Home remedies to keep you super fit

Seafood for ageless skin
Eating fish three times a week cuts wrinkling and sagging by 30 per cent, as seafood is rich in protein, minerals and omega-3 fats — nutrients that nourish the collagen and muscles that keep skin smooth. Salmon, for one, is also rich in astaxanthin — an antioxidant that reduces fine lines and wrinkling.

Green tea to beat stress
Green tea has compounds that help your brain use blood sugar for fuel and stimulate the production of energising hormones called endorphins. So the next time you're feeling sapped of energy, docs say,sip on green tea.

Walnuts for a strong heart
Cardiologists recommend eating five to six walnuts daily to cut your risk of a heart attack by half and add almost three healthy years to your life. Turns out these crunchy treats are one of the richest natural sources of artery-healing monounsaturated fats.

Turmeric for good memory 
Adding turmeric to your diet could sharpen your memory by at least 30 per cent, say experts. This happens because of turmeric's active ingredient — curcumin — is one of the most powerful brain-nourishing antioxidants ever discovered.

Quell stress with breathing 
Take to belly breathing to ease stress and anxiety. Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose for a count of six, allowing your belly to relax and expand as you do. Hold for a count of four, then slowly exhale through your mouth for another count of seven. Repeat until you feel fine.

Nix pains with naps 
Have frequent headaches, backaches, sore joints or other pain problems? Don't worry, just go off to sleep. Studies suggest getting a little more snooze could cut your discomfort by half within one month. Sleep boosts your production of growth hormones, which reduce inflammation and speed healing of damaged tissues.

Cinnamon to maintain BP
According to researchers, adding 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon to your daily diet could improve your blood sugar control by 29 per cent or more — it slows carb absorption in your small intestines.

Veggies strengthens immunity 
Eat plenty of colourful veggies to prevent illness. Carrots, peppers, and okra are great for boosting immunity. The more colourful the better. It's what's in the plant's pigment that keep the lining of your respiratory tract healthy so viruses can't get a foothold and increase the production of disease-fighting immune cells.

Honey to kill virus 
Unpasteurised honey is packed with natural antibiotics and healing enzymes, and eating it when you're ill can cut three days off your sickness. It also kills the virus that causes sinus infections and other cold complications.

REASONS TO USE HERBAL REMEDIES & 10 HERBS TO EXPLORE

There was a time when taking “alternative” medicine was considered “fringe” and laughed at by medical (read: real) doctors. But the herbal medicine field has exploded (a 2009 article pegged Americans spending $34 billion on natural treatments annually) and more people have discovered that natural remedies — herbs, chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, etc) are quite effective and are, in some cases, easier on your body than traditional medical approaches. Why not refresh your medicine cabinet and see how herbs and natural treatments can benefit you?

While there’s a Walgreens or CVS seemingly now on every corner, people didn’t always have a pharmacy to get a prescription filled. Throughout time, people used herbs and other natural remedies to ease or cure their ailments. Sure, modern medicine has elevated healthcare to a new level and, while we’d never knock (and fully believe in) medical advancements, sometimes it pays to investigate a natural route.

Alternative medicine has proven to work in many cases, even to help people going through chemotherapy for cancer. But you can also use herbs to ease a headache or nausea. Sometimes all it takes is having an herbal tea or adding a few drops of a tincture to water a few times a day. Need more convincing? Read on.

When & Why to Use Herbal Remedies

There are many times when you may want to substitute herbs for over-the-counter or prescription pharmaceuticals. Obviously, if you have a serious or life-threatening illness, be sure to see a doctor and don’t self-diagnose or -treat your illness. While herbs are great, they are often not regulated by the FDA and manufacturers of these products are “not legally able to ‘diagnose’ a condition, nor are they allowed to make certain health claims on their labels,” .

10 Herbs to Use … But For What?

Different herbs treat different ailments and, without taking a course in herbology, it can be a little tricky to navigate those waters. Below is a quick-look guide at some popular herbs and how they can help. Keep in mind there are many more natural remedies and that while some are helpful, they can also have some negative effects so you should always do your research or consult a professional.

• St John’s Wort: Used to treat anti-depression and improve mood
• Fenugreek: Helpful in producing milk in lactating women; aids in improving libido; can help reduce sugar cravings
• Tulsi Plant Leaf: Also known as holy basil, tulsi good for easing a mucous-filled cough and reducing stuffed sinuses. Asthma sufferers can benefit from taking tulsi. The herb also aids in digestion and can assist with stomachaches and constipation.
• Ginseng or Gynostemma: Both herbs can down-regulate sugar levels and therefore are beneficial for people with type II diabetes. In addition to using herbs, type II diabetes can be treated through better diet and changing your lifestyle, according to both Miller and the folks at Elan Veda.
• Ginkgo Biloba: Used to aid circulation and blood flow, which could help improve memories. Some studies show it can help folks suffering from dementia, too.
• Valerian Root: Has been shown to aid in sleep disorders and help reduce anxiety.
• Echinachea: Helps boost the body’s immune system.
• Kava Kava: This herb has been used to reduce stress and anxiety.
• Peppermint: When you get a headache and if you don’t have any feverfew nearby, peppermint oil can help reduce the pain. Use the drops on a cold compress or in a hot steam and breathe it in.
• Lavender: The essential oils from lavender can help reduce anxiety and ease your mood.

One Small Change, One Step at a Time

Often the path to health and wellness seems daunting. If you were to look at a list of how many things you could do to improve our health and well-being, the thought of implementing all of them could make you sick! After all, how many things do you already know that would help you to feel healthier but you are not doing them? If your list is like mine, it’s pretty long and I’ve been implementing change in my life for the past 10 years!

