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How to know if your child has gluten intolerance

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Gluten intolerance or Celiac disease is something that not many are aware of in India. Many children under the age of 3 are allergic to various foods like eggs, soy, milk, peanuts, wheat, or gluten. While the exact cause of gluten intolerance is unknown a few consider the hybrid varieties of wheat to trigger the allergy as they have high levels of gluten. First, let's understand What is gluten? Gluten is a protein that is found in wheat and barley. It gives chewiness and structure to the grain. It also helps you stay fuller for a longer time.   Is gluten intolerance common in India? According to  NIMS (Nizam’s Institute of Medical Science), Gluten intolerance is found in 10% of Indians. According to AIIMS, celiac disease affects nearly 6-8 million people in India.  Gluten intolerance can manifest into Celiac disease or remain as non-Celiac gluten sensitivity.   So now that we have put things in perspective, you must be wondering about ways to identify it.   So, how woul

Maida-free baking and simple tips to ace it.

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The food choices that we make have a deep impact on our life and health. It is rightly said that ‘You are what you eat,’ so for a healthy and fit living, make mindful food choices. Post-pandemic, there is a growing trend of people prioritizing their health and making healthy food choices.  There are a lot of options available too: healthy, gluten-free , zero oil, low cholesterol, high fiber, high protein, foods are now easily available and pocket friendly too.  Another reason for the shift is the alarming increase in lifestyle disorder diseases. According to a recent news article, the gap between rural and urban diabetes burdens is narrowing. It also found a surge in children being diagnosed with Type1 diabetes. Cakes, muffins, and pastries are everyone’s favorite, and we can’t avoid them, but we can make them healthy with maida-free baking. Why is Maida bad for health? Maida is refined flour, which causes insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. It increases weight and cholesterol leve

Healthy gifting combos for the elderly that you must try

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Gifting has always been our way of showing love. Be it a birthday or some special occasion, a well-thought-out gift is always high on the list. When it comes to gifting, the rule of thumb is to gift something that is age, gender, and occasion appropriate. But when it comes to gifting the elderly in the family, we usually stick to clothes or fruits. Instead, have you considered age-appropriate and health-appropriate food combos for them? Gifting options for elderly family members are always limited as one needs to consider their age, health condition, mobility aspect, and even dentures! Here’s a handy list of healthy gifting combos that you can consider – List of healthy gifting ideas for the elderly:   ●    Healthy munchies ●       Gluten-free soft cookies ●       Healthy food platter which can include hummus, lavash, millet bread, peanut/almond butter without sugar ●       Flavored nuts and seeds ●       Healthy cooking essentials like healthy oils, organic jaggery , and A2 ghee ●    

Healthy Gifting Ideas For Employees

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What came to your mind when you read healthy gifting ideas for Employees? A dry-fruit box of fresh fruits? Healthy gifting for employees has morphed into much more than that. Gone are the days when businesses picked a mix of dry fruit combos and shipped it to their employees. The businesses are getting creative and sharing a host of gifts that their employees need and like. Let us look at some of them today. Why healthy corporate gifting? Corporate gifting is not a new concept; however, the kind of gifts and the occasions for which a gift is given both have undergone a sea change.  Earlier a gift from a company was limited to a festival or to celebrate a landmark achieved by an employee. Today, companies consider corporate gifting as an extension of employee engagement, employee experience, and brand communication. With so much riding on a corporate gift, businesses are mindful of the kind of gifts that they curate for their employees. Hence healthy gifting or gifts promoting health h

Gluten Free Baking: Here’s what you need to know

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These days you must have heard people going gluten-free. One of the prime reasons for this is the lowering of immunity of people, resulting in allergies, to otherwise commonly used ingredients like wheat and milk. People have developed gluten allergies and even lactose intolerance, which wasn't the case earlier. But allergen-free food does not mean boring food. Gluten-free food too can be fun and tasty. How about some gluten-free baking? Curious? Read on,   Let's first understand what gluten is and what does going gluten-free means? Gluten is a kind of protein found in wheat and barley. It gives chewiness and structure to the grain; it helps keep you satiated and full for a longer time. A gluten-free diet means excluding these grains from the diet and eating whole foods like fruits, vegetables, meat, and eggs. There are a few sources, like millets, which are naturally gluten-free. You can include them in your meals if you are going gluten-free.   In baking, gluten plays a maj

Top 5 healthy gifting ideas for 2022

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Who doesn't like gifts? Gifting is a silent way of sharing love and care for your loved one. Today, most people prefer giving meaningful gifts to their near and dear ones and the most meaningful gift is that of health. Healthy gifting suggests the kind of life you want your loved ones to live. Who doesn't want their near and dear ones to be healthy, happy, and fit? Generally, when it comes to gifting, we often go to the store or on an online gifting portal and search for food gifting options, and boom… the longlist of unhealthy food appears. Food gifting items like butter cookies, jellies, chocolates, biscuits, and cakes are most commonly available however none of these are healthy. Do we ever stop and think about how we are encouraging unhealthy eating by gifting such foods? Long-term consumption of such products is harmful to health. High cholesterol, diabetes,pcod are commonly seen in people these days and these lifestyle health disorders occur due to wrong eating hab

Millets for Child growth

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Optimal nutrition is necessary for optimal growth of mind and body in children. Healthy grains, veggies, fruits, legumes, and millet offer the nourishment necessary for the development of a child. Traditionally, in India, children over 8 months are fed millets as they are a powerhouse of essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. According to studies done by Dr.S. ANITHA , including pearl millet, known as bajra, finger millet known as ragi , sorghum known as jowar , little millet known as kutki, and foxtail millet known as Kangani, and Kodo millets in a child’s meal are an excellent way promote gut diversity and provide necessary nourishment. The studies indicate that children on millet-based diets showed more signs of growth and development. At a growing age, the child is more active physically and needs more brain development too, so when they consume a millet-based diet their energy level is high, and are more active. Benefits of Millet: ●         The millet-based diet help

Festivals and Food: Easy ways to make festive food gluten-free

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India is a land of festivals, and all festivals are incomplete without delicious food and sweets. But we can celebrate festivals with healthy, gluten-free sweets that have less sugar and less ghee too. Eating without restriction but with portion control is important to stay healthy and fit in the festive season. It has been observed that many people have developed gluten allergy, insulin resistance, and some autoimmune disorders due to decreasing immunity. Among these gluten allergy is most commonly seen these days. Let's understand more about gluten. What is gluten? Gluten is a protein found in many grains like wheat, barley, rye, bread, pasta, and cereal. Why are people allergic to gluten? Studies have shown that some people develop antibodies against this protein found in wheat. They develop inflammation and it damages the intestinal tract and disturbs the gut health, causing bloating, indigestion, and diarrhea while consuming food that has gluten. So consuming gluten-free food

Festivals and Food: Healthy Food Gifting ideas

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This pandemic has taught us to be more health  conscious and work on our bodies. The first step towards it is to make mindful and healthy food choices. Earlier the festival celebrations, festival food, and gifts were loaded with sugar but post-pandemic people have started enjoying healthy food and even choose healthy food gifting options. We often overload our bodies with too much sugar and refined food in the name of festival snacks. Sweet packets, chocolates, and traditional sweets loaded with ghee, sugar, and oils have a bad impact on health. This food is typically processed food, laden with refined sugar, and is overall unhealthy. How do unhealthy eating habits affect us? These days, our way of living and eating habits have caused lifestyle disorders and diseases like diabetes, cholesterol, PCOD, hormonal issues, premature greying, early aging, fatty liver, and early-age heart attack. All these results from our wrong eating habits and overloading our bodies with sugar, oil, j