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Showing posts from October, 2021

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...

Mobile gadgets and its ill consequences

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 People were hooked onto mobile phones and corona virus has worsened the situation. Travel restrictions and lockdown forced more people to get online and hence overuse their mobile phones. Phonesand surfing has become a demand of times and an addiction. But it is also true that companies are pushing it on gullible consumers. Technology is advancing more than what humans actually need for a happy living.  Glutinous rice and its health benefits Kids and mobiles Infants and children like mobile phones. They are on the net for hours together and are totally unsupervised. I do pity the ignorant parents who are happy that their child is quiet  after taking the mobile phone in hand. And now the pandemic has forced children to go to virtual media for learning. This could have dangerous repercussions. But no one seems bothered. What are the likely bad consequences of this digital technology? Problems with mobile phones Both mobile phone and laptop use lead to eye strain. This is m...

Glutinous or sticky rice: all you need to know on this Eastern Asian rice

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Far east and south eastern Asian nations eat a lot of glutinous rice. It is their staple food that is also used to make a variety of main course dishes as well as snacks and desserts. How good and healthy is this type of rice? What are its nutritional values and health benefits? Let us look at it one by one. Glutinous rice It is also called as sticky rice and is grown predominantly in South eastern Asian countries. They have a unique opacity and become sticky after cooking or with heat treatment. This type of cooked rice sticks together and is easier to eat with chopsticks. Hence it is used as sushi rice.  The name suggests that it is glue like and sticky. It does not mean that it contains gluten. It is rich in amylopectin and low in amylose. Hence its glycemic index is low. Bangladesh, China, Nepal, Burma, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan are some of the countries that consume it to a large extent.  Nutritional value of glutinous rice Taichin is a type of glutinous rice. 100...

Some useful remedies for post viral syndrome

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 Viruses are those nasty organisms that infect people variably with long-lasting symptoms. Covid pandemic has made it clear that they are here to stay and cause long-term problems in humans and animals. The worst thing of these millennial viruses are that there is no effective antiviral drug against them. Passive immunization helps partially and vaccination also have limited role to play.  Viruses and symptoms Viruses cause acute symptoms that may wane off in a few days to a week or so. But what is notorious is their tendency to linger on in the body and affect localized organs or cause generalized malaise. Both of these consequences are difficult to treat and affect the individual's life for many months to years. This is called post-viral syndrome. It might be a separate entity or might be due to the virus triggering the chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) or depression in the person who has recovered from its acute insult. Symptoms of post viral syndrome The person affected with ...

Unvaccinated group: What they feel and say?

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 There is a natural wanderlust in humans. Traveling, exploring new destinations, meeting new people, knowing new cultures, and enjoying nature of the world provide happiness to many. But all this happiness came to a shrieking halt due to the coronavirus pandemic and the associated lockdown. And now the vaccination mandate and restrictions on unvaccinated people has made life difficult for the unvaccinated who love to travel. This us how they feel about the whole thing.  Coronavirus and the vaccination passports Covid vaccines are in but they have varying responses. Efficacy and safety studies have shown varied results. It 8s said that they minimize severity of the disease and hospitalization for those infected after vaccination (breakthrough infections). But there are also significant number of people who suffered severely and also died due to covid infection despite vaccination. And on the other hand, there are those who had no or mild symptoms despite having received no vacc...