It has always been an integral part of the Indian diet. But what's dangerous is how much of it we consume today in packaged foods and drinks, says Rujuta Diwekar. The 50-year-old actress who once stole your heart is now running after an 8-year-old boy with a bowl of chocolate-coated cereal. She's playing a late-coated cereal. She's playing a mother to a fussy boy for whom the cereal seems to be the only source of nourishment.They don't explicitly show it but in your head, you have already imagined that the bowl has low-fat milk. Thankfully, the boy has the meal, he loves it in fact, and the two celebrate by playing a video game. Another 50-year-old actor overcomes mountains, traffic and death itself to pick a bottle of what the EU calls SSB or sugar sweetened beverage. That essentially expands the list beyond the colas to include packaged fruit juices, probiotic yogurt drinks, energy and sports drinks. Kids from Class IX hang out at cafes sipping monstrous glasses of cold coffee or choco-shakes after tuition classes.When they study, they quickly make themselves some noodles, or pasta, in two minutes. They watch TV programmes interspersed with ads that ask them to mix powders in milk to grow taller, run faster or simple look cooler. All of the above have tons of sugar but I hope you are beginning to realize that sugar is hardly the problem. The product, positioning and pricing is. That our kids are moving less on bikes and sitting more is. That we reduce 50-year old women to aunties and 50-year old men to dudes is. That we don't have a policy on how junk food should be advertised is. That we don't tax food companies or hold them accountable for the garbage that they create with their packets, tetra-packs and bottles is. Pick on the big guys and leave the rag-pickers of Deonar alone, man. But that's not how this works. So instead of looking at the picture in totality we reduce our problem to sugar. Sugar is the enemy. Sugar is killing us. Sugar is making us fat. Sugar is giving us diabetes and the likes. Isn't there a word for it -deflection? Or hey! don't change the subject if you are just a middle class, angrezi-speaking Indian like me. We like intelligence sold to us in easy-to-understand terms. We are sure that governments cannot be held accountable, food companies are above the law -probably even making the law -and we are too short on time for any kind of activism. If we look at the total problem, we don't know what to do. But if we have something fairly simple to make a lifestyle choice with, we will adopt it. So, no more sugar for me in the chai but I will have a Marie biscuit to go with it. Marie or digestive is a healthy choice because it's not as sweet as a regular biscuit. There you go, the sweetness is the problem. So no more sugary fruits like -mango, seetaphal, jackfruit, chikoo, etc. Doesn't matter if they are local, doesn't matter if they contain natural fruit sugar, fructose. The American Diabetic Association can recommend mango to diabetics but in the land of its origin, it is banned by the doctors and dietitians. We aren't outraged about it on social media.We are quite cool about the banistan as long as it is about all local fruit and produce in general. The sugar substitutes ? market is expected to reach $16.53 billion by 2020. This growth is driven by the health-conscious modern consumer in the West, and the demands of the health and personal care industry of developing countries like India and China. In the meanwhile, Clinton and Sanders are fighting over soda tax in their presidential campaign and UK will levy soda tax from April, 2018. What we must consider before buying into the West's fear of sugar is that nutrition science as we knew it -where everything can be split into categories such as carb, protein, fat or calories -is changing. Food scientists the world over are acknowledging the fact that there is more to food than these categories. Sugar to India is as ancient as yoga and ayurveda itself. It is one of the panch amrits or nectars of life.What has changed is the way India consumes its sugar. Being a native plant, we have had the sophistication to use the plant in diverse, versatile ways depending on the season and region. From Diwali to Sankranti, there are festivals that celebrate the power of sugarcane because that is also harvest time. Apart from taste, sugarcane has fibre, mineral and vitamins. It's also a folk remedy for jaundice. Sugarcane juice boiled with pulses is an inexpensive but complete meal for the tribals of western Maharashtra. Jaggery and ghee combinations along with bajra and other millet rotis are known to provide the body with warmth and the joints with mobility in the harsh north Indian winter. In Bengal, sweet, delicate sandesh is known to lift the spirits of even cynical leftists. The mishrisaunf combo works as a digestive aid in summers. And the crystalline sugar is in everything, from prasad to a sharbat. None of the traditional ways in which we use sugar is depicted in ads or marketing campaigns. Why must we give up on the traditional uses of sugar and use packaged products that use sugar substitutes? India now consumes three times more sugar than it used to just in 1970s, and that's not because it's eating more mithai or has more sugar in its chai. But because it's drinking more colas, packaged juices and eating sugared cereals. It is distributing brownies, cup-cakes and frozen yogurts instead of dryfruits, ladoos and mithai during Diwali. It is patronizing food products of big companies and not the small women run enterprises that make mithai. It is funding the third house or the private jet that the food company's CEO is buying and not the dance class the daughter of a small entrepreneur who makes puran poli wants to attend. Sugar is not the problem, giving up on food traditions without a thought is. - Rujuta Diwekar, a leading nutritionist.
