https://www.scmp.com/rss/323949/feed Ranjini Rao is a writer and communications professor based in Bangalore, India. She writes on food, culture, health, travel, and parenting. She runs the food and travel blog, Tadka Pasta, with her partner, and is passionate about sustainable living and open education. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Many women in middle age might relate to Aparna Rao’s challenge with “brain fog”. She is turning 48 this year and has been going through perimenopause – the natural transition to menopause – for the past two years. “It is getting increasingly harder to recall names, words, or recent events. I’m forgetting appointments, losing track of conversations, or misplacing items [ …] It is causing a lack of focus, general cloudiness of mind and sluggishness in thinking,” the marketing consultant based in... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3285060/what-eat-during-perimenopause-gwyneth-paltrows-diet-and-experts-5-dietary-tips?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3285060/what-eat-during-perimenopause-gwyneth-paltrows-diet-and-experts-5-dietary-tips?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Nov 2024 10:15:08 +0000 After 55-year-old Pragya Thakur, a finance and retail planning professional in the US state of New Jersey, developed strange rashes on her ankles and arm in 2016, she visited several dermatologists and tried remedies based on her own research. When nothing worked, a friend recommended she see Dr Ronald Weiss, a farm-based doctor at Ethos Primary Care. While doctors in the United States typically spend no more than 15 minutes on a patient visit, Weiss spends an hour with his. At his clinic on a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3206090/she-lost-18kg-and-her-eczema-cleared-diet-change-30-day-detox-all-thanks-doctors-farm-based-medical?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3206090/she-lost-18kg-and-her-eczema-cleared-diet-change-30-day-detox-all-thanks-doctors-farm-based-medical?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Jan 2023 20:15:16 +0000 Summertime and the living is easy – but also hot and steamy. This time of year can trigger agitation, digestive problems and skin irritations, among many other woes. Ayurveda, India’s 5,000-year-old system of natural medicine, classifies summer as the season of pitta dosha, or body heat, an energy primarily made up of the fire element but also water (think humidity). We asked two well-known Ayurveda experts, Dimple Jangda and Poorvi Bhat Khandige, for their tips on thriving despite the summer... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3180549/10-summer-health-tips-ayurveda-experts-avoid-excess-body?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3180549/10-summer-health-tips-ayurveda-experts-avoid-excess-body?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Jun 2022 23:15:24 +0000 Ayurveda, a 5,000-year-old natural medicine system that originated in India, has been promoted throughout the pandemic as a means of relieving the symptoms of Covid-19, the flu – even the common cold. Two experts in Ayurveda – Nidhi Pandya, a third-generation National Ayurvedic Medical Association-certified practitioner in New York, and Aiswarya Santhosh, a graduate of the Ahalia Ayurveda Medical College in Kerala, India – share their top Ayurvedic remedies for fighting symptoms like sore... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3176587/7-ayurvedic-remedies-experts-say-can-ease-your-cold-flu?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3176587/7-ayurvedic-remedies-experts-say-can-ease-your-cold-flu?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 May 2022 09:15:23 +0000 Ayurveda, India’s 5,000-year-old system of natural medicine, has followers around the world, including in Hollywood. American pop star Katy Perry uses a gut-cleansing treatment rooted in Ayurveda, for instance, and Colombia-born US TV star Sofia Vergara takes capsules of Indian gooseberry – amla – to boost immunity. Scientists estimate that over 30 trillion tiny organisms, collectively known as the microbiome, occupy the human gut. The gut, of course, is responsible for vital processes in the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3168939/8-gut-health-benefits-living-according-ayurveda-indian?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3168939/8-gut-health-benefits-living-according-ayurveda-indian?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Mar 2022 04:45:13 +0000 Nutrition specialists have been making a connection between food and mental health for several years. Depression in particular has become an issue of concern, affecting more than 264 million people across the globe, according to the World Health Organization. The emerging field of nutritional psychiatry that criss-crosses nutrition, dietetics and psychology uses whole foods and nutrients to improve mental well-being and our mental fitness. Harvard-trained nutritional psychiatrist Dr Uma Naidoo... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3134753/more-fruits-nuts-and-seeds-less-alcohol-and-sugary-treats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3134753/more-fruits-nuts-and-seeds-less-alcohol-and-sugary-treats?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 May 2021 18:30:07 +0000 It is not surprising that in India, which has had more than 25 million coronavirus infections and where beds and oxygen tanks are currently in short supply, a recent video on breathing while lying on the stomach, known as the prone position, went viral on Twitter. India’s health ministry followed with a statement recommending Covid-19 patients recovering at home use this method. This type of breathing, to help boost oxygen levels in the blood in patients with breathing difficulties, was... