Five White foes in the Kitchen - Part 4 - Rice

 "Aunt Snigdha, as you had asked, I have read about today's food substance"

“Wow, let's start then with the information you have gathered. Tell me what have you read? ”

Shriya enthusiastically started, “Today I have read about rice. I've been curious about this ever since you first mentioned it. Rice is an important element of our diet because we get carbohydrates from rice/rotis in a wholesome diet of carbohydrates, proteins, fats and vitamins. Rice is the staple food in coastal regions. In olden days, they used to eat hand pounded rice. But nowadays the rice is over-polished to make it look whiter. This process removes the * bran and vitamins * too from the rice grain and only the starch remains. This starch due to their high * GI*,  increase blood sugar levels. This increases the risk of developing diabetes. So if not everything, one should avoid eating this polished rice atleast. ”

"Oh wow, well done. You shared a lot of information. Now, I will tell you only a few parts related to Ayurveda. In Ayurveda, rice is called 'Shali' and today's common word 'Sali' is derived from the same. Earlier there were different varieties of rice like Raktashali, Mahashali, Shashtik Shali, Kolam widely available.

शाल्यान्न कफवातघ्न स्वादु पित्तनिवारण ।

रूप शुक्र महातेज सत्त्व बुद्धि बलप्रद ।।

Rice is pacifies vAta. Being sweet in taste it reduces the pitta.Increases kapha. It bestows beauty (rupa), shukra;  bright glow of aura (mahateja) ; mental strength(satva); intellect (buddhi)and bala (power). These days we are familiar with varieties like Ambemohor, Indrayani, Kolam, Sonamsuri. Rice has been such a significant part of Indian diet that the alternative name of rice is * Odan (meaning food) * During convalescence, rice soup, porridge etc. is given as rice it is easy to digest. Even infants are fed rice first when its time for them to have soild food. Rice pacifies vata-pitta dosha and increases kapha as well. Hence one should use aged rice instead of new rice to reduce the problem of phlegm. (Remember the ad commercial where they say their rice is aged for 2 years). Earlier, while cooking, rice was cooked in a large vessel with lot of water the excess water was drained once the grains were cooked. Then the rice was covered so that the grains were steamed well. In this method, the excess starch goes away and the GI of rice comes down as you said and you can eat rice guilt free. But these days we cook rice in pressure cooker. The excess starch is not removed when rice is cooked in pressure cooker making it difficult to digest.

"So if you want to eat rice, what is the solution?"

"You can look for hand-pound or single polished rice which is good for health. We can buy such rice. One should eat rice that is aged for at least 6 months to a year. Such rice grain has less water content. Or one can dry roast the rice well before cooking it. Another very important aspect i must tell you, that all across India traditional meals comprising rice  are Varan-Bhat, Amti-Bhat, Rajma-chawal, Sambar-Bhat, Dal-Khichdi, Fish curry-rice and Biryani. If you give this a thought, you will notice that in all these dishes, rice is paired with proteins, i.e. pulses, cereals, meat. Additionally we have salads, leafy vegetables, fruits in our diet. Therefore, we don't end up eating a rice only meal. "Okay aunty, I mean when you eat rice this way, you should take care that other fibrous foods too are consumed instead of just carbohydrates. Otherwise, the habit of eating a heap of rice with pickles avoiding veggies and salads will only get starch in your tummy, right? ”

"That's right, I'm deviating a bit from our topic bit let me mention that pickle-rice, sauce-chapati, bread-jam, jam-chapati should also be avoided as much as possible. Alright, now let's decide what to discuss tomorrow?"

"Oh I'm going to keep that a suspense for you, auntie," said Shriya and ran away.

(To be continued)

Dr. Snigdha Churi-Vartak.

9870690689

Translated by Mrs Madhura Poduval.

(This article was first published by Vaidya Snigdha Churi-Vartak on 19th August 2020 on her blog *https://samanwayayurved.blogspot.com/2020/08/five-white-foes-in-kitchen-part-4-rice.html*. All rights are reserved by the author. If you want to share elsewhere, please make any changes.) And share with the original author's name.)

