mooblog

The health pundits just can’t say too much today about probiotics – and for once, nothing they say can quite pay tribute to the immense good these live organisms do for your gut. There’s nothing quite like a good gut feel factor. Today you find probiotics in a wide array of foods. Dairy and all its products happen to be the choice of delivery system but you also find them in other foods like juices, snacks, etc. Till now, you needed to go to the probiotic section in the store or you needed to peruse those labels closely in order to pick up a product that contained probiotics. Till now.

It’s great news to know that you can carry your probiotic punch around with you from now on. Let’s take a look at what the buzz about these bugs is about. A few months ago, Bevs Unistraw launched a patented product that is unique – a straw that is coated with HOWARU™ premium probiotics and Danisco was given the rights worldwide to market it. So look at the benefits it offers – you can have your favourite beverage with the daily recommended dose of probiotics without having to go looking for it – all you do is carry the probiotic-treated straws with you.

These straws have opened up an exciting range of possibilities. First and foremost, they deliver the recommended daily dose of probiotics in a dry, stable format and unlike the earlier delivery systems, these do not require chilled storage or transportation. What Unistraw has also done is to join forces with Tetra Pak, the international packaging giant to include this straw as an on-pack addition to a number of their beverages. With two great marketing names – Tetra Pak and Danisco being the wind beneath its sails, this new product is sure to be a global success. 

The power of probiotics is unmatched – just think about it – it’s like giving your body an army to fight with. The larger the army or the good bacteria, the better the chances of winning that gut war. And that victory is going to be reflected in your general health. Studies have shown that the presence of a sufficient number of good bacteria in the gut means fewer incidences of diarrhea, a better digestive system and because of that, a better immune system. So bring on those straws with probiotics and let’s wage a daily war against indigestion and disease!

It’s amazing how many vegetarians eat store bought yoghurt without looking at the contents. That’s because the general assumption is that if it is a dairy product, it must be vegetarian. However, the yoghurt you get at the supermarkets have a lot more than milk in them so if you didn’t know, here’s a look at what really goes into making that yoghurt.

Most commercial yoghurts have gelatine added to them. There still are a number of people who have no clue that gelatine is made from beef or pork bones, tissue and skin. Gelatine doesn’t only go to make a yoghurt set better. It is also used in jellies, other desserts, pies, ice creams, marshmallows, snacks, soups and sauces.

The thing is, it just makes these products thicker, smoother and endows them with a better mouth feel. Ever since Jell-O was made over 200 years ago, gelatine has been very much a part of the food industry all over the world. Add to that the studies that gelatine actually helped those with painful joints and you’ll see why it is so popular. Many pharmaceutical capsules are gelatine-based. Gelatine is very easily absorbed into the body so many vaccines are using it to keep the medication in a stable state. Many cosmetic creams use it too.

All very well – but the problem starts when someone turns vegetarian and continues to eat foods like yoghurt simply because they are unaware that it could contain animal products. A lot of the gelatine used is not kosher either. When gelatine is used in yoghurt, you get a product that is creamy, thick enough to transport and one in which the calorie count can be controlled. It’s also great when you have fruit yoghurts because the fruit stays suspended. And of course, it adds bulk to yoghurts. So you see why the yoghurt manufacturers love it. (Danone and Yoplait state they use only kosher gelatine.)

There are special starch products available today which could be used as alternatives but they are much higher-priced so you probably won’t see the supermarket brands changing any time soon. However, there are yoghurts available from organic farms which don’t use gelatine so if you are a strict vegetarian and you love your yoghurt, make sure you look at that list of ingredients on every pack!

Transgenesis is the modification of an animal’s genome deliberately to change its DNA characteristics. This would mean that any animal – or for that matter any living creature could incorporate the genes from any other living creature into its genome. Now why would anyone want to do that? To play God of course! And, right now, ostensibly, to see if certain traits could be incorporated into the animals being used for research so it could benefit mankind.

Today, there have been experiments that have succeeded in producing transgenic cows. What began with a mouse becoming a mighty mouse being able to help in human cancers has today gone way beyond that to experiments with other animals as well. Introducing a gene that does not belong to the animal’s genetic make up is not usually successful but there are instances where it has been possible and most animals undergo gene transfer through the process of microinjection.

Why do this at all? There are advantages, no doubt. These animals can be used for medical research and for better health. They can be programmed to produce more – in the case of cows, a breed could be raised that is extremely disease-resistant as well as high yielding. There can be breeds that are modified to yield more meat or more milk – whatever the farmer is breeding them for. They could also yield milk sooner than they have before. In the medical field, there could be animals that are reared specifically to produce products like mediums to make healthy cells grow, organs for transplant, etc.

