HERBAL BEER
Looks, smells, even tastes like it. But is it beer?

WHAT GOES IN? Pub-crawlers beware, herbal beer is just raw mango mixed with herbs (Andrographis or kalmegh and Tinospora or guduchi), fermented for a week. Besides mango (Mangifera indica), other fruit such as amla (Phyllanthus emblica), guava (Psidium guajava) and oranges (Citrus spp.) can also be used as raw material. The product has been created at a research institute

NUTRA ELEMENT Guduchi is good for the heart, diabetes, blood pressure, leprosy and piles. Kalmegh is a traditional health booster that increases immunity, is effective against fever and acts as a liver tonic. Kalmegh is also used in herbal beer to simulate the bitter flavour of hops. Herbal beer is supposedly high in antioxidants, relaxes the heart and the digestive system, is a diuretic and also protects against gastro-duodenal ulceration. Tests on liver cell lines have shown that cells thrive with herbal beer while most die with regular beer. The product is a thirst-quencher with a pleasant aroma

STATUTORY WARNING Although it is called herbal, the alcohol content in this beer ranges between two and eight per cent, which is around the same as in some regular Indian beers

THE BUY-BUY STATUS The institute has shared the technique with a manufacturer and production of herbal beer is likely to roll by June 2005

OMEGA 3 FATTY ACIDS
PRODUCT FEATURES Can be sourced from flax seed, pumpkin seed, walnut, canola, soybeans and fish (that eat the algae)

NUTRA ELEMENT Fatty acids (alpha linolenic acid and linoleic acid) modulate cell membrane characteristics to minimise inflammations that lead to arthritis, coronary heart disease. Also said to safeguard against depression

RICE BRAN
PRODUCT FEATURES Available as rice bran oil. Also adds a nutritional element to products like biscuits and bread

NUTRA ELEMENT Rice bran phytonutrients help prevent conditions like cancer, heart disease, kidney stones, excessive calcium and hyperlipidemia (accumulation of fat)

PROTEIN
PRODUCT FEATURES Protein in biscuits and as powder and capsules have been around as one of the world's oldest