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Democracy of Data :A look at these (COVID )times

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on October 29, 2020 2

What would have happened if we knew what China knew about the COVID 19 thing in January 2020?

How would the different countries and world have responded then?

Would more countries have shut their borders down and stopped air travel?

Would saving your citizens then be considered discriminatory ?

The need for transparency of health care problem data sharing is crucial .

It’s funny how China manages to do the most atrocities and pretend like nothing happened.They think they can rewrite history because of money power.

But history is not entirely obedient.

Karma transcends time.The people behind this rampage on human health and life will not go unpunished. Because the world will remember.

How data sharing between nation is helping now :

Recent studies indicate reinfection is highly likely in COVID sufferers.

Antibody titre’s can fall as early as two months.

Cognitive decline after COVID 19 infection can be as bad as ten years of aging.This is COVID’s cognitive cost.

A non-peer-reviewed study of more than 84,000 people, by Adam Hampshire(doctor at Imperial College London)found that in some COVID19 severe cases there is substantial cognitive deficits for months.But the study design is not full proof.It doesn’t have before and after test scores of the participants, making the results difficult to assess.But seeing the multi system effect of COVID,cognitive decline is not really unusual.

The effect on other systems of the body are still being assessed.In this setup prevention is still our best buddy.

Democracy of Data in COVID 19: What could have been

China didn’t share it’s data.It shared its interpretation of it.Who will bell the cat about the imaginative use of data ?

If China didn’t have it’s ‘we will take over the world’ ideas,then things would be different .

Lives all over the world would be saved.

Billions saved .

The world economy would have avoided this slump.

People would have avoided this toll on their physical,mental and social health .

Vaccines would have happened faster.

China would have earned good will.

We would still enjoy family and social gatherings.

I am grateful for the blessings I have ,but things need to change,for the better .Soon.

The effect of social distancing is protection against COVID 19 but poor social health .The toll on the elderly is significant. With no immediate answers,patience is needed.Survival depends on those who listen to rules .

Because of the world wide web, many information is at our finger tips.But some people will never play by the rules.That makes this a tricky playing field.

What do you think would have been different if China didn’t pull cotton wool over the world’s eye?

Do you Play with your Health?(Truth Alert)

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on October 26, 2020 3

“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.”Thiis was said by Isaac Newton and holds true for all of us who are trying to learn and do something with our lives.

I believe books are great ways of finding the giants who can help us.With the world wide web its not impossible for someone like me to learn from, say the famous Seth Godin or Stephen King.Books are my way of learning from them.

That’s why when I podcast or write I try to help with my area of expertise.I also talk about the books or blogs I read.As Seth Godin says ,don’t shave the yak.You really don”t need to make things difficult,to make progress.You can learn from ,those who know.

When I started blogging I felt several gap in my resources.The gaps became like craters when I started writing my book.But when it came to marketing I was absolutely lost.

Content marketingWhatever was that?

Doctors don’t need to market themselves, right?Our degrees are enough to convince sensible people that we know what we are talking about ?Right?

Wrong .

Because if you see the many health bloggers,health gurus,Celebrity health advisors,health and life coach-few if any are doctors or have any degrees in the medical field.

The problem with that is two fold.

One there’s a cycle of misrepresentation and misinformation. Two – You harm your own self in the long run.So always check the academic credentials of the person whose health-nutrition-fitness advice you are following. Because unless they are qualified, to do so ,you are gambling with your health.

I am not sure they are covered by health insurance either.

Now this is a topic I can talk a lot about Its not very popular thoug.But a

few days back a friend on Instagram, talked about knowing the difference between life coach,health coach,psychologist and Psychiatrist.She tagged a few accounts in this regards .

The Doctor who was tagged talked about the necessity of always consulting a medical professional that is a psychiatrist for mental health queries.The life coach informed that she never treated schizophrenia!Now this got me thinking.It takes years of medical training to even diagnose mental health disorders and taking it lightly is a strict no no.

But it depends on you to find the right professional. For online consultation it’s best if you consult a doctor you know or someone recommended.

Otherwise check the credentials of the doctor on LinkedIn,Lybrate.

Always opt for doctors with degrees. Not quacks and self declared health experts.

There’s a reason for the medical entrance exams.Medical education takes time and experience. Don’t gamble with your health,because your health is your most precious wealth.

So what does Seth Godin have to do with all this?

Well Seth Godin in his book “This is Marketing“,said something very important.

Marketing is your chance to spread the word about you.If you have valuable information, you must spread the word.Because that’s your best way of making a difference to the people who matter.

That’s my aim with the Healthwealthbridge content.

