Herbal Remedies Blog

Biliousness or bitter mouth is associated with problem like poor digestion, dyspepsia, flatulence,etc. It is often due to improper functioning of the liver and gall bladder. After a full meal there is a bitter taste in the mouth. In the morning one gets up with a sour feeling. A simple home remedy for this would be take a glass of lime juice ( one lime to six ounce of water) with a piece of ginger crushed into it. When there is no lime available ginger pieces in jaggery will serve the same purpose.

For the most dyspeptic disorders lime is a panacea. But for its full effectiveness take the dilute juice as such or with a crystal of rock salt. Over sweetening lime decreases its medicinal value. However it retains its nutritive value in all forms. Only contraindication for taking lime would be when one is specifically allergic to citrus fruits, or when there is excess acid secretion of gastric juice with increased hunger and pain in upper abdomen when the stomach is empty.

Kurchi (Holarrhena Antidysenterica) and berberine are well recognized ayurvedic anti-diarrhoels which are now days incorporated even in homeopathic preparations. Kurchi is very useful for intestinal problems-primarily for diarrhea and dysentery. The decoction of the roots and leaves of Kurchi are used as such or in combination with bael and turmeric for effective control of diarrhea. Alkaloid cones-sine and kurchicine are effective in killing the Diarrhea germs. The roots of Kurchi is one of the ingredients of dasamul, an ayurvedic preparation for digestive disorders. The extract of the berries and root bark decoction of chitra tree (berberine aristata) is available as rasant a popular herbal remedy for diarrhea and dysentery in many parts of the north. This sherbet which is rich in anti-infective, antiseptic and astringent properties contains berberine.

With the first signs of the loose stool, a little gripe in the abdomen or vomiting it would be safe to start with the home remedies mentioned. In the great majority of cases die tic restriction with traditional binders and astringents, the intestinal inflammation gets healed. However, in severe forms of intestinal affection to keep using home remedies when more effective allopathic cures are available is inexcusable.

Many paternal grandfather had  simple home remedy for condition of dysentery when there is pain in the abdomen frequent stools with traces of mucus. It is a tumbler of tea decoction with a teaspoonful of ghee in it. Tea with its tannin content and ghee as a demulcent help cure the inflammation of the intestines associated with dysentery. Some of my north Indian patients have mentioned about the usefulness of the common vegetable ‘dudhi’ in dysentery and intestinal gripe. Not only is the soup of this vegetable useful, but even the skin dried in shade and powdered and stores come handy to cure blood in the stool. A teaspoonful of the powder mixed in water and taken twice a day controls blood dysentery.

Pomegranate as mentioned earlier is a cure for various intestinal problems. All parts of the plant and fruit have medicinal value. The dry flowers as an infusion is very helpful in dysentery. The fruit juice is highly recommended in all forms of diarrhea and dysentery.  Even for small children pomegranate’s very useful. I have routinely recommended the fresh juice diluted in water for diarrhea. For curing dysentery the following prescription has been found useful. A piece of the skin of the fruit is roasted over charcoal and crushed into fine powder. Mixed with a little honey this is given twice or thrice a day. In dyspeptic diarrhea due to indigestion,dry or fresh ginger is very useful. Take a piece of dry ginger and powder it along with crystal of rock salt. A quarter teaspoonful of this powder taken with small piece of jaggery bring quick relief. Ginger is a carminative, aids in digestion by stimulating the gastric-intestinal tract.

For severe diarrhea my grandfather used equal quantities of onion juice and lime juice. She would give this mixture first before trying any other remedy. Onion is antiseptic, digestive and anti flatulent. Lime juice is astringent and nutritive ; it is rich in anti infective Vitamin C and citric acid. A combination of onion and lime juice should naturally help. She also had another useful recipe to check diarrhea. She would powder about half dozen tamarind seeds with a teaspoonful of cumin, Mix it with sweetened water. This is given also to stop dysentery. While the tamarind fruit pulp is laxative the seed are astringent and biding and help to control loose stools.

