Here are the benefits of some popular spices....
Indians are known to like their food hot and spicy. So to imagine your food without spices is rather unimaginable, isn't it?! They say wherever you find an Indian, chances are you will find a range of aromatic spices. But along with the taste that spices and herbs provide, they also have several medicinal benefits as well. Spices have been used for centuries for their medicinal qualities and researchers continue to study their healing properties. Here are some of their benefits:
Chili powder: It relieves painful joints. Research shows that capsaicin, found in chili peppers, has an anti-inflammatory effect, which may help ease arthritic swelling and pain.
Cinnamon: Protects against type 2 diabetes and heart disease. A study has discovered that about half a teaspoon lowered blood glucose, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels.
Garlic: Improves your heart's health. Garlic consumption can lower your cholesterol and triglyceride levels by an average of 10 per cent.
Cloves: Clove oil is a well known treatment for toothache, and its antiseptic properties make it an excellent mouthwash. The main ingredient in the oil is eugenol, which is anti-inflammatory and can help ease the stiffness and pain associated with arthritis. It is a warming spice, which can help reduce congestion and stimulate digestion.
Ginger: Ginger contains antioxidants and can help protect against diseases. It calms down spasms and reduces flatulence in the digestive system. It is also an excellent treatment for nausea associated with travel sickness, pregnancy and hangovers.
Read more: Spices are good for you! - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/diet/Spices-are-good-for-you/articleshow/5921555.cms#ixzz17gkLxhic
LUCKNOW: Get in tune with the new numerical identities of the trains. The mail/express trains, Shatabdi and Rajdhani have all got new numbers. Northern Railway (NR) on Thursday released the list of new train numbers. Lucknow Mail has been given a five-digit identity (12229/12230) and so is Shatabdi Express (12003/12004).
Come December 20 and railways will implement five digit numbers in place of the existing four digit numbers for all the trains. The numbers of existing express trains largely continue unchanged but have been prefixed with first digit of 1. Lucknow-New Delhi Duronto Express is numbered as (12271/12272) while New Delhi-Guwahati Rajdhani Express is (12435/12436). The new train numbers are available on railway website.
"The reservation system will show the new numbers (on tickets) after December 22", said Neeraj Sharma, Sr DCM, Lucknow division, NR.
The Railways has decided to implement the five-digit train numbering scheme because the existing one (four-digit numbering scheme) has exhausted as there are more than 10,000 trains running every day. Besides, need has also arisen to integrate passenger and suburban train services in various information systems such as control office application, passenger reservation system and other software applications.
The passenger trains will be first numbered as per the present four digit train numbering scheme. To this four digit number, a fifth digit shall be prefixed as digit `0' for special trains, digit 5, 6 and 7 for conventional passenger trains, MEMU and DEMU trains, respectively. The suburban services in Kolkata will begin with digit 3, in Mumbai with digit 9 and in other parts with digit 4.
It is now proposed to capture all passenger trains running over Indian Railways for various software applications by giving them a unique number. Thus, there is need to shift to 5-digit train numbering scheme from a 4-digit train numbering scheme as Indian Railways presently runs over 11,000 passenger carrying trains on an average per day while 4-digit scheme can have train numbers only up to 9,999. The 5-digit numbering scheme is to be made effective from December 20, 2010.
The names of the trains are not being changed/modified. The introduction of new system covering all kinds of passenger carrying trains run by Indian railways will lay scientific and logical basis for numbering of trains on all India basis for all the trains which was earlier confined to express trains only, enabling better dissemination of information to the public.
The new system will go a long way in monitoring the movement of trains more effectively on all India basis and in facilitating dissemination and management of train information more scientifically benefiting the public/customers. This major initiative will create a unique train number which will be a national level identity for each train and will cover all the passenger carrying trains running in Indian railways network.
Read more: Trains get new numbers - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Trains-get-new-numbers/articleshow/7073585.cms#ixzz17gTiMtvy