Five White foes in Kitchen, Part 2 - Refined Flour

 #Samanwaya_Ayurveda

# Five_white_foess_part_2

#healthy_diet_series_ Swasthyaveda

                “So Shriya, shall we start? The first food foe is Maida. ”

 * Maida i.e. Refined Wheat Flour * means the finest white flour processed of wheat by removing all bran. The wheat that is available in the market is in different forms daliya(broken wheat), rawa(semolina) or flour. In all these varieties, wheat bran i.e. the outer husk is present in small amounts. This wheat bran is, I would say, is more important than flour. This is because bran contains a large amount of fiber, vitamins and minerals. Flour without this bran which we call maida is almost 98% of non-nutrient white powder containing carbohydrates only. Everyone prefers this flour because it is used to make popular bakery products like bread, biscuits, cookies, rusks, pizza base, ladi pav, puffs, cakes, samosas, pasta, naan, kulcha, rumali roti and the list will go on”

"Yes, Auntie, I love pav bhaji and pizza."

“We love all these foods because of their soft touch and sweet taste. ,but  there was no maida in olden days. All the delicacies were made with fine whole wheat flour only. Maida and Bread was introduced in India after british raj. Even earlier in Europe , bread and other bakery products were prepared from different types of freshly ground whole wheat or other grains as per requirement. Refined flour was invented somewhere between the 18th - 19th century . It gained popularity as it yielded softer baked good.This happens because of the presence of gluten in wheat. Gluten is a protein found in most of the grains. Among these, wheat has the highest concentration of gluten. And it is this gluten that makes wheat flour sticky and stretchy, which is important while making all these bakery products.

Here is a Fun Fact. The word Gluten is derived from the Latin word 'Glue'.

 “Other grains also contain gluten, so we can make bread out of those flour too. But wheat comparatively has a higher content. So refined flour, in absence of fibrous bran, has even higher percentage of gluten. Therefore, this refined flour forms a thin sticky layer on the inner wall of our intestines. This layer staggers the digestion food and absorption of nutrients in the intestines. This leads to indigestion, acidity, constipation, bloating etc. Moreover, the refined flour does not contain any minerals or vitamins. Therefore, the nutritional value of flour is as good as zero. Frequent consumption of refined flour causes disorders like * mouth ulcers, dermatitis, diabetes, obesity, indigestion, heart disease *. ”

"Oh my God! Aunty, this refined flour is pretty nasty, but then what to snack on in the evening ??"

“Ayurveda has never endorsed refined flour , and There are so many different items that can be made from whole wheat flour i.e. aata, such as chapati, tandoor roti and even puranpoli. Cakes, breads can also be made from wheat flour. Anyways these foods should be eaten once in a while and in smaller portions. Instead, choose to eat home-made snacks like laddus, chiwda, dried fruits and nuts. ”

"Hmm, I can give up eating all these products but birthday cake on mine and Dada's birthday is okay to have right?"

(This article was first published by Vaidya Snigdha Churi-Vartak on 17 August 2020 on her bloghttps://samanwayayurved.blogspot.com/2020/08/samanwayaayurveda-fivewhitefoesspart2.html . All rights reserved. If you want to share, please share without making any changes and with the name of the original author.)

जन्माष्टमी आणि लोण्याचे महत्त्व.

  

picture courtsey - Internet (Little Krishana cartoon series) Discovery kids.

आज जन्माष्टमी…. भगवान श्रीकृष्णाचा हा जन्मदिवस, दरवर्षीप्रमाणे यावर्षीसुद्धा उत्साहात साजरा होत आहे. मार्ग कमी असले तरी उत्साह तसूभरही कमी झालेला नाही. कारण कृष्ण भगवान आपल्याला जास्त जवळचे वाटतात. हसऱ्या, खट्याळ मुद्रेचे, लोण्याने माखलेले हात-तोंड यांची पर्वा न करता तल्लीन होऊन लोण्याचा आस्वाद घेणारी बालकृष्णाची मूर्ती सर्वांनाच लोभसवाणी वाटते.

अश्या या श्रीकृष्णाला प्रिय असणाऱ्या लोण्याची माहिती आपण घेणार आहोत. 

लोणी म्हणजे नवनीत. दूधाच्या सायीचे  दही विरजून त्याचे ताक बनवायचं, हे ताक घुसळून वर तरंगणारे लोणी काढून घ्यायचे अशी साधी सोपी कृती आहे लोणी बनवण्याची पण याचे फायदे मात्र अनेक आहेत बरं का.

