Thursday, February 25, 2016

How to imrpove the hemoglobin level in our body

Its  a great evening,here in coimbatore, cool breeze and fresh air is awakening. One of my friends was talking about her low hemoglobin level in her body and so i thought why not throw light on this issue and suggest some remedies,ofcourse ayurvedic and indian.
  • Asparagus (shatwar) and sesame seeds (til) are other good sources of iron.
  • Grains like barley (jav), rice (chawal), semolina (sooji), millet (bajra) and maize (makai) can also be included. You could use combination of any of these sources to cook delicious iron rich recipes.
  • If not, munch on dried fruits such as almonds (badaam), dried peaches or raisins (manuka). If you’re a non-vegetarian, meat and fish are the best sources of iron for you.
  • Add dried herbs to your diet, especially, coriander (dhania), spearmint (pudina), basil (tulsi), chervil (chevil), dried parsley (sukhe ajamoda), bay leaf (tejpatta).
  • Another way to increase iron absorption is to minimise the intake of calcium rich foods like milk and cheese because they block the absorption of iron. Don’t drink too much of coffee, tea and alcohol.
  • Avoid eating foods containing gluten like pastas and wheat products, which are also linked to anaemia. Read more about Beat anemia with beetroots.
  • Sometimes, foods such as parsley (ajwain) that are rich in oxalic acid may also interfere with absorption of iron. Have them in limited quantities.
  • Increase Vitamin C Intake

    Low hemoglobin levels due to a deficiency of vitamin C can be corrected by eating more foods rich in vitamin C. Iron cannot be fully absorbed by the body without the help of this vitamin.
    • Eat foods rich in vitamin C like papaya, oranges, lemon, strawberries, bell peppers, broccoli, grapefruit, tomatoes and spinach.
    • Beetroots

      Beetroot is highly recommended to increase hemoglobin levels. It is high in iron, folic acid as well as fiber and potassium. Its nutritional value helps increase the body’s red blood cell count.
      • Cook 1 to 2 beetroots along with their peels in a microwave or roast them on the stove. Allow them to cool and peel them before eating.
      • You can prepare a healthy juice with 1 medium-sized beetroot, 3 carrots and 1/2 of a sweet potato. Drink it once daily.
      • Take lots of apples too.
    • Apart from all this always maintain a standard healthy wholesome diet and exercise regularly.
    • Live Well!!Eat Well!
    • "annatha suki bava"!!!!

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Good reads:"Saraswati"

Saraswati’s life was one of a million mutinies – but she always had the last word

