Archives – July, 2006
cabbage
Cabbage is a popular vegetable that is used for cooking and is also known for its medicinal properties (it said to contain chemicals that can prevent cancer). The history of its uses can be traced to the Greek era, where the Greeks used fresh white cabbage juice to relieve sore or infected eyes. During those times, the Romans and Egyptians would drink cabbage juice before meals to prevent intoxication.
Precaution: do not eat red cabbage raw. Avoid cabbage if you suffer from goiter, or take MAOI antidepressants. Cooked red cabbage can cause constipation and irritation of colon.
1. Cabbage is anti – inflammatory vegetable
2. Cabbage contains lactic acid that acts to disinfect colon
3. Cabbage can also be used to reduce headache pain
4. Another benefit of cabbage is in it’s anti –cancer properties and is also said to be able in treating other skin conditions
5. Drinking cabbage juice from the stem is a good remedy for ulcers.
The use :
1. Drink fresh cabbage juice if you suffer from gastritis
2. This is another benefit of cabbage. Drink 25 – 50 ml cabbage juice everyday to treat headache, asthma, bronchitis and other digestion problems.
3. White cabbage juice dabbed on mouth ulcers will make the healing faster.
Tips :
1. Don’t buy halved or quartered heads of cabbage even if it’s well wrapped. As soon as the leaves are cut, cabbage will loose it’s vitamin C
2. Wash cabbage only when you are ready to use it.
3. Look for solid, heavy heads of cabbage, with no more than 3 – 4 loose outer leaves.
July 28, 2006
Curative properties of cloves
cloves for health
Clove is the dried unopened flower bud obtained from a handsome, middle-sized, evergreen tree. The tree has a straight trunk and grows upto a height of 10 to 12 meters.
The dove has been used in India and China , for over 2,000 years, as a spice to check both tooth decay and counter halitosis that is bad breath. In Persia and China it was considered to have aphrodisiac properties.
The clove buds, stem and leaves, on steam distillation, yield a substantial amount of essential oil. The clove bud oil, derived from the dried buds by steam distillation, contains free eugenol, eugenol acetate and caryophyllene. The stem oil contains more free eugenal than the bud oil, besides eugenol acetate, in small quantity. The leaf oil contains much less of total eugenol than the bud oil and a very small quantity of eugenol acetate.
Medicinal uses of cloves
Stimulating, carminative, aromatic. It is given as powder or an infusion for nausea, vomiting, flatulence, languid indigestion and dyspepsia. The volatile oil contains the medicinal properties and it is strong germicide, antiseptic and a local irritant. It has been used as an expectorant to aid bronchial troubles. Clove oil is often used in association with other medicines.
Healing Power and Curative Properties of Clove
Cloves have many medicinal virtues. They are stimulant. They are useful in counteracting spasmodic disorders and in relieving flatulence. They help stimulate sluggish circulation and thereby promote digestion and metabolism. In the Indian system of medicine, cloves are used in various conditions either in the form of a powder or a decoction made from them. Clove oil contains ingredients that help stabilize blood circulation and regulate body temperature. Clove oil, applied outwardly, has stimulating effects on the skin, producing heat and redness.
Digestive Disorders
Cloves promote enzymatic flow and boost digestive functioning. They are used in various forms of gastric irritability and dyspepsia. Licking the powder of fried cloves mixed with honey is effective in controlling vomiting. The anesthetic action of clove numbs the- gullet and stomach and stops vomiting.
Cholera
Cloves are very useful for treating cholera. About 4 grams of cloves are boiled in 3 litres of water until half the water has evaporated. This water, taken in draughts, will check severe symptoms of the disease.
Asthma
Clove is an effective remedy for asthma. A teaspoon of decoction prepared by boiling 6 cloves in 30 ml of water can be taken with honey thrice daily as an expectorant.
Teeth Disorders
The use of a clove in toothache decreases pain. It also helps to decrease infection due to its antiseptic properties. Clove oil, applied to a cavity in a decayed tooth, also relieves toothache.
Earache
A clove sauted in a teaspoon of sesame ( til) oil and 3 to 5 drops of this (warm) oil put into the ear can cure earache.
Muscular Cramps
Muscular cramps are often relieved when the oil of clove is applied as a poultice near the affected portion.
Headaches
A paste of clove and salt crystals in milk is a common household remedy for headaches. Salt, as a hygroscopic agent, absorbs fluid and decreases tension.
Stye
Clove is one of the best remedies for styes which is an inflammation around the eyelash. A clove stub rubbed in water and then applied over the stye gives relief.
July 26, 2006
Health benefits of curry leaves
Curry leaves
The curry tree is a native of India and Sri Lanka . It grows in all tropical zones and more so in rich soils. It is cultivated extensively for its aromatic leaves and ornamental value throughout India.
