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You can be a doctor in your kitchen - By Dr Deepak Acharya and Poorvi S Reddy

Medicinal plants are part of our social life. Since ages, we have been using medicinal plants for curing various disorders. Home remedies are less expensive than other system of medicines. Generally, it is harmless, easy to access, eco-friendly and cheaper. Anyone can afford these medicines. These herbs used in home remedies show no side effects.

In the present communication, we aim to list few home remedies for common disorders like cough, cold, fever, dandruff and pains etc. All the herbs mentioned here are most found in our kitchen garden. If you follow these remedies, you surely will be a doctor of your own. You will be a doctor in your kitchen.

TULSI

1. Tulsi extract mixed with pepper powder is consumed to reduce cough.

2. Crush tulsi leaves with black pepper and kept in the place of tooth ache

3. Dry tulsi leaf powder can be used as tooth powder, helps in preventing bad odor of mouth.

4. Applying tulsi extract helps in curing skin infections.

5. Equal amount of tulsi extract, lemon juice and onion extract. Applying this mixture before bath helps in curing all types of skin diseases.

6. Mix 5 to 10 leaves of tulsi in hot water. Consuming this when there is asthma attack can be controlled

7. Mixture of tulsi juice, ginger juice and honey, each one spoon is good for asthma suffering people.

8. To a spoon of tulsi juice add juice of bittergaurd. Consuming this daily night for 1 month helps in controlling asthma and bronchitis.

9. In pimples, blend crushed basil with mint (pudina) juice & limejuice. Apply this on your pimples.

10. Chew a few leaves of Tulsi plant to relieve bad breath.


GINGER


1. Cut ginger into small pieces, to this add tamarind leaves and two cups of water and boil till it comes down to one cup. To this add one-cup sugar and boil in low flame. After it is cooled add little lemon juice to it. This should be consumed once in three hours to reduce cough.

2. To ginger extract mix little honey. By consuming this, cold can be controlled.

3. Crush dry ginger and add equal amount of ghee and jaggary. Consuming this mixture every day reduces cold and cough.

4. To ginger extract mix equal amount of lemon extract, little rock salt and crystal salt. Keep this mixture in a closed bottle under the sun for a week. Consuming the filtrate of this mixture after meals helps in digestion.

5. Take equal amount of ginger extract and sugar and boil in half a cup amount of water. This is good for digestion.

6. To little ginger add two spoons of coriander seeds and boil in two cups of water till it reduces to 1 cup. To this add little jaggary. This mixture is given to pregnant ladies to cure burning sensation in chest and stomach.

7. One spoon of ginger powder with little sugar helps in stomach pain.

8. Take a teaspoon of fresh ginger juice mixed with a cup of fenugreek decoction and honey to taste. This mixture acts as an excellent expectorant in the treatment of asthma.

9. Dilute a paste of ginger powder (half teaspoon) with water & apply to the Forehead. A burning sensation may persist. But it's not harmful.

10. Apply warm ginger paste with turmeric to the affected area twice a day.



GARLIC

1. Dip garlic in honey and keep for 40 days. A spoon every day helps in voice improvement and throat infections. If it is consumed for one year it helps in curing lucoderma.

2. Garlic helps in increasing breast milk in mothers.

3. Crush garlic and mix it with coconut oil and heat it. Pouring two to three drops in ears helps in ear pain.

4. Garlic crushed with salt is placed on the place of scorpion bite. It is a good antidote.

5. Add a spoon of garlic juice to a glass of water. Taking this every day twice for 3 months cures asthma.

6. Use 3 drops of garlic oil in your affected ear in case of earache.

7. It is perhaps the most effective remedy for blood disorders.

8. Garlic is the most important home remedy for backache. Two or three cloves should be taken every morning. Oil prepared from garlic and rubbed on the back will give a good result in backache.

9. Extract of fresh garlic cloves kills or slows the growth of more than a dozen common bacteria.

10. If you feel like you're going to catch a cold or the flu, chow down on a clove or two of garlic. If you catch an infection in its very early stage, you may not even get sick.


HONEY

1. To honey add ginger extract and consume to control cold.

2. Consuming two spoons of honey with water in empty stomach in morning helps in reducing weight

3. Honey with lemon juice helps in reducing unwanted fat in body

4. Taking two spoons of honey after meals helps to increase weight.

5. A number of recent studies have shown that externally applied honey can prevent a broad range of bacterial infections and promote healing in burn patients.

6. A teaspoon of honey before bed, aids water retention and calms fears in children.

7. A dessert spoon of honey in a mug of hot milk aids sleep and works wonders for kids

8. Place a spoon of honey in a basin of hot water and inhale vapor after covering your head with a towel over the basin. It is very effective.

