Benefits of Oats for Breakfast

EAT THIS FOR BREAKFAST EVERY MORNING AND YOU WILL SEE HOW THE FAT FROM YOUR BODY DISAPPEARS
Written By Admin on Tuesday, April 5, 2016 | 10:29:00 AM

We can easily say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, especially if you want to maintain your body weight, or even reduce it. So, if you feel hungry sometimes, you should know definitely know the best options for the most important meal of the day. 

A recent study, published in the journal Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism, has discovered that the best and the healthiest choice for breakfast would be the old-fashioned oatmeal. 

This study was conducted on 36 men and women. All of the participants in this study, consumed 350 calories, but they were divided in 3 different groups. Well, the first group consumed oat meal for breakfast. The second group consumed cornflakes and the third one didn’t eat breakfast – they just drank water.


The medical experts measured their state of satiety for the next three hours. All the participants gave blood samples in order to control their blood sugar and insulin levels at normal. 

All of the participants ate the same food for lunch. So, the medical experts proved their expectations. 

They found that the group of people who consumed oat meal was the least hungry through the morning and afternoon. This group consumed 31% less calories for their lunch. The medical experts also found that the oatmeal had beneficial effect in people with excess weight, as they ate 50% less calories for their lunch.

The second group of participants – the group of participants who consumed cornflakes already felt hungry 3 hours after the breakfast. And the third group – the group that drank water for breakfast was also hungry 3 hours after breakfast. 

The second group of people ate the same quantity of calories as the first group, and yet people felt hungry after 3 hours. Well, this is because the oatmeal stays longer in the stomach, which is not the case with cornflakes. The cornflakes also increase the glucose levels in the blood. This can cause a quick and unexpected drop.

There are many, similar researches that prove the same thing. The oatmeal is one of the most beneficial foods, if you want to lose some weight, because those 31-50% of less calories will really help you with that and you will notice the results after some time.

Why Oats?
Oats, pulp, flakes – they are all super healthy and delicious foods. You don’t have to eat oatmeal just for breakfast. You can add it to every dish if you want, to your favorite salad or your favorite stew as well. Or just make some delicious and healthy desserts with this super healthy ingredient.

You will feel full for a longer time
The oats are loaded with many healthy nutrients and they contain high amounts of fibers, which can increase the volume of eaten amount in your digestive system. And, the fiber also stimulates proper digestion. This is why you should add some oats in your diet if you want to lose some weight.

Lowers cholesterol
As we said, oats contain high amounts of fiber, so this super healthy food is able to bind fat for itself, which can reduce the levels of bad cholesterol in the blood. This is why you should consume oats – it will promote healthy heart, unclogged blood vessels and it will lower the chances of possible heart attacks and stroke significantly.

Reduces blood pressure
Did you know that oats are some of the best foods on the planet to normalize your high blood pressure? The oats contain fiber known as lignin. Many studies have confirmed that with regular consumption of lignin, you can reduce the blood pressure by 35%.

Reduces the risk of cancer
A recent study, published in the British Medical Journal, has found that consuming oats will significantly lower the risk of colon, breast, prostate and ovarian cancer.

Walking Barefoot

What Happens With You After Walking Barefoot for Only 5 Minutes a Day
Written By Admin on Sunday, March 27, 2016 | 2:49:00 PM

It may sound hard to believe, but walking barefoot for only 5 minutes a day could give your health a much-needed boost.

Certain points on your hands and feet are connected to particular organs in your body. By walking barefoot, you stimulate these points and transmit positive energy to your organs.


What Happens With You After Walking Barefoot?
A review published in the Journal of Environmental and Public Health looked at a number of studies that highlight how drawing electrons from the earth improves health. In one, chronic pain patients using grounded carbon fiber mattresses slept better and experienced less pain.

Another study found that grounding benefitted skin conductivity, moderated heart rate variability, improved glucose regulation, reduced stress and boosted immunity.

One particularly compelling investigation, published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, found that earthing increases the surface charge of red blood cells. As a result, the cells avoid clumping, which decreases blood viscosity.

