Knowing what cooking oil to use is like knowing what baby name to choose. With so many options, where do we even begin? 
Canola: Nutritionists recommend staying away from canola oil whenever possible. It has been linked to vitamin E deficiency and heart disease, plus it goes rancid easily. But if it's all you have lying around, it's pretty all-purpose, and most commonly used in baking and sautéing.

Olive: Ideal for salads, Mediterranean and Italian dishes (like pesto), and of course bread-dunking. Some recommended olive oil brands include: Carapelli, Whole Foods 365 brand, Berio, or the giant Kirkland brand jug from Costco, which should last you months.



Grapeseed: A bit pricy, but keep in mind, grapeseed oil lowers cholesterol. Use it when you'd use olive oil, and since it has a higher smoke point, it's also good for frying and sautéing. (And the super special bottles will involve an elephant spout.)

Peanut: Not the best one for you (lots of monounsaturated fatty acids in there). But when the time comes for stir frying and deep frying, throw a little in there.

Sesame: The vitamin E-rich oil adds a nice smoky flavor to foods, especially in meat and chicken. Make sure to keep it in the fridge. Usually the darker the oil, the more sesame-y the taste.

Soybean: It's in so many packaged goods (margarine, salad dressings, and mayo), odds are you're digesting it right now.

Walnut: The FDA is pretty pro-walnuts. They have said that "supportive but not conclusive" evidence shows that "eating 1.5 ounces of walnuts a day ... may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease." So go for it oil form. Throw walnut oil into salads or finish off a fish dish.

Whether in Rome or at home, do as the Romans do: Make olive oil a staple. If you already eat the Mediterranean way, you know that the oil not only tastes good but that it is good for you. It's an amazing source of antioxidants, capable of dousing inflammation, defending cells from menacing molecules, and more. Here's the latest on this superhero food.

IT CUTS YOUR CANCER RISK
Olive oil's cancer-preventing powers are lab legends. Which substances get the credit? Polyphenols, for one -- these potent plant antioxidants protect against cancer-causing cell damage. But it also looks like the oil's monounsaturated fat has anti-cancer effects, which means olive oil packs quite a one-two punch! Some people-proof: Check the lower rates of breast, ovarian and prostate cancer among Southern Europeans -- whose diets flow with olive oil -- compared to their northern neighbors.

IT HELPS YOUR HEART
There's virtually nothing better than the big "double O" when it comes to your heart. Olive oil ups good HDL cholesterol, lowers bad LDL, and reduces other harmful blood fats (triglycerides). And that's not all. It also reduces inflammation, another contributor to cardiovascular disease.

IT KEEPS YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE DOWN
Speaking of your heart, how's your blood pressure? If it's not below 120/80, you need to get it there. And yes, olive oil plays a role. It can help enough to reduce the need for daily meds. Those potent polyphenols appear to dilate arteries, which brings blood pressure down. (Always choose extra-virgin olive oil, by the way -- its minimal processing preserves the maximum number of antioxidants and heat-sensitive vitamins.)

IT HELPS YOU LOSE WEIGHT
"Great taste, less filling" -- that light beer slogan rings true for olive oil. While ounce for ounce, all oils have the same calories, olive oil has a fuller flavor so less is needed for tantalizing taste. Plus research shows that overweight people who eat a diet with some fat -- including olive oil -- are more likely to shed pounds than those who slash fat. Why? Oil's rich flavor makes it easier to stick with the program.

IT EASES YOUR ACHING HEAD
If you're prone to headaches and wary of overdoing ibuprofen, try routinely dressing your salad or crisp-tender veggies in extra-virgin olive oil. It contains oleocanthal, a natural compound that, like ibuprofen, blocks pain-producing and inflammatory substances -- but without the risk of stomach upset. While daily oleocanthal doses aren't the painkiller's complete equal, they could lower your risk for heart disease, cancer, arthritis and possibly Alzheimer's. Quite a trade-off.

Source :  http://food.yahoo.com/

Here is the calorie chart of Indian food, so keep a track of the calorie intake and adopt healthy eating habits.

