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Maintaining a proper strength of the immune system in the body is a basic requirement for staying healthy. To avoid falling sick and to maintain good health, Ayurveda advises a number of simple formulas which are very effective to increase immunity or ‘Ojas’. To become an expert in rejuvenation or ‘rasayana’ therapy, you might need to join our online courses on ‘Original Ayurveda’.

However, here are some recipes for simple Ayurvedic tonics that act as ‘Rasayanas’. These are especially beneficial for those who are physically weak, underweight and have weak muscles. The tonics given below nourish not only the body but mind too.
Eat 3 or 4 figs and drink 250ml warm milk in the morning. One or two teaspoons of honey may be added to the milk for sweetening. Soak the figs in water if they are dry. It is a very good tonic and also cures constipation and anemia.
Take 2 walnuts, 4 almonds and 7 raisins. Soak them overnight in water and eat the next morning with 250ml of warm milk. Chew well. It’s good to add one or two teaspoons of honey to the milk for sweetening.
Take 1 part dry dates (without seeds), 2 parts dry coconut and 3 parts sugar candy. Cut/break them into small pieces and mix together. Take about 50 grams of this mixture every morning. It’s specially good for the children and prevents common ailments like tonsillitis, cold, cough, indigestion and diseases relating to teeth. The dose for children is 2 teaspoons and 4-5 teaspoons for adults. Do not drink water immediately after eating this mixture.
Take equal quantity of unpeeled apples and carrots grated. This mixture should be taken on an empty stomach in the morning. Dose can be up to 200 grams. Do not eat anything for 2 hours after eating this mixture. It is very effective in reducing extra fat, specially for the women. For increasing weight the same mixture should be taken immediately after lunch. Special Ayurvedic tonic for infants:
Take 1 almond and soak it in water overnight. In the morning remove the skin of almond and make a fine paste by grinding it. Mix in 1 gram of honey. Give to babies who are 4 months or older. It is a nice tonic for both mental and physical development of the child. Please note that the almond should not be bitter and the paste should be very fine.
Take 25 grams black chickpeas (kala chana). Soak them in 200 ml water in the night. It is advised to eat these next morning. The water can also be taken with or without mixing a teaspoon of honey. The sprouts made from black chickpeas can also be taken. They strengthen the lungs, help reduce cholesterol and are good in cases of heart disease. Those having a weak digestion or who develop heaviness after eating this, should discontinue.
Take 2-3 dry dates and soak them in water every morning. In the evening boil them in 250ml milk untill half the quantity of milk remains. Cool and add one teaspoon honey as a sweetener. Eat the dates and drink the milk. This can be taken one hour before going to bed. Do not drink water for 2 hours after taking this tonic. This tonic helps to build all the ‘Dhatus’, gives strength to lungs, increases blood circulation, cleans the bowels and alleviates Vata and Pitta.

For all of his attempts to downplay expectations, Senator Barack Obama is heading into a weekend that will probably make him look like anything but the underdog. Democrats in four more states are scheduled to cast their ballots, and while they will not be the deciding factors in what remains a virtual dead heat between him and Hillary Clinton, the contests could give Obama an extra boost heading into next week’s important Potomac primaries of Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. On a conference call with key Clinton donors on Thursday, the campaign’s senior strategist Mark Penn admitted as much; “I think we’ll have some bumps in the road, some difficult states in the next week or two.”

Louisiana, Nebraska and Washington State are holding contests Saturday and Maine Democrats will caucus on Sunday. There are 228 pledged delegates at stake this weekend, though all of the states will split delegates proportionally, so it’s unlikely that either candidate can gain too big an advantage. As it stands now, Obama leads Clinton with 853 pledged delegates to her 849, not including Superdelegates, according to Real Clear Politics.

The caucus format in Washington, Nebraska and Maine could help Obama, who has won six of the seven caucus states so far, thanks to his passionate, dedicated following and stronger grassroots organizations. “I think that it is fair to say that he should win the caucuses in Maine, Nebraska and Washington State on Saturday. For my own state of Louisiana, I would venture that Senator Obama should win here,” said Kevin Mulcahy, a political science professor at Louisiana State University, who himself plans on voting for Clinton.

But just because Obama has momentum — beating the expectations game on Super Tuesday and continuing to lead Clinton in the money race — doesn’t mean Clinton, a New York senator and former First Lady, isn’t putting up a fight in the weekend’s races. Clinton, who still leads in most national polls, is campaigning vigorously in Washington Friday and in Maine Saturday, while her husband, former President Bill Clinton, has headed to Louisiana.

