Nutrition From Chile To India!

A country of Latin American origin spanning three continents - South America, Oceania, and Antarctica - phytosanitary island, protected by natural barriers - the Pacific Ocean, the Andes Mountains and the Atacama desert - and a global leader in exports - CHILE has come to India with the proposition to enhance exports of kiwifruit native to Chile to various marketplaces in the India.

Chile has a distinction of being the longest country in the world and also the southern hemisphere's largest exporter of fresh fruits because as many as hundred countries receive thirty different species of Chilean fruit grown across a variety of climates and regions.

Apples, berries, citrus fruits, peaches, plums, and grapes are cultivated across the varied demographic of Chile all year round. During the last season Chile exported close to thirty thousand tonnes of fresh fruit to India, thus positioning it among the Top 5 countries in Asia for Chilean exports.

India's growing love for fruits like Kiwi stems from the fact that we've developed a liking towards tropical produce that enables us to savor the best from the global platter whilst keeping our health in check.

To facilitate the presence of Chilean Kiwi in India, the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association has joined hands with the Chilean Fruit Growers Federation (FEDEFRUTA) further cemented by the the financing by Ministry of Agriculture of Chile and support from the commercial trade wing - ProChile.

Apart from dignitaries representing the above alliance, also present at the occasion were Padma Shri Chef Sanjeev Kapoor and nutritionist Kavita Devgan who were quick to point out that fruit can be equated to snack, and a healthy one at that.

Kavita also added that kiwifruit is a berry good fruit for us, as it is a powerhouse of essential vitamins, anti-oxidants, and folate, added to the fact that as a fruit, kiwi is alkaline in nature, thus balancing our intestinal pH.

Additionally, Chef Sanjeev also took to whipping up a refreshing concoction of kiwi, mango and honey - a kiwi fruit smoothie - to exhibit the culinary versatility of the fruit.

On the whole, the Chile-India association is a pleasant one and shall be a well-received one too.

An Upward Trend For Deadly Chikungunya...

The year 2017 was worst for Karnataka state as far as Chikungunya cases are concerned. The state reported the highest percentage of clinically suspected cases. That was more than 50 percent, worse in comparison to any other state in the country. Next to it were not far behind Gujarat and Maharashtra at 12 per cent each. It is there important for the relevant agencies to find out what was the reason for that exorbitant per cent in Karnataka. But that is not the beginning of the story. We will have to go a few years back to see if there was a rise or decline in such cases in those years. As a matter of fact, if you see, the period during 2013 and 2017 was not good for the country as a whole as there was a sharp increase witnessed in the number of Chikungunya cases in the whole country.

These figures come from the National Health Profile (NHP) 2017. This is a national agency that keeps all the statistics and figures of related to health of the country at a micro level. Thus it keeps a track whether the overall health of the country is improving or deteriorating year by year. The same it does for the states of the country going further down to district level. As per the figures presented by NHP the number of clinically suspected Chikungunya cases, there was a tremendous increase from 2013 to 2017. The figures that were 18,840 in 2013 rose up to 63,679 by 2017. That was a whooping jump of 70 per cent in the country. There were many states contributing to this stupendous rise in the cases of this vector borne disease.

For instance, Haryana was on the top of the list contributing a rise of 99 per cent. There was only 1 case of clinically suspected Chikungunya case in the state as per records in 2013. And that rose to 240 in 2017. Delhi, in fact, was not far behind in the race. The number of cases in Delhi increased by 51 times. In Rajasthan, there was an increase by 20 times during the same period.

As we all know  Chikungunya fever is a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes. It is important to understand that Chikungunya fever symptoms include fever, severe joint pain, headache, nausea, muscle pain, rashes, and fatigue. The disease results from a bite of an infected female mosquito that is known as Aedes aegypti in medical terms. Our environment contributes a lot to our health and hygiene.

The more we care about our environment, the better it is for us in order to stay healthy and active. Chikungunya spreads faster through the open grounds and still water in potholes, clay pots, flowerpots, open vessels and containers, and open sewers. It is very essential to curb spread of this disease by curbing and checking these open areas and ensuring that water doesn’t stagnate in these areas for more than twenty four hours to provide these mosquitoes a favorable environment to breed.

After all, a small amount of awareness and proactive action are important to stay healthy and strong. There is no harm in paying attention to these activities despite however busy a life we may be leading. :)

Catch Up, Buddy!

Growth, be it personal or professional, is an individual's sole motive. On the personal front, it may be about maintaining amicable relations with near and dear ones, while on the professional front, it may be about realizing that we do not lead our lives as a black box, that we have to keep others in our tow and proceed towards the pinnacle of success - be it psychologically, emotionally, or even financially.

