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

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

May has just begun and already the heat is scorching. Makes one cringe at the thought of how hot the next two months are likely to be. And so out comes our list of do’s and don’ts to beat the summer heat. Simple changes in diet and lifestyle can help us breeze through the hot summers.

• Ok, top of the list. Drink lots and lots of water. As much as you can. It is important to keep our bodies hydrated, keeps our bodies healthy and skin glowing. If you can’t have too much of plain water, make some lemonade or buttermilk – some light, salty chass or cool lassi are irresistable in summers. You could also add some juice concentrate or RoohAfza to water, for taste. Just make sure you aren’t dehydrated. However, avoid drinking ice-cold beverages. 
• Go easy on fried foods and consume more of fruits, especially those with high water content, like musk melon, water melon. 
• Salads of tomatoes, cucumbers (both water rich) are good.
• Yogurt or curd are great in this season as they are cooling and are easy to digest. They are also rich in Calcium, Phosphorous, Magnesium and Vit. B Complex. Cool cucumber raita is a delight at times when you don’t feel like having food because of the intense heat. Here’s how to make it:

             Take a medium sized cucumber. Grate it and add to a bowl of whipped curd. Add salt and jeera (ground cuminseeds) to taste. Enjoy with a meal or as a stand alone. Works as a good rehydrator.

• Wear cotton clothes.
• Bathe twice a day.
• If you have a tendency to develop rash on your skin in summers, you could try these:

1. Apply ice-packs on affected area
2. Apply cooled cucumber juice on the rash. 
3. Use a mix of curd and fuller’s earth as a face-pack.
4. Maintain good hygiene. Use a good talc or baking soda if you sweat excessively.
5. Use a good scrub to exfoliate and ensure pores do not get blocked because of excessive oiliness in summer.

Tags: healthy eating, healthy living, natural health

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

Do you experience heartburn, have a bloated feeling? Belching, acidic burps? Feel like throwing up even after consuming small portions of food? You might be suffering from acidity. Acidity can be naturally cured and is easy to prevent. So before you start taking allopathic medicines, you may want to try one of these easy home remedies:

• Have a banana.
• Have a glass of cold milk. Be careful while trying this one. Some people find their acidity to get worse with milk. Works for most people I know though.
• Coconut water, coconut milk have a very soothing effect.
• Mix a tsp. of baking soda in water and have it while its still fizzing.
• Popping 2-3 walnuts or almonds helps (personal experience).
• Yogurt, fresh curd cool the linings and thus help counter acidity.
• Consume 2-3 dates.
• Orange juice or lemon juice help in acidity. 

To prevent acidity from occuring, keep in mind these preventive measures:

• Avoid stress. This is probably the most common reason for acidity.
• Avoid having meals at irregular timings.
• Do not go hungry for long periods of time. Keep a protein bar or some biscuits handy. Even if you don’t have time to have a sit down meal, be sure to pop in a biscuit anytime you begin to feel hungry.
• Avoid caffeinated drinks.

Remember to consult a doctor if acidity persists.

Tags: healthy eating, home remedies, home remedy, natural cure, Natural healing, natural health

A study published in the Journal of Neuroscience has found that chronic backaches can result in shrinkage of gray matter by about 5-11%, which is the equivalent of shrinkage that takes place in 10 to 20 years of aging! 

The shrinkage, it appears, is related to the duration of the pain. It is a 1.3 cu. cm. of gray matter loss for every year of chronic pain.

Well, who could have thought of that! But now that we know, don’t take that back pain lightly. 

Again, remember that chronic back pain may not necessarily be because of bad posture. It is advisable to consult a qualified orthopaedic doctor when you have back pains. Osteoporosis (weakening of bones) is one of the major causes of back pains. If you have chronic back pains, consult your doctor now.

Tags: healthy living, natural health

Mango, also known as the king of fruits, is eagerly sought after every summers. Though savoured mainly for its taste, it is a little known fact that mango has several health benefits. 

• Mangoes should be dipped in water for a few hours and then kept in the refrigerator before consuming. Eating cooled mangoes provides a refreshing feeling and fight dehydration.
• Mangoes are good sources of energy.
• Mangoes, being fibre rich, are good for digestion. They help prevent constipation, piles etc.
• Mangoes are rich in Vitamin A, and C. 
• Vitamin E and K are also found in mangoes.
• Mangoes are rich in antioxidants and hence good for skin.
• They are also rich in beta carotene and so protect skin from tanning in summers.
• Mangoes, being rich in Vitamin B, iron and folate help boost metabolism.
• Mangoes are good sources of potassium, calcium and iron.
• Mangoes have low sodium content!
• Mangoes are also good at fighting acidity.

Tags: ayurveda, healthy eating, natural health

Ok, here is an interesting piece of advice I got from a gym trainer. She suggests vociferously that one shouldn’t over-exercise. Doing so can leave one dehydrated and hence cause nutrients to be sapped from the skin. This results in premature ageing of the skin. If there is substantial loss of fat, the facial skin begins to sag!

Moderate exercise though is very important. It increases circulation and helps metabolism and therefore helps body get rid of toxins and helps keep the skin clean and refreshed.

Tags: Natural detox, natural health, skin care

Do you find yourself tossing in bed for a long time before you fall off asleep? Do you get up in the mornings felling tired and drained of energy? You may not be getting proper and the  required amount of sleep. A good sleep acts as the best natural rejuvenator. Lack of enough sleep or insomnia can result in lethargy and lack of concentration and also affect overall health. It is important to get atleast 6 hours of sleep every night and an hour of sleep before 12 am is worth two after 12 am. So sleep early, sleep well and sleep enough for good overall health.

Here are some tips to help you do just that…

• Avoid having tea or coffee at night.
• A glass of warm milk before retiring to bed helps.
• Make sure you have your meal atleast 2-3 hours before sleeping.
• If possible, have a warm water bath just before sleeping.  Use a calming essential oil (lavender, sandalwood) in bath.
• Try to sleep at the same time everyday.
• Wake up early. If you get up early in the morning, you fill feel sleepy and tired by the end of the day. And thus be able to sleep in time and get sound sleep too.
• Exercise during the day. Physical exercise done earlier during the day will help you get a good night’s sleep.
• Eat well during the day but make sure you have a supper of a pauper. However, do not go to bed on an empty stomach.
• If you find it difficult to sleep because you are too stressed or too excited, switch on some soft, meditational music. Switch off all lights and try and relax. Imagine each muscle of your body relaxing and breathe slowly and deeply as you do so.
• Avoid watching TV in bed or just before sleeping.
• If you have a habit of reading just before sleeping, make sure its something light.
• Lavender has a soothing, calming effect on the nerves. Drop a couple of lavender oil drops on your pillow and see if it works for you.

Tags: home remedies, natural cure, natural health