Minerals Your Body Needs

Minerals are inorganic substances like sodium, potassium, chlorine, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iodine,iron, cobalt and copper.They are classified into two categories:minor and major, based on the intake level.If more than 100mg of a mineral is required per day,the mineral is classified as a major mineral.Major minerals include calcium, phosphorus, potassium,sodium, chlorine, magnesium and sulphur.Minor or trace minerals include boron,chromium,cobalt,flourine,iodine,iron, manganese, molybdenum, selenium,silicon,vanadium and zinc.

Plants incorporate minerals from the soil into their own tissues.For this reason fruits,vegetables,grains, legumes,nuts and seeds are often excellent sources of minerals.Minerals are vital for good health.Like vitamins they are essential for regulating and building the cells which make up the body.Body cells recieve the essential food elements through the bloodstream.They,must, therefore,be properly nourished with an adequate supply of all the essential minerals for the efficient functioning of the body.Minerals help to maintain the volume of water necessary for the life processes in the body.

Total Mineral Content Required In The Body:
Major Minerals	Weight(gms)	Trace Minerals	Weight(gms)
Calcium	1150	Iron	2.4
Phosphorus	600	Manganese	0.18
Potassium	210	Copper	0.09
Sulphur	150	Iodide	0.024
Sodium	90
Chloride	90
Magnesium	30

How About Tea? Is Tea Harmful?

Nobody knows exactly,where or when,the first cup of tea wa brewed.According to folklore,Emperor "Shen Nung" who reigned over China in 2732 BC discovered the stimulating effect of tea accidently when wild tea leaves fell into his pot of boiling drinking water.Chinese have probably been drinking tea in some form or the other since the fourth century AD and considering that wild tea grew in many parts of Assam,it is not unknowingly that tea drinking in India too is as old as in China.The raw material for tea manufacture normally consists of two young leaves and an unopened leaf bud-the famous "two leaves and a bud" formula, but,plucking of longer shoots containing 3 or even 4 leaves is not uncommon.The freshly harvested tea shoots can be processed into the various kinds of tea,namely,black tea, green tea,oolong tea and instant tea.In the manufacture of black tea(the usual tea that we drink),the material undergoes "fermentation" while in the production of green tea,delicate and subtle in flavour,fermentation is purposely omitted.Oolong tea leaves get an intermediate treatment,considered to be "semi-fermented".Instant tea,like instant coffee,is a dehydrated product containing only the soluble constituents of tea.

There is hardly any drink that is not a food too,in terms of calories it provides-tea is no exception.A cup of tea, containing 2 tbsp of milk and a tsp of sugar,yields about 40 calories.Milk contains casein,which makes the tannin in the tea insoluble,thus removing some of its astringency(acidic effect).Apart from the milk and sugar generally added,the tea infusion contains marginal quantities of vitamins and minerals,but no significant quantities of extractable proteins,carbohydrates or fats.

Tea is fairly rich in most of the B group vitamins.Apart from these,it is also a good source of vitamin E and K and Beta-carotene(changes into vitamin A in our body).Tea contains traces of minerals like Copper,Flouride and Managanese too.Flouride helps in avoiding cavities in the teeth.

The accumulating scientific data on tea and its constituents - the vitamins,caffeine and tannin- and on its antibacterial activity provides a new picture of this popular beverage.Over the past few decades,the list of physiological disorders for which tea is contra-indicated has been steadily decreasing.On the other hand,caffeine is sometimes prescribed therapeutically for the treatment of hypertensive headaches and tea is a legitimate means of supplying this medication.Tannin destroys bacteria and virus, thereby inhibiting the growth of dental plaque.But at the same time,tannin inhibits the absorption of iron,calcium and zinc from the food,when tea is consumed along with food.

