Spicy Indian Vegetarian Food Beats H1N1 Virus

[Guest guest]

Banglore: The next time you are served spicy vegetarian food do not grimace,

because it is the much sought-after manna from heaven that has been lately found

to effectively stave off the fatal impact of the dreaded H1N1 virus.

 

Researches have thrown light on the possibility of spicy Indian vegetarian menus

restricting the number of swine flu deaths to just over 500 in a country with a

population of 1.03 billion. The World Health Organisation (WHO) had initially

warned that India would be the hotspot of swine flu impact.

 

 

Nutritionists, too, now attribute the muted impact of swine flu in India to

spicy dishes, which are rich in anti-oxidants that boost the body's immunity

system. Bangalore-based nutritionists told DNA that spicy Indian menus could

just be the right answer to effectively prevent contracting the H1N1 virus.

 

Indians have a lot of vegetables, fruits and spices on their menu - a fitting

recipe to fight the swine flu infection, the nutritionists said.

 

" Indian food has a lot of spices and herbs, vegetables and fruits, and there is

no doubt that this has helped fight the infection among Indian swine flu

patients, minimizing the mortality rate, " says Farhana Afroz, chief nutritionist

and head of dietetics department, Wockhardt Hospital, Bannerghatta Road.

 

A research by an Alabama team in the US has found that high levels of

antioxidants -- present in spices, vegetables and fruits -- can neutralize a

lethal action by a villainous protein that destroys crucial cells in the inner

linings of the lungs.

 

These cells, known as epithelial cells, expel fluids from within the lungs and

prevent pneumonia, the most common cause of death among H1N1 patients. But once

the cells are destroyed by the protein, the lungs retain fluid, leading to

pneumonia.

 

The Alabama research, published in the November issue of the Federation of

American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Journal, shows how

antioxidants that are found in abundance in plant-based foods, might hold the

key in preventing the flu virus from wreaking havoc on human lungs.

 

The research team first injected frog eggs with anti-oxidants, and then infused

the M2 protein along with the lung cells of a mouse into them. They discovered

that the antioxidants in the frog eggs stopped the M2 protein from destroying

the mice's lung cells.

 

-Mahavir Sanglikar

http://jainfood.blogspot.com/