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INSIDEINSIDE

Eating chilli peppers can helpdieters to lose weight by rais-ing their metabolism and burn-

ing away fat, according to scientists Researchers have found that the

heat generated by peppers can actu-ally increase your consumption ofcalories and “oxidise” layers of fat.

And for those that don’t like the“burn”, they have discovered that anequivalent of the main ingredient“capsaicin” occurs in some non-hotvarieties of the fruit

The heat of pepper evolved to putanimals off eating them, but humanshave come to like them and they havebeen a staple of many diets aroundthe world for thousands of years.

Scientists – intrigued by the abili-ty of the fruit to make you sweat –now believe they can help as part of

a diet.There are plants that make a non-

burning version of capsaicin calleddihydrocapsiate (DCT) that couldhave the benefits of peppers withoutthe pungency, it has been discovered.

Researchers at the University ofCalifornia recruited 34 men andwomen who were willing to consumea very low-calorie liquid mealreplacement product for 28 days.

The researchers, led by Dr DavidHeber, then randomly chose the sub-jects to take either placebo pills orsupplements containing the non-

burning DCT pepper.Their data provided convincing

evidence that, at least for severalhours after the test meal was con-sumed, energy expenditure was sig-nificantly increased in the group con-suming the highest amount of DCT.

In fact, it was almost double thatof the placebo group.

They were also able to show thatDCT significantly increased fat oxida-tion, pushing the body to use morefat as fuel. This may help people loseweight when they consume a low-calorie diet by increasing metabo-lism.

Dr Heber and his research teamwill present their results at theExperimental Biology annual confer-ence.

The Shocking disaster’ of Aral Seasaga worsens

“The drying up of theAral Sea is one of theplanet’s most shocking

environmental disasters”, U.N.Secretary-General Ban Ki-moonsaid on Sunday 04th April 2010 ashe urged Central Asian leaders tostep up efforts to solve the prob-

Thereís goldin the old

Iwas in a naturopathy centre for aweek. A fellow starver was a womanwho claimed that she spent all day,

every day, gardening in her 500 yardpatch. She pulled out every “weed “, killedevery insect, poked and snipped everyplant. As a person who has a totally wildforest for a garden (converted from acemented car parking lot 7 years ago) glo-ries in weeds, never cuts grass, is interest-ed in every insect and lets every plantgrow itself, I was appalled. I asked herwhether she knew which insects werebeneficial. Nope, she killed them all. Andspent each evening attending meditationclasses.

She had lost a young son to cancer.One reason for her obsessive behaviour.As we spoke, I asked her to think of eachinsect and plant as her son reborn. Howwould she behave? Would she still maimand kill? Why not leave the garden aloneand concentrate on her husband andother son both of whom had been neglect-ed for years? I’d like to think I changedher mental pattern – but maybe her timeof killing had simply come to an end and Iwas an instrument of change.

How many of you kill the insects inyour gardens? Or know the beneficialones?

I find all insects beneficial. Even theaphids who feed the ants and the caterpil-lars who eat the leaves but turn intothe pollinating butterflies tocreate more plants.

Knowing whatinsects toencour-

age into your gardenand what benefits they can provide willhelp your garden. The problem with pesti-cides is that they not only kill the “badbugs,” they rub out the “good bugs,” too.A garden without natural predatorsmeans there’s nothing left to keep pestlevels in check. In fact, chemicals meandouble trouble because although you wipeout the first wave of pests, another insectmoving into the area can cause evengreater losses than the insects you weretrying to get rid of in the first place.”Hire” some beneficial insects and youwon’t have this problem. They providelong-term control and will help wheninsect pests arrive..

The word “fly” usually inspires thethought of flyswatters. Hover flies, how-ever, are a gardener’s friend.

a. The Hover Fly, also known as theSyrphid Fly or Flower fly, is a black andyellow insect mistaken for a bee or a

wasp. They don’t sting or bite. The largestare only three-fourths inch long, thoughmany are so small they are rarely noticed.If you look closely, they can be seen hov-ering like helicopters above flowers andplants with aphids. What I thought werebees on the bhang plants that grow wildin my garden are actually hoverflies

A Hover Fly larva feeds on aphidssmall grubs, worms or mealy bugs. Themature Hover Fly feeds on nectar helpingwith pollination. There are 6000 varietiesand each has its own characteristicsincluding preferred climate, location, andmenu For example, 49 species only eat apeach aphid. Some consume fungi. Somehoverflies scavenge refuse from the nestsof bees, wasps, and ants. Others assistdecomposition by preying on decayingmaterials.

Brightly colored larger flowers are rec-ommended to draw in the Hover Fly..

Hoverflies, like other beneficial insects,succumb to pesticides; hence puttingaway the toxics is one of the best ways toattract these insects.