Another study in the same journal found that earthing may help regulate the endocrine and nervous systems.

Even if there were no proven benefits to walking barefoot, I’d still recommend taking frequent walks in nature.

Regular walking, as little as half an hour a day, can reduce cancer risk, improve cardiovascular health, moderate weight and prevent diabetes.

In addition, walking improves blood oxygenation, circulation, and immune response, removes toxins, and relieves stress.

If you decide to walk barefoot make sure to do that every day for at least five minutes and try to increase the time gradually.

When we put on shoes we don’t give a chance to our body to get in touch with Mother Nature.

As a result at some point you may wake up in the morning with emotions that you haven’t experienced before, which is perfectly natural because you are reconnecting with Mother Nature and rekindling the natural intelligence of your body.

Source: www.mindbodygreen.com

Growth enhancers in Fruit and Vegetables

Written By Admin on Friday, April 8, 2016 | 10:38:00 AM
Watermelons in eastern China have been bursting open, covering the fields after farmers gave them an overdose of growth chemicals during wet weather, creating what’s been called “fields of land mines.”



In hopes of making their watermelons bigger and more profitable, the farmers used a growth accelerator known as forchlorfenuron.

About 20 farmers around Danyang city in Jiangsu province were affected, losing up to 115 acres of watermelons. 

What is Forchlorfenuron?
According to the U.S. EPA, “Forchlorfenuron is a cytokin which improves fruit size, fruit set, cluster weight and cold storage in grapes in kiwifruits.”
Wang Liangju, a professor with the College of Horticulture at Nanjing Agricultural University who was in Danyang when the problems began to occur, believes the chemical is safe when used properly. He told The Associated Press that the drug had been used too late in the season when heavy rain activity raised the risk of the fruit exploding. He also believes the variety of melon played a role. “If it had been used on very young fruit, it wouldn’t be a problem,” Wang said. He added, “Another reason [for the problem] is that the melon they were planting is a thin-rind variety and these kind are actually nicknamed the ‘exploding melon’ because they tend to split,” he said.

Chinese regulations don’t forbid the use of the drug, and it’s allowed in the United States on kiwi fruit and grapes, but it’s been reported that many farmers in China are abusing both legal and illegal chemicals, with many farms misusing pesticides and fertilizers.

IS IT SAFE?
According to an EPA pesticide fact sheet, forchlorfenuron is not necessarily harmless. It reports:

Moderate toxicity to freshwater fish
Slightly higher toxicity levels in the avian population
Increased pup mortality and decreased litter sizes in rat studies

HOW TO TELL IF YOUR FRUIT WAS GROWN WITH HORMONES OR PESTICIDES
According to the Environmental Working Group, nearly two-thirds of the 3,015 produce samples tested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2013 contained pesticide residues, with a total of 165 different pesticides on thousands of fruit and vegetable samples.

The produce that tested highest for pesticide residues included:
Apples
Peaches
Nectarines
Potatoes
Grapes
Cherry tomatoes
Snap peas
Strawberries

The produce least likely to contain pesticide residue included:
Avocados
Sweet corn
Pineapples
Cabbage
Onions
Asparagus
Mangos
Papayas
Grapefruit
Kiwi
Cantaloupe
Cauliflower
Frozen sweet peas
Sweet potatoes
Eggplant

One telltale sign that a fruit or vegetable wasn’t grown completely naturally is lack of flavor. While growth enhancers such as florchlorfenuron stimulate cell division to make the product grow faster, it also drains it of flavor.

Florchlorfenuron isn’t the only growth hormone being used in produce. A hormone known as oxytocin has been known for its use in fruits and vegetables in India. The drug is banned for public sale in India, but it is widely available from fertilizer and pesticide vendors.

Other growth promoting agents used in produce include ethylene, which may contain traces of arsenic, and calcium carbide, which is believed to cause a whole slew of health problems.

To reduce your exposure to pesticides and chemicals, buy organic — especially for the foods that contain the highest levels of pesticides. Whether what you purchase is organic or conventional, you should still take steps to reduce contamination by washing your produce thoroughly and peeling it if needed.

