Home Remedies | Swarna Prashana

Uncovering the Hidden Health Benefits of Palm Jaggery: Nature’s Sweetest Secret

Nature provides us with an abundance of nourishing and healing foods, let’s embrace them for a healthier and happier life

Palm-related products such as Neera, Palm Jaggery, Palm Candy, and Palmyrah fruit are highly valued and were regularly consumed by our ancestors because of their high medical properties. Ancient scripts like Ayurveda and Siddha medicine are based on this.. And many tribal and village people still use this Divine product for their health and longevity.

Few years back, the Famous Journal of Nutrition and Health Sciences, Vol 4, Is. 1 published about these, and the whole scientific community was amazed to see how our ancestors know this value and nicely integrated it into their lifestyle 1000s of years ago.

Some of the nutritional properties are:

Vitamins: Good source of several vitamins, including vitamin B1 (thiamine), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B3 (niacin), and vitamin B6. These vitamins are important for maintaining healthy skin, hair, and eyes, as well as for supporting the nervous system and immune systems.
Minerals: Rich in minerals such as iron, calcium, and potassium. Iron is essential for the production of red blood cells, while calcium is important for building and maintaining strong bones and teeth. Potassium is important for regulating blood pressure and supporting heart health.
Antioxidants: Contains natural antioxidants such as phenolic compounds and flavonoids, which help protect the body against damage from harmful free radicals. These antioxidants can also help reduce inflammation in the body.
Low glycemic index: Low glycemic index, which means it releases sugar into the bloodstream slowly and does not cause a rapid spike in blood sugar levels. This makes it a healthier alternative to refined sugar for people with diabetes or those looking to manage their blood sugar levels.
Digestive properties: Known for its digestive properties and is often used as a natural remedy for constipation, bloating, and other digestive issues. It can help promote regular bowel movements and improve overall digestive health.
Immune-boosting properties: Contains natural compounds that have immune-boosting properties, such as zinc and selenium. These compounds can help support the immune system and protect against infections.
Energy booster: Good source of carbohydrates and can provide a quick boost of energy. It is often used by athletes and people with active lifestyles as a natural energy drink.
Anti-inflammatory properties: Contains natural anti-inflammatory compounds that can help reduce inflammation in the body. This makes it a useful natural remedy for conditions such as arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. And Many more…

These are our In-house doctors and a must in every kitchen. Some easy home remedies

Cough and cold: Palm candy can be added to warm milk along with turmeric to help relieve cough and cold symptoms.
Sore throat: A mixture of palm candy, ginger, and honey in warm water can be used to soothe a sore throat.
Digestive issues: Palm candy can be mixed with ginger and cumin seeds and consumed after meals to aid digestion and prevent bloating.
Menstrual cramps: A mixture of palm candy, ginger, and sesame seeds can be consumed during periods to help relieve menstrual cramps.
Skin health: A paste made from palm candy and milk can be applied to the skin to moisturize and nourish dry, dull skin.
Anemia: Palm candy is a good source of iron, which makes it beneficial for people with anemia. It can be consumed along with foods rich in vitamin C to improve iron absorption.
Energy booster: Palm candy can be added to beverages such as tea or milk to provide a natural energy boost.
Detoxification: Palm candy can be mixed with lemon juice and consumed in the morning to help detoxify the body and improve overall health.
Headache: A mixture of palm candy and watermelon seeds can be consumed to help relieve headaches.
Nausea: Palm candy can be mixed with ginger juice and consumed to help relieve nausea.
Insomnia: A mixture of palm candy, honey, and warm milk can be consumed before bed to promote better sleep and relieve insomnia.
Joint pain: Palm candy can be mixed with fenugreek seeds and consumed to help relieve joint pain and inflammation.
Toothache: A mixture of palm candy and clove oil can be applied to the affected tooth to help relieve toothache.
Blood pressure: Palm candy contains potassium, which can help regulate blood pressure. Consuming palm candy regularly may help maintain healthy blood pressure levels.
Weight loss: Palm candy is a healthier alternative to refined sugar and can be used in moderation as a sweetener in weight loss diets.
Asthma: A mixture of palm candy, black pepper, and honey can be consumed to help relieve asthma symptoms.
Immunity: Palm candy is rich in antioxidants, which can help boost immunity and protect against disease. Consuming palm candy regularly may help improve overall immunity.
Constipation: Palm candy can be mixed with black salt and consumed with warm water to help relieve constipation.
Sunstroke: A mixture of palm candy and tender coconut water can be consumed to help relieve symptoms of sunstroke.
Blood circulation: Palm candy contains iron and copper, which are essential for healthy blood circulation. Consuming palm candy regularly may help improve blood flow and prevent anemia.
PMS (premenstual syndrome):
Palm candy and ginger tea: Boil a small piece of ginger in water and add palm candy to taste. Drinking this tea can help relieve menstrual cramps and other PMS symptoms.
Palm candy and sesame seeds: Mix palm candy with sesame seeds and consume this mixture during periods to help relieve cramps.
Palm candy and fennel seeds: Mix palm candy with fennel seeds and consume this mixture after meals to help relieve bloating and other digestive issues that can occur during PMS.
Palm candy and jaggery laddoo: You can make a sweet treat by mixing palm candy and jaggery with ghee and flour to make laddoos. These can be consumed during periods to help boost energy levels and relieve cramps.
Palm candy and milk: Mix palm candy with warm milk and consume this mixture before bed to help promote better sleep and relieve PMS-related insomnia.

This is a seasonal tree, that is from March to September, We would highly recommend aligning it with the season gift offered by mother nature and equipping your kitchen.

Ideally, it takes 50 L of Palm Nectar to make a good quality of fewer than 10 Kgs palm jaggery. It is a week process that involved, 5 to 6 types of skilled workers. Now the question is how you can keep the cost low? In the market, most of them add sugar and other items to reduce the cost and the quality of Palm products has really gone down.

Using White sugar because of low cost does not justify the to avoid use of Palm products. When you calculate the health benefits of this with other harmful low-cost products, you will know this is still a cost-effective solution in health terms.

We have fresh stock from farmers go ahead and book your subscription or try it once.. 🌴 Palm Jaggery & 🌴 Palm Candy

Eat Natural, Live Naturally!

Postpartum health and diet care for the new mother

woman carrying a baby — Photo by Kristina Paukshtite on Pexels.com

Post partum the mother needs to rebuild her body’s immune system.
For this to be achieved, our elders always suggested the tips given below (collected from various parents of the HLP community, with little variations):

🔆After delivery, take proper rest. For the first 45 days postpartum it is a must. Then slowly start doing some Yoga exercises.

🔆Along with it, oil massage of the body is advised, with traditional dhooni smudging.

❇️ Mustard oil, heated with Ajwain(carom) and garlic pods can be used for massage.
❇️ Apply asafetida(Hing) paste lightly around the navel, to get rid of gases and stomach issues.

Postpartum diet

🔆 Eat traditional rice, traditionally prepared foods in ghee, jaggery.
(Suggestions, as per your need and conditions faced are detailed below).

🔅 Eat light and easily digestible food, with ghee and jaggery. This keeps you free of digestive issues plus the milk for breastfeeding your infant is better.

🔆 Drink water boiled with herbs for various benefits. Details of how to prepare such water are outlined later.

🔅You can eat paan (betel leaf) after lunch and dinner (with fennel, dhania dal, ajwain, sesame, cardamom, cloves – all roasted and powdered).

To cure toxins, and regain strength to your body

🔅A pinch of saffron, with water decreases pain and removes toxins and vaata rakta.

🔅 Pichi kusuma / swarna ksheeri (a thorned weed) root grinded in goat’s milk can be applied on stomach to decrease pain and remove toxins and vaata rakta.

🔅Take seeded black grapes , mahua flowers , dates , tawakshiri all roughly in equal quantities by weight. Make a fine paste and then make balls of this paste of soap-nut size. Take these balls with honey or khandsari powder(desi sugar, palmyra sugar) which reduces raktapaitya.

🔅Take ajwain, ashwagandha, jeera, long pepper(pippali) all in equal quantities. Make a fine powder and mix with milk to make like puri Aata balls. Slowly warm them and then cool them. Add little honey and jaggery to make to a size of small lemon. Take one a day to increase hunger and beat mandaagni.

🔅Grind 1/4 spoon pippali with ginger kashayam water, and consume to cure pitta rogas pre and post partum.

🔅Take seeds of palasha (Butea monosperma). Grind them with fruits of Cluster Fig Tree (ficus racemosa) to get a paste. Apply this paste pack to all regions of stomach abdomen yoni , thighs with cloth to maintain body shape to normal in a month.

