Emotional Intelligence

Since the inception of humanity, man has been trying to 'know' things. Not knowing makes him restless and vulnerable. Hence he tried to find to the things tangible or intangible, and so did he began his search.

At the turn of 19 the century when psychology was not a established science  a concept of intelligence was introduced. It was elaborated, researched, studied and established. The quest did not settle there. In the final decades of 20th century a young Psychological researcher named Daniel Goleman put forth for the first time the concept and theory of Emotional Intelligence (EQ).

To elaborate further for the reader to understand, Emotional Intelligence (EI) comprises of five fundamental factors.
They are:

1)Self Awareness

2) Self Regulations

3) Empathy

4) Self Motivation

5) Managing Relations

These facets of Emotional Intelligence contribute significantly on how a person behaves, or what personality he or she projects.

Moreover the ability of a person to succeed mostly depend on these facets of Emotional Intelligence. Whereas  cognitive intelligence merely contribute 1/5 th to a persons success.

Good emotional intelligence also ensures good health and good attitude.

A person having strong emotional intelligence is  satisfied and at peace with himself. A quality essential for spiritual unfolding of an individual.

All in all, be keen to keep yourself emotionally intelligent and spread the joys of knowing things and people.

Smart Food For Smart Mind

In order to gain in sound and happy mind one must deligently work on one's food intially.

In this reference a great Indian sage Ramanujacharya a proponent of Vishista Advaita i.e. qualified non dualism, gives following guidelines.

Food contains all energies that go up to make forces of our body and mind. Thus difference between body, mind and the food we eat is but of manifestation only. It being so, that out of the material particles of our food we construct the instrument of thought, and that from the finer forces lodged in these particles we manufacture thought itself. Hence it naturally follows that both instrument and the thought will be modified by the food we take.

According to Ramanuja, there are three things in food we must avoid.

1) Jati: 
The nature or the species of the food. All exciting food must be avoided as meat, onions, garlics etc. Any food that has been standing for days, till its condition is changed, any food whose natural juices have almost dried up, any food that is mal odorous should be avoided

2) Ashraya:

The person from whom it comes. The idea that each man has some aura around him and whatever thing he touches, a part of his character, as it were, his influence, is left on it. So we must take care who touches our food when it is cooked. A wicked, imnmoral person must not touch it.

3) Nimitta:

The instruments. Dirt and dust must not be in food. Food should not be brought from the market and placed on the table unwashed. We must be careful of saliva and other secretions. Again, we must not eat food, half of which has been eaten by someone else.

When these things are avoided in food, it becomes pure; pure food brings up a pure mind, and in pure mind is a smart and happy mind.

Recreation and Meditation

Man is made up of various spheres of existence. These are body, mind, energy, knowledge and soul. In oriental countries this is called as the ‘Five Sheath’ theory of existence. As a matter of fact anxiety, fear, lack of confidence being the states of mind, meditation is a very effective way of managing and relieving all these unwanted mental states.

Meditation is a technique to attain a state of fine concentration through which you get peace and satisfaction of mind. There are many forms of meditation and they all seek the same end result. Here we shall see an exercise of breathing that shall calm your mind and drive away your fear and panic. The steps of practicing the breathing exercise for meditating are:

1)      Posture: This is important because it provides a impetus for the act of concentration. One must sit in an erect posture by folding your legs as in the posture of Siddhasana. The head, the neck and the spine should fall in single line.

2)      Focus: One must close his/her eyes and focus on the singular point in the middle of both eyes internally.

3)      Breathing: Steady deep breathing should be practiced and the inhalation and exhalation process should be witnessed.

4)      Duration: One may practice this exercise minimum for 10 minutes and can extend the time as per the stamina and convenience.

5)      Consistency: One must follow a routine in order to achieve result. Fixed a proper time of a day may be morning or evening, and stick to it. Do not change the time frequently. The meditation exercise should be done daily without fail.

Autism- Signs in Pre-School Children

Signs of possible ASD in pre-school children

Your child may

1) not speak as well as would be expected for a child of their age,  or may not speak at all

2) not appear to notice other people around them

3) not respond to other people’s facial expressions or feelings

4) have little or no imagination or not pretend when playing

5)not be interested in other children or play with them

6) not take turns when playing

7) not share enjoyment or happiness

8) have problems with non-verbal communication (for example,  eye contact, facial expressions)

9) not point at objects to get someone else to look at them

10) have problems looking to see where another person is looking  (known as ‘gaze monitoring’)

11) not start activities or play

12) use unusual repetitive hand and finger movements or react, or not react at all, to particular sounds or sights

Working With Teachers and Schools

Many teachers say that they don’t often receive information from parents about problems at home. Many parents say that they don’t know what the school expects from their children—or from them. Sharing information is essential and both teachers and parents are responsible for making it happen.

