Jaggery/Gur: How to Check Its Purity and Quality?

Jaggery Benefits: These days, finding the right and authentic product has become very difficult. It takes a village to make sure that the product is pure and good. And so is finding the right and good quality jaggery or gur. Jaggery is a traditionally unrefined form of sugar and is well known for its health benefits: helps excellent digestion, is a rich source of iron and Vitamin C, helps in the circulation of blood and a lot more. Jaggery also helps in keeping our bodies warm during extremely chill days. But how do we know that what gur we are consuming is authentic or is not mixed?

Adulteration has become a child’s play. It is now easy to cheat and fool consumers by selling a lower quality product at a sky-rocketing price. Not only this, but adulteration has also led to many health issues and unhygienic conditions. But we have got you covered! 

Here’s an easy way to identify authentic jaggery and ways to check the purity:

• What Exactly is Jaggery or Gur?

Jaggery is made out of sugarcane by boiling raw and concentrated sugarcane juice. It is used as a sweetener. Sugarcane juice is boiled for a few hours, water is added to the moulds, and then, gives time to cool down and harden. This is also a healthy alternative to white sugar as gur has a superior nutritional profile. What not to forget is, the calories content of both gur and white sugar is the same. Jaggery is made through the boiling of sugarcane whereas white sugar goes through several processes and one of them is crystallisation before it is packed for consumption

• What is the best season to consume Jaggery?

Jaggery produces a lot of heat, hence health experts have advised and recommended consuming jaggery only during winter. During heated seasons, problems of stomach problems can arise. Hence, it is better to have minimal consumption of jaggery during warm seasons.

• How to check the purity of jaggery?

“Generally a good quality jaggery should have the right colour, good flavour and hardness,” says Chef Reetu Uday Kugaji, the Culinary Expert and Food Blogger. It is very important to check for purity whenever you go out to buy jaggery.

• A few of Chef Reetu’s suggestions are here:

1.  Taste a piece of jaggery. If it tastes slightly salty, then it indicates that a high concentration of mineral salts is involved. The easy way out is, the older the jaggery gets, the saltier it becomes.
2. If you taste any sort of bitterness, it means that jaggery has gone through the caramelisation during the boiling process.
3. If you find crystals, it means that jaggery has gone through other processes of sweetness too. Look out!
4. The Colour of the jaggery is dark brown. The colour also plays a role in determining purity. If the gur appears in yellowish, it may have undergone chemical treatment.
5. It is always recommended to buy hard jaggery, it means that there are no additives added during the process of boiling the sugarcane juice.

 

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   

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Kidney Stones May Be Prevented By Citrus Extract

Researchers have found evidence that a natural citrus fruit extract can inhibit the growth of painful kidney stones and even dissolve the crystals.

The compound hydroxycitrate (HCA) can dissolve calcium oxalate crystals, the most common component of human kidney stones, said the study that prepares the groundwork to design an effective drug for the painful condition. "HCA shows promise as a potential therapy to prevent kidney stones," the researchers wrote in the study published onlne in the journal Nature.

The findings are the result of a combination of experimental studies, computational studies and human studies, said lead author of the study Jeffrey Rimer, Associate Professor of at the University of Houston in the US.

Kidney stones are small, hard mineral deposits that form inside the kidneys. High blood pressure, diabetes and obesity can increase the risk, and the reported incidence is on the rise. Preventive treatment has not changed much over the last three decades. Doctors tell patients who are at risk of developing stones to drink lots of water and avoid foods rich in oxalate, such as rhubarb, okra, spinach and almonds. They often recommend taking citrate (CA), in the form of potassium citrate, a supplement that can slow crystal growth, but some people are unable to tolerate the side effects. "HCA may be preferred  as a therapy over CA ( potassium citrate), " the researchers said.


HCA is chemically similar to CA and is also available as a dietary supplement.
The head-to-head studies of CA and HCA determined that while both compounds inhibit the growth of calcium oxalate crystals, HCA was more potent and displayed unique qualities that are advantageous for the development of new therapies. HCA was also tested in human participants, as seven people took the supplement for three days, allowing researchers to determine that HCA is excreted through urine, a requirement for the supplement to work as a treatment. While Rimer said the research established the groundwork to design an effective drug, questions remain.

Long-term safety, dosage and additional human trials are needed, he said.

 this is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.
https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations
https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes

https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement

Lip Gloss

Love a lip stain? Get perfect last-all-day colour with this two-step treatment.

