AHMEDABAD: Motivated by the multiple health benefits of organic food, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad IIM-A will now open an organic food outlet, within their campus, giving students a chance to earn the wealth of health as well.

Professor Anil Gupta, one of the founders of National Innovations Foundation, said, "I have proposed opening an organic food outlet in the campus, to our director, SK Barua. He has shown interest and we might have something coming up soon."

Gupta, also co-ordinator of the four day organic food festival at IIM-A, is working with National Innovation foundation (NIF) for conservation of forgotten, diverse organic food habits, that has eight times more fibre than wheat and maize.

A NIF team is disseminating information to visitors about the nutritional value and health benefits of organic juices widely available in the festival.

According to NIF researcher, Ajila CM, "We are promoting traditional knowledge by collecting information on food habits from people, researching on their knowledge and then adding value these products."

A herbal tea, researched and developed by NIF, actually promises to simultaneously protect from cold, act as a blood purifier and relieve stress.

Food lovers, drawn in from all over the city are preferring herbal juices because of its multiple benefits on human body - juice from the flower of cactus helps in blood circulation and increases haemoglobin in body.

For instance, a daily cup of Nero (palm tree extract) juice is an antidote for arthritis. Heart patients too have some cures at the organic food festival - cardiac soup made of bottle gourd, carrots, onion, tomato and lime reduces cholesterol and other fatty acids in the body. The NIF study also reveals that residents of a cosmopolitan city inhale hazardous intoxicants, which can be ameliorated with a cup of Tulsi sudha (Tulsi leaves, ginger and raw sugar) or Kashmiri kava.

"Inorganic farming depletes soil health, crop health, animal health and human heath. The soil, when sprinkled with fertilisers, pesticides, weedicides is choked. The molecules of soil are blocked which deplete the microbial content from the soil," added Vipin Kumar another researcher from NIF.

To create awareness among the denizens, 90,000 passes have been distributed among students of various schools in Ahmedabad. The focus of the festival sponsors is to differentiate between organic and inorganic food.

Meanwhile, students at IIM-A are looking forward to getting ‘sattvik' food on campus but are only concerned about the extra buck they may have to shell out for it.

Kapil Modi, a student here says, "The idea of organic food sounds good. I know a lot of people on campus who are calorie conscious and look for healthy food.

Source: Times of india