Incredible - PM Modi's travel routine

A look at how PM Narendra Modi saves time on foreign tours 
By Aman Sharma, ET Bureau | 9 Apr, 2016, 09.17AM IST
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/a-look-at-how-pm-narendra-modi-saves-time-on-foreign-tours/articleshow/51749384.cms

Check-in bags are not coming off Air India One these days, as on most of the nights, the Prime Minister aims at sleeping on the plane rather than in foreign hotels to shorten his trips.

NEW DELHI: Check-in bags are not coming off Air India One these days, as on most of the nights, the Prime Minister aims at sleeping on the plane rather than in foreign hotels to shorten his trips.

In his latest trips to Belgium, US and Saudi Arabia between March 30 and April 2, Narendra Modi spent three nights on Air India One - while in transit from Delhi to Brussels, from Brussels to Washington DC and from there to Riyadh.

He just spent two nights at hotels - one in Washington and one in Riyadh. "It is unprecedented to complete a PM's multination trip involving US in just 97 hours. If the PM had not chosen to sleep on the plane, we would not have been back for at least six days," a senior government official told ET.

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh's visits were longer and largely summit-related with single-city engagements. Overnight travel was occasional. But foreign schedules are now short and packed as per Modi's directions to save "unproductive night stay in foreign hotels" and use it for air travel, multiple senior officials told ET on the condition of anonymity.

In his first two years, Modi as the PM would have spent 95 days abroad much more than Singh's 72 days abroad in his first two years in UPA-1and UPA-2. But Modi has covered far more ground by visiting 40 countries in his 20 trips. Singh could visit 18 countries in 15 trips in UPA-1and 24 countries in 17 trips in UPA-2 in the first two years.

"Modi says he wants to push maximum buttons...he has unending energy," an official said. He chose to take a midnight flight on March 30 to Brussels to use the nine-hour flying time to sleep and land there at 6 am local time. Initially, a night stay and community address the next morning was planned in in Brussels.

But March 31 was a working day and Modi did not wish that the NRIs take the day off to come to listen to him. "PM said he could easily spend consecutive nights on the aircraft," an official told ET.

The community address hence happened on March 30 at 9 pm after back-to-back meetings. Modi left for the airport and took a 10-hour flight to US. Check-in bags of the delegation were not taken off Air Force 1in Belgium (but in Washington) and officials packed in an extra piece of clothing in a hand baggage.

Sleeping through time zones, PM landed in the wee hours of March 31, in the US for yet another busy day.

On the plane too, Modi does not sleep throughout the time on his flat-bed cabin. "He wants a detailed debriefing on the plane after one leg of the trip is over. There is no luxury to return to India and then prepare for the debriefing," an official said. The PM wants a briefing within 30 minutes of checking into a foreign hotel too before the bilateral commence.

"A night should be spent in a foreign hotel only if there is an engagement scheduled the next day," an official explained Modi's line of thought. On April 1, the PM was in Nuclear Security Summit till 5 pm.

He reached the airport straight from the venue to fly out of Riyadh at 7 pm. He slept on the 12-hour flight again to save a day. Modi arrived there on April 2 afternoon, spent the night and held talks the next day. At 7 pm on April 3, the PM flew back and arrived at Race Course Road at 2 am. He had meetings scheduled the nextmorning. But what about jet-lag of travel to-and-fro US time zones? "Before jet lag hits reverse jet lag comes into force," an official quipped.

Artemisia for Dengue, Malaria and Chikungunya

IIP Foundation launches I Support Dengue Free Drive

In the wake of the rising menace of Dengue, Malaria and Chikungunya, I Support Dengue Free Drive had been kick started in Noida by IIP Foundation in collaboration with the Indian Agro Group.

Researches had been done by the scientists at Pusa Research Institute, University of California and Washington with proves that Artemisia has double the oil of any other plant. When a mosquito sucks its juice, it becomes ineffective to spread diseases. 

