HEALTHY EATING

What do you eat? Do you eat either to satisfy your desire or to promote your health? Have you ever wondered about which food item is suitable for you? Perhaps people eat in a freelance style, never tending to mind the consequences. It doesn’t mean following diet is ‘not eating’. Following diet has got another meaning which conveys the idea of ‘scheduled balanced diet’. All through your school days you would have learnt about ‘what is a balanced diet?’ and ‘what food items constitute a balanced diet?’ Now leave all those. In this article I will give some healthy tips and will also teach how to eat healthy without hindering your ‘freelance eating’. First of all take a list of all the food items. Don’t browse it out. In a free time prepare a list of your own. It doesn’t mean that you are a foodie, just because you prepare such a long list. Everyone has the desire of eating their favorite food items. Make sure that your list contains the food items which you love the most. ALSO INCLUDE THE FOOD ITEMS WHICH IS OFTEN SUGGESTED TO YOU BY YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS. And don’t leave any sort of beverages too. Now isolate your favorite food items and divide them into two categories as ‘most favorite’ and ‘less favorite’ and check what its components are. And if you find that the latter category is healthier, then start eating it often so as to replace the former category. Now your favorite item is lot more healthier to eat. Then the food items suggested by your family members is really a must and should consider eating it at least once a week. Your most favorite food can be eaten once or twice in a month. There should be sufficient gap between the intakes of junk foods.

         

Normally we need 2000 calories from the intake. In this case, it is healthier to have 15% of protein, 30% of fat and sugar content, and 55% of carbohydrates as our daily day diet.

• Drink sufficient water- neither more nor less. It is better to limit water intake up to 6-8 oz. with meals.
• It is best to have fruits in diet. A banana with milk in the morning and some papaya slices after the dinner will enhance good digestion thereby preventing gastric problems.
• Do not replace snacks with main food.
• Eat cholesterol free food items. Better use low fat oils or olive oils.
• The food must always be consumed when it is hot or warm. Avoid eating refrigerated foods mostly.
• Don’t add sugar to fresh fruit juices.
• Lessen the habits of drinking coffee and tea. Instead drink butter milk or green tea.
• Always thoroughly wash the vegetables before cooking. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. All harmful chemicals used in the fields will be washed out.
• Add protein or pulses varieties to your diet frequently.
• Don’t add salt when you are drinking vegetable soups.
• Avoid liquor drinking and smoking habits.
• Consult a physician and know about the correct weight for your height. Then regulate your diet accordingly.

            Come on, if you don’t take care of yourself then who else is going to do???

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FAIRNESS MAYHEM

                The mania of fitness and fairness has become an epidemic nowadays such that it has set a new trend in lifestyle, allowing many enterprises and companies to feature their fairness and fitness products through media. The wide range of cosmetics that are available, competes with one and another in order to outdo each other. In this mad race of competition, the R&D centers for these products come up with solutions that would impose drastic and immediate effects. “Affordable Price” – this term is not at all applicable when it comes to beauty. Beauty-loving people may bargain with a vegetable vendor, but they don’t do this to a cosmetic company. The reason is that they (similar to that of the cosmetic competition) tend to compete with their friends and relatives in order to outdo each other in casting their physique and outlook. I have also read that a famous celebrity spends nearly 70Lakhs per annum for beauty making.

                I came across a fact in a ‘Health’ journal by ‘THE WEEK’ that some skin-care products contain mercury and hence to avoid such harmful products. The article also exhorted not to use products which don’t reveal its ingredients. The serious implications of mercury-based creams are really really harmful, it said. But why do people are so obsessed with cosmetics? When it comes to beauty we always do quote examples of certain ancient characters. But did all these ancient people use cosmetics? It is obviously a “No!” Nature provides us with a wide range of beauty products which we are unaware. We normally don’t tend to use ‘aloe Vera’ straight away from the plant. But if we see a picture of aloevera in a cosmetic cream, immediately we would buy it under the pretext of “using natural products”. But still, it is only a cosmetic which contains some traces of aloe Vera. You can see the cream of milk is readily available in households which has a drastic effect and an effective role to be played in ‘anti- ageing’. The fruit extracts like lime or orange (when used in a limited quantity with dilution) has an effect of bleach and gives a natural glow. Cucumber, tomato, cabbage and papaya has good roles to be played in beauty-making. The problem is that we want immediate results from easy procedures. If anything can be achieved so easily, then why are we still humans?? Each and everything needs time, patience and procedure to cast itself. Immediate effects result only in stereotyped beauty. But on the other hand all of these natural products may take time, but in the end, they are the ones who will be imposing everlasting perpetual beauty. First of all examine what and all the nature has provided to you in this environment. Then, with complete knowledge about it, try to make use of it to the fullest. This is applicable both to fitness as well as fairness.

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SAINT MOTHER TERESA’s SERVICE

I had wondered how do people like Mother Teresa had given up their life entirely for the sake of sick and helpless people. Then I searched and read many articles regarding Mother Teresa. I look the great service of Mother Teresa as one form of spiritual way to attain salvation.

                Mother’s family was very virtuous and she was taught about all forms of good thoughts and discipline. Teresa’s father died when she was young. Teresa’s mother worked hard to raise the children. Even though, in such a struggle, Teresa’s mother never missed to teach virtues to her kids. Even at a very young age, Teresa was brought up with a saint’s mentality, as sources say. She had no interest in normal life. She was moved by the ‘poverty’ that prevailed in the world. Europe was under financial crisis during the world wars. Yugoslavia and Albania were the mostly poverty-stricken countries. Teresa decided to toil for the poor to relieve their pain. We all have great faith in Mother Teresa. But she had great and devoted respect to a French nun called ‘Teresa Martin’. Mother Teresa’s name was not actually known by this name. Her true name was ‘Agnes’. She had changed her name as ‘Teresa’ to pay respect to ‘Teresa Martin’. Teresa Martin’s story is also important to say here. This great person had worked day and night and was well-known for her selfless service even in the worst conditions. As a result she got sick severely and died at a young age of 24.

