Include herbs and spices in everyday diet.

Include herbs and spices in in everyday diet. Along with the green leafy vegetables spices like Cumin, Mustard, Clove and Fenugreek should be part of every individual’s daily diet to cure diseases and to keep them at bay by strengthening immunity.

Ayurveda has, for several years, exalted the virtues of the vegetarian diet emphasizing on the benefits of green leafy vegetables. Although greens, like spinach have gained universal acceptance through the vastly popular Popeye, they have always been part of the staple diet recommended by Ayurvedic physicians. Greens are rich in fiber and antioxidants and contain natural pigments like lutein that keep several diseases, such as macular degeneration, at bay. Ayurveda recommends that greens be included as part of every individual’s daily diet to cure diseases and to keep them at bay.

The Ayurvedic method of cooking these vegetables is simple and easy to digest. Separate the edible leaves from the weeds and grass. Wash well. Chop and cook by adding ghee and a small amount of rock salt. Add a pinch of pepper powder for taste. Cook for 5–7 minutes only. If the leaves lack taste or have a bitter, astringent taste, cooked green gram (peeled) may be added towards the end and mixed well. Adding coconut to the greens makes them heavy to digest. It may be added only when the person has very good digestion (Agni).

Cumin and health benefits:

Cumin is native from the east Mediterranean to India. Its seeds (each one contained within a fruit, which is dried) are used in the cuisines of many different cultures, in both whole and ground form. It has played a major role in rebuilding stomach with good digestion properties. Cumin seeds resemble caraway seeds, being oblong in shape, longitudinally ridged, and yellow-brown in color. It has spicy, sweet taste and gives cool to the body. The smell, the taste, the food is included in digestion.

1. Cumin seeds are an excellent source of iron, a mineral that plays many vital roles in the body. Iron is instrumental in keeping your immune system healthy. Iron is particularly important for menstruating women, who loose iron each month during menses.

2. Cumin seeds have traditionally been noted to be of benefit to the digestive system.

3. The active principles in the cumin may improve gut motility and help in digestion by augmenting gastro-intestinal enzyme secretions.

4. Cumin is used as a diuretic and to treat stomach upset and flatulence.

5. In Ayurvedic medicine, cumin with ghee is smoked to relieve hiccups.

6. Cumin helps control stomach pain, indigestion, diarrhoea, nausea and morning sickness.

7. Each tablespoon of ground cumin contains 10 milligrams of sodium, daily use along with the diet can help prevent or lower high blood pressure.

Mustard and health benefits:

Mustard (Brassica spp.), a native to temperate regions of Europe, was one of the first domesticated crops. The small (1 mm) seeds are hard and vary in color from dark brown to black. They are flavorful, although they have almost no aroma. This crop’s economic value resulted in its wide dispersal and it has been grown as a herb in Asia, North Africa, and Europe for thousands of years.

They are flavorful, although they have almost no aroma. The seeds are commonly used in Indian cuisine. Mustard seed is a rich source of oil and protein. The seed has oil as high as 46-48%, and whole seed meal has 43.6% protein.

Cloves and health benefits:

Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree. They are native to the Maluku Islands in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice. The flower buds initially have a pale hue, gradually turn green, then transition to a bright red when ready for harvest. Cloves are used in Indian Ayurvedic medicine, Chinese medicine, and western herbalism and dentistry where the essential oil is used as an anodyne (painkiller) for dental emergencies. They are renowned for providing their uniquely warm, sweet and aromatic taste to ginger bread and pumpkin pie, but they can also make a wonderful addition to split pea and bean soups, baked beans and chili.

1. Toothache: Cloves provide relief from toothache and this is one of the main reasons why you will see them listed as an Ingredient in 99% of toothpastes. An added benefit is that it will also pull out any infection.

2. Morning sickness: It is a good remedy for treating morning sickness. Take around ten grains of cloves, mix them with tamarind and palm sugar and make it into a nice mixture using water. Drink this solution twice a day as an effective treatment.

3. Flatulence: Clove is mixed with water and used in the preparation of tea to overcome flatulence.

4. Cold: Common cold can be treated effectively by drinking a lukewarm mixture made with ten drops of clove oil and honey. Drink it twice or thrice a day. Cloves are a natural painkiller and also attack germs, so they’ll help you get rid of that sore throat. It is also used as an expectorant, making it easier to cough up phlegm.

5. Aphrodisiac:Clove is also an aphrodisiac and its fragrance eliminates exhaustion and fatigue related thoughts.

6. Cloves help relax the smooth lining of the GI tract, so they help alleviate vomiting, diarrhoea, intestinal gas and stomachaches.

7. It increases tensile strength of bones in cases of osteoporosis.

8. Improves immunity: The dried flower bud of clove contains compounds that help in improving the immune system by increasing the white blood cell count, thereby improving delayed type hypersensitivity. It is effectively against bacterial infection.

9. Stress: It soothes the senses and relieves stress in the body. Mix cloves with basil, mint and cardamom in water to make a flavour red tea. Take this along with honey to provide you relief from stress.

10. Nausea and vomiting: Cloves and clove oil when taken together can provide relief from Nausea.

11. Cough and bad breath: Cough and bad breath can be cured by consuming cloves. These are very common problems that we all face and can be very well treated by the consumption of cloves on a daily basis. You can do this by including them in your dishes and also as refreshments at any time of the day.

Fenugreek seeds and health benefits:

Fenugreek seeds an ancient spice, with a slightly bitter taste, are small, hard, yellowish-brown, smooth and oblong shaped. The fresh tender green leaves of the fenugreek plant, called methi or menthi, have a bitter-sweet flavor and used as a regular green vegetable in Indian cuisine like dals and vegetables. Fenugreek seeds can be sprouted, have a slight pungent-sweet flavor and used to prepare salads. The dried form of fenugreek leaves, called “kasoori methi”, is a popular spice used to enhance the flavor of Indian dishes.

General uses in Health:

1.Fenugreeks have been in use to cure digestive problems and improve breast milk secretion in the nursing mothers. Its seeds have been used in many traditional medicines as a laxative and as a remedy for cough and bronchitis.
2. It reduces the body heat and helps in reducing menstrual pain.

One of the prerequisites for the success of primary health care is the availability and use of suitable drugs. Plants have always been a common source of medicaments, either in the form of traditional preparations or as pure active principles. It is thus reasonable for decision-makers to identify locally available plants or plant extracts that could usefully be added to the national list of drugs, or that could even replace some pharmaceutical preparations that need to be purchased and imported.