Calories in Fruits per 100 Grams
Calories in Apple 56
Calories in Avocado Pear 190
Calories in Banana 95
Calories in Chickoo 94
Calories in Cherries 70
Calories in Dates 281
Calories in Grapes Black 45
Calories in Guava 66
Calories in Kiwi Fruit 45
Calories in Lychies 61
Calories in Mangoes 70
Calories in Orange 53
Calories in Orange juice 100ml 47
Calories in Papaya 32
Calories in Peach 50
Calories in Pears 51
Calories in Pineapple 46
Calories in Plums 56
Calories in Strawberries 77
Calories in Watermelon 26
Calories in Pomegranate 77

Calories in Vegetables per 100 Grams
Calories in Broccoli 25
Calories in Brinjal 24
Calories in Cabbage 45
Calories in Carrot 48
Calories in Cauliflower 30
Calories in Fenugreek (Methi) 49
Calories in French beans 26
Calories in Lettuce 21
Calories in Mushroom 18
Calories in Onion 50
Calories in Peas 93
Calories in Potato 97
Calories in Spinach 100g
Calories in Spinach 1 leaf
Calories in Tomato 21
Calories in Tomato juice 100ml 22
Calories in Cereals per 100 Grams
Calories in Bajra 360
Calories in Maize flour 355
Calories in Rice 325
Calories in Wheat flour 341
Calories in Breads per piece
1 medium chapatti 119
1 slice white bread 60
1 paratha (no filling) 280

Calories in Milk & Milk Products per cup
Calories in Butter 100gms. 750
Calories in Buttermilk 19
Calories in Cheese 315
Calories in Cream 100gms. 210
Calories in Ghee 100gms 910
Calories in Milk Buffalo 115
Calories in Milk Cow 100
Calories in Milk Skimmed 45
Calories in Other Items
Calories in Sugar 1 tbsp 48
Calories in Honey 1 tbsp 90
Calories in Coconut water 100 ml 25
Calories in Coffee 40
Calories in Tea 30

Sky News

Piping Hot Tea Can Give You Cancer: Study

 

Researchers found drinking tea with a temperature above 70C inceased the risk of oesophageal cancer eight-fold.

But if you let your cuppa cool for five minutes it should be safe to drink, experts have said.

The cancer warning was issued after a study in Northern Iran where tea is often drunk piping hot.

Golestan Province has one of the highest rates of throat cancer in the world despite its residents not smoking much and drinking little alcohol.

Researchers studied the tea drinking habits of 300 people diagnosed with the cancer and a group of 571 healthy people from the same area.

Nearly all drank black tea regularly, consuming more than a litre a day on average.

What emerged was that people who drank tea at higher temperatures were far more likely to get oesophageal cancer.

The study - published in the British Medical Journal - found no link between the amount of tea drunk and the cancer risk.

David Whiteman from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research said there is no cause for alarm.

"These findings should not reduce public enthusiasm for the time honoured ritual of drinking tea," he said.

"Rather, we should follow the advice of Mrs Beeton, who prescribes a five to 10 minute interval between making and pouring tea.

"By this time the tea will be sufficiently flavoursome and unlikely to cause thermal injury."

• It is bitter in taste
• This has to be taken occasionally
• This is not advised during medication, since it will reduce the power of medicine
• It is an antidote for poisons
• It is cooling
• It is good for fever
• It is a laxative
• It helps in digestion
• It is a tonic
• It cures insanity
• It is a very satvic food
• folk medicine

Agathi keerai is very good when mixed with milk and boiled and then made into curd and that made into
buttermilk if taken twice a day all female related problems can be solved..:White discharge,Vaginal discharge with odour,Over heat.Crushed leaves are applied to sprains and bruises of all kinds.A tea made from the leaves is believed to have antibiotic, anthelmintic,antitumour and contraceptive properties. The bark is considered as a tonic and an antipyretic, a remedy for gastric troubles, colic with diarrhoea and dysentery. A bark decoction is taken orally to treat fever and diabetes. Juice of flowers put in the eyes is said to relieve dimness of vision. The leaves also have medicinal value and are reported to cure night blindness in cattle.  The root is a well-known medicine for malaria.Leaves and flowers are used as poultices. The principal medicinal effects are due to the trees astringency, hence it is used against inflammation, venom and other poisons, bacterial infections and tumors. Root juices are used for poultices and the leaves are applied for rheumatism, swellings, bruises and itching. For systemic disorders, decoctions are taken internally. Root resin, mixed with honey, is taken orally for phlegm and root juices are taken as an expectorant. Sinus congestion is reduced by taking a flower decoction.

Source : www.indusladies.com

Came across this article...sharing it cos felt it was gud...

Now that you're on the weight LOSS side of things, did you know that there's a BIG culprit out there that often causes many moms to eat more than they should and hence GAIN weight?

What is it?

It's Phantom Hunger (in other words, hunger that is NOT real!). 

Although it FEELS like hunger and you feed it, it is really FLUID that your body is after. That’s right, you are thirsty, but misinterpret it as hunger!

 

Now it's not news that obesity is a problem in our society today. But with all of the weight loss products out there, we have to ask ourselves what's really going on because we keep getting fatter?

