The Asian root spice of turmeric or haldi hardly needs any introduction. The spice is made from the root of a flowering plant that belongs to the ginger family and is native to the Indian subcontinent, as well as some parts of Southeast Asia. The rhizomes of the plant are gathered and then dried in hot ovens, before they are ground to make the powder that we all know so well. A number of home remedies for a wide variety of small and big ailments include turmeric powder as one of the ingredients and it is also used to enhance beauty and heal wounds.The spice that is hailed by Ayurveda for its potent anti-ageing and antioxidant properties is a common feature in a lot of vegetarian and non-vegetarian Indian dishes. Turmeric is one of the most important spices in the spice box that can be found in almost every Indian kitchen. But should turmeric be cooked or should it be consumed raw to reap its benefits better? Let's find out!

Turmeric Health Benefits

Tumeric has a number of health benefits, including naturally cooling the body and also improving immunity. A number of studies have proven the antioxidant properties of the spice as well. This is why golden milk and golden lattes with turmeric powder in them have started making appearances in cafes around the world. Most of the benefits of turmeric have been credited to the presence of certain compounds called curcuminoids. In turmeric powder, about 1 to 6 per cent curcuminoids are present, which lend the spice its antioxidant properties. Along with curcuminoids, turmeric also has some 34 essential oils. These compounds lend turmeric its health benefits which include protecting the brain, boosting digestion and immunity, providing relief from arthritic pain and even prevention of cancer!

Does Cooking Turmeric Destroy Its Benefits?

Most of our culinary usage of turmeric involves either cooking it at high temperatures or fermenting it in pickles. However, we may be destroying the health benefits of the spice by cooking it. According to a research study conducted by the Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition, Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore, boiling and pressure cooking turmeric for long durations, may lead to a loss of curcumin compound of turmeric. The researchers observed the effect of heat on curucumin in turmeric in three different situations- boiling for 10 minutes, boiling for 20 minutes and pressure cooking for 10 minutes.

The results of the study said that about 27 to 53 per cent of curcumin was lost due to heat processing. However, when a souring agent was present during the heat processing, the loss of curcumin came down to between 12 and 30 per cent. Tamarind was the souring agent used in this particular study. The maximum loss of curcumin was observed during pressure cooking of turmeric.

Experts Speak: Raw Turmeric Versus Cooked Turmeric
Consulting nutritionist Dr. Rupali Dutta says that cooking turmeric has the opposite effect on curcumin than what is demonstrated by the study above. In fact, a majority of the research conducted on the effects of heat on curcumin speaks in the favour of cooking the spice. "Curcumin becomes more bio-available once turmeric is cooked. That is due to certain enzymatic reactions that occur when the compound is subjected to heat," says Dr. Dutta. She further said that cooking turmeric for a duration of five to 10 minutes in any type of oil enhances the absorption of curcuminoids by the body.

Macrobiotic Nutritionist and Health Practitioner Shilpa Arora also recommends adding turmeric to dals and curries every day, to increase the antioxidant capacity in the body. When it comes to recommendations about cooking turmeric, Arora echoes the advice of Dr. Dutta, saying that the absorption of curcumin is much better when turmeric is cooked or fermented in pickles.

In Conclusion: Should You Be Cooking Turmeric?
As the study suggests, boiling is the worst way to cook your turmeric, as it results in the maximum loss of curcumin. However, cooking it for short durations of time may actually increase its health benefits by making the curcuminoids more readily absorbed by the body. You may want to be a bit creative with turmeric in the kitchen. Try sprinkling a little bit of turmeric powder on top of your soups and smoothie bowls and blending it in with your coffees and milkshakes.

While cooking lentils or dal, you may want to put the turmeric in later, instead of adding it in while pressure cooking the dal. One way is to add the turmeric in the tadka which is usually added to the dal after it is cooked. The short duration cooking of turmeric in the ghee may result in better retention of curcumin.

One of India's most treasured foods, ghee or clarified butter has long been known for its healing properties and health and beauty benefits. Ghee is made from milk, which contains omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A, butyric acid and healthy fats that benefit your overall health. From aiding the digestive system to strengthening the immune system, providing essential vitamins to having anti-inflammatory properties, and making your hair and skin healthy, ghee has a lot to offer. This versatile ingredient is all you need to prepare some home remedies for various conditions; ranging from skin and hair problems, to digestive issues and more. We enlist all these home remedies to ensure you use ghee to its full potential.

Home remedy for digestive health

According to the book 'The Complete Book of Home Remedies' by Dr. Vasant Lad, take one or two teaspoonful of ghee in a cup of hot milk at bedtime. It can turn out to be quite effective in keeping constipation at bay. Ghee has butyric acid, which makes it an ideal pick to support the health of intestinal walls. According to the book, ghee increases digestive fire and improves absorption and assimilation.