• 1/2 cup petroleum jelly
• 1 scoop or 2 packets Natural Cherry Pomegranate Crystal Light
• Small jar with lid

Mix petroleum jelly and Crystal Light in a bowl, adding 1 tsp water a few drops at a time, until gloss turns berry red. Use a spatula to smooth formula into jar.

ps- this is only for information, always consult you physician before having any particular food/ medication/exercise/other remedies.

ps- those interested in recipes are free to view my blog-

http://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/

for info about knee replacement, you can view my blog-

http://Knee replacement-stick club.blogspot.com/

for crochet designs

http://My Crochet Creations.blogspot.com

26 'OTHER' uses of White Tooth Paste !!!

26 Things You Can Do With Toothpaste Although the primary use of toothpaste is to clean and improve the aesthetic appearance and health of teeth, there are also 26 other things that you can use it for. Every household has one and every household uses it at least twice a day. And because of the common availability of toothpaste, you can try everything below. Remember, use only white paste. 1.Removes stain from cloth   To take out all kinds of stain like ink or lipstick. Squeeze some on the spot, scrub and rinse.   2.Even out scratches on CD / DVD   If the screen freezes, take out the disc, put some toothpaste on it, scrub and clean it off.   3.Cleans diamond ring   Just squeeze a little on a used toothbrush, wet the ring, scrub gently, rinse and your diamond ring should be look sparkling new.   4.Cleans silver   Toothpaste can be used to polish any kind of silver. It really does bring out the shine in silverwares.   5.Placate burns   Right after you get burnt, put it on. It helps to relieve the sting.   6.Removes crayon from painted walls   Rub the marks with the toothpaste and a damp rag. Wipe with water to get rid of residue.   7.Remove carpet stains   Squeeze some onto the carpet, scrub, rinse and let it dry.   8.Relieves insect bites   Spread a little over either of these and you’ll feel soothed and no itches. Mosquito, flea and ant bites work especially well.   9.Keep girl babies’ bows in their hair   If they don’t have much hair this is particularly useful. It doesn’t pull it out, it just washes out.   10.Clean your nails   Teeth and nails are made of the same material. To clean your nails, squeeze some on top of a toothbrush, wet your nails and brush them thoroughly. You’ll be amazed by the sparkle.   11.Clean shoes   Scrubbing toothpaste with a wet toothbrush over the boots, working shoes and rubber part of sneakers will work. It can also be used to remove scuffs.   12.Put up posters   You can use toothpaste to put up posters without damaging the wall. However, avoid using it for collector posters. It can damage the ink over time.   13.Use it to temporarily seal holes   Can be used as a spackle to fill nail holes. This sounds evil, but you can use it right before you move out of your rented apartment.   14.Clean around the bathroom   Use it to clean shower doors and rings around the bath tub. It has an abrasive so that is why it works good.   15.Clean your vehicle’s headlight lenses   Put some toothpaste in a bowl with some water. Use a buffer pad and clean off fog caused by dirt and bugs hitting them.   16.Clean model cars Hobbyists who collect and build model cars, robots and action figures can certainly use toothpaste to make them nice and shiny. 17.Remove scratches on your watch crystal   Dab some on the watch and scrub it with tissue. 18.Treat acne   Be very careful when using this. Use it at most once a week. Just dab a small amount on a pimple before bed, wake up and it will dry up. 19.Prevent fog in your swimming goggles   Just wipe it on, clean it off. Works well for me. 20.Clean piano keytops   A dab of toothpaste, a soft cloth and some rubbing will usually clean piano keytops and turn them white again.   21.Deodorize smelly hands Wash your hands with a dab of toothpaste and it will remove smells like onions and other unpleasant odors.   22.Remove scratches on glassware   Polish with a squeeze of toothpaste. Your glassware should be shining in no time.   23.Remove beach tar   Getting that black beach tar on your feet can put a small crimp in your vacation, but it is easy enough to remove. Just rub it with some non-gel toothpaste and rinse. 24.Deodorize baby bottles   Works for sour smelling baby bottles. Scrub with toothpaste and a bottle brush and the bottles should end up smelling clean and fresh.   25.Cleans clothes iron   The mild abrasive in non-gel toothpast is just the ticket for scrubbing the gunk off the bottom plate of your clothes iron. Apply the toothpaste to the cool iron, scrub with a cloth, then rinse clean.   26.Remove water marks from furniture   To get rid of those telltale watermark rings left by sweating beverages, gently rub some non-gel toothpaste on the wood with a soft cloth.           --

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