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Feeders May Affect Your Baby’s Health

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Giving a bottle of milk to a baby in the cot is an easy way for working mothers to put their child to sleep and complete their official  and household chores.
However, the next time you plan to purchase a feeder for your baby, think twice as it may cause your child an infection.

Dr Daljeet Singh, principal and paediatrician at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), said, “There is no need to give feeders or sippers to infants as they are the main carriers of infections. Breast feeding is important for a child till six months. A child should be fed semi-solid foods after that.”

He advised the use of wider mediums like a saucer, glass and cup etc for feeding as there was less scope for infection to be transmitted.

“Feeders have narrow space and sometimes they are not sterilized properly. This may lead to infections. It is best to use a spoon and saucer to keep infections at bay,” he added.

Dr Ashwani Singal, consultant and neonatologist at Apollo Hospital said, “There is no need to use feeders and I tell my patients to avoid using it. A child must be breast-fed for at least six months.”
He said it had been observed that those children who used feeders had 20 times higher risk of getting diarrohea, pneumonia, ear infections and allergies.

He said, “Working mothers can store their breast milk for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. This can be given to the child with a spoon and saucer.”

Talking on similar lines, Dr Rajinder Gulati, president of the Indian Academy of Paediatricians, Punjab, said, “Infants must be breast-fed for up to 6 months or one year.”

Discussing the issue, Gauri Sharma, a mother said, “My son was prone to carry infections. He used to suffer from diarrhoea every three months. Things have become better after I stopped feeding him through bottles.”

Source:   The Times Of India

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Throw Away Your Shoes

Wearing shoes alters the shape and normal functioning of the feet, researchers have found.
…………………..BARE FOOT WALKING
Barefoot walkers in south India, who have never worn a pair of shoes or sandals in their entire lives, are teaching a lesson or two about footwear — that constantly using shoes alters the normal form and function of the foot, and that this may even lead to the development of an undesirable peak pressure under the sole, which in some cases could become life threatening.

Nearly 100 barefoot walkers from the interiors of Mandya, Kolar and Bangalore districts in Karnataka, India, left a footprint in the world of academics when a multinational team of researchers from Belgium, India and the UK descended on them to record their footfall.

Team leader Kristiaan D’Aout, a biologist at the University of Antwerp in Belgium, had always wanted to study the changes that footwear brings to the human feet. The idea was to gain an insight into normal foot functioning, which has evolved over millions of years.

However, with no barefoot walkers in Europe, D’Aout was forced to keep the idea in cold storage until he met Vinaya Anand Suratkal, a doctor from the Bangalore-based Jain Institute of Vascular Sciences (JIVAS), at a conference in Vienna about two years ago. JIVAS, which is part of the Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain Hospital in Bangalore, runs a mobile clinic that travels to rural areas in and around Bangalore to screen and treat those suffering from foot ulcers associated with diabetes.

The study, which won this year’s Nike Research Award — instituted by the sports goods giant Nike — studied the morphology and biomechanical functions of the feet in three distinct healthy populations: barefoot walkers, habitually shod Indians, and Europeans who have always worn footwear. It found that barefoot walkers have a relatively wider forefoot and the pressure is distributed more evenly over the entire surface of the sole than in the other two groups.

Habitually shod Indians wear shoes less often than Westerners do. Also, their shoes are less constraining. Yet, the scientists found significant differences when compared to their habitually barefoot peers, both in the foot shape and pressure distribution.

“The evolutionary history of humans shows that barefoot walking is the natural situation,” D’Aout told KnowHow. While the use of shoes remains a necessity when one walks on unsafe surfaces and in athletics, footwear fails to respect the natural shape and function of the feet.

The researchers hope that the findings will not only help clinicians who treat foot ulcers, but will also lead to the designing of better footwear that will not hamper the feet’s biologically normal functions.

D’Aout’s chance meeting with Vinaya, who was in Vienna to present a paper on the work being done at JIVAS, seemed like a golden opportunity to the Belgium biologist. Realising that many in India still do not wear shoes for religious or financial reasons, he decided to collaborate with the researchers at JIVAS. “Kristiaan approached us with his idea and we thought it was fascinating,” says Kalkunte R. Suresh, director of JIVAS. “When our mobile van goes into the villages, the patients generally do not come alone; they are accompanied by a few other healthy relatives. We requested these healthy individuals, who have never worn shoes or sandals in their life, to participate in the study and walk on a foot scanner,” says Suresh.