Unlike domesticated Lakshmi, the goddess of learning repeatedly challenged the authority of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh.Each year in the month of Magha (the 11th month in the Hindu calendar), the fifth day of the new moon, or Vasant Panchami, marks the day for Saraswati pooja. This year, it falls on February 12. Yet few of those who offer flowers, vermilion, incense and prayers to this cerebral goddess and her symbols – musical instruments, pen, paper and ink – realise that she is one of the rare Vedic deities to have survived through the centuries with her name and mystical powers intact.
It is especially remarkable because according to myths, Saraswati, has repeatedly challenged the authority and might of the post-Vedic male trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh/Shiva. When proffered male consorts, she willfully ignored them, and when forced to accept them for a short while, she refused to bear children.
Saraswati also managed to elbow out her arch–rival Lakshmi (Sri, the Vedic goddess of wealth) and usurped the holy day of Magha Shukla Panchami, or Sri Panchami, for herself. Over the centuries, despite the considerable rise in Lakshmi’s importance in the divine pantheon and within Hindu homes, neither she nor the male trinity have been able to reclaim the space Saraswati has occupied. Efforts were made, we hear, to call the day Gyan Panchami and then jointly worship Lakshmi and Saraswati, but nothing came of it. The day continues to be Saraswati’s exclusive turf.
The source of Saraswati
Let us start Saraswati’s tale at the very beginning. Once upon a time, migrant tribes crossing the Sindhu river from the West settled next to a river by the name of Saraswati. This mighty river flowed westwards from the Himalayas between the Satluj and Yamuna, into the Arabian sea. The settlers worshipped her as their mother goddess. As they created a magnificent triad of Vedic literature, Saraswati, to them, became the supreme goddess of learning.
The French writer Colette once advised fellow writers to follow the generic verb to locate the real heart of a word. The verb behind the name Saraswati is the Sanskrit sru, signifying a constant and self-renewing flow of both pure water and also gyan or knowledge. A river with a name such as this was bound to merge and mutate with the Vedic goddess Vac, the creator of multiple streams of fluid thought. Thus Saraswati was born as a constantly purifying, fertilising force that lent a fluidity to languages and sustained all art forms. After the merger of Vac with Saraswati, even after the original river had petered out in the deserts of Rajasthan, Saraswati continued to signify a sustaining bond between humans and nature, a creator of the sense of nationhood. In the famous Vac Sutra, the goddess boasts:
“I move among the Gods, I hold them, sustain them… whosoever breathes, sees, hears or eats does so because of me… I create powerful creators and embed them with wisdom and sight… my powers overflow the universe..”
Free soul
Like all beautiful, eloquent and cerebral women, Saraswati’s life is a turbulent saga of a million mutinies. Unlike the charming Lakshmi, the goddess of big things and big money, Saraswati is a haughty and disputatious loner, fond of roaming with her veena, her books and a string of rudraksha beads. She is also, like most free souls, fearless, quick of tongue, and ever ready to give back as good as she gets.
One myth describes her as the cerebral progeny of Brahma. The powerful Vedic god, the creator of all things, like many creative artists, fell in love with his own creation and chased Saraswati. But his mercurial daughter escaped his advances. Still, wifehood followed her. Myths describe her as having become Vishnu’s wilful wife, constantly quarrelling with his other wives, Ganga and Lakshmi. Like many men, Vishnu sorted out his domestic squabbles by presenting Ganga to Shiva and Saraswati to Brahma while retaining the domesticated Lakshmi with her considerable bounty.
Saraswati seethed within. She deliberately arrived late to participate in a vital yagna being performed by her father-cum-consort Brahma that could not be performed without his wife being present. But Saraswati was furious to find that Brahma had, in the meanwhile, married Gayatri to complete the ritual. She then cursed Brahma before stomping off: there would be no temples built to Brahma and even within ones that existed, he would be worshipped only once a year.
What is more, it seems Saraswati’s ire did not end there. In Pushkar, Rajasthan, in 1984, Mahant Laharpuri, priest of the rare temple to Brahma, moved court asking that he also be allowed to access the temple of Brahma’s alienated wife Savitri (Saraswati) for five days every year and collect the offerings made there. The counsel of Saraswati, represented by the priest of the Savitri temple, challenged this saying that Saraswati as Savitri was an alienated wife and the Brahma temple must pay her alimony instead. The court, referring to Hindu law, rejected the demand made by the priest of the Brahma temple as deities are perpetual minors.
Essence of art
It is interesting that the lives of many famous women writers and musicians follow a trajectory similar to that of Saraswati’s. Take for example the famed 14th-century poet Laldyad of Kashmir, who was starved and tortured by her husband’s family for lapsing into mystical silences and sudden bouts of singing till she could take it no more. She is said to have taken to wandering naked as Mahadevi Akka, her 12th century soul sister in South India, composing her immortal lyrics sung as vakh, the earliest form of Kashmiri poetry:
“My womb never carried a child, I never gave breast to a baby,
Never tasted the milk with turmeric and ginger...”
To this day Saraswati as the goddess Vac refuses to be a domesticated goddess with a temple roof over her head. She prefers, it seems, to remain an abstraction, as the supreme power of rasa, the essential communication the arts create between minds through poetry, literature, sacred rituals and occasionally defiant thoughts.
The Vac Sukta in the Rigveda says the Sangamani or unifier, Saraswati, creates nations, (aham rashtri, Sangamani). As Chikitushi she constantly raises questions about linkages between people and nature. As Bhuryaveshayanti she brings into an intellectual fold all that seems disconnected but is actually not. This is no ordinary goddess. She is a feminine force that creates intimate partnerships of the mind not through a macho display of power or feminine wiles, but through gender, creed and caste neutral sakhyatva or friendship. Once a bond is formed between the artist and the rasika or connoisseur, like a beautiful woman, Vac shall uninhibitedly reveal her all to a good-hearted partner, says the Brihaspati Sukta (10/79).


