Symptoms Food Poisoning

So what is food poisoning. It is the abnormal condition of the stomach caused by eating some culprit food. Here I would like to dedicate this post as symptoms food poisoning to the same purpose.

Symptoms Food Poisoning
1) Nausea
2) Vomiting
3) Cramping
4) Diarrhoea with or without blood
5) Dizziness or weakness

Cause of Food Poisoning
1) Uncooked meat (chickens, burgers, sushi, steaks, pork, etc).
2) Mayonised salad's kept at room temperature.
3) Food like egg, tuna, chicken salad, pasta and potato which is stored at room temperature.
4) Animal contact and failing to wash your hands before eating.

Avoid Food Poisoning
1) Wash your hands before eating
2) Don't cut the vegetables on the same board you used to cut the meat.
3) Store all the food in the refrigerator till just before and after the meal.
4) See if the food is properly cooked.

Health Benefits of Lady's Finger

Health Benefits of Lady's Finger :

1) The vegetable is a good provider of good bacteria called the probiotics. Probiotics helps in biosynhtesis of vitamin B. They also help in proliferation
just like the yoghurt.

2) Nurture you hair : Lady's Finger can be applied to hair as the last rinse to make your hair bounce.

Follow the steps ahead

• Slice the lady's finger horizontally and boil it till the is brew is slim.
• Cool it off and add few drops of lemon juice to it.
• Apply this to your hair and enjoy the bouncy look.

3) Lady's finger has other health benefits as mentioned below.

1. Excellent laxative.
2. Treats Bowels.
3. Heals Ulcers.
4. Soothes the gastrointestinal tract.

Health Resolution for Year 2008.

It is time ( know I am a little late ) to set my goals towards my health.
1) Put on 5kg's extra this year : Currently I weight around 67 to 69 Kg. I want to put 5 kgs, so I am looking myself to weight 70 to 75 kg in 2009 Jan. I will be following some diet routines and importance of cholesterol in getting size in my coming posts. ( so keep looking at blog). I achieved my goal of putting 10kg last year. Maybe in future I will update the blog with my pictures.
2) Regular Joggging : In my earlier post my jogging track, I have placed the pictures of the place where I go for jogging. I will be a regular visitor there at least 5 times a week.
3) Quit smoking this year.
4) I am very poor at drinking water and I will make it sure this year to drink at least a glass of water every hour.
5) More fruits this year, less beverages and lot of green vegetables will be on chart.
6) Quit Tea.

Health In Winter

When winter arrives, the sniffles loom threateningly. Each year when the weather changes. more people fall sick, ailments are aggravated and it takes longer to recover. These viral or bacterial attacks are a sign of bodily weakness and an impaired immune system. They attack when we are at our lowest ebb, as in winter the cold lowers our resistance. People who have weakened immune system lack the wherewithal to identify viruses and fight them off. People with healthy lifestyle are better able to combat diseases.

Most viral infections find a beginning in the sore throat, followed by cough, sneezing and finally ending in nasal discharge. This further leads to increases in breathing problems and allergies. Cold and viral infections spread like wildfire in this season. Both are capable of being transmitted within hour from person to person. Precaution in case of cold involves avoiding close contact with a patient since it is transmitted through droplets while sneezing. The infection period for both starts a day prior to the emergence of symptoms and lasts for about two days after complete recovery.

You could be carrier of infection even after it is completely washed out of your system. Take plenty of lukewarm liquids as it is beneficial in case a cold does catch up with you.
Since the skin looses all the moisture in winter due to dry winter air, skin are highly damaged.

Related Posts:
Avoid Dry Skin
Home Remedy for Cold

Hair Loss After Pregnancy

Pregnancy!! A great time for women with the feeling of being a mother on their mind. Pregnancy time is also a good time for hair. why? because this is the time when the body produces more and more estrogen, hormone that stimulates and keeps the hair in the growing phase. No wonder you see so many gorgeous pregnant woman around.
What about the hair loss after pregnancy? The estrogen levels drops in the body and the mane of hair the woman acquired before pregnancy starts to disappear. There is considerable loss of hair and woman often freak out with bunch of hair loss at the slightest touch of hand. The hair become weaker and thin due to dropped levels of estrogen. In some cases the scalp at the front and on the top become sore. This hair loss after pregnancy is called Telogen Effluvium. This process starts 3 months after pregnancy and is at its peak during the six month after pregnancy. Physical stress, hormone changes and lack of sleep adds to the hair loss after pregnancy.