The following questions and answers can help you to get the most out of talking to your child’s teacher or with other school staff members.

Q: What do I do first?

Learn everything that you can about your child’s school. The more you know, the easier your job as a parent will be. Ask for a school handbook. This will answer many questions that will arise over the year. If your school doesn't have a handbook, ask questions. Ask the principal and teachers, for example: What classes does the school offer? Which classes are required? What are your expectations for my child? How does the school measure student progress? Does it meet state standards? What are the school’s rules and regulations?

Ask about specific teaching methods and materials—are the methods based on evidence about what works best in teaching reading or math? Are the science and history textbooks up to date?

Ask if the school has a Web site and, if so, get the address. School Web sites can provide you with read access to all kinds of information—schedules of events, names of people to contact, rules and regulations and so forth.

Keep informed throughout the school year. If your schedule permits, attend PTA meetings. If you are unable to attend, ask that the minutes of the meetings be sent to you. Or, find out if the school makes these minutes available on its Website.

Q: When should I talk with my child’s teacher?

Early and often! Contact your child’s teacher or teachers at the beginning of the year or as soon as you can. Get acquainted and show your interest.

Tell teachers what they need to know about your child. If she has special needs, make these known from the beginning.

If you notice a big change in your child’s behavior, school performance or attitude during the school year, contact the teacher immediately. Report cards are one indication of how well your child is doing in school. But you also need to know how things are going between report cards. For example, if your son is having trouble in math, contact the teacher to find out when he has his next math test and when it will be returned to him. This allows you to address a problem before it mushrooms into something bigger. Call the teacher if your son doesn’t understand an assignment or if he needs extra help to complete an assignment. You may also want to find out if your child’s teachers use e-mail to communicate with parents. Using e-mail will allow you to send and receive messages at times that are most convenience for you.

Q: What if my child has a problem, such as with homework or not understanding what’s happening in class?

Contact the teacher as soon as you suspect that your child has problem with his schoolwork. Schools have a responsibility to keep you informed about your child’s performance and behavior and you have a right to be upset if you don’t find out until report-card time that your child is having difficulties. On the other hand, you may figure out that a problem exists before the teacher does. By alerting the teacher, you can work together to solve a problem in its early stages.

Request a meeting with the teacher to discuss problems. Tell her briefly why you want to meet. You might say, “Tim is having trouble with his social studies homework. I’m worried about why he can’t finish the assignments and what we might do to help him.” If English is your second language, you may need to make special arrangements, such as including in the meeting someone who is bilingual.

Approach the teacher with a cooperative spirit. Believe that the teacher wants to help you and your child, even if you disagree about something. Don’t go to the principal without first giving the teacher a chance to work out the problem with you and your child.

Q: How do I get the most out of parent-teacher meetings?

Be prepared to listen as well as to talk. It helps to write out questions before you leave home. Also jot down what you want to tell the teacher. Be prepared to take notes during the meetings and ask for an explanation if you don’t understand something.

In meetings, the teacher should offer specific details about your child’s work and progress. If your child has already received some grades, ask how your child is being evaluated.

Talk about your child’s talents, skills, hobbies, study habits and any special sensitivity such as concern about weight or speech difficulties. Tell the teacher if you think your child needs special help and about any special family situation or event that might affect your child’s ability to learn. Mention such things as a new baby, an illness or a recent or an upcoming move.

Ask about specific ways to help your child at home. Try to have an open mind. At home, think about what the teacher has said and then follow up. If the teacher has told you that your child needs to improve in certain areas, check back in a few weeks to see how things are going.

Q: What if I don’t agree with a school rule or with a teacher’s assignments?

First, don’t argue with the teacher in front of your child. Set up a meeting to talk about the issue. Before the meeting, plan what you are going to say—why you think a rule is unfair or what exactly you don’t like about an assignment. Get your facts straight and don’t rely on anger to win your argument. Try to be positive and remain calm. Listen carefully.

If the teacher’s explanation doesn't satisfy you, arrange to talk with the principal or even the school superintendent. Do not feel intimidated by titles or personalities. An educator’s primary responsibility is to ensure the success of each and every student in his classroom, school or district.

Q: What’s the best way for me to stay involved in my child’s school activities?

Attend school events. Go to sports events, attend parent-teacher meetings and awards events, such annual functions etc.

Volunteer in your school. If your schedule permits, look for ways to help out at your child’s school. Schools often send home lists of ways in which parents can get involved.

Q: What if I don’t have time to volunteer as much as I would like?

Even if you can’t volunteer to do work at the school building, you can help your child learn when you’re at home. The key question is, “What can I do at home, easily and in a few minutes a day, to reinforce and extend what the school is doing?” This is the involvement that every family can and must provide.

The schools also need to take steps so that parents feel good about what they’re doing at home and know they’re helping.