Tuesday, February 23, 2016

"Annatha suki bhava": feeding the body and nourishing the spirit

"Spiritual Nutrition transcends all cultural borders. It is a part of the original spiritual teachings in every country in the world; in every faith…all the way back to the ancient Essenes and the wisdom of the Rishis masters of India, regardless of our creed or culture. It was given to all of us as a tool, a step on the path to Enlightenment." ~ W.Kacera

For millions of people food instead of being a source of nourishment it has become an area of conflict and confusion- endless weight-loss dramas, eating disorders, cravings, addictions, body image obsessions, and never-ending searches for the 'best' nutritional system.

With the hectic pace of everyday life, most of us have lost our spiritual connection to food. Food has been reduced to "fuel"- a listing of nutritional "value." But the human body is not a machine, and many of the food-related issues that plague us, can be traced to our lack of awareness of the relationship between body and spirit.

No matter how much we work on ourselves spiritually, our diet also plays a very significant role in how we feel. A heavy, chemical-ladened diet can actually make even the lightest spirit feel heavy. On the other hand, certain other types of meals can rapidly boost someone's spirit, mind, and heart. Many spiritually minded people receive intuitive messages to delete certain foods or beverages from their diet. Others on the spiritual path lose their tolerance for low-frequency substances such as coffee or sugar. They develop sudden adverse reactions to ingesting these substances.

SPIRIT: THE MISSING INGREDIENT IN FOOD Food is a dynamic force which interacts with humans on the physical body level, the mind-emotional level, and also the energetic and spiritual level. The study of spiritual living nutrition is the study of the interaction and assimilation of the dynamic forces of food by the dynamic forces of our total being.
We need to explore the fully range of our relationship of nutrition spiritual life, to expand beyond the present definition of nutrition that includes subtle energetic principles.

A FEW QUESTIONS FOR US TO EXPLORE:
  • What is the purpose of nutrition?
  • What is it we call nutrition?
  • What is assimilated?
  • What is that which is assimilating?
  • What is the relationship between the nutrient assimilated and spiritual unfolding?

REFLECTIONS & CONTEMPLATIONS
  • How does your relationship to food obstruct awareness of your spiritual nature?
  • How can food serve as a reminder of your spiritual nature?
  • If you had only one week to live, how would your relationship to food and your body change?
  • If you were reborn tomorrow, what advice would you give yourself about your relationship to food and nourishment?

There are four aspects of food: biological, psychological, spiritual, and social nutrition.

Biological Nourishment: the nutrients in optimal foods have the power to heal and balance physical health.

Psychological Nourishment: food influences mood; conversely, mood, emotions, and feelings often affect food choices

Social Nourishment: dining with others in a pleasant atmosphere affects well-being.

Spiritual Nourishment: eating with an awareness of the mystery of life in food and connecting with it via mindfulness, appreciation, and a loving consciousness may enhance health.

Since the beginning of time food has nourished us multi-dimensionally; it feeds not only the body, but also mind, soul, and social well-being. They are secrets because this understanding has been part of humankind's relationship to food for thousands of years, but in the last century, most of us have lost and forgotten about them.

In North American we got so off track with our relationship to food quiet awhile ago. First, in the 19th century, chemist Wilbur Olin Atwater told us that food is fuel, the body is a machine. About the same time, the industrial revolution gave us refined, processed food. In the late 1800s, Puritan values still predominated in America, which meant that food was often perceived as sinful, or as good and bad; in other words, we projected moral values onto food. Today, we relate to food mostly in terms of how it can be objectively measured. The meaning in food has been stripped away along with its nutrients during processing. Every time you look at a label in the supermarket and you see numbers next to nutrients, you are witnessing the affect of Newtonian science in action.

