The scientists all around the world have studied for more than 40 years and concluded that spirulina has more health benefits to body in the following ways;
1. Enhance immunity or immune response .
2. Support heart and reduce cholesterol.
3. Help to improve the digestive system.
4. Naturally help the detoxification process.
5. Reduce the risk of cancer and increase the antioxidant capacity.
6.Protein in spirulina will develop and enhance the growth of children. They can consume spirulina by mixing with milk if they cannot directly take the capsule.
7.Person under stress or mental problems may be influenced by diseases, such as peptic ulcer or hypertension. Those who suffered from such disease should take some sources of food containing large quantity of vitamin B complex, essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, which are mostly found in spirulina. It is, therefore, considered as a good source of food supplement for reducing serious illness and strengthening health of all patients.
8.Either the medicine for peptic ulcer treatment consists of chlorophyll, or does spirulina. Due to the property of chlorophyll-contained in spirulina, it can reduce the inflammation of stomach. So, it is believed that spirulina might help treating peptic ulcer.
9.Older person usually has some chronic diseases, such as hypertension, cardiopathy, and some types of cancer, diabetes, gout, cataract, liver disease or renal disease. Spirulina will improve health of the elderly person. Some researches in Japan has found out that more than 70 % of people taking spirulina were over 50 years old, whereby 57 % were female. They mentioned that the purpose of taking spirulina was for treating some diseases, health improvement and food supplement, respectively.
This can be concluded that spirulina is considered as the life-extending medicine for old age, because it can well protect some elderly diseases.
10.Arginine is an essential amino acid containing in semen for approximately 80 %. Lacking of arginine may cause sexual disability or sterility. Tryptophan is also an amino acid affecting to the confidence of male sexual power. In addition, zinc is a mineral useful for treating abnormal sexual function. As spirulina consists of amino acids, calcium and zinc that resulted to sexual potency. So, spirulina is suitable for both young female and male.
11.Sportsman needs more and extra nutrients from any source. According to the composition spirulina, is composed of special concentrated nutrients that are suitable for exercise and hard training. Taking spirulina before training and competition would help energize and strengthen muscle. Because spirulina comprises of more than 60 % of proteins and amino acids, so it helps in reducing calories, which is the important factor for weight control in sports events and competition.
12.Spirulina is able to reduce rate of hair loss, activate hair growth, as spirulina consists of necessary fatty acids (sometimes called vitamin F), including linoleic acid and arachidonic acid which are the important fatty acids for nourishing hair, skin and nail. Meanwhile, they are useful to hair root, leading to the beauty of hair.
13.Spirulina consists of high protein, chlorophyll, vitamin B12 and folic acid; therefore, it is able to increase the quantity and efficiency of red blood cells, which will result in more exchange of oxygen for better circulation within 30 days. Spirulina also gives excellent nutritive values to the patients who long time- lack nutrients and improves health by providing sufficient vitamin E, B12 and folic acid.
Spirulina has been accredited and certified by the leading institutes of the world, such as;
1967: “The International Conference on Applied Microbiology” has announced that “Spirulina must be considered as an important future food source”.
1974: UN has announced in the World Food Conference that spirulina was “The most ideal food for mankind”.
1974: FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) has introduced that spirulina was “The best food for tomorrow”.
1981: FDA (Food and Drug Administration) of USA has certified that spirulina is “The healthy and safety product free from side effects”.
1983: IFE (International Food Exposition) held in East German has awarded the prize “The best natural food” to spirulina.
1992: WHO (World Health Organization) has introduced that spirulina was “The healthy product in 21st decade”.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Usefulness of Spirulina
Spirulina -Algae
This tiny aquatic plant has been eaten by humans since prehistoric times and is grown worldwide as a healthy food. Imagine a vegetable with more protein than soy, more Vitamin A than carrots, more iron than beef, profound source of protective phytochemicals, naturally low in fat, source of the essential fatty acid GLA and is easy to digest. Learn more about the unique blue Bilin protein of Spirulina.
Spirulina promotes health in many ways. It powerfully protects from oxidant stress and strongly supports the immune system and a healthy inflammatory response.
Scientific studies suggest it may be especially good for the brain, heart, immune system and more; so you can meet life“s challenges..
Spirulina is a microscopic blue-green algae that exists as a single celled organism turning sunlight into life energy.
It is one of the first life forms designed by nature more than 3.6 billion years ago. Spirulina contains billions of years of evolutionary wisdom in its DNA and is an offspring of earth’s first photosynthetic life forms.
Under the microscope, Spirulina is a blue-green color and has the appearance of a spiral of long thin threads.
