statements. After a deep study I came to a conclusion that even Dr. Raju knows the benefits of tamarind as mentioned above and yet he claims it as a harmful taste. And he is truly so. Let me clarify this. He did a detailed study and research about South Indian cuisine. His whole claim revolves around South Indian food culture. If you understand south Indian food culture, he sounds valid and possibly right. Let us try to understand in detail why tamarind is harmful taste according to Dr. Raju:

1. First you must understand whether tamarind is a food or medicine. It is a gift of nature with certain medicinal values. There are two theories prevalent in India. According to Ayurveda, herbal plants and spices should always be there in your kitchen for health benefits and Naturopathy says you must keep the herbs and spices away from your kitchen for the very same reason. Well they sound contrary but if you understand the message it is the same. Ayurveda says to keep them in kitchen readily available so that you can use them at the time of need. But what are we doing? We are using them every day. Since you are not doing what it meant to be, Naturopathy says keep them away from kitchen so that you don’t consume every day. You can consume the food on regular basis but medicines should be consumed only when there is some problem to the body.

Tamarind is a natural laxative. It helps in free bowel movement. Tamarind when dried becomes a medicine. For instance tea leaves don’t enervate you when they are fresh. Once they are dried, enervating ingredient tean is produced that enervates your nerves on drinking tea. The same is the case with tobacco leaves. In early days, people used to consume raw tamarind juice early in the morning in empty stomach as an anti-dote for constipation. When you use tamarind every day the body becomes conducive and it will not serve the purpose effectively.

2. But when the same tamarind is consumed with rice and other food, it cannot function effectively in moving the bowels. The action of the food in digestion works against the very functioning of the tamarind. Though it irritates the bowel but food that is in digestion does not let free bowel movements to happen. That leads to acidity and other gas trouble. If you visit a doctor complaining gas trouble why the doctors ask you to stop consuming tamarind?

3. One of the main reasons for Dr. Raju being so harsh on tamarind is the south Indian cuisine. In North and other parts of India and may be other parts of the World, people use tamarind very occasionally but tamarind in southern part of India especially Andhra, Telangana and Tamil Nadu is used excessively in the kitchen. You visit any south Indian restaurant and order any south Indian food you find tamarind in it. The hotels in south India offer unlimited meals for just 100 rupees with unlimited sambar and rasam. What are they going to lose? Only the water boiled with handful of pulses, salt, tamarind juice and spices. The food in households is no different from this. They cook 2 to 3 varieties of curries in small quantity and unlimited charu, pulusu, sambar and rasam etc. Off course it came as custom from our ancestors but the situation was different then. People used to live in joint families with large numbers, their standard of living and earnings were less, many of the families could not have afford to eat proper meals, many wouldn’t have got the seasonal vegetables and fruits due to poor marketing and transportation facility etc. Now the world has opened up. The standard of living and earnings have improved, marketing and transportation facilities have improved, and people are no longer living in joint families. Everything has changed but the old habits of eating have not changed. Many people feel their meal is incomplete if they don’t have sambar and rasam in their meals. Now let us try to understand how this bad habit of eating charu, pulusu, sambar and rasam gives rise to other health problems.

4. Excess consumption of tamarind in charu, pulusu, sambar and rasam etc., leads to obesity. Sambar, rasam is nothing but a kind of soup made up of water and handful of pulses, spices and tamarind juice. You can’t eat phulkas, chapattis and other likely food with sambar and rasam. Therefore you eat rice with it. It prompts you to consume more white rice which in turn leads to obesity. If you have noticed people eating food in hotels, messes and tiffin centers put on excess bellies.

5. Excess use of tamarind leads to high blood pressure and other heart ailments. The sourness of the tamarind leads to excess consumption of salt. If you are eating something like sambar and rasam it needs more salt. Firstly due to sourness of the tamarind and secondly due to the amount of water added in it. I have already explained in my previous blog how salt leads to hypertension and heart related ailments.

6. Tamarind leads to gas trouble and indigestion. On eating certain vegetables like Egg plants, potatoes, elephant foot yam etc. you complain gas trouble, indigestion and body aches. But the culprit is not the vegetable. The culprit is the sourness of the tamarind in addition to excess salt, oil, and other spices. You unnecessarily blame the vegetable.

7. Excess use of tamarind if consumed along with spicy, oily and salted food hampers digestion producing excess gas causing damage to the sticky layer of the stomach and also kills some of the free radicals helping the immunity system.

8. Dr. Raju recommends unripe tamarind for sourness as the harmful substances do not develop at this stage. Even the tamarind leaves when they are freshly budding can be used in various recipes.

If you have read this carefully, you would have now clearly understood how deeply he studied the south Indian cuisine and problems related with it. It really amazed me how all the benefits of tamarind turned into harm.

Now tell me; is the tamarind really harmful? I would say no. My yogic mind does not blame the tamarind at all. It has all ingredients that are going to help the mankind. It is the man who forgot how to use this wonderful fruit in a right manner. What do you say? Please pass on your valuable comments and suggestions here under.

Health Benefits of Green Chili Peppers

2014-06-29T05:10:00.002-07:00

It’s good that people are getting health conscious; thanks to electronic and print media. It is the same media that is putting them in a dilemma by advertising various products that promises health. Instead of advertising the products and hospitals etc to promote health, media must concentrate on bringing awareness among the people to promote health. I think people need awareness, information and knowledge but not the products to promote health. This blog is one such attempt to educate and promote healthy ways of living to promote good health and happy living.

Prevention is better than any cure. According to Yogacharya Sri B.K.S. Iyenger, ‘health never comes easy. You need to pay price for health’. He dedicated all his life to the practice of yoga to gain health. Even at the age of 95 he practices yoga for 3 hours a day without a miss. Over 75 years of his illustrious career Guruji B.K.S. Iyengar treated millions of people all over the world through his knowledge and expertise in yoga. He inspired millions around the world to take up yoga for better health and happiness.

On the other hand Dr. Mantena Satyanarayana Raju dedicated all his life in educating people the natural ways of living. Through his writings, lectures and programs on TV, he is teaching how one can remain healthy by sacrificing certain tastes that are harmful to our health. He is not only teaching but following 100% personally what he teaches inspiring thousands of people Andhra, Telangana and other southern states of India.

Salt, Sugar, Oil, Ghee, Tamarind, Red chili powder and masalas are the seven tastes that Dr. Mantena considers to be the villains of a man’s health. These are the main sources of different lifestyle disorders and diseases of today. If you keep these enemies of health away from your life, you can lead a healthy and peaceful life. Many doctors advise to consume less quantity of these harmful tastes. Dr. Raju is the only person I know who advises to boycott them completely to remain healthy, as he feels even smaller quantity will harm. You don’t need a big blade to kill someone; a smaller one will do. Then why not keep it away forever?

Many people wonder why Dr. Raju is making unnecessary taboo about these tastes. In my previous update in the blog “Natural Ways of Living” I explained how salt creates all sorts of problems to your health and also explained the means and benefits of quitting salt. In today’s update I would like to throw some light on why Dr. Raju recommends keeping the red chili powder away from life. In contrast, he recommends using green chilies to substitute red chilies for spice in your food.

Green Chili is one of the very popular pepper forms used by people in their daily cuisine. We can hardly imagine a cuisine especially in India without chili. It has a tangy taste that enhances the flavor of food. Green chilies are immature chili peppers that have been harvested before fully ripening. Miss chili the tongue teaser is low in calories, virtually fat free and rich in nutrients that can enhance your health including Vitamin A, C and K and the phytonutrient capsaicin.

There are certain fears and misconceptions about the consumption of green pepper in the minds of many. People treat it as a villain carried away by its color and taste. It looks frightening but is very lovable. It teases the tongue and has some fun with it but does no harm to the body. People think it causes ulcers in the stomach and blame it unnecessarily. But the fact is that you get ulcers by drinking coffee, tea etc and eating junk, oil fried, fatty and other spicy foods and tensions you undergo. It might though create some inconvenience when you have ulcers but certainly it is not the cause of ulcer.

Miss Chili might be spicy and hot, however it has amazing health benefits:

1. Vitamin C:

Green chili peppers provide 181.9 milligrams of vitamin C in every 1/2-cup serving, or well over 100 percent of the required daily intake of vitamin C for adults. Also known as ascorbic acid, vitamin C is required by the body to help synthesize collagen, promote the healing of skin wounds and aid in the development of strong bones. It also acts as an antioxidant by preventing free radical damage to DNA. A diet rich in vitamin C may lower your risk of hypertension, cancer, heart disease and osteoarthritis. The concentration of vitamin C in a green chili pepper decreases with exposure to heat, light and air. When you purchase fresh chilies, store them in a cool, dark location and use them within three to four days.

