Protein Source :Broccoli

Source : Health me up

Proteins are important molecules present in human body. 

The two very important task performed by proteins are – it helps to maintain muscle mass, which is important to keep your metabolism up whilst losing body fat, and helps to keep you full for longer duration, thus it is good for you, if weight loss is on your mind.

So far, the standard good protein sources we knew were nothing beyond chicken, tuna and eggs.

 All these high protein sources are favourable for non-vegetarians, Kara Landau – Nutritionist and Writer at Travelling Dietitian, sharesthe magic of the humble broccoli, which most of us have forgotten to add in the protein sources list.

Kara says, "Yes, the protein in broccoli is not the same in ‘quality’ in terms of amino-acid dense animal-based sources. However, most of us are very likely to eat an array of other protein rich foods throughout the day, which helps us to obtain that amino-acids quota in our body."

However, not all vegetables are created equally, some are starchy and others are non-starchy vegetables.

 Most of us know the difference between the two, thus we tend to shift towards the less starchy sources while trying to watch our kilojoule consumption.

Even though cauliflower and broccoli comes from the same vegetable family, the protein content in both these vegetables is very different. 

By consuming approximately 100 calories of broccoli, you can fill your body with 7 grams of protein, 10 grams fibre, zero cholesterol and a wide range of other extra nutrients. 

These numbers are very beneficial for all those people who want to feel full on less kilojoules in order to lose some pounds. Just consuming ½ stalk of broccoli in your plate is sufficient to bind your plate with good nutritional profile.

Another great vegetable that helps you to stack you up, with good protein and fibre content in less kilojoules is lettuce. Just eat a whole large head of dark green variety lettuce to get the same nutritional benefits like the humble broccoli.

Thus if you are a veggie lover, and want to decide on which vegetable to add to your plate, then you know what to add up. 

Broccoli will help you to eat such a large volume for little kilojoules and help you to obtain significant amount of protein, fibre and satiety.

A nutritional crisis in India

Illustration by Jayachandran/Mint

Live Mint :Tue, May 14 2013. 09 51 PM IST

Some commentators have gone so far as to dismiss India’s nutritional crisis as a ‘hoax’

In a recent article, Columbia University economist Arvind Panagariya argued that India need not be ashamed of its malnutrition statistics as they are likely to be exaggerated.

Panagariya’s contention that international standards used to measure nutritional attainments of Indian children are inappropriate, as they fail to account for “genetic differences” seem to have found favour with other commentators, who have gone so far as to dismiss India’s nutritional crisis as a “hoax”. Just as reform critics see India’s malnutrition statistics as an indictment of the reforms process, Panagariya’s hypothesis of exaggerated malnutrition figures is seen as an exoneration of reforms.

There are several problems with such arguments. 

First, the hypothesis that genetic differences could account for growth differences is a very old one, and one that has been repeatedly dismissed by several studies, including the one by the World Health Organization (WHO) which led to the introduction of new international growth norms in 2006.

Second, while malnutrition sceptics emphasize India’s higher child survival figures as compared to sub-Saharan Africa—where the proportion of underweight children is half that of India—they tend to ignore the higher proportion of low birth weights in India. As several studies by nutritionists show, the root of high malnutrition in India (and much of South Asia) lies in the low social status of women. Unhealthy mothers, in turn, give birth to low birth weight children, who turn malnourished. 

Third, although malnutrition does not always lead to death in India, it can still be quite dangerous.

 A growing body of evidence suggests that low birth weights of Asian children are related to obesity related disorders, much later in life.

To be sure, it is true that eliminating the nutrition gap between India and the rest of the world may take several generations.

 But this is no reason to abandon international growth norms, nor does it imply a permanent “genetic difference”. Indeed, this gap should motivate India to redress gender inequities quicker, invest in cost-effective preventive health systems and reform her decaying nutrition institutions such as the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS). 

Even if South Asian children were genetically predisposed to being smaller, it still does not explain why India should lag behind poorer neighbours such as Bangladesh and Nepal in nutritional outcomes.

Finally, India’s malnutrition figures must not be seen as an indictment of the reforms process; rather, they are an indictment of our unreformed public delivery systems, and of our long history of gender bias.

Before the Mise en place

Ensuring freshness. Photo: P.V. Sivakumar


 Vasundhara :The Hindu,3 Nov 2012

Get easy on the must-dos and enjoy a mouthful of nutrition.

Years ago I underwent basic training at the Taj, and, in my first days in the kitchens, was told repeatedly to learn the “meejon”. This was an affectionate diminution of “mise en place” the “putting in place” of ingredients, appropriately cut and prepped, before the actual cooking. Knowing French isn’t necessary to cook, but “meejon” certainly is. But even before that comes the selection.

Arjun Nair, 23, wrote to me from Mexico: “Cooking vegetables is MY Waterloo and I will be reading closely for further advice on how to deal with them, both buying and preparing. I have been spoiled all my life, first by my mother, and then by American ‘everything you need in aisle 4’ food consumerism. Reading your column gives me hope that I too will pick up cooking at some point, and not burn holes through my wallet eating out 24/7. Looking forward to a piece fornaujawans like yours truly who are hungry all the time but have no idea how to navigate through a real food market.”