नवनीतं नवं  वृष्यम शीतं बलवर्णाग्निकृत |

संग्राहि वातपित्तसृकक्षयार्शादितकासजित ||

क्षीरोद्भवं तु संग्रहि  रक्तपित्तरोगजित |

(अष्टांग हृदय)  

संग्राहि दीपनं हृदयं नवनीतं नवोद्धृतं |

ग्रहण्यो विकारग मर्दितरुचि नाशनम ||

(चरक संहिता )

ताजे लोणी मधुर रसाचे ( चवीला गोड ) , शीत गुणाचे आहे. तोंडाची चव सुधारते (अरूचिनाशक) , पचन सुधारणारे, वृष्य ( शुक्रधातू वाढवणारे), शरीरबल-वर्ण सुधारणारे आहे. वात आणि पित्त दोषांचे शमन करते. त्यामुळे शरीराचे पोषण करण्यास मदत करते. हृद्य (हृदयासाठी पोषक, आश्चर्य वाटले ना? हो,पण हे खरे आहे.)

त्यामुळे ग्रहणी (पचनाचे आजार), रक्तपित्त (ब्लीडिंग डिसॉर्डर्स),मूळव्याध,अर्दित (चेहऱ्याचा पक्षाघात), जुना खोकला,क्षयरोग यासारख्या आजारांत आम्ही वैद्यगण  नुसतेच किंवा वेगवेगळ्या औषधांसोबत लोणी वापरतो. 

• संशोधने काय सांगतात?

1. लोणी म्हणजेच दुधातील स्निग्धांश. त्यामुळे 100gm लोण्यामध्ये 81 gm स्निग्धपदार्थ असतात. त्यापैकी सॅच्युरेटेड स्निग्धांश ५१ gm. पॉलीअनसॅच्युरेटेड स्निग्धांश ३gm , मोनोअनसॅच्युरेटेड स्निग्धांश २१gm  आहेत.  ०१gm  कोलेस्टेरॉल आहे.  

2. ४९% अ जीवनसत्त्व आहे. (१००gm मध्ये ३३०० IU  इतके. ) तर ड  जीवनसत्त्वसुद्धा असते. 

3. ताज्या लोण्यामध्ये मोठया प्रमाणात अँटिऑक्सिडंट्स आहेत. 

4. हे पॉलीअनसॅच्युरेटेड आणि मोनोअनसॅच्युरेटेड स्निग्धांश शरीरासाठी लाभदायक आहेत कारण याच्या रासायनिक संयूगांच्या (chemical composition) रचनेमुळे शरीरातील वाढलेले LDL कोलेस्टेरॉल कमी होऊ शकते. 

5. मात्र सॅच्युरेटेड स्निग्धांश शरीराला त्रासदायक ठरू शकतात. त्यामुळे लोणी आरोग्याला वाईट असल्याचा अपप्रचार झाला आहे.

 

• आयुर्वेद शास्त्र काय सांगते ?

1. वर  जे सगळे गुण वर्णन केले आहेत ते गायीच्या (हो, दूध-दुभत्याच्या संदर्भात,सर्वप्रथम गाय मग म्हैस यांचा उल्लेख येतो व जेथे गरज असते तेथे स्वतंत्र उल्लेख करून शेळी-मेंढीचा  स्वतंत्र उल्लेख केला जातो, असो .) ताज्या लोण्यासंदर्भात आहेत. विकतच्या ‘टेबल बटर’चे नाहीत. 

2. हे लोणी मीठ न घालता खायला हवे मात्र टेबल बटर मध्ये तर ३%-५% मीठ preservative म्हणून घातले जाते. 

3. दूध --->साय -->विरजलेले  दही --->ताक --->घुसळलेले ताक -->ताजे लोणी अश्या कृतीने काढलेले लोणीच लाभदायक असते. कारण विरजण न मंथन (घुसळणे) हे महत्त्वाचे संस्कार आहेत. 

4. खाल्लेले लोणी पचून ते अंगी लागण्यासाठी व्यायामही तेवढा करायला हवा. बाळकृष्ण लोण्यावर ताव मारून गायी चरायला नेत असे.त्यामुळे ताव नाही मारला तरी लोण्याचे फायदे मिळायला हवे असतील तर व्यायाम करून रोज चमचाभर लोणी जरूर खाता येईल.  

5. वृद्ध आणि शिशुंसाठी  लोणी हे अमृताप्रमाणे आहे त्यामुळे ते जरूर खावे. 

6. लहान मुले तर दिवसभर हुंदडत असतात, तसेच हा शरीराणीची बुद्धीच्या वाढीचा काळ आहे. त्यामुळे मुलांसाठी तर लोणी आवश्यकच आहे. 

7. आजारी, अपचनाचे त्रास असलेल्या व्यक्ती, कोलेस्टेरॉलचा त्रास असलेल्या व्यक्ती यांनी लोणी  सुरु करण्याआधी वैद्यांचा सल्ला जरूर घ्यावा.  