D’Aout is not saying that people shouldn’t wear footwear. “Footwear is a wonderful invention. But the human foot is adapted to barefoot walking,” he says.

The study has shown that wearing shoes lifelong leads to an increase in peak pressure under the sole. “This is certainly bad in some people (it causes ulceration in diabetes patients), and it remains to be seen whether it is a real problem in healthy people. It does make sense to have low pressures though, but nobody knows exactly if there is, for example, a threshold value of pressure that should not be exceeded,” he explains.

“We have shown that footwear does change the foot, and so it makes sense to walk barefoot every now and then (at least for healthy people and, of course, ensuring that the walking surface is safe),” adds D’Aout. This, he says, will keep the feet in shape and the muscles trained.

According to D’Aout, people in India have better footwear habits than those in the West. They often wear open shoes and wear them less often (for example, many prefer to walk barefoot in the house). Besides, children too mostly walk barefoot.

The study also found that wearing shoes throughout makes one’s feet narrower and leads to poor load distribution. Besides, it is better not to wear shoes that constrain the toes (like do some fashionable women’s footwear) or are overly protective (like mountaineering boots) for everyday use.

So be careful about what footwear you use, and when to fling them off. Go ahead, just do it.

Source: The Telkegraph (Kolkata, India)

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The Truth About Pandemics

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We are reeling under a surfeit of breaking news and scientific expert opinions about the swine flu pandemic. However, we need to remain focused and evaluate the statistics. The World Health Organization (WHO) says that there are approximately 1.2 million cases worldwide and around 1,000 deaths. In India, the fatalities are still in the double digits.

In contrast, tuberculosis (TB) causes 4,00,000 deaths in India annually. In fact, it is the leading cause of death in the economically productive 15 to 45 age group. However, TB can be easily diagnosed and cured with proper medication.

Around 450 out of 1,00,000 healthy young women die during childbirth. This is in contrast to China where the figure has fallen to 50. The WHO report states that the problem is magnified because the poor get inadequate care, while the rich demand and pay for caesarians and other non essential interventions.

Nineteen-year-old Saina Nehwal made headlines when she developed chicken pox a couple of weeks before the August 10 world badminton finals. She is part of the 95 per cent of the world population that develops chicken pox at some time in the course of their lives. It is an extremely contagious infection which is not taken seriously, as it usually results in innocuous disease. It can, however, turn dangerous and cause complications like brain fever, blindness, pneumonia and sterility in 10 per cent of those affected. If it occurs in childhood, it usually passes off with about a month’s absence from school. But if it occurs at a crucial stage in life like during your college finals or a public exam, it can cause much misery. The fact is such harassment is totally avoidable. The disease is preventable with a single dose of Varicella vaccine, which has to be administered after the age of one.

Pneumococcal disease causes pneumonia, brain fever, ear infection, sinusitis and bronchitis. The infection is common and results in 1.6 million deaths every year. Of this, one million are children. The death toll can be eliminated with timely immunisation in childhood. Infective jaundice because of hepatitis A and B can also be prevented with immunisation. Hepatitis A is considered harmless and exposure inevitable in India. Although the number of fatalities is negligible, it causes morbidity, with a feeling of “weakness”, lack of energy and ill health that persists for months. Hepatitis B is more dangerous. It can result in liver damage, chronic disease, cancer and even death. Again, both infections are preventable with immunisation.

Rubella or German measles is another disease that is preventable through vaccination. If acquired during pregnancy, the affliction can result in a stillbirth or a mentally retarded child with multiple defects requiring a lifetime of care. There are more vaccine preventable diseases such as measles, brain fever (caused by H. Influenzae or the meningococcal bacteria), typhoid, rotor virus diarrhoea, polio and even cervical cancer (caused by the Human Papillovirus infection).

Why then are we so focused on the swine flu epidemic? Flu has been around for centuries. Confirmed pandemics have been occurring with devastating regularity after 1918. The viruses responsible have a reservoir in birds and animals from where they mutate and transmigrate into humans. Since pigs share many genes with humans, the transition is this particular pandemic is very efficient. The rapid spread of the virus is helped by the lack of sunshine during the monsoon and in winter. It cannot survive long when exposed to our tropical sun, so in India the pandemic may be time bound.