2. Vitamin K:

The body needs vitamin K in order to produce proteins crucial for blood coagulation and to support the development and maintenance of bones. Each 1/2-cup serving of green chilies contains 10.7 micrograms of vitamin K. For a man, this fulfills 8.9 percent of his RDA of vitamin K. For a woman, a green chili serving is almost 12 percent of her daily vitamin K requirement. Regularly eating foods high in vitamin K like green chili peppers may help decrease your risk of osteoporosis and of bleeding dangerously large amounts when you are cut or injured.

3. Capsaicin:

All chili peppers, including green chilies, contain capsaicin, the compound that is responsible for the spicy sensation associated with eating a hot pepper. The spicier the pepper is, the more capsaicin it contains. The Scoville Heat Unit scale, which measures capsaicin content from 0 to 15,000,000 Scoville Heat Units, or SHUs, of pure capsaicin, places green chilies between 500 and 2,500 SHUs. The American Institute for Cancer Research reports that eating rich capsaicin sources like green chili peppers may help inhibit the growth of cancer cells, though more research is needed.

4. Digestion:

Foods that release saliva while chewing help in proper digestion of the food. Eating green chili helps in releasing saliva and it is thus mixed well while chewing the food. This helps in good digestion process. Most people believe that eating green chilies create inflammation in the stomach and causes gas trouble and indigestion. But the fact is totally contrary to this. Though it creates little inflammation to your tongue, it does no harm to your stomach or intestines, rather helps in digestion and proper bowel movement.

5. Substitutes Salt:

The green chili tricks and teases the tongue with its spice and as a result, the little tongue does not ask for the taste of salt. Green chili comes really handy to people following salt free diet.

6. Immunity:

Green chilies help in producing anti-body agents in the body thereby providing a strong immunity system to prevent and fight the foreign body intrusions better.

Why no to red chilies?

Tough red chilies contain similar benefits; in fact, ripe chilies contain more vitamin A and vitamin C but have certain side effects. The green chilies tease the tongue but the red chilies tease the stomach and intestines. When the green chili ripens and turns red, the concentration of Capsaicin the spicing agent in chilies multiplies by three times more. People consuming high volumes of red chili peppers complain reflux of gases, heart burn, indigestion and inconvenience in the stomach which we popularly call them as Irritable Bowel Syndrome. These symptoms don’t appear early. The sticky layer in the stomach and intestines protect you for few years. Over a period of time this layer damages and fails to protect you from the spice and creates trouble.

The Indian Cuisine is known for its spices and masalas and the very masala and spices are creating trouble to their health. From a very small age, they are developing a habit of eating spicy food, red in color, stuffed with red chili powder and other masalas. The situation now is such that if the children are served food without the red color of the chili, they don’t even touch that food. In addition to that they are used to eat food with pickles stuffed with large quantities of red chili powder and other spicy masalas. As a result of this, majority of Indians are suffering from IBS – Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Gastritis, Ulceritis etc. at a very young age.

Many people believe that Dr. Raju is unnecessarily making taboo about using red chili pepper. Let me present a few facts. India is one of the largest producers of chili peppers and Guntur in Andhra Pradesh produces 30% of all chilies produced in India and Andhra Pradesh as a whole contributes 75% of India’s chili exports. With this you can easily make out what would be the volume of chili consumption in Andhra Pradesh and why Dr. Raju is emphasizing on abolishing chili consumption. Most of the South Indians consume dry red chili powders which is not at all good for health.

I hope you will find this information helpful. Keep watching the space for more updates.

Honey - A Super Medicinal Food

2013-12-12T20:45:00.000-08:00

All the followers of Dr. Mantena Satyanarayana Raju very well understand the importance of honey in their daily life. You all know the roll honey plays during the time of fasting. Millions of followers have derived innumerable benefits by fasting in Dr. Mantena’s way. Apart from fasting; honey can be used in many ways and it has countless benefits for human health. Many people across the world use honey and they all know that honey has some wonderful medicinal values but they are not aware of its exact benefits. Some also have certain doubts about honey and its use. This is a small attempt to educate people about honey, its benefits and uses. Let us go into the nutrition details of honey.

HONEY
Total Quantity	2.38 Oz
Total Weight	100.00 gms
Basic Macronutrients and Calories
Nutrient	Quantity
Protein	0.31 gms
Carbohydrates	82.40 gms
Fat	0.00 gms
Dietary Fiber	0.19 gms
Calories	304.00 cal
Detailed analysis of Macronutrients and Calories
Carbohydrates :	Quantity
Total Sugars	82.12 gms
Monosaccharide	79.79 gms
Disaccharide	2.33 gms
Other Carbohydrates	0.07 gms
Vitamins:
Vitamin B1	0.10 mg
Vitamin B2	0.05 mg
Vitamin B3	0.19 mg
Vitamin B6	0.02 mg
Choline	2.19 mg
Folate	2.00 mcg
Pantothenic acid	0.07 mg
Vitamin C	0.50 mg
Minerals:
Calcium	1.23 mg
Copper	0.05 mg
Iron	0.43 mg
Magnesium	2.00 mg
Sodium	4.00 mg
Zinc	0.21 mg
Amino Acids:
Aspartic acid	0.02 gms
Glutamic acid	0.02 gms
Proline	0.10 gms

Honey has been used since ancient times both as a food and as a medicine. Apiculture, the practice of bee keeping to produce honey, dates back to at least 700 BC. For many centuries, honey was regarded as sacred due to its wonderfully sweet properties as well as its rarity. It was used mainly in religious ceremonies to pay tribute to the gods, as well as to embalm the deceased. Honey was also used for a variety of medicinal and cosmetic purposes. For a long time in history, its use in cooking was reserved only for the wealthy since it was so expensive that only they could afford it.

The prestige of honey continued for millennia until one fateful event in culinary and world history - the "discovery" of refined sugar made from sugar cane or sugar beets. Once these became more widely available, they were in great demand since they provided a relatively inexpensive form of sweetening. With their growing popularity, honey became displaced by sugar for culinary use. Since then, although honey is still used for sweetening, much of its use has become focused on its medicinal properties and its use in confectionery.

Honey derived from the honey bees is the main ingredient for home medicines. It has a universal appeal. It is used by the people all over the world at any given point of time. All experiments, researches conducted for the past few decades have proved the medicinal value of honey. Honey is a food item with more of calories. One kilo (24 Oz) of Honey contains 30400 to 3350 calories, based on water content in the honey.

Till recently honey was compared to sugar. Everybody knows sugar is nothing but Carbohydrates that provides calories to the body.

About 70% of the energy required by the body is provided by sugar that comes from the food one eats. Sugar is the most easily digested foodstuff.

The body digests sugar and glucose separately. Glucose reaches as it is into blood from intestines. Sugar undergoes hydrolysis first. Then it splits into glucose and absorbed from intestines into blood in portal vein. From there it reaches liver and from there flows into cells all over the body.

Honey has 80% of different ingredients that are required for the growth and functioning of the body. Many of them are very useful in curing diseases. There are plenty of enzymes in it. They can hasten the chemical reactions in the body by million times. If you take out the list of items containing more of enzymes. Besides plenty of enzymes, honey contains Calcium, Sodium, Potassium, Magnesium, Iron, Chlorine, Phosphorous, Sculpture and Iodine salts. Some types of honey contain even radium. And also salts like Manganese, Aluminium, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Lithium, Nickel, Lead, Elemental tin, Titanium, Zinc and Osmium.

Man needs plenty of mineral salts. The micro elements and mineral salts, the minutest items in the body play a vital role in the metabolism. Due to the inter reactions they play with enzymes, vitamins and hormones, our nervous system, cellular respiration, blood circulation etc. are accelerated. As we grow old, and as the metabolism changes relatively there is a change in the contents of blood. As per biological science even the percentage of most important micro elements (copper, manganese, cobalt, nickel, zinc etc.) also changes. So, it is very essential to feed these micro elements through food, especially with honey, into the body.

