Nagara Ghrita - Digestion Stimulator

Ghee or saturated butter is widely used in Indian cooking and is a very good and healthy substitute for butter. This recipe can be used in the same way, the only difference being that it is healthier and more appetizing. This is how it is prepared.

Ingredients:
1. Cow ghee (1Kg)
2. Freshly crushed ginger (250gms)

Mix the above two ingredients and boil on low flame. Leave to simmer, stirring periodically to avoid it sticking to the bottom of the vessel.
When it becomes thick in consistency, thick enough that it doesn't stick to two fingers when pinched, stop heating and filter it.
Put pressure so as to squeeze out all the ghee. Then store the liquid portion (Nagara ghrita) preferebly in a glass container.
Now, the solid portion is usually discarded but if you feel that its not good to waste, then you can add sugar, mix and store in the fridge. This is very similar to a sweet dish called halwa, found in India and also in Greece.
Apart from being a digestion stimulator it adds good taste to the food and is also used in many digestive disorders, especially in cases of weak digestive fire. It is also used for the treatment of piles.

Skin care with Ayurveda

Skin is the largest organ in the body and considered by many to be the most important. Depending on one's body type, the skin type also differs.

The Vata Skin type tends to be dry, cold and also rough at times (if there is dosha imbalance). It is more sensitive to cold climate and cold items becuase these cause the vitiation of Vata dosha in the body.
Since this skin type tends to be more dry, extreme cold temperatures must be avoided. Clarified butter (ghee) can be applied on the lips in case of chapped lips which is very common during cold seasons. Drink a lot of fluids to maintain the body fluid levels. One very good product is Shatadhouta Ghrita. It is clarified butter that has been boiled a hundred times over. This makes it very thin and very nourishing for the skin. It is also used for many skin disorders, in burns, cracked nipples during brestfeeding etc.

The Pitta skin type needs more nurturing and is hot or warm as compared to the Vata type.
To keep this skin type healthy, one must avoid hot spicy food items that tend to increase Pitta in the body. Instead, cold or cooling items can be partaken. Over here too, Shatadhout Ghrita can be used as it has a cooling effect on the skin.

The Kapha skin type tends to be unctuous, oily (shiny), with profuse sweat and thick. This type is more sensitive to oily, heavy and fried foods which all tend to increase Kapha in the body and therefore they must be avoided. Frequent massage can help improve circulation. Also, purificatory procedures can be undertaken so as to releave the body internally of toxins and also help in proper blood circulation and in removal of any collection of toxins that might occur in the body.

International Congress of Ayurveda

Image via Wikipedia

The first ever International Congress of Ayurvedic Medicine will be held in Milan, Italy on the 21st and 22nd of March 2009. There will be many well known speakers from the world of Ayurveda, both Indian and Italian. The congress will culminate with a workshop that will deal with introduction to ayurveda, nutrition and hygiene in Ayurveda.

Click here to have a look at the programme details.

Miracle cure for Diabetes

VIJAYSARA

Vijaysara (pronounced Vijaysaara), or Pterocarpus Marsupium of the fabaceae family is a tree that is commonly used in Ayurveda. Its common name is Indian kino tree. It is known for its magical effects in diabetes. It is also used in cases of inflammation, elephantiasis, leucodermia, diarrhoea, dysentry etc.
The most common method of administration is by soaking two teaspoons full of the powder of the wood of the indian kino tree in a glass of water overnight. In the morning, filter and then boil the water to half of its original quantity and drink it. This can be taken every morning. The result is the normalisation of blood sugar levels. This is achieved by the action that vijaysara has on the blood cells. It helps in the absorption or digestion of glucose by the cells (glucose synthesis). It has also been proven to improve the glucose transport in the body.
This of course works in tandem with an active lifestyle and the other measures that need to be taken or avoided in such a situation.
There is available in the market today, a glass made out of the wood of Vijaysara called Diaslim tumbler. The glass must be filled with water and kept overnight and its contents can simply be drunk in the morning. One glass can be used until the water stops changing colour in the morning, at which point, the glass will have to be replaced with a new one. Click here to check out a website that sells the diaslim tumbler.

Stevia- Natural Plant Sweetener

"Stevia Rebaudiana" or "Stevia" is the newest threat to multinational companies around the world concerned with production of artificial sweeteners and sugar based products. It is for this reason that its popularity has been hampered, although this did end up working out the other way round. With all the restrictions on its benefits and uses, and with internet today, its popularity has been blown out of proportion. But, of course that which threatens something that is already holding majority of the market share (which most of the time "happens" to be a product that is harmful), will always be shunned or banned.

Now, why is it a threat one may ask.

It is nature's answer to all aching diabetics who suffer a hard time because they cannot indulge or even get a taste of their favourite dessert because their life depends upon it. Well, this of course doesn't mean that with Stevia, one can eat himself or herself to obesity or chronicity.

It is nature's pure alternative to sugar. It is scientifically proven to be 200 to even 300 times sweeter than sugar.

This plant is native to Paraguay, where the natives have widely used it for it's many curative abilities. Apart from it being a sweetener, it also helps in cleansing of the oral cavity, it fights high blood pressure, is a natural anti-bacterial and anti-viral agent, it also has a therapeutic effect on topical (local) application.

