Manisha Sharma ¹, Kowsalya S. ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women, Coimbatore-641 043, Tamil Nadu, IN

Abstract

Cereals/millets and pulses are an important parts of healthy and balanced diet and hence helps in bridging the gap of protein hunger malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies. To increase the shelf life of perishable and non-perishable food items, drying is one of the primary and oldest processing techniques that the food grains are subjected to. The convection oven drying method is one of the commonly used methods for the estimation of moisture in marketing enterprises and industries but as the time consumption is quite higher in this process a replacement but quick and dependable technique is essential. One variety rice (Luit variety), one variety of millets and one variety of pulses (samples) were used for the study. Experiments with temperature varying from 30-60 °C and varied time intervals (15 minutes) were conducted in a microwave oven and convection oven using the samples. The main parameters used for the study were temperature and time which was recorded after a time interval of 15 minutes1. The results stated that the process of drying takes place at a falling rate period i.e. with the rise in temperature the moisture content decreases. At a very long process the drying rate, the curve slop becomes less sharp and slowly tends to be horizontal at longer period of time. The values are calculated when the moisture content of the samples becomes constant. Drying food grains for a longer time period have adverse effect in the nature of the samples along with it can result in income loss of marketing industries.Salient findings from the study can be that the alternative means for the convection oven drying can be microwave oven drying as it can be a favorable method for the estimation of moisture content in food grains.

Keywords

Drying, Moisture Content, Convection Oven Drying, Microwave Oven Drying.

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Abhirami Sivaprasad ¹, Kowsalya S. ²

Affiliations
1 Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women, Coimbatore - 641 043, Tamil Nadu, IN
2 Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women, Coimbatore - 641 043, Tamil Nadu

Abstract

Athletics is a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletic competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking. A variety of running events are held on the track which falls into three broad distance categories: sprints, middle-distance, and long-distance track events. Sprinting is running over a short distance in a limited period. It is used in many sports that incorporate running, typically as a way of quickly reaching a target or goal, or avoiding or catching an opponent. The nutrient rich bar is a nutritional enhancement frequently used by athletes to preserve their energy requirements in daily life. Nutri Bars supply an adequate quantum of nutrients for strength, vitality for sustained physical and mental activity. It is an ideal supplement for athletes, which is energy-dense, nutraceutical rich ready to eat, and easy to carry as a pregame and postgame snack. In the present study, Nutri Bar was developed using nutraceutical energy-rich food ingredients. A ready-to-eat Nutri Bar was prepared with locally available energy-rich nutraceutical food products. The developed bar was evaluated for sensory attributes by 9-point Hedonic scale. The highly accepted variation was chosen for the nutrient analysis. Nutrient analysis and nutraceutical potentials per 100g of bar revealed that the developed bar was rich in nutrients and anti-oxidants.

Keywords

Nutraceuticals, Nutri Bar, Sensory Evaluation, Nutrient Analysis, Anti-Oxidants.

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Challagundla Reddy Jyothsna ¹, Kowsalya S. ²

Affiliations
1 Department of Clinical Nutrition, Sakra World Hospital, Bengaluru, 560 103, Karnataka, IN
2 Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women, Coimbatore, 641 043, Tamil Nadu, IN

Abstract

In Urban India especially among the young and middle aged adults the Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is increasing day by day. Lifestyle influences the individual parameters of MetS. The MetS criteria are adversely affecting the health and performance of an individual. During this Covid-19 pandemic situation, the lifestyle of individuals altered to a great extent and equally influenced MetS. To study the influence of lifestyle factors on MetS criteria, a prospective observational study was performed in the Clinical Nutrition department. A total of 465 subjects were screened initially. Both males and females with age 25-54 years were included in the study. Subjects who recovered from Covid-19, pregnant and lactating women were excluded. Using a questionnaire the subjects’ previous and current data of anthropometric measures of Waist Circumference (WC), weight and height were noted. The Body Mass Index (BMI) was computed. Serum values of Triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS), Glycosylated Haemoglobin were noted along with the Blood Pressure (BP) measurement. Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) and three days diet recall was written down. The daily calorie uptake was calculated. Their habits pertaining to smoke, alcohol and Physical Activity (PA) patterns were gathered. The NCEP-ATP-III criteria were used to categorize under MetS. The obtained data in the study was analysed by SPSS 20. Females-100 and Males-182 were included in the study and assessed further. The percentage of overweight individuals did not increase significantly. But there was a significant increase by about 10% in obesity. 3% of non-diabetics became diabetic. The FBS were higher at 75% subjects compared to 62% earlier. High-Triglycerides (TG) was observed in 75% individuals compared to 66% subjects earlier. There was no significant increase in individuals with low HDL and high BP. Lack of PA was seen in 63% subjects compared to 42% earlier. Also it is observed that the intensity and consistency of PA activity dropped. Calories consumption per day >2000 kcal was observed in 68% subjects compared to 47% earlier. Alcohol habit was observed in 52%. Smoking habit was observed in 43% individuals. Though there was no significant increase in smoking or alcohol consuming individuals, the frequency and quantity of consumption of smoke and alcohol increased significantly. Three criteria of MetS were observed in 46% subjects when compared to 33% previously. The altered lipid values and high BMI had a significant correlation with lack of PA and high calorie diet consumed. High WC and high BMI had a significant correlation. Elevated TG had significant correlation with alcohol consumption. Moderate correlation was observed between the factors of increased calorie consumption and raised blood sugars/high WC. The people who had lack of PA, high intake of calories on a day to day basis and alcohol consumption had MetS significantly. From the present study it was found that MetS is at the raise in the current pandemic situation. Identifying lifestyle and interventions necessary in means of education to correct lifestyle of the young adults emphasizing to choose healthy food ingredients, cooking methods and alternative PA is very important to raise MetS in the community.

Keywords

Metabolic Syndrome, Mets, Lifestyle, Covid-19, Mets Criteria, Pandemic, Physical Activity

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