Beauty and Personal Grooming

As the sun begins its northward journey during Makar Sankranti, it brings a promise of renewal, warmth, and vibrant energy. This beloved Indian harvest festival isn't just about colorful kites filling the sky; it celebrates nature's bounty through nutrient-dense traditional foods. The Sankranti foods benefits extend far beyond taste. These festival staples—jaggery, sesame seeds, peanuts, and seasonal greens—are scientifically proven to enhance hair growth, improve skin health, and boost overall wellness. This comprehensive guide reveals how traditional Sankranti foods can transform your beauty routine naturally, from the inside out. 1. Jaggery Benefits for Hair Growth and Skin Detox Traditional Use: The iconic "Til Gul Ghya, God God Bola" begins with jaggery (gud), an unrefined sweetener central to Sankranti celebrations. How Jaggery Improves Hair Health Iron for hair growth is jaggery's primary beauty benefit. This mineral prevents hair loss by: Promoting healt...

Diwali , the festival of lights, brings with it a dazzling array of traditional sweets—from creamy barfis and golden jalebis to rich laddoos and decadent halwas. Yet for many of us, the joy of these treats comes bundled with guilt, worry about weight gain, and anxiety about "breaking" our healthy habits. What if you could savor every bite of your favorite mithai without the mental burden? Mindful eating during Diwali isn't about restriction—it's about reconnecting with the true purpose of festive foods: celebration, tradition, and genuine pleasure. This comprehensive guide will show you how to enjoy Diwali sweets consciously, honor your body's needs, and emerge from the festival feeling satisfied rather than stuffed and stressed. What Is Mindful Eating? Mindful eating is the practice of bringing full awareness to the experience of eating. It involves: Paying attention to the colors, smells, textures, and flavors of your food Listening to your body's hunger ...

I've been taking this Kadha / herbal tea to boost my immunity since last 3 months. And I am happy to say that I haven't had a cold , cough , fever or any respiratory ailment all these days. [By the way Kadha is  called as Kashayam / Kashaya in the South.]

Neem herbal tea , that boosts immunity and wards off viral & bacterial infections is the perfect beverage to be had during rainy season or for that matter during the flu season. It's a homemade herbal tea (also called as kashayam / kashaya)  made with neem leaves and some incredible spices. But before we go to the procedure of making this potent neem herbal tea or kadha , let's take a look at how the weather changes during rainy season can give rise to many ailments and diseases.

Cashew apples had been growing abundantly in our garden during the months of March and April. And we had a great time eating these fruits either by cutting them in slices or in juice form .

The health benefits of lemons are immense and most of us know about it already. It's widely used in home-remedies to deal with minor ailments too. But most of the time we only make use of the juice and discard the rind or peel.  Now that's a shame because the lemon peel contains more nutrients than the juice. In order to get the most out of a lemon,  it's better to consume it as a whole. Now I do admit that it's not possible to use a whole lemon every time, but you must at least try using it in at some of the dishes.

Malabar Spinach or Basella alba is one of the most common vegetables that is grown in kitchen gardens, especially in the coastal and Malanad regions of Karnataka. Called as " Basale Soppu " in Kannada, this is one of my favourite vegetables and makes me nostalgic as the very mention of this vine reminds me of my native place where it grew abundantly.

If you have recently embarked on the wheatgrass juice journey you sure will find its taste intense and not very palatable, to say it gently. I first found its taste very grassy, raw and overwhelming. But knowing its benefits can really help you to get over the taste factor sooner and motivate you to have that morning shot daily.

Juicing is a great way to meet your daily requirement of nutrients and consume a wide variety of vegetables and fruits conveniently. Majority of what we eat never becomes available to the body for use, as nutrients need to be released from food cells by rupturing it. However, when we eat without much chewing, nutrients are left unabsorbed and simply pass through the digestive system.  Juicing provides a way to get access to these enzymes and nutrients that are generally locked away by rupturing the cells of the produce and promote health. Juicing also makes sure that your body is not deprived of nutrients while you are looking for a way to count calories and manage weight.

Love for Quinoa, the gluten-free and nutrient dense alternative for wheat, has grown many folds in the recent past. Quinoa (say keen-wah), was deemed as the super crop and marked the year 2013 as the “International Year of Quinoa” due to high protein content and other health benefits. Though it has got the supercrop recognition only lately, it has been considered as the sacred food by Incans for centuries and was consumed especially by warriors for strength and nutrition.

I have “pitta” type of constitution and as a result my body temperature is always slightly higher than the average. Most of my friends usually remark that my hands are amazingly warm as compared to theirs. So I guess I need more of ‘cooling foods’ to combat this overactive “pitta” in my body. One such cooling food that Ayurveda recommends is “ Gulkand ”. It’s a type of rose petal jam / preserve that supposedly reduces the heat from the body and is excellent for pitta types. Now Gulkand is also commercially available, but I couldn't bring myself to use store-bought Gulkand. Who knows what kind or roses are used? They could well have used pesticide sprayed roses and also chemical preservatives in it to lengthen its shelf life. However traditional Gulkand or Rose Petal Preserve is basically devoid of any chemical preservatives and is said to last for years but you are never sure whether the same procedure is adopted during its mass manufacturing. A safer bet is to make use of Home...