The reason why stevia is such a life saver is because the human body reacts in a completely different way to it as compared to the way it does with sugar.

This plant's active principle (Steviosido/Steviosides) are glycosides that are extremely sweet agents that the body does not metabolize but it gets flushed out directly. This is unlike sugar which is converted into glucose and is absorbed into the blood stream thus leading to increase in blood sugar levels and could consequently lead to diabetes. This is not the case with Stevia. It has also been proven to stimulate the production of insulin in the body & is also good for heartburn.

As of today, only one market in the world has openly accepted the import and the sale of Stevia and that is Japan (other than Paraguay of course). Over 50% of the market is governed by the use of Stevia .

Since the majority of  markets in the world are against promoting this beatiful plant, the only way to spread knwoledge about it is to talk about it. So, go ahead and spread the word!

CHIKUNGUNYA

Chikungunya, also commonly known as "Chicken Guinea" (a misnomer), is a viral disease caused ue to the bite of a mosquito, the aedes aegypti  mosquito to be more precise and the aedes albopictus that is more commonly known as the "tiger mosquito". The disease orginiated in 1952 in Tanzania. Chikungunya means "to turn upwards" which refers to the joints that start bending upwards and are very painful which is a characteristic of this disease. Along with this symptom, fever is also common. Therefore it is likened to a disease called "Sandhijvara" that has been mentioned in the ancient classic texts. It consists of two words, Sandhi & Jvara. Sandhi meaning joints and jvara meaning fever. As of now, the region that is afflicted the most in the world today is the south of India.

CAUSES

The cause is vector bourne by a bite from aedes aegypti or aedes albopictus (tiger mosquito). Stagnant water is where they thrive and lay their eggs. Regions afflicted with floods and that have more water stagnation are most susseptible.

SYMPTOMS

The symptoms start with;

Fever with high temperature (Jvara)

Body pains/aches (Angamarda)

Profuse rashes

Conjuntivitis

Pain and swelling in joints

Ulcers in the mouth etc

TREATMENT

The only systems of medicine that have found a cure for Chikungunya are Ayurveda and Homeopathy. Modern medicine (allopathy) administers only pain killers to relieve the patient of the pain. There is no vaccination against this disease. This is why many people are turning towards Ayurveda since it offers the only effective cure.

Ayurvedic medicines used to combat the disease  most commonly are:

Sudarshana churna,

Dhanvantaram gutika,

Mahasudarshana churna,

Yograja guggulu,

Panchatikta Kashayam,

Amruta Arishta,

Chewing of holy basil and carrots that help alleviate the fever etc, etc.

These are some of the medicines that are used to allaeviate the symptoms in the patient.

Homeopathic medicines used to combat the disease most commonly are: 

Eupatorium-perf,

Pyroginum,

Arnica,

Belladonna,

Cedron.

Note: This article is only for information. Please do not take any medicine or undergo any treatment without consulting your Physician. The administrators of this blog, decline any responsibility.

Home remedies for Acidity

There are various age old remedies that one can undertake to combat acidity. It was infact a major ailment of one of our team members who is now fine thanks to one of these remedies. Here are mentioned some of the commonly used ones.

Warm Water:

This is a very simple solution to fight acidity. One would thing that something hot cannot reduce   the heat in the body that is already causing the acidity but ironically it works! The fact is that cold items are harder to digest than warm or hot foods. One glass of warm water first thing

 in the morning daily does a lot to reduce acidity.

Basil Leaves:

Chewing on a few basil leaves (tulsi) helps fight burning (heart burn), nausea and gas which are common symptoms that can be felt in acidity.

Fruits:

A banana everyday goees a long way to fight acidity. It also helps in proper bowel movements. Also, apple and watermelon are good for the digestive process.

Buttermilk:

Buttermilk is considered to be a very good appetizer as well as a very good digestive. When prepared with some curry leaves and some cumin powder, it aids digestion even more. Ayurveda has not put any limit to the consumption of buttermilk. It can be drunk before meals, during meals and also after meals, allbeit in a limited quantity because one must avoid too many liquids soon after the meal to avoid "damping" the digestive fire.

How to prepare buttermilk:

Take one part of curd and add about 3 parts of water (in a mixer/blender). This can vary according to how thick or thin you want to make it. It is preferable to make it thin though. Add a pinch of salt. Mix for sbout 2-3 minutes. (even though buttermilk is made from curd, which is heavy to digest, it has the complete opposite effect because of its water content.)

Seasoning (optional)

Add a pinch of cumin seed powder along with 2-3 curry leaves to taste.

Avoiding the causes:

This of course can also be preventive. 

Avoid eating prior to the completion of digestion of the previous meal. The fact is that a person gets into such a routine in life that he or she eats only out of habit. Very rarely does one consider or assess their hunger before eating. The habit is to eat everyday at a certain time and people live their lives in this manner irrespective of their body's real wishes. Ayurveda says that when getting up from the dining table, a slight little hunger must always remain. Never must one fill the stomach to the brim. This a very common cause of acidity and many other major ailments.

There are many food items also that must be avoided, like spicy foods, ginger, dry foods and snacks (with a lot of sugar and preservatives), fried food items etc. 

Do not lie down or sleep soon after eating because it hampers digestion.