Seven Sins

Seven Sins are also known as Capital Vices or Cardinal Sins, according to Christianity are: -

1. Envy

2. Greed

3. Gluttony

4. Lust

5. Pride

6. Sloth

7. Wrath

Foods and Medicines for Diabetes

Diabetes mellitus or simply diabetes is a metabolic disease in which a person’s blood glucose level is more than normal.

A hormone Insulin regulates blood glucose level. It’s produced in islets of Langerhans in pancreas. If body isn’t able to produce adequate amount of insulin then it’s unable to maintain blood glucose level & blood glucose level rises.

Causes of diabetes is still unknown but many studies have found that diabetes is a hereditary disease & some other reasons for diabetes can by living a sedentary lifestyle.

Regarding heredity, although genetic science proves that genes of predecessor may be found in their offspring but I’ve seen that most of the times family members follow eat the same type of food which their predecessor followed & their descendants also eat the same type of food.

I strongly believe that we’re what we eat & simple modifications in food habits can help in diabetes mellitus.

I’ve typed below some names of fruits, vegetables & medicines which if taken shall be beneficial.

Jamun (Jambul/Black Plum/Java Plum/Indian Blackberry) is a good fruit for people suffering from diabetes mellitus. Unfortunately it’s not available throughout the year in many parts of India but whenever it’s available it must be eaten. People who have a sedentary lifestyle & suffer lot stress must also have it as it’s beneficial. If it’s unavailable then its juice if available must be consumed.

Jarul or Banaba herbal tea made up of Banaba extract. It contains high concentrations of Corosolic acid that stimulates glucose metabolism at a fast rate thus helps in regulating blood sugar & insulin levels.

Avocado is another fruit which lowers blood glucose level hence must be eaten as per its availability.

Cherries lower blood glucose & they contain red pigmented anti-oxidants which can increase insulin output. Cherries also contain high insoluble fibre & are less in calories. 100 grams of cherries may only have around 54 calories. Anti-oxidants present in it also protect from cancer & heart diseases. It also helps in muscle heal & repair.

Barley is rich in fibre thus it makes feel full when consumed & also helps in excretion process. It reduces blood glucose level. It can be consumed rather than rice as it’s healthier than rice. Barley if consumed regularly lowers cholesterol & reduces glycemic index. Barley is also available in juice & power form.

Sweet Potatoes contains carotenoids which are good anti-oxidants, sweet potatoes are also high in fibre & low in glycemic index. If you’re found of eating potatoes then replace it with sweet potatoes as potatoes aren’t good for people suffering from diabetes mellitus whereas sweet potatoes are good.

Spices like Cinnamon when consumed mimic insulin’s effect, it also reduces LDL cholesterol. It’s high in magnesium & thus helps in controlling blood glucose.

Onion is rich in sulphur, flavonoid & has anti-oxidant properties. If consumed reduces blood glucose level.

Garlic lowers blood glucose level. Raw garlic has anti-oxidant properties. It promotes insulin secretion. For those who avoid garlic as it sometimes releases some smell from mouth then can take dry garlic golis. If possible Kashmiri Garlic golis can be taken with water in morning.

Flaxseeds are rich in magnesium & omega-3 fatty acids. It reduces blood glucose levels & has anti-cancer properties.

Eating 9 Neem leaves twice once in morning & once at night is also beneficial. Neem is a very powerful anti-oxidant & if taken for more than 1 year shall surely provide positive results & blood glucose level shall be lesser than previous year. If one can’t consume Neem leaves then can consume Neem tablets.

Bitter gourd as its name indicates is bitter in taste. It contains phyto-nutrient, polypeptide-P which reduces blood glucose level. Its juice can be taken if suffering from insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. For people who aren’t suffering from diabetes but are obese may also have its juice daily for weight loss.

Healing process slow down in people suffering from diabetes hence Amla (Gooseberry) with Turmeric must be consumed everyday. You may consume fresh Amla with Turmeric or Amla Power & Turmeric power mixed in water. Amla is rich is vitamin C & Turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties. If consumed regularly shall be beneficial.

Carrots are high in fibre & full of beta-carotene. It bolsters number of white blood cells & T-cells in immune system thus it’s beneficial for diabetes.