🔅Application of nirgundi leaves paste in swelling regions with cloth cures pain and various other infections / diseases generated.

🔅Applying pure juice of castor plant leaves pack in yoni regions will decrease stomach bloating and pains.

🔅Take 5 grams of biriyani leaf, crushed powder. Boil it with 2 glass water like tea. Filter and consume daily morning for 2 months to get rid of stiff stomach and reduce pain after delivery.

🔅 Take equal weights of bilwa leaves and sendha namak. Warm in kadai and turn to powder. Take 2.5 grams of this churna twice a day with a glass warm water cure garba shuula(stomach pains).

🔅Tulasi seeds grinded and consumed with water decreases stomach stiffness and pain.

🔅 Moringa dry leaves, curry leaves powder, pursulane with daniya powder + sendha namak + amla powder daily with ghee in rice or snacks stiffs entire body.

🔅Dry roast jeera and black pepper in 2:1 ratio and grind it. Eat 1/2 tsp with ghee during every meal. Some also add kalonji (onion seeds) to it.

Are you breastfeeding?

For children who were not breast fed enough, our sashtra gives another solution..the Swarnaprashana..The ancient texts mention Swarnaprashana should be given to all children who didn’t receive breast milk.

If you are breast-feeding, remember

💠Hydration is the key. Ensure you drink a glass of water before and after each feeding session.

To increase mother’s milk:

♦️Desi raw papaya either like gazar halwa or cooked with tur daal and consumed, will increase milk, WBCs, and immunity.
♦️ajwain powder+ honey a spoon twice a day
♦️ajwain, salt, pepper in equal quantities grinded to a fine powder, to be taken 3 times daily 3 pinches with water.
♦️Atimadhuram powder 5 grams with a glass/cup of warm milk with khandsari once/twice a day.
♦️lotus seeds 5 grams powder with 5 grams kandsari with warm milk inceases milk.
♦️Satavari 10 grams(tula) and candy sugar 10 grams fine powdered mixed well in a glassful or cup of milk, and eating high quantities of tur daal in diet.
♦️kutaja ghan vati zandu tablet one tablet after meals will detoxify toxins in breastfeeding milk.
♦️kokilaksha seeds powder – one spoon boil in a glass of milk or water, filter, add candy sugar or jaggery and consume once daily to increase milk, decrease pains and toxins in milk.
♦️Regular amaranthus leafy veg (thorned variety is the best) with tur dal or direct curry increases milk.
♦️desi wheat flour puri fried in ghee soaked in milk with elaichi and khandsari as snack increases milk and quality of milk.
♦️apamarga seeds, khandsari, peeled cowhage seeds, ratnapurusha dry plant, all equal quantities by weight need to be powdered. 2.5 grams of this churna with a glassful of milk for 3 weeks decreases loss of nutrients, i.e. Mehavyadhi.
♦️Take half a spoon of saunf twice a day. They say it is excellent for producing milk.
♦️Take 5-10 garlic pearls and half a spoon of ghee, shallow fry the garlic till it is golden brown n soft. Eat that with roti or rice. This helps in producing more milk as well as quality milk which can help your baby fight against cold cough and congestion.
♦️If u have curry leaves, u can also make thogaiyal in small quantity and have with food. You can boil some curry leaves in water and drink that water.
♦️Take handful of pudina leaves, add 1/2 tsp of turmeric and boil inhale the steam, it cures cold, cough and fever.
♦️to control automatically oozing of milk warmed betel leaves pack need to applied to breast supported by cloths or threads.

Food to be avoided or monitored or taken in moderation:

❗Too much of Sour citrus juices, lemons, tamarind, pickles, sour leaf veg etc. loosens tissues and kid gets irritated,sweating.
❗high soluble fibre food Capsicum, radish, beans, cucumbers, bottle gourd, brown rice: upsets stomach of baby and creates gas.
❗Tanins, caffeine based Tea & coffees make baby to cry, unable to sleep.
❗High garlic, onions in diet(biryani, few curries, sauce) decreases cholestrol in milk, which may delay brain development.
❗Night shade plant vegetables or herbs like brinjal, raw tomatoes, cauliflower, kantakaari, etc. upset the nervous system if its amount exceeds in milk.
❗ Eat less chillies, mirchi powder(very hot variety) at very intitial stage of breast feeding as these have irritants which may upset baby. Or take buttermilk immediately after spicy/pickles .
❗Hexane based refined oils, Iodide salt are not good for anyone. Instead use kachi ghani oil and raw sea salt. Baked potatoes have good iodine.
❗Avoid MSG : pani poori, noodles, restaurant spicy veg – non veg items have MSG, it inhibits brain development.
❗Avoid green Potatoes: green pototoes are toxic for everyone.
❗Beverages , moderate sugar : contains bone, teeth depleting chemicals. It is advisable to intake sugar cane directly than sugar, which makes babies bone superstrong lifelong.
❗No A1 type Milk or Milk products,
❗No Farm Chicken
❗ No farm eggs.
❗Avoid the 5 whites.

close up of water pouring in glass — Photo by Ecuen Images on Pexels.com

Preparation tips for drinking waters

🔅Caromseed (Ajwain) water
This drink helps cleanse the stomach, improve digestion and speed up recovery after childbirth.
Ingredients:
½ tsp powdered carom seeds (ajwain) powder
1 cup filtered water ½tsp desi ghee (optional)
2 tsp powdered jaggery (gud)
Method: Heat the ghee in a pan. Add carom seeds powder and water and stir the mixture well. Bring to a boil and add jaggery. Stir the mixture till the jaggery dissolves. Simmer for another 2‐3 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool until a little warm. Strain and sip the warm drink.

🔅Carom And Fennel seed water
Carom (ajwain) seeds help in cleansing the stomach and uterus. Fennel(Saunf) helps in milk production and prevent colic in babies.
Ingredients:
1 liter filtered water
1 tbsp fennel (saunf) seeds
½ tbsp carom (ajwain) seeds
Method: Put water, fennel and carom seeds in a pan and bring to boil. Lower the flame and stir boil the mixture for another five minutes. Remove from the heat, cover the pan and let it cool a bit. Strain and store the water in an insulated flask, so that the mixture remains warm for several hours. Keep taking small sips of the water as often as you like.

🔅Barley and fennel water (jau aur saunf ka pani)
Barley and fennel water is believed to increase milk production. It is also believed that it helps ease gastric problems, constipation and cold symptoms.
Ingredients:
½ cup whole or pearled barley (jau)
1 to 2 tsp of fennel seeds (saunf) or fennel powder
4 cups filtered water
jaggery(gur)– optional
Method:
Wash the barley grains well and soak them overnight in filtered water. Strain and keep the water aside. In a pan, take four cups of water, including the strained water (which carries the nutrients of barley). Add in the soaked barley grains and fennel seeds and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the flame and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. Please note that the longer barley simmers the thicker the mixture will become. Add more water to dilute this mix to a watery consistency. Remove from the flame and allow it to settle for about 5 minutes or until warm. Strain and pour into a clean insulated flask so that it stays warm for several hours. Drink this water throughout the day.
You can add honey/ jaggery for added flavor.

🔅Holy basil (tulsi) water
Tulsi is believed to set up milk production and flow. This herb is a good source of carotene, niacin, thiamine and iron. It is believed to calm the nerves and initiate the let down reflex. This drink may also help digestion, reduce indigestion and increase the appetite.
Ingredients: 6 to 8 fresh holy basil (tulsi) leaves. 1 cup filtered water ½ tsp honey (shahad) ‐ optional
Method: In a pan, add water and crushed/finely chopped basil (tulsi) leaves. Bring the mixture to boil. Simmer and let the leaves settle for about 5 minutes. Remove from the flame. Pour the mixture through a sieve into a cup. Add honey to taste. Drink warm.

To stop vomiting (pre-post pregnancy):

🔅puffed rice, bilwa leaves, curry leaves all in equal quantities by weight made to fine balls of size soap nut seeds, consuming 1 ball 3 times Daily, will cure vomiting sensation.
🔅consumption of milk shake made up of popcorns, elaichi, internal black shell removed seeds of silk cotton tree in equal quantities of 2 spoons each, grinded well to form nut milk shake will cure vamana.

🔅 raw bilwa fruit boiled kashayam cooled and added honey drinking will cure hiccups.