9. Mix honey with equal quantity of Olive oil and cover head with a warm towel for half and hour then shampoo off. Feeds hair and scalp. It is good for hair conditioner.

10. Honey rubbed on a baby's gums is a mild sedative and anaesthetic.


ONION

1. Mix Onion extract with honey. This gives warmth to cold body.

2. Consuming onion and jaggary every day helps in increasing weight.

3. Onion juice with honey is useful for colds, coughs, bronchitis and influenza.

4. It contains iron, therefore, beneficial in treating anaemia and effective in preventing edible against heart
attack.

5. About 30 gms of onion and seven black peppers can be finely pounded and given to the Cholera patients.

6. Chop one raw onion and cover with salt and leave overnight. Apply the juice 3-4 times a day on warts or wounds. It will heal like anything.

7. A syrup of 1 teaspoonful raw onion juice with 1 teaspoonful of honey kept over 3 to 4 hours serves as an excellent cough syrup.

8. About 50 gm of Onion soaked in water and 10 gm sugar should be eaten twice daily. This helps in curing bleeding piles.

9. One teaspoon of raw onion juice is good in bronchitis.

10. Raw onion is good to reduce the cholesterol.


FENUGREEK SEEDS (METHI SEEDS)

Lecithin is an important nutrient for brain. This is found more in fenugreek. This helps in increasing memory power.

1. Diabetic patients should consume 25g to 50g fenugreek seeds everyday. This helps in reducing glucose in blood and urine.

2. Effective in bad breath, body odor, anaemia and stomach disorders.

3. Tea made from fenugreek seeds in equal in value to quinine in reducing fevers.

4. Fenugreek seeds made into a paste could be applied over the scalp. Leave it for an hour, then wash and dry. This could cure dandruff.

5. Application of the extract made by the seeds helps the growth of hair and prevents hair fall.

6. Fenugreek seed powder is used as a poultice to inflamed parts and is applied on the skin as a cosmetic.

7. A paste of Fenugreek leaves applied over the face over night before going to bed could help in preventing pimples and black heads.

8. Apply fresh juice of leaves over the face every night for 10-15 min and washed, this prevents pimples, blackheads and wrinkles.

9. Methi seeds boiled in water. Face is washed with this water. It helps to cure rashes of skin.

10. Methi powder and seeds of Jamun in equal amount is good in diabetes.


TURMERIC

1. Sprinkle turmeric on burning charcoal and inhale the smoke to get rid of cold.

2. Add turmeric to hot milk and drink to reduce cold and cough.

3. Paste of turmeric and sandalwood helps in curing skin infection and pimples.

4. Applying turmeric paste prepared in milk on face helps in curing pimples.

5. Mix turmeric powder with crushed mint leaves or lemon leaves, using this as face pack every day helps in curing pimples.

6. For a Fair Complexion apply a blend of raw milk, cucumber juice, and olive oil with a pinch of turmeric powder on your skin.

7. A pinch of turmeric powder mixed with a teaspoon of coriander juice, is an effective home remedy for pimples and blackheads.

8. a pinch of turmeric powder, one teaspoon of milk cream, mixed with half a teaspoon of vinegar, makes an excellent poultice. It helps in ripening the blood boils and in their healing without allowing them to become septic.

9. Use clean turmeric to heal a small cut.

10. Add a pinch of turmeric and 1/4 teaspoon crushed black pepper to relieve body pain.


NEEM

1. Neem leaves are boiled in water to bring it to half amount. This is cooled and honey is added. Consuming this twice a day cures diabetes at preliminary stage.

2. Neem oil applied on scalp helps to get rid of lice and dandruff.

3. Neem water is good for skin infections.

4. Raw Neem leaves are eaten to purify the blood. It is said to be a good blood purifier.

5. In pimples, mix neem powder, red sandalwood powder and curd in equal proportions. Apply the paste on the affected area.

6. Heat coconut oil with 100 gms of neem powder and apply to your hair once a week to get rid of dandruff.

7. Neem oil is good in itching and rashes of the skin.

8. Grind some neem leaves with water to a fine paste and apply on the wounds. It cures the wound very soon.

9. Young branch of Neem is used as tooth brush, it removes foul taste of mouth and removes bacteria.

10. Decoction of the leaves is useful for fever.


Acknowledgements: We wish to thank everyone who provided us these valuable information. Special thanks are due to Mrs Jyotsna S Daptardar, Home Remedies Promoter, Mumbai (A very good friend of Dr Acharya), for giving us tips on home remedies.

References:

1. Apke Paudhe Apka Swasthya: By Dr Deepak Acharya
2. Adbhut Jadi Butiyan: Dr MK Rai
3. Miraculous herbs of Patalkot: Dr Deepak Acharya
4. Why herbs? : By Dr Deepak Acharya and S. Ashtana