Do you have a good business which is helping people and you want to spread the word?Send me an email at dramrita@healthwealthbridge.com

YOAST & SEMRUSH JOINED HANDS: This is what you must know!

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on October 25, 2020 5

I am a Doctor and had no interest in writing, blogging, and tech stuff ever. But it all changed in 2013 when with a baby in tow, I started reading blogs in 2013.

But it was a year later when I decided I no longer wanted to be just an audience or reader, but a creator. I had something I could share with the World wide web and make it better. I wanted to start my own Blog.Here’s my list of top free and paid resources I use on my blog.

Yoast and Semrush are together:Voice by Dr.Amrita Basu

There I said it. Sounds a tad narcissistic, but I believe each of us has something unique to share to make this world a little better. If I had Google growing up, I would have become a Doctor, Lawyer, MBA, a farmer all rolled in one. It’s not too late either, there’s still time.

It’s a whole new world of learning and this access to resources makes this as easy or as difficult as the language you know. English language in that way can help surmount many barriers to learning.

Now before I ramble, I wanted to talk about this thing called keywords. If you are a long-time blogger you obviously know all about it. But in my mompreneur Blogging journey series, I talk about all things which make my blogging writing and online earning life easier.

Yoast and SEMrush are together now! Finding your related keywords just got easier. I love that SEO is reaching new levels.Yoast has made Schema mark-up easier. Now they are helping us find related keywords from within the WordPress dashboard.

What do you need ?

The Yoast plugin on your WordPress Blog.

A Yoast accounts

SEMrush account .

The free version is good enough for one related keyword. But if you want more related keywords you need Yoast premium. But even with a paid Yoast and free SEMrush you are restricted to only 10 related keywords. But that’s a good way to start because SEMrush is quite amazing.

When it comes to keywords I try to weave in as many keywords interspersed with questions as possible. It’s not easy to write according to a list of keywords. It can feel restrictive.But when you are starting out if you don’t get into the groove of finding keywords for your content, things can be a little difficult.The thing about Keywords (Absolutely)No one tells you.

Everything I know and learn while Blogging and writing

Featured post

How is the Health of the Nation: The report is an eye-opener!

Health of the Nation Report — Apollo Pro Health

So, these are the five steps for an easy keyword plan using Free tools

1)Use the Blogchatter blog insights feature for finding out about your top five categories.

2)Go to Ubersuggest and plug in those keywords. See what you get especially the questions.

3)Write your blog post answering those questions and weaving in the keywords.

4)Get the Yoast plugin

5)Make a free SEMrush account .

Check the related keywords tab through the Yoast plugin tab at the end of your draft.

Add relevant ones. You are ready.

Bonus tip: Check your archived posts which can do with some keyword love.

Writing this for #MyFriendAlexa and Blogchatter

The Maha Saptami Durga Pujo and the Bhog

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on October 24, 2020 4

Today is Maha Saptami when Devi Durga’s pran pratisthan is done.The Mother Goddess comes as a clay pratima and human faith and ceremonial rituals help to draw the universal life forces into her. It’s said that the Kala bou has a big role to play in this, before the real puja can start.

*The neighborhood Durga puja with the delicious Puja bhog*

I told you about Mahalaya and my Durga puja memories.

Today’s post is a little bit about the Kala bou,and my love for all things Prasad and bhog.

The Kala bou is the Young banana tree with leaves of the turmeric tree ,wood apple,pomegranate, jayanti,arum, ashoka,colocasia,paddy, all tied together,taken for a bath and then draped in a saree .

All these plants are also embodiments of various Gods and Godesses . Its also called naba patrika and Kala bou is dressed up in a red bordered white saree with vermillion and married with Lord Ganesha before Maa Durga can officially start battling Mahishasura.

The stories about the why and what behind Kala bou are many,but important thing to note is the female embodiment being crucial for the real fight to begin.

It’s on the seventh day of Navratri that Maa Durga’s epic battle against the buffalo headed demon king Mahishasura started.

Now because of the COVID 19 situation everything happened low key,but the puja made us happy.

But guess what made us even happier?The Bhog.

Growing up the neighborhood pujo had a system of bhog which somehow never reached those of us living a little farther away.

But by God’s grace for the last several years,having the blessed bhog is like a wish come true.

What’s not to love about the bhog?

It looks great,smells great,tastes sublime and always makes you happy

So what did the Maha Saptami bhog consist of?

Fragrant Basanti pulao with dried fruits and nuts.

Assortments of vegetables fried in ghee.There were pumpkin fried,sweet potatoes,potatoes,Pointed gourd and bitter gourd.

