salads

Salads must be a part of everybody's diet and should be served at both meals throughout the year. In India, salads are not so popular and are restricted only to a few vegetables eaten raw, with or without dressing.

Salads should be made popular as they make an invaluable contribution of vitamins and minerals in ones diet. Also, they provide fiber and add color to the meal. Salads are of advantage to the numerous dieters who look out for low fat dishes. Eating good amount of salad (with low calorie dressings) avoids the danger of overeating and decreases the desire for a dessert.

What comprises a salad?

Salads are made up of vegetables, fruits, milk and milk products, pulses, meat, poultry, fish, eggs or even cereals (in the form of macaroni or spaghetti). They are normally served cold but can be served hot or frozen. Usually they accompany the main course, but can be a meal by itself.
There are four basic parts to a salad:

1. The base or the underliner: These include greens, which are either shredded or in large pieces.
2. The body or heart of the salad: This forms the major component and can be a single ingredient or a combination of ingredients.
3. The dressing: Dressings make the salad more flavorful. It includes ingredients like lemon juice, vinegar, mayonnaise, salad oil, olive oil etc.
4. The garnish: Garnish enhances eye appeal. It should be carefully selected such that it is contrast in color with the dressing

How to toss a salad?
There are certain rules to follow when tossing a salad. There are sound nutritional reasons for each of these rules.

1. Make sure the ingredients are free from clinging drops of moisture. This prevents the nutrients and flavors from passing into the water clinging to the surface.
2. The salad oil must be added first.
3. The leaves must be so well tossed that each surface glistens with oil before lemon juice or vinegar and seasonings are added.

The purpose of the second and the third step is to allow the oil to seal the surfaces from oxygen, which can destroy vitamins, and from moisture, which can soak out vitamins, minerals and flavor. The oil coating also distributes and holds seasonings and prevents salt from drawing moisture out of the ingredient.
So make the perfect tossed salad by applying these simple rules. 

Salad with a caution:

After such a carefully prepared salad there is some more to note about: The salad dressing...While lemon juice, olive oil,vinegar in moderation are good source of salad dressing, mayonnaise; salad oils; labelled salad dressing    are sure to avoid sources as it contains more calories than the salad itself.

The biggest pitfall with a salad is ruining a veggie-filled meal with hundreds of calories in dressing. Check the label, Oftentimes the dressing with a salad at a restaurant has more calories than a candy bar. Order dressing on the side, You should not be putting more than 60 calories of dressing on a salad.

The no calorie drink

WATER- THE NO CALORIE DRINK

Next to oxygen, water is the most important factor for the survival of man and animals. It is the world's oldest health drink without which you cannot live and will die if you try to do so. A person can survive without food for five weeks or more or with a nutrient deficiency for even months or years, but without water he can survive only for a few days.
Professor Mickelsen emphasizes the value of water. He says " It is well to remember that it is more important to have an adequate intake of water than it is to have enough calories".

Water makes up about 60 percent of body weight. About 40 percent of the body's water weight is inside the cells, and about 15 percent outside the cells. The remaining 5% is in the blood vessels.

WHY DO WE NEED WATER?
Water is essential for good health, good skin tone, and most of the body's functions. On an average, we lose 2 to 3 litres of water each day by various means:
a.       Through the skin: This can be in form of insensible perspiration and sweat. The difference in perspiration and sweat is that the latter contains sodium chloride (salt), urea and trace amounts of calcium, potassium and some of the water-soluble vitamins.
b.       Through the lungs: This is in the form of air expelled, which is saturated with moisture.
c.       Through the kidney: In the form of urine.


ROLE OF WATER IN BODY FUNCTIONS

1.       As a lubricant: No cell functions when it is absolutely dry, and it is essential for the cells to be constantly bathed in fluid in order to do their work. Also, without water to moisten the surface of the lungs there can be no intake of oxygen or expulsion of carbon dioxide. Water also helps to lubricate the joints.

2.       For digestive process: Food cannot be properly digested, absorbed and carried to all parts of the body through the bloodstream with insufficient water. It has been estimated that the body uses 3 to 5 litres of water daily in the digestive process.

3.       In waste elimination: Water is essential in the excretion of soluble wastes through lungs, skin and kidneys.

4.       For circulation: It maintains the blood volume. About 90 percent of blood plasma is water. This liquidity allows blood plasma to circulate freely throughout the body carrying vital substances with it

5.       For temperature regulation: It helps to maintain the internal temperature of the body of 98.6 F by absorbing heat.

6.       Provides protection: It acts as a cushion to protect the body from injuries resulting from impact and shock. It also serves to maintain pressure in various parts of the body, such as the eyeballs.

Muscles, which are 75 percent water, must have water to contract and maintain proper tonus.



HOW MUCH WATER DO WE NEED TO DRINK?
To remain healthy, a normal adult must consume approximately 2.5 litres of water everyday. That's around 10-12 glasses of water every other waking hour!
And the more you weigh, the more water you lose. So, one has to compensate this loss by drinking more water.