“We are in fierce competition and we have many more rounds to fight,” Obama told reporters in Chicago this week. “It’s only a month since Iowa. We see how quickly things can change. We have had more twists and turns than anyone could’ve imagined.” Added David Plouffe, Obama’s campaign manager, “These are going to be tough contests. Washington, Nebraska and Louisiana will all be competitive contests, they clearly are going to invest quite a bit of time in Maine. That said, we like our chances to add to our delegate lead.”

In Louisiana, where Obama spoke before a crowd of 5,000 on Thursday, more than 40% of registered Democrats are African American, a constituency Obama has consistently won by large margins. Nebraska’s caucuses are likely to be similar to those held Tuesday in North Dakota and Kansas — Republican-leaning states with small but dedicated Democratic bases that have gone for Obama. Obama also rallied a crowd of 10,000 in Omaha on Thursday, while the only attention the state is seeing from a Clinton was a visit at the same time by first daughter Chelsea. And in Washington State it’s the wine-drinking upscale crowd that Obama appeals to, said Lance LeLoup, a Washington State University political science professor. “Washington has a lot of affluent, highly educated liberal voters, a demographic that has tilted toward Obama over Clinton in recent weeks,” LeLoup said. “He is also energizing voters, and there is little doubt that there will be record turnout Saturday.”

Clinton, who this week acknowledged that she loaned her campaign $5 million of her personal money, is investing relatively substantial resources in Washington. It is one of the few states where she’s running television ads, and she spent both Thursday and Friday campaigning in Tacoma, Seattle and Spokane. Her husband was originally scheduled to visit the state, but at the last minute the campaign sent Hillary Clinton herself, dispatching the former President to Louisiana instead. Clinton has the support of much of the political establishment in the state: both of Washington’s senators, Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, have endorsed her. But Governor Christine Gregoire came out Friday for Obama in a surprising, potentially crucial endorsement.

“If Clinton has a hope in the state it will be that women really seem to be digging in to support her — it has become something of a feminist cause in a state that has a traditionally had a very strong female political presence, especially in the Democratic Party,” said Cornell Clayton, another Washington State University political science professor. “There is also a large Hispanic population in the middle of the state where there is agriculture. But this group has never been politically mobilized in the way Hispanic voters have in the Southwest [who helped Clinton win California], so it would be a real development if they came out in large numbers for Clinton.”

Clinton also has the backing of the establishment in Maine: Governor John Baldacci endorsed her in December. And she won both of Maine’s neighboring New England states, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. “Right now Senator Clinton has an advantage up in Maine but we’re going to win some delegates up there,” Plouffe told reporters Thursday on another conference call. Obama, who spurned a Clinton offer to hold a joint forum there this weekend, plans to visit the state Saturday and has had staff on the ground and ads running there for weeks.

The two candidates have been in a flat-out sprint since December. The fierce struggle for the first four contests left them tied, and Super Tuesday — a blizzard of 22 states voting at once — was an expensive and exhausting hurdle that did little to determine a victor. Now the race is settling down to a kind of waltz, two states here, three contests there, in the run-up to the next crucial showdown on March 4, when the delegate-rich states of Ohio and Texas hold their primaries. Clinton is banking on those two states, with their large Latino or blue-collar populations, to more than make up for any losses in the next couple of weeks. But the way things have been going so far, neither campaign can reasonably count on coming out of any state with a sizable lead.

The original version of this article contained a quote by Kevin Mulcahy, a political science professor at Louisiana State University, that “Almost all of the states that Senator Obama won on Tsunami Tuesday were caucus states.” In fact, Obama won seven primary states and six caucus states on February 5.
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By ROHAN SULLIVAN, Associated Press Writer
Thu May 8, 7:39 AM ET
 SYDNEY, Australia - Scientists said they have mapped the genetic makeup of the platypus — one of nature’s strangest animals with a bill like a duck’s, a mammal’s fur and snake-like venom.
The researchers, whose analysis of the platypus genome was published Thursday in the journal Nature, said it could help explain how mammals, including humans, evolved from reptiles millions of years ago.

The platypus is classed as a mammal because it has fur and feeds its young with milk. It flaps a beaver-like tail. But it also has bird and reptile features — a duck-like bill and webbed feet, and lives mostly underwater. Males have venom-filled spurs on their heels.

“At first glance, the platypus appears as if it was the result of an evolutionary accident,” said Francis S. Collins, director of the U.S. National Human Genome Research Institute, which funded the study.