To increase breast size and stiffness

♦️Any 2 dry roots of (Sida acuta, bala, ati bala, maha bala, Pavonia odorata, Muttavapulagam), Acorus calamus, (roots best) whole plant of insulin plant(costus igneus), kshirakakoli, kalanamak (black salt) all in equal quantities by weight powdered well and mixed with any of one (butter, sesame, ghee) and applied to breast, (vaksha) and thighs will increase size of breast.
♦️ Equal quantities by weight of ash gourd leaves and sesame oil should be boiled at low heat. After cooling the oil needs to be cloth filtered to extract juicy leaves oil with palms. this oil application stiffens breast.
♦️Acorus calamus , ashwagandha , Catharanthus roseus leaves – grinded paste pack on breasts.
♦️White shoe flower , brown or black cow milk paste pack on breasts.
♦️(Sphaeranthus indicus) gorakhmundi entire fresh plant fine paste filtered juice boiled in sesame oil, this oil application increases breast and stiffens it.
♦️Lemon leaves juice, fruits of Solanum virginianum or any solanum species paste application on breast will improve size and stiffness.

Breast infections

♦️ For infection on breast due baby teeth hurting, use marigold flower paste on injury.
♦️khurasani ajwain grinded paste applied using a cloth over breast decreases vata-swelling, fevers related to breast swellings.
♦️Bitter apple roots paste applied to breast will cure pains of swelling immediately.

Stomach and abdominal pains

♦️Nymphaea caerulea, blue water lilly/lotus petals + honey + black/brown seeded grapes all grinded well to form chutney need to be consumed, of the size of small lemon, with warm water. It removes pain in stomach.
♦️Abhrak bhasma + sesame oil rubbing cloth pack will cure pains and swelling and pains.

Pimples on breast

Breast needs cleaning with neem leaves juice, White Ash from burning neem leaves need to be collected upto 20 grams and applied to breast with mustard oil again sprayed with Ash. In 5 days pimples will disappear.

To cure bleeding, swellings , pains

♦️Majuphal (Mazu, Muphal)
Bengali- Maju-phal; Tamil- Machakai, Mashikai;
Telugu- Machi Kaya;
Kannada- Machikai;
Malayalam- Majakani,)
powder with warmed castor leaves apply using cloth as pack on the area.
♦️Apply (TRIANTHEMA PORTULACASTRUM) swetha punarnava paste pack, using cloth.
♦️apply henna leaves paste, castor leaves paste using cloth packs in Abdominal / thighs swelling, paining regions.
♦️Menthol flakes + edible camphor melts if mixed in hand, its application to paining region gently. (please avoid eye contact as it is very hot).

Note – If you have any health issues, please check with your doctor/Ayurvedic Vaidya before taking home remedies.

HOLISTIC APPROACH TO BABY’S TEETHING PHASE

Teething also termed as dentition is a phase for babies that is painful. Indian Ayurved Acharya Scholar Vagbhatta quotes in his ancient script Asthanga Sangraha that during teething, the child may suffer from various disorders like diarrhoea, fever, headache, thirst, vertigo, inflammation of eyes, vomiting, respiratory troubles and skin disorders.

SIGNS OF TEETHING:

Just like every baby is unique, so are their teething symptoms. But largely babies tend to start biting anything they get their hands upon including mother’s breasts while feeding to show their early signs of teething. Babies get itching sensation in their gums before the tooth erupts, hence they seem cranky. It is said that babies experience almost the same pain in teething phase as women experience during their labor.

Below are some effective and ancient remedies that can be incorporated in the routine of the baby during teething

GARDENIA GUMMIFERA HERB:

This is also called Gummy Gardenia in English. Nadihingu in Sanskrit, Dikamali/ Dikemali in Hindi & Marathi, Bikke/Bukke in Kannada.
It is a magical herb for most disorders caused due to teething in babies and also good medicine for postpartum women.
HOW TO USE:
This herb is available in most ayurvedic shops in powder form usually called as Dikamali powder which is dark green in colour and has distinct aroma.
1. Take some powder (1 small teaspoon of it) and mix mother’s milk if baby is less than 6 months or clean drinking water (for 6+ months) to make thick paste like consistency. Rub this paste onto the gums of baby in similar way how we brush our teeth with fingers. Initially some babies may reject the flavour of the herb, but the good news is they will soon learn to like the taste of it.
2. Massage various joints of the baby using this powder. Age old women claim that teething pain in babies is equal to the labor pain of mother! Most of the joints of babies ache during this phase along. To heal this, take some dry powder of the herb and massage onto the temple side area of the head, joint under the knee, joint of the arm and ankles of the feet. The massage has to be gentle but firm.
The above massage can be done twice daily or just once depending on the severity of teething issues.

TLISMI MOTI

Tlismi moti is made up of 5 metals that helps to harmonize energy around oral cavity and face. Hence this is usually tied around the neck of the baby using traditional black thread to ensure painless or less itchy teething phase. It is absolutely safe and effective remedy than the commercially available teethers made up of silicon/plastic/polished wood. Though there are some unpolished neem wood teethers available in the market, but the cost is definitely huge for each piece.
HOW TO USE:
Tlismi moti is available in local markets, ensure you buy a genuine one. Take two such motis to have full effect and slip it in a thin black thread (this is usually included from the buyer) and tie around the neck of the baby usually a little below the neck near to the chest cavity.

HOME REMEDY FOR DIARRHOEA DUE TO TEETHING:
Often watery poop is caused due to teething in babies . If you have baby who is experiencing watery poops and you can also see teeth coming out of their gum, then below remedy provides relief. This remedy is for baby older than 8 months only.
If diarrhoea is mild to moderate:
1. Take a ripe Bael fruit (refer pic), remove peel, boil it in water till half quantity.
Dosage: 2 teaspoonfuls 6 hourly.

If diarrhoea is severe: Take unripe Bael fruit (refer pic), remove peel, take 10 g+coriander powder 10g+dry ginger powder 10 g boil it in 400 ml water till it reduces to 100 ml

Dosage: 2 teaspoonfuls 6 hourly

Bael fruit is also known as Golden apple/stone apple/ wood apple. It is used as go to remedy ranging from digestive issues to respiratory problems. It is consumed in juice form in hottest of summers in India.

While teething is temporary phase for baby ensure to give her/him full attention so they don’t bite inedible things, sooth them emotionally by singing a song, taking for a stroll in the park or just cuddling them. Above all breastfeed as often as baby demands, it compliments the above remedies and keeps their immune system strong.
If the symptoms of diarrhoea, vomiting, appetite loss continues inspite of the home remedies, please consult doctor immediately.

Wishing parents healthy teething phase for babies.

Sustainable pregnancy for healthy and happy progeny – Part 1

Congratulations on deciding to nurture a new life within you. It is a blessing to let God create and sustain a soul that will soon become your lifeline. While we speak so much about sustainable living, farming, gardening, recycling plastic etc, why no one ever talks about Sustainable pregnancy that enables and empowers parents-to-be with right knowledge, guidance and support that is beyond supplements, blood tests, scans and injections? Isn’t this the most wonderful and cherished part of couple’s life? Sustainable pregnancy not only makes them tide through this phase healthily, but also ensures they bring into this world healthy, happy babies. The next generation with good immunity, mind and spiritual inclination is all that our world needs right now.

Pre pregnancy care: Before you decide to embark on pregnancy journey, consider body and mind detox, essential lifestyle changes and listening to body. While all creatures have ability to reproduce, humans have been blessed with knowledge and thus we must responsibly care, nurture and develop the young life inside the womb and safely bring them into our world. To enable this, our body and mind must be free from all kinds of toxins, wasteful and destructive things.

Body detox for healthy pregnancy: Ayurvedic panchakarma is one of the ancient, proven and effective way to dispel toxins (Ama) from the body. Invest time in searching for an experienced Ayurvedic Vaidya who does panchakarma, prepares his own medicine, oils and also provides specific diet based on your body type during this phase. Any panchakarma done without proper diet doesn’t dispel all toxins and thus is waste of efforts. Please be aware of some panchakarma centres that don’t do the process under doctor’s guidance and diet. It is best to get panchakarma done for both (mother to be and father to be) a minimum of 6 months before conception.

Another important point is if you have had a miscarriage or medical termination of pregnancy, do wait for atleast a year for next conception. This time gap ensures body adequate rest and also remaining waste blood goes through menstrual cycle for a year.

Mind detox for healthy pregnancy: Just as Panchakarma frees body from toxins, meditation, gratitude and forgiveness frees mind from toxins. Everyday dedicating 20 mins of time to meditate, thanking the Universe, praying with devotion to beget a good baby and practicing forgiveness does relieve mind of all fearful thoughts we usually get in pregnancy. Let go of all the grudge, revengeful thoughts, various fears, too much of overconfidence and ego out of the mind by simple meditation, pranayama and chanting and listening to Vedic mantras like Garbha Sanskar, Vishnu Sahasranama. Sudoku, Mandala design colouring, knitting, drawing are some of stress busting activities during pregnancy.