If you want to calculate the number of glasses of water you need to drink daily just use this simple formula. Take your weight in pounds, multiply that by .08 and you get the number of glasses of water needed by your body.(1 glass = 240 ml)

Of course, depending on other factors like the climatic conditions, lifestyle, exercise and diet the amount of water one needs daily will vary.

·         If you live in a hot climate or your work is physically demanding, you need more than 10 to 12 glasses of water.

·         If you exercise, you need to drink extra water.

PROBLEM WITH DRINKING LESS WATER

Not drinking enough water is the cause of many common health problems such as:

1.       DEHYDRATION: This is the first and the most common problem of drinking insufficient water. A dehydrated body is not a happy body. Symptoms of dehydration include thirst (which is a biological response), headache, weakness, lassitude, fatigue, lightheadedness, muscle cramps and slight dulled thinking.

2.       WATER AND ASTHMA: Many would wonder, but yes, there is a relationship between asthma and drinking insufficient water. Asthma occurs when the bronchioles of the lungs constrict, causing breathing to become dangerously difficult. In severe cases, it is life threatening. Since the body loses more than 3 litres of water through exhaled breath, skin and urine, that water must be replaced. If it is not, which is the case if you drink less water, the body begins to conserve. One way it does is to release histamine into the lungs, thus constricting the bronchioles in order to stop water loss. This results in the symptoms of asthma. Some studies report as many as 94% of asthma patients find dramatic relief of symptoms by drinking large volumes of water at the first sign of breathing difficulty.

1.       WATER AND EDEMA: The inter-relationship of water and salt metabolism is so close that a change in the amount of sodium in the body is practically always reflected by the change in the amount of water. In a water-starved body, the kidneys conserve sodium, which concentrates in the body's tissues, thereby retaining water and resulting in edema.

2.       WATER AND HYPERTENSION: When the body is deprived of enough water, the adrenals release hormones, which cause arteries to constrict so that fluids are retained. Also, water is taken from your blood volume to compensate the deficit, making the blood thicker and harder to pump around the already narrowed blood vessels. This causes blood pressure to go up and is the reason many asthmatics have high blood pressure.

3.       WATER AND ARTHRITIS: The synovial fluid, which lubricates the joints, is chiefly water. Drinking inadequate water results in lack of synovial fluid. This, combined with increased levels of histamine in the tissues (remember how body releases histamine to conserve water), causes joint inflammation that eventually turns to arthritis.

4.       WATER AND ULCERS: The mucous that lines the stomach to protect it from hydrochloric acid is 98% water. With insufficient water, this mucous barrier sloughs off, thus failing to protect the stomach lining from the stomach acid and making it prone to ulcers.

5.       WATER AND OBESITY: Your liver metabolizes fat. In a dehydrated body, the liver is forced to do some of kidney's work and so cannot metabolize fat or cholesterol as efficiently. So if you are trying to shed those extra pounds, you must drink water liberally.

Thus simple nutritional therapy of drinking an adequate supply of pure water is one of the steps to restore good health.

TIPS ON WATER INTAKE:

·         Drink at least 10 to 12 glasses of water everyday. Some of this fluid can come from soups, juices and milk, but some should come from plain water.

·         Do not substitute water with flavored beverages like tea, coffee, cola or beer. Because, these drinks are diuretics and tend to cause even more water loss. As a result, you become dehydrated.

·         Water is a natural appetite suppressant. For those on weight management plan, drinking a glass of water before every meal, helps to feel full without taking in a single calorie.

·         Be sure you are drinking clean water. Remember pure clean water is a necessity, not a luxury. Invest in a good quality water purification system.

·         Parents need to be sure that their newborns get enough liquids. Infants, who obviously cannot communicate thirst, can get dehydrated quickly.

·         Seniors should make a habit of drinking water even if they are not thirsty. Around age 65, the sense of thirst wanes, which could lead to under-hydration.

·         Develop a drinking pattern that becomes a routine. Chalk out your own schedule for drinking those 10 or 12 glasses of water. One way can be drinking a glass of water every hour you are awake.

·         Always carry a water bottle with you when on the move.

·         When in office keep a water bottle on your table. The sight of water will remind you to sip it every few minutes.

·         If you drink bottled water or mineral water, choose sealed, well-known brands whenever possible. Refilling bottles with local tap water is not unusual.

·         If you are on a low-salt diet, choose bottled water carefully. Mineral water can contain high amounts of sodium.

DRINKING WATER WHEN TRAVELLING:

Drink boiled water whenever possible. Boiling water kills organisms, which cause illnesses such as traveler's diarrhea.

 Choose bottled water carefully. The bottle must be a sealed, well-known brand.

If you do not have facilities for boiling water, carry appropriate equipment like an immersion coil for boiling water.

Make use of chemical purifiers like iodine to treat water, when you cannot boil water. Those with thyroid problems or iodine allergies should not use iodine for treating water.