Home remedy for clogged nose

Cold and clogged nose can turn out to be quite annoying. Not only you suffer from continuous sneezing, but also have difficulty in breathing; moreover, your taste sense is hampered and let's not forget about the headaches that follow. One of the best ways to unclog your nose is to pour a few drops of warm pure desi ghee into the nostrils, first thing in the morning. Doing so may provide instant relief as the ghee tends to travel all the way down to the throat and soothes the infection. Make sure you have warmed the ghee to lukewarm temperature.

Home remedy for burning belly fat

Ghee comes packed with essential amino acids that help in mobilising the fat and making the fat cells to shrink in size. The presence of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids help you lose inches and shed body fat. Include a teaspoon of homemade ghee in your food to ensure proper digestion and absorption in order to lose weight.

Home remedy for diabetics

If you are a diabetic, eating rice and wheat roti may not be very healthy for you, considering they are high glycaemic index foods. Spreading ghee over chapattis, parathas and white rice could help bring down the glycaemic index, in addition to making them more moist and digestible.

Home remedy for skin

Ghee has long been an essential part of various beauty care rituals. Its vital fatty acids act as a nourishing agent that can do wonders on your dull skin. Ghee is suitable for all skin types. Here's a face mask using ghee to get a soft and supple skin.

Ingredients:

- 2 tablespoons of ghee
- 2 tablespoons of besan
- A teaspoon of haldi (turmeric)
- Water

Method:

Mix all the ingredients together and stir the mixture thoroughly. Make sure the consistency is firm but not dry. After you have mixed the paste well, apply it on your face and leave for about 20 minutes. Rinse it off with cold water and repeat the process twice a week for effective results.

Home remedy for hair

Ghee is a super-rich source of fatty acids and antioxidants that make it an excellent hair conditioner for dry and frizzy hair. Mix two tablespoons of ghee and one tablespoons of olive oil and apply on your hair. Leave it for 20 minutes before rinsing off with water. This pack will help condition your hair and make them soft and manageable. You can use ghee and lemon juice to treat dandruff too. Make sure you massage your scalp well.

Home remedy for dry, chapped lips

One of the most neglected parts of the body is our lips. They generally lose out on their natural pink colour due to exposure to pollution, sunrays, dust or smoke. All you need to do is to warm some ghee and apply some on your lips before you go off to sleep. Once you wake up, you will see dry flakes on your lips. Scrub those dry flakes and see the results for yourself. Repeat the process every day to get soft and supple lips like never before.

Now that you know all the home remedies, make sure you use them for overall health. However, ensure that anything in excess is bad. Consume less amount of ghee as it has saturated fats that may reverse the goodness. If you know of more such home remedies, do tell us in the comments section below.

Today's strenuous lifestyle has us on our toes, flitting between one work and another. The mountain of responsibilities with little time in our hands to carry them on, can be quite taxing. No wonder, so many people are suffering from various mental illnesses like anxiety, hypertension and depression. Some serious neurodegenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's are attacking more people than ever. With science making ground-breaking discoveries every day, a type of drug called nootropic is being hailed all over the globe as the brain medicine. Also known as 'smart drugs', these medications also claim to augment cognitive functions like memory, creativity and concentration. The idea of slipping in a pill to treat any problem is alluring but to what extent we can trust them, still remains debatable.

Manufacturing companies may make tall claims of supplements being safe for ingestion but we can't ignore the fact that these supplements are created from machine-induced procedures. Over-the-counter nootropic supplements are said to be made from food-derived compounds. So, isn't it better if we pick the root source for treatment instead of supplements? There are foods present right there in our pantry that contain the same brain health-benefitting properties as the market-sold drugs.



Here are some foods that you must eat to keep your mind relaxed and your brain functioning normally:

Walnuts
A study published in American Journal of Epidemiology states that walnuts contain a high amount of vitamin E that forms a protective layer around the brain cell membranes and ward off free radicals.

Coffee
This is the most popular natural nootropic food. We all love coffee and tea for their taste and caffeine content, which is widely popular for its psychoactive properties. Caffeine keeps you alert, attentive and relieves fatigue.

Blueberries
This nutrient-dense fruit contains powerful antioxidants that protect the brain from symptoms of ageing. Studies at Tufts Universities, USA suggest that eating blueberries can target and treat the problem of short-term memory loss. Blueberries also improve motor skills and maintain sound mental health.

Green Leafy Vegetables
There's a reason why green foods have been an essential part of our diet since time immemorial. Other than boasting of various healthy properties, veggies like broccoli, kale and spinach fight cognitive damage. The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology states that green vegetables contain vitamin K, beta-carotene, folate and lutein that play a big role in keeping our brain healthy.

Whole Grains
Brown grains are instant energy boosters. They keep the mind active and an active mind is hard to fall prey to cognitive decline. Researchers of Columbia University Medical Centre, New York advises to include grainy foods like cereals and whole wheat breads in our diets as they reduce inflammation and release loads of energy.

whole grains

Incorporating these foods in your daily diet will help you deal with neurological issues the same way as nootropic drugs promise. However, if your problem poses a higher risk to your overall health, consult your dietitian and chart a proper diet course to regain a good brain health.