“But as weird as this animal looks, its genome sequence is priceless for understanding how mammalian biological processes evolved,” Collins said in a statement.

The research showed the animal’s multifaceted features are reflected in its DNA with a mix of genes that crosses different classifications of animals, said Jenny Graves, an Australian National University genomics expert who co-wrote the paper.

“What we found was the genome, just like the animal, is an amazing amalgam of reptilian and mammal characteristics with quite a few unique platypus characteristics as well,” she told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Scientists believe all mammals evolved from reptiles, and the animals that became platypuses and those that became humans shared an evolutionary path until about 165 million years ago when the platypus branched off. Unlike other evolving mammals, the platypus retained characteristics of snakes and lizards, including the pain-causing poison that males can use to ward off mating rivals, Graves said.

More than 100 scientists from the United States, Australia, Japan and other nations took part in the research, using DNA collected from a female platypus named Glennie.

Their work adds to the growing list of animals whose genetic makeup has been unraveled.

By comparing platypus genes to those of humans and other mammals, scientists hope to fill in gaps in knowledge about mammals’ evolution and better identify certain species’ specific traits.

Des Cooper, an evolutionary biologist at the University of New South Wales who did not take part in the research, said it represented a big step forward in the world’s knowledge of mammals.

“Platypuses are often thought of as primitive because they lay eggs,” Cooper said. “This paper demonstrates there is a mixture of characters, which they share with other mammals, and of highly specialized attributes.”

Graves said the research contained some surprises, such as the conclusion that genes which determine sex in a platypus are similar to those of a bird, not a mammal. Researchers also found genes that indicate platypuses — which rely on electrosensory receptors in their bills to navigate as they rummage with closed eyes in waterways — may also be able to smell underwater.

Unique to Australia, the platypus has confounded observers for centuries. Aboriginal legend explained it as the offspring of a duck and an amorous water rat. When the British Museum received its first specimen in 1798, zoologist George Shaw was so dubious he tried to cut the pelt with scissors to make sure the bill had not been stitched on by a taxidermist.

Platypuses live in the wild along most of Australia’s east coast. Their numbers are not accurately known because they are notoriously shy. Hunted for years for their pelts, they have been protected since the early 1900s and are not considered to be endangered, though scientists say their habitat is vulnerable to human development.

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By STEVE GUTTERMAN, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 58 minutes ago
 MOSCOW - Vladimir Putin was named prime minister of Russia Thursday after a fervent speech full of ambitious plans that overshadowed his low-key successor and suggested that he will keep a strong hand in ruling the country.

Putin promised to build on Russia’s economic recovery and work to satisfy its people’s dreams of comfort and prosperity.

Loyal lawmakers in the State Duma confirmed Putin in a 392-56 vote after a confirmation hearing whose outcome was never in doubt. The new president, Dmitry Medvedev, portrayed his mentor’s eight-year presidency as a time of transformation. One legislator told the nationwide TV audience Putin had “raised Russia from its knees.”

Putin’s unprecedented move from the Kremlin to the No. 2 post will keep him politically prominent for the foreseeable future and could serve as a springboard back to the presidency. It has Russians wondering who will really hold the country’s reins.

In his own, far longer speech to lawmakers, Putin said that the “consolidation of political forces and solidarity of society” was imperative for Russia’s progress.

Focusing on the economy in the same commanding detail with which he prided himself as president, Putin set lofty goals, saying Russia must be among the top nations in terms of living standards within 10 or 15 years — a tantalizing prospect for Russians who have struggled for decades to get by.

He said inflation must be kept in the single digits — though last year it was over 10 percent.

He said Russia’s economy could surpass Britain’s this year and become the world’s sixth-largest.

Putin also acknowledged problems that have persisted amid the oil-fueled economic recovery that coincided with his presidency. He said Russia must lessen its reliance on its energy resources but also ease taxes to boost sluggish oil production, and warned of the toll taken by the nation’s drinking and smoking habits.

Putin took mostly light questions before the vote, with the only complaints coming from Communists who voiced concerns over high inflation and rampant corruption. One lawmaker set up Putin to accuse the West of hampering Russian investors’ access to markets.

The switch caps months of political maneuvering by the popular Putin to maintain influence after stepping down. Barred by term limits from running in the March presidential vote, he anointed Medvedev as his favored successor in December and pledged to serve as his prime minister.

Medvedev formally nominated Putin in one of his first acts as president Wednesday. Putin’s United Russia party holds 315 of the 450 seats in the Duma and two of the other three parties also support him.