It is difficult to differentiate the symptoms of regular flu from that of swine flu. Both start with fever, body ache, headache, sore throat, nasal stuffiness and cough. There may be diarrhoea or vomiting. The symptoms are more severe with swine flu. Most healthy people recover spontaneously from either. Those at risk are children under five, old people above 65, pregnant women and those with underlying medical conditions such as cancer, diabetes or heart disease.

Vaccines are available, but they have to be “upgraded” and “restructured” each time there is a new epidemic, as the genetic nature of the virus changes. The WHO anticipates that a vaccine to protect us against this pandemic will be available by October or November. But will there be enough vaccine to cover the entire world (or even Indian) population at risk?

The diagnosis is confirmed by tests done on nasal and throat swabs or nasal aspirates. Blood tests can be done but they take five days and involve taking two different samples. Treatment too is available in government hospitals. The drug Tamiflu (oseltamivir) is administered once diagnosis is confirmed.

The likelihood of infection is reduced by:

• Washing hands with soap several times a day, especially after handling money

• Cleaning surfaces like doorknobs with disinfectant

• Using a face mask

• Covering the face while coughing or sneezing

• Not spitting.

Source: The Terlegraph (Kolkata, India)

 
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The Science of Yoga

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Scientific evidence proves the benefits of yogic postures, especially surya namaskar.
Click to see the videos…>…...(1).…...(2).……...(3)..….……….
The “S.N.” in his name does not stand for “surya namaskar”. But it may not be inappropriate for S.N. Omkar, an aerospace researcher at the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Science (IISc), to have the term as his second name, considering his contribution to the art of yoga, particularly surya namaskar or sun salutation.

Omkar — who is also the yoga coach of the Indian cricket team — recently demonstrated why surya namaskar is one of the best forms of exercise for the human body. And that’s a claim he supports with his own scientific studies.

According to a study by him that appeared last week in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, regularly practising surya namaskar aids in bone formation (osteogenesis) and bone remodelling. The paper is co-authored by Meenakshi Mour and Debarun Das, research students at the National Institute of Technology, Durgapur.

Independent experts agree that performing surya namasakar every day greatly benefits mental and physical well being. But to say that it helps in osteogenesis is slightly far-fetched, they argue.

To prove his point, Omkar developed a mathematical model to tabulate the forces acting on the various joints in the body — such as the wrists, elbows, shoulders, hip, knees and ankles — during the 10 different postures the exercise involves. According to him, no major joint is overstressed during any of the sequences. At the same time, the activity burns calories at rates comparable to those of many rigorous aerobic exercises. For instance, quoting his own earlier work, the IISc scientist says that if a person weighing 70kg does the exercise 120 times at a stretch — and this can be done in around 55 minutes — he or she could burn up to 380 kilo calories, which is almost equal to the energy expenditure in one hour of brisk walking.

A product of the B.K.S. Iyengar School of Yoga in Pune, Omkar was always interested in unravelling the science behind different yoga postures. An opportunity beckoned to him when recently the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) approached him for a project. The space agency — which is contemplating an indigenous man mission to space in the near future — wanted Omkar, an aerospace expert, to probe aspects of the balance and stability required by an astronaut to combat space motion sickness, a condition produced by the absence of a gravitational field and subsequent confusion of the human vestibular (balance) system. “The project is in its nascent stage,” says Omkar, refusing to elaborate further.

As a first step, the IISc researcher wanted to derive a mathematical model of the forces and moments acting on the various joints in the body. “The model is based on simple mechanics. It will help detect the forces and moments experienced by major joints during the practice of surya namaskar. Through this one can compare the joint forces and moments during various yoga activities,” Omkar told KnowHow.

The joints are subjected to dynamic strains and moments as the body executes the various postures, explains Omkar. Earlier studies by bone specialists have shown that persistent low-amplitude but high-frequency mechanical strain on the bones can hasten the rate of bone formation, he adds.

Experts such as Venkatesh Balasubramanian — an associate professor of biomechanics at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras — have lauded the effort to scientifically validate the ancient practice of yoga. “But the calculations are too simplistic to be accurate,” Balasubramanian told KnowHow from Melbourne in Australia, where he is on a sabbatical.