Artemisia anti-microbacterial properties had been used in the treatment of several diseases like
• Bladder and parasite infections
• Urinary tract infections
• Abdominal cramping and stomach pain
• Hepatitis and Jaundice
• Various types of Cancer
It can be used to check mosquitoes in homes, offices, schools, hospitals, clinic and dispensaries. Under the drive 20,000 plants would be distributed for free. 

The plant is effective not only for mosquitoes carrying dengue but for chikungunya and malaria as well. 

Rajesh Goal, Director, IIP Foundation talking about the benefits of the plant said, "Artemisia is not only effective in controlling the pollution levels in the atmosphere, but even has anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. The plant is being used in China and many other countries from years.”

Indian Wormwood

Tell a friend about this flower!

ative Photo: Prashant Awale Common name: Indian Wormwood, Fleabane, Mugwort • Hindi: नागदोना Nagdona, दवना Davana •Manipuri: লেইবাক ঙৌ Leibakngou • Marathi: ढोरदवना Dhordavana, Gondhomaro • Tamil: மக்கீபூ Makkippu • Malayalam: മക്കീപൂവൂ Makkippuvu, മാസീപത്രീ Masipatri • Telugu: Masipatri •Kannada: Manjepatre, Urigattige • Bengali: নাগদানা Nagadana • Oriya: Dayona • Konkani: Surpin •Assamese: নীলম Nilum • Sanskrit: नागदमन Nagadaman, दमनक Damanak  Botanical name: Artemisia nilagirica    Family: Asteraceae (Sunflower family) Synonyms: Artemisia vulgaris, Artemisia vulgaris var. nilagirica Indian Wormwood is an aromatic shrub, 1-2 m high, yellow or dark red small flowers, grows throughout India in hills up to 2400 m elevation. This medicinal herb is erect, hairy, often half-woody. The stems are leafy and branched. The leaves are pinnately lobed, 5-14 cm long, gray beneath. Mugwort blossoms with reddish brown or yellow flowers. The flowers are freely small and stand in long narrow clusters at the top of the stem. The fruit (achene) is minute. It is believed that Indian Wormwood drives away insects. So the leaves and flowers are put in boxes and cupboards. Medicinal uses:  In Manipur, leaves are used to prepare a local hair-care lotion Chinghi.

Suppressed facts on Hindu Saints

Often Hinduism is presented as a construct of upper-caste Brahmins in our academic and popular discourse whereas nothing can be far from truth. 

Hinduism in its construct and popular practice remains a spiritual-system of the masses and people now called Dalits/Shudras have been the prominent upholder and proponents of the Dharma. 

Veda Vyas himself was son of a fisherwoman and Rishi Parashar. It is Veda Vyas who systematised the four Vedas, wrote Mahabharat, which contains one of the holiest texts of Hindus – Gita. Besides these, 18 Puranas and Brahma Sutras are also attributed to him. 

It will be no exaggeration to say that Veda Vyas is the strongest pillar of the classical Hinduism. Rishi Valmiki, a Dalit saint, wrote Ramayana, the text which captured the imagination of people not only in India but around the world. 

Not only him but Kamban who wrote Kamban Ramayana in Tamil was also a Shudra. And without Ramayana and Ram Bhakti, there can be no conception of Hinduism. 

Rishi Matang was the son a Shudra mother with a Vaishya father. He is one the highly revered figure in Hinduism who was visited by Ram and Sita. His ashram was a refugee of the unfortunate and hopeless. 

Son of Veda Vyas and a shudra maid, Vidur, was a authority on Dharma whose teachings on Niti & Dharma are preserved in Viduraprajāgara in Mahabharat. 

In Mahabharata itself, Dharmaraj Yudhistir would often visit Sage Kapinjalada, who was born a Chandala, for guidance. 

Thiruvalluvar , Tamil poet-saint, who wrote Thiru-Kural was a lower caste weaver.

Hindu history is full of saints belonging to the lower strata of the society and it was by them that the vitality of Hinduism was restored from time to time. 

Bhakti movement is an important case in the point. Bhakti movement was a popular reaction against the dry logic of atheists and Buddhists, which began in the South India. 