The best to eat way depends on an individual's personal health and nutritional goals. The way to use nutritional science effectively and optimally is to ask yourself, do you need (or choose) to eat to prevent a health problem for which you are at high risk, to manage an existing health problem, or to reverse an ailment.

Optimal health depends not only on what we eat, but also on how we eat. What we eat has been the singular focus of nutritional science, but how we eat also affects our health and well-being. One healing secret tells us what to eat for optimal health; and the other healing secrets show us how to eat for health and well-being. The healing secrets tell us about how to eat include: feelings, mindfulness, appreciation, connection (love), and socializing. Here is an example of how, let's say, eating mindfully influences health. So many Americans eat while task-stacking: in front of the computer, watching television, driving, and walking down the street, but eating mindfully, being present in the moment with your food, may actually affect the way the food is metabolized and ultimately, your health and well-being. When physician Donald Morse of Temple University did research with female students, he asked them to meditate for 5 minutes before eating, then also to do mental arithmetic for 5 minutes before eating. When the students meditated, they produced 22% more of an enzyme in saliva called alpha-amylase, which helps you break down carbohydrates and B vitamins in food. This suggests that if you eat in a relaxed, mindful, present state of mind, you'll absorb more nutrients, and in this way, may improve health.

MOTIONS, MOOD & FOOD
In the 1970s, Drs. Judith and Richard Wurtman discovered that when animals consumed the carbohydrate-dense foods of potatoes and sugar they released a naturally occurring hormone called serotonin, which calms and relaxes you. Other examples of carbohydrate-rich foods are pasta and bread. On the other hand, low-fat, high-protein foods (such as nonfat yogurt) release another hormone called norepinephrine, which keeps you mentally alert. It's not a stimulant; rather, it simply makes you more alert. The key concept with food mood research, is what is commonly referred to as psychological nutrition, is that food influences emotions, and inversely, that our emotions and feelings often influence our food choices.

SPIRITUAL NUTRITION
Spiritual nutrition is about the mystery of life inherent in both food and human beings. All food contains and gives life, and we human beings are also life giving and life containing. Also, both food and human beings depend on the elements, the sun, the earth and soil, water, and air to live and thrive. Spiritual nutrition acknowledges the interdependence and connection among plants, animals, human beings, and the mystery of life, and connecting to this life force. The way to access and derive the health benefits of spiritual nutrition is to implement the three healing secrets of spiritual nutrition: mindfulness, appreciation, and love, each time you eat.

KEY CONCEPTS
The key concept for optimal health and optimal eating is that what and how you eat hold the keys to physical, emotional, spiritual, and social well-being.

INTEGRATIVE NUTRITION
Integrative nutrition merges Western nutritional science with Eastern healing systems that include nutrition (such as Ayurveda), and also timeless food wisdom (from world religions and cultural traditions). Integrative nutrition is about holistic eating and total nutrition, a relationship with food that is capable of healing body, mind, and soul.

BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN ANCIENT WISDOM & MODERN SCIENCE
Humankind for millennia has turned to food to nourish physical, emotional, spiritual, and social well-being.

KEY POINTS
  • We are more than just a physical body; we are a spiritual source.
  • By nourishing the body, we nourish the spark of life within the body.
  • The body is Sacred and therefore, the nutrition of the body is Sacred.
  • A truly evolved nutritional approach takes us fully into the body and beyond the body,
  • Our relationship to food teaches us a great deal about who we are and how we live.
  • Therefore live well ,eat well,
  • "Annathasuki bhava"

How food affects the mind

Yoga and gunas: Upgrade the quality of your life

What is the current quality of your life?
Take this quiz and find out what quality of life you are leading right now.

1. Your meals mostly contain

A. Freshly prepared food which is gently spiced.
B. Food which has a strong flavor such as extremely sweet, salty, hot food. Examples: vinegar, pickle.
C. Food kept overnight in the fridge, pungent food, pizzas, burgers, sodas and fast food.
D. None of the above.

2. Your parents or boss give you a task to complete

A. You work on the task joyfully. Even if you do not achieve the expected result, you do not lose your enthusiasm and continue to work towards your goal.
B. You get either extremely excited or extremely upset about the task. You get upset and lose interest if you do not achieve your goal.
C. You work on the task even though you find the task quite disgusting. "Oh! I shouldn't be doing this" goes on in your mind all the time.
D. None of the above.