Helping Your Child with Test-Taking

You can be a great help to your child if you will observe these do’s and don’ts about tests and testing:

Do talk to your child about testing. It’s helpful for children to understand why schools give tests and to know the different kinds of tests they will take. Explain that tests are yardsticks that teachers, schools, school districts and even states use to measure what and how they teach and how well students are learning what is taught. Most tests are designed and given by teachers to measure students’ progress in a course. These tests are associated with the grades on report cards. The results tell the teacher and students whether they are keeping up with the class, need extra help or are ahead of other students.

The results of some tests tell schools that they need to strengthen courses or change teaching methods. Still other tests compare students by schools, school districts or cities. All tests determine how well a child is doing in the areas measured by the tests.

Tell your child that occasionally, he will take “standardized” tests. Explain that these tests use the same standards to measure student performance across the state or even across the country. Every student takes the same test according to the same rules. This makes it possible to measure each student’s performance against that of others.

•  Do encourage your child. Praise her for the things that she does well. If your child feels good about herself, she will do her best on a test. Children who are afraid of failing are more likely to become anxious when taking tests and more likely to make mistakes.
• Do meet with your child’s teacher as often as possible to discuss his progress. Ask the teacher to suggest activities for you and your child to do at home to help prepare for tests and to improve your child’s understanding of schoolwork.
• Do make sure that your child attends school regularly. Remember, tests reflect children’s overall achievement. The more effort and energy your child puts into learning, the more likely it is that he will do well on tests.
• Do provide a quiet, comfortable place for studying at home and make sure that your child is well rested on school days and especially on the day of a test. Children who are tired are less able to pay attention in class or to handle the demands of a test.
• Do provide books and magazines for your child to read at home. By reading new materials, a child will learn new words that might appear on a test. Ask your child’s teacher for lists of books for outside reading or get suggestions from your local library.
• Don’t get upset because of a single test score. Many things can influence how your child does on a test. She might not have felt well on test day or she might have been too nervous to concentrate. She might have had an argument with a friend before the test or she might have been late to school because the school bus got caught in traffic. Remember, one test is simply one test.
• Don’t place so much emphasis on your child’s test scores that you lose sight of her well being. Too much pressure can affect her test performance. In addition, she may come to think that you will only love her if she does well on tests.
• Do help your child avoid test anxiety. It’s good for your child to be concerned about taking a test. It’s not good for him to develop “test anxiety.” Test anxiety is worrying too much about doing well on a test. It can mean disaster for your child. Students with test anxiety can worry about success in school and about their future success. They can become very self-critical and lose confidence in their abilities. Instead of feeling challenged by the prospect of success, they become afraid of failure. If your child worries too much about taking tests, you can help to reduce the anxiety by encouraging the child to do the following things.

—Plan ahead. Start studying for the test well in advance. Make sure that you understand what material the test will cover. Try to make connections about what will be on the test and what you already know. Review the material more than once.

—Don’t “cram” the night before. This will likely increase your anxiety, which will interfere with clear thinking. Get a good night’s sleep.

—When you get the test, read the directions carefully before you begin work. If you don’t understand how to do something, ask the teacher to explain.

—Look quickly at the entire text to see what types of questions are on it (multiple choice, matching, true/false, essay). See if different questions are worth different numbers of points. This will help you to determine how much time to spend on each part of the test.

—If you don’t know the answer to a question, skip it and go on. Don’t waste time worrying about one question. Mark it and, if you have time at the end of the test, return to it and try again.

After the Test

Your child can learn a great deal from reviewing a graded exam paper. Reviewing will show him where he had difficulty and, perhaps, why. This is especially important for classes in which the material builds from one section to the next, as in math. Students who have not mastered the basics of math are not likely to be able to work with fractions, square roots, beginning algebra and so on.

Discuss the wrong answers with your child and find out why he chose the answers.

Sometimes a child didn't understand or misread a question. Or, he may have known the correct answer but failed to make his answer clear.

You and your child should read and discuss all comments that the teacher writes on a returned test. If any comments aren't clear, tell your child to ask the teacher to explain them.

Early to bed early to rise makes Jack a good boy!

All through generations parents are trying to preach their kids the goodness of getting into bed early and rising early in the morning. Well that seems to work for many, but most of the children are not convinced of the fact. They tend to slumber at the toll of midnight and wake up when the heat of morning Sun feels greater than that of their blanket.

If you understand the reason for following the reason of going to bed early and rising early, shall benefit you a lot. We as humans have some rhythms to follow in our life. Most of our rhythms are biological. By rhythms it is meant a particular pattern of periodicity. Some rhythms are annual called circannual rhythms, some are monthly and some follow a daily pattern.

Sleep is a circadian rhythm, i.e. the pattern is repeated every 24 hours after. If we have day light to work, them we have night to sleep. This is the law of this biological rhythm. By obeying this law we can have the following benefits:

1. Healthy heart

Staying up late in the night is a way to torture your body with high blood pressure and cholesterol. These are the risks associated with the heart. If you do not want to worsen the situation get sufficient sleep.