It was also the result of the discontent against social and caste hierarchies and later as a defence mechanism against forces of Islamic Imperialism. 

Bhakti movement threw up several Dalit saints whose contribution to the enrichment and shaping of Hinduism is immense. 

Saint Chokhamela, a Mahar,is a prominent 14th century figure in Marathi bhakti movement. He was the disciple of Sant Namdeo, himself a Shudra, and an ardent devotee of Vitthala. He wrote several famous Abhangas which are devotional poetry dedicated to the Vitthala. Kanhopatra was a female devotee of Vitthla. She was born in a brothel and was a courtesan & dancing girl before devoting herself to the worship of Vitthala. Like Chokhamela, she too belonged to the Varkari sect of Hinduism. 

She is the only women-saint of Varkari sect who is not associated with any male-figure and had no guru or belonged to any parampara. She attained sainthood purely on the basis of her devotion. Her abhangas are popular even today and the devotees worship the tree at her Samadhi in Pandharpur. 

Sant Nirmala was a Dalit Hindu women saint who was the sister of Chokhamela. She was entirely devoted to the Vitthala and wrote devotional poetry, which describes injustice of the prevalent social system. Her husband Sant Banka is a renowned figure in Hinduism whose poetry praises Vitthala in happiness and peace. 

Sant Soyarabai was wife of the Chokhamela and an important Bhakti saint. She produced a large devotional literature although only few of is survives today. Her poetry exudes intense devotion and advocacy of social reforms. Sant Janabai, in 13th century, was a Dalit Hindu woman Saint who is placed among most renowned saints of Vrakari sect like Dnyāneshwar, Tukaram etc. She is famous for her high-quality abhangas and almost 300 abhangas are attributed to her.

In 12th century, a remarkable socio-religious movement emerged in Karnataka in the form of Sharana movement, which challenged social hierarchy and advocated utmost devotion to Shiva. It produced a whole literally tradition known as Vachana Sahitya, which spans several centuries. 

Vachana is a form of Kannada devotional poetry, which narrates personal spiritual experiences. The movement emerged from the below with Madara Chennaiah considered to be founder of the Vachana Sahitya. 

Like him most of the poets of came form castes lower in social hierarchy like Revanasiddha (a shepherd), Marulasiddha (an untouchable), Madivala Machideva (a washerman), Madara Dhoolaiah (a cobbler), Medara Ketaiah (a basket-maker) etc. 

They expressed their devotion by deploying the imagery of their trade & profession which were often considered to be inferior or impure like leather making etc. The movement transformed the social and spiritual landscaper of the Kannada society. Later, its legacy was carried forward by the Virashaiva Shaivaite denomination founded by Basava in the 12th century.

The story of Manteswamy is immortalised in the popular oral Kannada epic Manteswamy Kavya. It talks about spiritual victory of a lowly person over those socially superior to him but insincere in their devotion. The epic is episodic and highly symbolic. 

Each episode represents a stage in evolution of civilisation and how ultimately technology has to be liberated from its hereditary practitioners i.e. caste system for the further progress of mankind. 

Another Kannada oral epic Male Madeshvara gives account of Madeshvara, a tribal hero who is considered to be an avatar of Shiva. 

Epic narrates the plight and struggle of the underprivileged for social upliftment and creation of an egalitarian society. It records how hill tribes of southern Karnataka were brought into the fold of the Hindu Dharma. The people coming from these families today are the hereditary ‘Archaks’ of the Mahadeshwara temple.

Guru Ghasi Das (1756–1850CE) was born in low-caste family in Raipur, Chattisgarh.dalit saints pic He preached Satnami sect of Hinduism to the masses and established Satnami communities in Chattisgarh. His work resulted in social and religious upliftment of the several Dalit & outcaste communities in the state. 

In 18th century, Balarama Hadi, founded the Balahadi/Balarami sect in Nadia region of Bengal. He belonged to the Hadi (scavenger) caste. In his lifetime itself, he was considered as an avatar of Ram. Dharma he preached was for the householders and gained tremendous following among Dalit communities like Hadi, Dom, Bagdi, Muchi, Bede, Namashudra and even among Muslims. It rejected castes or any other social hierarchy and advocated path of devotion and ascetic to attain liberation. 