A mixed vegetable mash ,lightly spiced and delicious.

Payesh (fragrant rice cooked with creamy milk and cooked to a perfection.)

Sweets

Documenting Maa Durga’s blesseinga:The Maha Shaptami Puja Bhog

The beautiful part of the puja bhog has a lot to do with the sights , sounds and emotions than with the actual food.Even if you follow the recipes to a T ,they never taste the same when it’s not offered during Puja ,but just made at home.

So while every year I document a little bit about Durga pujo ,my love for the puja bhog is a recurring theme.

P.S The bhog was eaten at home after being heated for one minute in the microwave for safety concerns.

5 Blogs you can’t miss reading(If you want to grow)

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on October 21, 2020 6

What,when ,how,where of blogging,is a confusing mess.If you want to know the right way of starting ,without wasting time,then there are some people and their blogs you should follow.

What’s common amongst most of these is,that they are all blogs with very strong brand faces.

If you are blogging to share knowledge and you want to reach people ,then you can’t miss reading these blogs.Not only do these people and brands share authentic information ,their information is research backed,authentic,and always helpful.These are the people whose newsletter I try to open every time.

5 Blogs you can’t miss READING (if you wan’t to grow)

How do these bloggers and blogs help me?

They share their knowledge

They generously talk about their experiences. Good,bad and ugly.

They are mostly single author blogs(except the last two)and even when they have a guest blog it’s fantastic and authority is a guarantee.

Their blog posts have to be bookmarked every time.

They set an example about online ethics and integrity.

They show how storytelling is woven into educational content,without overwhelm.

The readability of their content is excellent.

I love everything they share.

I am a fan .

(There are affiliate links in the following part.That means I may earn a small commission, if you click a link and buy a product).

Bottle Gourd: Did you know we eat the entire vegetable?

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on October 18, 2020 6

Did you know we eat the entire Bottle Gourd? Yes, we do. The main vegetable, the seeds, the peels, the shoots, and the leaves. Now bottle gourd is called Lau in Bengali and Ghia, dudhi, or Launki in Hindi. It’s popular all over India with various methods of cooking. Just like the pumpkin shell, the bottle gourd shell has various ornamental use too.

It’s a part of the pumpkin family and is one of those veggies which have helped me survive the lockdown. You will ask me why?

Well, the humble bottle gourd you will find growing on roofs of West Bengal countryside. The old and dried bottle gourd is used to make bori. It’s used as a dried condiment. Its fresh juice is popular due to its pharmacological properties.

It’s cooked as a delicious vegetable side dish. Bengalis cook it both as a vegetarian dish or with shrimps as a non-vegetarian dish.

The best part is this vegetable is versatile, it can be eaten with rice or phulka/roti. We use the vegetable peel as a delicious side dish with rice and even eat the greens and leaves of the bottle gourd plant. That’s the best ways to eat responsibly. Eat the whole vegetable.

Now I will tell you about Bottle gourd cooked as a vegetarian side dish.Its super easy,filling and nutritious requires very little oil ,spices and delicious too.

Bottle gourd /Lauki /Lau:Quick easy Healthy Recipe

How to cook the bottle gourd?

Peel the bottle gourd. Keep the peels separately. Now you need to dice the bottle gourd.

Once its diced,get the spices ready.

Spices:

Bay leaf,
cumin whole,
red chillies(optional)
Ginger paste or grated
Haldi/turmeric
Cumin powder
Salt to taste

Others ingredients:

Green chillies,tomatoes

Steps of cooking

You need to heat oil in a big Kadai.
Mustard oil or sunflower oil works.10ml oil was used for a 1.5Kg bottle gourd.
Bay leaf and red chili or green chill, the whole jeera is used to temper the oil.
You can add the ginger now.
But I like the extra gingery taste and have added it a little later. Add the diced bottle gourd.
For a one and a half kilo bottle gourd I use 5mg turmeric,5mg jeera, salt according to taste, ginger paste, tomatoes, green chilies.

The Dont’s

Don’t cover and cook.

Don’t add water .

Don’t cook in high flame .

The tomatoes and the bottle gourd both release a lot of water and it gets cooked slowly. When it’s cooked just right, the water will all be dried. The bottle gourd will be slightly firm but cooked all the way.It’s spicy from the green chilies, tangy because of the tomatoes with lovely ginger and jeera flavoring.

If bottle gourd is bitter after peeling and cutting,dont eat it. Don’t drink bitter bottle gourd juice.

In my next book coming up, I will be sharing bottle gourd cooked with milk, the nonvegetarian bottle gourd, and the vegetable peel recipe too. Can you guess what the book is about?

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