What a lemon can do for you?

Lemon is an inexpensive, easily available citrus fruit, popular for its culinary and medicinal uses. It is used to prepare a variety of food recipes such as lemon cakes, lemon chicken and beverages like lemonade and lemon-flavored drinks. It is also used for garnishing. Lemon juice consists of about 5% citric acid that gives a tarty taste to lemon. Lemon is a rich source of vitamin C. It also contains vitamins like vitamin B, riboflavin and minerals like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium as well as proteins and carbohydrates. Lemon is generally consumed in the form of lemon juice or lemon water. Lemon water makes a healthy drink, especially when taken in the morning. Daily consumption of lemon water provides a number of health benefits.

1. Good for stomach:  Lemon can help relieve many digestion problems when mixed with hot water. These include nausea, heartburn and parasites. Due to the digestive qualities of lemon juice, symptoms of indigestion such as heartburn, bloating and belching are relieved. By drinking lemon juice regularly, the bowels are aided in eliminating waste more efficiently. Lemon acts as a blood purifier and as a cleansing agent. The intake of lemon juice can cure constipation. It is even known to help relieve hiccups when consumed as a juice. Lemon juice acts as a liver tonic and helps you digest your food by helping your liver produce more bile. It decreases the amount of phlegm produced by your body. It is also thought to help dissolve gallstones 
2. Excellent for Skin Care: Lemon, being a natural antiseptic medicine, can participate to cure problems related to skin. Lemon is a vitamin C rich citrus fruit that enhances your beauty, by rejuvenating skin from within and thus bringing a glow on your face. Daily consumption of lemon water can make a huge difference in the appearance of your skin. It acts as an anti-aging remedy and can remove wrinkles and blackheads. Lemon water if applied on the areas of burns can fade the scars. As lemon is a cooling agent, it reduces the burning sensation on the skin
3. Aids in Dental Care: Lemon water is used in dental care also. If fresh lemon juice is applied on the areas of toothache, it can assist in getting rid of the pain. The massages of lemon juice on gums can stop gum bleeding. It gives relief from bad smell and other problems related to gums 
4. Cures Throat Infections: Lemon is an excellent fruit that aids in fighting problems related to throat infections, sore throat and tonsillitis as it has an antibacterial property. For sore throat, dilute one-half lemon juice with one-half water and gargle frequently 
5. Good for Weight Loss: One of the major health benefits of drinking lemon water is that it paves way for losing weight faster, thus acting as a great weight loss remedy. If a person takes lemon juice mixed with lukewarm water and honey, it can reduce the body weight as well 
6. Controls High Blood Pressure: Lemon water works wonders for people having heart problem, owing to its high potassium content. It controls high blood pressure, dizziness, nausea as well as provides relaxation to mind and body. It also reduces mental stress and depression 
7. Assist in curing Respiratory Disorders: Lemon water assists in curing respiratory problems, along with breathing problems and revives a person suffering from asthma 
8. Good for treating Rheumatism: Lemon is also a diuretic and hence lemon water can treat rheumatism and arthritis. It helps to flush out bacteria and toxins out of the body 
9. Reduces Fever: Lemon water can treat a person who is suffering from cold, flu or fever. It helps to break fever by increasing perspiration
10. Acts as a blood purifier: The diseases like cholera or malaria can be treated with lemon water as it can act as a blood purifier

"A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it does otherwise." 

Aldo Leopold 

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Gerrit Botha's 15 ways to reduce food costs

Found this beautiful article to reduce food costs. A must read.

How’s your monthly food bill? Is it sustainable? We’re a family of five on a limited budget from a single income, so we are hawks on food costs. And we’re living in a world of increasing food insecurity, so that it becomes more and more important to consider how we obtain our food and at what price.

