Milk of Pahari kindness
According to a recent study, the milk of Pahari cows has amazing health-giving properties

The milk of a cow breed in Himachal Pradesh has a protein that battles heart disease, diabetes and autism, a scientist has said.

"The milk of the Pahari cow breed contains A2 Beta-casein protein in good quantity and it is good for health," says Mandeep Sharma, head of the Veterinary Microbiology and Immunology Department of the Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Agriculture University.

This fact came to light in an ongoing study being by the department on 43 hill cows.

Sharma says that in 97 per cent cases, it was discovered that the cows produced A2 Beta-casein that plays a protective role against heart diseases, autism and diabetes.

He says the milk of the exotic Holstein and Jersey breeds do not contain this component and instead have an alternative A1 allele that has been associated with these diseases.

"A1 allele is not at all present or negligible in the milk of the local cows," he adds.

The project, sanctioned by the National Agriculture Development Scheme, is studying immunological and immunogenetic profiling of hill cattle for their disease-resistance potential.

Studies revealed that hill cattle are highly adaptogenic and have better innate and adaptive immune responses to fight infectious diseases like tuberculosis, foot-and-mouth and brucellosis. Sharma says studies have also established that native cow urine has anti-microbial properties.

"When urine was processed and added in very minute quantities to an anti-microbial agent, it was able to enhance the anti-microbial activity of that agent by 20 to 25 perc ent," the scientist adds.

According to him, the farmers in the state prefer domesticated hybrid varieties rather than the native ones due to high-milk yields.

"Now, in certain pockets in the interiors of the state, people are domesticating the Pahari cows," he claims.

The short statured Pahari cattle are highly adaptable to the hilly terrain, are disease resistant and thrive on even poor pastures. — IANS

Ignorance about calories putting millions at risk

Millions of people are unaware of the calories they take in their daily meal, and thus risking themselves to be affected by diseases like cancer, diabetes or heart ailments due to their uninformed choices in everyday life, a study has suggested.

According to a survey commissioned for World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), in Britain, two-thirds of adults underestimated the level of calories in foods such as houmous and so-called "light" mayonnaise. Just 32 per cent correctly said hummus was high in calories and only 29 per cent said low-fat mayo was also high in calories, the Daily Express reported. The fact is both hummus and ‘light’ mayonnaise are actually high-calorie foods. It shows how there is a "troubling" lack of understanding about the calorie content of foods.

As per the YouGov poll, confusion about terms such as "light" or "reduced fat" was compounding the problem. This is a major concern since being an overweight is a key factor in causing a range of diseases from cancer and heart disease to diabetes.

A fifth — 20 per cent — of the 2,128 adults questioned for the research thought bananas were high in calories, even though the fruit contains just 95 calories per 100g on an average.

"Many people make New Year’s resolutions to lose weight but it is important that they understand how to determine whether a food is high in calories. It is important for people to be able to make informed choices about food," says Maya Monteiro, senior education manager at WCRF. — IANS