Medvedev said lawmakers’ applause “means that Vladimir Vladimirovich needs no special recommendation” and credited Putin with recharging Russia’s economy and raising its global stature.

“Russia is respected once again,” Medvedev said.

Russia’s president is the undisputed head of state and sets policy on all fronts, while the prime minister heads the Cabinet and is responsible for running the economy. But Putin is expected to have strong influence on Medvedev, who at 42 is 13 years younger and owes his political ascent to his mentor.

Putin’s prime ministers, particularly during his second term, served largely as enforcers and fall guys, sometimes shouldering blame for problems and sometimes passing it down the line to Cabinet ministers. Putin, meanwhile, remained above the fray and any hint of criticism on state-run television was taboo.

Putin is expected to play a far stronger role as prime minister. He will also control the Duma and wield power nationwide as chairman of United Russia, a position he assumed last month after leading the party to a sweeping victory in December parliamentary elections.

Putin and Medvedev have stressed they will work together to help Russia modernize its economy, boost social welfare and tackle the severe infrastructure problems that are depleting its population and jeopardizing its future.

“I think nobody doubts that our tandem, our cooperation will only strengthen,” Medvedev told lawmakers.

He vowed to tread Putin’s path, saying their teamwork would “provide the necessary continuity and development of the course that has been supported by the Russian people.”

Critics say the show of solidarity by mentor and protege masks fears that Putin has navigated Russia into a dangerous period of political uncertainty, with two centers of power taking shape in a potentially debilitating and divisive arrangement.

Under the constitution, the prime minister temporarily replaces a president who dies or is incapacitated.

Putin, 55, a longtime KGB officer, served as prime minister for five months in 1999 under Boris Yeltsin, who stepped down on Dec. 31 of that year and handed him the presidency. Putin was elected to his first term three months later.

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Associated Press writers Vladimir Isachenkov and Maria Danilova contributed to this report.

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By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 3 minutes ago
 
WASHINGTON - Barack Obama’s march toward the Democratic presidential nomination picked up support from four more superdelegates Wednesday, pushing him ever closer to victory over Hillary Rodham Clinton — even as their primary marathon staggered on.

She added two superdelegates herself in what has become the last big contest as their race winds toward a finish.

There are just 217 delegates to be chosen in the final six primaries, and neither candidate can win enough of them to claim final victory. Meanwhile, 265 additional delegates — the party elders and other “superdelegates” — have yet to be claimed, and their support will be the deciding factor.

Though Obama padded his delegate lead in Tuesday’s primaries, most uncommitted superdelegates still want to remain on the sidelines. The Associated Press interviewed more than 70 undeclared superdelegates or their representatives Wednesday, and many said they don’t want to get involved until the voting ends June 3.

However, the comments of some of the uncommitteds were anything but encouraging for Clinton.

“I’m just wondering about the viability of Clinton’s campaign at this point,” said Laurie Weahkee, an add-on delegate from New Mexico. “I really want to hear from her more about if she wants to stay in the race — if the reason remains very concrete.”

Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Doyle said Clinton’s pitch to superdelegates has been that she can win the popular vote, but that was undercut when Obama netted more than 200,000 popular votes in the Tuesday contests.

“The math just got very tough for her after last night,” Doyle said. “I think most of us out of respect for her are content to wait a little longer. … The absolute best way for this to end is for the candidates to end it, not the superdelegates. That’s the ending we all dream about every night.”

She picked up two in the wake of Tuesday’s loss in North Carolina and narrow victory in Indiana. North Carolina Rep. Heath Shuler had said he would support the winner of his district, and she won it handily. A spokeswoman for Texas labor leader Robert Martinez told the AP he is committed to Clinton, but it wasn’t clear when he made the decision.

But she lost another supporter, Virginia state House member Jennifer McClellan. McClellan is one of at least nine superdelegates who have switched from Clinton to Obama since the Super Tuesday primaries on Feb. 5. There have been no public switches in the other direction.

“I think the time has come to support Senator Obama as the likely nominee,” McClellan said in a conference call with reporters. “Given what happened last night, it’s very unlikely we will have a different result, and it is time to come together as a party and prepare for victory against John McCain in November.”

Obama also got the support of North Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Jerry Meek, North Carolina Democratic National Committee member Jeanette Council and California DNC member Inola Henry.

Clinton met with undecided superdelegates at Democratic Party headquarters Wednesday. She said, “We talked a lot about Florida and Michigan,” two states that she won but don’t have any delegates to count toward her total because their early primaries violated party rules. “I continue to emphasize and stress that we cannot disenfranchise those voters.”

