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TOMORROW IN BUSINESS OF LIFE TECHNOLOGYBODY & MIND

ARSENIC ALERTThere is arsenic in some of our groundwater—a

worrying thought at a time when groundwateris being used for drinking, irrigation and cookingin villages and towns where access to treatedwater through government-laid pipes is limited.

Groundwater is considered a comparativelyclean and uncontaminated source. In effect,however, the practice has led to the “largest-scale mass poisoning in history,” says S. Vishwa-nath, a water quality expert and adviser,Arghyam, Bengaluru. Arghyam is a grant-mak-ing foundation that focuses on issues of ground-water and sanitation.

According to a report released last month by theUnion ministry ofdrinking water andsanitation, as many as46 million people inIndia are exposedevery day to contami-nated water. Arsenic,f luoride, iron ornitrate contaminatewater in 78,508 ruralhabitations. Arsenicpoisons the water in1,991 of these habita-tions, adds the report.

The World HealthOrganization recom-mends that water fordrinking and irriga-tion should have lessthan 50 parts per bil-lion (ppb) of arsenic to be considered safe.According to the Arghyam website, around 13million people across eight states are exposed toarsenic contamination that is greater than 50ppb: West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh,Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Assamand Odisha. “The number of Indians affected byarsenic contamination ranges between 12-100million, depending on which expert you talk to,”says Vishwanath.

There are two forms of arsenic, organic andinorganic—the latter is considered more poi-sonous. Countries like India and Bangladeshnaturally have a higher level of inorganicarsenic in their minerals and rocks. Long-termexposure to inorganic arsenic can lead toarsenicosis, with symptoms including disfigur-ing skin lesions, cardiovascular disease andreproductive disorders, including an increasedlikelihood of stillbirths, according to a 2013Unicef position paper, Arsenic ContaminationIn GroundWater. Studies show that children areparticularly vulnerable; arsenic can inhibit theirintellectual development. Arsenic can alsocause bladder and lung cancer—the Interna-tional Agency for Research on Cancer has clas-sified it as a carcinogen.

While it is known that India has higher levels ofinorganic arsenic in its rocks and groundwater, wedon’t know which parts of the country, apart fromthe states in the Gangetic belt, are affected.

The Himalayan rocks contain inorganicarsenic and the Ganga river absorbs this as itflows down to the plains. “There probably areother areas of the country that are similarlyaffected, but we don’t know much about them,”says Chetan Malhotra, research team leader, newsolutions, Tata Research Development andDesign Centre (TRDDC), Pune. The TRDDC, aresearch centre established in 1981 by informa-tion technology company Tata ConsultancyServices, has developed Swach, a low-cost waterpurifier. Malhotra’s team is now working on alow-cost purification device that removesarsenic from groundwater.

While people wholive in cities andhave access to pipewater may believethey need not worryabout arsenic, thatmay not be true.Since arsenic-lacedwater is used for irri-gation, the foodcrops that grow in itcan and do get con-taminated.

The good thing isthat most grainsdon’t absorb enougha r s e n i c t o b e ahealth concern. Rice,however, is one grain

that does. It absorbsarsenic in its shoots, and since it’s grown inflooded conditions, the absorption is even greater.

There are a few ways to minimize exposure toarsenic. If you’re having rice, make sure it iswashed and use a ratio of six cups of water toone cup while cooking. Also, remember to drainthe excess water before eating the rice. Thewashing and draining remove a substantialamount of arsenic.

Last year, researchers from Okayama Univer-sity, Japan, University of Zurich, Switzerland,Pohang University of Science and Technologyand Kyung Hee University, South Korea, pub-lished their discovery of a transport molecule inthe rice plant that makes arsenic less toxic andalso reduces its uptake into the grain. The find-ings were published in the Proceedings Of TheNational Academy Of Sciences in November.Using this knowledge, researchers will one daybe able to genetically engineer a variety of ricethat absorbs negligible quantities of arsenic.

Meanwhile, if rice is the main grain in your diet,consider switching to a multigrain diet; that willbe better for your overall health anyway.

Sujata Kelkar Shetty, PhD, is a wellness consultant,life coach and former clinical research scientisttrained at the National Institutes of Health inBethesda, USA.

