Recipe column-Avial

Vegetables needed: 9 varieties-3 greens, 3 roots, 3 juicy vegetables.
For example: Greens=All varieties of Beans, Carrot, Green peas, Capsicum, (do not use pungent or bitter tasting vegetables).
Roots=Potato, Sweet potato, yam, and No Beetroot.Juicy= Pumpkin, chow chow, snakeguord.
Cut, wash and clean 9 varieties of vegetablesinto a 2 inch cubes (a large sized with or without skin as you desire). Pressure cook vegetables.
Grind 1 portion i.e half the cocunut,12 medium sized green chilies and 2 teaspoons of cummin seeds into a smooth paste.
Add this paste to the vegetable and mix gently for 5 to 7minutes. Add salt and curry leaves.
Remove from fire and add 2 cups of smooth and thick curd.
Avial is ready to serve. You can add or reduce the amount of curd and green chilies according to the quantity of vegetables and your taste.

Recipe column-besi bele bathe

Chop 2 big onions or 250 gms of small onions skin peeled.
Green peas,Carrots,Tomatoes, Groundnuts fresh are all optional.
Roast each one seperately or one by one; equal measures of i.e 1 teaspoon of urad dal,1 teaspoon of gram dal and 1 teaspoon of corriender seeds. 1 inch piece of cinnamon, 5 pods of cardomom and 1/4 teaspoon of methi seeds to enhance the taste and flavour. Add 2 to 3 table spoon of dry coconut and roast it to light brown. Copra available in stores is also fine. Grind these to a coarse powder. you can store this in an airtight container and refrigerate for weeks.
Pressure cook 2 cups of rice and 1 cup of toor dal and keep aside.Heat oil in a kadai fry the onion and other optional vegetables. Add 2 teaspoon of tarmirind paste. if you do not like hot and sour reduce the amount of tarmirind paste. Allow it to cook for 7 minutes and add the cooked rice and dal. Add curry leaves and mix well for 2 minutes.
Add salt and the powder. Pour 2teaspoons of gingily oil and 2 teaspoons of ghee on the dish and mix well. garnish with corriender leaves. Remove from flame and serve it with chips,potato curry or papads.

Eat breakfast, avoid obesity

Although people think that skipping breakfast will save on calories, findings suggest the opposite

Those who eat breakfast every morning are more physically active than those who skip the first meal of the day, especially during adolescence. That’s the conclusion of a study in which researchers examined the link between breakfast frequency and five-year body weight change in more than 2,200 adolescents.
The results of the study indicate that breakfast eaters consumed a healthier diet and were more robust than those who skipped the meal.
Five years later, daily breakfast eaters also tended to gain less weight and had lower body mass index levels, an indicator of obesity risk, compared with skippers.
Mark Pereira, coauthor of the University of Minnesota project EAT, points out that this study extends the literature on the topic of breakfast habits and obesity risk because of its size and duration.
“The dose-response findings between breakfast frequency and obesity risk, even after taking into account physical activity and other dietary factors, suggests that eating breakfast may have important effects on overall diet and obesity risk, but experimental studies are needed to confirm these observations,” he added. Over the past two decades, rates of obesity have doubled in children and nearly tripled in adolescents.
It is estimated that between 12 and 24 per cent of children and adolescents regularly skip breakfast. This percentage of skippers, while alarming, has been found to increase with age.
Dianne Neumark-Sztainer of project EAT said researchers have found further evidence to support the importance of encouraging youth to eat breakfast regularly.
“Although adolescents may think that skipping breakfast seems like a good way to save on calories, findings suggest the opposite,” she said.

FAT TALES: Breakfast eaters tend to gain less weight

Drink tea to keep diabetes at bay

Some constituents of tea could act as an insulin substitute

Drinking black tea could help prevent diabetes, according to new findings by scientists at Dundee University. The researchers said black tea may have the potential to combat type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease.
They believe certain constituents of tea could act as an insulin substitute. In Scotland, it is believed more than 190,000 people have diabetes which develops when the body fails to make enough insulin.
In Tayside alone, latest figures show a 90 per cent increase in the incidence of diabetes in the last 9 years.
There is definitely something interesting in the way these naturally occurring components of black tea may have a beneficial effect.
The Dundee team, led by Dr Graham Rena, hopes to secure more funding to continue its investigation.
In collaboration with colleagues at the Scottish Crop Research Institute, the researchers discovered that several black tea constituents, known as theaflavins and thearubigins, mimicked insulin action.
“What we have found is that these constituents can mimic insulin action on proteins known as foxos,” Dr Rena said. “Foxos have previously been shown to underlie associations between diet and health in a wide variety of organisms including mice, worms and fruit flies. The task now is to see whether we can translate these findings into something useful for human health.”
Dr Rena stressed that further research was needed. “People shouldn’t be rushing to drink masses of black tea thinking it will cure them of diabetes,” he said. “We are still some way from this leading to new treatments or dietary advice. Our research into tea compounds is at a preclinical, experimental stage and people with diabetes should continue to take their medicines as directed by their doctor. However, there is definitely something interesting in the way these naturally occurring components of black tea may have a beneficial effect, both in terms of diabetes and our wider health.”

TEA AND ME: A girl sipping a cup of tea in a restaurant

Recipe column- Parankikai kootu

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Recipe column- pachadi

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Heart risk link to eye condition

AMD is the leading cause of sight loss in the UK

Age-related macular degeneration, a common cause of blindness, has been linked to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

Researchers found the risk of dying from the cardiovascular conditions was at least doubled in people with AMD.

The study raises the possibility - disputed by UK experts - that drugs for the condition may be to blame.