When it comes to one's bodily growth, it is not the unprecedented growth left, right and center, which concerns parents of adolescent or pre-pubertal kids who have turned couch potatoes, but it is the genuine scaling on the growth chart as per the standardized norms propagated by doctors worldwide, that causes anxiety to the parents of such kids.

While there may be many reasons to such a barrier uprooting a child's self-esteem, the most important and the one most overlooked, happens to be carelessness towards what's on a kid's plate conjunct with limited physical activity.

When I was a kid, we had ample green spaces to run around and play, oblivious to first-world issues but that isn't the case now. Today's kids have increasingly become lovers of gadgets of all kind and form, thus restricting their physical energies to one or the other smartphone or tablet, most often.

Not eating right - be it eating excessively or eating the least - affects the bodily rhyme and rhythm to growth and adversely alters the natural patterns to growing right. A balanced meal consisting of the right quantities of the six nutritional elements to the food pyramid - namely proteins, vitamins, minerals, fibre, carbohydrates, and fat - would contribute to the happy and healthy growth of a child, stage-wise, that is right as per the time duration attributed to each stage.

If all these growth patterns are thrown off their set rhythm it detrimentally impacts the child, not only physically, as is evident on the outset of it, but also emotionally, throwing their self-confidence and sense of self-worth off-track big time.

Hence, it is of utmost importance that a child does not lose out on, or imbalance his/her growth patterns, be it due to any reason whatsoever, as this issue would then, not remain confided only to the child themselves, but also reach out to their peers. Then, would be unleashed the real demon, as peer pressure would cave into the child, to upset him making him hollow from the inside.
This demon can then never be driven away, as it chooses to reside inside the child, developing in him, an inferiority complex forever.

Fortunately, I had attended the product launch of Horlicks Growth+ in May, this year, which helped me to realize that this issue impacts children all over the nation, and is very much prevalent.

Horlicks Growth+ as a product, was then suggested as a clinically tested solution to this problem, in the form of a flavored health supplement which was suited to help kids aged 3-9 years who were below tenth percentile as per the growth chart and standardized norms.

It also made me thank God that I was born and brought up in an environment which enabled me to keep the issue of catching up on lost growth at bay.

#ComeCloser To Radiant Skin

Our skin is one of our five senses.
It is the as valuable as the other four, if not more.

It is our duty then, to ensure that we protect our skin from all such environmental factors, which possess the potential to cause damage to it. Skin-care is to be given its due while taking care to avoid any regimes which may cause side-effects.

Thus, it is very important to say a big NO, in the face, to chemicals and chemically treated products, which may cause more harm than benefit.

Whenever we talk of embracing nature, as a means of therapy, or naturopathy, I am reminded of the ancient goodness of Ayurveda.

While today, we are surrounded by a facade of pretentious products, all falsely claiming to be 'scientifically proven' to show desirable results, the truth is that nothing could be better than age-old, natural skin-care regimes and remedies, for our skin.

Whenever I think of skin-care and beauty products incorporating Ayurveda into their constitution, the first name which pops up in the mind is that of Vicco and their herbal, medicinal products incorporating turmeric, sandalwood and a host of other botanical extracts derived from plants.

Remember VICCO Turmeric Cream, which was not cosmetic, but Ayurvedic? :D

My mother had used some products offered by Vicco in the past in the mid-90s. I must admit that she was pleasantly surprised to see a re-run of their old adverts on the idiot box, as she was reminded of their jingle word-by-word.

If you were to ask me to elucidate my remedies for naturally radiant skin, I would be reminded of three key ingredients at first - water, honey, and cucumber.

If you have not guessed already, it is a three-step process:

• Drink a lot of water. 
• Mix two teaspoons of honey in lukewarm water, to be had just after waking up, and just before sleeping. 
• Place cucumber slices upon your eyes. 

Staying hydrated helps to ensure that the skin remains in the pink of its health. It helps to take care of body processes such as regenerating cells and improving circulation.
         
Honey has been proclaimed as a natural cleanser. It exfoliates the skin to endow it with a certain radiance and a glowing complexion.

As much as cucumber slices are famous for fading dark circles, and reducing the puffiness of eyes, if made to rest on the eyes for a few minutes, they can also be used to aid treatment of a sunburn, after you're done vacationing amid the sun and the sand.

These are some simple, yet naturally effective regimens that I have been following all these years. I'm sure that some of my readers might also have adopted these and many other such techniques to ensure that the glow and radiance never fade away from their skin. :)

Last, but not the least, one should never sleep with their make-up on as the harsh chemicals in these products keep seeping through the skin and harm its cells. One must always wash the face thoroughly, before calling it a day.

I am all ears to know about your skin-care secrets in the comments section!

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