According to Balasubramanian, Omkar’s study largely ignores the forces exerted by most of the muscles and ligaments involved in the exercise. “Overall, it is a good attempt to scientifically explain surya namaskar. A more rigorous study would be a step forward in this direction,” he says. Balasubramanian is also not very sure of the calorie-burning rate the IISc researchers have cited.

Melany Westwell of the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in the US, who has studied yoga postures, too thinks there is a flaw in the biomechanical model used in the study. But she agrees that since the postures require the use of large muscle groups — which are core muscles — and a large range of motion, a lot of calories are burnt. “As long as you have muscle contraction, you have to be burning calories,” she says.

Omkar, however, argues that the calorie counting was done using a Polar watch, which is commonly used by sportspersons all over the world. “They are quite dependable,” he asserts.

Whatever be the research methodology, one thing seems clear: understanding the scientific basis of yoga asanas and pranayamas will enable their use in therapy in a more effective manner.

List of asanas

Source: The Telegraph (Kolkata, India)

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Fruits & Vegetables Herbs & Plants

Eggplant

Eggplant::ja:??????
Image via Wikipedia

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Botanical Name:Solanum Melongena
Family: Solanaceae
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Solanales
Genus: Solanum
Species: S. melongena

Other common Name: Brinjal,Aubergine

Habitat: Native to India and Sri Lanka.Now growing throughout the world.


Synonyms:
The eggplant is quite often featured in the older scientific literature under the junior synonyms S. ovigerum and S. trongum. A list of other now-invalid names have been uniquely applied to it:

*Melongena ovata Mill.
*Solanum album Noronha
*Solanum insanum L.
*Solanum longum Roxb.
*Solanum melanocarpum Dunal
*Solanum melongenum St.-Lag.
*Solanum oviferum Salisb.
An inordinate number of subspecies and varieties have been named, mainly by Dikii, Dunal, and (invalidly) by Sweet. Names for various eggplant types, such as agreste, album, divaricatum, esculentum, giganteum, globosi, inerme, insanum, leucoum, luteum, multifidum, oblongo-cylindricum, ovigera, racemiflorum, racemosum, ruber, rumphii, sinuatorepandum, stenoleucum, subrepandum, tongdongense, variegatum, violaceum and viride, are not considered to refer to anything more than cultivar groups at best. On the other hand, Solanum incanum and Cockroach Berry (S. capsicoides), other eggplant-like nightshades described by Linnaeus and Allioni respectively, were occasionally considered eggplant varieties. But this is not correct.

The eggplant has a long history of taxonomic confusion with the Scarlet and Ethiopian eggplants, known as gilo and nakati and described by Linnaeus as S. aethiopicum. The eggplant was sometimes considered a variety violaceum of that species. S. violaceum of de Candolle applies to Linnaeus’ S. aethiopicum. There is an actual S. violaceum, an unrelated plant described by Ortega, which used to include Dunal’s S. amblymerum and was often confused with the same author’s S. brownii.

Like the potato and Solanum lichtensteinii—but unlike the tomato which back then was generally put in a different genus—the eggplant was also described as S. esculentum, in this case once more in the course of Dunal’s work. He also recognized varieties aculeatum, inerme and subinerme at that time. Similarly, H.C.F. Schuhmacher & Peter Thonning named the eggplant as S. edule, which is also a junior synonym of Sticky Nightshade (S sisymbriifolium). Scopoli’s S. zeylanicum refers to the eggplant, that of Blanco to S. lasiocarpum.

Description:
It is a delicate perennial often cultivated as an annual. It grows 40 to 150 cm (16 to 57 in) tall, with large coarsely lobed leaves that are 10 to 20 cm (4-8 in) long and 5 to 10 cm (2-4 in) broad. (Semi-)wild types can grow much larger, to 225 cm (7 ft) with large leaves over 30 cm (12 in) long and 15 cm (6 in) broad. The stem is often spiny. The flowers are white to purple, with a five-lobed corolla and yellow stamens. The fruit is fleshy, less than 3 cm in diameter on wild plants, but much larger in cultivated forms.

click to see the pictures.>…..(01)....(1)…..(2).…....(3)..…..……………….

The fruit is botanically classified as a berry, and contains numerous small, soft seeds, which are edible, but are bitter because they contain (an insignificant amount of) nicotinoid alkaloids, unsurprising as it is a close relative of tobacco.