One of the key contributing factors is that we have lost touch with our hunger and our thirst. We eat to numb, reward, distract, and excite ourselves, rather than to fuel our bodies. That is why getting in touch with our thirst, hunger and reasons for eating is a mandatory step to losing and maintaining our ideal body weight. 

 

So the next time you feel hungry, ask yourself why?  Are you hungry OR thirsty? 

In general, the majority of us need to concentrate on drinking MORE fluid in a day. On average, the body uses about 12 glasses of water every day, so you need to replace it with at least 8 glasses of good quality water daily. 

Other good fluids are fruit (preferably fresh and watered down) or vegetable juice and/or herbal tea.  Fruit juice is the one you have to be most cautious of because of the high sugar concentration.

 

How many glasses of water are you drinking per day? 

Here are 4 Great Tips to help YOU Stay Hydrated

 

1. Always carry a bottle of water around with you (in your car, at your desk, etc…) and sip it throughout the day that way - you’ll be much more likely to drink and get your quota.

 

2. UP your daily water intake (more than 8 glasses) if you exercise, drink coffee or tea (both diuretics), or if the weather's hot.

 

3. Drink between meals and not WITH your food (water dilutes the digestive juices and slows the absorption of nutrients).

 

4. And finally, add a squeeze of lemon to give your water a fresher taste – that is if you don’t like the taste of water (lemon will also act to increase your metabolism - yippee!).

 

Stay Hydrated!

FORENSIC RESEARCH DOCUMENT 

Prepared By: William P. Kopp 

A. R. E. C. Research Operations 
TO61-7R10/10- 77F05 
RELEASE PRIORITY: CLASS I ROO1a 

Ten Reasons to Throw out your Microwave Oven 

From the conclusions of the Swiss, Russian and German scientific clinical studies, we can no longer ignore the microwave oven sitting in our kitchens. Based on this research, we will conclude this article with the following:

1) Continually eating food processed from a microwave oven causes long term - permanent - brain damage by 'shorting out' electrical impulses in the brain [de-polarizing or de-magnetizing the brain tissue].

2) The human body cannot metabolize [break down] the unknown by-products created in microwaved food.

3) Male and female hormone production is shut down and/or altered by continually eating microwaved foods.

4) The effects of microwaved food by-products are residual [long term, permanent] within the human body.

5) Minerals, vitamins, and nutrients of all microwaved food is reduced or altered so that the human body gets little or no benefit, or the human body absorbs altered compounds that cannot be broken down.

6) The minerals in vegetables are altered into cancerous free radicals when cooked in microwave ovens.

7). Microwaved foods cause stomach and intestinal cancerous growths [tumors]. This may explain the rapidly increased rate of colon cancer in America .

8) The prolonged eating of microwaved foods causes cancerous cells to increase in human blood.

9) Continual ingestion of microwaved food causes immune system deficiencies through lymph gland and blood serum alterations.

10) Eating microwaved food causes loss of memory, concentration, emotional instability, and a decrease of intelligence.

Source : www.chennaimoms.com

Stress happens. No matter how organized you are, how good your systems are, or how friendly your work and living environments are, stress can find a way to poke its ugly head in from time to time. What can you do? Turn to a convenient Stress Buster – a small, simple activity that clears your head and calms you down. When you feel a stress attack coming on, it’s the perfect time to turn to one of these busters and kick that stress out the door.

Here are 7 of our favorite Stress Busters, but feel free to develop your own:

1. Take a walk
Want a break from the office? Does your house feel like an insane asylum? Slip out the door and let your feet take you somewhere. Not only will walking give you the opportunity to clear your head and take a break from that hectic situation, but it’s great aerobic exercise, too.

2. Call a friend
We all have someone whose voice alone perks us up. Give them a buzz, even for a few minutes. Whether with a joke or a funny story, or just by listening, they will likely put a smile on your face and calm you down. Besides, what are friends for?

3. Write in a journal
Expressing our feelings could be the best way to deal with stress. Keeping a journal is a way to capture those feelings at any moment. You don’t have to worry about what others think or say, just let your pen do the work. By the time you’re done, those feelings will be on their way out of your system.

4. Play a board game
Remember these? Maybe there are a dozen stashed in your closet, waiting to be dusted off. Monopoly probably should be saved until you have a few hours to spare, but quick kids’ games like Candy Land, Chutes & Ladders, Connect Four, or even Twister are always good for a smile.

5. Work up a sweat
Have some pent up frustrations? There’s no better way to get rid of them than by exercising. Pop in a workout tape, hop on your bike or grab your jump rope. You’ll be too busy working up a sweat to worry about what’s stressing you out. Picture the stress leaving your body through your pores.