Healthy Recipe : Juice Therapy

Curative and preventive properties of fruits and vegetables in ensuring a healthy body and glowing skin: Did you know that papaya,orange,lemon and pomegranate act as antidotes to high blood pressure......or amla and carrot are useful in controlling asthma...or guava and mosambi help in regualting constipation? In fact each and every fruit and vegetable has incrediable curative properties,and offers a natural way to good health.Fruits and vegetables act as scavengers to our body,and drive away toxic and harmful wastes.They nourish our body with pure water,sugar,vitamins, minerals,proteins,fibres,aromatic compounds and host of other micronutrients.Here are some examples which will help you combat some ailments effectively:

• High B.P. antidotes: Papaya,orange,lemon,pomegranate.

• Skin Disease preventives: Apple,carrot,watermelon,lemon.

• Asthma prophylactics: Amla,carrot,pomegranate.

• Fever combatants: Orange,mosambi,pomegranate.

• Diarrhoea curatives: Pineapple,apple,pomegranate.

• Constipation regulators: Guava,mosambi,apple.

• Digestion aid: Spinach(palak).

• Diabetic control: Bitter gourd(karela).

• Jaundice and Diarrhoea control: Carrot.

• According to nutritionists, weekly once, depending on the convenience of the persons,the stomach can be given complete rest without losing the required energy by following the juice therapy.In a 24-hour juice therapy,one can take different types of juices for every 2 hours and this can be discontinued when one goes to sleep,of course,under the medical guidance of the doctor.Thus your body gets detoxified every week.

Juice Therapy with some common vegetables:

• The Juice of Amaranth leaves is effective in resolving cataract.

• For Diabetes,a mixture of equal quantities of amla juice and bitter gourd juice taken every morning show a reduction in blood glucose levels.

• Beet juice is one of the most valuable juices for the liver and gall bladder.

• Brinjal juice is found to be an effective remedy for toothache.

• The use of cabbage juice for treatment of stomach ulcers is one of the latest and most vital advances in the field of juice therapy.

• A cup of carrot juice taken daily improves the eyesight and prevents cataract.Carrot juice is also excellent for the treatment of infantile diarrhoea and acute colitis.It also prevents dehydration.Mixed with a little honey carrot juice is highly effective in all sorts of fevers,general debility,nervous disorders,anaemia,lassitude,low vitality,and rundown conditions.Carrot juice applied on the burns help them heal faster.

• 1-2 tsp fresh juice of coriander leaves mixed in 1 teacup buttermilk to be taken 2-3 times daily for Dysentry,Hepatitis,Indigestion and Nausea.Juice of fresh coriander leaves can be used as nasal drops for bleeding nose.Coriander juice applied on blackheads and pimples daily work wonders.

• Equal quantities to limejuice and the juice of the fresh leaves of the drumstick plant applied on the blackheads and pimples regularly,help in getting rid of them.Drumstick juice mixed with carrot juice help reduce blood pressure.

• 2 tsp fresh juice of Fenugreek leaves along with 1 tsp honey to be taken daily in case of recurrent headaches and insomnia.

• Equal quantities of ginger juice,lemon juice,pudina juice and honey to be taken frequently for Dyspepsia,nausea,indigestion,jaundice,morning sickness and piles.Juice of ginger should be taken with honey 2-3 times daily for persistent cough.

• Lemon juice is an excellent blood purifier.Upon rising in the morning,drink the juice of 1 lemon in a cup of warm water.It helps in reducing obesity.Asthma is relieved by taking a half-spoonfdul of lemon-juice before each meal and upon retiring.Lemon juice taken 3-4 times daily along with garlic cures cough and cold.Drinking lemon juice daily helps to alleviate rheumatic fever,painful joints,lumbago and sciatica.

• Mint leaf juice is good in case of digestive disorders.

• Equal quantities of raw onion juice and honey,taken twice a day are effective for stomachache and indigestion.

• A cup of raw potato juice taken daily cures acidity.

• Juice of fresh ripe pumpkin taken regularly helps to get rid of kidney stones.Radish juice and its leaves,mixed with a little sugar,should be taken twice daily in the cases of jaundice.Equal quantities of radish juice,cucumber juice and capsicum juice,taken once a week would help in cleansing the digestive and respiratory systems of the body.

