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Health benefits of drinking copper vessel water

January 31, 2014 By Dr. S. Shivashankar 247 Comments

Health benefits of drinking copper vessel water

In these days of modern technology, we rarely, if ever, would dare to drink water directly from the tap or a pond as we are aware that it is unsafe due to the presence of disease causing bacteria, viruses and so on. In order to make water fit enough to drink, today we have UV filters and RO purifiers. In such a world, speaking of drinking water stored in copper vessel might sound anachronistic. Nevertheless, one quick look about the science behind storage of water in copper vessel and its benefits might be educative. Let us explore benefits of drinking copper vessel water.

Storage kills microbes in water

Storing water in copper and silver pots for purification of water finds mention in ancient texts of Ayurveda. The storage process is known to kill all the micro-organisms that includes virus and bacteria. Thus making it perfectly fit for the drinking purpose. This ancient view is supported from the results of recent research which states that when ground-water with a slightly alkaline pH and  contaminated with 500 colony forming units (CFU)/mL of bacteria was  stored in copper pots for 16 hours at room temperature, all  bacteria were killed. It is reported to destroy diarrhea causing bacteria, such as Vibrio cholerae, enteropathogenic E. coli, Salmonella. It is also effective against many other disease-causing bacteria such as, S. flexneri and Salmonella Paratyphi.

How does it work?

When water is stored in a copper vessel for about 16 hours, copper, in very small quantities gets dissolved in water. This process, known in scientific parlance as the  “oligodynamic effect”  has the power to destroy a wide range of molds, fungi, algae and harmful microbes due to its toxic effects on living cells. The copper content of water which reaches levels of about 190 µg/l is well within the permissible limits set by the World Health Organization and thus remains safe for drinking. After 16 hours, a slight increase in the pH of water from 7.83 to 7.93 occurs in copper pots due to which the taste of water might change a little while the physicochemical parameters remain unchanged.

Stored water- An ideal source of copper

Copper is an essential micronutrient required by our body at a level of about 1mg/day. Though it is a trace amount, it has to come from our food. Although there are several food items containing copper such as whole wheat, beans, green leafy vegetables, honey etc, the best method of meeting the body’s need of copper is by taking water stored overnight in a copper vessel. Two liters of the water can supply 40% of our daily requirement of copper.

Other health benefits drinking stored copper vessel water

Water stored in a copper jug is good in many ways for our health and well being. It stimulates the brain, promotes bone strength, aids in digestion , regulates body fat, acts as anti-carcinogenic, regulates functioning of thyroid gland, prevents joint pain, aids in hemoglobin synthesis, maintains acid-alkaline balance in body, helps in improving fertility and conception, prevents white patches on skin, helps in healing of internal wounds and slows down aging due to its antioxidant property.

Even if you do not have a copper vessel or copper container at home. You can just start with copper tumbler. This way, you can get slowly introduced to the properties of drinking water from copper containers.

Important Note:

some adverse effects such as nausea, vomiting, headache and diarrhea could occur in sensitive individuals. In the event of such adverse reactions, it is better to avoid its use. Please remember, the quality of stored water (Acidic or alkaline) also matters. Besides,it is important to note that the interior of the vessel must be cleaned regularly before use”

This Article is for the information purpose only. Before you start  this or any diet please talk with the your physician first.

Before storing the water, Remember to  wash the copper vessel with lemon and salt or tamarind and dry it , then store the water.

Here is a link for list of good quality copper vessels that can be purchased online

Copper Jug

High end Copper Jug

Economical Copper Jug

 

Filed Under: Blog

Plantain vs Banana? Which one is better?

January 29, 2014 By Dr. S. Shivashankar 3 Comments

Plantain vs Banana

Today, we’ll answer a very interesting question: plantain vs banana. Which one of these is packed with the most nutrients? Is it the plantain, or the banana?