2. Reduced stress

A peaceful sleep in the night relieves physical and mental stress that is caused during the process of regular activities. It relaxes the body and mind. With insufficient sleep you are risking your health with heart strokes and other diseases.

3. Enhances memory

Sleeping early lets your mind arrange the thoughts well. Waking up early with a fresh mind will repossess all of it.

4. Protects you from diseases

By sleeping late in the night you are only stressing yourself which will increase the blood pressure and cholesterol levels. This routine can affect you with cancer and other heart diseases for life. So sleep early and let your body maintain the pressure levels constant.

5. Gives time for breakfast

Breakfast is very important to kick start the day. And most of the times as we wake up late we miss it. To ensure food to our intestines waking up early in the morning and breaking the fast by 10 a.m is very important.

6. Positive performance

Sleeping continuously for at least 7 hours in the night is necessary. Inadequate sleep will curb your ability to think creatively, cope up with stress and concentrate. All these stress factors will have a negative impact on your performance.

7. Helps metabolism

Our body needs to send away all the unwanted waste from within. Sleeping through the day till noon will disorganize the exile. We need to eat and sleep on time to maintain energy.

8. Reduce the risk of cancer

Sleep in the dark. Light in the night reduces the melatonin level which is supposed to cause sleep and prevent the risk of cancer. So make your room dark and sleep early in the night allowing your body to produce melatonin.

9. Boosts energy

Sleeping early will let you complete your 7 hours of sleep and makes you fresh the next morning. It gives you the energy to perform better. An alert mind can also concentrate well.

10. Maintains weight

When you sleep too late your organism is disturbed. Sleeping for less than 7 hours a day is an invitation to obesity. The hormones that impact appetite are troubled by lack of sleep which leads to sudden weight loss.

So start going to bed early, and rise early!

Happy Sleeping!

Time Pass- Think Wise !!

Having seen the craziness about the newly released Marathi movie- Timepass, I wonder of the aftermath on the minds and behavior of teens. Nevertheless the movie is grossing good at the box office and it is a thorough entertainer, meant only for the purpose of entertainment, one should beware of the outcomes!

Movies form an integral part of post modern culture every where in the world. Many a times they have serious implications on the lives of people in the society. Conversely some real life is shown on the reel life. If we were to talk of this Marathi movie or the movies of like genre, I feel it may have the following outcome on the class of today's highly exposed and vulnerable young adults-

1) Propensity to fall in immature, unrealistic relationships.

2) Increase in impulsive behavior.

3) Loosening of morals.

4) Unnecessary struggle in life for worthless accomplishments!

5) Taking the parents and their care for them as obstacle/hindrance.

6) Loosing the charm of life at a early and tender age.

Teenagers are like those toddler's who have learnt to speak and walk recently but lack the exactitude of judgement. Whilst they want to secure their freedom at any cost to unconditionally enjoy the mirth of life. Here is where a real guiding force required. Someone to lend them a hand, sit along them, cherish their fantasies, direct their energy, motivate and inspire for the higher purpose of life- A true Friend-Philosopher-Guide.

A movie like this shall entertain them, but may unknowingly grab their mind, and they shall imitate the same picture in their life. Some may even try to elicit the favorable situations in order to fulfill the aspiration, which is cause for most of the blunders in a life of an young adult.

One of our faculties of learning is through imitation. I think society holds the responsibility to give these teenagers some good stuff to imitate.

Think Wise! Act Wise!

A Case of an Angel

Some months ago in the clinic, there arrived a couple from Mumbai with their only child. The kid was about 5 yrs of age with no apparent illness. I startef with the detailed case history and to my surprise that kid had history of frequent and severe seissures and was diagnosed as epileptic kid.

Having tried many treatment procedures the parents were helpless to find any cure.

I with my colleague took the callenge and started a holistic treatment plan. We arrived at a no seissure state with the kid at about end of 3 months. Whilst there was no evidence of any organic cause, more emphasis was paid to psychological cause.

The crux of the case lied in its psychopathology. The kid was suffering from injustice occuring to him as a part of pregnancy blues of the mother.

The point was hit and the case solved.

Working Memory and Academic Skills

Working memory is perhaps the most important thinking skill for academic performance. Verbal working memory plays a powerful role in reading comprehension, phonological awareness, and completing math word problems. Visual working memory is often significantly impaired in children who struggle in the area of mathematics.

Reading

• Working Memory is important while learning how to decode words.

• Working Memory helps when kids are trying to remember specific parts of a story.

• Working Memory aids in recalling previously learned vocabulary while reading.

Math:

• Working Memory helps when kids are trying to keep track of multi-step problems.

• Working Memory is important while trying to recall the proper methods for solving problems.