The University of Sydney research appears in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION There are two forms - wet and dry - with the dry form being far more common The wet type is the most aggressive and accounts for around 90% of blindness caused by the condition More than 20,000 people in the UK are newly-diagnosed with wet AMD each year

AMD affects the centre of the retina (macula) at the back of the eye, which is used for fine central vision tasks, such as reading and driving.

It is most common in the elderly, among whom it is a major cause of untreatable blindness in developed countries. It is estimated to affect 500,000 people in the UK alone.

The Sydney team assessed the general and eye health of over 3,600 people, all aged at least 49 years at the start of the study.

Of these 2,335 people were re-examined five years later, and 1,952 were examined again 10 years later.

Among people under the age of 75 at the start of the study, early AMD was associated with a doubling in the risks of dying from a heart attack or stroke within the next decade.

Those with late stage disease at the start of the study had five times the risk of dying from a heart attack, and 10 times the risk of dying from a stroke.

Possible reasons

The researchers admitted that more work was needed to confirm their work, as the numbers in their study were relatively small.

They said the reason for a link between AMD and cardiovascular disease was unclear.

The likely reason for the link is vascular degeneration Mr Winfried Amoaku Royal College of Ophthalmologists

It could simply be that AMD is a sign that the body is ageing, and vulnerable to all sorts of disease.

Alternatively, it may be that AMD and cardiovascular disease are caused by the same problems, such as inflammation, thickening of the arteries or general tissue damage caused by unstable particles called free radicals.

Another possibility is that anti-VEGF drug treatments for AMD may raise the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Anti-VEGF drugs work by inhibiting the growth of new blood vessels.

This is an effective strategy for AMD because the condition is caused by unstable new blood vessels in the eye, which leak fluid and blood under the retina and cause scarring, which in turn leads to irreversible sight loss.

However, there is concern that inhibiting blood vessel growth may have a wider impact on the cardiovascular system.

Monitoring

The researchers said: "Our results suggest that individuals with a high cardiovascular risk profile may potentially need to be monitored closely if receiving anti-VEGF therapy."

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) eased restrictions on NHS use of one of the anti-VEGF drugs, Lucentis last year, following a campaign to make it more widely available to AMD patients.

Mr Winfried Amoaku, of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, said other research had also suggested a link between AMD and cardiovascular disease.

But he said anti-VEGF drugs approved for UK use had been shown to be safe.

He said: "The likely reason for the link is vascular degeneration. This is a systemic failure that can affect several parts of the body in relatively quick succession."

The RNIB said the study had not established that the drugs raised the risk of cardiovascular disease, and urged patients not to be put off seeking treatment.

Novartis, the makers of Lucentis, said the drug was very effective, and had proved safe in major clinical trials.

Inflammation genes

A second study in the same journal highlights variations in genes that control the production of chemicals involved in inflammation as a possible key to AMD.

A team from the University of Southampton examined variations in genes controlling production and suppression of cytokines - powerful chemicals involved in inflammatory processes in the body.

They compared DNA samples from people with AMD to those who showed no signs of the disease.

One particular gene variant was significantly more common in the people with AMD.

 

 

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Recipe column- pazham pori

Cut bananas into thin slices length wise preferably neantheran pazham. Mix a thick batter with 1 cup of maida flour, 1/2 teaspoon of chily powder, 2 teaspoon of sugar,cardomom powder for flavour, salt and a pinch of ajwan for a new taste. Dip the fruit slices in the batter and dep fry in hot oil. When it turns light brown remove it from the kadai.
A nice crispy snack ready to eat with hot tea or coffee.

'Depression makes you stronger'

LONDON: Depression is common but it's not a sign of weakness. In fact, experiencing the condition for a brief period can actually benefit you.

A leading psychiatrist has claimed that a bout of depression could be good for the soul — it may bring misery to its sufferers, but it can also leave them tougher and more resilient, the Daily Mail reported on Monday.

"We see it as a defect — often patients see themselves as broken in some way — whereas I think of it as a defence mechanism. It has simply adapted in the human species to give us long term benefits," Dr Paul Keedwell of Institute of Psychiatry in London was quoted as saying.

According to him, depression, which has played a key role in evolution, can also spark creativity. However, Keedwell had warned that the condition in severe form can be terrible and life threatening, unless treated. "But for many it is a short term painful episode," he explained.

Estimates suggest that as many as one in four people will suffer from depression at some stage in their lives, and that 5% of the population is currently living with it.

Keedwell's book How Sadness Survived , published last month, comes as a growing number of experts question whether doctors and drug companies are too keen to treat the condition with powerful and harmful drugs.

Keedwell, said, "We see it as a defect. Often patients see themselves as broken in some way, whereas I think of it as a defence mechanism."

Recipe column- mor kulambu

Method 1:

Roast 1/4 teaspoon of fenugreek/methi seeds, 1 teaspoon of corriender seeds, 1 teaspoon of toor dal. Add 1 teaspoon of cummin and 2 tablespoon of coconuts. Grind it to a smooth paste.Cook the vegetable and add the paste. Allow it to boil for 2 minutes and add 1 cup of curd beaten to a smooth texture. Heat up a kadai, add 1 teaspoon of coconut oil allow the mustard seeds to splitter and 5 curry leaves.
Pour it into the kulambu and garnish with corriender leaves.

Method 2:

Soak 1 teaspoon of corriender seeds, 1 teaspoon of toor dal and 1 teaspoon of cummin for 20 minutes. Roast 1/4 teaspoon of fenugreek/methi seeds and 2 tablespoon of coconuts. Grind it to a smooth paste.Cook the vegetable and add the paste. Allow it to boil for 2 minutes and add 1 cup of curd beaten to a smooth texture. Heat up a kadai, add 1 teaspoon of coconut oil allow the mustard seeds to splitter and 5 curry leaves.Pour it into the kulambu and garnish with corriender leaves.