Why Ayurveda Recommends BANANA as Healthy Diet?

Indian traditional foods and Ayurveda recommends Banana as part of everyday meal for health and wellbeing. Unfortunately middle time researchers and modern medical systems opined that it is bad for health and most of the modern medicine doctors advise not to take banana.

This article analysis the health benefits of banana subject to its nutritional availability factors

a.        Modern nutritional researches shows that the Bananas are four times richer than proteins, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus and five times the vitamin A and iron when compared to the so called healthy fruit “APPLE”

b.       Bananas are filled up with natural sugars like sucrose, fructose etc which when taken gives a immediate boost on the energy levels and brings psychological happiness. Many fitness related researches suggest that hard 45 minutes work out requires just Bananas. That’s why in sports world banana is one of the highly recommended fruits.

c.        Bananas are rich in Vitamin B. Vitamin B is usually responsible for calmness of mind and strengthening the nervous system. Traditionally bananas are recommended as a part of the diet to Children and aged to pacify the psychological irritability and to strengthen the nervous system

d.       Ayurveda recommends Banana for Pre and post menopausal syndrome as diet. One of the researches have shown the maintained the glucose levels through banana intake reduces the mood swings in the PMS women by 82%

e.        Most of the women disorders starts with menstrual problems to bone health are usually related to poor iron levels. Most of the times the iron supplements have somehow fail to get assimilated in the body. One of the researches done at Stanford University has shown the positive results banana and iron deficiencies. Take 2 Banana a day and keep your iron supplements away- the researchers say

f.         Depression is becoming one of the commonest disorders. Many researches now been done to find ways to prevent it. One such research has reviled that the tryptophan in the banana is one of the naturally driven chemical most effective in keeping the mind happier. They advise just take two Bananas a day to keep the depression away.

g.       According to World Health Organization, High Blood Pressure is one of the deadliest conditions affects the humans. Many researches are now directed to the prevention and natural management ways. Since the bananas are high in potassium and low in salt which makes a ideal diet to maintain or prevent the higher BP bouts. This is one of the reasons why US FDA has allowed the banana industry to make a official claims for the fruit’s ability to reduce the High BP and stroke

h.       Lifestyle changes bring many bad health results. Hangover is one among them. In India, centuries it is practiced that Banana processed milk or milk shake can bring down the hang over in short time. Many researches have shown the physiological results of Banana milk shake for hangover. It fills the stomach, rehydrate the system and improves the blood sugar levels in no time – Experts say

i.         Morning sickness has become a part of life to all especially the late night working software engg. One of the nutritional psychological researches shows that intake of banana helps in maintaining the blood sugar levels which in turn help prevent morning sickness.

j.         Improving IQ: One of the biggest challenges currently we face as doctors. Children with less IQ have increased numbers in every society. Credit goes to the working parents unable to concentrate on the children diets. Many parents just jump in to the nutritional supplemental diets but that too sometimes fails to create the desired results. Surprisingly many pediatric results have shown positive effects of banana taking children. Children who eat one banana perform better in exams than who not take it.

k.        Well known benefit of Banana worldwide for constipation. Higher fibers help relieve constipation in no time.

l.         Ayurveda recommends Banana as a diet for stomach and duodenal ulcers. Current day researches do agree on this. The hyper acidity simply gets neutralized by the banana fibers which in turn help to heal the ulcers faster.

m.      Banana does have a positive help on bringing the smoking down – researchers say. The B6, B12, Potassium and magnesium helps to remove the nicotine levels faster which help in the withdrawal.

Ayurveda and most of the traditional systems recommend Banana has part of the diet for all seasons and for all age groups. Since it is not native to Europe, the proverb says apple as a important diet. It is time to change it as “A Banana a day keeps the Doctor Away”

Ayurveda Home remedies for Pain

Ayurveda, the science of life was the first system taught about the ‘Food as Medicine’ concept. In every context of physiology to pathology and prognosis Ayurveda was the only medical system talks about qualities of foods and its good and bad effects.

In this context, I am talking about Ayurveda’s top 10 pain killers; I should call it as ‘Top 10 Kitchen pain killers’ The most important factor is that all these recommendations are currently very well validated by the modern medical system.

