Health Questions & Answers

Baker’s dozen means 13, instead of 12. The tale behind its origin is that a medieval law specified the weight of bread loaves, and any baker who supplied less to a customer was in for dire punishment. So bakers would include a thirteenth loaf with each dozen just to be safe. It is said that during good harvests, bakers sold …

The origin is uncertain: it may refer to the shape of the shirt as a T – when laid out, it looks like the alphabet T; it may be derived from its use by the army as a ‘training shirt’. The shape based theory is supported by the existence of an A-shirt in the 1930s, which was a typical undershirt …

Sugar-free products contain sugar substitutes, some natural and some synthetic. Artificial sweeteners are saccharin, aspartame, sucralose, neotame, acesulfame potassium, and stevia. Artificial sweeteners are compounds with sweetness 300-500 times that of sucrose (table sugar). As a result, less sweetener is required, energy contribution is often negligible and blood glucose levels are not effected.

What constitutes a high-fat food? — More than 20gm fat per 100gm Always check the food label.

Drink plenty of water daily. Eat fiber-rich raw foods, which massage the gums and cleans the teeth. Raw foods also increase salivation, which neutralizes acids and alkalis within the mouth. You may grate, dice, ground, blend, or juice raw foods. Good raw foods to eat are apple, carrot, radish, cucumber, orange, pear, beetroot, watermelon, etc. Eat some raw food after …

Pizza was first cooked in the kitchens of Naples, Italy, about 500 years ago. No one person created it. It was just something a lot of people ate around Naples. The Duke of Naples made Pizza popular by adding a variety of toppings. Without cheese and tomato sauce toppings, Pizza is just plain crusty dough.

Yes. On all normal skin, good soap cleanses by combining with water to make a lather which penetrates the pores and roots out the dirt. Perfumed soaps can, however, cause allergies. Soap is made of fats and alkalis and the best soap contains rather less alkali and has special antiseptics which help to rid the skin of harmful bacteria. Good …

Madras eye is the inflammation of the outermost covering of the eyeball and inner layer of eyelid. Medically, it is known as ‘conjunctivitis’. It can be caused by various agents like bacteria, virus, wind, smoke, pollen, radiation or chemical agents. If a person comes in close physical contact of the infected person or his infected belongings, the bacteria or virus …

The main ingredient in hair gels is a plastic called PVP, which is a polymer sealer. The polymers in PVP are dissolved in water or alcohol and form a clear film between each hair strand, attaching them to one another. Chemical experts call this “capillary power” because it’s similar to how blood capillaries work. When gel is applied to wet …

The leaves of the nettle are covered with tiny, fine hairs. When you touch a leaf, the point of the hair pricks your skin. A poison is squeezed up the hair from a tiny sac at its base, and gets into the would. This is what causes the stinging pain-and makes you avoid stinging nettles in future!