Mango seeds are very useful for diarrhea and dysentery. During the mango season collect the seeds,dry them in the shade, powder well, sieve to remove big particles and preserve the powder for use when necessary. A small roll of the powder in jaggery thrice a day is useful remedy for recurrent diarrhea. In combination with powdered ‘ Jamun’ seed this is dramatically effective.

Another easy to make home remedy for dysentery has poppy seeds as the main ingredient. About quarter teaspoonful of the powder of poppy seeds roasted to golden brown in honey twice a day gives relief from the symptoms of dysentery. As these seeds have sedative effect do not take the remedy for more than tree days. It is the seeds of the poppy plant from which opium is obtained.

A very useful intestinal antis pectic is turmeric. Turmeric rhizome as such, Its juice or dry powder in buttermilk or plain water is very helpful to cure chronic intestinal problems, specially chronic diarrhea. Turmeric in addition is a gastric stimulant, a blood enrichment and a tonic.

For those who are particular about home remedies and are willing to take the trouble of getting a few out of the way items here are few recipes :

The banyan and bamboo are very useful in traditional medicine. The banyan tree is found practically in every part of India, especially in the countryside. The buds of the banyan tree soaked in water overnight and taken as infusion help in chronic diarrhoeal complaints.

In many parts of the India the leaves of the bamboo arch used in the f0orm of decoction to tart diarrhea. The young shoots of the bamboo are however poisonous due to the content of hydrochloric acid in them., They are used only externally as a poultice for chronic infective condition of the skin. Hence it is better to avoid remedies which if carelessly made and taken could lead to serious side effects. Babul bark is available in any shop. A decoction of this bark is highly effective in chronic diarrhea. Bring highly astringent, it binds the bowels and controls diarrhea.

At that time most applicable for immediate effect is concentrated aniseed oil, it should be taken ten drops straight in half a teaspoonful of dry sugar. The aniseed are most effective remedy because of its essential oils which are stoma chic, digestive and curative. The vomiting will gradually stop. whether it is better then thrown out all the toxins or whether the aniseed oil. It is  this simple home remedy seemed to sort out the sudden occurring problems.

To set the system right coconut water and green plantation curry for two days is applicable. Through Indian in general have greater resistance to intestinal infection because of natural immunity – developed from young age- valuable lives have been lost in epidemics of summer gastroenteritis and cholera. Binders and astringents decreases discharge and harden stools. These are given with hope that in mild attacks they check the number of stools. In the  meantime the body immunity mechanism overcome the infection and the diarrhea is fully controlled. In diarrhea due to die tic indiscretion or due to mild intestinal infection home remedies are all that is needed. Powerful modern antibiotics are unnecessary.

Traditional home remedies often include mild intestinal antiseptics which are very useful in chronic dysentery and diarrhea. Modern antibiotics are powerful and efficient but the disease causing organism are quick to develop resistance to them. This is the great drawback of antibiotic therapy. Home remedies greatly emphasize on die tic restriction and oral hydration, i.e. the administering of liquids to replenish the loss of fluids from the body. What fluids are given orally depends on the region to which one belongs.

Coconut water which is rich in potassium is very useful to maintain the salt balance. Buttermilk, arrowroot water, barley water, whey water are all commonly used for oral hydration all over India. The Indian housewife uses curry leaves to add flavor to her dishes. Grind a bunch of these leaves into fine paste mix in buttermilk and drink on an empty stomach to set right an upset stomach.In the south, rice gruel is popularly given to control diarrhea.

Different forms f starchy liquids like barley water, arrowroot gruel, rice gruel or thin sago porridge not only replace the fluid lost but also bind the stools. When you have one or two loose stools a glass of dilute buttermilk to which turmeric and salt are added may be helpful. Place a cooking vessel on the fire and put half teaspoonful of turmeric and add buttermilk and pinch of salt. Warm till the buttermilk froth. Take this turmeric rich buttermilk three to four times a day.

Chewing down of few tender bael leaves every morning. Try this treatment, it has been know at least half a dozen acquaintances suffering from stomach problem who are benefited by this treatment. Bael leaves are soaked in water is taken to get an infusion. The next morning the strained water is taken as a drink. This treatment is continued daily for a few weeks. relief from pain and discomfort is certain. Bael  leaves are rich in tannins. The bael fruit taken in the form of beverage or as such has great healing properties due to mucilage contents which forms a coating on stomach mucosa and helps in the healing of ulcers. Tannins in addition decrease inflammation and help healing.