Listen to body: If your body asks for a good exercise, practice yoga atleast for 30 mins daily, if it needs rest, food, water, simply do so. Don’t go overboard with mental and physical work in the name of being active and do not control the natural urges of the body, let it go out as it is a part of removing unwanted substances from the body. Striking the right balance between work and rest is the key that is achieved by listening to your body.

Essential lifestyle changes to be made daily for optimum health: In our various blogs, WhatsApp groups, we always stress upon lifestyle corrections and habits to be done in our daily lives to benefit long lasting good health.

Avoid/stop all 5 whites – White rice (replace with traditional, naturally grown rice, sometimes millets, no wheat), White flour/Maida (replace with Jowar flour, traditional rice flour, Millet flour), White sugar (replace with jaggery, honey, palm sugar), White milk (replace with Ragi milk, almond milk, desi cow humped milk that can be consumed as medicine if advised by Ayurvedic doctor), White table salt (replace with Himalayan pink rocksalt).
Let us throw out all plastic, aluminium, non-stick cookware that can lead to various diseases and replace with mud, iron, bronze, copper, glass or steel cookwares.
Oil bath twice a week with gingelly (sesame oil) is such an important and amazing way to ensure restful sleep and calm mind.
Replace any kind of refined oil to cold stone pressed or woodchurned oils.
It is also needless to say that naturally and locally grown food is best to health and environment.

Why is above process important before embarking on pregnancy journey? In our generation of bad health, sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy eating habits, digital addiction etc, we often forget to take care of ourselves, so how will we beget a healthy progeny? There is no gain without pain. Our efforts in the right direction will definitely yield good results. If the above process seems time consuming and expensive, then let’s wonder about how taking care of an unhealthy mother and baby seem? Isn’t it disheartening to see anyone suffer out of ignorance. It is time we spread the light of right knowledge.

Stay healthy and keep tuned to our next part that will cover pregnancy trimester wise nutrition through food, secret recipes, natural remedies and much more.

Embracing a chemical-free life with Natural Cleaners

Let’s do a small quiz before you start reading this blog, shall we? It’s very simple – just try to answer the following questions taking as much time as you need.

How many cleaning products do you use in your home? (including your personal care products)
Can you list at least 10 of them? Can you think of more?

Alright, hope you took a minute to pause and actually answer the questions above. A typical urban household today, as you would have realized if you had answered the questions, uses anywhere from 15 – 20 different cleaning and personal care products in their lifestyles. This could range from floor cleaners, dish wash, detergents, fabric softeners, naphthalene balls, bathroom cleaners, glass cleaners, shoe polish, wood polish…to face powders, body creams, moisturizers, nail polish, hair colors, deodorants…the list can literally go on and on. We have come to “depend” so much on these items that life can become unimaginable if you are forced to go without them for a few days.

But what we don’t realize is that many of these products contain synthetic chemical ingredients which are not as harmless as they claim (yes, even some of the so-called “organic or natural brands” you may know of). To understand this better, the next time you go shopping, make sure to spend a few more extra minutes to go through the ingredients list of EVERY product that you buy. I guarantee you will be surprised if not shocked – you may not even know why some of the ingredients are required!!

So these chemicals, apart from being non-essentials, can cause great harm as well including being hormone imbalancers, migraine triggers, carcinogens, skin allergens, endocrine disruptors (meaning fertility reducers/disease causers!) and so on and so forth.

Let’s back to one more quick quiz.

Imagine not having your favorite detergent to wash your clothes – can you still keep them clean and smelling fresh?
Suppose you run out of your bathroom cleaners and cant go out for a week – would you still spend as much time in the bathroom as you might otherwise?

Well, of course, you can 🙂 Just that you need to find out how our grandparents used to do it a few decades back – it’s as simple as that. And the best part of it? It was totally natural, chemical-free and eco-friendly – as good for us as it was for all the living beings around us. No side effects, no diseases and completely harmless. Sounds fantastic, right? Then why not try to adopt such a lifestyle yourself? Why not shift to chemical-free life and give yourself, your children, your family and all the other beings around a safe and natural environment to live in?

Let us take the first step today. Let’s look at the humble Soapnut that grows right in our backyard (not literally, unless you happen to live just outside a forest – which would be awesome actually!) and see how it can help us move to a natural and chemical-free lifestyle.

Soapnuts – your Natural Cleaner to the rescue

Soapnut, also called Reetha /Boondikottai /Kumkudukaya /Antuvalakay, can be one of your most useful and go-to natural ingredients in your household cleaning mission. Growing abundantly in the Himalayas (and Nepal) and South India, it is easy enough to source these days given the increase in interest around chemical-free living.

Soapnuts can really replace most, if not all, chemicals at your home, especially if used in combination with Bio Enzymes (we will see how to make that in another post). Let us now quickly see how you can use these magic super cleaners for your everyday household cleaning requirements along with few other questions you may have on this nut.

1. What exactly are Soapnuts?
They are the fruits of the Sapindus tree (Sap meaning Soap in Latin and Indus referring to their native India). There are multiple species/sub-species of this tree. In India itself, there are two different species/sub-species that produce two different looking fruits.

2. How are they useful in cleaning?
Soapnuts have a high amount of “surfactants” (the chemical compound good at removing dirt) in the form of naturally occurring saponins in their fruit pulp. If you are familiar with the structure of soaps, you will know that a soap compound has two ends – one tail end that repels water (and attracts dirt) and one head end that attracts water (making them water soluble). Soapnuts have these compounds naturally. So it is this property of them that makes them great for removing dirt. Plus, they are all natural to boot – meaning they decompose back into the soil quickly leaving minimal environmental impact unlike chemicals produced in laboratories such as detergents and shampoos.

3. How do Soapnuts look?

A freshly harvested Soapnut – Observe how they are clumped up

Two different types of Soapnuts found in India (after drying) – the one on right is the South Indian variety and the one on my left hand is the Himalayan variety

4. Is there a difference between the quality/effectiveness of these two varieties?
In my experience, absolutely not. The Himalayan ones look better and are bigger and are more appealing to our senses. The South Indian ones don’t look so neat but they pack quite a punch in their cleaning abilities. While the Himalayan ones are bit costly this side of the Vindhyas (considering they have to be transported so far from their origin), the South Indian ones are available at a bit lesser price here making them economically more feasible. Also, the South Indian ones are easier to soak and smash – the Himalayan ones take a bit longer to get soaked.

5. Why should I use Soapnuts and why not my detergents?
Not a good question, if you are still asking! Your detergents and most other cleaning products that you have at home are made of synthetic chemical compounds that have a high amount of toxins along with all the good things they promise you that gives them the cleaning power you need (and let’s not forget the wonderful oh-so-clean fragrance). These synthetic compounds, in addition to being harmful to you personally in terms of the ill-health and side effects they cause, are also damaging to the environment and the water bodies and the living beings present in the water bodies. Some of these toxins could be formaldehyde, diethanolamine, alkyl benzene sulfonates, ethylene oxide, Sodium hypochlorite, 1-4-dioxane, Benzoxazolyl, Phosphates and so on and so forth. Really, you don’t need to kill a lake full of fishes to get the dirt-free clothes or home you desire. When there is an all natural alternate way, which is also harmless to our fellow living things (not to mention to us as well), why not adopt that method? Soapnuts are the wonderful things God created to give you this option.

6. Okay, great! But how do I use Soapnuts???
That’s an easy one. There are so many different ways you can use Soapnuts depending on the amount of time and energy you have to spend on your cleaning mission. Here are a few ways to use Soapnuts:

Option 1: – Using Soapnuts as-is – The easiest and quickest way

Take about 10-12 whole Soapnuts (can be deseeded or with seeds; this measurement is for 6-8 kgs of clothes)
Put them in an old sock and tie the mouth of the socks tightly such that no Soapnuts can escape
Simple throw in this sock along with your wash load and run the machine on full soak cycle. Pls put it along with the clothes and not in the place provided for detergents. It’s not a problem if the sock stays till the drying cycle is complete.
Optionally, please add 100 ml of Bio Enzyme for disinfecting and softening the fabrics. Especially, when you have a lot of whites, Bio Enzyme is good to include.
After removing the clothes, remove the sock with the Soapnuts as well and keep it out to dry.
You can use it for one more time before opening up the sock and discarding the used Soapnuts. The Soapnut peels can be thrown into your compost bin while you can save the seeds for making seed bombs, seed jewelry or other activities or simply throw them into an empty plot. Alternatively, you can use the Soapnut peels to wash your vessels as well.
Please note that when using Soapnuts, you should not overload your machine. Also, when you have really dirty clothes, please pre-soak the Soapnut sock in hot/warm water for 15 minutes and then add the tea of Soapnut along with the Soapnut sock into the machine.