Researchers have found that the percentage of acids is proportionate to the formic acid in it. Honeybees, before they close the beehive, fill them with honey and formic acid. Honey contains mainly organic acids, malic, citric, tartaric, and oxalic acids. The honey produced by honeybees has B1, B2, B3, B6 and keratin vitamins. In addition to these, the honey has acitile choline, hormones, antibiotics, phyton sides, and many valuable elements required for our body. Vitamins may be in very minute quantity but they are mixed with very important items for the body (carbohydrates, mineral salts, micro elements, organic acids, enzymes etc). They all get digested very easily.

The vitamins in honey vary based on the combination of pollen grains. Due to the presence of dextrin in honey, honey gets digested easily and it joins the blood quickly from the intestines.

Health benefits of Honey:

1. There is huge number of fungus in the air around us. They develop fast over food material in favourable conditions like appropriate temperature and moisture. It was found that honey has not only destructive capacity of bacteria, but also has anti mitotic capacity.

2. No food is complete without alkaline mineral salts. They are helpful in nullifying the sour material that arises in the process of digestion (If these sour products are not contained, they become harmful to the body). Another special feature of honey is that it is a strong alkaline.

3. Children will grow up healthily if you substitute sugar with honey in their food. Experienced doctors and scientists have found out long back that the sugar, left out in the mouth gets split up into acids (especially lactic acid) by the bacterial action. Slowly these acids help in the de-calcification of the teeth. Unlike sugar, honey has antibiotic qualities. Also it has Alkaline too. As a result, honey clears the gaps in the teeth free from bacteria.

5. Everyone knows very well that glucose is the best nutritious food for the cells and parts of the body. Not only that, glucose is stored as Glycogen in liver. This Glycogen provides the energy required for the body. Glucose improves the utility value of the cells. It also activates the heart and blood vessels if the sugar level falls down in the blood. Glucose also increases resistance power against contagious diseases. It is greatly used to speed up the activity in the liver.

6. Hypocrites successfully used honey to cure many diseases and injuries. If you apply honey with wheat flour (without water) as a layer over an injury, it will heal very quickly. If honey is applied over the injury the percentage of Glutathione around the injury increases greatly. It helps in healing the injury quickly.

7. Even diabetes patients can take honey. There is more of Fructose sugar in honey than Glucose. Insulin is required to carry glucose from blood to the cells whereas the Pancreas gland for sugar patients cannot produce sufficient insulin. But since honey has fructose that doesn't require insulin, it reaches the cells without the help of insulin. The food doesn't require insulin, reduces sugar count in the blood. The glucose in the honey reaches blood quickly from the intestines. Temporarily sugar count may appear to shoot up but it comes down to normal (within an hour) once the glucose reaches the cells. The Fructose sugar in honey takes a longer time to reach the blood. So sugar patients don’t feel weak suddenly. In fact if they take 4 spoons of honey, it gives them energy for 2-3 hours. Diabetics should remember that honey doesn't increase the sugar count as it has fructose.

9. M.L. Khotkin analysed in 1953, 302 patients suffering from ordinary health complaints have ulcers in the stomach. His findings were as follows. 76 people had hyper acidity (34.3%), 67 had ordinary acidity (30.2%), 54 had low acidity (24.7%) and 24 had very little acidity (10.8%). When they were given ordinary food and medicines 61% of them became normal but 18% of patients still suffered. When they were treated with honey 79.7 – 84.2% patients became healthy. By the time he completed the treatment only 5.9% were left still suffering. When normal treatment was given 29% patients were cured completely of ulcer. Whereas when honey was given 59.2% were cured completely. The patients did not have to stay for long in hospital after the treatment with honey was given. He proved that the patients’ condition improved in every aspect. He proved that honey brings down the hyper acidity and the release of gastric juices to normal levels.

10. Honey works in two ways in ulcer patients. It heals the outer layer of gastric mucus. It keeps the body strong. Especially it strengthens the nervous system. Actually, gastric or duodenal ulcers are caused when the receptors of the nervous system stop functioning. So ulcer patients should take honey one and a half hours to two hours before lunch and three hours after dinner. They should mix honey in water that is boiled and brought down to lukewarm condition. If honey is taken thus it dilutes gastric of mucus and reduces the gastric problem. On the contrary if you take honey with cold water it increases the acid content and reduces the digestive capacity of the stomach. It stimulates the intestines.

11. Honey not only supplies glucose to the cells of the liver but it also increases the storage of glycogen and helps in the formation of new cells. Liver works as a filter-to-filter out all the toxins and harmful bacteria. Glycogen helps in the effective functioning of the liver. Thus the glycogen gives the required resistance power from contagious diseases.

12. The impact of honey is more on nervous system. Researchers have proved that if you provide liquids that have glucose (honey) as hyper-tonic for some nervous disorders, it gives good results. Those who have nervous weakness or those who feel very weak, if they drink honey mixed in water and lime juice or if they take two tablespoonfuls of honey before going to sleep they will get energy.

13. The elders have proclaimed that a glassful of water mixed with honey provides you sound sleep. The honey water cools down the body and gives it energy.

14. Skin protects us from our surroundings. Honey is very good as a medicine for skin. You can say it is a special cosmetic. Honey can also protect the skin from bacteria.

15. If you apply honey for burns, it prevents the formation of bubbles and cures quickly. It also prevents scars of the burns.

16. Honey works wonderfully in reducing weight. The energy from honey gets exhausted into hours, but it does not convert into fats. Sugar and fats get burnt up in the body with oxygen and release energy. Sugar gets burnt quickly and gives energy quickly whereas fats cannot give energy that fast

16. Honey increases the percentage of haemoglobin in blood, which prevents anaemia.

17. If you feel nausea or vomiting sensation and when you don’t feel like eating anything, take 4 spoonfuls of honey slowly drop by drop. You will gain energy in just 10 minutes.

18. Honey reduces arthritis because of the malic acid in it.

Few other facts on Honey:

1. Honey is sold in individual containers or in bulk. It is usually pasteurized, although often times at farmer's markets you can find raw honey. Raw honey that has not been pasteurized, clarified, or filtered—provided it is of the highest nutritional quality and safety—is your best choice. Look for honey that states "100% pure." While regular honey is translucent, creamy honey is usually opaque and is made by adding finely crystallized honey back into liquid honey. Speciality honeys, made from the nectar of different flowers, such as thyme and lavender, are also available. Remember that the darker the colour, the deeper the flavour. You might also look for darker-coloured "honeydew" varieties produced by bees that collect the sugary secretions insects leave on plants, which is called honeydew.

While all honey has impressive levels of disease fighting antioxidants, a recent study of Spanish honey varieties shows that honeydew honey has even higher levels of antioxidant poly phenols than honeys bees make from nectar.

2. The colour, taste and quality of honey depend upon the flowers of the trees.

3. If it is of a pure quality it doesn't get spoiled even for 100 years.

4. Honey should never be heated; it should be kept in the sun.

5. Honey can be stored for a long time. So you don’t have to use any preservative.

6. It is better to preserve honey in glass bottle. Otherwise, you can preserve it in steel container.

7. Now and then you should expose it to the sun.

8. Should never keep in fridge.

9. Some types of honey get solidified in cold weather. Of course they melt again, if kept in the sun.

10. If the honey you buy contains unnatural glucose or any medicine or if it is processed, it doesn't give you the energy or required results.

11. Honey has a tendency to absorb the dampness in the air (Hygroscopic). It becomes sore by absorption.

A word for thought:

Before mentioning a final word for thought let me tell you the process of making honey.

In the hive (or in a wild nest), there are three types of bees:

a single female queen bee
a seasonally variable number of male drone bees to fertilize new queens
some 20,000 to 40,000 female worker bees

The worker bees raise larvae and collect the nectar that will become honey in the hive. Leaving the hive, they collect sugar-rich flower nectar and return.

In the hive, the bees use their "honey stomachs" to ingest and regurgitate (swallow) the nectar a number of times until it is partially digested. Invertase synthesized by the bees and digestive acids hydrolyse sucrose to give the same mixture of glucose and fructose. The bees work together as a group with the regurgitation and digestion until the product reaches a desired quality. It is then stored in honeycomb cells. After the final regurgitation, the honeycomb is left unsealed. However, the nectar is still high in both water content and natural yeasts, which, unchecked, would cause the sugars in the nectar to ferment. The process continues as bees inside the hive fan their wings, creating a strong draft across the honeycomb, which enhances evaporation of much of the water from the nectar. This reduction in water content raises the sugar concentration and prevents fermentation. Ripe honey, as removed from the hive by bee-keeper, has a long shelf life, and will not ferment if properly sealed.