The raw food trend is perhaps one of the most controversial food trends to have ever hit the food circuit. The advocates of raw food have emphasised how including more nuts, seeds, sprouted grains, fruits and vegetables-ones that haven't been heated past 118 degree F have helped boost their overall health, energy and even cut down on a few pounds. It is also widely believed that raw foods are rich in enzymes, vitamins and minerals, which are not lost in the process of heating it. However, just as it is with any food trend, the trend of raw foods too has its own share of detractors. Some experts believe that the raw food diet is restrictive; there is only a limited amount of food that you can have as part of your diet, which may put you at risk of various deficiencies.

According to Ayurveda there are many good and bad dietary practices. One of the good practices is to have your food cooked. So, does Ayurveda not approve of raw food?

Let's find out.

According to Ayurveda expert Dr. Dhanvantri Tyagi, "there is a lot of confusion on Ayurveda's take on raw food. I would like to clarify that Ayurveda has never said that one should not have raw foods. It is completely okay to have salads, nuts and grains. It is only in some conditions that you should abstain from it. For instance, raw foods are a complete no-no in monsoon. This is the time when bacteria and viral infections are at its peak. Several leafy vegetables get infected due to overwhelming presence of bacteria around. Washing and cooking the vegetables ensure that the bacteria are killed in the process. Moreover, if your digestive capacity is low, then it is better to have foods cooked. Raw foods take a lot of chewing and it may get a little tough for our systems to digest its strong fibres. By cooking food, one makes it easier to breakdown and digest once it enters the system. I have seen some nutritionists also advising diabetics not to take in raw foods in evening as it may pose problem in digestion. In the evening our digestive fire is not as high as it is during the day. "

"Other than that it is really dependent upon the nature of food, some foods are meant to be taken raw. You have to take fruits in raw forms, veggies like cucumber are consumed raw. There is no bar on raw foods as such, but one should be mindful of certain conditions before taking anything," he adds.

Therefore, if you like to eat raw foods you need not make any change to your dietary preferences. However, you can keep these conditions in mind.

Blood sugar levels in the body maybe affected the most by your diet. Following a healthy diet, rich in complex carbohydrates, vegetables, as well as fruits with low glycaemic index, is essential for people suffering from diabetes or pre-diabetes. It is crucial for diabetics to replace processed carbohydrates from junk foods with healthy carbohydrates from whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Usually, it is advised that diabetics must avoid starch in their daily diets as it can lead to sudden spikes in levels of blood sugar. This is because simple starches are easily absorbed and digested and release glucose instantly in the blood. However, there is a type of starch that diabetics can benefit from - resistant starch.

Diabetes: What Is Resistant Starch?

Resistant starch is a type of starch that is not easily digested in the upper digestive tract and consequently a small part of it remains in the gut unchanged. This functions as sustenance for the bacteria in the large intestine, resulting in benefits for the body. It results in growth of helpful bacteria in the gut as well as leads to release of short chain fatty acids, which are essential for colon health. There are a number of different types of resistant starch as well. Some types can be consumed through dietary sources, while some others are synthetically manufactured via chemical processes. The main benefit of resistant starch comes from the fact that it is soluble and fermentable fibre.

Benefits Of Resistant Starch For Diabetics
Resistant starch is important for feeding the cells lining your colon. However, it is also said to have a number of powerful health benefits, including improving insulin sensitivity in diabetes patients. Here's how resistant starch can help diabetes patients:

1. Improves Glucose Metabolism
Meals with resistant starch in them have been said to reduce blood sugar spikes after the meal. Resistant starch has also been known to improve the body's responsiveness to the hormone insulin, which is responsible for metabolising sugars and keeping blood sugar levels under check. A 2010 study, published in the journal Diabetic Medicine, concluded that consuming resistant starch improved insulin sensitivity in metabolic syndrome patients.

2. Aides Weight Loss
Foods rich in resistant starch tend to be low in calories. Resistant starch has been shown to promote feelings of satiety or fullness, thus, keeping hunger pangs at bay and aiding weight loss by making them eat lesser calories. Losing weight can help diabetics manage the condition better as weight loss improves the body's ability to effectively respond to insulin.

Diabetes Diet: Foods Rich In Resistant Starch

Here are some of the foods that diabetics may add to their diet to improve their intake of resistant starch and the respective quantities of resistant starch in them*:

1. Raw banana and Banana flour: Contain 4.7gm and 42 gm resistant starch, respectively.

2. Oats and oatmeal: 17.6 gm and 0.5 gm respectively.

3. Lentils: 5 gm

4. Cooked White Beans: 7.4 gm

5. Cooked Pearl Barley (Jau): 3.2 gm

*Data according to Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2008; all quantities are specified for portions equivalent to 1 cup (approx. 227 gms).

Diabetics are advised to consult their nutritionist/dietitian before adding anything to their daily diet. Excessive consumption of resistant starch has also been known to cause flatulence.