How is it Grown:
Spirulina thrives in natural alkaline lakes. Spirulina farming is part of the new era of ecological agriculture. The key component in the production of Spirulina is sunlight and attention is given to measurement of temperature and oxygen levels.
Because pesticides and herbicides would kill many microscopic life forms in a pond, algae scientists have learned how to balance pond ecology without the use of these harmful substances.
This form of aquaculture represents one of the solutions needed to produce food while restoring the planet.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Ooty -'The queen of Hills'
Ooty (Udhagamandalam)
Doddabetta - OotyOotacamund, the queen of the hill stations of South India, is situated in the Nilgiri's at an altitude of 2240 metres. Ooty is known for its extraordinary scenic beauty and salubrious climate amidst the "Nilgiri's" or "Blue Mountains".green Udhagamandalam better known as Ooty is the most popular hill station in the South.
Udhagamandalam is the headquarters of the Nilgiri's district where the two ghats converge. Nature has been bounteous with this region which is indeed the most beautiful in the region. Apart from coffee and tea plantations, trees like conifers, eucalyptus, pine and wattle embrace the hillside in Udhagamandalam and its environs. Summer temperature is rarely higher than 25°c with a minimum of 10°c and winter is are distinctly cooler with a high of 21°c and a low 5°c.
Ooty, the Queen be seated in this heavenly abode remained undiscovered to the great southern dynasties and it took the British to explore it in the early 1800s. They were, however, not the first friends of this land as a tribe called Todas had been living there long before the British came, claiming that the Nilgiri's had been their home since time immemorial. The British constructed the first railway line in the area and made it the summer capital of the Chennai Presidency.
City map of Ooty:
CENTENARY ROSE PARK
OOTY LAKE:
Honey & Bee Museum
AVALANCHE
PYKARA
St.Stephen's Church:
Road way to Ooty:
Water Falls:
Botanical Garden:
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Kolam - Decorative and traditional artwork drawn on the floor in South India
The drawing starting with a certain number pattern of points and curly lines going around these points. Many of these are completed with a single line going in an elegant but zig-zag away around the entire set of points. The tamil month of "markazhi" (Dec(Jan) is particularly important when fairly large size Kolams are put in front of the houses, with additional decoration of Kolams with yellow flowers of pumpkin. Putting Kolams in front of the houses is very much in practice in south Indian villages.
"Aachi Manorama"-Great Actress and Guinness World Record Holder
Manorama , fondly called Aachi, is a Tamil actress who has acted in more than 1500 films, 100 stage performances, and a few television serials.
She has started her acting career as a drama artist, which was more popular those days. She slowly migrated from dramas to cinemas just as most actors did those days. During her initial days in the cine field, she concentrated more on comedy. She was given equally challenging roles alongside the well known comedian Nagesh. They made an excellent pair and gave many praiseworthy comedies.
Her role in Thillana Mohanambal was much appreciated and noticed even with the presence of great stalwarts like Sivaji Ganesan and Natiya Peroli Padmini in the movie. Ever since, she was provided with more scope in varied roles in addition to comedy. She took each responsibility with such an ease which made the Tamil industry recognize her immense talent.
She has the distinction of having acted with five chief ministers of South India. She was the female lead in the stage plays written, directed and acted by Mr C. N. Annadurai, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. She has also acted in stage plays with another Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu,Dr M Karunanidhi . She has acted in films with Dr M G Ramachandran and Dr Jayalalitha Jayaram who both became Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu later. She has also acted in Telugu films with Dr N T Rama Rao ,who became the Chief Minister of Pradesh.She got a place in the Guinness World Record for acting in the maximum number of movies [More than 1000]
Clams-Sea Animals
All clams belong to a group of animals called mollusks. Mollusks have soft bodies without any bones. A shell protects their soft bodies. Clams live in water or mud.Clams grow their own shells. They take a chemical called calcium carbonate from the water.
A part of the clam’s body called the mantle makes the clam shell. The mantle is a covering that goes around the clam’s body.
There are two parts, or halves, to a clam’s shell. Sometimes the two halves are apart, and so the clam’s shell is open. When there is danger, the clam slams its shell shut.The closed shell protects the clam’s body. It protects the clam’s heart, digestive system, gills, and other organs.