So far we have learned how honey is produced by the bees and how it has been used from ages as a medicine and also food by humans. It is also considered sacred and used in some religious rituals as well. But do you know how much pain the bees go through to gather honey? Honey is produced by bees as a food source. To produce a single jar of honey, foraging (searching) honeybees have to travel the distance equivalent to three times around the World. In cold weather or when food sources are scarce, bees use their stored honey as their source of energy. By contriving for bee swarms to nest in artificial hives, people have been able to semi-domesticate the insects, and harvest excess honey. Thanks to the internet revolution and people like Dr. Raju who are spreading the awareness about the health benefits of honey, the demand for honey is now growing. And to meet the demand, the bee keepers are using unethical measures by giving antibiotics for increasing bee population thereby increasing the production of honey.

By spreading the health benefits of honey and consuming honey as food in large numbers, are we not creating opportunities for greedy people who are indulging in immoral activities? Is it not better to use honey as a medicine only when required? How can we say honey is a nature’s gift when we are robbing the food of tiny bees? Think!

Sprouts - A Mine of Nutrients

2013-06-17T22:52:00.000-07:00

Friends it has been a very long time since I updated this blog. The reason is very simple; I am not an expert in nutrition. Whenever I find any article or information that strikes my mind or when I feel certain article helps people in building their health; I prefer to share with you in this blog. I started this blog to educate people about certain foods that are really nutritious but we ignore them due to lack of knowledge, ignorance or any other reason. While referring to one of the books written by Dr. Mantena Satyanarayana Raju, I came across a very interesting article on a mine of nutrients called ‘sprouts’. So today’s update is all about sprout and its importance.

People following Dr. Raju certainly know lot about sprouts and their benefits as he has been spreading the benefits of sprouts for a very long time. This update on my blog is such an attempt from my behalf.

One of the readers Mr. Raj commenting on my update “Healthy Natural Way of Eating” in my blog ‘Natural Way of Living’, sought information on the quality, quantity and the type of food one has to consume during breakfast, lunch and dinner in detail. Today I am going to provide complete details about ‘sprouts – a mine of nutrients’ to be served in breakfast.

For people living in southern part of India like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamilnadu the regular breakfast involves puri, Idli, dosa, vada, upma, uttapam etc. with specially made chutney and sambar. Ask any south Indian, what he had in breakfast? He will name one or more of the items mentioned above. If you give any other thing apart from these he feels that he had skipped the breakfast that day. People often come to me seeking remedies for their growing weight. I always start with asking questions related to their diet pattern. On enquiring their food pattern they say, “These days I am not taking any breakfast you know? I have totally skipped my breakfast, I am taking little rice for lunch and 2 phulkas for dinner and I don’t understand why I am still putting on weight. You please teach us some asanas to reduce the weight.” I started working on a group of people suggesting same kind of asanas and same diet pattern. After 90 days, I noticed modest change in some people, drastic change in some and no change in some people. To my surprise, people who said they eat less are the one’s who had no change and in fact they put on more weight. Initially I was little surprised and confused as well. Then I enquired more about their eating pattern. I asked them; don’t you feel hungry when you skip your breakfast and having little quantity of Lunch? I was taken away by more surprise when they said they don’t feel hungry at all. I realized that they might be hiding some information due to shyness or they are not aware of their calories. I have a friend who has been practicing yoga for about 2 years now. His weight is more than 100 kilos and has no change in his weight. If anyone asks him, what kind of yoga you are doing man, you haven’t lost any weight all these years? He says that I can’t resist my appetite; I am practicing yoga for maintaining health and enjoying food for joy thereby balancing the act. I got an opportunity to stay with him for couple of days when we were been to a holiday spot. We were in a group and therefore we used to move together and eat together. I realized a very strange thing in him. He used to finish his plate of meals before others and used to look at them. One or the other members of the group used to offer from their share and if no one is responding then he used to grab and take some food from others. Sometimes we were so involved in enjoying the trip that we used to forget about breakfast, lunch or dinner. There were no restaurants nearby. I observed him stopping at every hawker on the roadside and eat whatever he used to find there. He has been doing this all along the day. He ate at least a dozen times in this way. In the evening we were all eagerly waiting for the dinner to get ready and this man was seen relaxed. When we returned back to Hyderabad, he immediately stepped out of the railway station and took us to the tiffin center nearby to have a breakfast. He finally had a sigh of relief on having his regular plate of idli and vada in breakfast.

This experience has helped me in understanding the eating pattern of those people. On enquiring the food pattern of those people thoroughly, they admitted eating biscuits, chocolates, fruits, sweets, snacks etc at least 6 times a day apart from lunch and dinner. We are so deeply conditioned we don’t accept any food apart from the above items as breakfast; we don’t accept any food apart from rice as lunch and dinner. We need to uncondition and recondition ourselves to change the deep rooted unhealthy eating habits to remain healthy and happy.

When I sacrificed non-vegetarian food and started eating sprouts in my breakfast, greens and veggies in lunch and dinner, people started calling me a grass eater and today I can say that I am proud to be a grass eater. Now let us go into the details of sprouts – a mine of nutrients.

Sprout – A Mine of Nutrients:

Sprout is the best food offered to a man by the nature with its most nutritious value. It has all types of vitamins and minerals. In short you can call this food a ‘mine of nutrients’ required by the body. It is a natural food full of life energy that enables you to lead a natural life. It has natural enzymes hidden inside. It is very difficult for a man to survive exclusively on fruits and vegetables but if he can eat sprouts plentifully, he doesn’t have to eat anything else, but lead a life without any ailment.

Seeds that get sprouts:

Wheat, barley, green gram, black gram or Bengal gram, malt, green peas, cow peas, groundnuts, beans etc.

Process of Sprouting:

Out of the above mentioned seeds I prefer to sprout green grams, black grams and cow peas for my breakfast. These are not only nutritious but also delicious to eat. Sprouting process is quite simple. Soak the grams in water for 8 hours. Rinse the grams couple of times in water and tie them up in a dry cloth and keep them thus for 15 hours in a plate. Then the seeds begin sprouting. The sprout will be roughly one inch in size. Let me elaborate it. Soak the sprouts in the morning, rinse and tie them up in a piece of cloth in the evening after 8 hours. Sprouts will be ready to eat by next morning. This is the traditional method of sprouting in India. However, sprout makers are readily available in market these days. The entire process is same. Instead of tying in a cloth you have to put it in the sprout making boxes.

Some important notes in sprouting:

1. Some times the seeds might not sprout (1 or 1.5 inches) as expected. You need to keep another 8 hours in the cloth or boxes for better results. If you happen to soak for more than 15 hours then you need to soak the sprouts in the evening instead of soaking in the morning as mentioned above.

2. If you eat less sprouted seeds then it might result in gas trouble and bloated stomach. Therefore you must make sure that they sprout approximately 1 inch in size.

3. If the sprouts are overgrown and roots are formed then it might be bitter in taste which you might not enjoy. Therefore make sure that it is neither under sprouted nor over sprouted.

4. Sometimes the sprout does not grow properly and might even stink. You need to choose good quality seeds for sprouting. The best way to check is to change the seeds and sprout. Try to buy the seeds from couple of other stores and check the difference. Most probably you will find a solution to this problem. Even if the problem continues it is not the cause of seeds. Instead you must understand that certain seeds do not sprout during a particular season. Don’t get disappointed and continue sprouting other kinds of seeds. In my experience I found green grams are best for sprouting in all seasons among others.

5. You need to take special care in sprouting wheat to avoid stinking smell. Soak wheat for 12 hours in water, rinse well and pour them into a plate and let them dry in a cool place for 8 hours. After that tie them up in a cloth and keep them aside for a day, you get long sprouts.

6. You can also soak groundnuts in water at night and eat in the morning. You don’t have to wait till they get sprouted.

7. Remember! If you wish to eat different sprouts in your breakfast, soak and sprout them separately. Do not mix them with one another. If you mix them they might not sprout well and if any of the sprouts stinks then all the sprouts have to be thrown.

How to eat sprouts and how much to eat:

Eating sprouts is a tricky and patient work. Some people complain that they feel hungry early after eating sprouts and as a result of which they eat other foods along with sprouts then on. The reason is very simple. Because of the time and effort it takes to chew they eat fewer sprouts which make them hungry and they start eating some other food along with sprouts. This is not a healthy practice. Then the question arises how much of sprouts one has to eat? There is no prescribed quantity as such. You can eat as much as you can. It is better to eat a larger quantity. As a beginner, one can increase the quantity gradually day by day. Initially you may experience gas trouble in your abdomen. Don’t you worry, it subsides in no time.