Nutritional benefits of plantains:

  • Plantains are high in fiber content. This makes you feel full for longer period of time, reducing frequent cravings for food. Thereby, in the long run, it can help with weight loss.
  • Plantains are extremely rich  Potassium and Magnesium.
  • Plantains are rich in vitamins, specifically Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Vitamin B-6.
  • Even though plantains are rich in starch, they are comparatively very low on the glycemic index scale. Consumption of plantains helps diabetic patients.
  • Plantain prevents gastrointestinal infectious diseases.
  • Plantain chips (with less salt or no salt) have more nutrients than the fresh ones!
  • Plantain takes longer to digest, keeps you full, which benefits diabetic patients and, also for weight loss.

Nutritional benefits of Bananas:

  • Bananas are also packed with minerals, specifically, Potassium, Magnesium and Iron.
  • Bananas contains good amounts of Vitamin C and Vitamin B-6.
  • Major win for bananas is, they are rich in Anti-oxidants.

Banana’s strength over Plantain’s:

  • Plantains have way lower Anti-oxidants compared to banana. The riper the banana, the higher the level of anti-oxidants.
  • Plantain causes gas, bloating and flatulence. It aggravates Vata.

Plantain’s strength over Banana’s

  • But, Banana’s are very high on glycemic index which could impact the blood sugar levels.
  • Compared to plantain, Banana’s nutritional contents are lower.

Overall Plantains have an edge over Banana, especially if you are committed to a weight loss program.

Please checkout our Plantain Dosa, which requires no fermentation, gluten free and quick to prepare. and  plantain curry recipe which is also east to make, gluten free, vegan recipe.

These links from sfgate and onegreenplanet provide lot of details and interesting comparisons.

Based on the facts above, make sure to introduce plantain’s in your regular diet. Here are some suggestions for introducing to our daily diet. For breakfast’s, you can have plantain dosa    and plantain curry recipe.For the lunch menu, plantain curry or gojju or plantain sambar, are good bets. Avoid plantain for dinner. It can increase gas or bloating.

What are your thoughts? Have suggestions for plantain recipes? Please share with us.

Filed Under: Blog

Food, thy name is Medicine

January 9, 2014 By Dr. S. Shivashankar Leave a Comment

Vegetarian Food Pyramid

“Everything in the universe is medicinal – it just depends on how it’s used” – This quote also applies to the food we eat. The traditional knowledge of food being used as medicine is perhaps as old as civilization. The earliest reference to medicinal value of food was made in Ayurveda, an ancient healing system in India nearly 4000 years ago. In this system, food was considered to influence every aspect of a person including the physical and emotional well being implying both the body and the mind. The Ayurvedic diet was so much advanced as to prescribe the most appropriate combination of foods to maintain the balance of mind, body and spirit.

Later, Hippocrates (460 BC-370 BC), a Greek Physician considered as the “Father of Western medicine” called attention to the importance of food in the dictum “let food be thy medicine and medicine thy food”. During Hippocrates’ time, the value of food in sustaining health and containing disease was well-known and was being widely applied to handle all varieties of ailments, from acute to chronic and emergency conditions.

However, in recent times, this priceless knowledge handed down to us from generations is fast disappearing with an increasing number of people taking to prescription drugs at the drop of a hat. Therefore, the need has arisen to revive the traditional knowledge of the medicinal value of foods for the benefit of the present and future generations.

Among nature’s precious gifts, spices are by far the best known foods having the power to heal and help in regaining health. Spices have been used as therapeutic foods in India since time immemorial and are known to exhibit digestive, stomachic and carminative actions. They are also believed to have tonic and stimulative effects.

The health benefits of the highly admired garlic is eulogized so much that it is said to be as good as 10 mothers!  The popular adage “garlic a day keeps sickness at bay” sums up its significance.

Other common spices found in the kitchen shelf include black pepper used to improve digestion, stimulate appetite, and to remedy gastrointestinal problems, including diarrhea, dyspepsia and flatulence. Black pepper is also used to treat colds, coughs and sore throats. It is a common ingredient of chai, a spiced black tea beverage used throughout India that includes other herbs also believed to be “warming tonics,” such as cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and star anise.