Option 2: – Soapnuts Liquid (works better than the whole pods at times so try both before you decide which one works for you)

Take about a 250-500 grams of Soapnuts. Soak it in 1 litre water for a few hours. You can also use Soapnut powder in the place of Soapnuts and follow the same procedure.
Heat up the water for 10-15 minutes till the water turns completely dark and the Soapnuts release all their surfactants. You may also simply pressure cook it for one whistle.
After the solution cools down, smash the Soapnuts in hand and ensure all the juices are extracted
Let it sit overnight
Next day morning, filter out all the solids. The resulting liquid is your All natural cleaning liquid which can be used as a floor cleaner, laundry liquid detergent, bathroom cleaner, tile cleaner, dish wash, etc, etc.
As we have boiled it, you will need to use it up within a week otherwise the solution may start smelling/fermenting. Or you can simply refrigerate it and use it as and when you need it. You may also prepare a large batch and freeze it. Alternatively, you can use Bio Enzyme and water to soak the Soapnuts instead of boiling them, keep it for a week, filter and use the liquid (it will have a really long shelf life as Bio Enzyme will act as a preservative so there would be no need to refrigerate).
For about 6 kgs of laundry, you will need 150-200 ml of Soapnut liquid. For one bucket of water to mop your house, you can use 50-100 ml of the liquid. Work with different quantities and see what works best for you.
The filtered out pulp can be used once or twice more to extract more Soapnut liquid. Once completely used up, they go to your compost bin.

Option 3: – Soapnut powder

Buy Soapnut powder. It’s not very easy to powder them yourself at home so pls don’t try.
Take about 2-3 spoons of Soapnut powder for about 6-8 kgs of laundry. Put the powder inside a thick cotton cloth/bag (NOT SOCKS) and tie the mouth tightly
Simple throw in this sock along with your wash load and run the machine on full soak cycle. Pls put it along with the clothes and not in the place provided for detergent. It’s not a problem if the sock stays till the drying cycle is complete.
Optionally, please add 100 ml of Bio Enzyme for disinfecting and softening the fabrics. Especially, when you have a lot of whites, Bio Enzyme is good to include.
After removing the clothes, remove the sock with the Soapnuts and discard the Soapnut powder into your compost bin.
Beware of the cloth bag coming apart and the powder spreading across all your clothes. It’s extremely difficult to clean up.
Also, the powder MAY dull your whites over time. If that happens, you can wash the Whites in hot water and Vinegar/Bio Enzyme.

Soapnuts also make a great hair wash along with Shikakai and other ingredients. You can explore many more recipes on the net to discover the various other uses of Soapnuts.

7. Okay, I am a convert! What else should I know about this wonder nut?
Cool, that’s awesome. I am happy! Here are a few things I can think of:

Always try to buy that year’s harvest for more effectiveness
Store them airtight and dry.
If you find the Soapnuts you have bought are still too fresh and sticky, please ensure you sundry them well for 2 – 3 days. Otherwise, they will tend to catch fungus/green mold and the whole thing will get ruined quickly.
If you are a power user of Soapnuts, you will end up with a lot of Soapnut seeds. You can put them in your compost bin – so save them for your children to make seed bombs or to play with. Or you can string them into a mala and use them to cleanse your aura (don’t ask me more details on that as am yet to find out more!)
You can reuse the grey water from your floor wash/laundry/dish wash after using Soapnuts as it is all natural and will not harm your plants.
Soapnuts also make great pest control. So instead of using synthetic soap in your pest control measures for your plants where you are required to emulsify neem oil, you can use Soapnuts and neem oil. Just a Soapnut water soak once a week will also help you keep out mosquitoes and other insects from your lawns and gardens.

Hope the above information helps you and you are able to make the switch to a chemical-free life as I have!

Author: Vaijayanthi

Vaijayanthi is a freelance business writer and full-time gardener. She coaches people on adopting a chemical-free lifestyle through her initiative called the Kaustubam for Sustainable Living Practices. She also conducts various physical workshops and training sessions on sustainable living and Gardening for children in Bengaluru through the initiative The Happy Child. View all posts by Vaijayanthi

Fireless Cooking Session with Maran G and Laughter Therapy

Fireless Cooking Session with Maran G and Laughter Therapy – Workshop at Bangalore on 22 July 2017

The fifth-year anniversary celebration of the Swarnaprashna Parenting Community, which happened in June with over 40-50 parents and their family and children, was a one of a kind meeting of like-minded parents who share a common vision for health and spirituality alike. One of the super hit sessions at this celebration was the session of Dr. Maran G, who is a raw food activist and a firm proponent of Naturopathy. All of us were so bowled over by his enthusiasm and his super helpful attitude towards knowledge sharing, that it is but inevitable that we will all demand for a repeat (this time, more detailed!) session with Dr. Maran.

So, with the stars aligning, we were fortunate enough to enjoy two wonderful sessions with Dr. Maran in the last month – one in Chennai (organized by parent Priya) and one in Bangalore – which happened this past Saturday. I was part of the session at Bangalore and feel honored to share the knowledge gained at the session which Dr. Maran so gracefully shared with us all. But before we dive in straight to the learning, let me write a bit about Dr. Maran.

Dr. Maran getting ready to wow the audience

Maran G or Maranji as we liked to call him, is what you might call a food and health revolutionary. Hailing from Tamilnadu, Dr. Maran, who must be about 60 or so years old, has been tirelessly working the last 20 years (or perhaps even more) with a single motive to help families avoid expensive medical costs and realize that they can cure themselves of all diseases with a simple belief that Food is Medicine and Medicine is Food. A very humble soul and a great orator, Dr. Maran, who is a Naturopathy doctor, also runs a small all natural food restaurant at Sivakasi. One of the notable achievements of this restaurant is that they don’t use any of the five whites (Sugar, Salt, Maida, Milk and White Rice/Wheat) – and yet, over 250-300 people regularly visit this restaurant every single day in search of healthy and safe food. Dr. Maran regularly travels across South India to talk about healthy food habits and healthy lifestyle practices to lead a healthy and happy life. For all his wonderful knowledge and status, he might be one of the most humble men you might ever meet. The world certainly needs more of his kind.

As you might have guessed, any time we spend with such a person is bound to be filled with so much learning and so much realization of the simple truths about life. So it was the session that happened in Bangalore. Dr. Maran spent about 5-6 hours addressing all of us non-stop with not a single pause or break – that itself can be the proof of how the right food and lifestyle habits can help someone face all the demands of a day without breaking a single sweat! Dr. Maran, nonetheless to say, is a man who practices what he preaches and is an inspiration to all of us – if we can be half of what he is at that age, I am sure that will be a great achievement given the rush and mindlessness that we live in.

As I sit now and try to pen down what I learnt this weekend, my mind simply boggles at the task before me! Every single second of the session was so useful and so full of information, that it would be impossible for me to capture every single one of it here without being confusing or overwhelming. So I will try to share the essence of what I learnt (given that I have about 15 pages of hurriedly scribbled notes to decipher). I am going to write it down as we covered it during the session without putting my own wrapper or inference around it though I will try to bracket it into categories wherever possible so that it is easy for you to read and remember. If you are unclear about what a certain point might mean, do comment and I will see if I can recall and try to elaborate it out for you.

Before the day’s session began, as has become our usual practice, Velu did a guided meditation for all parents gathered around. Few peaceful moments where we were called into recognize our own consciousness and its power to go far and beyond our immediate comprehension. By the end of this meditation, all of were feeling so centered and calm – just the right mindset to receive the downpour of wisdom all of us got from Dr. Maran! One of Dr. Maran associates, Mr. Mukesh Jain, who is a laughter and yoga therapist, joined us soon after to kick start the day with a quick laughter session that will set the trend for the day – a fun and jovial mood to break the seriousness and magnitude of the topic at hand. And then, it was time for Dr. Maran (many thanks to Parent and healer Anand who helped translate).