In many parts of South India there is a belief that cabbage is very helpful to cure stomach ulcers. cabbage is boiled in water. The water that is drained is taken cold twice a day as a cure.

Kalyana murungkai (drumsticks) is a variety of drumsticks freely found in south India. The leaves of this tree are popularly used for the healing of stomach ulcers. The leaves are grinde into the paste, mixed in curd and taken daily.

Manattakkali or makoi grows wild over India. The berries and leaves are sold in bazaar. The leaves, cooked and eaten help in healing ulcers in any part of the alimentary tract, from mouth to anus. The dry berries, a tablespoonful, fried in ghee and taken mixed with rice in a popular home recipe for treating ulcer in most part of south India. Mannattakkali berries and leaves are rich source of Vitamin C, Which further aids ulcer healing.

Liquorice is popular all over India for coughs and other respiratory problems. It is also very useful for removing pain due to stomach ulcers. The demulcent action of liquorice decreases the irritation due to acids.Pieces of the dry root soaked overnight in water and the inflation taken with rice gruel ( Kanji ) helps in the cure of ulcer. Manattakkali berries and leaves are rich source of Vitamin C, Which further aids ulcer healing.

Even in modern medicine liquorice has become a recognized drug for treating ulcer patients. Continuous, uninterrupted treatment is however not advisable as it may cause increase in weight and puffiness of body. Hence best avoided in pregnancy and heart and kidney conditions.There are several herbal remedies hidden in the depth of south side of India.

Little infants are very prone to it due to milk indigestion. The Indian mother has stock of home remedies for helping an infants suffering from colic. How often we have seen the mother-in-law or grandmother run into the kitchen to get asafoetida and Castor oil. She warms a little piece of asafoetida in Castor oil, powders the piece and mixes it well in a little warm Castor oil. She applies this medicated oil all around the suffering infant”s navel and gently massages the abdomen.

Some mothers use a combination of Bach, ‘harir’ and nutmeg ground to a paste as a carminative, antispasmodic medicine. Goar Bach is the rhizome of sweet flag, a popularly known semi aquatic plant. It is antispasmodic and digestive in small doses. The slight warmth on the abdomen brings on peristaltic movements of the intestines which help to expel any caught-up gas. A speck of asafoetida is a well known anti flatulent medicine.

In larger doses it produces vomiting due to the essential oils in it. The usefulness of goarbach in controlling diarrhea and dysentery us due to the large amount of tannin present in the rhizome.A more experienced mother rubs a piece of ‘gorbach’ just once or twice on a grinding stone and applies a bit of paste on the baby’s tongue to cure colic. By experience she knows how much will needed to relieve the colic.

The seeds of mint are very useful to relieve abdominal gripe due to indigestion in older children. After a heavy meal or indiscriminate eating if a child complains of fullness of belly and pain, the child may be given a quarter teaspoonful of seed to chew and swallow with water. Even chewing a few leaves of mint has carminative effect. Mint is rich in menthol and is a source of peppermint oil. Commonly used as a spice in cooking, It has valuable digestive properties.

For grown-ups warm mustard oil doubled be used to massage the abdomen. The counter irritants action of mustard decreases pain inside the abdomen. The warmth produced by massaging expels any wind caught up in the intestines.
Some suffer from pain in the abdomen due to over irritation of stomach. For such people my maternal aunt had a demulcent or soothing drink. She would take a tumbler of pain starch water obtained from cooked parboiled rice, and add a teaspoonful of cow’s ghee to it. Even for those suffering from an onset of dysentery she would use this home remedy for quick relief of abdominal discomfort.Among South Indians there is an interesting prescription for quick relief of abdominal pain. A teaspoonful of fenugreek seeds is powdered, mixed in buttermilk and taken internally to relieve pain and help digestion.
For frequent gripes in the belly many north Indians take Isabgol. Isabgol seeds with husk are soaked in water or milk for a few hours. The liquid is strained and taken at night. The high mucilaginous content in isabgol forms a covering inside the intestinal wall which protect the lining mucosa and helps in the healing of ulcers. Irritation and gripe thus decreases.