The question remains: Can we play God? Are we really the only ones that matter in the world? Or in the universe? Man has always thought so. Nature might not. Interfering with natural processes when it comes to the weather has resulted in catastrophes like global warming. Will this interfering in the process of evolution also be the same? Will mankind end up like something out of a gruesome Hollywood movie where the plot goes through callousness or carelessness in experiments that end up with monsters populating and taking over the world? Most important, is it right to do so? We didn’t invent Life or its myriad life forms. What right have we to mutate them and change them beyond recognition?

So is it ethical? I think not. Will it happen? With a company like Dupont having acquired the sole rights for this process, of course it will. Let’s not fool ourselves into thinking otherwise.

I was reading about the way milk prices had jumped in the last seven years. Did you know that while oil prices have been increasing at 13% in the last seven years, milk has been shooting up at 14%? Considering that the world drinks 1.9 billion liters of milk every day, it means that every land seems to be flowing or rather overflowing with milk! If you were to look at the average, I read, it would mean that every year, there were 13 billion liters more being drunk and that is approximately what a country like New Zealand produces in one year.

Why this sudden milk madness? Is everyone drinking more milk suddenly? In these days of people tending to find everything about dairy objectionable, how come there’s more and more milk and milk products being consumed? One major reason is the emergence of new markets and therefore a lot more money being spent on what till now could have been luxuries. The rise in disposable incomes now puts milk into a lot of people’s necessity bracket in countries like China, Brazil, India and Russia and there are many more drinking milk there like it were going out of fashion.

Well, that contributes to the prices of milk going up. It really is a result of demand and supply – the demand just cannot be met by the farmers no matter how hard they try. When the combined billions of China and India chasing the white stuff, one can only expect milk prices to rise, not fall.

Some night when you’re considering ordering Indian take-out, you might want to try your hand at a quickie Indian dessert. This one is a breeze to make and tastes absolutely delicious.

Here’s what you need: a tin of sweetened condensed milk, double the quantity of cream, a handful of almonds/cashewnuts/pistas/whatever nuts you have or like, ground fine. The sweetened condensed milk cans usually weigh 14 ounces or around 400 grams, so you will need 800 grams of cream. Now put all the ingredients in a large bowl, mix well and freeze. That’s it – and you can cut it up into slices and serve up delicious kulfi.

There’s nothing quite like a kulfi after a Indian meal!

Have you noticed that everything that you love sooner or later gets into that ‘Don’t eat’ list? What is it about the world that wants to make you give up everything you enjoy? Time was, when I was young – and that was many moons ago – I remember aunts telling their kids to drink up their milk. My siblings and I were held up as shining examples. “Look at them – they’re going to grow up big and strong and you – you’re going to stay looking like a runt if you don’t drink your milk!” Of course, way back then, there was no choice. Drink it they did, never mind how much they detested it – and maybe I grew up strong but big translated to tall I am not!

I’ve never asked them – but I wonder now whether they tell their kids not to drink their milk in these days of milk-bashing. I just wish everyone would follow the happy maxim of one man’s meat being another man’s poison and leave those who love their milk to drink it and those who don’t to stay away from it and not touch it with a bargepole. Why, oh why do they have to take away one of the pleasures of my life? With studies and dire warnings and facts and figures!

The point is, there have always been people for whom milk has caused problems – now me, I just go “tsk, tsk, the pore things – how terrible for them!” However, what I do not like is someone telling me not to drink something that I have enjoyed all my life. Not only have I enjoyed it, I firmly believe that it is necessary to my well being. You know – out for a brisk walk, come back starving – open that refrigerator door, pull out the milk, pour, drink – ahhhhh – heaven. And I hate anyone coming in the way of these wonderful moments of bliss.

Like I said, it’s never harmed me and while so many of my friends who follow crazy diets every three months have problems with their blood pressure, their sugar levels, their aching joints, their mood swings, I’m happy as can be – and don’t try and tell me it’s not because of my daily addiction to the white stuff – I will not be convinced. As convinced as I am that five years from now, maybe less, there will be another bout of research to prove that milk really is good for you, surprise, surprise!

So I’ll leave those milk bashers alone, try to expunge what they preach from my consciousness and carry on coloring my world white with milky goodness. If anyone out there doesn’t like it – too bad. If they tell me I’m an addict – I don’t care, I’m not changing. If they come after me, I’ve got the white magic power on my side – so beware!

Watch this space for any buzz about milk.