In 19th century, Sri Sri Harichand Thakur founded the Matua-Mahasangha, which is a reformative Hindu movement popular among the outcaste Namshudra community of Bengal. He is considered to be an avatar of Krishna. The movement rejected social hierarchy and advocated simple devotion and social harmony.

It can be noticed that major feature of the teachings of these saints is creation of an egalitarian society, sagun bhakti & devotion to a personal benevolent deity and living a moral and ethical life. They are also rooted into the daily life of the people and have been the strength of the popular Hinduism over ages to reinvigorating it from time to time.

-Abhinav Prakash
Research Scholar, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

Original post - https://www.facebook.com/HINDUZ/posts/1138511629499562:0

Migrants from India settled in Australia 4,000 years ago

Migrants from India settled in Australia 4,000 years ago before Captain Cook's arrival (and they took their dingos with them)
By Lewis Smith17:34 15 Jan 2013, updated 11:53 16 Jan 2013


Migrants from India settled in Australia 4,000 years ago before Captain Cook's arrival (and they took their dingos with them)

• Genes reveal that a wave of Indian migrants arrived 4,230 years ago 
• Up to 11 per cent of Aboriginal DNA derives from Indians
• An earlier wave of migrants arrived about 45,000 years ago

Australia was settled by a wave of immigrants from India little more than 4,000 years ago, a genetic study shows.

The finding overturns the view that the continent was isolated from the time it was first colonised about 45,000-50,000 years ago until Europeans discovered Australia in the eighteenth century.

DNA evidence suggests that rather than complete most of the journey over several generations by foot, the Indian migrants came over by boat.
By the time the Indian settlers reached Australia the ancient land bridge was under water so they sailed.

Australia’s first human colonisation was the culmination of the long walk out of Africa by the human species.

Humans are believed to have left Africa, via the Arabian coast and through India before reaching Indonesia and New Guinea and finally over an ancient land bridge to Australia.

Following their arrival there was, according to ‘the prevailing view’, little if any contact between Australia’s Aboriginal inhabitants and the rest of the world.

But DNA evidence has now revealed a second wave of human settlement took place about 4,230 years ago, long before the first European settled there.

Australia was first seen by a European in 1606 when it was sighted from a ship and a further 53 vessels arrived before Captain James Cook arrived in 1770 to claim it for Britain.

Analysis of DNA samples from Aboriginal people living in the Northern Territories of Australia today shows that they have up to 11 per cent of their genetic heritage is Indian

The new settlers came from India and the lack of their DNA in other parts of Asia suggests they sailed directly across the Indian Ocean rather than work their way towards Australia by foot.

Scientists found strong evidence of a wave of settlers from India reaching Australia 141 generations ago.

Aborignals who took part in the study were found to have up to 11 per cent of their DNA from Indian descent.

Intriguingly, their arrival corresponds to evidence in the archaeological record that shows dingos reached Australia about the same time, suggesting they may have been transported by boat by the human settlers.

Dr Irina Pugach, of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, said the international research team calculated that the Indian DNA reached the Aboriginal population 141 generations ago.

Assuming that each generation is separated on average by 30 years the geneticists were able to conclude that the Indian population arrived on in Australia 4230 years ago.

‘Interestingly this date also coincides with many changes in the archaeological record of Australia, which include a sudden change in plant processing and stone tool technologies, with microliths appearing for the first time, and the first appearance of the dingo in the fossil record,’ she said.

‘Since we detect inflow of genes from India into Australia at around the same time, it is likely that these changes were related to this migration.’

Mark Stoneking, a geneticist at the Max Planck Institute, led the study and told Nature magazine: ‘Australia is thought to represent one of the earliest migrations for humans after they left Africa, but it seemed pretty isolated after that.’

DNA from 344 people was analysed for the study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Samples were taken from people in Papua New Guinea, South East Asia, China, the US and Australia’s Northern Territory.

The dingo is thought to have reached Australia with humans about 4,230 years ago.