                Though Mother Teresa was born in Macedonia (in 1910) she left home for Ireland at the age of 18. There, she became a nun of the Catholic Church. Later she moved to India and started her career in the slum areas of Calcutta. She served for the poor, the severely sick people and the patients at dead bed. For her service, it was necessary that she had to get herself qualified as a nurse. So she did her proper qualification in nursing in Patna. But mother had worked as a teacher in Darjeeling before she had moved to Calcutta. Mother was also well-versed in Bengali language. To Mother Teresa, her medical service was a part of service to the God. Step by step, slowly Mother’s service gained patronage and many came forward to assist her in this service. Then with the combined forced the charitable trust ‘Missionary of Charities’ was founded.

                Mother Teresa was conferred ‘Sainthood’, this September 4. But I had seen many people telling “she was long remembered as a saint to us, even before a very long time ago”. Yes, that is true, even during her days she was known to be a ‘living legend’. I regret that I hadn’t been born earlier to witness Mother Teresa’s selfless service. “Missionary of Charities” has got lots of branches all over the world. But the Indian Branch is the oldest and foremost, I suppose. Mother Teresa opened her first orphanage in India in 1957 and also extended her service by visiting many other homes throughout the country. Mother’s important principles were ‘pure love and selfless service’. She was looked upon beyond the limits of religion, country and language. Mother Teresa received many awards like she had received “Padma Shri Award” in 1962 and “Ramon Magsaysay Award” in the same year. She also received “Bharat Ratna Award” in 1980 by the Indian Government. “Nobel Peace Prize” was awarded to her in 1979. Once there came a beggar to see Mother. He offered his ‘a day’s alms’ to Mother Teresa as a small amount of donation. But Mother refused. But still the beggar persisted to get the money. It was then, Mother said that she had considered ‘his offering’ as the greatest among all the awards she had received. Such a generous and humble person she was. But to world’s disappointment, this great gem passed away on September 5th in1997. It was really a huge loss to the entire world.

                But now I am extraordinarily delightful, at the moment, about the conferring of “Sainthood” to our Mother. I will continue to pay my homage to Mother Teresa all throughout my life, which is for sure. 

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QUALITIES: AMBITIOUS NATURE.

               The next quality that should be possessed is an ‘ambitious nature’. According to me ambitious nature is harmless, but SHOULD NOT OBSESS

WITH AMBITION. Most people live aimlessly without any ambition. This is dangerous because you cannot simply row a boat in the vast sea without knowing where your destiny is. Achievements in science and technology did not happen in a short span of life of a single person. Each scientist worked for a particular goal and had died. Their lives and achievements are like separate units in a chain. Had they not worked for their ambition, then the scientific chain would have had lost a unit, letting us pondering over the mysteries of science.

              The primary foe to your ambition is ‘sloth’. Then the secondary enemy is ‘negative thoughts’. Learn to praise yourself even if your mind says that you are ugly. By doing so, you are managing to develop resistance against your negative thoughts. ‘The Sloth’ deters all your talents and may ruin your personality. I won’t say how to get rid of the sloth. But if you want to pursue your goal, then you should run and there is no other way. The projects you finish will live even after your death. That is where you are. You will live through your creations even after your demise.

              Don’t say that, there is no use to achieve because you won’t be there to enjoy it after your death. If great persons had thought in this manner then we may not have seen any signs of civilization. Goals can be anything, even ‘exploring the universe’ can also be your goal. Though it is not practically possible, it is better to have one such goal than being aimless. Goals (or) Ambition must be set during the last stages of teen age. Also there must be this division of long time goals and short time goals. For the former, you should keep reminding yourself then and there. Getting a degree and earning money is a short time goal. But ‘outdoing others in that respective field and taking that field to a new dimension’ is what must be your ambition/ goal by developing an ambitious nature’ 

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QUALITY

                The next quality that I’m going to talk about is ‘obstacle management’. Obstacles are really not ‘resistance’ but they are a pause for you to analyze where you went wrong. Also they are stepping stones to success. These obstacles are your ‘holds’ where you grab it or catch it firmly to come up in your life. Only if you cut the side branches of the tree, the tree would grow faster. In that sense if you witness all the resistance, you can grow up on your life like that tree. If you need to start a business or something, all of your family members and your friends circle may discourage you, but get away from them and do what your mind tells. MAKE SURE THAT YOU DON’T FALL BEFORE THEIR EYES.

                In this management skill, endeavor is really important. More than endeavor ‘an attempt or trying’ is far more significant. Keep one thing in mind, I have heard this advice frequently: A smoothly going work is the one which should be feared upon whereas a work having many distractions in its path, actually means it is perfectly working. Don’t develop jealousy/ sadness on witnessing other’s growth. Because they are like those who go to the top in the staircase without any slip. But if they slip from a great height, they might feel the ultimate pain and agony. But you are the person who fall at every step while walking.   You are experiencing pain then and there and so you may not feel that much agony even if you fall from a great height. This means that you have learnt to live your life. This skill and mind setup is also needed in ‘obstacle management’. Therefore it is better to take a decision boldly to come up in your life. But sure that your decision is thought upon twice before execution. Certain resistances are of no value. It is better not to mind these valueless resistances. But some obstacles might really challenge your will power. In that case, either try to overcome it or try to ignore it by means of escapism.

                So, carefully steer your way that you mostly avoid these obstacles.

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