Superfood Ginger !

Ginger is a super food . It not only gives taste and flavor to food but also is very good for health. People have been using it as a home remedy since years.

The food we eat gets digested and digestive juice is formed. This juice nurtures the body tissues (i.e. dhatus). So proper digestion of food is very important for maintaining healthy body. So everyone should always take care of their digestive power .

Ginger ( Zingiber officinale) : 

It is available as a root or rhizome . Its wet form is called as ardraka and dry form as Shunthi in Hindi. Both can be used. Only difference is that shunthi has sweet after digestion effect on body.
         It is called as Vishwabheshaja because of its vast medicinal uses.

Properties:

• Alleviates Kapha and Vata
• Pungent taste
• Light
• Hot
• Appetizer
• Aphrodisiac
• Cardiac tonic
• Improves taste
• Helpful in bloating and constipation
• A very good remedy for pain an abdomen.

Medicinal uses of Ginger:

1. In cough: Pieces of ginger can be chewed with honey or juice of ginger with some honey helps in both acute and chronic type of cough.
                                       
2. Cold : Juice of ginger should be taken 3 -4 times a day.
3. Ginger juice added with saindhava ( rock salt) helps in acidity and in urticaria caused by acidity as well.
   
4. Rheumatoid arthritis:
   
   Add dry ginger powder (Shunthi) to hot water (shunthi phanta) and have it throughout the day for drinking. 
5. Pain in abdomen due to bloating: Massage over abdomen with ginger powder in mustard oil. It also relieves menstrual pain by taking orally. 
   
6. Local application of paste of ginger powder in water is advised in headache and joint pain. It gives good relief.
7. It is useful to chew ginger in nausea, morning sickness and travel sickness. 
8. It is a very good appetizer, so can be used in indigestion , loose motion, and all other conditions caused by low appetite.
9. It is also good in diabetic patients to lower the blood sugar levels and even HbA1c levels.* It can also help in weight loss if diet and exercise is properly done.
10. It is good for heart as it lowers fat and helps in weight loss.
    

Caution:

• As ginger has hot potency should not be taken too much, otherwise acidity can develop.
• Pregnant women should have less ginger as being hot it may stimulate intestinal movement and lead to miscarriage.

Can honey really help in weight loss...?

Obesity is a big concern these days as obesity, hypertension and diabetes go hand in hand.We see people struggling for weight loss. They prey for commercial, fancy and non-healthy diets .
 Sedentary lifestyle and bad eating habits lead to improper digestion resulting in over accumulation of medo dhatu.

Honey in water, cinnamon water with honey and lemon honey are famous easy weight loss formulas for many .  Weight loss may happen or may not but a person can get acidity with regular cinnamon! 

Qualities of Madhu (Honey):

•  Heavy to digest- So it should be taken in a small quantity otherwise it can lead to indigestion. Indigestion of honey is very difficult to treat.
• Cold
• Dry
• Increases Vata and alleviates kapha.
• Chhedana -removes kapha and meda (body fat)
• Sweet , after taste is astringent
• Improves digestion
• Yogavahi ( It works as a catalyst substance to transport the medicinal properties of herbs into the body.) So it is used as an adjuvant with many Ayurvedic medicines.

So, it is not very nourishing but more opposite properties to as that of Medo dhatu. So it helps in reducing meda.

Nutritional value:

• It is basically Fructose, a sugar.
• Free of fat
• It has healthy glycemic index, so it is slowly absorbed into bloodstream so resulting in better digestion of sugar. 
• Contains few natural vitamins and minerals. It is better than table sugar and artificial sweeteners.

Contraindications:

• Honey should not be taken hot or with hot foods, as according to Ayurveda , it is a nectar collected from different flowers, some of which might be poisonous, when heated it's potency may increase. 
• Honey is not good for a person who is exhausted with heat.
• Honey and ghee should not be taken in equal quantity the study revealed that heated honey (>140°C) mixed with ghee produces HMF which may produce deleterious effects and act as a poison in due course (Ushnam cha samagrutham madhu marayati).*
• Honey should not be taken with salt.
• Should not be taken by diabetics.

Honey alone is not enough for weight loss. 

What other things are suggested for weight loss?

• Panchakarma procedures such as Vamana, Virechana, Basti, Raktamokshana
• Exercise
• Diet control- Avoid taking sweet, unctuous foods in large quantity
• Svedana(Steam bath)
• Dry and ununctuous foods
• Honey with Triphala or Hirade or Agastyaprash. Here honey acts as catalyst and improves the action of these medicines.
• Massage with dry powders like Triphala powder.