• Working Memory aids in recalling and applying problem solving strategies.

Writing:

• Working Memory is important for keeping multiple ideas in mind at once.

• Working Memory helps kids to be aware of the proper ways to structure sentences and paragraphs.

• Working Memory helps when kids are trying to

recall spelling and grammar rules.

Working Memory- A Classroom Need

Working memory plays an important role in supporting children’s learning over the school years, and beyond this into adulthood. Working memory is crucially required to store information while other material is being mentally manipulated during the classroom learning activities that form the foundations for the acquisition of complex skills and knowledge. A child with a poor working memory capacity will struggle and often fail in such activities, disrupting and delaying learning.

Working memory is the term used to refer to a system responsible for temporarily storing and manipulating information. It functions as a mental workspace that can be flexibly used to support everyday cognitive activities that require both processing and storage such as, mental arithmetic. However, the capacity of working memory is limited, and the imposition of either excess storage or processing demands in the course of an on-going cognitive activity will lead to great loss of information from this temporary memory system.

A good example of an everyday activity that uses working memory is mental arithmetic. Imagine, for example, attempting to multiply two numbers (e.g., 43, 27) spoken to you by another person, without being able to use a pen and paper or a calculator. First of all, you would need to hold the two numbers in working memory. The next step would be to use learned multiplication rules to calculate the products of successive pairs of numbers, adding to working memory the new products as you proceed. Finally, you would need to add the products held in working memory, resulting in the correct solution.

To do this successfully, it is necessary to store the two numbers, and then systematically apply multiplication rules, storing the intermediate products that are generated as we proceed through the stages of the calculation. Without working memory, we would not be able to carry out this kind of complex mental activity in which we have to both keep in mind some information while processing other materials. Carrying out such mental activities is a process that is effortful and error prone. A minor distraction such as an unrelated thought springing to mind or an interruption by someone else is likely to result in complete loss of the stored information, and so in a failed calculation attempt. As no amount of effort will allow us to remember again the lost information, the only course of action is to start the calculation afresh.

Our abilities to carry out such calculations are limited by the amount of information we have to store and process. Multiplying larger numbers (e.g., 142 and 891) “in our heads” is for most of us out of the question, even though it does not require greater mathematical knowledge than the earlier example. The reason we cannot do this is that the storage demands of the activity exceed the capacity of working memory.

Hence a deliberate attempt should be made for development of working memory among school going children.

The basics of a hassle free life!

Man has been striving through ages to seek happiness and his his efforts has always been looked down by the nature. Nevertheless the urge to remain happy continues. Happiness and misery are but two sides of the same coin. In this ever lasting endeavor if there is solace where man can find refuge, he shall always try and seek that opportunity.

In this focus of light let me tell you four very basic tenants of happiness:

1) Love

2) Knowledge

3) Peace

4) Bliss

These four facets are but the manifestation of the ultimate reality where one is never deluded by the the mirage of hope. Here is the abode of the unlimited happiness where one can rip the fruit of his long lasting endeavors.

This state needs a very ardent exercise. But one can find its glimpse in the following method of way of living life. In living the life of a peaceful and blissful nature always remember to:

1) Love Yourself

2) Respect Yourself

3) Forgive Yourself

4) Accept Yourself as it is....

This is the mantra of life, so stay tuned and stay happy!  

Mental Immunity...!

Today I am going to share the secret of immunity with you! Let us read this case, the other day I had a patient coming to me who was a young man of mid 30's working in an IT company. He had a very busy working schedule and pressure was mounting on him day by day.

Apparently he had come to the clinic with complaints of itching and rash on the skin which was wide spread.

When interrogated in detail he had nothing in specific as allergic reaction nor had he some bad eating habit or regimen. A further inquiry revealed his tremendous work pressure and the necessity to comply the deadlines and handle the superiors. His bosses were too demanding to get the work done from this guy. Moreover a subtle polity ran in the office, which the patient of ours did not like at all. The peers had a competitive edge instead of been cooperative. The poor guy was sick of all this and got irritated when coming home everyday.

In the light of this scenario I found the irritant for the itching and rash of the patient. The life space situation in which the patient lived had been irritating him. He had become allergic to the situation and people. This all had breached his Mental Immunity.

Friends we have long known immunity. Today the kind of immunity I am talking to you is a type of immunity that is very subtle in its existence but influences our life and health in a gross way. The immunity of mind. This a strong immune force that cannot be reckoned with, if we maintain it. And when breached the disease force traverses the mind to reach the body making you suffer. Maintain your Mental Immunity to enjoy the unlimited benefit of unending health.

Stay Happy, Stay Immune!

Leaders in Making!

Recently I bumped into the birthday party of a small kid. It was because my niece that I had to be there and I thought, well its all children, so lets go!