Ladybirds/Ladybugs are red or orangewith black dots. They feed on aphids,insect eggs, mealybugs, whiteflies, plantand spider mites as well as larvae fromany other insect. Ladybugs eat up to 400aphids per day. Any flowering plant thatproduces lots of pollen and nectar is sureto draw a Lady Bug’s attention. They tendto prefer cup-shaped flowers such astulips, lilies and herbs such as fennel anddill. You can also spray a mixture of freshwater; yeast and whey around the plant’sleaves to further attract this pretty insect.The eggs are yellow and laid on leaves insmall clusters.

The Dragonfly has a long thin body,large eyes and two pairs of transparent,long lobed wings. They come in an amaz-

ing number of almost metallic colorsfrom emerald green to azure blue.Dragonflies eat aphids , mosquitoes andtheir larvae in the evening. If you have apond or water you will attract Dragonfliesas they skim across the water feeding onthe mosquito larvae. The dragonfly feastson around 600 insects per day such asgnats and flies and it is one of the mainpredators of mosquitoes. Dragonflies canbe encouraged to visit by planting reedyplants.

Assassin Bugs, have an elongated headwith a narrowed neck, long legs, and aprominent, segmented horn for feeding.Most species are dark with hues ofbrown, black, red, or orange These longhorned bugs eat mosquitoes, caterpillars,aphids, flies and beetles. Some have astrong and very nasty odor they releasewhen they are threatened.

Centipedes are many legged reddish-brown, flattened, elongated. The first pairof legs is modified into poisonous jawslocated below the mouth to kill insects.They do not damage plants. They are fero-cious hunters and will kill caterpillars,grubs, slugs and fly larvae and pupae.

Though Ground beetles vary some-what in their body shape and coloring,most are shiny black or metallic and haveridged wing covers. Common habitats areunder the bark of trees, logs, rocks orsand by the edge of ponds. Ground beetlesfeed on pests. The head is narrowerthan the thorax which is narrower thanthe wings. Immature ground beetles aregenerally black or reddish brown. Theyare characterized by having the chewingmouthparts sticking out in front of thehead. Many have two flexible short tailson the posterior end.

Green Lacewings are beautiful littlegreen or brown insects with large lacywings and golden eyes whose larvae eataphids, mealybugs, scales and white flies,spider mites and thrips.

Pirate bugs have black flattened bodieswith white wing patches like pirate flags,hence the name. They are about 1/16”long and feed on thrips, aphids, mites,

scales, whiteflies and soft-bodiedarthropods.

Predacious mites prey on pestspider mites. They are spear-shapedand shiny, with noticeably longlegs. They may be bright red, yel-low, green or transparent .

Big Eyed Bugs are small gray-ish-beige, oval shaped bugs withlarge kidney shaped, reddishbrown eyes.They feed on leafhoppers, spider mites, insecteggs.

Other beneficial insectsare Damsel bugs, slendergreyish or tan insects withelongated heads;Brachonid wasps, tinyslender creatures thatfeed on aphids; Praying

mantises who feed on mov-ing insects; big hairy black

and red Tachinid flies who para-sitize caterpillars, beetle larvae, andsawflies ; Lightning bugs, SoldierBeetles and tiny Trichogrammawasps who attack insect eggs. Infact these are so useful that manynurseries sell them. Spiderskeep insect populations low.

You can attract beneficialinsects by planting early bloomersso that they come in before thepests do to feed on pollen and nec-tar. Low growing herbs like thymeand oregano give ground beetles aplace to hide. Taller flowers, likedaisies or cosmos, beckon to hoverflies and parasitic wasps. Clusteredflowers like fennel , wild carrots,dill attract parasitic wasps .Zinnias and sunflowers attract thelarger pollinators, like robber fliesand predatory wasps. These aresome plants that work : Marigolds,nasturtiums, butterfly weed, clover,

coriander, yarrow, angelica, lemon balm,caraway, catnip, golden marguerite, poppy,mallow, cosmos , Queen Anne’s lace, sun-flower, tansy, dandelion, bugleweed, but-terfly weed, buckwheat, cinquefoil,speedwell, hairy vetch, globe lily, master-wort, feverfew, statice, lobelia, sweetalyssum, lemon balm, pennyroyal,spearmint, bergamot, gloriosa daisy,stonecrop, goldenrod, zinnia .

Insects need water. Put a saucer andsome rocks, and keep it full.

Why not let insects do all the work.They don’t cost anything and won’t askfor a pay check. In any case while insectsare now resistant to chemical pesticides,no insects have shown immunity to beingeaten. They can run, but they can’t hide!

To join the animal welfare movementcontact gandhim@nic.in

Chilli peppers

help burnaway the fat

Towering over herteacher and friends16-year-old

Marvadene Anderson standssix feet eleven inches tallmaking her the world’stallest teenage girl.

World’stallestteenage girl