Traditional Sugar and Healtheir Substitute

 My friend Rachna was visiting me.I knew Rachna is fond of sweets .I told Rachna I will prepare rawa cake for you. Rachna educated me and said"Coconut Sugar which I have brought for you is healthier substitutes for traditional sugar.  Coconut sugar is a natural sweetener made from the sap of the blossoms of the coconut tree.So I put my health first and use coconut sugar in my cooking where ever possible."

Rachna educated me about prepration, nutritional profile,glycemic index and flavour profile of cocunut sugar which I am listing below.

 

 

 

Image Credit: iStock

 

Rachna said" coconut sugar is made from the sap of the blooms on coconut trees. Flower buds are tapped to extract the sap, which is then boiled to evaporate the water content, producing a concentrated syrup. In order to create granules that resemble conventional sugar, this syrup is further dehydrated."

Rachna told me  table sugar is derived from two different plants: sugar cane and sugar beets. The plant material is crushed, the juice is extracted, and the plant material is refined in a number of procedures to produce the well-known white crystalline sugar. A highly processed product is produced after the refining process which is free from contaminants and any possible plant residues.

 

Table sugar

The nutritional values

Rachna further said"Conut Sugar is not a substantial source of Iron, zinc, calcium, potassium, and it has antioxidants and few of the vitamins and minerals in trace amounts .Additionally,  it contains #inulin, a form of # dietary fibre that can act as a # prebiotic and encourage the development of good gut bacteria. Regular sugar, on the other hand,  are heavy on #carbohydrates and have a high #glycemic index(60). It contributes  energy, without much in the way of vitamins, minerals, or other healthy elements."

Glycemic Index:

Rachna educated me about the glycemic index (GI) calculates,which shows how rapidly foods high in carbohydrates elevate blood sugar levels. Comparing coconut sugar (54) to ordinary sugar (60) shows coconut sugar is diabetic friendly.This implies that  that ordinary sugar can induce  more rise in sugar levels, while coconut sugar causes blood glucose levels to rise more gradually and slowly. The fact that coconut sugar has a lower GI is probably due to the inclusion of inulin and other fibres."

Flavour Profile:

Rachna told me  that coconut sugar stands out from conventional sugar thanks to its distinctive # caramel-like flavour and slight coconut undertone.  It  add richness and complexity to foods and drinks due to its rich, distinct flavour and delicate sweetness .

 Regular sugar, in comparison, has no distinct taste or odour and provides lot of sweetness instead.

I thanked Rachna for the gift pack of coconut sugar.Education provided by Rachna was eye opener for me.We prepared and enjoyed eating rawa cake made with coconut sugar. 

https://www.slurrp.com/article/coconut-vs-regular-sugar-unveiling-4-differences-between-the-sweeteners-1691666992985

Sukarma Thareja

Alumnus IITK

India

Whale Poo helping environment

Whale’s-Service to Ocean Ecosystem

Would you come for sail at my back friend said dear whale,
Of course! I will come for ride dear whale,
Indirectly trees capture #carbon in the #ecosystem,

 terrestrial,
 How you capture carbon in the ecosystem #ocean dear whale.

 I hope you are comfortable on my,
 Back dear friend said dear whale,
See I am not consuming #carbon dioxide.
But I do facilitate carbon #absorption said dear whale,
How you go about doing this task difficult dear whale,
See I am diving down with my movements,
 I   push #nutrients from the bottom,
 Of the ocean to the surface,
 Where I feed #marine flora that suck in carbon,
This is my first important service to ocean system,
In # reducing carbon in ocean ecosystem said dear whale.

Now friend we are deep down in ocean said dear whale
See my friend this is my(whale)# excrement-poo,
My# poo contains the #iron and# nitrogen,
 And act as a fertiliser for #phytoplankton,
 A microscopic creatures that live at surface ocean,
 And capture carbon and release oxygen.
 The process is known as the# “whale pump”, dear friend,
This is my second important service to the ocean system,
In reducing carbon in ocean ecosystem said dear whale.

I hope you are comfortable on my back friend said dear whale,
I (whale) can store a vast amount of carbon,
Over the course of my life that may last 100+ years,
  When I (whale -animal) will die,
 I will sink to the sea-bed,
#‘locking-in’ this large carbon store,
 In ocean ecosystem for centuries.
This will be my third service to ocean system,
 In reducing carbon in ocean ecosystem said dear whale.

My wonderful visit in ocean ecosystem,
Was so much fun than regular visit to,

Zoo in# terrestrial ecosystem,
 I thanked dear whale for making me comfortable,
And educating me during back ride in# ocean. ecosystem.

sukarma Thareja
Alumnus IITK 1986
India

 

Memory- a Gift of God

 

Memory- a Gift of God

Everyday my dear granny goes to temple,

 To light candles before God,

 She prays on bended knees for our well fare,

My dear granny cook food for me every day,

People say granny does her routine duty,

But friends more than routine duty,

 She is more exposed to same activity,

Like a golfer practicing a swing thousands of times.

 That makes stronger connections,

 Between neurons in granny’s brain,

In return she gets gift of God-good Memory.

 

People also ask me how come your granny,

 Is so active and energetic with sound memory,

The secret is my granny also does project challenging,

 Along with her routine duties with amicable joy,

She does creative activities like reading fictions and painting,

 Learns new skills to make her brain active and strong.

 

Fact is each of the brain’s 100 billion nerve cells,

 Can have 10,000 connections to other nerve cells.

These creative projects my granny does,

 Makes- synapses, creates new circuits,

 Between nerve cells, which essentially remaps her brain.

The sheer number of possible connections due to creative activities,

Gives granny’s brain unfathomable flexibility,

 And builds up functional reserves,

 That provide safety valve against future cell-neurons loss,

That makes granny’s memory strong.

If my granny avoids doing creative challenging activities,

Then some parts of her brain’s neurons,

 Which are not being used regularly,

 Will automatically get pruned,

Granny’s brain will be in state of mental pruning,

That will make granny’s memory weak.

 

Friends! to retain good memory -gift of God, best is one should remain,

 Engaged in creative activities like my granny,

 Let ones brain do challenging activities,

So to have strong connection between neurons of brain,

As memory is game of connections,

Please do treasure this God gift of good memory.

Sukarma Thareja

Alumnus IITK 1986

Associate professor-Retired

CSJM University

India

Web site-sukarma thareja

https://sites.google.com/site/drsukarmaranithareja/home

please do read

science of Life and Nature(Paper Back): A Photo Poetry Collection: Sukarma Thareja: 9781521260067: Amazon.com: Books(10 dollars)

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