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IIT Bombay scientists explain on the basis of nanoparticle theory that Homeopathic pills retain their potency even at extreme dilutions ...
Providing a precise answer to the "Homeopathy has no scientific basis" accusations of Global Medical Associations IIT-Bombay scientists have unraveled the mystery behind "so minute dose" of homeopathy medicines. In their work, Extreme homeopathic dilutions retain starting materials: A nanoparticulate perspective published in the latest issue of Homeopathy, Volume 99, Issue 4, October 2010, the team explained on the basis of nanoparticle theory that Homeopathic pills retain their potency even at extreme dilutions of 200C. Homeopathic pills containing naturally occurring metals such as gold, copper and iron retain their potency even when diluted to a nanometre or one-billionth of a metre, states the IIT-Bombay research The team used powerful electron microscopes to find nanoparticles of the original metal in highly diluted solutions prepared from homeopathic pills. Certain highly diluted homeopathic remedies made from metals still contain measurable amounts of the starting material, even at extreme dilutions of 1 part in 10 raised to 400 parts (200C) said Dr Jayesh Bellare from the scientific team. According to Dr. Bellare, Homeopathy has been a conundrum for modern medicine. Its practitioners maintained that homeopathic pills got more potent on dilution, but they could never explain the mechanism scientifically enough for the modern scientists. Through this research work Dr. Bellare and team have shown to the world the truth behind Homeopathy medicines and their modus operandi. SOURCE: http://www.ircc.iitb.ac.in/IRCC-Webpage/Homeopathy-Nanoparticle-Note.pdf Homeopathy has suffered a very serious attack. A UK based group (VoYS) from Sense About Science, dedicated to eliminating homeopathy, recently sent a letter to the World Health Organization asking WHO to condemn homeopathy in developing countries, especially in the areas of influenza, childhood diarrhoea, malaria and AIDS. WHO replied last week with statements from various Departmental Heads saying that they do not have any indication of effectiveness of homeopathy in any of these areas. BUT it did not say that the medicines are ineffective in these conditions. Above all there was NO official circular from WHO.
VoYS has twisted this response and circulated the response of WHO to the media and have amplified the letter as if it is a public announcement from WHO, WHICH IT IS NOT. Additionally, VoYS has stated on its website that it will be contacting the Health Ministries of all countries in the world to let them know about the WHO response and press them to condemn homeopathy in their country. The BBC online then spread this false item, as WHO Warns Against Homeopathy Use They have since apologized and admitted that it was hasty and mistaken in posting the article as an official statement, without checking the facts and without balancing the article with input from official homeopathy organizations, and have changed the headline. But the original BBC version has been picked up by newspapers worldwide and every day more and more online sites and blogs are copying the article. If we let this go it will be too late, people will believe this dirty trick campaign. WE ARE ASKING YOU TO DO TWO ACTIONS IMMEDIATELY: PROTEST TO THE BBC AND NEWSPAPERS SPREADING THIS ARTICLE: 1. Please send emails or letters to the BBC complaint department AND to other newspapers publishing the statement. Tell them that this headline is false and BBC has since changed the article. (Below see: BBC response and list of Media reporting the article) [email protected] http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/handle.shtml LAUNCH A MASS PROTEST TO WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: It is important that WHO hear from as MANY INDIVIDUALS AS POSSIBLE · READ THE FOLLOWING LETTER WHICH HAVE BEEN SENT BY "HOMEOPATHY LIVES!" TO WHO. http://www.hpathy.com/uploads/Response-to-WHO-for-adaptation.doc http://www.hpathy.com/uploads/Letter-to-BBC-for-adaptation.doc · ADAPT THEM TO YOUR OWN WORDING, WHILE KEEPING THE MAIN POINTS. IT IS BEST TO HAVE A VARIETY OF LETTERS. DON'T FORGET TO SIGN YOU NAME. · SEND IT TO ONE OR MORE OF THE WHO EMAIL ADDRESSES BELOW PLEASE FORWARD THIS ENTIRE EMAIL TO ALL OF YOUR HOMEOPATHY CONTACTS. PLEASE BLIND COPY THE EMAIL ADDRESSES AND ERASE THE SENDER EMAIL ADDRESS. PLEASE ASK YOUR PATIENTS TO JOIN THE PROTEST. Just Forwarding is not enough! Make sure to send at least two email letters to the contacts given at the end of this mail. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THE HOMEOPATHY COMMUNITY AROUND THE WORLD STAND UP AGAINST THIS MALICIOUS ATTACK. WHY THIS NEEDS YOUR ACTION NOW-- If you are living in the US or have no contact with developing countries, you may wonder why this is an important issue for you to act upon. In fact some suggest that no response be made and that we continue to focus our energies on our good work. However, this attack is different--- 1. This is a group (VoYS) that is aggressively dedicated to destroying homeopathy. They have stated this on their website and in their letter to their members announcing the WHO letter. While located in the UK, they are reaching out to all countries. They have tried to influence India and right now they have specifically targeted several homeopathy projects in Africa. They contact governmental offices, national health ministries, academic medical departments and other organizations in these countries and warn them against homeopathy using distortion and half truths. They use every means at their disposal to disrupt or end the projects. They have only one goal-to end homeopathy in the world and they are effective and dangerous to homeopathy. 