Write to us at businessoflife@livemint.com

Visiting a cold-weather country in winter can be challengingon occasion. It’s even more challenging to welcome winter

in a place such as Madison, Wisconsin, US—which was once covered by the Cordilleran ice sheet—while having a roadside epiphany that demonstrates the infinitesimal magnitude of any-thing you term an achievement in your life. When you are aware of your nothingness, it would greatly help your mental and physical state if you did not have to ward off the cold creeping into every crevice your fleece jacket failed to cover.

Before welcoming winter, I had been running at home in Bengaluru. One particular route I took went 10 miles, around 16km, across Rajajinagar, Manjunatha Nagar, Srirampuram, Shastri Nagar, Lakshmanpura and Gandhinagar, across from M Chinnaswamy Stadium and Gowthamapuram. It was no wonder that I did not see any women outside that early in the morning. My elite and mostly male street-sign company kept me com-pany for the entire route. There was not a single pit stop for feminism on my road. Sorry, I should have said there was not a single feminine pit stop on my road.

When I started participating in endurance sport, I had a goodattitude for the first three years. I felt that if I could compete, training in a place where I had to demonstrate dexterity manoeuvring around cows and callous men alike, I should be

fine on a global stage. It was all fun and games until I was fol-lowed, on a motorbike, during one of my rides. The same motorbike showed up at one of my runs too. I had been running around Ulsoor Lake and ran into the army encampment there to seek help. I never saw the motorbike again.

I don’t get what it means to be a woman in India any more. Idon’t buy the spin about more and more women in sport. There are more marathon participants but women are proportionally lower by orders of magnitude.

If you are not in the man-hating, divorce-seeking, chest-beating, Khadi-sari-wearing corner, if you are not in the amaz-ingly-socially-adept wife taking care of her extended family’s fragile feelings corner, if you are not in the single-ready-to-mingle for influence, fame or time-pass corner, and if you are not in the career-is-my-life, children-are-my-end-all, bank-balance-is-practical corner, then where the hell are you? Is there a will-run-for-food, romance-several-men-that-are-wrong-for-me, maybe-stay-single-past-30-if-that-suits-me-bet-ter woman around? If so, why don’t I see more of her kind running in the mornings? I do see women in saris and Keds walking. Some of them run too. Some of them dress in pants and T-shirts. All of them have incredible spirit, discipline and can-do attitude.

That having been said, I feel we have a long way to go beforecreating a path, even if it’s only 10 miles, running through neigh-bourhoods that are women-friendly. Archana-nagar, Divya-puram, Sachu-swamy stadium, Deepa-pura, Ajitha-puram, Jam-ba-nagar. Until that happens, it’s just me and my iPod.

Back to visiting a winter-bound country in cold weather—Madison, where hell seemed to have literally frozen over. I remember stopping at Lake Mendota (or was it Monona, I can never get this right), to behold the stark greyness of the land-scape. It had taken three cups of coffee, 12 Eminem track pur-chases at the iTunes Store and two Mars bars to get me out of the door that morning. I might have stopped because I was out of breath, with the cold stinging my nostrils. Whatever the real reason for stopping, after the daze of blood rushing all over had faded and the world became clear, for an infinitesimal period of time, I saw a lone duck making its way gingerly across the lake. I had a hallucination thinking that I had finally seen the elusive Shingebiss (an underdog character from a native American tale), maybe only part legend, maybe meaning more to the Ojibwa (an American Indian tribe) than to us, the other Indians.

Adapt or perish. Maybe that is what being a woman in India means. A running woman.

Anu Vaidyanathan is a long-course triathlete, the first Indian to compete in the Ironman and the first Asian to complete Ultraman Canada. This is a fortnightly series on running.

Write to us at businessoflife@livemint.com

FOOTFALL  I ANU VAIDYANATHAN

STAY THE COURSE IN THE WILDERNESS

‘Pesarattu’ from Andhra Pradesh, ‘sabudana khichdi’ from Maharashtra, ‘aloo koni pitika’ from Assam and ‘patrodu’ from Himachal Pradesh—meal ideas from around the country to tickle your child’s taste buds this summer

B Y S M I TA S R I VA S TAVA···············································

The one question parents ask themselves over andover again is what kind of tasty and healthy foodthey can put in their child’s tiffin, something that

s/he will enjoy. If you want to break out of the bread, butter, jam and biscuit cycle, here are some meals from different states which make for a perfect tiffin.