Amazingly it was a feast for a me! All children loaded with excitement and surprises. These kids were of 8 to 12 yrs of age, some 10 of them in number. What stunned me was their complete sense of planning and organization. When we went there, me and my niece, kids had just returned from their respective schools. All they knew was that they are gonna have a birthday party that evening. With the birthday girl inviting all her friends early that day and the day before, she had planned nothing for the event.

It all started with a initiative by some two smart girls, one been my niece, and the plan was drawn. They had to party for just 2 hours. So keeping the time constraint in mind they derived an idea to have a dance and drama performances by all kids in front of the parents and guests. I was witnessing the saga, with what pace and coordination the plan was been executed. They had amazing sense of responsibility and a desire to perform in front of all present there. They first selected the location- the terrace. Then they divided themselves in two groups- one for drama other for drama. A compere was selected who had great sense of humor and presence of mind. They wrote the script of the drama, rehearsed the dialogues and got the costume and stage arrangements handy. The other group selected the song, choreographed it and also made a participant to sing it for the show as there was no sound and music arrangements.

The show was ready. The kids had worked smart, they called the parents, I was with the kids witnessing the zeal. They had made the seating arrangements. Wow! It was a evening that the parents and guests will remember long. The kids delivered the performances with triumph! There was a loud applause from the parents. We wished the birthday girl long life and cut the cake. Kids were satisfied with the evening. 

I saw a link of efficient organization in them, qualities those people need to learn when they grow adult. These came innately with the kids. The time management, team work, leadership, execution, win win agenda, and satisfaction at the last. May god nurture these kids to become next generation leaders.  

Common Cold- Part II

Usefull things to do during Common Cold:

1) Lime Juice with 8 to 10 drops of Honey

2) Boil 1/2 cup of water with 2 petals of garlic and serve

3) For col and cough : Crush small amount of ginger, boil it in water, add 1tsf honey to it and serve.

4) For cold and dry cough: Cut 6-7 ladies finger add 1 cup of water and boil it, inhale this steam. It is best suited for sore throat.

5) Before slee at night drink 1/2 cup boiled milk with 1/4 tsf turmeric. 

Common Cold - Part I

It is so common to experience the cold, then why it is irritating to experience common cold?

Usually in rainy or winter season it is easy to accept that children or even adults may have upper respiratory tract infection i.e. mild or moderate fever and running nose/ chocked nasal cavity, headaches and cough and throat pain etc.

Etiology of URI is mostly viral or many times bacterial and sometimes allergic or even psychological.

Nobody succumbs to any illness even as mild as URI unless there is some underlying cause like collection of ‘toxins’ (waste materials e.g. undigested food end-products) over a period of time. URI is also secondary to some physical and rarely psychological collection of such ‘wastes’.

During rainy season your taste buds are excited to taste oily, spicy, cheesy food and your digestive system is relatively sluggish. This state is explicitly described in Ayurvedic texts and most of the Indian grand parents know it by experience.

So if you are dumping such food items frequently in your tummy even when you are not feeling hungry, then mind you, such food needs extra energy to get digested within your digestive system.

In this course of time if at all your body faces a viral attack- where your immune system needs more energy, it faces acute lack of the same because the energy is already been used by digestive system in excess. Hence you succumb to URI.

Hence during URI consume easily digestible carbohydrates, proteins and less fat, less fibers, sufficient vitamins and minerals to ensure early recovery and no complications like lower respiratory tract infection.

This is a golden rule justifiable in many diseased conditions. We would share some more tips to recover form common cold in next part of the series.

Fathers Day Out

For centuries civilization has been harnessing family as a central pillar for social integrity. None the less within-family integrity is a challenging task and for this Father is a force to reckon with. With father around family dwells is a secure way. Children are happy and mother at ease. With great effort and dedication a father performs his duties. Today is a day to restore reverence to this fatherly figure in every family. 

 A dad is someone who

wants to catch you before you fall

but instead picks you up,

brushes you off,

and lets you try again. 

A dad is someone who

wants to keep you from making mistakes

but instead lets you find your own way,

even though his heart breaks in silence

 when you get hurt. 

A dad is someone who,

holds you when you cry,

scolds you when you break the rules,

shines with pride when you succeed, 

and has faith in you even when you fail...

Child Development and Communication Needs and Skills

Discussing the influences of media on children, it is critical to remember their age and developmental stage. Children’s cognitive, emotional, physical and social skills develop as they go through life. As they grow and mature, their needs, abilities, interests and challenges change. The child’s development has direct implications to the way she or he may be able to benefit from media. For example, the older children get, the longer their attention span grows. So while toddlers may be able to listen to a story for only a few minutes at a time, preschoolers may be more attentive and older children stay attuned for much longer. Similarly, while younger children may be able to comprehend very simple language and concrete images, older children are able to process more complicated linguistic and visual expressions.

