Recently I received an email from a very desperate mother after reading my article on the best health drink for kids.
She wanted to know if the newer Complan memory was better or not. I am anyways very long due for the review and the carton is always found near the dustbin and then hurriedly picked by my maid when she remembers that I need to write something about it.
You know what, the new complan was such a ^%*#*& in front of the older one that it had put me off and just did not feel like writing. But this is for the mom who forced me to write it finally.
To start with it costs Rs 203/- for a 400gm pack, that itself is a deterrent. I will come back to the comparision later.
Before that the ingredients in the Complan Memory.
It has nothing new that you would not be aware of.
Infact it has the best source of Omega 6 which is also called DHA (for all who wanted to know about DHA and where it can be found J). Did you guess it. Yup your very own badam , almonds!
Almonds are crushed and mixed in the new complan pack to give it a new name Memory.
Some other additional stuff added really has nothing to do with the brain or memory but general well being. A very well known weed called Spirulina , beetroot juice and spinach juice.
Spinach is good for us we all know but it is much more vitamin A and Vitamin C than iron for which it has gained reputation. (So if you have anemia do not depend on palak for iron and folate as much for other things in it, for iron you can take all kinds of sprouts) May be because of the darkish color it gets after it is cooked.And that darkish color is because of the vit C which turn the spinach into brown from green. Try this. While cooking palak do not cover it and let the vit C evaporate L sadly. Your palak with be green like emerald. Then add one lemon and instantly it loses its green color. Yes spinach is very good for brain too. Infact it has high percentage of Omega 3, vit B2, B6 and B9. After almond and milk, this is one food item which is all rounder in everything that our body needs. But if you are making a weekly palak paneer, aaloo palak, matter palak or any form of spinach there is no need to give Complan memory.
Beetroot juice is also a surprise item here. It does not contain anything to improve the memory. Infact it is great for heart and cholesterol as it cuts the fat deposits in the arteries. The other benefit of beetroot juice is that it really gives boost in the energy if you had a glass of beetroot juice. Maybe when kids are going for summer outdoors you can give them for stamina but not for any brain or memory improvement.
Spirulina has Vitamin b12 init but that has not been proven. If it has, then vit B12 helps the brain and nerve function. The fact about spirulina is a debate even after 15 years! It contains something which behaves like B12 but is not B12. So what the real B12 does is actually not accomplished by this fake or pseudo B12. So I will not recommend it does anything to the brain or memory or even nerves.
I am sure you must have heard of mixing Haldi in milk to feel good when you are down with cold, fever or general recovery from any disease. Well this too is mixed in it in the name of curcumin. But since when has haldi improved memory? But if you are an Indian, adding haldi in the food must is routine so this also is not necessary in milk supplement.
Now coming back to almonds.
Almonds are very rich source of Omega 6 and Omega 12 which actually improves the memory and brain function provided it is given regularly. Infact for vegetarians it is the best source of Omega 12. For non vegetarians mackerel is fabulous. Also it has maximum quantity of protein amongst all nuts. I think considering all the food items, this is the most compact food item which can be named as Super food in tiny size. So munching a few almonds is great snacking idea for those who want to lose fat. (including me now)
When you mix the complan memory into milk, it really does not get mixed completely and all the almonds that settles at the bottom of the glass goes waste especially when they are in a hurry to run for the bus or to play. The taste is also not really pleasing and my kids have given it a big thumbs down.
Infact sticking the old method of eating blanched almonds is best. If they can drink a teaspoon of almond oil first thing the morning nothing better than that. I took a teaspoon religiously for entire duration of my pregnancy for both my kids. I do not not know how much that has affected their brain but I did put on huge amount of fat!
If you want to add saffron to the milk that will definitely improve their brain functioning.
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