Fenugreek (Methi) power if consumed with pure milk is beneficial. If one can’t digest milk then may have Fenugreek tea by using Fenugreek seeds instead of tea power with some other ingredients like ginger, lemon grass, cinnamon, & some other tea masalas if required but avoid sugar. Many researches have shown that Fenugreek tea not only lowers obesity but also improves smell buds.

 

Lemon has anti-oxidant properties hence its juice is also beneficial. It decreases cholesterol. Its acidity lowers glycemic index of a meal considerably.

Wheat-grass juice should be consumed everyday. It increases oxygen in blood & purifies blood & thus is good for kidneys.

All refined food must be avoided. E.g. Maida or refined flour products.

Stale food & packed food must also be avoided. Packed food contains preservatives which aren’t good for health & in a way packed food are also stale.

Non-Vegetarian foods are high in calories & we can’t know an animal or bird’s health condition before it was prepared hence must be avoided if possible.

Diabetes affects functioning of kidneys. For kidney’s proper functioning 2 tablets of Chandra-Prabhavati should be taken twice a day, after lunch or brunch & after dinner.

Giloy (Guduchi) is also good for diabetes patients. If Giloy plant isn't available then its tablets can be taken daily.

Triphala Powder should also be taken at night. It assists in removal of toxins from body.

Ensure to drink a lot of water as well but not more than 3.6 litres of water must be consumed.

If weight is high & brought to normal also helps in Diabetes.

I’ve typed a preparation made by Dr. Tony Almeida a kidney specialist in Mumbai. It can be made at home & if taken everyday shall also help.

Ingredients: -

1. Wheat flour (100 gm) 2. Gum (of tree) (gondh) 100 gm 3. Barley 100 gm (SHAHEER) 4. Black Seeds (kalunji) 100 gm (HABASOUDA)

Method of Preparation: - Put all the above ingredients in 5 cups of water. Mix it & then boil it for 10 minutes & put off fire. Allow it to cool down by itself.  When it’ll become cold, filter out seeds & preserve liquid in a glass jug or bottle.

Take one small cup of this water every day early morning when your stomach is empty. Continue this everyday for as it’s beneficial for health & controls blood glucose level.

Mandukasana is a good asana for diabetes hence it must be practiced daily. Bajrasana must be practiced after having breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner as it in enhances metabolic process.

Pranayams, Breathing Exercises, Stretching Exercises, some physical movements, Laughter Therapy etc if performed daily also helps.

N.B. If you’re taking medicines for diabetes then please don’t avoid it. The above remedies shall help in decreasing blood glucose level & living a good life but cannot completely cure diabetes hence medicines must be taken.

Enhancing Computer’s or Laptop's Performance

No matter how expensive a computer or laptop is everyone may have encountered performance or speed related issues. For example games lagging, unable to browse at normal speed, browser unable to open a website at its actual speed, operating system taking more time to boot i.e. start up, operating system takes time to shut down, operating system taking time to open a file, etc.

Computers or Laptops run slow or aren’t able to perform at their optimum level because most of the time micro-processor is busy or running some other task or a lot of tasks.

Other reason can be software which processor is running its files aren’t located close to each other in hard-drive. Thus hard-drive’s head has to keep moving from 1 sector to another to send files to processor.

To prevent this from happening you may defrag hard-drive/hard-drives. You’ll find this software in System Tools in Accessories.

Using some system tools softwares like Error Checking or Scanning hard-drive also enhances hard-drive’s performance. Error Checking can be done by right clicking hard-drive, then click properties, then tools then in Error Checking tab click Check-Now.

You can also type a command “chkdsk” in MS-Dos prompt.

If you download a lot of files from web daily then save it on your other drive/drives & not on C drive or drive which has Operating System.

Delete files from folders named %temp%, prefetch, recent, & temp.

If you’re unable to access these folders then can click start, then click run, type %temp% & hit enter then delete files in this folder.

Similarly for opening prefetch folder click start, then click run, type prefetch & hit enter then delete files in this folder.

Similarly for opening recent folder click start, then click run, type recent & hit enter then delete files in this folder.

Similarly for opening temp folder click start, then click run, type temp & hit enter then delete files in this folder.