Cultivated varieties
Different varieties of the plant produce fruit of different size, shape and color, especially purple, green, or white. There are even orange varieties.
click to see the pictures…>...(1).…..(2)...…..
The most widely cultivated varieties (cultivars) in Europe and North America today are elongated ovoid, 12–25 cm wide (4 1/2 to 9 in) and 6–9 cm broad (2 to 4 in) in a dark purple skin.

A much wider range of shapes, sizes and colors is grown in India and elsewhere in Asia. Larger varieties weighing up to a kilogram (2 pounds) grow in the region between the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, while smaller varieties are found elsewhere. Colors vary from white to yellow or green as well as reddish-purple and dark purple. Some cultivars have a color gradient, from white at the stem to bright pink to deep purple or even black. Green or purple cultivars in white striping also exist. Chinese varieties are commonly shaped like a narrower, slightly pendulous cucumber, and were sometimes called Japanese eggplants in North America.

Oval or elongated oval-shaped and black-skinned cultivars include Harris Special Hibush, Burpee Hybrid, Black Magic, Classic, Dusky, and Black Beauty. Slim cultivars in purple-black skin include Little Fingers, Ichiban, Pingtung Long, and Tycoon; in green skin Louisiana Long Green and Thai (Long) Green; in white skin Dourga. Traditional, white-skinned, egg-shaped cultivars include Casper and Easter Egg. Bicolored cultivars with color gradient include Rosa Bianca and Violetta di Firenze. Bicolored cultivars in striping include Listada de Gandia and Udumalapet. In some parts of India, miniature varieties (most commonly called Vengan) are popular. A particular variety of green brinjal known as Matti Gulla is grown in Matti village of Udupi district in Karnataka state in India.

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Watch your garden grow;

Growing Guide: Eggplant ;

Varieties
*Solanum melongena var. esculentum common eggplant (Ukrainian Beauty)
*Solanum melongena var. depressum dwarf eggplant
*Solanum melongena var. serpentium snake eggplant

Cooking
The raw fruit can have a somewhat bitter taste, but becomes tender when cooked and develops a rich, complex flavor. Salting and then rinsing the sliced fruit(known as “degorging”) can soften and remove much of the bitterness though this is often unnecessary. Some modern varieties do not need this treatment, as they are far less bitter.  The fruit is capable of absorbing large amounts of cooking fats and sauces, allowing for very rich dishes, but the salting process will reduce the amount of oil absorbed. The fruit flesh is smooth; as in the related tomato, the numerous seeds are soft and edible along with the rest of the fruit. The thin skin is also edible, so that peeling is not required.

The plant is used in cuisines from Japan to Spain. It is often stewed, as in the French ratatouille, the Italian melanzane alla parmigiana, the Arabian moussaka, and Middle-Eastern and South Asian dishes. It may also be roasted in its skin until charred, so that the pulp can be removed and blended with other ingredients such as lemon, tahini, and garlic, as in the Middle Eastern dish baba ghanoush and the similar Greek dish melitzanosalata or the Indian dishes of Baigan Bhartha or Gojju. In Iranian cuisine, it can be blended with whey kashk e-bademjan, tomatoes mirza ghasemi or made into stew khoresh-e-bademjan. It can be sliced, battered, and deep-fried, then served with various sauces which may be based on yoghurt, tahini, or tamarind. Grilled and mashed and mixed with onions, tomatoes, and spices it makes the Indian dish baingan ka bhartha. The fruit can also be stuffed with meat, rice, or other fillings and then baked. In the Caucasus, for example, it is fried and stuffed with walnut paste to make nigvziani badrijani. It can also be found in Chinese cuisine, braised , stewed  or stuffed.

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Eggplant information, recipes, and cooking tips
Nutrition properties of Eggplant, raw including levels of vitamins …
Nutritional Value of Eggplant :

Medicinal  Uses  & properities
Studies of the Institute of Biology of São Paulo State University, Brazil, would have shown that eggplant is effective in the treatment of high blood cholesterol. Another study from Heart Institute of the University of São Paulo found no effects at all and does not recommend eggplant as a replacement to statins.

It helps to block the formation of free radicals and is also a source of folic acid and potassium.

Eggplant is richer in nicotine than any other edible plant, with a concentration of 100 ng/g (or 0.01 mg/100g). However, the amount of nicotine from eggplant or any other food is negligible compared to passive smoking. On average, 20lbs (9 kg) of eggplant contains about the same amount of nicotine as a cigarette.