1.         Fresh Ginger to ease muscular pain – Ayurveda recommends 5 gm of fresh ginger or 2 gm dried ginger as part of diet to prevent and manage muscular and joint pains.  One of research from Denmark has shown Ginger’s positive effects on reducing swelling and stiffness. They have very well documented the physiological results of ‘Gingerols’ which is effective for reducing all kinds of pain

2.        Clove for Tooth Ache – Ayurveda was the only system to recommend spices for pain management. Indians very well uses the clove powder or oil to beat the tooth ache and tooth problems. A team of researchers from US have documented the effects eugenol – one of the active components from clove for its anesthetic and anti bacterial effects. They also have documents that the intake of 2 gm of clove powder improves cholesterol ratio, maintains the PH in the GIT Tract which in turn prevents all kinds of oral infections.

3.        Vinegar for Heart Burn - Do you know that Ayurveda was the first system to talk about preparing different kinds of Vinegars and its therapeutic and medical effects.  Ayurveda recommends 30 ml of Vinegar after a heavy meal can make the digestion and metabolism smoother. One of teams of US colon and digestive disease center have documented the good results of Vinegar especially the Apple cider one.  They have found that the mallic and tartaric acids are the components which help in the breakdown of harder, bigger food particles to smaller easily digestible ones.

4.        Garlic for Ear Ache:  If you are from a village back ground, you would know about this use of Garlic. Traditionally, Garlic is used to treat ear aches.  The practice is pouring warm garlic oil 2 drops into the paining ear for 5-11 days heals it completely. In a study conducted by Mexican scientists, it is evident that the active ingredients of garlic like germanium, selenium and sulfur contents have physiological positive effects on pain causing chemicals secreted by common bacterial infection.

5.        Cherries for Pain: Ayurveda the science of life recommends cherries as a part of diet to win and prevent pain. Some of the researches have shown that the anthocyanins, which are the active ingredients in any cherries, have ten times more positive effects on Killing pain than common pain killers like Ibuprofen etc. without any side effects.

6.       Fish for Stomach problems: Most of us think that Ayurveda is vegetarian system. But the truth is Ayurveda recommends as much as non vegetarian foods for better health. For example, Conditions like Indigestion, Irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel syndrome etc Ayurveda recommends as much as 200 gm of specified fish as diet. Ayurveda also opines that the waist size can very well be controlled by fish diet. Modern researches do agree about this as the EPA and DHA are the powerful anti inflammatory chemicals in fish are ten times more effective than the common corticosteroids.

7.        Buttermilk for PMS: Ayurveda recommends Buttermilk for Pre and post menopausal syndromes and menstrual pains. One of research conducted in the Yale University has shown the positive results of buttermilk in women gynecological troubles. The richness in calcium helps calm down the physical and psychological irritability in PMS.

8.       Reversing Diabetic pain with Turmeric: Ayurveda recommends use of turmeric as a part of diet to prevent the complications of Diabetes and pain.  One of the researches has shown positive results of turmeric in healing pain in arthritis and fibromyalgia in Diabetic patients.

9.       Salt to ease foot pain: As per the internet research foot pain is the condition affects everyone irrespective of age, sex, region etc. Ayurveda is the first system to recommend salted hot water therapy for foot pain.  As many researches has shown the salt’s anti bacterial effects and anti inflammatory properties. One of the research from Stanford University shows that the regular soaking of infected parts in warm salt water acts better than the tropical pain killers and anti biotics.

10.     Honey for Mouth Sores: Ayurveda recommends honey gargle for mouth sores. Even as general practice as part of Dina Charya Honey gargle is recommended for better voice, improved speech and to prevent all type oral inflammations and infections. One of the research conducted in the Dubai Medical center suggest that honey gargle heals the mouth sores 47% better than any medicines, creams available in the market. Honey is extremely effective in reducing the inflammation, improving the tissue healing is the verdict of the research

11.       Muscle cramps with Tamarind Juice: Ayurveda recommends Tamarind juice to manage acute muscle cramps. An authentic research shows that the potassium deficiency usually leads to muscle cramps and one out of four aged more than 40 suffers from this condition. 50 ml of diluted tamarind juice is effective in bringing back the blood potassium levels – researchers say.

Ayurveda the science of life recommends something called ‘Dina Charya’ – daily regimen for the health and wellness of each and every individual and for the society. Unfortunately, in this fast paced life we not only lost the habit of following it but health benefits of these which led to ill health and innumerable numbers of medicine intake. All these above advises does not require much time, effort or cost. All it required is inclusion as part of diet or practiced as part of day. Even though these remedies look simpler, but the benefits are priceless. 