In Windows 7 it’ll be tough to open these folders.

If any difficulties in following the above procedure in Windows XP & Windows 7 then you may download 2 softwares like C Cleaner & Disc Cleaner. These 2 are good softwares. You may download it & after downloading it setup it. After that just run it by clicking necessary options. It shall delete unwanted files.

N.B. If you have a habit of deleting important files & then recovering it from recycle bin then uncheck Recycle Bin option before running softwares like C Cleaner & Disc Cleaner.

If you don’t wish to use these softwares then you may use Disc Cleanup. You’ll find it in System Tools in Accessories.

Also while copying files in your hard-drive it’s better to not execute many copy commands. It takes more time & files get saved in different sectors. Thus it takes time to read as files are in different sectors & defrag procedure also takes time.

For running web browser at its optimum level start Browser’s then open its options by clicking tools & clear temporary internet files & cookies.

On extreme right of task-bar you may find some running programs which may not be required always e.g. messengers or printer software, etc. If you don’t wish to use it all time & system isn’t running at its normal speed then you may right click those softwares that are running unnecessarily & click exit.

While not using internet & if you won’t connect any external drive or insert CD & are just gaming (not online) or listening to a song or watching a movie or painting or using word or making some presentations or reading any document then turn off your anti-virus & turn it on when required. Anti-Viruses also use a lot of RAM so turning it off for some time shall also allow your system to run at its optimum level.

If you download files big in size then its better to not queue many downloads at once as it increases load on hard-drive's head. It’s better to download 1 file at a time while downloading files that are big in size as it's good for hard-drive.

Neurotransmitters that make us feel happy

Neurotransmitters like Dopamine, Nor-Adrenaline & Serotonin are the main chemicals are responsible for our happiness.

Dopamine is released by brain & nerve cells when experienced something pleasant.

Enthusiasm increases Nor-Adrenaline levels & its release enhances concentration.

Serotonin has a calming effect. It makes us feel happy & content.

Tips & Tricks to reduce wife’s or girlfriend’s desire to shop

Shopping can be an issue for many men around the globe. Women who just like to shop but regret after shopping & want to overcome their habit may also find this blog intriguing.

My friends have asked this question many times. Although I’m unmarried & never had had a girlfriend but being a student of Psychology I can shed light on some tips & tricks to reduce your wife’s or girlfriend’s shopping habit.

1. If your wife or girlfriend shops a lot & has decided to go for shopping on a particular day/evening then on that day/evening before she goes to shop ensure that her stomach is full with her favourite meal. There is a strong possibility of her not shopping much after having her favourite meal as she may be content so the desire to own things shall decrease & she won’t shop a lot. There is also a strong possibility of her feeling sleepy & may even drop her idea to shop & if she’ll go then may return home earlier than usual.

2. Proper water level in body helps in taking the right decisions. You see we don’t get so upset or angry if water levels are proper. Thus before her shopping starts ensure that she drinks lots of water or her favourite juice or drink. It shall help her take right decision & also quickly & may not ask what she must select amongst so many things. If she still asks you & you’re confused which has a strong possibility then make her drink water again & let her decide.

N.B. Avoid aerated drinks as they do the opposite & promotes water loss.

3. If possible you may even hold her hand. They feel nice. It stimulates the brain releases serotonin & desire to own unwanted things also decreases.

N.B. Tip 3 if tried in a mall which has a theatre or in a place which has a theatre nearby may back fire as it'll enhance her mood & she may get an idea of watching a movie & may waste your time & money.

4. You may make her meditate before she starts shopping. It’ll relax her mind & enhance her ability to take right decision so her shopping will happen at a better speed & she won’t purchase unwanted items.

Why do we light a lamp

You may have to seen a lit lamp in many Indian homes & also abroad.

In Indian Homes you may find it in a temple or near a temple or near Tulsi Plant or near idols in their homes, sometimes outside their homes or near a Pipal tree.

Many people light lamp twice a day i.e. in morning during sunrise & in evening during sunset.

Many people have lamps which burn continuously.

Amongst Hindus a lamp is lit before an auspicious occasion is about to start or during an auspicious occasion or before doing something important or significant.