3. How much time does it take for you to complete your task?

A. I happily work on my to-do list and complete it in the stipulated time.
B. I have so many ideas so I take some time to complete the task.
C. I like to enjoy things and do it at my own pace.
D. None of the above.

4. Some people greet you, "Hello! How are you?" Your response?

A. You return the greeting politely.
B. You wonder what they want and why they are being so sweet to you.
C. You think, "How arrogant! They know too well I am miserable still they are asking me how I am doing!"
D. None of the above.
There are three gunas or qualities that affect your day-to-day life: sattva, rajas and tamas. Explaining how they affect the quality of our life, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says in Patanjali Yoga Sutras, “Three gunas come into our life in cycles. When sattva comes, there is balance, alertness, knowledge, interest, lightness and joy in everything. When Rajo-guna comes, more desires, selfishness, restlessness and sadness arise in us. When Tamo-guna comes, delusion, attachment, lack of knowledge, lethargy, all this comes. These three come in life, turn by turn.” Though all three qualities come in turns, we can keep our levels of sattva high with the help of yoga and enjoy the benefits of a higher quality of life.
Let's see what is the current quality of your life.

Mostly "A"s

You have clear and logical thinking, sharp intelligence, good health, freshness and lightness in the body. When sattva dominates our environment and body, we feel light, happy, pleasant, joyful, alert, focused, creative, helpful and energetic. There is happiness and peace. You tend to acquire healthier habits. You prefer food which is healthier. You are quick in responding to a situation and efficient at your work. You desire to meditate more.
“The more sattva or purity rises in your life, the more easily your tasks get accomplished. If you put in a lot of effort and the result turns out to be less or below your expectations, it means that there is a lack of sattva or purity in life.”- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Mostly "B"s

The dominating quality in your life is rajas or rajo guna. You have lots of thoughts, are restless, there are too many desires and too many things to be done. You swing between being very happy or extremely sad. Take a break, meditate.

Mostly "C"s

Tamo guna is dominating in your life. Rajas and tamas are responsible for activity and rest at our mind and body levels, respectively. We cannot ‘act’ without a certain level of rajas and cannot have ‘sleep’ without a certain level of tamas. They have their own place in our lives and are healthy when in balance. However, when tamas dominates, it can bring delusion, wrong understanding, and dullness.
Ensure that your sattva level is high when you are going to discuss an important deal or doing something very important.
Enjoy the game of the three gunas! With yoga techniques you can ensure that you always emerge the winner.

Significance of anjarai petty (masala dabba)


This is a spice box u can find in all indian house holds.when i was cooking this morning , as usual in a hurry wanting to send my kid to school,i was searching for mustard seeds all over the kitchen shelves. I had a habit of keeping spices in their packets and using them when needed. In my hurry i pushed all other spice packets down and the entire kitchen was a mess .
now cleaning spilt spices is even more difficult rather frustrating for me. This made me think about this woderful spie box "Anjarai petty" in which i could keep all the basic spices i need for everyday cooking. This is also equivalent to a medicine box as all the spices placed here  help in treating common ailments and are best home remedies. The mustard seeds, coriader seeds,fenugreek seeds,turmeric and pepercorn. All these spices are very important and have greay medicinal valuses. I use them everyday.so should u !
it is a custom for married women in india to have a masaladabba in their kitchen.My mother passed hers on to me and I woyld do the same to my daughter as well.
This is an excellent way of storing spices as well.
Enjoy and happy cooking!!
chao!


What are tamasic.rajasic and satvik food?