You can eat 2-3 varieties of sprouts per day. You should eat each variety separately. Should not mix everything together for the simple reason that some sprouts are big in size where some are small. For example, if you eat groundnuts and malt together, the groundnuts are big in size get grounded first in your mouth. The tongue tries to drive inside its paste. Along with the churned groundnut, the thin malt that gets stuck between the teeth while eating is driven in without proper chewing.

All the seeds have an outer skin. It prevents the entry of digestive juices into the seeds as a result they are not digested. Our body does not have the capacity to break the unbroken seeds and pulses. It can’t even break a tiny sesame seed if unbroken. If you don’t chew your seed food properly, they can’t be digested and comes out of the body along with stool. Body tries to digest it by releasing more gastric juices but can’t break it. Due to the release of gastric juices your abdomen gets irritated and you feel lot of trouble inside your stomach causing gases and burning sensation. For example, you might have noticed many people complaining stomach ache on eating guava. It happens because of the unbroken seeds of guava swallowed inside. Therefore, there is no point in eating sprouts or any other food that is not properly chewed. It is better to eat each variety separately and eat them taking ample time.

Health benefits of Sprouts:

1. If you compare the nutritious value of the sprouts with that of dry seeds, the value of the former is surprisingly more.

2. At the time of sprouting, the percentage of vitamins, minerals and proteins in the seeds increase enormously. At the same time the carbohydrates reduce to a lower percentage.

3. There will be very little water content dry seeds. The water increases by 10% once they are soaked for sprouting. It results in the multiplication of nutrition in the seeds on sprouting.

4. Sprouts are considered as a mine for nutrients because they have more proteins that protect the body. During the process of sprouting, the carbohydrates are separately very minutely and these seeds absorb the nitrogen prevalent in the atmosphere around. Carbohydrates are now changed into amino acids that can be digested very easily. This is why the content of carbohydrate is reduced more in the sprouts than in dry seeds. So the proteins thus in the sprouts are more easily digested than the proteins we eat through other food items. The table given below shows you the difference in percentage of nutrition in sprouts against dry seeds.

Nutrients	Percentage Increased	Percentage Decreased
Water	8.3%	-
Energy ( Calories)	-	15%
Carbohydrate	-	9%
Proteins	30%	-
Calcium	34%	-
Potassium	80%	-
Sodium	690%	-
Iron	40%	-
Phosphor	56%	-
Vitamin	285%	-
Thiamin or B1 Vitamin	208%	-
Riboflavin or B2 Vitamin	515%	-
Niacin or B3 Vitamin	256%	-
Vitamin C	great extent	-

5. The sodium helps in quick digestion in stomach and small intestines. It also helps in driving out carbon dioxide in the body. Since the sodium content enormously increases in the sprouts, food can easily be digested.

6. Vitamin C content is very less in dry seeds and dry food. But when soaked in water for sprouting the same seeds absorb the atmospheric values increasing the percentage of Vitamin C. Vitamin C helps in defusing proteins quickly and hasten the movement of iron into blood from intestines.

7. Sprouts contain more fiber that enables free bowel movement.

8. You don’t feel thirsty while or after eating sprouts as they naturally contain more water in them.

This is it for now. I hope you enjoyed reading this article. Keep watching the space for more updates.

Wheat - Nutritional Analysis

2009-12-04T22:33:00.000-08:00

Wheat is a worldwide cultivated grass from many centuries. Studies found that wheat is being cultivated worldwide in many countries in the East well before 9000 B.C. It is the most produced and consumed cereal in the recent times after maize and rice. Wheat is the most important cereal crop in the world and ubiquitous in the food culture of North America and many other regions of the world. Bread, pasta, bagels, crackers, cakes, and muffins just begin to describe the list of foods made with this grain.

Wheat, in its natural unrefined state, features a host of important nutrients. Therefore, to receive benefit from the wholesomeness of wheat it is important to choose wheat products made from whole wheat flour rather than those that are refined and stripped of their natural goodness. Wheat is a staple food in many parts of North - West India. Unlike South, wheat is consumed more in the Northern parts of India. People in the states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra make Roti or Phulka or Chapati - an unleavened flatbread made of whole wheat flour. Rotis are served as breakfast; lunch and dinner with vide range of curries. They hardly eat any rice in their diet. Roti made of wheat flour is rich in nutrition and has very low in calories. That is the reason why people from Northern part of India are found slim and healthy when compared to the people from South. In the southern states of India like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka a single individual consumes approximately 1 kg of Rice a day (2400 calories approximately only through rice). Where as you can approximately make 60 Rotis from 1 Kg of wheat flour. More importantly a person hardly consumes 25 Rotis maximum in a day (1000 calories approximately). This is the reason why it keeps you fit and slim. Eating polished white Rice in large quantities is always harmful. It increases the size of your luggage in the body. Rice is the major matter of concern for the people here in the south. Because eating excess of Rice leads to obesity and many diseases associated with obesity. Obesity is becoming a major cause for many stringent diseases like Diabetes, Excess Cholesterol, Liver Cirrhosis, Thyroid deficiency, Heart Attacks etc. As the proverb goes “Less Luggage……more comfort….!” Low weight is always healthy and comfortable. This goes well for big people. People who are big in size do really understand what that means to them. They know how it feels to be big. Therefore people who desire to burn their calories and cut their weight; need to say good bye to Rice and hello to Rotis. One more important point! People who want to lose weight should consume plain Rotis or Phulkas without Oil, Butter and Ghee. I would like to add another important point here. People these days, especially in the cities have started using super refined wheat flour and semolina (Sooji or Rava). According to Dr. Mantena Satyanarayana Raju, these polished and super refined flours are like white poisons. They are the main source of diabetes and many other diseases in the long run. The moment man started to refine things he started to dig his own graveyard inviting all kind problems for his health. We need to learn a lot from our ancestors who lived healthy and survived longer by eating natural and unprocessed food.

Let us try to analyze the nutritional value of Phulkas made with 1 cup of wheat flour which is equal to 182 grams or 4 to 5 Phulkas or Rotis approximately.

Eating 4 to 5 phulkas gives you 151.06 calories which is quite low when compared to Rice. This many phulkas are well enough to fill your stomach. You might not ask more phulkas than this. Even if you do there is no harm in eating another two or three. But 1 cup of Rice might add 400-500 calories and makes you heavy and tight.

The Rotis contain very low fat content of 0.44gms, 123.73 mgs of Potassium and many other minerals and vitamins. More importantly it is a very rich source of fiber which stands around 16.38gms. As we discussed earlier, fiber plays a vital role in cleaning our body. It acts as a brush that cleans the waste within our body. For more nutritional details go through the table enlisted below.

I hope you find the information useful. In my next update I will try to bring the health benefits of eating whole wheat in more detail. Till then keep watching the space for updates….