How can you control hair loss after pregnancy?

a) Sleep for 8 hours at least.
b) Drink a glass of water every hour.
c) Eat food for hair like the almond, soya, dates and flax seeds.

On a leaving note, please take care when you are at telogen effluvium stage as the hair sometimes may get wrapped around baby's feet to cut off the blood circulation and the medical terms this as toe tourniquet syndrome.

Best of luck and take care. If the hair loss does not stop, women can nowadays consider a hair transplant.

Effects of Second Hand Smoke On Children

Before going into the effects of second hand smoke on children let me tell you what a second hand smoke is all about. Second hand smoke is a mixture or combination of smoke exhaled by cigarette smoker and the smoke coming from the lighted end of the cigarette or whatever form of tobacco you smoke, also called as environmental tobacco smoke. It is the chemicals present in it which makes the second hand smoke so effective. From my research online I found there are almost 4000 chemicals present in the smoke of which 40 to 43 can cause cancer. Effects of second hand smoke on children are due to kid's growing/developing lungs which are more susceptible to the second hand smoke. In adults the lungs and other can be affected organs are fully grown, so they are not at a higher risk.

Effects of Second Hand Smoke On Children

• Asthma
• SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome)
  
• Pneumonia and Bronchitis
• Middle Ear Infections
• Allergies
• Eye Irritations
• Headaches

A Study Second Hand Smoke Effect on Children:

A study was carried out in Hong King , which involved looking after 7,402 children newly born children in april and may 1997 for 8 years. It was found that, if a child was exposed to second hand tobacco smoke during the first six months, the chances to get admitted to the hospital for an infectious disease increased by 45%.


A personal suggestion to all. Please stop smoking. If you can't, then at least avoid being near to children to avoid the effects of second hand smoke on children.


Related Post :
Quit Smoking Inspiring Stories.

Herbal Juice

The taste of fruits and vegetables from the nature seems to be overshadowed in the glamorous setting of the food centers these days. Our body desperately needs vitamins and minerals along with enzymes to keep fit. Herbal juices have no alternative to level the reducing enzymes with the age. Herbal juice is the best healthy drink.

The place where I go jogging was distributing a brochure, which had importance of different types of herbal juices. I will present it without any changes to the brochure.

1) Herbal Neem Juice : Effective in diabetes, skin diseases, purifies blood and reduces heat and pimples.
2) Herbal Bitter Gourd Juice : Its amazing quality reduces the blood sugar level. The bitter juice is very effective with lemonade in curing many ailments such as whitening of hair, jaundice, increased fat, skin diseases, urinal diseases and many other. Regular consumption of this juice cures leucoderma and psoriasis.
3) Herbal Basil And Menthol Juice : Improves digestion, nervous system and helps in improving conditions in case of fever, cough, asthma, colitis, kidney functions, cholesterol levels, improves memory and effective in skin diseases.
4) Herbal Lemon Juice : Herbal lemon juice is effective in digestion, cold, cough, heart diseases, stomach diseases, swelling, urinal ailments, jaundice, piles, asthma, dropsy, etc.
5) Herbal Ginger Juice : Functions similar to lemon juice.
6) Herbal Amla Juice : Improves hair quality, eyesight, healthy, improves blood, effective against oral diseases, anaemia, arthritis, gum problems, recurring cold, cough, tonsils, urinal diseases, infertility, blood problems, jaundice, asthma, T.B., memory problems, old age problems, etc.
7) Herbal Kokam Juice : Effective for acidity, high quality thirst quencher, good for heart, effective in heat and cures diarrhea.
8) Herbal Carrot Juice : Beta Carotene's treasure, improves resistance power. Improves eye health, controls the oral and lungs cancer. Kids should consume this juice as it has iron and calcium.
9 ) Herbal Beetroot Juice : Enriched food, improves and calms blood, good appetizer by improving digestion. It increases power and enthusiasm.
10) Herbal Jamun Juice : Effective for burns, acidity and improves urinal flow, level diseases, diabetes, anaemia, spleen problems, burns in arethra, etc.
11) Herbal Bel Leaf Juice : Effective in urine stone, arthritis, joint pains and for diabetes upto some extent.
12) Herbal Gourd Juice : Best for heart, blood circulation and cholesterol control.

