Herbal Remedies Blog

Most chooran powders and pills are various combination of common spices used daily in cooking to add flavor and taste to food. We have already noted the composition of the popularly known ashtachooran.

One or two tiny pieces of Asafoetida dissolved in half a cup of water makes a useful drink to decrease gas. Asafoetida is a well recognized carminative, antispasmodic and anti-flatulent. It is commonly used spice that is added to heavy, rich lentils, or chutney to help digestion. Just as some are averse to the smell and taste of garlic there are others who cannot stand the pungent flavor and taste of Asafoetida . For such people a preparation of cumin will do as well. Take a teaspoonful of cumin, put it in a pan and roast till red. Then added about two cups of water and boil the water for five to ten minutes till the essence of cumin blends into the water and the boiling water is reduced to one cup. This decoction taken once a day decreases flatulence without over irritating the stomach. It is easy to make try it instead of swallowing enzyme tablets.

Ajwain is also used for its anti-flatulent properties. Like the cumin decoction , a decoction could be taken as such or to it could e added a dew pieces of pineapple if easily available. Let the pieces soak overnight in the decoction. In morning squeeze the pineapple pieces and extract all its essence into the decoction. Filter and take the drink as a remedy for excessive gas. The tipe pineapple contains the digestive ferment bromelin which is closely related to the enzyme trypsin naturally occurring in the stomach. This ferment helps in indigestion and reduces flatulence. As pineapple has abortifacient properties, pregnant women should avoid the mentioned home remedy.

For those who are lazy to prepare elaborate home remedies here is a quick recipe crush a few grains of fenugreek seeds and lick it with a pinch or two of sonchal which is a pink variety of naturally occurring rock salt. This salt is popular all over Maharashtra, Gujarat, U.P and Punjab.. A quarter teaspoonful of this salt dissolved in glass of water and taken on an empty stomach in the morning acts as a carminative and decreases wind formation. For those suffering from heaviness and frequently belching here is a popular Gujarati recipe. Boil in dilute milk two small pieces of dry ginger. To it add a pinch of rock salt and take the drink warm at bedtime. In the morning one feels lights and hungry.