This is the first of a three-part series on tiffin ideas from around the country.

Write to us at businessoflife@livemint.com

Aloo koni pitika This Assamese dish combines the goodness of pota­toes and eggs. Eggs are high in protein and essential for strong bones and muscles, while potatoes are loaded with vitamins and minerals. Preparation time: 5 minutes (plus soaking time)Cooking time: 7­10 minutes (to boil the potato and egg)

INGREDIENTS u 1 boiled potato, medium sizedu 1 boiled egg u 2 tbsp onion, choppedu 1 tbsp coriander, finely chopped u 1 tsp mustard oil u Salt and green chillies (optional) to taste METHODMash the boiled potato and egg together. Mix the rest of the ingredients.

Amitar khar Raw papaya is full of essential nutrients and enzymes that aid in digestion.Preparation time: 3 minutes Cooking time: 8 minutes

INGREDIENTS u 1 raw papaya (approximately 250g) u N tsp ‘jeera’ (cumin) u N tsp ‘methi’ (fenugeek) seeds u 1 bay leaf u A pinch of baking soda u 1 tsp mustard oil u Salt and chilli powder to taste METHODPeel and chop the papaya into small pieces. Heat oil in a non­stick pan, add bay leaf, cumin and fenugreek seeds. Add the papaya, baking soda, salt and chilli powder and cover. Cook till soft and mushy.

Add­ons: Pack some steamed rice to complete the meal.

Patrodu A popular snack, this dish is made with taro

leaves and ‘urad dal’ paste, making it high inproteins, vitamins and fibre. Traditionally, the smeared

leaf rolls are wrapped in turmeric leaves before steaming. They can be stored in the fridge for four­five days or frozen for a month. Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 12­15 minutes

INGREDIENTS u 3­4 taro leaves (‘arvi’/’kachalu’ leaves) u N cup ‘urad dal’ (soaked overnight and drained)u N cup ‘mung dal’ (soaked overnight and drained)u 1 onion, medium sizedu 3­4 garlic cloves u K piece gingeru N tsp turmeric u N tsp dry mango powder u K tsp sesame seeds u Salt and chilli powder to taste u 2 tsp oil for shallow frying METHODGrind the ‘dals’ along with onion, garlic, ginger and spices to a smooth paste. Wash and pat dry the leaves. Place a leaf on the kitchen counter (vein side up) and smear the paste generously. Cover with another leaf and repeat the process to form a stack of three­four leaves. Roll tightly. Steam for 15 minutes. Cool and slice into thick roundels. Drizzle some oil on a non­stick pan and shallow­fry on both sides till crisp. Sprinkle sesame seeds.

Cucumber­carrot salad Cucumber is high in fibre, while carrots are a source of vitamin A. Both are good for eyesight.Preparation time: 3 minutes Cooking time: Nil

METHODCut a small cucumber and carrot into thick sticks. Squeeze lemon juice and sprinkle ‘chat masala’.

Assam Maharashtra

BiharAndhraPradesh

Himachal Pradesh

Jammu & Kashmir

PesarattuAn Andhra staple, this lentil crêpe or

‘dosa’ is a rich source of protein.Preparation time: 5 minutes (plus soak­

ing time)Cooking time: 8 minutes

INGREDIENTS u K cup ‘mung dal’ (green gram; soaked and drained) u N tsp cumin u Salt to taste u Water as required u Oil for greasing u A small piece of ginger (optional)METHODGrind the ‘mung dal’ with water, cumin and salt to a smooth ‘dosa’ batter consistency. Heat a greased skillet and spread a ladleful of the paste to make a thin ‘dosa’­like crêpe and cook for 2 minutes. Flip and cook the other side till crisp.

Coconut chutney Coconut is a superfood. Besides improving good choles­terol, it helps digestion and aids in the absorption of nutrients, vitamins and minerals.Preparation time: 3 minutes (plus soaking time)Cooking time: 2 minutes

INGREDIENTS u N cup coconut, grated u 2 tsp ‘bhuna chana’ (roasted gram)u A small piece of ginger u 2 tbsp yogurt u Salt to taste For the tempering u N tsp ‘urad dal’ (black gram) u N tsp mustard seeds u 4­5 curry leaves u A few drops of oil METHODGrind together all the ingredients into a smooth paste

and keep aside. Heat oil in a pan, add ‘urad dal’,mustard seeds and curry leaves and cook till

the ‘dal’ turns golden. Pour the temperingon the coconut chutney.

