Dr. Prema Nataraj

According to a recent study of fertility and diet conducted by the Harvard Medical School, it has been revealed that consuming certain foods and abstaining from some can be easily opted for without any external intervention in order to aid in improving the ovulatory system, even though there are factors that you are unable to control, such as genetics and age. It is important to be aware of the small dietary changes that can potentially make you much more fertile than those who do not go for a healthy diet.

1. Go for complex carbohydrates: Experts suggest eating more of slow and complex carbohydrates and restricting the consumption of processed ones. Your body is able to digest bad carbohydrates in order to turn them into blood sugar, which is harmful to the body. So you must stay away from cakes and cookies, white breads, white rice, junk food and all such items that appear unsurpassable. It is because the pancreas are compelled to release an additional amount of insulin into the blood for controlling the blood-sugar spike. On the other hand, you can go for good carbohydrates, such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables, which take time to digest and have a much slower effect on the insulin and blood sugar. It is evident that high levels of insulin can inhibit the process of ovulation.

2. Choose Iron-Rich Foods:  A diet rich in iron that comes from vegetables and supplements may lower the risk of ovulatory infertility. Ovulatory infertility is only one cause of infertility and affects 25 percent of infertile couples. Vegetarian foods with iron include all types of beans, eggs, lentils, spinach, fortified cereals, long-grain enriched rice and whole grains. Add vitamin C from citrus fruits, bell peppers or berries to your meals to enhance iron absorption.

3. The "Fertility Diet":  Women should choose the following "fertility diet" -

   • Less animal protein and more vegetable protein
   • Less trans fat and more monounsaturated fat (from foods such as avocados and olive oil)
   • More high-fiber, low-glycemic carbohydrate-rich foods (including whole grains)
   • More vegetarian sources of iron and fewer meat sources
   • Multivitamins
   • High-fat dairy instead of low-fat dairy
4. Get enough folic acid: Folic acid has been proven to reduce a baby's risk of neural-tube birth defects such as spina bifida, and it is linked to a lower incidence of heart attacks, strokes, cancer, and diabetes. A good over-the-counter prenatal vitamin should contain more than the minimum recommendation of folic acid, between 600 and 800 mcg – what you'll need during pregnancy. In addition, you can eat folate-rich foods, such as dark green leafy vegetables like spinach or kale, citrus fruits, nuts, legumes, whole grains, and fortified breads and cereals.
5. Dairy: It pays to bone up on dairy (milk, yogurt, and cheese) when you’re trying to conceive. Adding dairy to your preconception diet is good not only for bone health but also — potentially — for your reproductive health. So drink that milk, spoon up that yogurt, sip that smoothie, nibble on that cheese. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a gynaecologist.

E study of basic human values by psychologists is not new. Probably the best-known theory of basic values in psychology is abraham maslow's hierarchy of needs, which dates from the early 1940s. But the psychological study of values has been growing, in both volume and empirical quality of research, and philosophers interested in ethics ought to know something about it.

Unfortunately, growing though it may be, the psychological study of values is nevertheless not in a particularly advanced state of development. Accordingly, there are multiple, conflicting theories of human values (and corresponding virtues) in the psychological literature. A sampling that I spent just a few minutes pulling together is: braithwaite and law (1985), cawley, martin, and johnson (2000), crosby, bitner, and gill (1990), feather and peay (1975), hofstede (1980), maloney and katz (1976), peterson and seligman (2004), rokeach (1973), schwartz (1994, 2012), and wicker et al. (1984). My impression is that on the one hand there is considerable loose agreement in the results of these studies, but on the other hand the agreement is indeed loose, and there are significant differences between theories, especially when it comes to the conceptualization of the results.

I myself am not well enough acquainted with this research to comment on these differences. What I want to do in this post is just describe the one of these theories that seems to me to be the most serious, ambitious, well-developed, and well-supported, namely the schwartz theory of basic values, due to shalom schwartz (1994, 2012). At the end I will briefly discuss some implications of schwartz's theory for political philosophy.

By values we refer to beliefs concerning what situations and actions are desirable. However, values for schwartz are not attitudes toward particular situations or actions, like having a chicken dinner right now or having $20k in my bank account. He restricts the term value to broad motivational goals. Schwartz sees values as stable standards by which we evaluate everything else, including the appropriateness of any norms, attitudes, traits, or virtues that may be suggested to us. It is also characteristic of values that some are more important than others. Multiple values are normally implicated in any proposed action, for better or worse, and the all-things-considered evaluation of an action will depend on the relative importance of the competing values it implicates.

To feel cool in the scorching sun we all need to rehydrate & refresh our senses. The green soft tree-nuts ‘COCONUTS’ have cropped up everywhere.

These are undoubtedly a tender, green, nutritious water- filled nature’s gift. We all know about the benefits of its consumption, but are we all aware of few limitations of it. The reason could be –

• High Potassium.(2.5g / 1000g).
• Calorie density as per volume consumed. or
• Low sodium content(252mg/ cup).

Healthy Tips About Coconut Water!

1. NOT THE IDEAL ‘ENERGY DRINK’ FOR ALL
   When it comes to rehydrating oneself after a moderate workout of less than an hour, then, considering coconut water is a good alternative to other energy drinks. But after a vigorous practice, the high Potassium and low sodium content of coconut water do not make it a suitable drink to replenish the depleted store. As sodium is equally required to rehydrate. Isn’t it! So, Instead, going for plain water will be a wiser option.

1. DAILY EXCESS INTAKE CAN RESULT IN WEIGHT GAIN
   1cup of it contains 46 calories, although lesser than those in energy drinks or fruit juice, an intake as per volume must be watched, take care of total calories for managing the reduction diet in connection to other foods of a day’s plan.
2. NOT GOOD FOR DIABETICS
   The natural sugar of coconut water impacts on blood sugar levels & reduces the insulin production. On an average, 1000 ml serving has 26.10 g of sugar. So watch out if you are diabetic.
3. EXCESS INTAKE CAN LEAD TO ELECTROLYTE IMBALANCE
   Again due to high Potassium content the excess intake of coconut water can lead to the symptoms of hyperkalemia, which include weakness, lightheadedness, the effect on kidneys, heart rhythms etc.
4. MAY LOWERSBLOOD PRESSURE
   Esp. Those on medication routine for high b.p. must drink it in moderation.
5. IF YOU ARE ALLERGIC TO ANY EATABLES,
   then the excess of coconut water can lead to sensitivity, as it is also one of the kinds of tree nut.
6. DIURETIC
   In moderate amounts this property of coconut water will help soothes your system, but in excess, it will force you to visit loo for a number of times.
7. NOT IDEAL FOR FRIZZY OR COLD TEMPERATURE BODY TYPES. 

One or two of Coconut are enough for a day, to keep your body healthy & safe.