First come the inventory-check and the list. I start with the staples: potatoes, onions and garlic, which are less perishable, don’t need refrigeration, and can be bought in larger quantities. As readers must know, my big principle is to try to use only seasonal produce. It’s cheaper and tastes better too. The potatoes, like carrots, turnips, radishes and other root vegetables, should be smooth and unblemished. I don’t know about Mexico, but here, summer brings us sweet, stodgy potatoes from cold storage, so try to buy fresh “pahari” tubers from the hills; and, at the beginning of winter, choose new potatoes with thin skins — you don’t need to peel them, just give them a good rub (with a designated scrubber) under running water. And if you’re not cooking them immediately after cutting, keep them in cold water to prevent darkening.

What to watch for

Onions. Use only when cheap, which, in India, means in summer; and look out for wet ones that could be rotting inside. In winter, buy only as much as is absolutely necessary, and, early in the season, go for green spring onions. These aren’t a substitute for full-season red ones, but are good, sautéed crisp-tender, as a stretcher with mushrooms, eggs, potatoes, prawns, paneer: anything that improves with crunchy greens. If refrigerator storage space is an issue, cut off the stalks about two inches from the white bulb and keep separately (long narrow packages occupy less space). Reserve all the greens (except the tough bits). Be careful about storing food with strong smells by drying and then packing it in polythene bags. In any case, remember that milk picks up smells before you can say “Euww”, so ALWAYS keep milk and milk products covered.

New ginger arrives between the monsoon and winter and its price drops with the temperature. Use tender rhizomes in a relish, with lime juice and green chillies. Adding salt turns the slivers a startling pink.

Then come the tomatoes. We don’t have the varieties that the Americas do, and ours are best when red and firm. But if you can only find pale under-ripe ones, store at room temperature till they ripen. Green ones come rarely and if you plan to use them green, refrigerate at once to prevent ripening. Coriander (cilantro, dhania patta, kotmir) is cheaper in winter — in fact itinerant and pavement traders bung it into the shopping bag gratis. Like all green leafy vegetables sold in tied bunches, choose green, fresh looking specimens and store after checking for wet — and thence rotting — stalks. Store in a plastic bag, leaving its mouth open. Some people keep cleaned leafy stalks in a jug of water in the kitchen. I tried — it looked very pretty on the windowsill, like a magazine picture — but didn’t keep them fresh.

In winter I get vast supplies of salad leaves from my father’s kitchen garden. I wrap them loosely in a large, thick kitchen towel sprinkled with water and pack the whole bundle in a large plastic bag, again leaving its mouth open. If the salad is staying a few days, every three days or so it helps to unwrap the whole thing, get rid of the bad leaves and rinse and squeeze the towel. They still turn limp, so perk them up and rehydrate by washing and soaking in chilled water before serving. All green leaves, including those that need to be cooked, should be refrigerated, but despite that, some turn yellow. To keep them green, either cook pronto; or pick, wash and blanch within a day of buying them. Blanching literally means “turning white”, but it actually helps to keep green. Boil a large pot of water, immerse the cleaned and chopped vegetables for 20 seconds, turn off the heat and strain the veggies. Squeeze and freeze in freezer-safe plastic bags. Blanched greens occupy a fraction of the space that raw ones do, as do shelled peas vis-à-vis whole pods.

Green vegetables like beans, okra, cucumbers and all kinds of gourds are best when firm and green: avoid the limp, tragic looking ones that are showing their age. Check beans for tenderness by breaking off a length: it should snap off easily, without resistance from ropey fibre.

So my advice to naujawans like Arjun is that vegetables should be selected in the prime of their life and cooked and consumed as soon as possible; and, if delay is likely, to pause the ageing process by freezing.

Ignorance about calories putting millions at risk

Source :IANS :London:3 jan 2012

Millions of people are unaware of the calories they take in their daily meal and thus risking themselves to be affected by diseases like cancer, diabetes or heart ailments due to their uninformed choices in everyday life, a study has suggested.

According to a survey commissioned for World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), in Britain, two-thirds of adults underestimated the level of calories in foods such as houmous and so-called “light” mayonnaise. Just 32 per cent correctly said houmous was high in calories and only 29 per cent said that low-fat mayo was also high in calories, the Daily Express reported.

The fact is both houmous and ‘light’ mayonnaise are actually high-calorie foods. It shows how there is a “troubling” lack of understanding about the calorie content of foods.

As per the YouGov poll, confusion about terms such as “light” or “reduced fat” was compounding the problem. This is a major concern since being an overweight is a key factor in causing a range of diseases from cancer and heart disease to diabetes.

A fifth — 20 per cent — of the 2,128 adults questioned for the research thought bananas were high in calories even though the fruit contains just 95 calories per 100g on average.

“Many people make New Year’s resolutions to lose weight but it is important that they understand how to determine whether a food is high in calories. It is important for people to be able to make informed choices about food,” says Maya Monteiro, senior education manager at WCRF.