Bhastrika Pranayama – one of the most easy ways to cleanse your lungs and detox

So, without further ado, here are some of the pearls of wisdom shared by Dr. Maran:

The Basics:

The basic premise is that we are what we eat. One must understand that Food is Medicine and Medicine is Food. So, if we want a healthy body, all we need to do is look at our food habits.
All causes of diseases and the many symptoms of the many diseases are just one – which is Morbid Toxin Accumulation in the body. So what are these toxins? It can be the polluted Air we breathe, the contaminated water we take OR it can be the bad food we consume – that is all.
With that understanding, it will be easy to know that if all diseases are a result of one root cause, however different the disease or its symptoms are, all of them can be dealt with the same treatment – i.e. Complete Detoxification and a return to healthy food habits and lifestyle giving the body time and energy to heal itself.
While Modern Medicine has been a great life saver (in the case of emergency surgeries, accidents and such), it has not been very kind to humans in its very quick recommendations for synthetic-chemical based medicines (more toxins to the already toxic loaded body!), operations and unnecessary amputations and eviscerations. So before one turns to this option, one must firmly look at one’s own lifestyle and food habits and identify the root cause of the disease instead of asking for quick-fixes from the Doctors of modern medicine.
So how can we avoid toxin accumulation due to food? How can Food be medicine? How can our food habits help us live a healthy life and help our body heal itself? The answer is very simple – It is just about consuming food straight from the greatest kitchen in the world, without any secondary processing. That’s right, the greatest kitchen in the world is that of Mother Nature’s and the best kind of food is the one that comes straight from her – raw and clean of any contamination (including pesticides, fertilizers, etc.)
One must understand and go back to our elementary school lessons that all of us have forgotten – Cooking takes away the essential nutrients in our food. Cooking is an unnecessary wastage of energy. Cooking is not required for a man to consume food. The early man might very well have been a fruitarian and if he could have in that harsh environment, we very well can be now.
But given that we have got used to eating cooked food in the past few generations, how can we go back to this basic healthy way of living? Where do we start? Simple – Just switch 30% of your food intake to raw and clean – that should be more than enough to see you through. This roughly translates to a minimum of ONE COMPLETE raw meal (consisting of fruits, vegetables and plain juices/milk extracted from millets/grams/grains) per day.
It doesn’t, however, stop at only food. We must also look at our overall lifestyle and make sure it is healthy. For instance, our good food habits must be complemented by good eating habits – i.e. for instance, giving complete attention to what we eat, biting each morsel minimum twenty or times till all the saliva is mixed with it (which is what helps digestion – as digestion starts right from mouth and not just in stomach as we believe).
Physical Exercise is also mandatory as is cultivating a good mind.
Finally, you can reverse most if not all diseases if you are totally willing to commit to a raw and clean food habit. Dr. Maran has cured many a people with his simple diet plans and lifestyle modification recommendations.

Our wholesome food getting ready – helped by kids!

What we must remember and most importantly practice:

Replace the five whites mandatorily. Sugar can be replaced by Jaggery or Plam Sugar. Salt can be replaced by Sea/Rock Salt or Himalayan Pink Salt. Maida and White Rice can be replaced with traditional millet or unpolished rice varieties. Milk can be replaced with Milk alternatives such as Coconut Milk or Sprout’s Milk.
In addition to nutrients, Cooking takes away the natural taste of the food as well which is why we need to add extra spices to dishes. If we get used to eating raw for a minimum one week, our taste buds will stop asking for “spicy stuff”. So start by consuming at least one raw meal a day. Every meal must begin with fruits or raw vegetables (30-60 minutes before the meal itself).
Consume plenty of water. Look at detox waters to help detoxify and restore body balance.
Water must also be consumed like solid food. Sip by sip mixed well with saliva.
Practice Bhastrika Pranayama to detox your lungs and handle pollution in the air we breathe in.
Assimilation and Elimination must happen smoothly for the body to function well. Pay attention to both these processes.
Chew completely to ensure food is mixed well with Saliva. Saliva is the one that helps in digestion and it is also an insulin balancer if you will.
Never control body urges including the urge to urinate and defecate. One must defecate at least twice a day. This will automatically get streamlined if one switches to natural/raw food at least once a day.
Eat only when hungry and never go by the clock. Eat slowly and without distractions such as TV or mobile. Try not to talk as well while eating. Pay complete attention to what you are eating.
Physical exercise and body activity is a must for healthy living. One must walk barefoot at least for half an hour a day outdoors. If not possible, at least walk in the shape of eight inside the house.
Get up before sunrise. Do “Angapradikshina” and super brain yoga to keep your digestive system and nervous system active and healthy.
Be childlike and cultivate a happy mindset.
Dressing is also important for a healthy body – avoid tight and clingy dresses made out of unnatural fibers such as polyester and such.
Help others and derive mental satisfaction. This, in turn, will help you reach a feeling of satiation and happiness.
Never have a physical relationship with your partner within 3 hours of eating. All the blood will be re-directed to the physical act and food will turn to toxins. The best time, thus recommended by our elders probably keeping this in mind, is in the early morning well away from the last meal of the deal.
Never eat after 7 pm.
Practice Oil Bathing regularly without fail. If your lifestyle doesn’t allow it, at least do oil pulling.
Have seasonal fruits. Consume desi (non-hybrid only) and organic fruits only as much as possible. For all other food, wash with salt and lemon to get rid of chemicals as much as possible before consuming.
Don’t consume too much water just after a meal. Give at least 30-60 minutes gap. You may consume Detox water if you feel thirsty during this time.
Finally, practice fasting as well to complement your healthy food habits.

A complete meal of the day – totally fireless cooking (all raw and natural)

Recipes:

So, all of us might have the same questions in our mind the minute we hear we must switch to at least 30% raw food in a day- how can we survive without any spices and simply eat just fruits and raw vegetables every single day? Well, it need not be that way. We can definitely create some wonderful recipes with spices such as dhania, jeera, and pepper and create some lip-smacking raw recipes. Do lookout for the English translated publications of Dr. Maran’s recipe books. For now, here are a few recipes Dr. Maran shared during the meet (he shared some more as well – but I haven’t been able to blog them all). We also had the great fun of eating all of these items (and more) prepared by Maranji’s assistant/cook Mr. Ramesh (who was helped by many parents as well including Divya, Nandhini and others).

Here are some of these items/recipes:

A healthy alternative to Cow’s Milk and Morning drinks:

A healthy Starter/Snack:

Sweet and Raw Ladies Finger Starter (or alternate with Snake Gourd)
Raw Ground nut / Till Laddu Snack
Sprout Salad

Main Course:

Mix Vegetable Kootu (or stew)
Gourd Salad
Lemon Aval (Flattened Poha) Rice
Sweet Aval (Flattened Poha) Rice (Flattened Poha)
Coconut Chutney
Ridge Gourd Chutney
Curd Aval

Desserts:

Aval Payasam
Stuffed Snake Gourd Sweet Treats/Cutlets

Never knew Snake Gourd can be so yummy eaten raw (Of course the Jaggery filling helped 😛 )

Other Accompaniments:

Beetroot Pickles
Ginger Pickles
Detox Waters

What I have shared is probably just 50% of what Maranji shared or even lesser. I hope you get a chance to attend his session yourself and get to learn as we all did this time.

Before I wrap up, I must also thank Mr. Mukesh Jain – who spent well over an hour making us all laugh – the only thing we didn’t do was ROFL (rolling on the floor laughing). We did everything else laughing – yoga, exercise, talking, moving, dancing, the formation of an energy circle….and what not. My god, Mr. Mukesh never let his smile or laugh dim even for a single second – such was his commitment to giving us all a memorable day of laughter. As they say, a day without laughter is a day wasted. Though it will by no means be a day wasted, Mr. Mukesh’s child-like enthusiasm in engaging all of us left us all grinning ear-to-ear well after the day was over.

As an ending note, let me express my gratitude to Dr. Maran, Mr. Ramesh, Mr. Mukesh Jain, Velu, Mani, many parents and volunteers who made this event happen (Devika, Divya, Nandhini, many more I am sure ). God bless them with a happy, healthy life!

Author: Vaijayanthi

Detox Waters

One of the traditional views of Naturopathy considers all diseases as nothing but a result of morbid toxin accumulation in the body. So by removing these toxins (detoxification), you can regain good health is the belief (provided one also follows the other things required for good health including cultivating a sound mind and physical exercise).

To help in this detoxification, you can prepare a few Detox Waters that can help you maintain good health every day. There are specific Detox Waters depending upon the disease you suffer from. Or, you can just alternate between each of these Detox Waters one day a week and cover all the days and stay detoxed! Don’t over do it though. Listen to your body and follow its wisdom.

Types of Detox Waters:

Jeera Water
Amla Water
Nannari Water
Rose Water
Methi Water
Lotus Water
Dhania Water

How to prepare and use the Detox Water:

If it’s Jeera/Methi/Dhania – take 1 spoon. If it is Amla, take one fruit (grate it). If it is Nannari or Rose petals, take a handful. If it is Lotus, take one full medium sized flower (along with stem, petals, etc.)
Soak the base component overnight in 250 ml of water, preferably in a copper vessel.
Boil the above mixture the next day morning till the water reduces to half.
Take off the flame and filter out the solids.
Dilute the leftover concentrated liquid to 1 or 1.5 liters.
Sip throughout the day (or as long as it lasts) ensuring it mixes well with your saliva before you swallow.

