Milk in Nepal and India: the difference!

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 I have observed that whenever milk ferments when I am in India, the paneer or cottage cheese does not come out easily. Even if I boil it and add lime juice to it, the cheese formed is quite little and more powdery than cheesy.  But when the same happens in Nepal, the cheese formation is immediate, dense and cheesy. I do not have to do more efforts to get cottage cheese out of the milk in Nepal. What is the reason? I checked internet and found some factors that can affect the quality and amount of cheese  1. Freedom from pathogenic bacteria - Good cheese forms of milk is free from pathogenic bacteria. Differences between Nepali vs Indian panipuri  2. Different milk quality with different amounts of fats and proteins  3. Ultra-pasteurization can destroy vital enzymes and bacteria that are required for cheese formation  4. If temperature of milk is less when it ferments, cheese formation will be less.  5. If milk is rancid, it means it's fats are also br...
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Loneliness is a growing epidemic especially during this coronavirus pandemic in the USA!

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 The coronavirus pandemic has increased social segregation and this has proven to be bad particularly for the elderly population. They are unable to catch up with their children and grandchildren and are finding themselves extremely lonely. They are the worst affected by the pandemic in terms of physical as well as emotional health.

THE OLD AGE AND LONELINESS

Old age is a time of loneliness for many people. Usually, people have lost their partners at that ripe age and depend on their children and grandchildren for support and to beat the loneliness. Though their younger family members used to occasionally visit the parents, now with the coronavirus pandemic this has become difficult due to the risk of the children carrying the infection to their aged parents and grandparents. So the visits have come down drastically and the contact remains only on phone or via digital technology. This though good does not suffice and cannot substitute the physical visits and the warmth that they bring to the aging people.

Old age and loneliness [Source: WebMD]

There is some good news on that front in the development of COVID-19 vaccines, but along with it is the second wave and rising infections. Deaths and hospitalizations are also surging and this has made it more difficult for them. Corona continues to remain a public health emergency. And these figures that in the USA are as high as 200k per day could reach 300k by the yearend, estimates say.

THE SECOND PEAK OF THE PANDEMIC AND LONELINESS

The second wave of the infection as predicted is worse than the first wave. There are increased cases, increased hospitalizations, increased deaths, more economic uncertainty and gradually mental health issues are creeping in greater numbers. Initially, it was thought that things would clear up soon but now the future is bleak. Studies have revealed that there are rising cases of anxiety and depression related to the pandemic. Old cases are reemerging and new cases are getting diagnosed. These are the cases that come to light but loneliness is a problem that remains unattended to.

Loneliness and lockdown [Source: Healio]

Increasingly, people are feeling the pinch of being alone. There is a sinking feeling coming in individuals and they are getting gripped by this new problem of loneliness that never was there before. All age groups are affected but most are the elderly people.  Earlier studies had revealed that loneliness is a risk factor for premature deaths and it is even worse than obesity, air pollution, or lack of physical exercises. It is an overlooked problem but is as dangerous to health as chronic smoking.

AMERICANS AND THE LONELINESS

Studies have revealed that Americans are lonelier for the past many decades. And now the coronavirus pandemic has further hiked this issue. Besides older adults, teens, young adults, and low-income class are particularly affected. The young are unable to date properly and digital dating does not seem to come to fruition. Nearly one-third of adolescents are facing this loneliness and things are only getting hard for them. Working people have lost jobs and contacts with colleagues.

Loneliness on the rise [Source: YouTube]

Also, read more on Gabrielle Union and her PTSD

Though therapy for loneliness was possible before the pandemic, during the COVID-19 nothing much can be done for it. Some forms of digital and online measures to combat loneliness can be tried and should be initiated by public health doctors and nurses for the sake of the people who are caught up in this inescapable mesh. People who feel this loneliness should also try to reach out to people and medical people to address and get therapy for it. Keep talking to people around to counteract the problem and try to help others who are lonely. Otherwise, we will perish from loneliness if not from COVID-19.

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