Wheat Cooked (Note: "--" indicates data is unavailable)
amount	1.00 cup
total weight	182.00 g
Basic Components
nutrient	amount	%DV
calories	151.06	8.39
calories from fat	3.93
calories from saturated fat	0.69
protein	5.61 g	11.22
carbohydrates	33.82 g	11.27
dietary fiber	8.19 g	32.76
soluble fiber	1.38 g
insoluble fiber	6.81 g
sugar - total	0.36 g
monosaccharides	-- g
disaccharides	0.83 g
other carbs	25.26 g
fat - total	0.44 g	0.68
saturated fat	0.08 g	0.40
mono fat	0.06 g	0.25
poly fat	0.18 g	0.75
trans fatty acids	-- g
cholesterol	0.00 mg	0.00
water	141.52 g
ash	0.62 g
Vitamins
nutrient	amount	%DV
vitamin A IU	0.00 IU	0.00
vitamin A RE	0.00 RE
A - carotenoid	0.00 RE	0.00
A - retinol	0.00 RE
A - beta carotene	0.00 mcg
thiamin - B1	0.10 mg	6.67
riboflavin - B2	0.05 mg	2.94
niacin - B3	1.82 mg	9.10
niacin equiv	3.28 mg
vitamin B6	0.15 mg	7.50
vitamin B12	0.00 mcg	0.00
biotin	-- mcg	--
vitamin C	0.00 mg	0.00
vitamin D IU	0.00 IU	0.00
vitamin D mcg	0.00 mcg
vitamin E alpha equiv	0.05 mg	0.25
vitamin E IU	0.08 IU
vitamin E mg	0.55 mg
folate	32.76 mcg	8.19
vitamin K	0.91 mcg	1.14
pantothenic acid	0.63 mg	6.30
Minerals
nutrient	amount	%DV
boron	-- mcg
calcium	18.20 mg	1.82
chloride	-- mg
chromium	-- mcg	--
copper	0.14 mg	7.00
fluoride	-- mg	--
iodine	-- mcg	--
iron	1.75 mg	9.72
magnesium	58.24 mg	14.56
manganese	1.11 mg	55.50
molybdenum	-- mcg	--
phosphorus	72.80 mg	7.28
potassium	123.76 mg	3.54
selenium	1.09 mcg	1.56
sodium	9.10 mg	0.38
zinc	1.04 mg	6.93
Saturated Fats
nutrient	amount	%DV
4:0 butyric	0.00 g
6:0 caproic	0.00 g
8:0 caprylic	0.00 g
10:0 capric	0.00 g
12:0 lauric	0.00 g
14:0 myristic	0.00 g
15:0 pentadecanoic	-- g
16:0 palmitic	0.07 g
17:0 margaric	-- g
18:0 stearic	0.00 g
20:0 arachidic	-- g
22:0 behenate	-- g
24:0 lignoceric	-- g
Mono Fats
nutrient	amount	%DV
14:1 myristol	0.00 g
15:1 pentadecenoic	0.00 g
16:1 palmitol	0.00 g
17:1 heptadecenoic	0.00 g
18:1 oleic	0.05 g
20:1 eicosen	0.00 g
22:1 erucic	0.00 g
24:1 nervonic	0.00 g
Poly Fats
nutrient	amount	%DV
18:2 linoleic	0.17 g
18:3 linolenic	0.01 g
18:4 stearidon	0.00 g
20:3 eicosatrienoic	0.00 g
20:4 arachidon	0.00 g
20:5 EPA	0.00 g
22:5 DPA	0.00 g
22:6 DHA	0.00 g
Other Fats
nutrient	amount	%DV
omega 3 fatty acids	0.01 g	0.42
omega 6 fatty acids	0.17 g
Amino Acids
nutrient	amount	%DV
alanine	0.20 g
arginine	0.26 g
aspartate	0.29 g
cystine	0.13 g	31.71
glutamate	1.77 g
glycine	0.23 g
histidine	0.13 g	10.08
isoleucine	0.21 g	18.26
leucine	0.38 g	15.02
lysine	0.15 g	6.38
methionine	0.09 g	12.16
phenylalanine	0.26 g	21.85
proline	0.58 g
serine	0.26 g
threonine	0.16 g	12.90
tryptophan	0.09 g	28.13
tyrosine	0.16 g	16.49
valine	0.25 g	17.01
Other
nutrient	amount	%DV
alcohol	0.00 g
caffeine	0.00 mg
artif sweetener total	-- mg
aspartame	-- mg
saccharin	-- mg
sugar alcohol	-- g
glycerol	-- g
inositol	-- g
mannitol	-- g
sorbitol	-- g
xylitol	-- g
organic acids	-- mg
acetic acid	-- mg
citric acid	-- mg
lactic acid	-- mg
malic acid	-- mg
choline	-- mg	--
taurine	-- mg

Health Benefits of Brown Rice

2009-10-30T06:21:00.000-07:00

In my previous updates you found a detailed explanation on Brown Rice and a detailed nutrient analysis of brown rice. Today I am going to explain the real health benefits of serving Brown Rice over White Rice. After going through the information given below you are going to understand why Dr. Mantena Satyanarayana Raju is emphasizing so much on the use of Brown Rice over White Rice. No person in India had so far advertised the health benefits of Brown Rice in such an intensive way than Dr. Raju himself. It is due to the intensive appeal to the people by Dr. Raju on the use of Brown Rice through his speeches on TV, Print and other media of communication over the past 10 or 12 years millions have got benefited. If I am not wrong most of us wouldn’t have known what brown rice is? a couple of years ago. Still there are plenty of people who do not know what the brown rice is. I believe still there is a need to popularize the use of brown rice in a large scale. The people of Andhra Pradesh are addicted to eat polished fine rice. To be honest we are accustomed of eating polished fine rice. We don’t chew food; instead we swallow food. No one is ready to eat large grain of rice. That is the reason why people still cannot adopt the use of brown rice in large scale. The Brown Rice is not only a delicious dish but also the power house of energy.

Here are some of the ways in which the nutrients supplied by brown rice can make an important difference in your health: (The Data is provided by World Health Foods).

1. Brown Rice Produces Energy and Protects from Antioxidants:

Just one cup of brown rice will provide you with 88.0% of the daily value for manganese. This trace mineral helps produce energy from protein and carbohydrates and is involved in the synthesis of fatty acids, which are important for a healthy nervous system, and in the production of cholesterol, which is used by the body to produce sex hormones. Manganese is also a critical component of a very important antioxidant enzyme called superoxide dismutase. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is found inside the body's mitochondria (the oxygen-based energy factories inside most of our cells) where it provides protection against damage from the free radicals produced during energy production.

2. Brown Rice helps in reducing Weight:

People eating Brown Rice do not put on weight. The high percentage of fiber and lecithin content present in it doesn’t change much into Carbohydrates. Where as the white rice devoid of these contents makes you fat quickly.

A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition underscores the importance of choosing whole grains such as brown rice rather than refined grain, i.e., white rice, to maintain a healthy body weight. In this Harvard Medical School / Brigham and Women's Hospital study, which collected data on over 74,000 female nurses aged 38-63 years over a 12 year period, weight gain was inversely associated with the intake of high-fiber, whole-grain foods but positively related to the intake of refined-grain foods. Not only did women who consumed more whole grains consistently weigh less than those who ate less of these fiber-rich foods, but those consuming the most dietary fiber from whole grains were 49% less likely to gain weight compared to those eating foods made from refined grains.

3. Brown Rice is Rich in Fiber and Selenium:

For people worried about colon cancer risk, brown rice packs a double punch by being a concentrated source of the fiber needed to minimize the amount of time cancer-causing substances spend in contact with colon cells, and being a very good source of selenium, a trace mineral that has been shown to substantially reduce the risk of colon cancer.

In addition to supplying 14.0% of the daily value for fiber, a cup of cooked brown rice provides 27.3% of the DV for selenium, an important benefit since many Americans do not get enough selenium in their diets, yet this trace mineral is of fundamental importance to human health. Selenium is an essential component of several major metabolic pathways, including thyroid hormone metabolism, antioxidant defense systems, and immune function. Accumulated evidence from prospective studies, intervention trials and studies on animal models of cancer has suggested a strong inverse correlation between selenium intake and cancer incidence. Several mechanisms have been suggested to explain the cancer-preventive activities of selenium. Selenium has been shown to induce DNA repair and synthesis in damaged cells, to inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells, and to induce their apoptosis, the self-destruct sequence the body uses to eliminate worn out or abnormal cells.

In addition, selenium is incorporated at the active site of many proteins, including glutathione peroxidase, which is particularly important for cancer protection. One of the body's most powerful antioxidant enzymes, glutathione peroxidase is used in the liver to detoxify a wide range of potentially harmful molecules. When levels of glutathione peroxidase are too low, these toxic molecules are not disarmed and wreak havoc on any cells with which they come in contact, damaging their cellular DNA and promoting the development of cancer cells.

Not only does selenium play a critical role in cancer prevention as a cofactor of glutathione peroxidase, selenium also works with vitamin E in numerous other vital antioxidant systems throughout the body. These powerful antioxidant actions make selenium helpful in the prevention not only of cancer, but also of heart disease, and for decreasing the symptoms of asthma and the pain and inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis.

4. Lower Cholesterol with Whole Brown Rice:

Here's yet another reason to rely on whole foods, such as brown rice, for your healthy way of eating. The oil in whole brown rice lowers cholesterol.

When Marlene Most and colleagues from Louisiana State University evaluated the effects of rice bran and rice bran oil on cholesterol levels in volunteers with moderately elevated cholesterol levels, they found that rice bran oil lowered their LDL (bad) cholesterol.

The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, was divided into two parts. First, 26 subjects ate a diet including 13-22g of dietary fiber each day for three weeks, after which 13 switched to a diet that added defatted rice bran to double their fiber intake for five weeks. In the second part of the study, a randomized crossover trial, 14 subjects ate a diet with rice bran oil for 10 weeks.