Clams breathe and eat through two tubes called a neck. The tubes carry water. As water flows over the gills, the gills take oxygen from the water.The gills have tiny hairs. The hairs trap bits of food floating in the water. The hairs sweep the food into the clam’s mouth.Clams have one foot. A clam’s foot is not like your foot. It is a thick, muscular organ that sticks out of the shell.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
AROVILLE-'The city of Dawn'
.Neat, pleasant, and charming, Pondicherry has a beautiful beach and a sea that is always warm and refreshing. It has been made world-famous by the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and its offshoot, Auroville. And in what still remains of its French connection there is a uniqueness that makes it different from the rest of India.
Auroville is a universal community in India,The main motto of all the people living in the Auroville city, to convert life into 'Supramental Consciousness'. It is also known by the name of Sri Aurobindo Ashram and is devoted towards 'unity of mankind'. Auroville intends to become such a city that will serve as a model to the cities of the future, cities where people will strive towards a harmonious future.
Auroville is located at a stone's throw from the Coromandel Coast; lying about 160 kms from Chennai in its southern side while 10 kms from Pondicherry along its northern side.In order to make Auroville a self supporting township, efforts have been made to expand a 109-hectare area into an Industrial Zone, comprising of "green" industries. Several small and medium-scale industries, training centers, arts and craft centers, apart from the city administration office are set up in this region.
MATRIMANDIR:
Peace Area is situated at the central point of the township and is known for its Matrimandir, gardens, amphitheatre that is constituted with the soil of 121 nations and 23 Indian states. The essence of calm and tranquility surrounds you while you indulge in a trip to this wonderful place.
The central Matrimandir, which is not a temple but a place for individual silent concentration, is set in an area of 62 acres at the centre of the emerging township, and is seen as “a symbol of the Divine’s answer to man’s aspiration for perfection.
The Matrimandir’s 12-sided white marble Inner Chamber has a 70 cms diameter optical-quality glass globe at its centre, onto which a shaft of sunlight is focused by way of a roof-mounted heliostat. The light falling on the globe acts as a focal aid to concentration
She left India after the start of World War II, but came back to join Sri Aurobindo, in the year 1920. She was responsible behind the organization of Sri Aurobindo's followers into the Aurobindo Ashram of Pondicherry. In 1968, she commenced the project of Auroville Township as a means to implement Sri Aurobindo's vision.
The ashram’s influence can be felt in most of puducherry. The main ashram building is where the mortal remains of Aurobindo and the Mother are kept. Their ‘Samadhi’ or mausoleum, which is generally surrounded by supplicating devotees, is in the central courtyard under a frangipani tree and is covered daily with flowers.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Marco polo and his Travel
Marco Polo was born in 1254 to a family of merchants. His home was Venice, Italy.In 1269, Marco’s father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, returned to Venice after visiting China. In China, they had met the Mongol conqueror Kublai Khan. The khan invited the Polos to return. He asked them to bring Christian scholars to explain the Christian religion to him.In 1271, Niccolò and Maffeo set out for China again. Marco, then 17 years old, joined his father and uncle for the trip.
It took the Polos four difficult years to reach China. The journey led across deserts and high mountains. They passed through wild countryside where bandits lurked, ready to rob and kill. They braved heat and cold, floods, deep snowdrifts, and blinding sandstorms. At last they reached the summer palace of Kublai Khan at Shangdu.
The khan welcomed the Polos warmly. He offered Marco a job. Marco accepted, and the Polos lived in China for the next 17 years.In 1292, Kublai Khan asked Marco to escort a Mongol princess to Persia. The Polos traveled by ship from China to the Persian Gulf. Then the Polos headed for Venice, finally reaching home in 1295.
in 1298, he became a prisoner of war. He shared his cell with a writer named Rustichello, who helped Marco turn his stories into a book. Rustichello added some details of his own. But much of Marco’s book seems to be true!
Marco Polo returned to Venice after his release from prison. He died in 1324. But his book remained popular for centuries.
The facts about 'Sydney Opera House'
Sydney Opera House must be one of the most recognisable images of the modern world - up there with the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State Building - and one of the most photographed.
Not only is it recognisable, it has come to represent 'Australia'.
Although only having been open since 1973, it is as representative of Australia as the pyramids are of Egypt and the Colosseum of Rome.
The Opera House is situated on Bennelong Point, which reaches out into the harbour. The skyline of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the blue water of the harbour and the Sydney Opera House, viewed from a ferry or from the air, is dramatic and unforgettable.
