Why Butter is better cooking medium?

Butter is the fat of the milk made from sweet cream. It may be sweet (unsalted) butter or salted. Traditionally the butter is made from the cream that has been allowed to stand and sour naturally. The cream is then churned to produce butter. Commercially cream is separated using mechanical cream separators. It is then allowed to ferment under controlled conditions. The butter is the natural fat as component of milk and is produced by the cattle (Cow). The main constituents of the salted butter are fat (80-82%), water (15.6-17.6%), salt about 1.2%, as well as proteins, calcium and phosphorous about 1.2%. It also contains fat soluble vitamins A, D and E. The butter is not pure fat, it is an emulsion. Butter must be handled with utmost care than other fats. Warm butter can be chilled again. Milk solids in butter, burn at low temperature (121 C), and as such butter is not a useful cooking medium. To use butter as a cooking medium, it is heated at low temperature, till butter fat and milk solids separate. The butter fat is then poured off and used as cooking medium. However the distinct flavor of the butter is in the milk solids, so the clarified butter lacks the flavor and taste of the melted butter. Butter is the only fat that is produced by live cattle, unlike other animal fats, where cattle have to be slaughtered in order to produce fat. Butter blends beautifully with sugar and as such is the star of desserts. 

Over the years, our diet has undergone a sea change. We are constantly being reminded, of the fact, that low fat diet is healthy. But as we reduce our fat intake we proportionately increase intake of sugars and carbohydrates. We have substituted fake man made fats with that of animal fats. This has resulted in rise in obesity and diabetes. Fat actually does not make us fat. The good animal fats like butter, is very satisfying preventing cravings for snacks and from over eating. The low fat diet, on the other hand, leaves us hungry, depressed and prone to illness. We forget that fat and proteins are satisfying whereas starch and sugars’ lead to craving and weight gain. Fat is an important cooking ingredient. It is difficult to cook without fat. Fat helps the food to brown nicely, cook evenly and to keep it succulent. Fat is an excellent carrier of flavors. Animal fats are low in polyunsaturated fatty acids. They are best fats to be used in kitchen. They are stable and when heated, don’t turn rancid. Most aromas and flavors are soluble in fat, so unless fat is used in cooking, the flavors are not released.

Highly poly unsaturated fatty acids are unstable. They are not suitable for cooking as when heated they get oxidized. The oxidized fats are harmful. They make us sick and damage DNA of our cells. They also suppress immune system. When poly unsaturated fats are hydrogenated they become full of transfats.

All of us need essential fatty acids to keep us healthy. Using large amounts of poly unsaturated fatty acids, results in increased intake of Omega 6 fatty acid. Increased intake of Omega 6 fatty acid decreases the intake of Omega 3 fatty acid. Low levels of Omega 3 fatty acid can result in cancer, liver damage, learning disorder, weight gain and malfunctioning of the immune, digestive and reproductive systems.

We all need plenty of Omega 3 fatty acid and it is naturally found in the butter and fat from other herbivorous(grass eaters) animals.

Infertility in Women

Endometriosis is a wide spread present day common medical condition that plagues some 85 million women across the globe. Endometriosis is characterized by chronic abdominal pain, painful menstruation, painful intercourse, painful urination, vomiting and nausea. In India, Endometriosis affects one in every ten women. It is the main cause of infertility in women, denying them the privelage and joys of motherhood.

Endometriosis is a condition in which cells similar to one’s inside the uterus start multiplying, out side the uterus. These cells interfere with the working of the ovaries, ovulation and implantation of the embryo, rendering women infertile. Endometriosis is a life long disease and the incidence is high in the women, who use contraceptive pills for a long period. Though the exact cause is not known but delayed preference for motherhood is one of the main reasons.

The disease is seldom diagnosed in the early stages as the symptoms appear to be yhe normal mensturational problems. It gets ignored and women popup over the counter pain killers to ease out the pain. Painful periods, bowl movement, low back pain and fatigue, are other symptoms which shoul not be ignored.

Urban women are more prone to Endometriosis, as they delay the pregnancy due to late marriage or life style. Endometriosis is known as antipregnancy disease because it has a negative effect on ovulation and implantation of the egg.


Leproscopy is the most popular treatment to treat Endometriosis in young women. They are required to undergo surgery and invitro fertilization(test tube baby). In the older women a total hysterectomy is the only solution.

The best way to avoid endometriosis is to follow the nature’s way and not to delay pregnancy. The rigours of pregnancy, absence of menstruation during pregnancy, breast feeding and other hormonal changes, all prevent Endometriosis. Late pregnancies result in prolonged flow of estrogen, uninterrupted by pregnancy, provide a fertile ground for the abnormal growth of endometrial lining. A healthy and stress free life style alongwith early pregnancy is the best way to prevent Endometriosis.