Various psychological theories on human development are based on the concept of “stage”. The key to stage theories is the understanding of stages as unique periods of development, with each stage typified by its own special behavioral and cognitive characteristics. According to child development and psychological research, all individuals progress through the same stages in a fixed chronological order, although genetic and/or environmental factors can speed up or slow down the rate from one stage to another.

Stages are perceived to be both hierarchical and integrative. This means that more advanced stages are based on earlier ones and advancement results in a “reorganizing” of various skills. Furthermore, these stages are also perceived as universal: Though children grow up in very different cultures and environments and possess very different genetic maps, they seem to generally proceed through the same stages in the same order.

There are various stage theories that highlight cognitive, physical, emotional, social and moral child development. More current theories, based on new research in child development, demonstrate that children have better capabilities and understanding than was previously thought. The new research challenges the concept of stage and offers alternative ways of explaining developmental differences.

More specifically, it focuses not on the child’s deficit in comparison to other children and adults, but on the different ways children interact with their environments and how these interactions change over time. Greater emphasis is now put on the context in which children grow and develop both in the micro-environment of their home, as well as in the more macro-environments of the society and the culture around them. Those approaches revisit some of the basic premises of stage theories suggesting that child development might be more influenced by environmental circumstances and cultural differences than we previously understood. For example, some argue that we should pay attention to children’s developing spiritual needs as well as to other realms of life, including social justice, from the earliest years. Survival, growth and development are all interlinked: each depends on the other and demands that communication be as holistic and integrated as possible.

Finally, there has been tremendous growth in the area of neuroscience and brain research, giving us new information about everything from how the impact of environment affects the brain structure and holistic development of a newborn to how this same brain structure might affect the behavior and comprehension of messages in adolescents.

Enhance Your Immunity While Transformation of Season

Monsoon with its arrival brings refreshing feel and rejuvenating essence to every living thing. And, especially for human beings this season signifies happiness, cheer and enjoyment. A person tends to indulge in unhygienic habits during this season which can get them cold and cough.

Cough cold, flu and some water-borne diseases like cholera, gastroenteritis are recurrently observed health problems throughout rainy season.  But you can easily handle common rainy season problems efficiently with your habitual kitchen ingredients. A modest care can keep the monsoon scrape at bay.

Sustain personal hygiene 

• Wash your hands well with a medicated soap before and after having food. For regular hand wash, a mild sanitizer also aids the purpose. Then apply almond oil or baby cream. Application of Eucalyptus oil will also sanitize the skin.
• Wear clean and easy clothes. Cotton and Synthetic fabrics are favorable during monsoon.
•  For personal hygiene always keep a pair of garments with you while traveling.

Food and Nutrition

Nutrition plays a vital role in such times. Fruits and juices with vitamin C are more helpful. Sporuted pulses add to protein intake and by the way builds body's immune system. Adding dry ginger (sunth) to milk or tea is preferable. 

One must have good and adequate sleep and fair amount of exercise during this season. Monsoon is a wonderful season to cheerish in this part of the world when you tend to be healthy. 

Some Homeopathic medicines like Rhus Tox, Ruta, Pulsatilla, Carbo Veg, Nux Vomica etc serve very good purpose if you fall ill. But these medicines are to be taken under the guidance of a physician only.

Wish you a Happy Monsoon!! 

Colostrum: A supplement you may not know much about- Excerpts from an Interview with Dr. Ruta Sawarkar

Account of an interview of  Dr. Ruta Sawarkar by Mint Business Newspaper columnist Sujata Kelkar Shetty.
First Published: Mon, Apr 22 2013. 06 30 PM IST  by Sujata Kelkar Shetty in Mint Business Newspaper 

Antibodies in colostrum bolster immunity and reduce tissue inflammation

Avinash Inamdar was prone to persistent upper respiratory tract infections, and had been battling chronic fatigue for years. Dr Inamdar, 59, heads the department of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, BJ Medical College, Pune, and he took the tried and tested path of loading himself with antihistamines and antibiotics to fight the infections. He also developed an intolerance to foods like banana and curd. Six weeks ago, he decided to explore a new route, and began a course of cow colostrum supplements.

Colostrum is the first food produced by all mammals during the first 24 hours of lactation and is designed to give a newborn the essential nutrients it needs to thrive. It is abundant in immune factors, growth factors, vitamins and minerals to protect a newborn from infection and help it grow.

Cow colostrum is colostrum from lactating cows. While the calf gets all that it needs during the first day, the remaining colostrum can be used and processed to keep the immune factors and other nutrients biologically active. Cow colostrum is available in India in caplet and powder form.

Its value as an immune enhancer and a nervous system repair agent has been known to Ayurvedic medicine for centuries, and in the last 20 years Western medical research has produced several hundred studies that point to its usefulness as a food supplement which can optimize the health of both healthy and sick adults and children.