1. We keep a whiteboard on the fridge and as we run out of things, we put it on the board. This is the basis of that weeks grocery list and we don't buy things that are not on the list
2. We look at the sale flyers from the newspaper for the items we use and are out of to make up the grocery list and we clip coupons
3. We make up the grocery list by aisle
4. We try to stay to the exterior of the grocery store, where we buy diary, fresh fruit and veggies, frozen vegetables in bulk. Instead of bread we buy the flour, and now the wheat to mill, and make our own bread
5. And we stay away from the processed food and the junk food aisles
6. We don’t buy anything with pretty labels, we buy the no name brands in large quantities
7. We make stuff: we make our own pasta for example
8. We eat vegetarian: it's amazing to bypass an entire aisle
9. We buy strawberries and other fruits pears, blueberry, currants in season and make jam
10. When tomatoes are in season we buy bucketfuls of plum tomatoes and can them. We make salsa, spaghetti sauce, and tomato chili
11. We use a big chest freezer to store food
12. We grow anything we can, even in containers. This past summer we accidentally grew a squash in a container full of marigolds
13. We pickle cucumbers, beets, carrots and beans
14. We make cucumber and other relishes
15. Oh, and we eat out very rarely

Food security is such a big topic and we'll come back to it regularly. But it is important to start somewhere and this is our start. We have a long way to go and much more to do. I'd be very interested in what others are doing to keep food costs under control.

Indoor Air Quality

In Indian conditions, at our homes, primary source of pollutants that cause IAQ problem -

• Smoking
• VOCs from paints
• Vehicular pollution that gets trapped in our house
• Hair from pets
• Dust accumulated on the curtains, furniture, bed
• Fungus formation/growth in utility room and bathrooms
• Pesticides used for mosquitos, cockroaches
• CO from cooking is also a bit of concern
• VOCs from aerosols such as air-fresheners and body deodorants
• VOCs from household cleaners

What we can do to address this -

• Clean, clean, clean (we often ignore the drapery and curtains)
• Get fresh air (but unfortunately, fresh air contains lot of pollutants from vehicles etc...)
• Add plants/trees around the house (these will also filter the aerosol pollutants)
• Add as much indoor plants (such as money plant) as possible
• Use low/no VoC paints, cleaners, fresheners, deodorants
• Use mosquito nets and take proper care during evenings so that you don't have to use pesticides

While constructing your home -

• design for passive air-circulation --- very important
• proper design to take care of mosquitos, insects from entering your house
• proper construct property so that radon won't enter through flooring/walls
• avoid carpet
• Use cleanable drapery
• Add internal courtyard
• Add plants, plants, and plants...

Closer than they appear!

10 reasons to eat local

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What the world can learn from India!

Article by our intern Michael Duspiwa from Austria.

When people in the “Western World” talk about India, in terms of pollution, waste handling, and environmental awareness, usually the perception of those persons is really bad. This has to be understood by Indians, because the main impression foreigners get in the country is that there are less concerns about the environment in India. This article does not aim to attack a people, it should show that Western countries, which are considered as the good guys in the above mentioned terms of pollution, waste management and environmental awareness, can effectively learn and copy some habits and issues from India. 

Pollution of air and land is an essential topic for every single person on the planet, it therefore should not be considered as the matter of one nation or someone else’s issue. This is a problem, which has to be addressed and it is led into the wrong direction by Western countries, as they think they are already doing enough for the environment, and argue like: “The others should do also something.” This is not the right attempt. Of course everybody has to contribute to make the world a better place, but can someone do too much for the welfare of the society?

The idea of this article is to show that not judging the others for doing something wrong is the right way, but rather that the things done by the individuals in a better way count and matter the most. We decide about our environment by the way we live, eat, communicate and go from point A to point B every day. 