While the diet including only defatted rice bran did not lower cholesterol, the one containing rice bran oil lowered LDL cholesterol by 7%. Since all the diets contained similar fatty acids, the researchers concluded that the reduction in cholesterol seen in that receiving rice bran oil must have been due to other constituents such as the unsaponifiable compounds found in rice bran oil. The scientists suggest that the unsaponifiables present in rice bran oil could become important functional foods for cardiovascular health. But why extract just one beneficial compound from brown rice when you can reap all the cardio protective benefits supplied by the matrix of nutrients naturally present in this delicious whole food? In addition to unsaponifiables, this whole grain also supplies hefty doses of heart-healthy fiber, magnesium, and B vitamins.

5. Significant Cardiovascular Benefits for Postmenopausal Women:

Eating a serving of whole grains, such as brown rice, at least 6 times each week is an especially good idea for postmenopausal women with high cholesterol, high blood pressure or other signs of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

A 3-year prospective study of over 200 postmenopausal women with CVD, published in the American Heart Journal, shows that those eating at least 6 servings of whole grains each week experienced both:

Slowed progression of atherosclerosis, the build-up of plaque that narrows the vessels through which blood flows, and

Less progression in stenosis, the narrowing of the diameter of arterial passageways.

6. Lignans Protect against Heart Disease:

One type of phytonutrient especially abundant in whole grains including brown rice are plant lignans, which are converted by friendly flora in our intestines into mammalian lignans, including one called enterolactone that is thought to protect against breast and other hormone-dependent cancers as well as heart disease. In addition to whole grains, nuts, seeds and berries are rich sources of plant lignans, and vegetables, fruits, and beverages such as coffee, tea and wine also contain some. When blood levels of enterolactone were measured in over 850 postmenopausal women in a Danish study published in the Journal of Nutrition, women eating the most whole grains were found to have significantly higher blood levels of this protective lignan. Women who ate more cabbage and leafy vegetables also had higher enterolactone levels.

7. Brown Rice Substantially Lower Type - 2 Diabetes Risk:

According to Dr. Mantena Satyanarayana Raju the white rice makes sugar patients suffer more! The white rice gets digested quickly, turns into glucose and thereby increases the quantity of sugar level in the body. On the contrary, one cannot eat as much of brown rice as the white rice because of the large size of the grains and its nature. It also gets digested slowly due to the fibrous contents present in it; as a result of which the glucose takes time to join the blood stream. Therefore the sugar level in the body doesn’t increase quickly. Hence, the brown rice relatively helps in constraining the increase of sugar level in the body.

Brown rice and other whole grains are a rich source of magnesium, a mineral that acts as a co-factor for more than 300 enzymes, including enzymes involved in the body's use of glucose and insulin secretion.

8. Brown Rice acts an Anti Biotic:

Magnesium, another nutrient for which brown rice is a good source, has been shown in studies to be helpful for reducing the severity of asthma, lowering high blood pressure, reducing the frequency of migraine headaches, and reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke. How does magnesium accomplish all this? Magnesium helps regulate nerve and muscle tone by balancing the action of calcium. In many nerve cells, magnesium serves as Nature's own calcium channel blocker, preventing calcium from rushing into the nerve cell and activating the nerve. By blocking calcium's entry, magnesium keeps our nerves (and the blood vessels and muscles they ennervate) relaxed. If our diet provides us with too little magnesium, however, calcium can gain free entry, and nerve cells can become over activated, sending too many messages and causing excessive contraction. Insufficient magnesium can thus contribute to high blood pressure, muscle spasms (including spasms of the heart muscle or the spasms of the airways symptomatic of asthma), and migraine headaches, as well as muscle cramps, tension, soreness and fatigue.

But that's far from all magnesium does for you. Magnesium, as well as calcium, is necessary for healthy bones. About two-thirds of the magnesium in the human body is found in our bones. Some helps give bones their physical structure, while the rest is found on the surface of the bone where it is stored for the body to draw upon as needed. Brown rice can help you keep those storage sites replenished and ready to meet your body's needs. A cup of brown rice will give you 21.0% of the daily value for magnesium.

In addition to the niacin it supplies, brown rice may also help raise blood levels of nitric oxide, a small molecule known to improve blood vessel dilation and to inhibit oxidative (free radical) damage of cholesterol and the adhesion of white cells to the vascular wall (two important steps in the development of atherosclerotic plaques). A study published in the British Journal of Nutrition suggests that diets high in rice protein can help protect against atherosclerosis by increasing blood levels of nitric oxide.

9. A Good Source of Fiber:

The health benefits of brown rice continue with its fiber; a cup of brown rice provides 14.0% of the daily value for fiber, which has been shown to reduce high cholesterol levels, one more way brown rice helps prevent atherosclerosis. Fiber also helps out by keeping blood sugar levels under control, so brown rice is an excellent grain choice for people with diabetes. As we mentioned above, the fiber in brown rice can also help to protect you against colon cancer since fiber binds to cancer-causing chemicals, keeping them away from the cells lining the colon, plus it can help normalize bowel function, reducing constipation.

10. Fiber from Whole Grains and Fruit Protective against Breast Cancer:

When researchers looked at how much fiber 35,972 participants in the UK Women's Cohort Study ate, they found a diet rich in fiber from whole grains, such as brown rice, and fruit offered significant protection against breast cancer for pre-menopausal women.

11. Brown Rice helps Prevent Gallstones:

Eating foods high in insoluble fiber, such as brown rice, can help women avoid gallstones, shows a study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

Studying the overall fiber intake and types of fiber consumed over a 16 year period by over 69,000 women in the Nurses Health Study, researchers found that those consuming the most fiber overall (both soluble and insoluble) had a 13% lower risk of developing gallstones compared to women consuming the fewest fiber-rich foods.

12. Brown Rice helps relieve Constipation:

Brown Rice is a rich source of fiber. According to Dr. Mantena Satyanarayana Raju fiber acts as a brush / broom to clean all the dust and garbage left inside of our body. Eating high source of fiber food like brown rice helps in the free motion of the stool relieving you from the problem of constipation.

Nutrition Analysis of Brown Rice

2009-10-25T00:02:00.000-07:00

In my previous post I published some information about Brown Rice. Today I am about to publish in-depth nutrient analysis of 195 gms of cooked brown rice based on the analysis published by World health foods which is as below:

The highlights of the analysis are:

1. The Brown Rice contains 216.45gms of Calories, 44.77 gms of Carbohydrates and 5.03gms of Proteins. You don’t find much of difference in these 3 categories when compared with white rice. White Rice too contain almost similar amount of calories, carbohydrates and proteins.

2. Brown Rice is rich in dietary fiber. Dietary fiber is very essential to clean our inner body. It helps in reduction of cholesterol. According to Dr. Mantena Satyanarayana Raju fiber acts as a broom which cleans the cholesterol, triglyceride and all other garbage in our body. 1 Cup cooked brown rice contains 3.51gms of dietary fiber where as cooked white rice contains 0.74gms of fiber.

3. Brown Rice contains a total fat content of 1.76gms which is again higher than white rice which contains 0.205gms of fats. Brown Rice contains 0.64gms and 0.63 of mono saturated and poly saturated fats which again help in increasing HDL (Good) Cholesterol and reducing LDL (Bad) Cholesterol.

4. Moreover, Brown Rice is rich in Vitamin B complex. It contains 0.19 mg of Thiamin B1, 0.05mg of Riboflavin B2, 2.98mg of niacin B3 and 0.28mg of Vitamin B6. Whereas, 67% of Vitamin B3, 80% of Vitamin B1 and 90% of Vitamin B6 is lost during milling process in white rice. You don’t need to add daily dose of B complex capsules if you eat brown rice regularly.

5. Brown Rice is very rich in minerals. It contains 19.50mg of Calcium, 448.50mg of Chloride, 0.20mg of Copper, 0.82mg of Iron, 83.85mg of Magnesium, 1.76mg of Manganese, 161.85mg of Phosphorus, 83.85mg of Potassium, 9.75mg of Sodium and 1.23mg of Zinc. Whereas, 60% of Iron, 80% of Potassium and almost half of the Manganese, Phosphorus, Copper and Zinc are lost in case of fully milled and polished white rice.