तर असे हे भगवंताला प्रिय असलेले लोणी आपल्याही आहाराचा भाग व्हावा यासाठी जरूर प्रयत्न करा. 

संदर्भ - चरकसंहिता, सुश्रुतसंहिता अन अष्टांगहृदय

           आंतरजाल -  heart.org

          चित्रसौजन्य - little krishna cartoon series

लेखिका -

डॉ. स्निग्धा चुरी-वर्तक. 

*9870690689*

samanwayaayurveda@gmail.com 

(सदर लेख वैद्य स्निग्धा चुरी-वर्तक यांनी ०६ जुलै २०२० रोजी आपल्या  https://samanwayayurved.blogspot.com/2020/08/blog-post_12.html  ब्लॉगवर प्रथम प्रकाशित केला. याचे सर्व अधिकार लेखकाधिन आहेत. इतरत्र शेअर करायचे असल्यास कृृपया कोणतेही बदल न करता व मूळ लेखिकेच्या नावासहित शेेेअर करावा.)

Secrets of Immunity -Confusions about Corona

picture courtesy : internet , alfenergy website. 

When her phone rang in the early morning, Snigdha was a bit concerned seeing Shriya’s mother’s name. She thought of their earlier project about ‘5 white poisons in the kitchen’. But Sonia was ghastly worried about something else. 

“I have so much stress these days that sometimes I feel I can't breath. I pretend to be alright, try to immerse myself in daily chores but still I keep worrying all the time. Anil has to go to the office everyday. But he is very precocious. Always takes a bath right after returning and washes his clothes immediately afterwards.We disinfect his phone,belt,shoes,car keys every time. He even Avoids direct contact with us but I still feel worried.Few of his colleagues were tested positive a few days back. Anil asnt in direct contact with them but such news makes me anxious. Is there anything that we can do? We are already following Ayurvedic immunity booster measures that you have sent us earlier. Pills have also been distributed in the society. Chyawanprash was still out of stock when I checked earlier. But I will definitely manage to procure some. I have to… My mother in law suffers from BP and diabetes.. And now the rains have started already.I have to manage Shriya and Aryan’s online class schedule….. Oh, sometimes this is all just too much for me…what do I do?”

“Sonia, first take a deep breath. Just hold your horses. Don't you know the law of attraction?? You get what you keep thinking. Our desires, though wanted/unwanted can change our lives.”

“................ I guess you are right.”

“I understand your concerns. This disease shows no distinguishing symptoms. Starts as simple fever, cough-cold symptoms, which we earlier used to brush off as just flu (bukhar ho ti hai !) But now ,if ignored, can get serious very quickly. Moreover, what scares everyone is unavailability of a definitive line of treatment or vaccine yet. But please see the other side as well.Many institutions have already started working for the vaccine. Doctors are trying to find proper protocol with definitive medicine. Government has also *allowed AYUSH medicines for corona treatment which are showing promising results*. In the current scenario, There are many patients who recover fully from Corona (SARS COVI 2) infection. Latest status of COVID - 19 cases shows that out of 308993 cases , 154330 have been recovered and 8884 patients have been deceased. This confirms that *not every corona infected person is going to die. The rate of recovery is much more than the rate of deaths*. Mortality rate of COVID-19 much less than his previous siblings SARS and MERS. Also there is another aspect in these deceased cases,which needs to be considered is ‘Comorbidity’.”

“What is comorbidity?”

“Many of the deceased patients had preexisting health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease, respiratory (breathing) conditions, heart disease, obesity, cancers. Also senior citizens were affected more. This *indicates that the possibility of fatal complications increases if the body has already suffered long term damage because of preexisting health issues*. Such condition is known as ‘ *Comorbidity* ’ in medical science.``

“Oh ,is it? But my mother in law already suffers from hypertension and diabetes. Anil is also taking medication for cholesterol problems. Can we do anything for them? Some other immunity boosters or any ayurvedic vaccine for this?”

