We often hear that health is wealth. But how well is it understood and applied is difficult to ascertain. This time, we bring to you a story on a nutritional study undertaken by our five GSP (Green Schools Programme) Gold schools, for assessing their students’ health. A few students in the age group of 12–15 volunteered from each school to participate in the study...

Health, Food and Environment are closely related. All living beings have to eat. We eat food to keep our bodies healthy and strong, so that we can go about doing our day to day work. A wide variety of foods is available to us. In fact, our food can vary from region to region. For example, people living in coastal areas might eat a lot of sea food (fish, prawns, etc).

The beautiful and healthy lotus stems—you can find these stems being sold by roadside vendors, especially along roads that run by a river or a pond. The light brown or white, sausage-like tubular vegetable has holes in it. These are lotus stems and they are used widely in Indian, Chinese and Japanese cuisine. They are relished for their taste and nutritional value. Known in Hindi as bhe or kamal kakri, the lotus stem contains hollow air channels that run the length of the stem. It is crunchy, sweet and tastes like water chestnut. It has a delicate flavour and is suitable for eating raw or cooked...