If you know of any other juice, it's benefits do post a comment on it.

Related posts :
Beetroot Juice Benefits.
Minerals required by the body.

Minerals The Body Needs

Minerals are not produced by body so we have to take them externally in form of food. If you don't know minerals form 4% of the body mass. Since women loosed much more minerals than men, women requires a larger intake of minerals.


Here is a list of some important minerals the body needs and there functions,
1) Calcium : Body needs the calcium mineral for proper development of bones and teeth, nerve functioning, blood clotting and muscle contraction.
2) Magnesium : Instead of writing down where magnesium is used by body, I would just mention, it is required by almost every process that our body performs.
3) Phosphorus : Phosphorus is one of the mineral needs of the body as it constitutes to the bones, teeth, formation of enzyme which is used in energy conversion reaction. It also maintains a balance of the acids in the body.
4) Zinc : Zinc is vital mineral for strong immune system.
5) Chromium : Chromium is used by body to maintain a balance of sugar in human blood and thus is used to treat a diabetic patient.
6) Cobalt : Cobalt is required for maintaining the number of RBC's in body and to build a healthy nervous system.
7) Copper : RBC's production, maintaining healthy skin, cartilage and bones, promotion of skin color, hair color, maintain cholesterol levels and utilizes the vitamin C are some of the functions of copper.
8) Iodine : Iodine is required by body to prevent Goiter (swelling under the neck [my mother has it but it is under control and the swelling has decrease gradually in years from medications]).
9) Iron : Iron helps in transportation of oxygen through out the body.
10) Manganese : Helps in normal functioning of brain.
Some other minerals required by the body are Molybdenum, Selenium, Vanadium and Boron.

If you want to read each of the element in detail, there is a great site dedicated to minerals and deficiency.

Related Posts:
Tuna fish, a rich source of selenium

Chillies Health Benefits

Chillies! Chillies! Haa Haa thing! Yes every thing has its own role in maintaining one's health so do the chillies. Chillies can provide 7 times more vitamin C than a orange. Chillies provide Vitamin A, B , C and E. Chillies also provide minerals like molybdenum, manganese, folate, potassium, thiamin, and copper.

Health Benefits of Chillies:
1) Pain Killer : Chillies cause the release of natural pain killers called endorphins.
2) Increases Metabolism : Chillies help in digestion of food, by detoxicating gastrointestines.
3) Releases Nasal Congestion :
4) Discourage Blood Clots : If there is an internal blood clot blocking the flow of blood to cerebral tissues, Cayenne clears the way for the blood flow to the required parts.
5) Anti-inflammatory Agent :
6) Antibiotics : Chillies has a property to increase the flow of fresh blood to the infected areas, thus bringing in more and more WBC's ( White Blood Cells ) to fight the infection.
7) Prevents Cancer.
8) Stimulates the Circulation of Blood.
9) Aids in Digestion.

Beetroot Juice Benefits

After reading the article in a newspaper I decided to test the beetroot juice for the first time. (There are stalls of all types of juices where I go for jogging). So I ordered one and it was so truly mentioned in the article that beetroot juice is oily and somewhat hard to digest. But hey hold on, thats not the only thing. Let me jot down some of the benefits of beetroot juice.

Benefits Of Beetroot Juice
1) Controls Bile : Google defines bile to be a digestive juice, which is secreted by the liver and is stored in gall bladder and aids in digestion of fat.
2) It also aids in absorption of iron : Iron is required for oxidation - reduction reaction and oxygen transport in the body.
3) Provides betaine : Betaine is required by body to clean the intestine and stomach.
4) It is believed to be a powerful recovery agent in case of malignancy ( cancers) .
5) Beetroot juice is also effective in overall recovery process after being sick or injured to get normal again.
6) Reddens and vitalizes the body and improves the quality of blood.

Caffeine Effects

Caffeine! A chemical found in coffee has number of advantages and disadvantages. Caffeine effects can be experienced when you are tired and with a cup of coffee, you suddenly you feel a lot more alive. I will quickly run through some of the caffeine effects in todays post.