For further nutrient analysis of cooked brown rice kindly go through the table provided below by World Health Foods. I recommend everybody irrespective of age to use Brown Rice instead of White Rice for better health. I have been using it since 9 months and believe me its really good for health. In my next update, I am about to publish the benefits of Brown Rice. So… Keep watching the space for updates….

Brown rice, cooked (Note: "--" indicates data is unavailable)
amount	1.00 cup
total weight	195.00 g
Basic Components
nutrient	amount	%DV
calories	216.45	12.03
calories from fat	15.80
calories from saturated fat	3.16
protein	5.03 g	10.06
carbohydrates	44.77 g	14.92
dietary fiber	3.51 g	14.04
soluble fiber	0.39 g
insoluble fiber	3.12 g
sugar - total	0.39 g
disaccharides	0.39 g
other carbs	40.87 g
fat - total	1.76 g	2.71
saturated fat	0.35 g	1.75
mono fat	0.64 g	2.67
poly fat	0.63 g	2.63
trans fatty acids	-- g
cholesterol	0.00 mg	0.00
water	142.53 g
ash	0.90 g
Vitamins
nutrient	amount	%DV
vitamin A IU	0.00 IU	0.00
vitamin A RE	0.00 RE
A - carotenoid	0.00 RE	0.00
A - retinol	0.00 RE
A - beta carotene	0.00 mcg
thiamin - B1	0.19 mg	12.67
riboflavin - B2	0.05 mg	2.94
niacin - B3	2.98 mg	14.90
niacin equiv	4.05 mg
vitamin B6	0.28 mg	14.00
vitamin B12	0.00 mcg	0.00
biotin	1.54 mcg	0.51
vitamin C	0.00 mg	0.00
vitamin D IU	0.00 IU	0.00
vitamin D mcg	0.00 mcg
vitamin E alpha equiv	1.40 mg	7.00
vitamin E IU	2.09 IU
vitamin E mg	1.40 mg
folate	7.80 mcg	1.95
vitamin K	1.17 mcg	1.46
pantothenic acid	0.56 mg	5.60
Minerals
nutrient	amount	%DV
boron	-- mcg
calcium	19.50 mg	1.95
chloride	448.50 mg
chromium	-- mcg	--
copper	0.20 mg	10.00
fluoride	-- mg	--
iodine	-- mcg	--
iron	0.82 mg	4.56
magnesium	83.85 mg	20.96
manganese	1.76 mg	88.00
molybdenum	-- mcg	--
phosphorus	161.85 mg	16.18
potassium	83.85 mg	2.40
selenium	19.11 mcg	27.30
sodium	9.75 mg	0.41
zinc	1.23 mg	8.20
Saturated Fats
nutrient	amount	%DV
4:0 butyric	0.00 g
6:0 caproic	0.00 g
8:0 caprylic	0.00 g
10:0 capric	0.00 g
12:0 lauric	0.00 g
14:0 myristic	0.01 g
15:0 pentadecanoic	-- g
16:0 palmitic	0.30 g
17:0 margaric	-- g
18:0 stearic	0.03 g
20:0 arachidic	-- g
22:0 behenate	-- g
24:0 lignoceric	-- g
Mono Fats
nutrient	amount	%DV
14:1 myristol	-- g
15:1 pentadecenoic	-- g
16:1 palmitol	0.01 g
17:1 heptadecenoic	-- g
18:1 oleic	0.63 g
20:1 eicosen	0.00 g
22:1 erucic	0.00 g
24:1 nervonic	-- g
Poly Fats
nutrient	amount	%DV
18:2 linoleic	0.60 g
18:3 linolenic	0.03 g
18:4 stearidon	0.00 g
20:3 eicosatrienoic	0.00 g
20:4 arachidon	0.00 g
20:5 EPA	0.00 g
22:5 DPA	0.00 g
22:6 DHA	0.00 g
Other Fats
nutrient	amount	%DV
omega 3 fatty acids	0.03 g	1.25
omega 6 fatty acids	0.60 g
Amino Acids
nutrient	amount	%DV
alanine	0.29 g
arginine	0.38 g
aspartate	0.47 g
cystine	0.06 g	14.63
glutamate	1.02 g
glycine	0.25 g
histidine	0.13 g	10.08
isoleucine	0.21 g	18.26
leucine	0.42 g	16.60
lysine	0.19 g	8.09
methionine	0.11 g	14.86
phenylalanine	0.26 g	21.85
proline	0.24 g
serine	0.26 g
threonine	0.19 g	15.32
tryptophan	0.06 g	18.75
tyrosine	0.19 g	19.59
valine	0.29 g	19.73
Other
nutrient	amount	%DV
alcohol	0.00 g
caffeine	0.00 mg
artif sweetener total	-- mg
aspartame	-- mg
saccharin	-- mg
sugar alcohol	-- g
glycerol	-- g
inositol	-- g
mannitol	-- g
sorbitol	-- g
xylitol	-- g
organic acids	-- mg
acetic acid	-- mg
citric acid	-- mg
lactic acid	-- mg
malic acid	-- mg
choline	-- mg	--
taurine	-- mg

Mudi Biyyam - Dampudu Biyyam - Brown Rice - Unpolished Rice

2009-10-16T08:19:00.001-07:00

Today I have started a new blog about nutritious foods available across the globe. Here I am going to discuss and try to focus on world’s best and nutritious products, their history, nutritional values and their advantages. To begin with I have decided to publish about Brown Rice. It is simply because in some parts of World, the word “to eat” literally means “to eat rice”.

India

is one such place. In particular Rice is the staple food for the people of the southern states of

India

viz., Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. People of these states usually do not feel satisfied even if they miss a single meal a day without eating Rice. All varieties of Rice are available throughout the year, supplying as much as half of the daily calories of the

India

’s population. People begin and end up eating rice in these parts of the state as their breakfast, lunch and dinner. Such is the importance of Rice here. It is a kind of blessing by Nature for these people out here. Unfortunately, this great Rice has become a serious health hazard only due to the man made mistakes. Earlier people used to eat raw form of rice called Mudi Biyyam/Dampudu Biyyam/Brown Rice/Unpolished Rice. But today people are addicted of eating processed or fortified rice which is popularly known as White Rice in most parts of the world.

Brown Rice and White Rice have similar amounts of Calories, Carbohydrates and Proteins. The main differences between these two forms of Rice lie in processing and nutritional contents. The process that produces brown rice removes only the outermost layer, the hull, of the rice kernel and is the least damaging to its nutritional value. The complete milling and polishing that converts brown rice into white rice destroys 67% of the vitamin B3, 80% of the vitamin B1, 90% of the vitamin B6, half of the manganese, half of the phosphorus, 60% of the iron, and all of the dietary fiber and essential fatty acids. Fully milled and polished white rice is required to be "enriched" with vitamins B1, B3 and iron. Apart from that it is rinsed and soaked in water before cooking and then cooked for at least 20 minutes of time. A part of the remaining vitamins, minerals, iron and other enzymes are washed out while rinsing and the rest is evapourated while cooking. So what is left after cooking white rice? Most probably nothing; except calories, carbohydrates and proteins. Therefore excess use of white rice is leading to the increase of calories causing obesity, diabetes, heart and other chronic diseases. According to Dr. Mantena Satynarayana Raju a research revealed that

India

topped the list of diabetic cases around the world and Andhra Pradesh topped the list within

India

. Dr. Raju reiterates most of the times “Swarna Andhra Pradesh autundi anukunnam kani porapatuna Sugar Andhra Pradesh ayyindi” which means “We dreamt of a Golden Andhra Pradesh, instead it became a Sugar Andhra Pradesh or a Diabetic Andhra Pradesh.”

Dr. Raju has been intensively trying to promote the use of Brown Rice in Andhra Pradesh through all sources of media. In the past 10 to 15 years he has been engaged in promoting healthy ways of living through his conferences, print and electronic media. His tireless efforts over the past few years are now reaping fruits to the society. A couple of year back many of us wouldn’t have known what a brown rice is. But today it is available everywhere in the Rythu Bazars and Rice stores nearby. I have been following the diet of Brown Rice regularly since 9 months and believe me it’s a powerhouse of energy. It is definitely rich in nutrition and also better in taste when compared to white rice. You don’t feel hungry all day because it actually takes long time to digest. More importantly brown rice is strictly recommended for people lacking hemoglobin, who are feeble and weak, who is suffering from low blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol.

In my next update I will be providing in-depth nutritional analysis of Brown Rice, benefits and other advantages of eating Brown Rice. So keep watching the space for more updates…