Thus addressing especially western people, the following YOU can learn from people in India:

• People in India use less wrapping for food, such as buying fruits and vegetables on the street simply involves no plastic bags and other wrappings. This is a common habit of Indians buying fruits, whereas in Europe people tend to buy everything in the supermarket, which in the end results in more waste. Just because you cannot see the garbage in Europe, does not mean it is not there
• Another issue, closely related to the food is water. Do we really need a bottle for our water, all the time? A thing I observed is that drinking water is available in one bottle for re-use, at all food stands, shops and bakeries. An Indian therefore is more used to drink water there, whereas for a European it is much more common to bring your own bottle of water everywhere, and after use throw it to the garbage
• What Indians do better than any other nation in the world is actually what they do not do, namely eating meat. This point will be examined in detail in another article, but so far it can be said that by not eating meat, India is having more food available in general which results in less starving people. This is due to the fact that for producing 1 calorie of meat, 4 calories of wheat or other food for the animal has to be sacrificed
• What I am trying to say is that not just countries like India should improve their environmental awareness and the need for environmental friendly businesses, but also the Western world has to do on a constant basis. All the time there are just talks about the others which have to be more “green”, the other countries which have to do more for the environment, but in the end it is the individual contribution to the above mentioned suggestions, which make a difference. And yes it does make a difference, if just one starts to do so

The best dish in the world

Is it really the ingredients which matter most?

Article by our intern Michael Duspiwa from Austria.

If you ask a person, what is the best food in the world, what answers do you get? This is of course not predictable as the individual preferences largely vary. In the United States some people may say “burger”, in Italy the majority might tell you “pasta” or “pizza”, and on the other hand in India some people may say “dosa” is the best food in the world. But what do all this dishes of the individual persons all over the globe have in common? 

From the outside it looks like those dishes have nothing in common, one is with meat and grilled the other is made in an oven and the third one has a similar shape to pizza, but is something completely different. Thus without further examination those have nothing in common, and a comparison among them might not lead to proper results. 

But what the majority of the people asked, will tell you is that it is the pasta cooked by their mum, the burger grilled by their father or the dosa prepared by their grandmother which is the most delicious food on the globe. Thus we associate food with much more than just eating and the taste, it is the person who prepares it and the environment of the meal which contributes its essential part to the perfect enjoyment. It is much more important with whom you eat the meal and who prepares it than the actual meal. 

Where does your family have lunch or dinner, always together or in front of the TV? Especially for kids it is an important part in their education and essential in their way to become a grown up. Thus this has to be preserved as it sticks with every person for the whole life. The dinner together is an important place to talk about school, work, problems, feelings and all other issues. Now imagine how much information among the family members will be exchanged, while eating in front of the television. Nearly nothing, right?

As on the whole world things are getting faster and faster, also the time available which is required preparing a full course meal decreases. Who is usually cooking for the whole family? Yes, most of the time the women in the house. Now the question comes up why they do not like to spend so much time anymore on cooking. The answer is rather simple: Because the father is at work and the kids sit in front of the TV, and the only person in the kitchen is the mother. 

 

By simply not making the kitchen a closed room and by removing all the walls, people are going to enjoy cooking much more as it was in former times. The meals get better, the time is used more efficiently and the community feeling is fostered. Summarizing, by removing your walls and by making one huge room out of living, dining, sleeping room and the kitchen, the best dish of the future generations is assured. 

Remove your walls, it does make a difference, just one single person has to start doing so!

Water struggle

Clean water is a luxury. 

Use diligently!

Culture of walking!

With the Indian real estate market expected to grow at about 30% over the next decade, private housing sector currently contributing to about 5-6% of the country’s GDP. And with the National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy of 2007 stating that at least 50% of the population will live in urban areas by 2041, there is a need to guide sustainable mobility and infrastructure within townships that are coming up in peripheral areas.

In a workshop organised by Embarq India, town planners, architects, mobility experts as well as developers discussed the concerns with regard to sustainable mobility and special residential zones. According to the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI), an SRZ is a notified region with special development rules to promote large scale, Greenfield, affordable housing projects for the country’s masses. SRZs would have a minimum number of dwelling units in a maximum prescribed size and each would require adequate social infrastructure.

According to Embarq, the concern is in the question: How are these developments envisioned? With townships being located in an area ranging from 60 acres to 500 acres, it is important that they encourage a culture of walking, bicycling and public transport.

Source: DNA & pic