Light signifies knowledge & wisdom. Just like knowledge & wisdom banishes ignorance similarly light banishes darkness. Thus a lamp is lit so that we bow down or give respect to knowledge & wisdom everyday or before doing something important or significant or during or before certain auspicious occasions.

You may think that why waste oil or ghee as even an electric tube-light or an electric bulb shall shed light.

If the above thought came in your mind then you may read the below paragraphs.

Ghee or Oil has spiritual significance. Ghee or Oil symbolises ego & laziness. Just like lazy people are slow & don’t move quickly or aren’t agile similarly ghee & oil are viscous & don’t flow quickly.

Ego melts when we see a powerful force & we surrender ourselves to that powerful force. Fire is a very strong element. It represents Sun. Sun can easily destroy or melt or evaporate anything. Thus it signifies surrendering ourselves to knowledge & wisdom.

Thus a lamp is lit to banish darkness, ego & laziness.

We can even learn a lot from an ignited flame. You see a flame always rises upwards thus it inspires us to rise up in life.

The Dark Knight my favourite Hollywood movie

The Dark Knight is 1 of my favourite movie. Have you ever wondered what makes you like a movie so very much? I’ve wondered as I’ve watched it so many times.

Although I’m not a creative person but I can fairly understand creativity. Many times I’ve wondered what makes me not like other movies & what makes me like this movie so very much.

So many great directors, writers, actors, producers & other artists spend a lot of their time, money, energy & other resources to make a movie as they believe in it but I just can’t like those.

This movie has something that makes it different from others & even after watching it so many times I cannot stop myself from watching it again. The movie is always so very fresh for me whenever I watch it. I can even watch it many times in one day.

If something like this happens to you then you’ll get its answer at the end of this blog.

My friend Rupesh watched The Dark Knight & after watching he wanted all his friends to watch it. He was just unable to stop himself from appreciating about it every moment with every person he met. He just used to talk about how Bruce Wayne (Batman) competes with the Joker to save Gotham City.

Although I had read many Batman comics & watched its TV shows but I thought that Rupesh was just exaggerating & it can’t be such a masterpiece.

After some weeks I came to know that The Dark Knight was a mega blockbuster globally. It made me curious & got a desire to watch it. Many of my friends were also very curious to watch it as it was Heath Ledger’s last movie who played Joker in it passed away before the movie released. Many thought that his hard work in the movie had stressed him very much.

He was suffering from insomnia, anxiety, common cold, & was taking many medicines for those disorders & passed away because of combined drug intoxication.

Many of my friends who had watched it wanted me to watch it as they thought that 1 of my activity i.e. tossing a coin before making important decisions is what Harvey Dent/2 Face played by Aaron Eckhart does in the movie.

They had increased my curiosity & I was very eager to watch it. I went with my 3 friends to watch it unfortunately only 3 tickets were left & we were 4. You may think that as usual I sacrificed but no I purposely didn’t watch it as I had not seen its first part “Batman Begins” & I thought that I may not understand the second part that well.

After some months I watched it. Although I liked it but didn’t understand it that well as I hadn’t seen its first part. I then watched its first part Batman Begins at 1:30 am. Although I was tired & feeling sleepy I still managed to watch it & lost my sleep as the movie was so gripping & intriguing.

I slept after that got up the next day & watched it again. 1 of the best scenes in it is Bruce Wayne purposely getting arrested in China to beat criminals in Chinese jails.

After some days I watched The Dark Knight again & liked it so very much. I found it somewhat philosophical it’s indeed beautiful, gripping, intriguing, & remarkable.

The movie revolves around 2 philosophies 1 is Joker’s Philosophy i.e. People are nice as the world allows them to be & when the chips are down even civilised people will eat each other & Batman’s philosophy is of self-righteousness. He wants to prove Joker wrong & inspire people to be righteous.

One of my favourite scenes in it is when Harvey Dent points Joker’s gun to Joker’s head & tosses his coin to check if he should kill him or not & Joker is so very confident that he won’t die shows his courage. I like this scene as I’ve tossed my coin many times before taking important decisions. Maybe because of this Rupesh wanted me to watch it & some of my friends used to call me 2 Face.

The movie has some great lines like “But the night is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you ... the dawn is coming.” – Harvey Dent.

