Health Warnings-1: "Bio-degradability of Some Materials"

Banana Peels : 3 to 4 months
Paper Bags : One month
Cotton Bags: 5 months
Woollen: One year
Wood : 10 to 15 years
Tin cans: 50 to 100 years
Aluminium cans: 200 to 500 years
Plastic Bags: One Million Years
Bottles (Glass) : Unknown

So use them carefully and dispose of them responsibly!

(Courtesy: Centre for Science & Environment, New Delhi)

Foods that Heal-4: Cucumber

Cucumber is a diuretic. It improves digestion, gives relief from constipation, allays bile and burning sensation and checks fainting. According to recent studies, cucumber-juice plays a valuable part in the treatment of rheumatic conditions, especially arthritis. Those who suffer from diabetes and those who want to lose weight should make liberal use of cucumber. (From "Juice Diet for Perfect Health" - Pub. by Gala Publications, Mumbai)

Thoughts on Health2:

"After digestion one who feeds,
His body no medicine needs."

(Tr. by Yogi Shuddhananda Bharati)(Pub. by Shree Shenbhaga Pathippagam, Chennai)

Make sure that the previous meal has been digested, and wait till you are quite hungry. Then eat what you have found to agree with your health. (Tr. by C.Rajagopalachari)(Pub. by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai-400007)

Thoughts on Health-1:

"Let thy food be thy medicine, and the medicine be thy food." - Hippocrates

Foods that Heal-3: Cabbage

Cabbage combats cancer; Prevents constipation; Promotes weightloss; Protects your heart; Helps Hemorrhoids.

Health Tips-3: "Eating for Health"

The stomach is a site of continuous chemical activity. Foodstuffs cannot be directly used by the body and must first undergo a disintegrating, refining and standardizing process in the mouth, stomach and intestines. This process is known as digestion. THE STOMACH IS ALSO THE ORGAN WHERE HEALTH PROBLEMS ARE MOST LIKELY TO STRIKE. THE MEDICINES AND DIETS USUALLY RECOMMENDED IN CASE OF STOMACH PROBLEMS ARE OFTEN OF LITTLE HELP AND MAY EVEN AGGRAVATE THE PROBLEM. What can really help are simple dietary changes and complete avoidance of drugs. Because the digestive system, like all other parts of the body, has great potential for self-healing.

When one eats inappropriate food, putrefying bacteria attack it, converting starches and sugars into vinegar and other unwelcome substances. So instead of nourishment, the blood stream receives alcohol, acetic acid, ptomaines, leucomines and hydrogen sulphide. The food you have eaten becomes a fermenting and putrefying mess, affecting the nerve cells. Bacteria also destroy amino acids and release toxic, non-usable matter. Though some are eliminated by the body, others impose a burden on the liver and kidneys.

For proper, regulated digestion, the body requires enzymes. When we select foods we are biologically adapted to (fruits, vegetables, sprouts, nuts), the process of digestion is carried out smoothly due to presence of enzymes. Enzymatic digestion prepares the food for use by the body as it allows it to retain its LIVING quality. Bacterial digestion, on the other hand, KILLS the food. It is important to recognize that anything that can reduce digestive power, anything that can slow down the process of digestion, anything that can temporarily suspend the digestive process, favours bacterial activity.

OVEREATING, EATING WHILE TIRED, EATING WHILE FEVERISH, IN PAIN, WHEN NOT HUNGRY, WHEN WORRIES, ANXIOUS, FEARFUL OR EVEN ANGRY, favour bacterial decomposition.

We need to provide the body with food that we are biologically adapted to and foods that are EASY TO DIGEST, ABSORB & ASSIMILATE. This would help release energy for growth, repair and maintenance. (Courtesy : The Hindu Supplement - Folio: Cuisine)

Foods that Heal-2: "Bananas"

Bananas protect your heart; quiet a cough; strengthen bones; control blood pressure; and block diarrhoea.

Health Tips-2: "OMEGA-3" by Dr.James Mercola, D.O.

I have been getting and reading Dr.James Mercola's e-mail Newsletter. I always find it useful and interesting. It has helped to remove many misconceptions about health and medicine from my mind. I feel anybody can benefit by reading his articles. Thank you very much Dr.James Mercola, thank you very much! Now to the article on "Omega-3".

"Omega three fats are essential to your health. You can certainly get them from cod liver oil or fish oil.

Please remember that nearly all fish are contaminated with mercury and should ideally be avoided. You will want to identify a clean source of fish oil.

If you already have significant sun exposure then you should not take cod liver oil as you will run the risk of overdosing on vitamin D.

You should then take fish oil capsules. The standard fish oil capsule is 180 mg of EPA and 120 mg of DHA. You should take approximately one capsule for every ten pounds of body weight, preferably in two divided doses.

So if you weigh 160 pounds you would take 8 capsules twice a day. If you have problems with belching them up, you will want to consider taking them on an empty stomach.

Cod liver oil has the benefit of providing you with vitamin D and A. A reasonable dose for cod liver oil is one teaspoon for every 30-40 pounds of body weight. If you use cod liver oil during your summer you will need to be careful of vitamin D toxicity and I suggest you review the information on vitamin D testing.

When you take fish oil supplements or cod liver oil in the doses I recommend please be sure and take an one vitamin E 400 unit supplement per day as this will help serve to protect the fat from oxidation. This is less of an issue with the cod liver oil as the vitamin D itself is a very potent anti-oxidant.

