Right Quantity Of Nutrients Required

Carbohydrate: Whole grains cereals, legumes, fruits, milk, sugar, honey and potatoes are sources of carbohydrates. Quantity should be 40 percent to 60 percent of your calories requirement.

It provides energy, and helps in oxidation of fat. Insufficient amount of carbohydrate can cause lack of calories, which can lead to malnutrition. Excessive consumption will make you obese.

Protein: Eat pulses, legumes, nuts, milk and its products, chicken, fish, and egg to give your body much needed protein. According to body weight, consume 0.8 to 1 gm or Kg of protein to help in growth and maintenance of body.

It gives structure and shape to all the cells, organs and connective tissues. Proteins also help your body fight infection.

Malnutrition, weight loss, thinning of hair, muscle soreness, weakness and lethargy, are among other things that you will experience if there is less amount of protein present in your body.

Fat: Ghee, butter, cream, cheese, nuts, seed, egg, fish, chicken, pork and beef are all rich in fat. 15 to 25 percent of calories requirement is the right quantity.

It provides energy, helps in the absorption of fat soluble vitamins like vitamin A, D, E and K. It is important for the development of brain and central nervous system.

There will be poor vitamin absorption and depression, if you don't have fat in your body. Overeating food items rich in fat will lead to obesity, stroke and many more.

Vitamin A: Sweet potato with peel, carrots, spinach, liver, fish are the sources of this vitamin. 700 to 900 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin A per day strengthen immunity against infection and help in vision.

Lack of it can cause night blindness and rough skin. Excess of it can affect the bone, which increases the risk of fracture.

Vitamin D: 15 mcgs of vitamin D rich food items like egg yolks, liver help to form and maintain your teeth and bones.

Rickets (long, soft bowed legs), flattening of the back of the skull, osteomalacia (muscle and bone weakness), and osteoporosis (loss of bone mass) are some of the major diseases that one can suffer from, if vitamin D is not taken.

Too much of it leads to slowed mental and physical growth, decreased appetite, nausea and vomiting.

Vitamin E: This acts as an antioxidant and protects vitamins A and C, and red blood cells from destruction. So have 15 mcg of vegetable oil like soybean, corn and cottonseed. Egg yolks also contain vitamin E.

Vitamin E deficiency is rare, In Cases of this vitamin deficiency usually occurs in premature infants.

Vitamin K: All leafy vegetables are said to be good for health. Turnip greens, spinach, cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, canola oil and olive oil are all rich in vitamin K.

The vitamin is required for proper blood clotting. Just have 120 mcg every day. Hemorrhaging can happen if you don't include it in your diet. Overindulgence can lead to vomiting.

Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) - The sources are whole grain, bread and cereals. Non-vegetarians can find this vitamin in liver, pork, and eggs. 0.8 to 1 mg per day is sufficient.

It helps with energy production in your body. Deficiency can cause numbness, tingling and loss of sensation.

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin): Dark green vegetables, legumes, whole and enriched grain products, and milk, along with liver, eggs should be eaten. 1.1 to 1.3 mg per day of this vitamin helps to release energy from foods, promotes good vision, and healthy skin.

Cracks at the corners of the mouth, light sensitivity, and a sore, red tongue are the problems you can face if you don't have vitamin B2.

Vitamin C: Citrus fruits like orange and lemon are known for being source of this vitamin. 75 to 90 mg per day is the right quantity required by your body.

It heals wound, helps in bone and tooth formation, strengthens blood vessel walls, improves immune system function, increases absorption and utilization of iron, and acts as an antioxidant.

If you don't take vitamin C rich food, you can be a victim of scurvy, causing a loss of collagen strength throughout the body. Loss of collagen results in loose teeth, bleeding and swollen gums, and improper wound healing.

Excess leads to formation of kidney stones and you may even suffer from diarrhoea.

Iron - Have beans, lentils, beef, and eggs to stay away from anaemia, dizziness or fainting.

Men should have 8mg per day. For women 18 mg per day is sufficient.

Calcium: Milk, yoghurt, spinach are rich in calcium. 1000 mg per day of calcium is essential for bone growth and strength, blood clotting, muscle contraction, and the transmission of nerve signals.

Absence of calcium can lead to thinning and weakening of bone.

Random Internet Usage

People who use the Internet more randomly, switching between applications may be showing signs of depression, a new study led by an Indian-origin researcher has claimed.
  
Analysing Internet usage among college students, a team led by Sriram Chellappan at Missouri University of Science and Technology found that those who show signs of depression tend to browse differently than others.
  