In Hinduism, food is categorized into Tamasic, Rajasic, Sattvic, or combination of them. What does these categories signify? Can anyone consume food from any of these categories?
Are there any restrictions on which types of food to be used in offerings and prayer?
Tamasic
Tamasic foods are those that have a sedative effect on the mind and body. In general, they are considered detrimental. According to yoga, these foods are to be avoided as they can cause mental dullness and physical numbness. However, in times of pain they are allowed to alleviate suffering.
Examples include: meat of an animal, fish, the fertilized egg, onion, garlic, scallion, leek, chive, mushroom, alcoholic beverages, durian, blue cheese, eggplant, opium, and any food which has been kept overnight before consumption.
Rajasic
Rajasic foods are those that have a stimulating effect on the mind and body. They are considered to be neither beneficial nor harmful. These foods lead to aggressiveness and irritability, and are often obtained in a way that harms another organism.
Examples include: caffeinated drinks (such as coffee, tea (both black and green), cola drinks, and energy drinks), brown or black chocolate, paan, ginkgo biloba, overly spicy food, salty food, and the unfertilized egg.
Sattvic
Sattvic foods are those that lead to clarity of mind and physical health. These foods are to be consumed on a regular basis. Sattvic foods are generally those which can be obtained without harming either another organism or one's self. Only Sattvic foods are acceptable as offerings to the Hindu gods, with rare exceptions.
Examples include: water, cereal grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits, nuts, unpasteurized and unhomogenized fresh milk and all fresh milk derivatives (mostly ghee, but also butter, cream, fresh or cottage cheese (paneer), and yogurt (lassi)), and raw honey.
Eggs
Eggs are a very complicated case and don't have a clear cut answer. Since there's debate as to the validity of the sources that categorize it as Tamasic or Rajasic, I'd like to provide some moral insight here.
Specifically, I want to address "vegetarian eggs". A "vegetarian egg" or an egg without an embryo developing in it is produced when a hen does not mate with a rooster before laying the egg.
I have been taught that one reason such eggs are not considered suitable for consumption is that by preventing fertilization you are preventing the birth of an animal, which is considered unjust by some. The reasoning here is that blockading the creation of life is similar if not equal to extinguishing it.

Atma ahaar

Dear friends,
there ought be one recipe that is good enough to fulfil the tummy as well as sooth ur soul,neither spicy nor bland i am sure this on will meet ur need on anyday.
things needed:
toor dal half cup and moong dal half a cup
tomatoes (two)
red chilli powder
salt
coriander leaves
method:
pressure cook ur dhal, mash well and keep aside
in a kadai, pour oil, mustard seeds when hot and little jeera with a pinch of hing
add two cloves of garlic and saute tomatoes till they r mashed.
now add red chilli powder, pour dhal
let it simmer for five minutes
add salt
garnish with fresh coriander leaves
serve with hot rice or bread of ur choice
Try it and lemme know!
chao!!

My version madras lentils version 2

"what is this life, If full of care
no time to stand and stare"
I always wonder what am i really doing with life. i jumped and leaped and many many years were crossed nothing to take away but for my memories. U study..u learn and find a way to earn. Is that  all??Get married, have babies , lead a life?? I wonder where all this is taking us to ,ofcourse sickness and ultimate death go untold. What is this state of being rather existence actually for. The scholars say "realisation Of self".but is that true?? Is that the ultimate purpose of ones existence?? "knowing yourself'???? But why?? And where would that take us to??all of this is really confusing .
  But whatever it may  be, this amazing journey never stops me from wondering about yummy ,mouth watering food. "live to eat or eat to live" But enjoy what you eat !
Here i present an amazing recipe "another version of sambar .This is a recipe that i learnt from my helper Thavasiamma. I dedicate this recipe to you dear Thavasiamma.
Here it goes...
Boil toor dal or madras lentils well in a pressure cooker or a pot. Soak little tamarind in warm water. Keep some shallots peeled and ready. Two small tomatoes or a big one will do.one or two drumsticks.
to grind:
four shallots
coconut
jeera
fennel seeds
red chillies
steps to follow:
pour some oil in the kadai.
add mustard seeds, let it splutter
add curry leaves and hing
add shallots and tomatoes
saute for some time
now add tamarind water, ground paste, coriander powder and let it boil till drumsticks are cooked.
finally add mashed toor dhal and simmer for ten minutes
and
finay garnish with fresh coriander leaves
(this recipe does not require sambar powder)
yummy tasty south indian sambar version2
is ready for you.
try it urself and lemme know!
chao!