Niacin, a “B” group vitamin, widely distributed in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian diet; is responsible for many vital metabolisms in the body. It is available as an insoluble compound in maize. Those primarily depending on maize as staple diet may suffer from its deficiency. In its deficiency people suffer from Pellagra; characterized by diarrhea, dermatitis and dementia. There may occur reddish to blackish dis-colorization if exposed parts of skin the of the extremities, called dermatitis. Dementia is marked by forgetfulness. If not treated adequately, death may ensue.

It has property of raising high density lipoproteins(HDL), the good fat in the body; which protects heart from atherosclerosis. This a good fat is responsible for mobilizing bad fat, the low density lipo-proteins(LDL). This requires administration of niacin in higher doses. To minimize the adverse reaction to highly dosed rapidly absorbed niacin, sustained released types are available. Combining niacin with ezitimibe, a lipid lowering drug has been seen to have synergistic action; say researchers.

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Rice is the staple diet of more than 50% of population of world. In India, most of the people depend on rice as food. India is one of the most important countries in production of varieties of paddy. It is a good source of carbohydrate and contains about 8-9% of good quality protein. It also contain some B vitamins.

Rice is extracted from paddy after milling. Too much milling or polishing removes most of nutritional value. Washing with a lot of water; cooking in more than required amount of water and draining the water removes much of vitamins from it. Thiamine is a important B vitamin, it contains. In it’s deficiency, people suffer from beriberi. Beriberi is marked by soreness in tongue, anemia, swelling of body due to involvement of circulatory system; and blunting of sensory and motor nervous system etc. Rice consists of three parts namely; germ,endosperm and the outer layer called pericap. The endosperm contains most of carbohydrate where as germ and pericap contain most of vitamins.

Parboiling is an age old established process of preserving the nutritional value of rice in India. This is done in tree steps; 1) soaking paddy in water heated upto about 65 degrees Celsius temperature for 4-5 hours and draining the water; 2) steaming as such; and 3) drying under sun. This process hardens the outer layer of rice making it resistant to insects; the vitamins and nutrients percolate into the deeper layer making those relatively non removable to milling and making it easily digestible by gelatining the starch. Thus, parboiling helps it in many ways in preserving the nutritional value. Rice should not be washed in copious amount of water for many times making the water soluble vitamins vulnerable to be washed away. It also should not be cooked in a large amount of water, and water be drained;which will take away nutrients with it.

So, parboiling and cooking in just the amount of water will protect the nutritional value.

In this age of speed the distance is gradually losing its identity. But this has given rise to a problem to which frequent and distant flyers suffer. That is jet lag. It is due to the maladjustment of the biological clock. Like our wrist watch body maintains a clock for its activity, the circadian rhythm, called biological clock. It is a function of the brain.

Most of the researchers agree that the effect of light on eyes sets it into motion, maintains it and adjusts it whenever required. Light stimulus is felt in part of brain called suprachiasmatic area which maintains the biological clock. Circadian rhythm refers to the daily activity of body in relation to the day and night. Some hormones are secreted according to a set time.

Melatonin is a hormone responsible for inducing sleep is secreted around 10 PM and ends towards 5 AM. Of course, it may shift a little this way or that way according habit of sleep of a person. Corticosteroid hormones are secreted towards 5 AM to make the person active and face the challenge of the day to day activity. So, if it is 12 midnight in the biological clock and a local time is morning 6AM, body cannot respond to it and the disparity ensues. Of course, biological clock adjusts but not very swiftly. And, that is the Jet lag; to cope with it players are flown to  distant places sufficiently ahead of scheduled time.

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“Enjoying a glass of white wine on a frequent basis can damage the teeth, something many wine makers and tasters will know first-hand, experts say.Pale plonk packs an acidic punch that erodes enamel far more than red wine, Nutrition Research reports.It is not the wine’s vintage, origin or alcohol that are key but its pH and duration of contact.xxxxxxxx..In the lab, adult teeth soaked in white wine for a day had a loss of both calcium and another mineral called phosphorus to depths of up to 60 micrometers in the enamel surface, which the researchers say is significant”.

I Quote the above from the BBC news, regarding the enamel erosive activity of wine, the white being more so than the red. Enamel is made up of calcium and phosphorus. Any acid can have a erosive action on it. Calcium reacts with acids to form salts and the erosion. If wine is acidic and if remains in contact for longer period it is likely to cause damage. Brushing immediately after the consumption does more harm as the damaged surface is rubbed off calcium.

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In Indian mythology, there was a story related to the worship of Sun God. Samba, son of Lord Krishna was cursed to suffer from leprosy due to some evil act of his. He realized the mistake and sought the remedy. It was suggested to him that, only Sun God had the power to heal that disease, and he should make the god happy by prayers to get his blessings. He followed that and got cured. Whatever might be the behind story, it goes without saying that sun rays have much more implications in our lives, than originally thought of.

It is the sun rays, which helps in the synthesis of vitamin D from cholesterol in our body. This vitamin is not available in plenty in our day to day food. Vitamin D is converted to the active form in the kidney and help in calcium metabolism. In its deficiency, one may suffer from rickets to osteomalacia etc.. This was the traditional teaching about the utility of this vitamin.

Now more informations are pouring in regarding its role in human life. Researchers have found that this vitamin along with calcium maintain the integrity of cells of human body. The regulation of multiplication of cells, autonomy of cells and inhibition of unwanted growth like cancer are managed by vitamin D. Low level of it may be associated with cancer of breast, ovary, prostate and colon etc.. A higher level at about 40-60ngms/ml may actually prevent these cancers. This is very interesting development and further study will enlighten more about its role in cancer prevention.

That is why, now-a-days outdoor activity is encouraged in the school curriculum. Let us go outdoors to prevent these aggressive cancers for free.

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It has been well established fact that monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids help in lowering bad fat level. those have also antioxidant activity. So,those are protective to heart. Now the quoted article below shows that it may have antidepressant activity. It is interesting to read.

Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes plentiful use of olive oil, fruits, and vegetables, and minimizes the consumption of red meat and dairy products, may help prevent depression.

n discussing possible reasons for the beneficial influence of the Mediterranean diet on depression, the investigators highlighted the effects on endothelial function and the secretion of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, as well as reductions in low-grade systemic inflammation.Of particular interest were the monounsaturated fatty acids plentiful in olive oil, which may improve the binding of serotonin to its receptors, and polyunsaturated fatty acids, which also may facilitate serotonin transport by means of structural effects on neuronal membranes.

B vitamins and folate from legumes, vegetables, and fruit and nuts also may contribute through effects on methionine and homocysteine metabolism.

“However,” they wrote, “the role of the overall dietary pattern may be more important than the effect of single components” and the synergistic effects of unsaturated fatty acids, antioxidants, and other phytochemicals in the Mediterranean diet “may exert a fair degree of protection against depression.”

Another possible explanation for their findings could be the influence of genetic or environmental factors, they wrote, and they acknowledged that the association between diet and depression may not be causal.

They also noted that the study was limited by its observational nature and its use of self-reporting, and by the fact that their data did not address potential confounders such as family history of depression, so their findings must be confirmed by others.

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