The researchers identified nine fine-grained patterns of Internet usage that may indicate depression. For example, students showing signs of depression tend to use file-sharing services more than their counterparts, and also use the Internet in a more random manner, frequently switching among several applications. They also tend to send email and chat online more than the other students.
  
Depressed students also tended to use higher "packets per flow" applications, those high-bandwidth applications often associated with online videos and games, than their peers, the researchers said.   

"The study is believed to be the first that uses actual Internet data, collected unobtrusively and anonymously, to associate Internet usage with signs of depression Chellappan said in a statement.
  
For the study, which is to be published in a forthcoming issue of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, the researchers anonymously collected a month's worth of Internet data for 216 undergraduate students. The students were also tested for signs of depression, about 30 percent of whom met the minimum criteria for depression.
  
The researchers then analysed their Internet usage data and found that those who showed signs of depression used the Internet much differently than the other study participants.
  
Students who showed signs of depression also tended to use the Internet in a more "random" manner – frequently switching among applications, perhaps from chat rooms to games to email.
  
That randomness, Chellappan thinks, may indicate trouble concentrating, a characteristic associated with depression.

kids Gives Meaning To Our Lives

Having children brings an increased sense of meaning into people's lives, a new survey has revealed. The latest measure of the country's well being by Prime Minister's national happiness survey revealed that having a child does not necessarily make people happier or more satisfied with their lot, but it does make them feel they have more of a reason for living.

The researchers also acknowledged for the first time that their figures show that married people are happier than everyone else, and that the most miserable are those who are divorced or separated.

"Although the presence of children does not alter overall life satisfaction or improve day-to-day emotions, it may bring an increased sense of meaning and purpose to people's lives," a daily quoted the report as saying,
The happiness survey is being conducted by the Office for National Statistics on the orders of David Cameron, who thinks it is important to know what matters to voters beyond what can be measured by economic statistics.

The 2 million-pound-a-year exercise, primarily based on four questions about people's sense of well-being, has been widely condemned by critics as futile and pointless.

"People who are married or in civil partnerships reported the highest average levels of life satisfaction, significantly higher than cohabiting couples.

"The lowest average rating was reported by people who are divorced or separated, including those who have dissolved civil partnerships," the report said.

The survey, carried out among 80,000 people, asked four questions - how satisfied they were with their lives, to what extent their lives were worthwhile, how happy they were yesterday, and how anxious they felt yesterday.

Typically, the answers - on a scale from one to ten - were somewhere over seven. The report said people with children rated their satisfaction and happiness levels no differently from others.

However, it said the lowest rating for the 'worthwhile' question - 7.6 out of 10 - was given by people living in households where no children were present.

"This increases to between 7.8 and 7.9 out of 10 for people living with two or more children in their household.
This finding suggests that although the presence of children does not alter overall life satisfaction or improve day-to-day emotions, it may bring an increased sense of meaning and purpose to people's lives, therefore increasing average scores for the "worthwhile" question," the report added.

Married couples, the report said, put levels of life satisfaction on average at 7.7 out of 10. Cohabiting couples scored two points lower, at 7.5 out of 10. Single people scored 7.3, widows 6.8, and those who were divorced or separated 6.6.

Happiness And Earning

Money can buy you happiness, only if you earn more of it than your friends, scientists have claimed.

A study of life satisfaction in dozens of countries found that contrary to popular perception, economic growth doesn't bring with it a corresponding long-term rise in happiness.

While people may feel more positive in the short-term, the shine quickly wears off, found the study by researchers from University of Southern California.

However, they found that the rich are happier than the poor within an individual country, the Daily Mail reported.

This implies that what matters is earning more than others, not the actual amount earned, said Professor Richard Easterlin, who led the study.

Professor Easterlin first coined the theory in the 1970s which became known as the Easterlin Paradox.

With several recent studies challenging his findings, Professor Easterlin again set out to examine if this pattern still exists.

After crunching together figures from 37 countries around the globe including burgeoning economies such as China, South Korea and Chile, the University of Southern California professor said little had changed.

He said: "Simply stated, the happiness-income paradox is this: at a point in time both among and within countries, happiness and income are positively correlated.

But, over time, happiness does not increase when a person's income increases.

He added: "China's growth rate implies a doubling of real per capita income in less than 10 years, and Chile's in 18 years.

Yet both China and Chile show mild declines in life satisfaction.

Professor Easterlin's findings appeared in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.