2. Existing homeopathy projects will suffer because of these attacks, hindering raising of funds and initiating research. We are a holistic healing community. When one of our practitioners or one location of our profession is attacked, it is an attack against all of us. Just as we would not turn our backs on treating patients with acute attacks of cholera or malaria, who without homeopathic treatment might die, we should not be complacent about this group. This is a serious acute attack and needs a like response. 3. These attacks are coming because homeopathy is gaining approval and popularity. We must be ready to stand firmly beside the good work that we are doing and be ready to assure that all people, especially those in developing countries, have access to this healing modality. If we do not respond this could affect each and every one of us. PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW STAND UP FOR HOMEOPATHY from Your friends at HOMOEOPATHY LIVES! and Dr. Manish Bhatia ---------------------------------------------------------------- World Health Organization Contacts Director General Dr. Margaret Chan Media Officer Fadela Chaib [email protected] Mr A. Etukudo, Division of AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria at the World Health Organisation's regional office in Congo, Africa [email protected] Dr Elisabeth Mason, Director Department of Child & Adolescent Health Development [email protected] Dr Mukund Uplekar, TB Strategy and Health Systems, [email protected] Dr Sergio Spinaci, Associate Director, Global Malaria Programme [email protected]. Dr Mario Raviglione, Director, Stop TB Department Press Contact Glenn Thomas [email protected] Dr Teguest Guerma, Director Ad Interim, HIV/AIDS Department, Press contact Valeri Abramov [email protected] BBC response to complaint: Many thanks for your e-mail. We have since updated this report and it now includes two comments putting the case for homeopathy - one referring to treatment for diarrhoea - although we accept that it would have been desirable to have had these in the article earlier. It became clear from correspondence that some readers found the original headline - WHO warns against homeopathy use - ambiguous, and this has been altered to reflect the fact that people are being urged not to rely on homeopathy. Best wishes, BBC News website http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/handle.shtml Write to all of the following too: MEDIA WHO PUBLISHED ORIGINAL BBC ARTICLE BBC online Homeopathy not a cure, says WHO BMJ WHO warns against using homoeopathy to treat serious diseases The Independent Steve Connor: Lack of waves causes ripples of excitement Kaiser Family Foundation WHO Recommends Against Using Homeopathic Treatments For HIV, TB, Malaria, Influenza, Infant Diarrhea USA Today WHO warns against homeopathy treatments Rocket News WHO warns against homeopathy use Digital Journal Medics Condemn Homeopathic Treatments Newser WHO Sounds Alarm on Homeopathy World News Network WHO warns against homeopathy use Drugs and Diseases Homeopathy not a cure, says WHO NetDoctor Homeopathy ââ,¬Ëonot a cureââ,¬â"¢ for disease The Millenium Project WHO does not recommend the use of homeopathy for HIV, malaria, TB, influenza and infant diarrhoea hc2d.co.uk Homeopathy not recommended by WHO PharmiWeb.com Homeopathy: No Science, No Proof, No Cure Ghana Broadcasting Corporation WHO warns against homeopathy use Kenya Broadcasting Corporation WHO warns against homeopathy use El Pais, Spain La OMS desaconseja el uso de la homeopatia para el tratamiento del sida o la malaria NU.nl WHO waarschuwt voor homeopathie Eesti Paevaleht, Estonia WHO hoiatab HIVi ja malaaria homoopaatilise ravi eest Helsingin Sanomat, Finland WHO varoittaa homeopaattisista hoidoista Corriere della Sera, Italy Oms: preoccupazione per la diffusione dellââ,¬â"¢omeopatia nel terzo mondo Delfi, Lithuania Pasauline sveikatos organizacija ispeja del homeopatijos naudojimo Polskie Radio, Poland WHO ostrzega przed homeopatia Journal of Turkish Weekly WHO warns against homeopathy use The Times of India Homeopathy doesnÃf¢ââ?s‰â?z¢t help in HIV, TB, malaria Thaindian News, Thailand People with HIV, TB, malaria should not rely on homeopathy, says WHO The News, Pakistan WHO warns against homeopathy treatments Estadao.com.br, Brazil OMS alerta para risco de homeopatia contra Aids e malaria Excelsior, Mexico Desaconseja OMS homeopatia para sida, tuberculosis o malaria Radio Netherlands Worldwide Sceptics want homeopathy banned in Africa, RADIO INTERVIEW. |
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July 2016
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