Grandma’s Medicine (off the kitchen shelf)
India is known for its culture and ayurvedic
medicines but did you know
that there are some
medicines tried and tested by our ancestral which exists in our kitchen only. Not only they are beneficial but also have a lot of medical properties. They are for everyday common ailments and not for chronic illness; if the symptoms persist please do contact a doctor. Here are some of the ingredients found in the kitchen, which can be used as medicines as per an article written by Sudha Shenoy in Woman’s era (feb2006) edition.
Aniseeds: This is also called as saunf in India. This helps to treat the flatulence or gas. Chew a tsp of saunf after meal or add saunf when you boil drinking water.
Asafetida: This is also called as hing in India. This is helpful in treating digestive disorders, gas and flatulence. Add a pinch of hing to buttermilk along with salt and drink after meals. Incase of stomachache dissolve hing powder with water and apply it on the naval.
Ginger: Take a little ginger juice and add half tsp limejuice and a little honey and lick it. Do this for 2-3 days to get relief from cough. It has a lot of digestive properties and hence include in day-to-day cooking.
Coriander seeds: Soak coriander seeds in water and sip this in regular intervals helps to stop vomiting. Regular use of coriander helps in reducing menstrual flow.
Cardamom: Chewing cardamom or elaichi helps in getting rid of bad breadth.
Cloves: Also known as lavang. Chew a clove to reduce irritation of throat due to cough.
Clove clenched on an aching throat relieves pain. A clove chewed also acts as a mouth freshener.
Many such herbs are listed in this edition like turmeric, garlic, fenugreek seed etc
.