The Sydney Opera house:
* Was designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon
* Was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 20 October 1973
* Presented, as its first performance, The Australian Opera's production of War and Peace by Prokofiev
* Cost $AU 102,000,000 to build
* Conducts 3000 events each year
* Provides guided tours to 200,000 people each year
* Has an annual audience of 2 million for its performances
* Includes 1000 rooms
* Is 185 metres long and 120 metres wide
* Has 2194 pre-cast concrete sections as its roof
* Has roof sections weighing up to 15 tons
* Has roof sections held together by 350 km of tensioned steel cable
* Has over 1 million tiles on the roof
* Uses 6225 square metres of glass and 645 kilometres of electric cable
The statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a giant sculpture of a woman dressed in flowing robes and wearing a spiked crown. Her right hand holds a gold torch high above her head. Her left arm holds a book of law with the date July 4, 1776, the date Americans declared their independence from Britain. The statue from base to torch is 305 feet (93 meters) high. The lady herself stands 151 feet (46 meters) tall.
The Statue of Liberty stands on Liberty Island.The people of France gave the Statue of Liberty to the United States in 1884. The gift honors the alliance between the two nations during the American Revolution. Thousands of French citizens donated the money to build the statue. French sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi designed the statue.
New torch:
A new torch replaced the original, which was deemed beyond repair because of the extensive 1916 modifications. The 1886 torch is now in the monument's lobby museum. The new torch has gold plating applied to the exterior of the "flame," which is illuminated by external lamps on the surrounding balcony platform.
Termites
Termites live in colonies (groups) with as many as several million members.Termites, sometimes incorrectly called "white ants", are a group of social insects usually classified at the taxonomic rank of order Isoptera .As truly social animals, they are termed eusocial along with the ants and some bees and wasps. Termites mostly feed on dead plant material, generally in the form of wood, leaf litter, soil, or animal dung, and about 10% of the estimated 4,000 species are economically significant as pests that can cause serious structural damage to buildings, crops or plantation forests. Termites are major detrivores, particularly in the subtropical and tropical regions, and their recycling of wood and other plant matter is of considerable ecological importance.
A large Termite Mound in Australia:
Termites build nests to house their colonies. Nests are commonly located in larger timber or in the soil in locations such as growing trees, inside fallen trees, underground, and in above-ground mounds which they construct, commonly called "anthills" in Africa and Australia.
Cricket(Insect)
- Scientific classification
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Orthoptera
Suborder: Ensifera
Superfamily: Grylloidea
Family: Gryllidae
Crickets belong to the order Othoptera, which also includes Grasshoppers, they have two pairs of wings but only the back pair are used for flying,Crickets are insects known for leaping and chirping. To attract females, male crickets chirp by rubbing their front wings together.
They have somewhat flattened bodies and long antennae. There are about 900 species of crickets. They tend to be nocturnal and are often confused with grasshoppers because they have a similar body structure including jumping hind legs.
Crickets are omnivores and scavengers feeding on organic materials, as well as decaying plant material, fungi, and some seedling plants. Crickets also have been known to eat their own dead when there is no other source of food available.
Crickets mate in late summer and lay their eggs in the fall. The eggs hatch in the spring and have been estimated to number as high as 2,000 per fertile female.[citation needed] Female crickets have a long needlelike egg-laying organ (ovipositor).
Crickets are popular as a live food source for carnivorous pets like frogs, lizards, salamanders, and spiders. Feeding crickets with nutritious food in order to pass the nutrition onto animals that eat them is known as gut loading.
Crickets are also eaten by humans in some African and Asian cultures. They are often considered a delicacy.
Blue Whale-Largest Water animal
The largest creature ever known to have existed on earth is the present-day blue whale. The largest dinosaur attained a length of about 22 m and weighed about 36 tons. Today's blue whale, even larger than its ancestors, may reach a total length of 33 m and a weight of 145 tons.
This giant animal is placid and shy. On the ocean surface, its normal cruising speed is about 12 knots, but it is capable of attaining 20 knots in short bursts. The maximum reported depth reached by the species is 194 fathoms. It is capable of remaining submerged beneath the surface for 50 minutes, although 10 to 15 minutes is more typical. The life span of a blue whale is about 30 years.
The calves measure 7 m at birth and weigh about 2 tons. By the time they are a year old, the youngsters meaasure 18 m.
These enormous mammals eat tiny organisms, like plankton and krill, which they sieve through baleen. They live in pods (small groups). These gray-blue whales have 2 blowholes and a 2-14 inch (5-30 cm) thick layer of blubber.