Add­ons: Pack some pre­made ‘gongura’pickle for an authentic taste of Andhra.

Assam Maharashtra

BiharAndhraPradesh

Himachal Pradesh

Jammu & Kashmir

Assam Maharashtra

BiharAndhraPradesh

Himachal Pradesh

Jammu & Kashmir

Sabudana khichdi ‘Sabudana’ (tapioca pearls) is high incarbohydrates and perfect for a quick

boost of energy.Preparation time: 2 minutes (plus soaking

time)Cooking time: 5 minutes

INGREDIENTS u K cup ‘sabudana’ u 1 small potato, dicedu N cup roasted peanuts u N tsp cumin u 5­6 curry leaves u 2 tsp oilu Salt to taste METHODWash the ‘sabudana’, transfer to a bowl and pour two table­spoons of water. Cover and keep overnight. Keep aside a few peanuts for garnishing and coarsely grind the rest. Fluff the soaked ‘sabudana’ with a fork and mix in the coarse peanut powder and salt. Heat oil in a non­stick pan, add cumin and curry leaves. Add the chopped potatoes and cook till tender. Add the ‘sabudana’, cover and cook for 2 minutes or till soft and translucent. Garnish with peanuts.

Green garlic thecha ‘Thecha’ is coarsely ground Maharashtrian­style chutney. Unlike the most popular green chilli ‘thecha’, this version uses fresh garlic greens (chives/spring onion­like garlic shoots). Garlic greens are rich in antioxidants and help in giving the immune system a boost. Preparation time: 3 minutes Cooking time: 5 minutes

INGREDIENTS u 1 cup garlic greens, chopped u 1 tbsp coriander, chopped u A few drops of oil u Salt and lemon juice to taste METHODHeat a non­stick pan. Drizzle few drops of oil and sauté the garlic greens for 2­3 minutes. Cool and grind coarsely along with coriander and salt. Add lemon juice.

Shrikhand Sweetened hung curd with the goodness of nuts and saf­fron is a popular Maharashtrian recipe. Yogurt is a rich source of protein and calcium. Preparation time: 2 minutes Cooking time: Nil

INGREDIENTS u K cup hung yogurt u 2 tsp powdered sugar u 1 tsp chopped nuts u A pinch of cardamom powder u 2­3 strands of saffron METHODWhisk every­thing together.

Assam Maharashtra

BiharAndhraPradesh

Himachal Pradesh

Jammu & KashmirTIFFINS OF INDIA

THE WELLNESS SUTRASUJATA KELKAR SHETTY

Take note: Rice can be a source of arsenic in the food chain.

Out in the cold: Where are the women­friendly trails for running?

SHAPE­SHIFTING NANOPROBES CREATEDScientists have designed a new, shape-shift-

ing probe—one-hundredth the width of ahuman hair—for sensitive, high-resolution remote biological sensing not possible with current technology. It might be used in clinical diagnostics, researchers say.

Most efforts to image highly localized bio-chemical conditions such as abnormal pH and ion concentration—critical markers for many disorders—rely on various nanosensors that are probed using light at optical frequencies. But the sensitivity and resolution of the resulting optical signals decrease rapidly at increasing depths in the body, limiting most applications to less obscured, more optically accessible regions.

The new shape-shifting probe devices, described in the journal Nature, are not sub-ject to those limitations, making it possible to detect and measure localized conditions on the molecular scale deep within tissues, and to

observe how they change in real time. “Our design is based on completely different

operating principles,” says US National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Gary Zabow, who led the research with National Institutes of Health colleagues Stephen Dodd and Alan Kore-tsky. “Instead of optically based sensing, the shape-changing probes are designed to operate in the radio frequency (RF) spectrum, specifi-cally to be detectable with standard nuclear magnetic resonance or magnetic resonance imaging equipment. In these RF ranges, signals are, for example, not appreciably weakened by intervening biological materials,” says Zabow.

As a result, they can get strong, distinctive signals from very small dimensions at substan-tial depths or in other locations impossible to probe with optically based sensors. PTI

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