“You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

In the end also Batman tells Gordon that he is whatever Gotham wants him to be & takes Harvey Dent’s blame.

The movie couldn’t have become such a super blockbuster of 2008 without Hans Zimmer. Is he an incarnation of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or Lord of music? All his creations are just incredibly marvellous. If I’ll get an opportunity to be some1 in my next birth then I would prefer to be Hans Zimmer.

The sound of Joker i.e. sound of Anarchy which he created by mixing 2 nodes is a mood intensifier. It’s simple yet so gripping. It gives feeling of anarchy & tension. It makes feel that something serious is going to happen & increases curiosity. Also Batman’s sound & many more.

I appreciate every person associated with this movie as they all have done an incredibly remarkable work. A special thanks to Nolan brothers ‘Christopher & Jonathan’

Returning to my thought why I like it so very much well maybe because it’s somewhat philosophical & I’m also somewhat philosophical. Being somewhat philosophical I was able to understand its philosophical part which many movie critics didn’t speak or write about.

Another reason can be a person’s belief in the movie & its characters. Also finding some something that one wants to do or does played by the movie characters.

So dear reader if you can tolerate some violent scenes & are a fan of Christopher Nolan, Hans Zimmer, Heath Ledger,  Christian Bale, Aaron Eckhart,  Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman & gorgeous Maggie Gyllenhaal then it’s a must watch movie.

Benefits of Meditation before sleep

Sleeping is my favourite activity. It is something I like to do the most.

It charges our body. Just like if we won't charge our mobile phone's or laptop's battery completely it won't work for the number of hours it should similarly we aren't able to function at our best if we won't sleep properly.

Unfortunately so many people around the globe aren't able to sleep properly at night. So many times we see some dreams. Sometimes good & bad.  Good dreams are fine but bad may disturb sleep sometimes & if one remembers it then he/she may not feel nice the next day as well.

To get a good night's sleep many people take medicines. Medicines may not be bad for many people but many get addicted to it after some months & without it they aren't able to sleep. After some years they've to increase its dose also.

In this post I'm sharing some benefits of meditation before going to sleep. If 1 meditates properly before sleep it dissolves entire day's tension or tensions & worries of tomorrow.

Every thought creates a circuit in our Central Nervous System. One is far from peace if that thought or thoughts are negative & thus circuit in Central Nervous System is negative. The negative thoughts i.e. negative circuits in Central Nervous System don't allow to sleep properly. Sometimes these negative thoughts i.e. Negative Circuits integrate so rapidly making one unable to sleep properly for many days.

Practicing meditation for 20 to 30 minutes before sleep dissolves negative thoughts & thus destroys negative circuit in Central Nervous System & helps us to get a good night sleep.

Meditation is simple. Just sit quietly in a good posture with straight back bone, close your eyes. Keep your hands & feet relaxed. If possible try Padmasana & just concentrate your breath. Don't cultivate any thoughts in your mind be it good thoughts. Also ignore any type of unnecessary sound or voice. Just concentrate your breath. You may find it difficult initially so you may keep some not heavy cloth material on your head like a folded bed-sheet. It enhances the meditation process.

Prayer is also a part of meditation. People who aren't good at meditation or can't meditate may even pray for 20 to 30 minutes. It helps to avoid bad or dangerous dreams while at sleep.

If done regularly it rejuvenates our body & soul. One will remain more energetic, enthusiastic & small situations won't irate us. Sleep also improves digestion process & if food properly gets digested then stomach upset problem becomes less.

1 will certainly find a lot of positive change if it’s practiced for atleast 1 month rigorously every night before sleep. If practiced every night then there is also a possibility of a decrease in intake of sleep medicines.

An economical way to enhance mood with Lemon

Scientists at Tel Aviv University suggest that citrus fragrances – particularly lemon – can alleviate depression & boost our mood.

Lemon smell indeed boosts serotonin levels (a feel-good hormone) & lowers levels of norepinephrine (a stress hormone)

Putting lemon juice in bathing water is also beneficial & can enhance your mood.

It is also a natural bleaching agent.

References: -

Scientists at Tel Aviv University. 7 simple ways to make your day better. http://www.realbuzz.com/articles/7-simple-ways-to-make-your-day-better/ (accessed June 12, 2012).