Caffeine Effects:

1) Since caffeine improves the functionality of nerve cells to communicate, results in improved memory, alertness, reaction time and mental functionality.
2) Caffeine is a booster for Blood Pressure and heart.
3) Caffeine absorption in fetus's may result in low proportion of calcium and iron in a fetus. With a high dose it can even result in fetus breathing slow with increased heart bit.
4) Caffeine also promotes urination. Urination eventually cause loss of calcium from body and can result in not so strong bones and dehydration.

My Jogging Track

Hello All! Today I am not posting any tips, instead I would walk you through my everyday jogging track and the surroundings. The place where I jog is not a jogging park as such, instead it is a hilly area located at the heart of city, I live in. Everyday morning by about 7 o' clock me and a friend of mine reach the main gate leading into the lush green area with plenty of fresh air and peacocks (no kidding) . It's winter in here and the morning climate is awesome to jog these days.

I regularly start my day at the above location and position. What a feeling! Words won't be able to describe it. It is an experience. After some Vitamin D intake, I start jogging into the woods. These days plenty of peacocks pass through the jogging track (as mentioned earlier you can see in the first picture, it is not really a jogging track) and you can see them from a distance. After 15 minutes of jog. I trek a small hill, which is an added advantage for cardio routine.

At the end of 15 minutes it's time for some streching, situps, push ups and relaxation. Streching is for 5 minutes, push ups are for 5 to 8 minutes with a gap of 1 - 2 minutes between each sets of 25 to 30 push ups. Relaxation includes looking through the woods, piercing way to sky. Yes I really feel relaxed in the above position.

What is your routine? Do post a link to your jogging routine ( exercise routine) and the pics or links to the pics where you exercise. Thanks. You can read one of my post on jogging tips.

Avoid Dry Skin

Skin! the exterior by which a man/woman is known. The complexion that matters. Everyone likes to have a wonderful skin. Don't you stare at people with soft, moist skin. Ah! Who won't like that!

So why does the skin dries out in winter? The answers are low humidity, low temperature and strong wind blowing interfere with the lipid layer which protects our skin from being dry. To take it further, our skin is made of layers. The outermost layer is called stratum corneum and is made up of dead skin cells and natural oils that are produced from living skin cells. Stratum Corneum has two important functions. First is, it retains water from being evaporated to retain the moisture for the skin and secondly, it prevents germs from entering the skin. To summarize the natural oils (lipids) and dead cells contains water which is responsible for keeping the skin moist. So when these lipids reduce in number the skin becomes dry.

Tips to get rid of dry skin.
1) Use warm water instead of hot while bathing to avoid hot water pulling away the moisture from the skin.
2) Apply moisturizer after shower and hand washing when the skin is damp for best effects.
3) Exfoliate your skin once or twice a week for the moisturizer to be effective. Exfoliate face with facial scrub, while body with body scrub, reason being the difference in skin types.
4) Avoid soaps that turn your skin dry like the foamy ones and those which has cleanser like lye. Instead consider using a creamy moisturizer cleanser made up of glycerin and petrolatum.
5) Apply moisturizer and cover your hands and legs with gloves and socks respectively.
6) Stay hydrated in a limited way, as drinking a lot of water in any won't hydrate your skin from inside out.
7) Take care of your lips. Please don't move your tongues around them. It will never help them preserve the moisture. Instead they will loose it.
8) Extra Care for Face in winter is a must. Moving out of house in wind without a scarf and moisturizer on is a strict NO.

Other tips:
People with sensitive skin should not use tap water? Reason is harsh chemicals which will cause your skin to dry up.
Suggestions: Instead use Pond's like cold cream, which does not need rinsing. Special water containing selenium and chamomile.

What do you do to keep away dry skin in winter?

Orange Health Benefits

Oranges are loved by people but some are not very much attracted to it. As everyone knows orange is abundant source for vitamin C? That's not enough! Here follows the list of other health benefits of orange.

1) Orange contains Beta carotene, which is a powerful antioxidant guarding the health of our cells.
2) Orange contains Calcium, which a school going knows how important is in healthy bones and teeth's.
3) Our brain needs folic acid for proper development which is found in Oranges.
4) Blood pressure can be kept in balance with magnesium found in Oranges.
5) To maintain a healthy cardiovascular system and to maintain electrolyte balance of cells, one can eat oranges for potassium it provides.
6) The food we take is converted into energy by thiamin found in orange.