Do not use ice unless it is made from boiled, bottled or purified water.

Use bottled water for brushing teeth and rinsing the toothbrush.

 Water on the outside of bottles might be contaminated; make sure surfaces that will have contact with your mouth are dry and clean.

Meditative eating

Meditative Eating

Eating is a very important aspect of our life. It affects not only our body and its health but also has a profound impact on our well being, moods, behavior, energy, emotions and happiness.

A Roman poet, Horace once very rightly said, "Clogged with yesterdays excess, the body drags the mind down with it". The phrase holds true even the other way round- with the mind dragged down to a state of semi-consciousness, the body gets clogged with excesses.
One needs to focus and be alert when eating or in other words follow meditative eating.

Meditative eating is about getting absolutely involved with the conscious pleasures of eating in order to achieve supreme satisfaction with food. It involves tasting, savoring, relishing, enjoying, and appreciating what you eat or drink. In fact, it can be a great way to relax and get away from our tension and stress packed life.

A very good example of meditative eating is the Japanese tea party, where each and every sip of that amber colored liquid is savored in an ambience that is absolutely serene.


Tips on meditative eating:

Enjoy every bite with minimum distractions
Very often we couple eating with activities like watching television, reading or studying, driving or even when talking on the phone. "Lunch meeting" is another commonly heard excuse. This way we are mindlessly packing in bite after bite and are likely to eat faster, more or even less without being really aware of it. So when you sit down to eat, do nothing else but eat.
Bring back the age-old tradition of eating at the dining table, which is fast diminishing.

Appease your senses
Remember, eating involves all the five senses i.e. sense of sight, taste, touch, smell and you may wonder but even the sense of hearing.
Have you ever passed a bakery and stood there for a few seconds just to capture the mouth-watering aroma of the freshly baked bread?
Well, when you sit to eat, satisfy your senses to enjoy the full pleasure of eating.
Relish the appetizing aroma of a baked goodie and savor the coolness of the nimboo-pani or the heat of steaming soup. Enjoy the crunch that carrot makes and take in the different colors which food has to offer. And don't forget texture- delight in the crispness of dosa and enjoy the soft and fluffy idli.

Eat slowly
Do not gorge on food, eat slowly. When you eat fast, you eat unconsciously and so you over-stuff yourself.
Eating fast may also result in belching. Don't be under the impression that belching is the ultimate compliment you can pay after a hearty, sumptuous meal. In fact, most people around you may find it offending.
Many of us have a tendency to eat fast while experiencing an emotional high and almost invariably end up eating like a horse. Learn to use foods to nourish your body and not to pacify your emotions.

Emphasize the food tastes you like
Food is enjoyed most when it tastes great. Identify the flavors that appeal to your taste buds and use them to accentuate your meals. It could be seasonings and condiments like pepper, garlic, ginger, oregano, basil, cinnamon, lemons etc.

Go for variety
Look back over the month. Feel you are in a rut, making the same meal and snack choices?
Just as you are bored with the same routine, our sense of smell and taste also tend to become fatigued and less responsive when faced with bite after bite of the same flavor and aroma. Also, diets lacking in variety are likely to lack in essential nutrients and hence affect your health in the long run.
Learn to experiment in the kitchen and expand the variety of foods used in cooking. You eat rice and chapati everyday. Well, they are just a part of the total grain picture. Try including cereals like jowar, bajra, maize, ragi (nachni), oats etc. in your diet.

Create a peaceful ambience
The surrounding in which you eat is very important. Often, we have the television on or some loud music playing in the background. Switch off the television or put on some pleasing music. Avoid arguments when eating, as most of us tend to vent our anger on food.

Health benefits of meditative eating:
For people who want to lose weight, meditative eating is the answer. Learn to include color, flavor, aroma and taste when cooking low calorie foods. Use of fresh herbs and spices not only enhances the flavor but also helps to reduce the need of fat as a flavoring in food.
Do not omit your favorite foods because they are calorie-dense. Banning a favorite food may give rise to compulsive overeating binges. Eating small amounts of your favorite foods is successful management and not a loss of control.

For people who want to gain weight, practice meditative eating and soon you shall be relishing your food and including a variety of foods in your diet.

An important cause of obesity and related disorders like cardiovascular disease is incorrect eating habits. Meditative eating helps to control the food cravings and mindless packing of food.

Take to meditative eating for the ultimate gastronomic delight!

Empty calories

Empty calories are defined as foods which are calorie dense that contains only calories & no important nutrients.

Foods to avoid:

Following foods are to be avoided as they are too high in sugar : Cake, Condensed Milk, Canned fruit in syrup, Cookies, Chocolates, Chewing Gum (Regular), Doughnuts, Honey, Jam, Pies & Pastries, puddings, Soft Drinks, Sugar, Sugar coated cereals.

Following foods are to be avoided as they are too high in fats and/or cholesterol : Butter, Cream, Cheese (High fat), Ghee, Fried foods, Greasy foods, Red meats (Esp those with a lot of visible fat).