REPRODUCTION
Blue whale breeding occurs mostly in the winter .The gestation period is about 11-12 months and the calf is born tail first.The newborn instinctively swims to the surface within 10 seconds for its first breath; it is helped by its mother, using her flippers. Within 30 minutes of its birth the baby whale can swim.Twins are extremely rare. The baby is nurtured with its mother's fat-laden milk (it is 40-50% fat) and is weaned in about 7-8 months. Calves drink 50-200 pounds (23-90 kg) of milk each day. The mother and calf may stay together for a year or longer, until the calf is about 45 feet long (13 m). Blue whales reach maturity at 10-15 years.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Himalayas-The Great Snowy Ranges
The name Himalaya means “home of snow” in the ancient language of Sanskrit. It’s a fitting name. The Himalayas are the highest mountains on Earth. Snow and ice cover much of this impressive mountain range year round.
The Himalayas rise in southern Asia—the world’s biggest continent.
The Himalayas can be classified in a variety of ways. From south to north, the mountains can be grouped into four parallel, longitudinal mountain belts,
hivaliks (Outer Himalayas or Sub-Himalayas)
Himachal ( Lower Himalayas)
Himadri ( Higher Himalayas)
Trans-Himalayas (Tibetan Himalayas)
From west to east the Himalayas are divided broadly into three mountainous regions - the Western Himalayas, the Central Himalayas and the Eastern Himalayas.
Major Himalayan Hill Stations include Gulmarg, Sonamarg, Dharamsala, Ladakh, Simla, Nainital, Kullu, Manali, Dalhousie, Mussoorie, Rishikesh, Amarnath, Gangtok, Kailas Mansarovar, Vaishno Devi, Patni Top etc
The Himalayas is the world's highest mountain range comprising all top ten of the world's highest peaks.The Himalayas contain nine of the world’s ten highest peaks. One of these, Mount Everest, is the highest mountain on Earth. It rises to a height of 29,035 feet (8,850 meters).
The world’s second highest mountain, K2 (also called Mount Godwin Austen), also stands in the Himalayas. So does the world’s third highest peak, Mount Kanchenjunga. Other noted Himalayan peaks include Dhaulagiri, Nanga Parbat, and Annapurna 1.
Amazon-The Largest River in the World
The Amazon is a long river in South America. The river starts in snow and tiny streams, high in the Andes Mountains in Peru. It flows east through Brazil. After 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers), the Amazon empties into the Atlantic Ocean.
Along its route, hundreds of streams and smaller rivers empty into the Amazon. As a result, the Amazon carries more water than any other river in the world. Although the Amazon is the largest river in the world, it is not the longest. Only the Nile River in Africa is longer than the Amazon.
A vast tropical rain forest lies next to the Amazon River in Brazil and neighboring countries. More than seven times the size of Texas, it is the largest rain forest in the world
Anne Frank
Anne Frank’s life was short and tragic. Yet her brave spirit has survived in her diary. She wrote this diary while hiding from the Nazis during World War II (1939-1945).
Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt, Germany, on June 12, 1929. Her family was Jewish. In 1933, the Nazi Party came to power in Germany. The Nazis blamed Jews for the nation’s problems and began a campaign against Jews. The Frank family moved to Amsterdam in The Netherlands to escape the Nazis. Anne’s father prepared a hiding place for his family.
The Frank family and their friends stayed shut away in secret for over two years. Brave friends risked their lives to bring them food. But constant fear and loss of freedom were hard to bear. For comfort, Anne started to write a diary. She was very good at expressing her thoughts and feelings in words.
Anne was 13 when she started to write. Her diary reveals that, just like other teenagers, she looked forward to adult life. She hoped to have a career as a writer, and she longed to find love. She had high ideals and wished “to be useful or give pleasure to people around me.”
Throughout her time in hiding, Anne maintained her faith in human nature. She wrote, “In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.”
Otto, Anne’s father, was the only member of the Frank family to survive the war. He published her diary in 1947. Since then, it has been published in more than 50 languages. Millions of people have visited the family’s hiding place in Amsterdam. Anne Frank’s story still inspires people to fight against all kinds of discrimination.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
About Fairy Tales
The stars of many fairy tales are supernatural beings called fairies. Fairies usually take human form, but they can also fly. They have magic powers and generally act kindly toward human beings, like Cinderella’s fairy godmother.
Fairy tales may have elves, goblins, gremlins, brownies, pixies, or other unusual beings instead of fairies. The stories may feature such creatures as witches and talking animals like the wolf in “Little Red Riding Hood.”
Some fairy tales, like “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” have none of these creatures. But they contain many other characteristics of traditional fairy tales.
Although in today's modern society, fairy tales often are told to children and might include a moralistic stance or warning against dangers, they began as chiefly oral stories passed from generation to generation
Some Fairy Tales:
Cindrella:
Snow white:
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves before 850:
Alladin -A Famous Fairy Tale before 850:
