Take a cup of water, add water to a heating pan and bring to boil. Add 5-6 cloves to boiling water and let it simmer till quantity is reduced to half. Add a tsp. of honey and drink. 

In respiratory problems because of blockage of passage due to dried phlegm, it helps to take 2 tsp. of Ajwain seeds (small sized variety), crush them, add to a glass of buttermilk and drink the mixture.

To 3 tsp. of honey, add 1 tsp. of crushed garlic. Consuming this twice a day can help in bronchitis, especially in children.

Take 2 tsp. of crushed liquorice and 2 tsp. of crushed linseeds. Boil these in 2 cups of water. When the water quantity has reduced to half, take the pan off the flame, filter and add 4 tsp. of honey. Now, take 1 tsp. of the resultant mix twice a day.

Tags: ayurvedic cure, ayurvedic remedy, home remedies, natural cure, Natural healing

First and foremost, avoid as far as you can, taking laxatives. They will make your bowel dependent on them if you take them frequently. If you must, then go in for a natural laxative like Isabgol or Psyllium husks, which is bulk forming. You can add a spoon of it to a glass of water, mix it well and consume before going to be bed. Or add it to your yogurt or any vegetable at meal.

You can also add flaxseeds, which are fibre rich, to yogurt to act as a laxative.

Bananas also help in bowel movement and hence can be consumed. Interestingly, bananas are known to help in loose stomach too.

Drink 2 glasses of lukewarm water early in the morning. 

Exercise: Exercising helps improve metabolism and something like jogging or running shakes up the bowels and thus helps cure constipation.

To prevent getting constipated, you could make simple dietary changes and build some form of exercise into your daily routine. 

Incude high-fibre foods in your diet. That would mean including whole wheat grains, porridge, oatmeal, bran, whole pulses. Processed foods on the other hand are low in fibre. So you could reduce the intake of white bread, pasta, biscuits, noodles etc. 

Instead of fruit juices, have whole fruits as the pulp is fibre rich. Include whole fruits and raw vegeatbles, especially green leafy vegetables in your diet. Try and have a bowl of salad with your favorite dressing for those between the meal times.

Dry fruits like raisins, figs, dates and prunes also have high fibre content. 

Make these easy changes in your diet and enjoy good overall health. Keep constipation at bay, and you keep several diseases at bay!

Tags: ayurvedic remedy, healthy eating, home remedies, natural cure, natural health

Try this simple home remedy:

Take some turmeric powder, powdered cumin, unboiled milk and sesame oil in equal amounts and make a paste. Use as a face pack, applying neatly on the affected areas.

Tags: home remedies, natural cure

• Cloves are rich in eugenol, which is a natural antioxidant. Eugenol has anti-bacterial properties and is particularly effective against vibrio cholerae,  Gartner’s bacillus and swine Erysipelas bacteria.
• Cloves are useful in treating gastric ailments and dyspepsia.
• Cloves are useful in relieving nausea and vomiting.
• Because of its anti-bacterial properties, cloves are used to fight gum diseases, toothache and other dental conditions.
• Cloves also find use as a local analgesic in dental problems.
• Oil from cloves is also used to treat muscle cramps.
• Cloves are also used to strengthen the respiratory system.

Tags: healthy eating, natural cure

• Slice open a ripe banana and insert 1/4 tsp. of asafoetida into it, spreading it along the slice. Take this once or twice a day depending on severity of the problem.
• Take 1 tsp. of crushed cardamom, 1 tsp. of ginger paste and 1 tsp. of fennel. Boil in a cup of water till the amount reduces to half. Now, take 1 tsp. of this decoction and along with a pinch of asafoetida, add to a cup of water. Drink the resulting mix for quick effects.
• Take a cup of water in a pan. Add 1 tsp. each of ground cumin, crushed black pepper and ginger. Boil till the water quantity reduces to half. Drink the decoction 2-3 times a day.
• Take a few garlic cloves and crush them. Take 1 tsp. of this garlic paste and boil in a cup of milk. Drink 1- 2 times a day.

Tags: ayurvedic remedy, home remedies, natural cure

Loose stomach, diarrhoea? Try these simple remedies at home:

• Take 15-20 curry leaves. Crush them finely. Add to a cup of water in a pan and boil till the water quantity reduces to have. Filter and cool. Add 1 tsp. of honey and drink the decoction.
• Mash a ripe banana. Add a tsp. of tamarind pulp and some salt. Take 2-3 times in a day.
• Mix one tsp. ground cinnamon with 1 tsp. each of cumin seeds, ginger paste and honey. Take 1 tsp. of the resulting mixture twice in a day.
• Take some fresh coriander leaves and grind to get a paste/juice. Add to a cup of water and boil. Add 1 tsp. of ground cumin seeds to the boiling mixture. Add salt to taste and have the decoction after meals.