Cumin or jeera has a vast range of effects on human body. It exhibits anti-obesity and anti-inflammatory properties and acts as blood purifier, diuretic and uterine stimulant apart from showing marked digestive and carminative effects. Besides waking up the taste buds and enhancing the gastric secretions, “jal jeera”, a drink made by boiling jeera in water also makes a refreshing summer drink.

The traditional Chinese practitioner recommends hot ginger tea for the common cold. According to Ayurveda, the most important factors in selecting the appropriate herb are based on the individual’s constitution, imbalance and the efficacy of the herb. Hence, while hot ginger tea benefits the kapha person with common cold, a vata person may instead end up with constipation, especially after drinking a large dose! To get the best results however, it is important to avoid doing anything in excess. As they say “virtue lies in the middle” .

Coming close on the heels, fruits and vegetables, the two most important ingredients of a healthy diet are endowed with an impressive range of medicinal uses with high nutritional value. Fruits and vegetables form a repository of minerals, vitamins and phyto-nutrients providing a rich and rare combination of nutrition with protective compounds which can guard the body against many ailments. Vegetables like onion, potato, cabbage, green leafy vegetables and tomato and fruits like grapes, apple, lemon and guava could be used to counteract common ailments like headache, constipation, skin problems, internal worms, toothache, bleeding gums and even ulcer.

What’s important is to know when, how, how much, what and what not to eat to keep oneself fit and fine.

 

Filed Under: Blog

The Virtues of Ghee

January 2, 2014 By Dr. S. Shivashankar Leave a Comment

Ghee health benefits

Ghee health benefits, is it a misnomer?

Years ago, ghee with food brought glee
Today, ghee makes one flee
Believe me, the culprit is
To a large extent media blitz
Few are ready to find the truth
Such is the power of myth

In the present day world of media blitz, mass media have an overwhelming influence on the public opinion. Today, the mass medium shapes the dietary habits of people.

Medical professionals have played a very major role in influencing the attitudes of people to various food items. Among those foods, saturated fats and their alleged link with cholesterol have received the most attention.

In the early 1950’s, Ancel Keys proposed the so-called, ‘cholesterol-heart disease’ hypothesis. According to the hypothesis, high cholesterol in the blood would result in heart disease, popularly known in common parlance as the “heart attack”.

Based on Ancel Keys hypothesis,  diet rich in saturated fats thought to encourage cholesterol production in the body leading to heart disease. Thus, foods low in saturated fats and cholesterol were recommended as the best remedies to support a healthy heart. This notion which was held as gospel truth by the medical professionals, spread like a wildfire. As a result, products that are rich in saturated fat including ghee, began to be treated like ‘untouchable’ overnight by all and sundry. The fear of cholesterol led to a campaign against the usage of ghee by many who claimed themselves to be heart-conscious.

Now, after 50 years, the diet-heart hypothesis has been discounted by the very same group that proposed it. Now it is dubbing diet-heart hypothesis as a myth with a good amount of supporting evidence. Unfortunately, this latter message has not been received with the same vigor and enthusiasm by the classes and masses. So, the myth continues to take its toll!

In Ayurveda, an ancient system of Indian medicine, ghee takes the deserved credit, with several beneficial effects on human body and mind. “Ghritena vardhate buddhihi” is cited in classical texts meaning, ghee promotes intelligence, memory and intellect. Vedas hail cow’s ghee as” life”. Ghee is an indigenous product of India obtained by clarification of milk fat at high temperature.

Biochemically, ghee is a complex lipid of mixed glycerides, free fatty acids, phospholipids, sterols and steryl esters. Also has, fat soluble vitamins, carbonyls , hydrocarbons, and traces of Ca, P, Fe etc., The golden-yellow color of cow’s ghee is due to existence of the yellow pigment, carotenoid, a well-known antioxidant.