An analysis of curry leaves shows them to consist of moisture 66.3 per cent, protein 6.1 per cent, fat (ether extract) 1.0 per cent, carbohydrates 16.0 per cent, fibre 6.4 per cent and mineral matter 4.2 per cent per 100 grams. Their mineral and vitamin contents are calcium, phosphorus, iron, nicotinic acid and vitamin C.
Fresh leaves on steam distillation under pressure yield a volatile oil. Besides the oil, the leaves contain a residual glucoside named as koenigin.
Healing Power and Curative Properties of Curry Leaves
Curry leaves possess the qualities of a herbal tonic. They strengthen the functions of stomach and promote its action. They are also used as a mild laxative. The leaves may be taken mixed with other mild tasting herbs. The juice extracted from 15 grams of leaves may be taken with buttermilk.
Digestive Disorders
Fresh juice of curry leaves, with lime juice and sugar, is an effective medicine in the treatment of morning sickness, nausea and vomiting due to indigestion and excessive use of fats. One or two teaspoons of juice of these leaves mixed with a teaspoon of lime juice may be taken in these conditions. The curry leaves, ground to a fine paste and mixed with buttermilk, can also be taken on an empty stomach with beneficial results in case of stomach upsets.
Tender curry leaves are useful in diarrhoea, dysentery and piles. They should be taken, mixed with honey. The bark of the tree is also useful in bilious vomiting. A teaspoon of the powder or the decoction of the dry bark should be given with cold water in this condition.
Kidney Disorders
The root of the curry plant also has medicinal properties. The juice of the root can be taken to relieve pain associated with the kidneys.
Premature Greying of Hair
Liberal intake of curry leaves is considered beneficial in preventing premature greying of hair. These leaves have the property to nourish the hair roots. New hair roots that grow are healthier with normal pigment. The leaves can be used in the form of chutney or the juice may be squeezed and taken in buttermilk or lassi.
Burns and Bruises
Curry leaves can be effectively used to treat burns, bruises and skin eruptions. They should be applied as a poultice over the affected areas.
Eye Disorders
Fresh juice of curry leaves suffused in the eyes. makes them look bright. It also prevents the early development of cataract.
Insect Bites
Fruits of the tree, which are berries, are edible. They are green when raw, but purple when ripe. Juice of these berries, mixed with equal proportion of lime-juice, is an effective fluid for external application in insect stings and bites of poisonous creatures.
July 26, 2006
Benefits of Garlic
Whole Garlic
1. Garlic clear fats from the blood vessels, lower cholesterol, protect body from viral and bacterial infections
2. Garlic is a natural antiseptic
3. Could boost the immune systems
4. Garlic is nature’s remedy in healing people with cancers. Taken internally (by eating garlic cloves or drinking garlic juice, preferably raw), garlic has been shown to shrink tumors in the breast, stomach and colon.
5. Garlic act as an antioxidants and decongestant.
6. Helps reduce blood pressure
The use :
1. Fresh garlic, eaten regularly will reduce the body’s need for antibiotics
2. Fresh garlic juice is anti-fungal and can be used in fungal infection – such as athlete’s foot
3. Raw garlic if included in your everyday salad will help cleanse your colon.
4. Another benefits of garlic is in improving your blood circulation - eat roasted garlic cloves.
July 26, 2006
Health Benefit of ginger
Ginger
The health benefits of ginger have been known for over 2000 years.
In traditional Chinese medicine, ginger is used to calm upset stomachs, soothe nausea and stop diarrhea. Other traditional health practitioners also understood the health benefits of ginger ? it has been widely used in Europe to help relieve menstrual cramps, treat the symptoms of the common cold and ease headaches. One of the newest reports of the health benefits of ginger is that it may stop cancer from growing and spreading.
What Is Responsible for the Health Benefits of Ginger?
The health benefits of ginger come from chemicals called volatile oils, specifically gingerols and shogaols, that also give ginger its spicy, pungent taste. Those oils stimulate your body to produce more digestive juices and help neutralize the stomach acids that cause cramping, nausea and diarrhea. Ginger is also a natural decongestant and antihistamine, which makes it a natural treatment for head colds.
Research Supports the Health Benefits of Ginger
There are several studies that support the traditionally known health benefits of ginger. Those include:
- Two studies about the health benefits of ginger in helping pregnant women with morning sickness showed that ginger root preparations were more effective than a placebo.
- A clinical trial that proved that ginger root helped prevent seasickness better than a placebo.
- Preliminary results in animal trials show that ginger seems to prevent or slow the rate of tumor growth in cancer.
July 25, 2006
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