Cancer Prevention, Choose Akai Berry

Prevention is better than cure. Modern medicine researchers are now concentrating on chemicals or nutritional based products to prevent the modern day killers like Cancer, auto immune disorders, Diabetes, Obesity etc. In this way of research, they have found some of the fruits have a rich combination of anti oxidants and chemicals which are very effective in preventing the pathogenesis or at least arrest the progress of the diseases or prevent the complications of so called ‘Modern day disorders or Life style disorders’

Acai berry is one among the herbal nutritional food supplements accepted by both traditional and modern researchers for the efficacy for prevention of life style disorders and helping the human body to reduce the spreading of the actual disease. Even though this subject still under the debate many doctors advises Acai berry based products as diet supplement it does not cause any side effects or drug interactive side effects.

What is Acai berry?

Acai berry is palm fruit native to central and South America, Brazil and Peru. This is cultivated across world now for commercial uses. It is slender palm tree grows up to 15-30 meters. Fruits of Acai tree are a small round purple shaped one, looks almost like grape.

In 2004, Acai berry became famous as a weight loss recipe. Even today most of the weight loss pills have Acai extracts as one of the primary ingredient. As on date there is no clinical study, shown positive effects on prevention and claimed reversing effects of Diabetes and other chronic illnesses.

What Acai experts say about the efficacy?

Cancer is a cellular malfunction. Acai berry works at the cellular level to treat and cure cancer. It helps prevent proliferation of cancer cell by preventing cell mitosis. The sooner a cancer is detected, the greater are its chances of remission.

Acai Berry helps fight the cancer in the following ways:

(A) By its anti carcinogenic agent - Acai Berry juice contains 150 neutraceutical chemicals. Among them five have been shown to fight cancer.

 a. Polysaccharides - Polysaccharides are found abundant in Acai Berry. Polysaccharides block the adhesion of mutated cells to other cells, thus stopping metastasis. Blocking the adhesion of mutated cells to new cell depends on the density of the polysaccharides sulphate groups, their molecular weight, and their carbohydrate structure.

b. Anthraquinones- Damnacanthal, an anthraquinone, inhibits the growth of malignant cells. Alizarin, another anthraquinone, blocks the blood circulation to the malignant tumors, thus preventing its growth. Anthraquinone reduces the cytochrome c (a hem-protein whose main function is electron transport using the hem prosthetic group. It act as a cancer causing agent in the body) inside the body without causing the formation of any new free radicals. (Source – from the research study conducted by group of scientist in Japan 1990)

c. Epigollocatechin gallate (EGCg)- EGCg is a polyphenolic flavonoid antioxidant found in abundant in Acai Berry. EGCg prevent the growth of malignant cells and so induce apoptosis. The enzyme NOX is active in the cancer cell all the time. In a normal cell, the NOX is activated only during the cell division in response to growth hormone signal. The EGCg interferes with the tumor associated activity of NOX. (Source – from the research study on Acai juice)

d. Terpenes compound - Terpenes help in preventing the proliferation of malignant cells and induce apoptosis. Limonene, a cyclic terpene, has been found to prevent carcinoma of mammary, liver, and lungs, and also found effective in treating leukemia. Beta carotene, another terpene, helps to stimulate thymus gland to secrete more T- cells that destroy the carcinoma cells.  Ursolic acid, a pentacyclic triterpenoid, has anti-carcinogenic effect, both externally and internally. It is known to prevent the growth of cancerous cell and to induce apoptosis. (Source- research conducted by the National Cancer Institute, Finland)

e. Proxeronine - Dr.Heinicke’s theory suggests that xeronine (conversion from proxeronine by the enzyme proxeroninase) combines with various bio chemicals and building blocks i.e. hormones, proteins, enzymes, serotonins, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants at intracellular level. The Golgi apparatus and reticulo-endothelium then assemble the necessary compounds into a specific ‘package’. This ‘package’ is sent from healthy cells to deranged cells to help in regeneration or rebuilding the damaged cells.

f. By modulating the immune process of the body - Acai helps to modulate the production, activity, and effectiveness of some immune system agents. These are

a. Nitric oxide - Nitric oxide, produced by activated macrophages, plays a role in the host protection against pathogen as well as malignant tumor. Acai juice increases the body’s biosynthesis of nitric oxide.

