What are the good foods in hot summer?

It is extremely hot in some parts of the world and we suffer much. It is easy to select the right foods during hot summer.

The right foods include:

• Enough fluid intake – water is the best. Fruit juices are good. Avoid sport and other drinks which contain excess of salt, caffeine and sugar. Chronic dehydration is mostly the reason for fatigue, dizziness and lack of concentration in summer.
• Fruits with high water content – Water melon, apple, oranges, lemon, grapes, grapefruit, honey dew melon, cantaloupe, berries, cherries, apricots, peaches, plums, papaya and mangoes
• Vegetables – All leafy vegetables, cucumber, tomatoes, radishes, lettuce, spinach and bell pepper are very good. Herbs such as mint is also good.
• Spices – It ins good to eat spicy foods. Chillies, ginger, turmeric, black pepper or cayenne pepper are good. Spicy foods warm your body in the beginning but ultimately they cool the body. Sweating regulates the body temperature.
• Yogurt
• Salted peanuts. It makes you to drink more water.

Raw fruits and vegetables are good. Do not eat too much and avoid food rich in protein. Less protein intake reduces the metabolic heat of the body.

Last summer when I was in Chennai, India I drank lot of coconut water, fresh lemon juice with little salt added and water melon. I had many of the available local fresh fruits and vegetables and almost avoided meat and meat-products.

Think of your dress and sunscreen in Summer always.

What are the right foods for a pregnant?

There is no need to eat for two during the pregnancy. It is recommended that for the first trimester the food intake should remain about the same as it was prior to the pregnancy. During the second and third trimesters the food intake should be increased upto 30%. It is easy to achieve this with more fruits intake.

It is important to eat variety of foods to ensure the nutritional needs of both mother and the baby. The recommendations include:

• Fruits and vegetables very generously
• Whole grain products and cereals, but not milled grain products
• Milk and dairy products should not be eaten in excess
• Lean meat, chicken and fish in moderate amounts
• Avoid excess intake of fats, sugar and salt
• Beans, pulses, nuts and seeds
• Drink enough water

Do not diet if you are a pregnant. This bad for you as well as to your baby. Green leafy vegetables are very important for the intake of folic acid. Folic acid supplement is recommended for the health of your baby. It is better to consult your doctor before you take a supplement.

With proper food it is possible to manage the iron content of your body also. Iron supplement could be taken only if your doctor recommends it.

Avoid excess of vitamin A intake and vitamin A supplements are not required. The excessive intake of vitamin A may cause birth deformities.

What is the role played by fruits and vegetables to control cholesterol?

Fruits and vegetables have no cholesterol. They have many antioxidants which could lower the bad LDL-cholesterol.

Avocados, olive oil and almonds reduce the bad LDL-cholesterol. These are fatty foods but the monounsaturated fatty acids present in them are good.

Vitamin C protects HDL, which cleans the arteries and with vitamin E it acts as antioxidant so that the oxidation of LDL-cholesterol will not take place and without oxidised LDL-cholesterol the arteries are clean. Two oranges will give you the enough vitamin C every day.

The apples are healthy, even a child knows it today, and it has a soluble fibre, pectin, which is responsible for the decrease of cholesterol. There are also other substances present which helps pectin. This effect is much higher in women than in men; women loose cholesterol almost 3 times more than men. Two apples can do well for a day.

Grapefruit is also a good food, it has a unique property of decreasing LDL-cholesterol but it can also reverse plaque which is already clogging your arteries. The soluble fibre found in grapefruit is galacturonic acid, but the juice does not have this fibre and so no effect on cholesterol.

But, if you take medicines you must be careful; grapefruit and juice can interfere with drug metabolism.

Carrots are good to decrease LDL-cholesterol and increase the good HDL-cholesterol. Pectin is one of the many soluble fibres present in carrots. Two average size carrots are enough per day to get the good effect. At the same time whether it is cooked or fried the effect of the fibre is there. Beta-carotene from carrots also increases the HDL cholesterol.

Onion is the best food to increase the HDL-cholesterol, but it must be raw. Cooked onions help in other ways to protect the heart. Half a raw onion per day is good.

Three raw or cooked garlic cloves a day can lower cholesterol. The substances in garlic reduce the production of cholesterol in the liver.

We eat lot of rice and chicken. Is it healthy?

This is a question asked many of my friends. It is not that they don’t want to eat vegetables or fruits.

Rice and chicken are very good food. But the dose makes the poison. Rice contains lot of carbohydrates and chicken is also good with its protein and fat. Eating rice and chicken everyday have the following disadvantage. Rice increases the blood sugar and excess blood sugar is converted in the liver to Triglycerides which is a risk factor for heart diseases.

100 g edible chicken contains 19.9 g protein, 9.6 g fat, cholesterol 100 mg and purine 115 mg. Excess protein is converted into sugar and excess sugar in turn to triglycerides.

It is absolute necessary to eat fresh vegetables and fruits. If fresh vegetables are not available try to use frozen vegetables which is available in many countries. Go for packed fruit juices without any additives.

More pulses and beans can also be used to reduce the amount of chicken.

