Milk in Nepal and India: the difference!

-
Image
 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...
Post a Comment

Alcohol: how it damages the brain and other body organs?

-

 Alcohol is a hard drink that adults like to consume and get addicted to due to its euphoric effect and capabilities to make one forget sorrows. But this does not come without its side-effects. The most prominent effect is on the brain and liver. But other organs also suffer problems directly and indirectly. 

Alcohol and ill-effects on brain 

Alcohol intoxication has an acute negative impact on the brain. After the initial few glasses of this drink, the drinker feels high and euphoric and the person's hidden desires surface. But as the amount of intake increases, more ill effects appear. There is speech slurring, blurring of vision, incoordination of gait and movements, difficulty in walking, delay of response times, and derangement in memory. The drinker experiences blackouts and remembers nothing about the events. In acute cases, these may resolve but in case of chronic drinkers,  these bad  effects remain for long and in many are irreversible. 

Longterm ill-effects of alcohol on brain

These longterm damage on the brain might be of mild degree such as little memory lapses or it could lead to permanent brain damage requiring custodial care. Several factors determine how much damage of brain occurs in a person. These include:

1. Amount of alcohol consumed per day

2. Duration of drinking alcohol 

3. Age at which the first hard drink was taken

4. Gender, Age, family history, and genetic background of the drinker. Women are more likely to get blackouts and memory impairments with alcohol. 

5. Whether the person had any exposure to alcohol before birth. 

6. Presence of Other co-morbid conditions in the person. 

In case of chronic drinking, the brain damage is serious and permanent. Alcohol directly affects the brain and also indirectly via nutritional deficiencies and toxins from liver and other body damage.  

Alcohol (Source: Cone Health)

Hepatic failure and its brain effects 

Liver cells get destroyed due to the alcohol and they are reply by fibrous tissue. This is cirrhosis. Due to liver failure, toxins and ammonia accumulation occurs in blood and affect the brain. Conscious level is altered, mood,  personality, and mentation is affected. Specific drugs to remove ammonia or surgeries to bypass these toxins are used as therapies. Besides, artificial liver and liver transplantation are tried. 

Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome 

More than 80% of alcoholics experience Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. It is a severe form of brain damage that comes due to thiamine or vitamin B1 deficiency secondary to poor nutrition. This may present as Wernicke's encephalopathy in an acute form or as Korsakoff's psychosis in a chronic form. In the former case, there is mental confusion, nerve paralysis, and incoordination and in Korsakoff's psychosis, there is persistent memory and learning issues. 

How to treat alcohol's brain damage 

The most important thing is to stop alcohol consumption and thus avoid further damage. Thiamine in high doses helps and liver care and prevention of further damage should be aimed. 

Chronic addicts need proper support so that they can return to a normal life with minimal brain affection. They should be encouraged and offered psychological and moral assistance at all hours. Hospitalization helps in acute cases. 

Also, read, Color therapy and its goodness


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Morton's toe: Everything you need to know about your longer second toe

-
Image
 Often, one notices that the second toe of some people is longer than the great toe. People say different things for it. Many of them say that it implies that the owner of such a longer second toe is a dominant, creative, energetic person in real life and very ambitious and peace and happiness-loving. But no one has tried to understand the reason, science, medicine and problems of having such a toe. It is called as Morton’s toe or Greek foot.  What is a Greek foot? Many people in the world have a longer second toe of the foot. Such feature may be on one side or in both the feet. It is called Morton’s toe or Greek foot. The other names for it are Morton’s foot or royal toe. But the reason is not the second toe is longer but the fact is that the first metatarsal below the great toe is shorter. Thus it is not due to the faulty phalanges but due to the difference in height of the metatarsals. Since the second metatarsal is relatively longer than the first metatarsal, the joint at ...
Read more

There can be no universal forgiveness! It never exists!

-
Image
Forgiveness or pardon means clearing off the feelings of resentment or revenge towards the offender. In most contexts it implies giving up any expectation of justice. People justify this act of forgiveness from a religious point of view and psychologists justify it as an act that would bring peace to the victim. But my experience tells me that both religion as well as psychologists are absolutely wrong in asking a victim to forgive the evil person. This act is bad from a society point of view and would lead to a rise in crimes and unhappiness. Let me explain in depth with examples. 1. I have a friend in the UK. She is originally from Nigeria. She has two siblings who are married with children and she herself is single and childless. In the year 2009, she had gone to her hometown. There her siblings tortured her physically and mentally and put her under house arrest. They did not want to give her any ancestral property and assets. She managed to free herself with the help of a friend an...
Read more

Voluntary childlessness is on the rise in the world! What are the reasons for it?

-
Image
 The decision of couples to have no children by choice seems tough but is increasing in the modern world. Though society looks down at such couples, the availability of effective and safe contraception and old age support from non-family agencies has made things a bit easier for such decisions to be made.  Reasons for voluntary childlessness 1. Personal reasons such as not wanting responsibilities of a child.  2. The emphasis on career rather than reproduction 3. The lack of desire to forward one's family genes or line due to child abuse.  4. Anguish against existence in general. 5. Non-readiness to give up one's freetime and social time for children rearing 6. Happier to help others raise kids 7. Preferring a pet over a child 8. Not wanting to give up personal space and sharing it with a child.  9. Not happy with child-rearing things such as cleaning up mess, disturbing one's sleep etc. 10. Not particularly fond of children behavior. 11. In some situations, one...
Read more