In order to appreciate the ghee health benefits, it is necessary to list its properties.

  • Ghee composes of 60-66% saturated fats, 27% mono unsaturated fats (MUFAs) and 2-3% poly unsaturated fats (PUFAs). In this aspect, ghee comes closest to having the ideal ratio of MUFA to PUFA and is far superior to the popular vegetable oils like, groundnut oil and sunflower oil which are very rich in PUFAs.
  • Ghee’s high MUFA’s helps in prevention of heart disease and cancer.
  • Short chain fatty acids in ghee is about 3% which are easily assimilated and metabolized, releasing energy.
  • Medium chain fatty acids form about 6% with caprylic, capric and lauric acids as the main components. Caprylic acid is endowed with therapeutic properties including the ability to treat infections such as candidiasis, ringworm, gastroenteritis and salmonella.
  • Lauric acid induces the release of intestinal tract enzymes which stimulate the thyroid gland causing activation of thyroid metabolism. Lauric acid is known to promote weight loss, aid in hair growth, skin care, stress relief, increased immunity, proper digestion and maintenance of cholesterol level.
  • Among the long chain fatty acids present in ghee, myristic acid enhances the immune system in the body.
  • Palmitoleic acid is known to maintain the blood pressure level and growth hormone production.
  • Stearic acid acts as a powerful lubricant and oleic acid is a memory booster.
  • Ghee contains linoleic acid, an Omega-6 fatty acid. Ghee also contains α-linoleic acid, an Omega-3 fatty acid. These are in equal proportions and thus, is unique in providing an ideal 1:1 ratio of Omega-6/Omega-3 fatty acids. This is very essential to protect us from mental disorders such as depression, schizophrenia and inflammatory diseases. On the contrary, vegetable oils contain more Omega-6 than Omega-3 fatty acids and thus are dangerous to health in the long run.
  • Ghee has a melting point of 35ᵒC which is less than the human body temperature and hence its rate of absorption is the highest (96%) among all edible oils. Ghee has high conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which specifically reduces body fat mass.
  • Other reported beneficial health-related effects of CLA include anti-carcinogenic, anti-atherogenic, anti-diabetogenic and immune modulating properties.
  • Cow’s ghee is considered to be the best carrier of nutrients to cells due to its ability to penetrate deep into tissues.

Ghee is one of the best media for cooking since it has a very high smoke point (204ᵒC) and its chemical structure does not change with heat. Ghee stimulates acid secretion in the stomach and aids in digestion.

β-carotene and vitamin E present in ghee are well-known antioxidants which helps in reducing free radical damage in the body thus protecting us from several life style diseases besides helping to prolong the shelf-life of ghee at room temperature.

Ghee is loaded with vitamin A which helps in keeping the outer lining of eye ball moist and prevents blindness. It is effective in healing of wounds and ulcer of the intestinal tract. It is also effective for treating skin rashes and burns on the body. Ghee taken regularly in small doses is invaluable as it not only increases the digestive capacity but also nourishes the weak.

Cow ghee is considered as one which neutralizes poison and gives elixir bestowing longevity.

How much of ghee is good?

‘Too much is too bad’ holds good for ghee also. If you wish to know how much is too much, consider this. When ghee is consumed at levels of 10% of total intake of calories, it can increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). That is, for a person consuming 1800 calories/day, 10% of those calories would be 180 calories or about 20g fat, which equals approx. 2 tablespoons of ghee per day. At levels under 10% of total calories, however, ghee appears to help lower CVD risks, especially when other fats consumed during the day are exclusively derived from plants.

And finally a word of caution. Obese persons should stay away from ghee and those with low digestive power and a weak body should preferably avoid ghee.

The quality of ghee is directly related to the quality of milk. Therefore, the properties of ghee could vary very much depending on the nature of feed that the cow is fed with. It is also important to remember that cow’s ghee is considered superior to buffalo‘s ghee.

Here is the link for how to make Butter and Ghee at home.

 

Filed Under: Blog

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