What's the conclusion?

Honey can help in weight loss but when taken along with other healthy eating habits and active lifestyle.

All about curd...!

 Curd (dahi/dadhi) is so popular in our diet that there are people who consume it all throughout  the year. But there are many misconceptions about curd.

What is curd?

It is produced by bacterial fermentation of milk . The bacteria used for making curd are called as 'dahi culture' or 'starter culture'.
 It takes 6-8 hours to form curd.

Properties of curd:

• It is a digestive stimulant, unctuous and heavy to digest.
• Opposite to popular belief, it is hot in nature.
• It's after digestion taste is sour, so it vitiates pitta and blood.
• It is excessively hydrating and increases kapha.

When curd is set, it has two parts, the dense and the watery part. 

1. The dense part is called as Sara. It is sweet and heavy. It stimulates the bladder.
2. The watery part is called as Mastu. It is light, promotes appetite and relieves mental fatigue. It cleanses the channels and not aphrodisiac.

Stages of curd:

• Manda -  No manifestation of taste
• Sweet
• Sweet and sour
• Sour
• Excessively sour

Manda dadhi:

• It is not properly set.This curd has no manifested taste, like milk.
• It vitiates all 3 doshas and causes burning sensation.
• Helps in elimination of stool and urine.

Sweet curd :

• It is slightly abhishyandi (blocks the channels of circulation)
• It alleviates vata and pitta.
• It's after digestion effect is sweet  on body, so it is good for growth. 
• It is aphrodisiac.

Sweet and sour curd:

• This is the best to be included in diet.
• It improves taste, digestive power, and strength of the body.
• It is unctuous and helps to gain weight.
• It is hot in nature.

Sour curd:

• Stimulates digestion 
• Aggravate pitta and kapha.

Excessively sour curd :

• Produces burning sensation in throat.
• Exceedingly vitiates pitta and blood.

The curd made from cow's milk is sweet and easy to digest and is recommended, where as Curd made from buffalo's milk is exceedingly unctuous and heavy to digest. Curd made from goat's milk is lightest and good for people suffering with respiratory problems, piles and emaciation. 

Fat free curd: 

• It is called as Asara. 
• It is constipative , astringent and increases vata and pitta.
• Produces flatulence

Hung curd:
                 

• When water is removed from curd it becomes very unctuous.
• Heavy to digest
• Promotes strength and nourishment.

Curd with sugar:
                              

• Cures morbid thirst and vitiated pitta and blood. 
• Relieves burning sensation due to over heat.

Curd with jaggery:

• Aphrodisiac, nourishing and heavy.

Contra-indications:

• Curd should not be taken in night, it is better to take with added water and ghee.
• Should not be taken without sugar, honey,ghee or lentil (moong) soup.
• Curd should not be eaten by heating it up.
• It is not good for people with diseases of blood, pitta and kapha.
• Curd should be avoided in autumn, summer and spring (i.e.Sharad, Vasant and Grishma ritu) and only to be taken in winter and rainy season.
• Curd should not be taken in combination with certain food items such as,milk, cheese, meat, fish, eggs, fruits, hot drinks and nightshades, as they are incompatible together.1 They lead to indigestion, bloating, and other digestive problems.

                           

                                                                           

Health Benefits of curd:

                               

1. It is good for healthy bones and teeth.
2. Improved digestion.
3. Helps prevent constipation .
4. Helps to cure diarrhea.
5. Healthy skin
6. People with lactose intolerance also can have curd as the protein is already partially digested by lactobacilli.
7. It is a good source of protein, sodium, calcium and vit B 12.
8. It is a probiotic and contains good bacteria which help in proper digestion of food.

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FAQs about curd....

1. Are yoghurt and curd same?
   

Yoghurt is similar to curd , but is made using different strain of bacteria called Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophillus. Other lactic acid bacterias may also be added to yoghurt.

   2. Can I have curd daily?

Curd is good to be taken in winter and rainy season only. It should not be taken in night. 

3. Which curd is better, homemade or commercial?

                                            

It is always better to go for homemade curd, as we are sure about it's quality.  Nutrients are same. The commercially made curd is thicker because they remove the liquid whey and is more sweet and fatty than the homemade one.2
Sometimes it may be thickened by adding gelatin and agar agar gel.