With age the signs of aging start developing. Saggy skin, bags under the eyes wrinkles, age spots and forehead lines are the signs of aging. Aging is unavoidable but it does not mean one should look old.
There are things which help in younger looks.
• The lipstick shades should not be mat. Because their traces remain in the fine lip lines. Creamy lipsticks or lip glosses are better.
• As with mat lipsticks the traces of powder blushes and shadows remain in the fine lines on the skin. Also the dry looking skin is a sign of aging. Therefore, creamy blushes and creamy shadows are better and they give the skin plumy look.
• Curled lashes look good. First the mascara should be applied allowed it to dry and then the lashes can be curled up.
• The hair length should be between the chin and the shoulders.
• Eyebrows should not be over plucked as they do not grow well after excessive plucking.
• Less make up is better as makeup should not be used to cover the age.
• Alcohol intake and smoking should be decreased to the maximum possible extent.
• Teeth may become yellow color due to drinks like red wine, tea and coffee. They can be whitened by using over the counter teeth whiteners.
• Adequate and sound sleep at night also helps in looking younger. Due to lack of sleep the skin looks dry and the face looks shapeless.
• Apart from beauty and young looking tips standing straight is also important to look and feel young.
• Well balanced diet is helpful in younger looks. As with age the metabolism becomes slower increase in weight is obvious. There should be control on increasing weight. To control weight the life style should not become sedentary.
• Along with diet regular exercise is also important. This helps in better blood circulation. Due to this nutrients reach to the extremities and toxic products are removed. The type of exercise is not important. Just being active is also an exercise.
• Techniques to reduce stress (stress relaxation techniques) should be learned as stress makes an individual look older.

Besides the younger looking tips there are products which can turn around the signs of ageing and help look younger.

Collagen is a substance present in skin which helps in looking younger. Several creams from animal sources are available but these large molecules can not penetrate the skin. Therefore substances which stimulate the production of collagen and can penetrate the skin are more useful. Cynergy TK is one such natural ingredient. Same is for hyaluronic acid. Phytessence Wakame is the ingredient helpful in increasing the elasticity of skin. Free radicals production increases with age. Antioxidants which are present in fruits and vegetables scavenge free radicals. Therefore, antioxidants also make one look younger. Creams containing antioxidants help in reducing signs of aging from outside.

Nobody doubts the many benefits of physical activity daily. Walking is an alternative for those who are unable or unwilling to make the efforts required in other sports. The arthritic changes are often due to inactivity and immobility. Walking is one of the best ways to improve this problem. It has been shown that walking regularly at a moderate pace thinner, reduces the incidence of type II diabetes and lowers blood pressure. Walking regularly helps to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, burn the same amount of fat to run.

Examples:

¤ marching at least 45 minutes, 4 times a week consumed more than 7 kg of fat each year, of course if it is accompanied with a balanced diet.

¤ 5 km walk, 5 times per week, reduced by 18% the risk of heart disease.

¤ 8 hours per week of walking can reduce the risk of hip fracture by at least half of postmenopausal women. Walking, the most common among this group of women, is a good option for those wishing to increase their bone mass and reduce the possibility of damage to the bones.

A common practice of the walk, can serve as an incentive for some other sport that requires more intense activity, as it makes them feel better and growing stronger.

Ultimately the many benefits of walking regularly are:

1. It helps control or reduce weight.
2. It improves blood circulation
3. It prevents heart disease
4. It helps in digestion and elimination
5. It Moderate acts as an appetite suppressant.
6. It keeps bones healthy and strong, helping to straighten
7. It eliminates tensions and concerns
8. It Prevents breathing problems.
9. It Removes grease.
10. Tones the muscles of your thighs, calves and hips.
11. It improved peripheral vision.
12. Walking straighten the muscles around the joints. This removes the pressure on them, squeezing the fluid feeds in and out, giving the cartilage nutrition.
13. A slight step increases the level of endorphins, natural pain those produced by the body.
14. Walking promotes the immunity system, increasing the production of components of blood that fight viruses and bacteria.