Fruits and vegetables are not only good for vitamins and minerals but also rich in antioxidants and other phytochemicals which are necessary for health.

If there are many Asians try to import directly from your countries. In Germany we get all fresh Indian vegetables. Once in a week they are coming from India.

It is your health and it is worth spending something for that. Unfortunately, many are ready to spend money for alcohol than for vegetables and fruits.

Could you please tell me very shortly how to increase iron (Haemoglobin) status with help of food for vegetarians as well as for non-vegetarians?

It is very easy. Eat everyday 4 to 5 servings all vegetables and fruits which have red colour.

Red meat contains lot of iron with good bioavailability. If you are a vegetarian, then leave red meat and eat more red vegetables and fruits.

400 g vegetables and 400 g fruits are the minimum.

Haemoglobin levels must be above 14.5 g/dl and this is optimum. During pregnancy you need more iron.

Eat regularly healthy food and there will be no iron deficiency.

If you are a vegetarian consult with your doctor for vitamin B12 supplement. Never take iron tablets for a long period. Too much of iron is deposited in muscles and produce many dangerous hydroxyl free radicals through Fenton’s chemical reaction.

Avoid cucumber and tea.

Is it dangerous to health to take beta-carotene food supplement?

20 to 30 years ago there are many studies which suggested that dietary supplements of beta-carotene and vitamin A might reduce the incidence of lung cancer. .

Beta-carotene and vitamin A are antioxidants which may prevent carcinogens from damaging DNA to cause cancer.

Beta-carotene supplements are not harmful to non-smokers. But smokers have got more lung cancer compared to others.

Food rich in beta-carotene, other carotenoids and other phytochemicals found in fresh vegetables and fruits are very healthy food for all including smokers.

We must be always careful with synthetic food supplements.

Food supplements are good if they are absolutely necessary. Before taking, it is a must to consult with your doctor or dieticians.

Is it necessary to take folic acid if we plan a baby?

Yes, it is important to take folic acid before you plan because in the very early stages of pregnancy, folic acid plays a vital role in cell formation and division. It can significantly minimise the risk of giving birth to a baby with a congenital neural tube defect.

Dark green leafy vegetables, pulses, legumes and nuts are rich in folic acid, but it is always impossible to take the daily intake from these foods because so much we cannot eat. So I recommend folic acid supplementation if you plan for a baby. It is good as a part of vitamin B complex tablet, it is not necessary to buy costly folic acid mono preparations. If you want to buy a vitamin B complex without folic acid, then it is not a real vitamin B complex, then better do not buy it.

Are drumsticks and leaves good for postmenopausal women?

Drumsticks and their leaves are good because they are rich in calcium, magnesium and other elements which are important to prevent osteoporosis. Apart from other vitamins, enough amount of vitamin A is also present. It is a good food for menopausal women.

You say counting calories is not correct, why?

I am an analytical chemist who understands a lot about these estimations in food industry or in environment or in the medicine or anywhere. There is nobody to control all these because most of the national nutrition associations work closely with the food industry.

I furnish you some of the values which give you some important information. Potatoes had in 1978, 87 calories/100g, but it was 68 calories in 1990, carrots 1978, 35 calories and in 1990 only 24. Ragi, in 1978, 240 calories and in 1990 only 194 and avocado, 240 in 1978 and in 1990, 205 calories, if we measure now it may be also different. It can be because of modern analytical methods or the allowed fluctuations in the measurements. Counting calories can make one desperate because what you count is always not correct. Consider the amount and it is easy to calculate and the success is almost pre-planned.

What is the relationship among calcium, estrogens and vitamin D?

It is very simple, for the absorption of calcium from our intestine to blood we need estrogens and vitamin D. If you have deficiency of estrogens, vitamin D or both you can also have less absorption of calcium which may lead to osteoporosis.

It is more difficult to keep the absorbed calcium in our body and several factors such as, the amount of calcium or the amount of vitamin D, or sodium or protein has a good or very bad influence on it. Too much from these food or nutrients are bad for calcium metabolism.

The estrogens production is slowly reduced during the pre-menopausal period and in post-menopausal the concentration is very low. Estrogens replacement therapy or enough vitamin D intake is, therefore, very important for women’s health.

The phytoestrogens from soya beans or other vegetables can also replace estrogens replacement therapy.

I eat always rice, can rice increase cholesterol?

No, rice will not increase your cholesterol.

Boiled rice is healthy, but, the dose makes the poison and it is applicable to rice also.

But excess sugar from rice in the blood is converted into triglycerides in the liver which is also a risk factor for heart diseases.

It is not the genes which raise the fats but excess carbohydrates or sugars.

Reduce the amount of carbohydrates in your food and eat lot of vegetables and fruits to be always healthy.

What about pesticide residues in vegetables and fruits in the world?

From our estimations we know that almost in all vegetables and fruits you can find the pesticide and other chemical residues used in the agriculture.

Sometime there are less and sometime more poisons. This is a problem throughout the world. I do not think that it will also change in the near future. Moreover, there are no controls in many countries. Even if the controls are there, the concerned authorities close their eyes and nothing is happening.