Important tip :
The skin or the pith of the orange has as much vitamin c as the orange so one must try to eat it. You can add some spices to it, if you think it is not edible.

Next time you see a orange don't hesitate to take a piece. Which all fruits do you like? Do you have a list of fruits which you consume daily or frequently? Let us know!

Home Remedy For Cold

No one can deny getting cold one or the other time. Today I will write some home remedies to get over common cold.

1) Turmeric Powder : Using Turmeric as home remedy for cold is an ancient way followed, where 30 ml of milk, mixed with half spoon turmeric powder and the mixture is boiled. Take this once or twice a day and you are done with cold. When you are irritated with the runny nose one can inhale the smoke of the burning turmeric powder to increase the flow from nose for quick relief.
2) Lemon : Lemon juice rich is vitamin C is considered as most important home remedy for cold. It increases the resistance power of the body and reduced the time of illness. One can take a combination of lemon juice, warm water and a teaspoon of honey to get rid of cold.
3) Garlic : Garlic in soup form reduces the severity of cold. Garlic's antiseptic and cleansing respiratory passage properties makes it another important home remedy for cold. Take 3 or 4 pieces of garlic and boil it in water.
4) Ginger : One can always prepare a ginger tea and take it twice daily. Preparation is like normal tea. The only thing one has to do is add ginger to the tea.
5) Bitter Gourd Roots : The roots of bitter gourd are used in folk medicine to cure a cold. The contains should be teaspoon of root paste and same quantity of honey. Take it once a day.

Vegetarian Diet Benefits Part 1

Have you ever considered of being a vegetarian ever? Well after reading this post, maybe you can give vegetarian diet a thought! I came across a new term called Vegans. Vegans are those who eat no animals and animals products.

1) Living longer life: It has been stamped that those who are vegetarians can live 7 years more than non-vegetarians. Vegans can live 15 years more than meat fond people. Backed by China Health Project which states that vegetarians are less prone to cancer, heart attacks and other ailments.
2) Stronger Heart : Vegetarian diet is very low in calories and cholesterol levels than other diets. So cardiovascular diseases which are a reason for death of highest number of people in United States can be adopted instead of the high level of cholesterol and saturated fats found in American Diets.
3) Avoid Cancer : Cancers like Prostate, colon and skin cancer can be prevented by adopting a plant based diet. Tumor cells which are responsible for cancer are better controlled by vegetarian's immune system. Pineapple is one fruit which fights cancel cell wells. Read more about Pineapple and Facts.
4) Stay Slim : Many people want to stay slim and it has been like a stamped fact that vegetarians are a lot slimmer than meat eaters due to low fat and calorie but high protein vegetarian diet.
5) Detoxify Your Body : Vegetarian diet helps detoxification helping us in keeping away all the toxins. Remember a doctor always suggest a vegetarian diet before starting the detoxification programme.
6) Stronger Bones for Longer Time : Animal products like milk makes blood acidic and to maintain a balance our body pulls calcium from bones. So it is better to intake leafy vegetables like broccoli and legumes. In non-Veg diet, excess calcium intake has adverse effect on calcium absorption ad retention by body. In which case the body actually excrete calcium and results in bone disease like osteoporosis. A fact is vegetarian bone stays much longer than non-veg bone. ( I hope, I used the right line there )

Pineapple and Facts

Every fruit has its own role in healthy living. Certain fruits can give you required vitamins, while some can give you required enzymes. There is a lot, which I will posting subsequently in future. For today lets concentrate on what a pineapple can do?

Pineapple! Yes you heard it right. Pineapple though my favourite fruit, I never knew what positive effect it had on one's health. Fresh Pineapple is a good source of Bromelain, a enzyme which helps in digestion and acts as an anti-inflammatory agent. Bromelain is used in many experiments on cancer people to reduce the inflammation of cells and has proved to be a good agent at doing it's job in reducing swelling and inflammation. As a fact, pineapple will help reduce inflammatory conditions like acute sinusitis, arthritis. gout and sour throat.

When should one consume Pineapple? Pineapple consumption best effects when taken between two meals. The fact behind it is, the bromelain enzyme may only be used for digestive purpose than reducing the inflammatory condition if we consume it at meals. Also another fact is heat deactives the enzyme in pineapple. So canned pineapple or pineapple juice are not good sources of the enzyme. One should always try and consume fresh pineapple.