6. Plan something fun
Is there a trip you want to take but never had time to get it together? Or a dinner you’ve always wanted to make? Now’s the time. Not only will you take your mind off things, but you’ll be spending time eagerly anticipating a great getaway or meal later. It’s a win-win situation.

7. Take a hot bath
A hot bath will initially give your body a kick, which in turn will give your mind a kick too – and then it’ll slow both down. Add bubbles and a few candles and you have the ultimate soothing atmosphere. A rubber ducky is optional.
  
Source : www.sparkpeople.com

What do you look for when you’re checking out the nutrition facts on that macaroni and cheese box? Whether you’re one to zoom in on total calories or total carbs, you might be missing the real picture. Nutrition facts should be a part of your decision in what to eat or even what to buy. But interpreting the facts requires a bit of know-how, so make sure you aren’t misleading yourself.

Understand the Power of "Serving Size"
The most important rule is to know your serving size and the number of servings in the package or can. If the label says "one cup" per serving size and "two servings per container," that means there are two cups in the whole package. If you know you’ll eat the whole package by yourself, you are going to consume two cups (1 cup x 2 servings/container = 2 cups). That means that you must double all the nutrition facts measurements to know your total intake of each nutrient – the good and the bad. Using the mac and cheese example, eating the whole package means you will have consumed 500 calories, 220 of which are from fat. You will have consumed 24 grams of fat, of which 6 grams are saturated fat.

The only time you can avoid doing the math is when you eat the exact serving size that is listed. Always compare the listed serving size to how much food you think you’ll eat and compute calories from there.


Crack the Code in "Percent Daily Value"
Confused by what all those percents really mean? The percents refer to "percent daily value" and they’re a bit trickier to interpret. The FDA bases these percents on a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet. Looking at cholesterol on the mac and cheese label, the FDA says that you are getting 30 milligrams per serving, or 10% of the recommended amount of cholesterol for a person eating about 2,000 calories per day. (Remember, you’re getting 20% if you eat the whole package.) So how do you know if 10% is a good or bad number?



For ease of explanation, let’s break this down into a guide that will help us look at a percent and immediately know if it is high or low for one food source. The magic numbers are 5 and 20%. Anything listed in the percent daily value column that is 5% or less is a low number for nutrients. This is a good range for things that you want to limit (fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium), but too low for things you want to eat plenty of (fiber, calcium, and vitamins). Anything listed as 20% or more is high. This is a bad range for things that you want to limit (fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium), but a good range for things you want to eat plenty of (fiber, calcium, and vitamins).

Look at "Total Fat" on the mac and cheese label. The 18% daily value is close to the high point, but if you ate the whole package, you actually ate 36% of the recommended daily amount of fat (well above our benchmark of 20%). That amount, coming from just one source of food in a day, contributes a lot of fat to your daily diet. It would leave you 64% (100% - 36% = 64%) of your fat allowance for all other meals, drinks, and snacks you would eat that day.

If your daily goal is well below 2,000 calories for your weight loss plan, then use the percents as a frame of reference (realizing you need to be below the percents shown, per serving). Or, you may find it simpler to keep track of grams and milligrams instead of the percents. The Nutrition Facts footnote gives a scale in grams and milligrams for recommended amounts of fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, and fiber based on 2,000- and 2,500- calorie diets. (This footnote does not appear on small packages where there is no room for it.)

The percent daily value also offers a great way to watch your diet without completely giving up your favorite foods. For example, if you ate one serving of macaroni and cheese but ensured you had a low fat intake for all other foods you ate that day, you made a successful trade off. When you really want a food that is high in fat, always balance it with healthy low-fat foods in the same day.

Quick Interpretation Guide

• Start at the top with Serving Size and Servings Per Container. Adjust all measurements below this point according to the serving size you will eat.
• Look at the number of calories per serving (including how many calories are from fat).
• Limit these nutrients: total fat (including saturated and trans fat), cholesterol, and sodium.
• Get plenty of these nutrients: fiber, vitamins, calcium, and iron
• Use the % Daily Value to determine what is a high or low number for your daily diet. 5% or less is low; 20% or more is high.

Don’t just use the nutrition facts to track the nutrients you want to cut back on. Use it to track the nutrients you want to increase (like fiber, calcium and vitamins)! Whether you’re a stickler for tracking every fat gram and calorie per day or someone who just wants a rough estimate of her daily nutrient intake, the nutrition facts label is a handy tool. Learn how to use it for foods you eat frequently and anything new that you are tempted to incorporate into your regular meal plan.

Source: Solving the Ninth Mystery of the World -- By Laura Bofinger, Staff Writer

Chkout for more info regarding this @ http://www.fitnessforweightloss.com/how-to-read-a-food-label

31 Days to a Healthier Diet :

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/calendar_2007-03.pdf