A happy GUT leads to a Happy Body

Gut or the alimentary canal technically speaking is a long tube of variable diameter open at both the ends. It consists of mouth, mouth cavity, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine and anus. Ideally it works relentlessly and silently in a perfectly healthy body and mind. Rumblings in the gut indicate all is not well. Liver, pancreas and a large no of microscopic glands are also associated with the alimentary canal.

The food we eat is chewed in the mouth, is mixed with saliva and swallowed. It passes into the stomach where it is mixed with secretions of the stomach including Hydrochloric acid. The acid kills all harmful microorganisms and dissociates complex food particles in to simple particles.

The acidic food passes into small intestine where acidity is neutralized and food becomes alkaline. Food is mixed with secretions from pancreas and liver for further digestion. Liver secrets bile which has no enzymes. Bile is extremely important for the digestion of fats, without bile fats cannot be digested. Bile also prevents putrefaction of food.

The entire process of digestion is very complex. During digestion indiffusible food is converted into diffusible food. The digested food is absorbed by the body and is used for repairs and maintenance besides providing energy. Excess of the food is stored by the liver, muscles and by the fatty tissues of the body for future use. Both digestion and absorption of food is completed in the small intestine. Digestion and absorption of food are highly co-ordinated and regulated by nerve stimuli and hormones.

To keep the gut and thus body healthy, it is necessary that we eat right kind of food at right time. We should eat neither too much nor too little. As per Indian customs the largest meal should be lunch, breakfast and dinner should be frugal. In between meals fruits and snacks can be taken in moderate quantities, Beverages like coffee and tea should be limited. Alcoholic beverages should be avoided or consumed in moderate amounts only.
Proper evacuation of gut is most important and general health depends mostly on this. In order to keep the gut functioning properly the food we eat should be rich in fibers - Whole wheat flour, green vegetables, fruits and other products rich in fibers. The fibers have no nutritional value yet they are the most important constituent of food. The fibers absorb water and thus help in the movement of food, prevent food from sticking to the wall of the intestine, prevent formation of gases, make feaces odourless by absorbing gases and in proper evacuation of undigested food.


Refined flours, bakery products and fast food should be avoided. Fruits should be eaten along with their skin where ever possible.Excessof coffee and tea should be avoided as excess causes acidity and gas. Mental peace and emotional well being are equally important.

To keep your gut and consequently yourself happy healthy and cheerful it is necessary to exercise regularly,meditate, eat light and healthy.

So keep your gut healthy and lead practically disease free cheerful life.

The God is in Biology

The most dreaded and rapidly increasing disease in today’s technology driven World is Cancer- the result of unscrupulous and ruthless use of chemicals, particularly manmade chemicals, in the modern civilized world.

What exactly is cancer? Biologically speaking it is a disease of uncontrolled division of cells. In our body cells divide continuously to replace worn out or damaged cells. But sometimes control mechanism may go haywire courtesy stimuli from various factors. This otherwise controlled and organized process becomes uncontrolled and unorganized resulting in a plethora of cells good for nothing. It is this mass of rapidly growing cells that forms tumor or cancer.


Cancer can affect any part of the body-brain, intestines, lungs, pancreas, liver, ovaries, skin and what not. Cancers are of two types-Benign and malignant or metastatic. Benign cancer does not spread.It is the malignant or metastatic cancer which is more dangerous as it starts spreading to other parts of the body.
Advances in technology have changed the way cancer is perceived, understood and treated. Scientific understanding about yhe disease says that it is a disease encrypted in our genes. These potential cancer causing genes are called Oncogenes. Oncogenes are present in our genome but become active only under specific conditions or stimuli called co-factors or cancer triggers.

The fight against cancer depends upon early detection of the disease.Rapid advances in technology have made early detection of the cancer, a reality. New imaging techniques like X rays, CT scans, MRI scan, PET scan and ultrasound scan are regular diagnostic tools. Advances in surgical oncology along with new imaging devices have made hither to inaccessible areas like base of the skull under the category of curable cancers. Similarly advances in Radiation Oncology like development of Cyberknife, targeted chemotherapy and organ preservation in minimum invasive surgery to prevent damage to the healthy cells, reducing trama of the patient.








Oncology today has entered in to an era of personalized cancer treatment.Biotechnology and Bioinformatics are helping us to design tailor made drugs for the treatment of cancer based on the unique genetic makeup of the patient or tumor.Clinical trialr are underway to determine the efficacy of such drugs. Bevacizumab is one such molecule approved by USFAD to treat deadly Glioblastoma. However, these molecules are prohibitively costly.


With exciting new therapeutics in the pipe line, can cancer finally be conquered??????