Tags: ayurvedic remedy, home remedies, natural cure, Natural healing, natural health

Toothaches can be very painful. But while you brace yourself for an appointment with your dentist to find and treat the cause of the toothache, try these simple home remedies to ease the pain:

• Take 3 cloves and add to 1 tsp coconut oil. Heat the mixture for a few minutes. Let it cool to a lukewarm temperature and apply on the affected area.
• Take 2 tsp. lime juice. Add 1/2 tsp. of asafoetida powder. Warm and apply on the affected area.
• Apply nutmeg oil on the area that is paining.
• Add some finely powdered pepper to clove oil. Mix and apply on affected area to relieve toothache. 

Tags: ayurvedic cure for teeth, ayurvedic remedy, home remedies, natural cure

Chapped hands result when our hands lose moisture and the natural oils present, because of over-washing, living in dry weather conditions. Some simple home remedies can be tried successfully to treat this condition. These are:

• Avoid using harsh soaps to wash hands.
• If you work too much with water, wear rubber gloves as far as you can.
• Moisturise your hands everytime you wash them.
• Use a mix of lemon juice and glycerine to moisturise your hands everytime you wash them. You can use 4 parts glycerine and one part lemon juice and store and keep for use.
• If they are too dry and chapped, you can use apply vaseline on your hands at bedtime.
• While moisturising, first apply a thin layer and let it soak into the skin. Follow it up with another thin layer. This works better on the skin.
• Once a day, dip your hands in lukewarm water for 4-5 minutes. Pat dry and apply almond oil or coconut oil. This provides nutrients and helps seal in the moisture.
• Olive oil or mustard oil can also be used in the above step.

Tags: home remedies, natural cure

Chanced upon some information on the web, which I think is of immense help to those of us suffering from frquent bouts of acidity. Apart from our lifestyle (read constant stress and meal skipping), the type of food we have has a significant effect on the levels of acid in our body. Certain foods are by nature acid forming while others have an alkalizing effect on the body. It is interesting to note that foods that taste acidic may not actually be acidic. So if you think orange juice has an acidic effect on your body, you couldn’t be further from truth. The reason these seemingly acidic foods have an alkalizing effect is that post-digestion, they leave certain minerals which help remove hydrogen ions and thus counter acidity.

Too much of acidity in the body (acidosis) can lead to an impairment of cell metabolism, weak bones and several other diseases. Therefore, one must have knowledge of acidity and alkalinity of various foods in our diet so one can make sensible food choices. It is important to know that no foods are bad. Our body needs both acid causing food and those that have an alkaline effect.

Foods like cheese, chocolates, cashewnuts, pistachio, barley, beans, eggs, chicken, butter, honey, wheat flour, peas, oats, mushrooms, sugar, wine and foods rich in animal protein are acidic.

Bananas, apples, apricots, oranges, lemons, broccoli, carrots, celery, coconut, onions, pineapple, raisins, walnuts are alkaline forming.

If you want to know more about acidic and alkaline foods and how they affect our bodies, I highly recommend this Acid and Alkaline Food List.

Tags: healthy eating, natural cure, natural health

Lets take up from our January article on Color Therapy, and dig a little deeper. We did some research and found that color therapy is being used to treat common ailments like colds to those like typhoid fever. As you read the list below, you will notice that the principle color therapy works on, is to expose the affected body part to colors that it is deficient in.

• Gout: Orange, which is a mix of red and yellow colors is thought to have high heat inducing powers. Exposure to orange colored light is supposed to help break down uric acid crystals. It has an anti-spasmodic effect and thus is helpful in cases of muscle cramps.
• Laryngitis: Blue colored light is thought to be cooling and exposure to blue colored light is expected to soothe inflammations.
• Tonsilitis: For the same reason as above, patients are exposed to blue colored light to soothe tonsil inflammations.
• Anaemia: To treat anaemia with colors, the patient is exposed to red light. The theory being that red, being the color of blood, helps in tackling the deficiencies of blood and helps build haemoglobin. Red colored light is also thought to increase circulation of blood.
• Paralysis: Expose the affected body part to red rays to stimulate and improve blood circulation.
• Respiratory Troubles, for example bronchitis: Red colored light produces heat that energises the respiratory muscles.
• Common Cold: Red is associated with heat and so exposure to red colored light is supposed to generate heat in the body and also vitalizes the immune system of the body.
• Physical strain and Mental stress: Green is the color of nature - the trees, the plants, the grass. And green colored light is considered cooling and soothing, and is thought to produce the same effect that we feel when we go for a nature walk. It helps in cases of both physical and mental exhaustion.
• Insomnia: Because of its relaxing effect, green colored light is supposed to help induce sleep.
• Typhoid, Red fever, Hay fever: Expose to green colored light.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any proof that exposure to different colored light has beneficial effects in specific diseases. However, if the topic is of interest to you and if you would like to explore it further, try this. The series here is interesting too though again does not quote any specific research to prove the claims. It would be interesting to know feedback of someone who has actually used color therapy to treat a condition. Anyone out there…?

Tags: color therapy, natural cure, natural health