Our food must contain enough anti-oxidants. We need good detoxification system and we could support them with proper food to master this problem.

The mechanism of detoxification

The toxins get inside our body through the lungs, skin or from the food, environment etc. and most of them is not water soluble. These are very dangerous because our kidneys are not in a position to excrete them and must be made water soluble.

The first set of enzymes, the phase-1 enzymes, react with them and produce an intermediate product which is more poisonous than the original toxin. Moreover, these produce many free radicals which are also dangerous to our health. So in the phase-2 reaction, in a very rapid way the reduced glutathione present in our cells react with this to form a water soluble substance which could be excreted through the kidneys.

In this process the glutathione is got oxidised and in less than in a fraction of nano second time this should be reduced to the original state to bind the toxins from the next breath. Here comes the vital role of antioxidants which reduce the oxidised glutathione to the effective reduced glutathione and this is happening countless times in our body throughout our lives without a break. A break means certain death.

Fruits and vegetables have enough anti-oxidants. Right food is our health.

Dandruff – a simple, but effective treatment

Here is an important information from my elder sister Ms. R. Dhanalakshmi, Madurai, Tamil Nadu for a simple, but effective treatment to remove dandruff.

Take few Indian vegetable lady’s finger (Vendakkai, Okra, Abelmoschus esculentus) and crush it well. Warm it in a frying pan and rub it well on your head skin. After 15 minutes, wash your hair with lot of water and a mild shampoo or Shikakai powder (Acacia Concinna). In 3 to 15 days the dandruff will disappear.

Try this method and it has no side effects.

Acacia Concinna, known as fruit for hair, shikakai is made from a shrub Acacia Concinna. The powder of shikakai is immensely used to strengthen the hair roots and promote their growth. Further, it clears the dandruff and cleans the dirt accumulated on scalp. The regular use of shikakai enhances the bounciness and silkiness of hair.

If you use shikakai it is also good for our environment. Soap is not good for our environment.

My Oil Pulling Diary, 29.09.2009

Today was exactly like yesterday and the after oil pulling the solution was only slightly milky. The sesame oils taste was there after 20 min also there. From today onwards I am going to eat normally and let me see how long it takes to turn my body alkaline.

The persons who are doing oil pulling under my care are ready to tell me their experience and what they are eating. It is only the way to get more information about that.

There are more points about removing the poisons from the body. Let us do good research and find answers for most of the questions.

My healthy South Indian breakfast for today is is:

Three medium sized Idlys with coconut Chutney, Sambar with potatoes, drumsticks and other vegetables and Dosai Podi with sesame oil.
Two medhu Vadai
One cup coffee

My Oil Pulling Diary, 28.09.2009

Yesterday I ate altogether 1 set poori with potatoes, two medhu vadais, three chapattis, fried mutton, chips and 20 to 30 g groundnuts. I drank 4 cups (big one with 400 ml) of coffee. To make the condition still worse I drank 3 small glass of beer also. Apart from the coffee I drank nearly 4 l drinking water.



How was my oil pulling today morning? It was almost not at all milky. Moreover I had very little production of saliva. Now we see the reasons for this.

My food had no fruits or vegetables. That means the food what I ate made my body acidic. Medical literature says that the pH of the saliva is between 6 and 7.4. My saliva pH may be around 6 and there happened no sopanification with my saliva. I had the pure taste of the sesame oil even after 20 min of oil pulling.

What might be the reason for the low production of saliva? I drank 4 cups of moderately strong coffee. Caffeine dehydrates the body and this is same case with alcohol also. There was a mild dehydration of my body. At about 3p.m. in the night I had cramps in the left toes and it was very painful I got up and drank two big glass of water and in 3 min the cramps were gone away. My body is acidic now and in this case more calcium from my bones are lost and the danger of my body taking more poisons from the air, water and food is always high. With this you can learn several things. More water, less coffee, no or less alcohol and the importance of the fruits and vegetables which could make our body alkaline are necessary everyday. Every day in a warm country like India 4 to 6 liters of water is necessary for the body and your food must contain lot of vegetables so that your body stays alkaline.

Today will be the last day I eat bad food and from tomorrow onwards I eat normally with vegetables and fruits and inform you what is happening with me and my oil pulling.

Note: With oil pulling one could control easily whether her/his body is acidic or alkaline, if necessary could change the eating habits immediately.

My Oil Pulling Diary, 26.09.2009

Today is the third day and I was excited to know what was going to happen with my oil pulling. Yesterday I did not eat any fruits and vegetables (I am a single for the time being!) and I was interested to know whether this had an influence on the oil pulling. In the beginning everything was normal.

After 7 or 8 min the amount of saliva production was more and I could feel the oily taste of sesame oil varies. After 14 min my mouth was so full that I thought I have to stop. When it was 16 min there was a sudden change. There was suddenly enough place in the mouth. I finishd my oil pulling after 20 min. Interestingly the final fluid was not so milky as yesterday. I could see more oil drops or so to say an emulsion. It might be because that my body might be acidic or the pH of the saliva might be around 6 instead of around 7 or more. I would follow this in the coming days.