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3134014/simple-breathing-exercise-can-help-covid-19-sufferers-how?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3134014/simple-breathing-exercise-can-help-covid-19-sufferers-how?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 May 2021 20:15:13 +0000 Superfoods seem to be everywhere, touted as a ticket to a disease-free life. Celebrities, from Cindy Crawford to Rihanna, swear by them, as do many social media influencers. But their definition is fuzzy. What are superfoods, really, and how can we use them to gain the greatest health benefits? There is no regulated definition of a superfood, Harvard University’s T H Chan School of Public Health notes on its website. “Generally, a food is promoted to superfood status when it offers high... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3126404/turmeric-beans-chia-seeds-superfoods-their-health?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3126404/turmeric-beans-chia-seeds-superfoods-their-health?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Mar 2021 20:15:16 +0000 With more than 2.68 million Covid-19-related deaths around the world, the social impact of grief has been massive. The pandemic has forced people to uproot traditions, and forgo funerals and rituals, and separated them from loved ones during celebrations and times of need. This collective grief is deepened by rules imposed to mitigate the pandemic. Even the work of the International Grief Council, set up to serve the grieving, has been put on hold. The council was formed when three authors met... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3125919/overcoming-grief-past-life-regression-and-guardian-angels?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3125919/overcoming-grief-past-life-regression-and-guardian-angels?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Mar 2021 09:15:15 +0000 When my mum lost a drawn-out battle with cancer in May 2016, I was left to grieve, thousands of miles away, with just a trail of memories. She had been in a rest home in New Zealand, and I in India. On that day, my sister and I lost so much more: our home, material possessions that defined our childhood, and our family, which had only been held loosely on the fraying thread of mum’s life. We had no access to our parents’ house and no direct contact with our father, who continues to live with our... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3122165/coping-grief-after-mums-death-daughter-writes-book?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3122165/coping-grief-after-mums-death-daughter-writes-book?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Feb 2021 02:45:06 +0000 Here’s something you may not be doing in the morning that you may want to build into your daily routine: scraping your tongue after brushing your teeth. It not only sharpens the taste buds to help you experience subtle nuances of flavour, but also removes toxic build-up from the tongue, says Divya Alter, a New York-based nutritional consultant and Ayurvedic educator, co-founder of Ayurvedic culinary school Bhagavat Life, and Ayurvedic restaurant Divya’s Kitchen in Manhattan, and author of What... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3111415/oil-pulling-ayurveda-practice-gwyneth-paltrow-swears?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3111415/oil-pulling-ayurveda-practice-gwyneth-paltrow-swears?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Nov 2020 07:15:14 +0000 Heard of Plant Pops? They are touted as a healthy alternative to popcorn, with less fat, more protein, and fewer calories. It’s probably why they’re a celebrity favourite, too, with actor and producer Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who prefers them as a snack, and Irish chef and food writer Darina Allen, who says they have an addictive crunchiness. While the packaging refers to them as lotus seeds, they are, in fact, seeds of the water lily, also known as fox nuts. Indian-born Anushi Desai turned her... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3094950/lotus-seeds-super-food-used-ayurveda-and-tcm-why-they-are?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3094950/lotus-seeds-super-food-used-ayurveda-and-tcm-why-they-are?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Jul 2020 21:00:07 +0000 At times of extraordinary stress such as the current coronavirus pandemic, our first line of defence should be to choose a healthy diet, and to reach for natural immunity boosters. To prevent disease and cure infections, the immune system sometimes needs a boost that eating a diet rich in antioxidants found in superfoods may provide. Here are five plant-based ingredients that offer a range of benefits thanks to phytonutrient compounds that protect and enhance health – backed by science and used... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3091045/five-immune-system-superfoods-used-ayurveda-indian?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3091045/five-immune-system-superfoods-used-ayurveda-indian?