Clinton said later that she would be sending a letter to Obama and Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean expressing her belief that seating the Florida and Michigan delegations is a civil rights and voting rights issue.

Obama was to make his pitch to the congressional fence sitters in meetings Thursday. He also planned to start traveling to swing states to signal that the general election has begun.

Superdelegates supporting Obama recently have given a number of reasons. They recognize he is the front-runner and want to end a divisive party fight. They were impressed with his handling of a crisis that confronted his campaign in the comments of his former pastor. They don’t want to risk alienating black voters who are excited about Obama’s chance to become the first black president. They simply think Obama would be a more attractive choice at the top of the ticket.

“I think that Senator Obama is going to be a tremendous boost for down-ballot races in North Carolina,” Meek told the AP. “He’s going to turn out segments of the electorate — particularly young people and African-Americans — who have historically low turnout levels. That will help candidates up and down the ballot.”

Nancy Worley, Alabama’s former secretary of state and the state Democratic Party’s first vice chair, said she got calls Wednesday morning from Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine — both Obama supporters.

“It appears that the Obama supporters, just from my perspective, are working a little harder at getting commitments,” she said. Clinton’s campaign has mainly used letters and e-mails, with occasional calls from staffers, she said, while Obama has used more of a “personal touch” with direct phone calls.

Nonetheless, she said she still hasn’t been convinced one way or another even though she said she would be reluctant to vote against the pledged delegate leader. That is almost certain to be Obama.

Arizona Democratic Chairman Don Bivens also appeared closer to backing Obama after receiving e-mails from both camps Wednesday.

“The Obama one was more fulsome and sort of laid out the mathematical facts,” Bivens said. He said the Clinton e-mails were from multiple individuals sharing why they thought she was the best choice.

“I’m still uncommitted, but I do believe that yesterday’s results put me at a decisional plateau.” He said the rest of the contests’ outcomes are more predictable. “I think that we’re at a point where the track got shorter and you can see the finish line.”

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Associated Press writers Stephen Ohlemacher, Ann Sanner, Ben Evans, Kim Hefling and Liz Sidoti in Washington, Matt Mygatt in Albuquerque, N.M., Mike Baker in Raleigh, N.C., and Bob Lewis in Richmond, Va., contributed to this report.

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No surprises here — particularly since LG’s Vu has been on sale through a number of AT&T retail outlets since late last month (whoops!). Today, however, the carrier is officially listing LG’s latest for sale, and the Mobile TV-supporting handset is going for a stiff $549.99 sans contract, or $299.99 after giving away your cellular soul for two years and waiting anxiously for a $100 mail-in rebate to arrive. Check out our hands-on gallery to see if you’re really ready to make this kind of commitment.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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It looks like BMW will begin rolling out its in-car internet system to markets outside of Germany sooner than expected, according to Automotive News. ConnectedDrive offers unrestricted access to the Web through the EDGE network, one of the faster mobile connections on the planet, and while backseat passengers can surf while on the go, front seat occupants will have to keep their speed under 5 kph if they want to check their favorite websites. BMW is setting up the system so that unlimited access will cost customers 15 euros each month.

BMW will begin offering the service to German consumers this September, with ConnectedDrive (click link for video) coming to ‘Net-addicted Bimmer owners throughout Europe and the U.S. soon afterwards. AN contacted Mercedes-Benz and Audi to ask if they intended to offer similar systems in the future. Both of automakers responded in the negative, saying that demand isn’t sufficient enough to justify the expense. BMW obviously thinks otherwise, as does Chrysler, which is developing its own system, due out before the end of the year.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

Pickuptruck.com, our favorite website about anything with a bed on four wheels that’s been owned and operated by Mike Levine since 1995, was just bought out by automotive mega-site Cars.com in a move that we hope made our good friend a gajillion dollars. Levine now joins Autoblog alumnus Dave Thomas, who runs the Kicking Tires blog under the Cars.com umbrella of sites.

The first change that came down from Levine’s new corporate overlords was to pluralize the name of his website to Pickuptrucks.com because, well, we don’t know why really. We imagine Cars.com already owned the URL, but why it decided to rebrand its new property over one letter rather than just redirecting Pickuptrucks.com visitors to Pickuptruck.com is beyond our feeble minds. Those are corporate overloads for ya. Being owned by AOL, we know all about corporate overlords. Welcome to the club, Mike!

[Source: Pickuptrucks.com]