“Sonia, you are again going back on the same track of desperation. I do understand your frustration and helplessness. But there is no such thing as ayurvedic vaccine. And how does any vaccine work? Usually smaller portions (known as *live attenuated or toxoids* ) of a bacteria or a virus, capable of causing any contagious disease, are injected in the body. Our body responds by forming antibodies against these external antigens. These antibodies help our body to remember these infections and also fight against such infections in future. But such *vaccine generated immunity works against contagious diseases only and they are disease specific* . That means for each contagious disease, we need to take different vaccines. But Ayurveda has explained the concept of ‘ *Vyadhikshamattva* ’ which can be loosely translated as ‘Immunity’ but it is *much more comprehensive*. ‘Vyadhikshamattva’ is  _not only limited to the body's combat power against various pathogens but also the body's ability to resist every systemic disease,infectious disease,Allergic disease and even autoimmune disease_ . In short, *It's not just resistance but also the resilience of the body* . And that's why , there is *no instant formula to boost one's immunity* . There is a known saying ‘Rome was not built in a day but they were laying bricks every hour.’ It explains that _focusing on your habits is more important than worrying about outcomes._ Similarly *immunity cannot be developed or maintained by popping pills, it needs regularity and discipline in your daily routine.*

Ayurveda further explains, 

 

*‘समदोष: समाग्निश्च समधातु मल:क्रिया* ।

*प्रसन्नात्मेन्द्रियमनसश्चेति स्वस्थ इत्याभिधियते* ।।

_Samadoshah samagnishcha samadhatu malahkriyah_ |

Prasanna atma indriya manasashcheti swasthah iti abhidhiyate_ ||

Which means, an individual can be called ‘Swastha’ (Healthy) if his Tridoshas (Vata-Pitta-Kapha namely), Agni (digestion & metabolism), Sapta dhatu (rasa-rakta-mansa-meda-athi-majja-shukra) and three malas (urine-faeces-sweat) are in equilibrium, keeping his atma (soul) , eleven indriyas and manah (mind) in serene and stable state. It was described in Sushrut sanhita in 600 BC. If you understand it thoroughly, you will realise that this definition of Swastha is more in depth than the definition of health which was stated by WHO IN 1948. (Health is astate of complete physical,mental and social well being , not merely the absence of disease or immunity.- WHO)

“Is it possible for everyone to have these components in equilibrium??”

“No, because the state of these components depends on the individual's genetic predisposition , season (rutu), habitat at the time of fertilisation of embryo. That's how our Prakruti (body type) is decided. We need to maintain our vyadhikshamattwa by maintaining our lifestyle as per our prakruti. It can be achieved by following proper *Dinacharya-Ritucharya-proper panchakarma* as advised in texts. Dincharya means daily routine habits and Ritucharya means seasonal regimen as per ayurveda. It is advised because Earth’s rotation and revolution create day-night time and also different seasons which have certain effects on our body. Hence dinacharya-ritucharya helps us to maintain equilibrium of doshas-dhatus-malas.”

“But still something else must be making some difference otherwise everyone will live a long life.”

“You are absolutely right. Not every prakruti (body type) is meant for longevity. There are some genetic diseases as well. Also nowadays we see many diseases for which patients do not give any family history but are caused by mutation in genes due to faulty food habits and lifestyle. *Ayurvedic texts have explained weaker individuals,obese, people consuming improper diet, people with disturbed emotional and mental health are more susceptible to diseases.* ”

“Right even we see that mentally strong people can overcome serious diseases while some may succumb to the fear and stress.”

“Correct , hence *one needs a proper planned routine , diet with fresh and home cooked meals, daily exercise, yoga and pranayama practice, proper sound sleep and regular body detoxification with panchakarma*. But always practice these procedures with guidance of vaidyas as you may need a tailor-made (customized) plan as per your preexisting health conditions. Using one plan for everyone is not at all advisable. 

Also we must understand that Unlock 1 is already in progress and many developments are expected to follow the suit. Many epidemiologists around the world have already stated that this procedure, though unavoidable , may cause this disease to keep showing its existence in near  future causing it to come back in waves. Hence one needs to *maintain and improve ‘Vyadhikshamattwa’ by above mentioned measures. Make sure that we embed good hygiene habits like social distancing, washing hands thoroughly with soap and water, avoid unnecessary touching and avoid crowded places*. Do not brush off flu-like symptoms (Cough-Cold-Fever) as simply viral onel. _Seek for medical advice quickly and practice self isolation when sick._  

Please try to understand this disease scientifically. Don't be so desperate that you will be vulnerable to any quacks.”

“Thank you Doctor,We will definitely win this war against corona.”

Note - *please make sure that you are taking advice from qualified and registered ayurvedic practitioners* . 

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(disclaimer -  this article was first published by Dr Snigdha Churi-Vartak on blog https://samanwayayurved.blogspot.com/2020/06/secrets-of-immunity-confusions-about.html . All rights are reserved to the author. Kindly forward/share without making any changes in writing.)