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Jun 2020 11:15:16 +0000 It’s another busy day at acupressurist Ketan Shah’s house in Bangalore, India, as a long line of patients – many from outside the city – wait for a consultation. Western doctors had diagnosed one patient with moderate obstructive sleep apnoea – a disorder in which breathing stops and starts during sleep. After three months of acupressure treatment with Shah, the teenager has found considerable relief. Shah noted that she had acid reflux, which worsened at night. He advised her to activate... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3044447/finance-professional-turned-healer-uses-acupressure-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3044447/finance-professional-turned-healer-uses-acupressure-and?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Jan 2020 06:15:06 +0000 In the small town of Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu, India, the kitchen in a small café Thaai Vali Iyarkai Unavagam (translated as Natural Food, Mother’s Way) is opened up at daily at 4am. It will serve healthy soups, juices and foods as nourishment and healing remedies to up to 400 patrons a day. They include schoolchildren, diabetics, women with hair loss, arthritis sufferers and others. Ten women work relentlessly to meet the demand, under the guidance of 59-year-old shop owner Maran G. When his... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3033831/how-indian-cafe-serves-natural-health-drinks-and-soups?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3033831/how-indian-cafe-serves-natural-health-drinks-and-soups?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Oct 2019 04:15:07 +0000 In 1986, when the Karnataka government handed a husband-and-wife team of botanists four seeds from the Simarouba glauca tree – also known as the paradise tree – they were told to research its ability to produce biofuel and edible oil, and how it might reclaim wasteland in the Indian state. Three decades on, the paradise tree is providing all that and more – including bringing comfort to cancer patients battling the side effects of chemotherapy. “We refer to this tree as Mother Simarouba,” says... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3018275/paradise-tree-its-health-benefits-and-how-chemotherapy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3018275/paradise-tree-its-health-benefits-and-how-chemotherapy?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Jul 2019 13:00:10 +0000 India has a long history of using natural medicines to treat ailments.   There is a belief that illness can be linked to habitual patterns, which in turn are closely connected to thought processes, emotional health and food preferences. Changing these patterns, practitioners claim, means using ingredients that address all three aspects. Kavita Devgan, nutritionist and author of Ultimate Grandmother Hacks: 50 Kickass Traditional Habits for a Fitter You, believes that Indian spices and plant-based... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3009712/five-indian-healing-foods-ginger-garlic-turmeric?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3009712/five-indian-healing-foods-ginger-garlic-turmeric?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 May 2019 12:00:12 +0000 Yacon, a tuber that grows in the Andean region of South America, was identified as a potential diet food as far back as 1989, in a book by United States government researchers. “Yacon stores carbohydrate in the form of inulin – a polymer composed mainly of fructose,” the US National Research Council’s Advisory Committee on Technology Innovation wrote in Lost Crops of the Incas: Little-known Plants of the Andes with Promise for Worldwide Cultivation. Yacon passes through the digestive tract... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3005237/how-wonder-tuber-yacon-andes-took-root-himalayas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3005237/how-wonder-tuber-yacon-andes-took-root-himalayas?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Apr 2019 02:45:09 +0000 There’s a particular kind of reverence associated with the word chutney in Indian cuisine. It came to me through witnessing my grandmother and mother in the kitchen, cooking up a dozen or so varieties. Growing up in Karnataka, in South India, I have a love for coconut, one of the key ingredients in chutneys here. A chutney in Karnataka is employed in myriad ways – as a side dish for breakfasts of idli or dosa, as a dip for starters such as deep-fried vadas or bondas, or as a condiment in a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/2092608/chutney-everything-you-need-know-about-indias-favourite?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/2092608/chutney-everything-you-need-know-about-indias-favourite?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 May 2017 23:31:38 +0000 Vegetarianism has a long history in India, followed since ancient times by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains. There are regional variations throughout the vast country, as well as class differences. In Karnataka in southwest India, the food is infused with spices and flavourings exclusive to the state. How Indians are embracing the superfoods all around them In the capital city, Bangalore, there’s a well-defined vegetarian trail – one that not only spans different meals, but also includes regional... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/2065285/insiders-guide-bangalores-best-places-vegetarian-food?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/2065285/insiders-guide-bangalores-best-places-vegetarian-food?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Jan 2017 00:30:15 +0000