The changes in Dr Inamdar’s case were immediate. A month after he started the supplement, the infections stopped, and he feels less fatigued now than he has in the last 10 years. He’s even tried eating bananas and yogurt, and suffered no discomfort.

He was convinced to try the supplement after he was shown the results of the scientific studies done on colostrum by Vinod Marathe, chairman and managing director, Sharp Wellness Solutions Pvt. Ltd, Pune. Dr Marathe advised him to increase his water consumption while taking the supplements, which Dr Inamdar did.

Dr Inamdar credits the change in him to the immune-boosting properties of cow colostrum. When he began taking it, he stopped taking antibiotics and antihistamines. Studies have shown that antibodies and the immune factors in colostrum bolster immunity and reduce tissue inflammation.

Walter L. Hurley from the department of animal sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, US, and his colleague reviewed more than 200 studies on antibodies found in colostrum and milk. The review, published in April 2011 in Nutrientsand titled Perspectives on Immunoglobulins in Colostrum And Milk, suggested it can provide substantial protection from disease, given the concentration of antibodies in cow colostrum, greater than those found in human colostrum, and the fact that the cow antibodies in colostrum are quite resistant to the digestive enzymes found in human stomachs.

“Since inflammation is a major cause of coronary disease and osteoporosis, I plan to continue taking the supplement for a six-month period. And research has shown that it can be safely taken for a six-month period without any side effects,” says Dr Inamdar.

Dr Marathe says that while it is not known if there are side effects if you have it for more than six months, it can be ingested in six-monthly periods to build immunity every couple of years.

Colostrum supplementation isn’t limited to adults.

Ruta Sawarkar, paediatrician, Priyottam Brainberg Clinics & Consulting, Pune, routinely gives cow colostrum caplets to patients. She finds it particularly useful in treating gastroenteritis, coughs and colds. “I find that once the babies are given cow colostrum, they recover in three days when they would normally take a week. They also need less powerful antibiotics, if at all.”

Megha Bharekar, 30, is the mother of a 13-month-old. She gave cow colostrum in half a capsule to her son for two days on Dr Sawarkar’s recommendation when he suffered from gastroenteritis at six months; he recovered within two days.

Dr Sawarkar says that because of the high cost of the supplement, around Rs.160 for 10 capsules, she only recommends it when her patients are sick—but she sees no reason why it can’t be taken as a preventive.

Not everyone agrees. For instance, Anand Shandilya, director and paediatrician, Dr Anand’s Hospital for Children, Jogeshwari (East), Mumbai, says: “While there are studies that have been done on cow colostrum supplements, there aren’t enough rigorous

studies done for me to prescribe it to my patients. I feel very strongly that cow colostrum falls in that grey area of supplements that needs to be studied further and standardized before it can be used in patients.”

Research shows the immune factors, growth factors and nutritional components that make colostrum a potent immune ally could be useful for the strenuous exercisers among us too. Typically, strenuous exercise makes us more prone to upper respiratory tract infections, something you may have experienced if you’ve ever trained heavily in the gym. A research paper by Glen Davison, School of Sports and Exercise Science, University of Kent, UK, in Medicine And Sport Science, published online on 15 October, showed cow colostrum taken over a number of weeks reduces the number of upper respiratory tract infections suffered by athletes.

Another paper published in Preventive Medicine in May 2012 by Kathleen F. Benson and colleagues at NIS Labs, Klamath Falls, Oregon, US, sheds light on how cow colostrum acts as an immune vitamin. Dr Benson’s study looked at the effects of a single dose of colostrum whey or a placebo on healthy people, with blood samples taken 1-2 hours later. The researchers found there was a rapid increase in the ability of monocytes, a particular type of immune cell or white blood cells, to eat infectious bacteria and viruses. Monocytes need to be activated to act as immune vultures and the presence of colostrum immune activators in the stomach triggers an immune reaction throughout the body.

In an email interview, Dr Davisonsaid he too had had similar results “in a study in which we showed that a single dose (only on the day of exercise) has some benefit to immune markers. However, not as large as with longer (weeks) periods of supplementation”. Dr Davison’s study was done on athletes, but “any other group of people that suffer a high incidence of upper respiratory infections because of stress could potentially benefit,” he says.

J.T. Pol, consultant physician, Nikop Hospital, Laxmi Nagar, Phaltan, Satara, Maharashtra, has been prescribing cow colostrum supplements to patients with allergic bronchitis, and finds that after four months of supplementation the incidence of allergies goes down. He has documented these results in several patients and intends to publish the data in a scientific journal.

He has also prescribed colostrum to liver and renal cancer patients and finds that it reduces their pain and the side effects of chemotherapy. Dr Pol himself takes colostrum every morning and evening, half an hour before food. “For preventing illness it is an excellent food supplement,” he says.

But just like any other supplement, do consult your physician before taking colostrum.

Sujata Kelkar Shetty, PhD, writes on public health issues and is a research scientist trained at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, US.