Medicinal Properties of Eggplant
From yesterday…
Until the 18th century, the eggplant was looked upon in Europe as something nefarious, capable of inducing fever or epileptic fits. It was even called Solanum insanum by the great botanist and taxonomist Linnaeus before he changed it to Solanum melongena .

To today…
Eggplant is not eaten plain nor used in infusions. It can be cooked in various ways to provide medicinal properties without resorting to the rich and heavy method of cooking it in oil.

*Anti-rheumatism

*Cardiac
recommended for those with cardio-vascular illnesses and obese persons whose excess weight is harmful to their heart. See also: cholesterol

*Combats constipation
*Digestive

*Lowers cholesterol
Eggplant contains elements that trap cholesterol in the intestine and cause it to be eliminated from the body. It thus helps prevent the formation of fatty deposits around the heart.

*Diuretic
*Relieves colic
*Reduces stomach ulcers

*Sedative
* Calmative
*Stimulant for the liver and intestines
The fiber, potassium, vitamin C, vitamin B-6, and phytonutrient content in eggplants all support heart health. According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, eating foods containing flavonoids is affiliated with a lower risk of mortality from heart disease. Consuming even small quantities of flavonoid-rich foods may benefit human health.

Several studies show that consumption of the flavonoids known as anthocyanins has played a major role in lowering risk of cardiovascular disease. One particular study revealed that those who consumed more than three servings of fruits and vegetables containing anthocyanins had 34% less risk of heart disease than those who consumed less. In another clinical study, researchers found that increased intake of anthocyanins was associated with significantly lower blood pressure.

Blood cholesterol:
Research on the effects of eggplant consumption in animal studies has shown that rabbits with high cholesterol that consumed eggplant juice displayed a significant decrease in weight and blood cholesterol levels.

Laboratory analyses of the phenolic compounds in eggplant reveal that the vegetable contains significant amounts of chlorogenic acid, which is one of the most powerful free radical scavengers found in plants. Chlorogenic acid has been shown to decrease LDL levels, and also serves as an antimicrobial, antiviral, and anticarcinogenic agent.

Cancer:
Polyphenols in eggplant have been found to exhibit anti-cancer effects. Anthocyanins and chlorogenic acid function as antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. They protect body cells from damage caused by free radicals and in turn prevent tumor growth and invasion and spread of cancer cells. They also stimulate detoxifying enzymes within cells and promote cancer cell death.
Cognitive function

Findings from animal studies suggest that nasunin, an anthocyanin within eggplant skin, is a powerful antioxidant that protects the lipids comprising cell membranes in brain cells from free radical damage. It has also been proven to help facilitate the transport of nutrients into the cell and wastes out.

Research has also shown that anthocyanins inhibit neuroinflammation and facilitate blood flow to the brain. This helps prevent age-related mental disorders and also improves memory.

Weight management and satiety:
Dietary fibers are commonly recognized as important factors in weight management and loss by functioning as “bulking agents” in the digestive system. These compounds increase satiety and reduce appetite, making you feel fuller for longer and thereby lowering your overall calorie intake. Since eggplant is already low in calories, it makes a great part of a healthy, low-calorie diet.

Click & see :What Are Eggplants Good For?.

As a native plant, it is widely used in Indian cuisine, for example in sambhar, chutney, curries, and achaar. Owing to its versatile nature and wide use in both everyday and festive Indian food, it is often described (under the name brinjal) as the ‘King of Vegetables’. In one dish, Brinjal is stuffed with ground coconut, peanuts, and masala and then cooked in oil.

In Bangladesh, it is called Begun. It, along with the fish Hilsa, is used to cook a famous wedding dish. Slices of the fruit are fried, covered with icing and eaten as snacks. This is called Beguni.

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*Eggplant extract for medical treatments
Allergy to Eggplant ( Solanum melongena ) Caused by a Putative …

Known Hazards: Eggplants  contain oxalates, which can contribute to kidney stone formation. Kidney stones can lead to acute oxalate nephropathy or even kidney death. Consuming foods containing oxalates, such as eggplant, is not recommended for those prone to kidney stone formation, and it is suggested that those suffering from kidney stones limit their intake of oxalate-containing foods.

Disclaimer:The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider

Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggplant
http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/products/articles/eggplant-or-aubergine-medicinal-properties/

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/279359.php

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