Benefits of Detox Water:

Jeera Water helps aid weight loss and also increases the body metabolism. Also, helps in addressing digestive issues
Amla Water helps address blood-related problems.
Nannari Water is good at healing urinary issues and balancing pitta in the body
Rose Water (typically red desi varieties are preferred) helps in reducing acidity and is great for skin problems, balancing pitta, body/mouth adour, and Blood Pressure
Methi Water is good for helping with diabetes, hair fall, and women’s problems such as white discharge
Lotus/Dhania Water is very very good for balancing blood pressure (both high and low blood pressure).

If you’d like, you can also add the juice of one lemon to the diluted detox water for more flavor.

Author: Vaijayanthi

Understand Cold, Cough, Fever and work on Home remedies.

The state of wellbeing is very beautifully mentioned in Ayurveda as the equilibrium of dosha, agni, dhatu, mala along with an inner blissful state of soul,senses and mind .This closely relates to the modern definition mentioned by WHO.

Samadosha samaagnishcha samadhathu malakriya Prasannatma indriya manaha swastha ityabhi
diyate.

Any illness as for this case , the peenasa or common cold ,occurs as a result of the disturbance in this equilibrium. The symptoms of common cold, include runny nose, sore throat, cough, watery eyes, sneezing, congestion, headaches, fatigue, and sometimes a low-grade fever. It typically last from one week to 10 days, the recovery depending on the immunity of the person. Common cold takes almost the same time to get cured with and without treatment.

Importance of home remedies

Home remedies for minor ailments saves time money and visits to pharmacy. Many simple effective home remedies
mentioned in the ancient texts if discovered can reduce the burden of common people economically and save from
unwanted use of drugs

Precautions to be considered

Though there are excellent and effective home remedies for many ailments they are yet to be scientifically assessed and validated One of the common disadvantage while using home remedies is the proper dose or durtation of the medicine to be given is unknown and when to stop is not clearly understood. Long term or excess self medication is not advisable as the herbs have different action and properties for short term and long term use.The knowledge of right choice, right dose and right duration of the medicine or herbs is always very important. Some of the home remedies mentioned in various books have been compiled and listed below.

Ingredients used in home remedies for common close and cough

Most of the ingredients used for cold and cough are avaiable in our kitchen only some fresh herbs also if grown in pots at our home can be used. Commonly used fresh ingredients are

Tulasi leaves – cold, cough and fever
Betel leaves -cold , cough, fever
Ajwain leaves- cold , cough fever
Adathoda leaves- cough with phlegm
Fresh turmeric- cold, cough with phlegm
Pomegranate -dry and wet cough
Lemon -cold and cough
Ginger-cold cough and fever

The common kitchen spices to treat cold and cough are

Pepper
Dry ginger
Clove
Cinnamon
Cardamom
Sauf
Jeera
Ajwain
Tumeric
Coriander
Flaxeed
Fenugreek
Rock saltSome herbs that are not commonly used in cooking but often used for home remedies are
Muleti
Long pepper
Rasna
Vacha
Kali jeera
black salt
Palm jaggery or sugar candy

Popular methods followed

FRESH JUICES – The juices are extracted by crushing from the fresh herbs .Some herbs have to be wilted in fire before crushing such as ajwain leaf, onion.They act as decongestant and given instant relief .Fresh juices
are stronger so the dose have to carefully decided. Generally one to two teaspoon of the fresh juice are given with honey for 3 to 5 days twice or thrice day before food depending on the condition.In infants the
juice are applied on the chest and back instead of giving internally.
TEAS – Generally aromatic herbs and spices are boiled together in water for few minutes and this water is used for drinking .Such tulasi tea, ajwain leaf tea, ginger tea.
DECOCTIONS – Different combination of dry and fresh ingredients are boiled and reduced to half or one fourth and added with a sweetener such as jaggery or palm sugar or with honey.
Choornam/Powder – such as trikatu ,yashtimadhu are given mixed with honey.
Warm milk withtumeric, pepper
Try instead of regular COUGH SYRUP using
1. Ginger lemon infused honey,
2. Dry ginger powder +honey
3. Cinnamon +honey
4. Yashtimadhu ,Freshginger juice, +honey
5. Lemon +honey
Chew HOME MADE LOZENGES
1. Fresh ginger piece with black salt
2. Dry ginger and sugarcandy
WARM SOUP -Warm veg soup with spices
STEAM
MASSAGES on chest and back with warm oils such as ococonut oil, sesame oil mustard oil infused with herbs.

As a prevention
Pranayam can be taught to children like anulom, vilom, kapalbathi, ujjayi. Ayurvedic medicines rasayanas such as chyanvan prash should be given on regular basis.
Plants which can be grown at home

Tulasi
Adathoda
Mint
Coriander
Ajwain
Guduchi

Preparations commonly used

FRESH JUICES

Generally fresh juices alone or in combination with two such as ginger lemon, tulasi betel, ginger amla. They can be given to children above 1 year from 1 to 2 tsp twice a day with honey

Ginger juice- Juice of ginger 5gms and one amla with one teaspoon honey Juice of ajwain leaf wilted on fire juice one teaspoon twice daily with honey
Lemon juice- Lemon juice with water and honey. a glass of hot water mixed with the juice of two lemons and honey to taste. It soothes sore throat, boosts vitamin C intake and releases excess cough
Juice of Tulasi leaves – 2 parts tulsi juice +1/2 part Ginger juice + ½ part Betel leaf juice Take two teaspoon of the juices together with 1 teaspoon of honey thrice a day
In a jar mix equal amounts of honey and onion juice. Consume around 3 to 4 teaspoons of this mixture once a day, till the flu lasts
1 teaspoon tulasi juice and 2 teaspoon of honey 3 times a day
1 tespoon of onion juice( small onion) and 2teaspoons of honey 3 times a day. Onion is very useful in bronchitis

Tea

Different combination of dry and fresh ingredients are boiled together for few minutes and used as a drink

Ginger tea- Drink ginger tea. Use 2 to 3 pieces of ginger to prepare this tea and consume it at regular intervals during the cough It acts as a decongestant, helps stimulate slow digestion and enhances the taste
Tulsi tea-½ tsp black pepper powder+1/2 tsp dry ginger powder-+10 Tulasi leaves boil in 1 cup water make tea and drink 2-3 times a day

The teas or hot infusions chosen should be balanced with hot and cold potency

DECOCTION

Preapare a decoction with Fresh ginger -3 teaspoon cinnamon powder ½ easpoon, yashtimadhu 2 teaspoons . All the ingredients should be boiled with four glasses of water and reduced to ½ glass and this has to be taken twice daily .Honey can added as a sweetener if needed
Prepare a decoction by boiling a tablespoon of fenugreek seeds in half liter of warm water. Continue boiling the seeds, till the water reduces to one third of its original quantity. Then, add a teaspoon of fresh ginger juice to this concoction, along with a few drops of honey, just to make it more palatable. Drink this mixture once a day.
Boil 3 teaspoons of Yashtimadhu choornam/licorice in two glasses of water and reduce to ¼ glass and add honey if needed.This is good remedy for dry cough and sore throat
Betel leaves,tulasi leaves, ajwain leaves , pepper are boiled together and reduced to half
Tulasi leaves a piece of ginger of an inch size few pepper corns are boiled and reduced to half

CHOORNAS

Trikatu ,-the mixture of dried ginger powder, pepper and long pepper taken in equal quantities of a quarter to half teaspoon twice a day with honey. Trikatu has anti -pyretic qualities and are effective in fever accompanied with bronchitis.
Ayurvedic medicines like sitopaladi choornam , Thaleesadi choornam , Karpooradi choornam can be taken with doctors advise

MILK

Tumeric Milk -Mix a half teaspoon or turmeric powder in a glass of warm milk twice is good during the symptoms of
flu cough with phlegm

SOUPS

Thin vegatable Soups,chicken soup spiced with pods of garlic, cloves, cinnamon, Drumstick leaves soup prepared with little salt, pepper and lime juice is very beneficial during common cold

STEAM

Take steam with water added with three to four drops of eucalyptus oil, peppermint oil. Mint leaf,Tulsi leaf, Cumin seed,Ajwain, Black jeera, are the some of the other ingredients used for steam which can
be used for children.

For infants below 6 month

For infants herbal medicines for cold and cough are mostly applied externally.Infused oils or crushed herbal leaf juices and rubbed on chest and back of the baby.The other preferred method is to treat the mother with medicines. Sometimes very little amount of medicines is applied on the breast before feeding the baby.