You will also need extra amounts of the "fourth and unforgotten" oil soluble vitamin, vitamin K. If you are juicing plenty of green vegetables and taking the cod liver oil or fish oil with the juice you should absorb the vitamin K in the vegetable juice. However, if you have osteoporosis or osteopenia, you will want to consider adding an extra 1000 mcg ( 1 mg ) of vitamin K per day.

Generally our diet contains far too much omega 6 fats. Experts looking at the dietary ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids suggest that in early human history the ratio was about 1:1. Currently most Americans eat a dietary ratio that falls between 20:1 and 50:1. The optimal ratio is most likely closer to the original ratio of 1:1. For most of us this means greatly reducing the omega-6 fatty acids we consume and increasing the amount of omega-3 fatty acids.

Please recognize that we get ALL the omega-6 and omega-9 fat we need from food. We do NOT need to take any supplements for these fats. Many of the omega fat supplements you see in health food stores will only serve to worsen your health, not improve it as they contain omega 6 fats which will worsen your omega-6 to omega-3 ratio.

I strongly recommend avoiding sunflower, corn, soy, safflower, canola, or products that contain these oils. That is no hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats, no margarine, no vegetable oil, no shortening. These oils are chock full of omega-6 fats and will only worsen your omega 6:omega 3 ratio.

Acceptable oils will be a high quality extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, avocados, and organic butter, or better yet grass-fed organic butter.

Another way to improve your omega 6:3 ratio is to change the type of meat you are eating. You could consume more game meat like venison, or other game animals that are raised exclusively on grass type foods. However, these are hard to find and generally more expensive than beef.

Since nearly all cattle are grain fed before slaughter, if you eat most traditionally raised beef, it will typically worsen you omega 6:omega 3 ratio.

Normally a good ratio for omega 6:3 in fish is 2 or 3 to 1. The lower the better. Grassfed beef from Grassfed Organics is much higher in Omega 3 than fish, with a 6:3 ratio of 0.16 to 1. This information is from a study done at Iowa State University in August 2001.

To get the necessary Omega-3 fatty acids, you should consider eating meat that is allowed to "free-range", or in the case of cattle, to be grass-fed. Unfortunately, you cannot buy this grass-fed beef at your local grocery store.

You must also be careful as many stores will advertise grass-fed beef but it really isn't. They do this as ALL cattle are grass fed, but the key is what they are fed the months prior to being processed.

Most of all cattle are shipped to giant feed lots and fed corn to fatten them up. You will need to call the person who actually grew the beef, NOT the store manager, to find out the truth.

The least expensive way to obtain authentic grass fed beef would be to find a farmer who is growing the beef who you can trust and buy a half a side of beef from him. This way you save the shipping and also receive a reduced rate on the meat.

An inexpensive, yet effective way to determine if the meat is really from a grass fed animal is to purchase the ground beef. Slowly cook the beef till done and drain and collect all the fat. Grass fed beef is very high in omega-3 fats and will be relatively thin compared to traditionally prepared ground beef.

It will also be a liquid at room temperature as it has very few saturated fats which are mostly solid at room temperature.

However, most of us live in large urban areas and do not have the time for this process. Just as it would be ideal to have an organic garden and grow your own vegetables, most of us elect not to do that for time or space reasons.

I used to have an organic garden, but my schedule just would not allow me to have that luxury anymore. So, if you are convinced, like I am, that grass-fed beef is better for you and you would like the convenience of being able to order it over the Net, you can buy grass-fed beef online, shipped overnight to your door, at Grassfed Organics." (Courtesy: http://www.mercola.com/)

Health News-1: The Best Natural Health Information and Newsletter - by Dr. Joseph Mercola

The Best Natural Health Information and Newsletter - by Dr. Joseph Mercola

Foods that Heal-1: "Apples"

Apples protect your heart; prevent constipation; block diarrhoea; improve lung capacity (asthmatics may please note!); and cushion joints(arthritics to note please).

Health Tips-1: "Ten Mantras for the Aged"

Beauty is only skin deep. Yet fortunes are made through anti-ageing drugs, cosmetic surgeries, beauty creams, vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants.

As life-spans are increasing courtesy medical science, there is a need for healthcare and services for the elderly. Since you can’t defy ageing, nor are happy joining the “Aged Club”, the next best thing is to age gracefully.

· Reduce stress to lessen the strain on your nervous system
· Adopt a pet. You will be saving a life. Pet therapy produces good emotions which increase the endorphins in the body. Your immune system gets a boost.
· Meditate or pray for inner peace and serenity. The healing power is both psychological and physiological.
· Forgive and forget to reduce stress. Practise positive anger management.
· Think positive. If you go around with a frown, it may become a permanent feature on your face. Be thankful for what you have and don’t envy what you don’t.
· Don’t try to dictate terms to the young. Let them lead their lives independently or you will cause unnecessary friction. Just advise and then back off.
· Eat fresh. Greens and fruits provide vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to boost your body’s immune system.
· Develop a hobby. Do all those things you had always planned to do but never had the time. Remember old age is not about giving up but living up! For instance, gardening is good for your health. You get exercise, fresh air and sunshine.
· Go for the great outdoors. Nature rambles are good for fresh, oxygenated air. Make a self-commitment to exercise daily. This improves blood circulation.
· Bottoms up for water and non-alcoholic fluids. It is good for your liver and kidney.
-- Courtesy: Health Supplement, The New Indian Express