• Raw spinach juice taken twice a day before meals lowers the blood sugar.Spinach leaf juice,as a gargle,is good for sore throat.

• A glass of fresh tomato juice taken daily cleanses the system and prevents hardening of the arteries.Tomato juice keeps the blood stream alkaline and thus maintains high resistance to disease.

• Turnip juice mixed with cabbage or carrot juice,taken daily reduces mucous,helps asthma and bronchitis and relieves sore throats.

Fibre And Health

The middle-aged are being afflicted by a plague of modern Western illnesses,many of them being fatal.Those illnesses are not caught from germs or viruses-they seem to creep upon us gradually.They are known,collectively as degenerative diseases,the commonest cause of death in Western countries.The second great destroyer is cancer,cancer of lung,and cancer of bowel being the most common fatal,forms of cancer.Apart from these,there is a group of other degenerative diseases like diabetes,diverticulosis and other less-serious but still troublesome problems like varicose veins,haemorrhoids and constipation.

The major factor that all these illnesses and health problems have in common is,that they are very rare among the "third world countries".Why?It has been found that these communities live on diets which contain a much higher percentage of carbohydrates obtained from cereals which have not been stripped off their dietary fibre,fibre-rich vegetables,legumes and fruits.Such findings have led to a surge of interest in dietary fibre-which for several years was considered to be just one of the unavailable sources of energy in the diet,incidentally having a laxative effect.Dietary fibre is essentially of plant origin.All cereals,fruits and vegetables contain some dietary fibre,but,just as the calorie content of different food varies to a great degree ,so does the fibre content.With cereal based foods,fibre value depends to a greater degree on how much has been stripped away in the milling and refining processes.But what exactly is dietary fibre?It can be best described as the carbohydrate material in plant foods that is not digested by man.It is a sponge like material,which absorbs and holds water as it is chewed in the mouth and passes down the gastrointestinal tract.This means that fibre-rich foods swell to a greater bulk,to fill the stomach,than any other foods.

Dietary fibre is the substance,which makes the waste matter(from the food we eat)pass through us and out of us at a desirable,speedy,natural rate.This is one of the main reasons why it is now considered to be such an important protective factor in saving us from diseases of bowel like cancer.The slow transit rate of fibre-depleted diet is thought to encourage the formation of cancer-forming substances (carcinogens)and other toxins within the body.A high fibre diet would pass through the alimentary canal quickly,giving these carcinogens and toxins very little time to interact in the intestines.The relationship between fibre and constipation is well known.A high fibre diet,thus,relieves a person from constipations and associated problems like haemorrhoids and diverticular disease.

Amongst all the risk factors:cigarette smoking,diet,sedentary living,stress-the strongest for coronary heart disease has been found to be smoking and the strongest protective factor,the intake of cereal fibre.The reason for the beneficial effect of dietary fibre is that it reduces the absorption of cholesterol.

Diabetes involves a faulty insulin production.(Insulin is necessary to control the excess of sugar in the blood).Insulin response to the carbohydrates of the food we eat varies with the speed of absorption of the carbohydrates.Any dietary factor which delays the absorption of carbohydrates maybe regarded as beneficial and here again dietary fibre appears in a valuable,preventive and protective role.Carbohydrate foods rich in fibre are absorbed more slowly than those from which the fibre has been removed.Hence the popularity of gram flour(high in fibre)in diabetes.

After controlling all the degenerative diseases,fibre goes onto control the body weight too.The principle is simple.Fibre provides no calories,so the total calorie value of a high fibre diet will be less.Secondly,the water absorbing and swelling tendencies of fibre help to fill up the stomach faster and for a longer period of time,thus,the total dietary intake is reduced.

The simplest way to incorporate fibre in the diet is to use more of whole pulses,unseived wheat flour,fresh fruits and vegetables in raw from(not peeling wherever possible)everyday.