Oils used

Mustard oil cooked with garlic
Karpooradi thailam,Mustard oil, ajwain leaf extract, -They are rubbed on the chest and back
For nose block- Ajwain garlic pottali

For infants above 6 month

Same methods mentioned as above are to be followed but with a stronger dose.

Apply turmeric paste on chest and back.
Mustard oil with garlic, ajwain
Fresh juices such as ajwain leaf juice ,betel leaf juice,

For children above 1 year

Some of the Teas decoctions, fresh juices mentioned above are to be given. The dose depends on age. Generally decoctions are given 1-2teaspoon before food thrice daily, teas 3-4 times a day, fresh juices 1 to 2 tsp twice a day with honey

Home remedies for common problems

RUNNING NOSE

To stop a running nose, you can apply the paste made of nutmeg (jaiphal) and cow’s milk along with a little opium on the nose and forehead. to be taken as a snuff.
Lemon juice can also be used for running nose
Smoke from burnt turmeric stops the running nose.

COUGH

Common salt +2 black peppercorn chew every four hours

BLOCKED NOSE

Powder made of equal parts of cinnamon, black pepper, cardamoms and the seeds of Nigella sativa (krishna jeeraka) is used for smelling.
Crushed garlic pods can be used for smelling for relief of blocked nose. Chewing garlic will also give relief of blocked nose.

DRY COUGH

For dry chronic cough ingredients such as cumin, clove, cardamom, dry grapes, coriander seeds, fennel, sugar candy, are more in the combination of the medicines and often mixed with sweet base such as palm jaggery or honey

BRONCHITIS

Trikatu churna- An effective home remedy for bronchitis is They also tone up the metabolism of the patient. It can help by keeping the mucous in the lungs wet and fluid-like, and decreasing inflammation of the respiratory tract. You can take half a teaspoonful of trikatu powder mixed with honey.
Onion has expectorant properties. It liquefies phlegm and prevents its further formation. Half to one teaspoon of raw onion juice is given
3.. Drumstick leaves soup prepared with little salt, pepper and lime juice is very beneficial especially in case of bronchitis.

FEVER

20 to 40 grams of black basil (Krishna Tulsi) leaves juice thrice daily
Decoction prepared with 30 to 80 grams roots and leaves of holy black basil (krishna tulsi) plant can help in all types of fever
Application of warmed mustard oil will help people affected with dengue fever and suffering from joint pains the legs and hands.
Water boiled with cumin seeds can be used for drinking during fever
Dry ginger and coriander seeds are pounded well and boiled in water. This water brings down the fever

FLU

Drink a cup of warm water added with lemon juice and honey two to three times a day.
Decoction made with 1 tsp of fenugreek seeds boiled in 1 ½ glass of water boiled and reduced to ½ glass. To this add 1 tsp of ginger juice and few drops of honey. This is taken two to three times a day
3 to 4 tsp of the onion juice and honey mixture once or twice a day daily till the flu lasts.
1 tsp turmeric powder in a glass of warm nati milk. Reduces the fever and loosens the phlegm
Ginger tea has an excellent remedy for flu

Home Remedies for Cold in Infants

Lots of rest
Drink lot of fluids -keep body hydrated
Saline nasal drops to clear out the mucus in the nasal passages, and thus relieve congestion.
Resting with head elevated
Salt water gargling
Use of humidifier/vaporizer/head bath

When to visit the doctor

If you are suffering from symptoms of cold more than 3 weeks, such as itchy eyes, nasal congestion, cough, excessive fatigue, sore throat swollen lymph nodes, rapid heart beat you may have to seek the help of doctor. It may be that you get into secondary infections if not treated. In general if you find the following symptoms it’s better to visit the doctor

High (above 103 degrees) fever or a fever that lasts for more than 3 days. In infants below 3 month if fever is
above 100F
Symptoms that last for more than 10 days
Trouble breathing, fast breathing or wheezing
Bluish skin color
Earache or drainage from the ear
Changes in mental state (such as not waking up, irritability or seizures)
Flu like symptoms that improve, but return with a fever and a worse cough

Home Made Ayurvedic Oil

As market available baby massage oil might be dangerous as it has mineral oil. its has parebens and other poisonous ingredients. So i am sharing with a home made pure BALA SIDDA BABY OIL, which we use in our family.

Bala
Aswagandha
Hadjod (makes strong bones )
Mamra badam
Neem leaves or powder
Vacha/ bach/vekhand
Manjal
Ajwain
Crushed garlic
Few cloves

Direction

Take 1 L of orgnaic cold pressed cocunut / gingelly oil
Add the above ingredients in oil in a vessel and boil well till all the ingredients turn jet black . It means oil has absorbed the qualities of the Ingredients well.
Let it cool down and store in a conatiner and take when needed .
Warm it before using.

It gives energy to body n bones ..makes skin pure. Avoids cold ….flu ..cough etc

All the above you get in ayurvedic shops. Alternatively for pure oil, do consider our community shopping project https://hlp.world/store

Author: Lakshmi Bharadwaj

Lakshmi Bharadwaj, known as OJAS in whatsapp group, is a home-maker and mother of three lovely kids. She comes with a rich tradition that follows home-remedies, which makes her a passionate towards ancient knowledge in Ayurveda naturopathy and herbs. She is one of the sincere and senior member of swarnaprashana Whatsapp parenting community. She has been constantly guiding new parents and with her continuous selfless efforts on various social and educative platforms. In 2015, She was the Parent of the month for her exceptional guidance in home-remedies to many parents in our whatsapp community. View all posts by Lakshmi Bharadwaj

Learn the ancient ways to cure Acne

There are various way to cure Acne. At our whatsapp group, we have plenty of parents sharing their age old home remedies to each other. We have made an attempt to collect all those and share it for anyone. Apart from the information we share from our group, We have gone little deeper into ancient siddha, ayurveda and unani script and shared few remedies.

When you try these do share your feedback and or if you have any more tips so share it at comments

Effective home remedies to cure Acne

Applying papaya milk on face helps to remove acne or pimples.
Make a fine form of paste of Saunf and then add lemon juice to it. Applying of this mixture to the face daily helps to remove acne or pimples. Your face will glow naturally. This is very useful homemade home remedy for acne or pimples.
Sandalwood paste applied on the face helps to overcome Acne and remove its scars.
Cucumber (Kheera) juice mixed with lemon juice applied on the pimples helps to get relief from acne and acne scars.
Acne treatment using Mint (Pudina) juice applied on the face also helps to get relief from acne and acne scars.
Water boiled with neem leaves used for taking steam helps in reducing acne and acne Scars.
Gram Flour (Besan) mixed with butter milk applied on the face reduces acne and acne scars. Note: Does gram flour irritate acne skin? – The answer is no. As the gram flour is good ingredient for skin shining and also helps in the treatment of acne skin.

Raw Papaya (papita) paste applied on the face helps to cure acne.
Nutmeg (Joy Phal) grinded with milk applied on the face helps a lot in reducing acne and acne scars. So nutmeg and milk cure acne very fast.
Powdered dry orange skin applied as a paste or orange skin rubbed on the face helps to remove acne scars.
Does neem cure scar on face ? Water boiled with neem leaves used for washing face removes extra oil from the face and reduces pimple or acne scar on face.
Tomato rubbed on the face or tomato juice applied on the face helps to remove acne scars.
Aloe vera (Gwar Patha) is a best medicine for pimples or acne. Aloe vera leaf rubbed on the face removes acne and acne scars.
Carom seeds (Ajwain) grinded with curd applied on the face also helps to get rid of acne or pimples.

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Postpartum diet

Are you breastfeeding?

To increase mother’s milk:

Food to be avoided or monitored or taken in moderation:

Preparation tips for drinking waters

To stop vomiting (pre-post pregnancy):

To increase breast size and stiffness

Breast infections

Stomach and abdominal pains

Pimples on breast

To cure bleeding, swellings , pains

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Author: Vaijayanthi

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Author: Vaijayanthi

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Author: Vaijayanthi

Importance of home remedies

Precautions to be considered

Ingredients used in home remedies for common close and cough

Popular methods followed

Preparations commonly used

FRESH JUICES

Tea

DECOCTION

CHOORNAS

MILK

SOUPS

STEAM

For infants below 6 month

For infants above 6 month

For children above 1 year

Home remedies for common problems

RUNNING NOSE

COUGH

BLOCKED NOSE

DRY COUGH

BRONCHITIS

FEVER

FLU

Home Remedies for Cold in Infants

When to visit the doctor

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Direction

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Author: Lakshmi Bharadwaj

Effective home remedies to cure Acne

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