b. Interleukin- Acai modulates the production, activity, and effectiveness of interleukin-2 that enhances the production of B-cell antibodies and also the cyto-toxicity character of Natural Killer (NK) cells.

c.  Interferon-y: Acai modulates the production and activity of interferon-y that helps in the activation of macrophages and the over all process of cell mediated immunity. (Source- Dr. Hirajumi report)

 Tumor necrosis factor (TNF): Tumor necrosis factor from various macrophages destroys the malignant cells. Acai modulates the production and activity of TNF from the macrophages.

Lipopolysachrides (LPS) The LPS in serum stimulate the body’s immune process to eliminate any pathogens. Acai Berry Juice helps modulate the production of LPS in serum thus increasing the immune process of the body.

 Natural killer cells (NK cells) – Acai Berry helps modulate the production of NK cells that destroys the malignant cells.

Thus it is claimed to be effective for preventing Cancer and all kinds of Auto immune disorders.

Approved scientific researches so far

The following are the successfully and approved researches conducted so far in Acai Berry

a.        Chemically extracted poly phenolic-rich fractions from Acai Berry were reported to reduce the proliferation of HL-60 (experimental leukemia) cells in vitro

b.       In a study of rats fed a high cholesterol diet, supplemental feeding with dry Acai pulp reduced blood levels of total and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and superoxide dismutase activity

Conclusion

Acai berry has several health benefits such improving mental clarity, promotes sound sleep, supplies the body with vital vitamins, cleanse and detoxifies the body of toxins that are infectious, builds the immune system, enhances sexual desire and performance, help in fighting cancerous cell, reduces the aging process, it alleviates the complications of diabetes, helps it normalizing and regulating the cholesterol levels, helps in proper functioning of the heart, reduces inflammation, increases circulation as well as improves vision.

 Acai berry has omega fat unlike saturated fats that is common with fast foods, it also contains amino acid, protein, Vitamin A, B1 and E and electrolytes that is why it is becoming a miracle drink today. As, more consumers are finding out the benefits of Acai berry today so also are researchers amazed at the health benefits of the this small fruits. Also Acai berry fruits have been found to have no side effects, therefore taking Acai berry just should not cause any health concern, since researcher have not been able to come up with any side effect caused by the fruits, it is very safe to use, though further research is being carried out on this wonder fruit of nature.

Rice is good, When it is cooked as Ayurveda says

Preparing the food in traditional ways makes the product healthier and easy for digestion. Modern day cooking gears, unfortunately, keep the unwanted materials in the food which in turn spoils the health of every person. For example, before the pressure cookers were introduced the traditional method of cooking rice involved removing the extra water after the rice is cooked properly, which in turn removed the extra and unwanted carbohydrates from the rice. This way, one doesn’t get to ingest extra carbohydrates. Because of the modern kitchen cooking techniques such as ‘pressure cooking’, unwanted chemicals and excess carbohydrates remain in the rice and may cause health problems.

Cooking rice the healthy way -

Ingredients:

50 grams Rice

30 grams Green Gram

20 grams Cumin seeds

Salt – Pinch

Ghee – 10 gm

Water – 200 ml

Directions for preparation:

1. Wash the rice and green gram with adequate amount of water.
2. Roast the cumin seeds in mild heat for 2 minutes and pound it as coarse powder.
3. Add the raw rice and green gram in boiling water.
4. Add powdered cumin seeds and pinch of salt.
5. Wait until the rice and green gram are completely boiled, and then drain excess fluid.
6. Add the ghee.
7. Always serve hot.

Benefits

1. It is the best diet mentioned in Ayurveda for individuals of all ages irrespective of their gender.
2. Usually advised for improving the digestive fire after diarrhoea, fever, vomiting, exertion etc.
3. Helps increase the taste, digestion, and metabolism.
4. Good for diabetes, obesity, and constipation.
5. This preparation is also said to be good for stress and psychological conditions, hypertension, hypotension, hyperacidity, Irritable bowel syndrome.
6. This diet is known to improve muscular strength and blood circulation.
7. Many traditional Ayurvedic and Yogic texts claim that this diet prevents disorders of eyes, nose and ears and increases the brain functions.