How many of you know that you would feel better if you would go to bed earlier but sometimes stay up too late? How many of you know that you would feel better if you woke up earlier and had a relaxed morning, perhaps went for a walk or did some yoga and yet just don’t do it. I know, it’s a long list. Do you only eat organic? Do you only eat whole foods? Do you use herbs to heal yourself first before going to the medical doctor for drugs? Have you given up toxic behaviors like cigarettes and alcohol? What about stimulants like coffee? I know, it’s a long list. And if we look at the list for too long or too closely we tend to start feeling bad. We feel guilty about our indulgences and our lack of self control. One student told me today that being so good was “boring”. Indeed, it can seem that way. So then what do we do? How do we become empowered to attain optimum health and well-being?

Here are a few tips that my patients and students have found useful.

1. Go slow. Make just one small change in your life at a time. When that one change is established. Then take on another. It’s amazing how one small change at the level of consciousness will positively impact your physical and emotional well-being.
2. Don’t worry about those things you are not working on right now. That’s right. If you are not working on transcending alcohol or cigarettes, then completely enjoy the moment when you are indulging. Life is too short to feel guilty.
3. Keep moving forward. Don’t get discouraged. Pick just one thing to focus on. Keep it simple.
4. When you get overwhelmed back off, don’t give up. That’s right; it’s OK to reduce the number of healthy life changes you are making. When you do, you will go back to your core positive habits and focus on those. These are the habits already ingrained in your consciousness. Once you settle down, you guessed it. Choose just one new habit to work on.
5. You don’t have to be perfect. If you measure yourself against perfection you will always fall short. Just do your best, stay focused.

Be kind to yourself. It’s a long journey. Throughout our lives, we will strive to improve ourselves. Some say we have just one life to perfect our nature. If so, chances are, you still have a few more years or decades to work on yourself. Others say we have lifetimes to perfect ourselves. I’m with that group. So, there is plenty of time. Start by accepting where you are today and loving yourself NOW. It’s ok not being perfect. Ayurveda is about being perfect. It is about being conscious and mindful of where you are, and where you are going. Then the journey is walked one step at a time.

Horse gram(kulattha/kulthi/Dolichos lablab) - nutritive and energiser

Horse gram seeds are the common pulses used in routine in some of the villages of India. Even though it is not regular,   it has taken unique place even in the kitchen of the cities too.

 The name horse gram is given, probably with three intentions-

1.       1.          appreciation by the cattle and particularly the horses
2.      the energy and strength it provides (like horse)
3.      the colour resemblance

The medicinal use of horse gram dates back to Charaka and Susrutha samhita(1-2 century BC). It is referred as kulattha(in sanskrit) in these texts. Acharya Charaka categorized it as a diaphoretic (swedopaga).

In various ayurvedic texts, it is called with different names like – tamra beeja,stiramutra, kaala vrudda,kulittha,shweta beeja,sitetara,anilapaha, kharshana, peetarmudga, aliskandha, surashtaka, tamra vrinta etc.

Vernacular names of horse gram

Sanskrit- kulattha

Telugu – vulavalu

Hindi- kulthi

Kannada-huruli

Malayalam-kollu, mutira

Tamil-kollu

Gujarati-kalathi

Marati-kulitha,hulage

Bengali-kutthi

Arab-habulakulta

Konkani-kulithu

Distribution of the plant

Plant is cultivated more or less in various parts of the country. The plant also grass on roadsides as shrubs. It is propagated by seeds too.

Utility

Eeven though it is less known in some of the regions, it is utilised plenty in villages. The whole seeds of horse gram are used as cattle feed also.

The seed sprouts are consumed as a whole in breakfast by the village side labourers. In South India, its curry, soup and sambhar is also prepared and served.

Chemical composition

It is an excellent source of iron and molybdenum

It contains urea and protein in significant quantity.

Nutritive values of Horse gram

Protein- 20-22g

Carbohydrate- 55-57g

Fat- 0.5g

Calcium- 285mg

Phosphorus- 310 mg

Vitamin A-70mg

Thiamine-0.42mg

Riboflavin-0.2mg

Niacin-1.5mg

Vitamin C- 1mg

It also possesses phyto agglutinin, globulin,psoralin and coumesterol in considerable amount.

Properties

Taste: astringent mixed sweet

Quality: light,penetrative, hot

Potency: hot

Biological transformation: pungent

Doshic action: pacifier of vata pitta and kapha doshas

Action

Lithotripsic (asmari bhedana)

Lipolytic (medohara)

Spermicidal (shukrahara)

Burning (vidahi)

Diuretic (mutrala)

Eye tonic(chakshushya)

Analgesic (shoola prasamana)

Coolant (daha prashamana) (on application)

Laxative (bhedana)

Sangrahi (absorbent)

Healing (vrana ropana)

Anti inflammatory (sotha hara)

Diaphoretic (sweda karaka)

Wormicidal (krimighna)

Vata pacifier (vata hara)

Utility

Good in the treatment of urinary calculi, cough, cold, dysuria , urinary disorders, asthma, hic cough,rhinitis,burning of the body, heftiness ,fever, worm infestation, oedema, haemorrhoids,  gaseous tumors,eye disorders,goitre,rheumatoid arthritis, allergic disorders and dysmenorrhoea

Contra indications

In the individuals who are suffering from acid peptic disorders (gastritis) and bleeding disorders.

People who are under rejuvinatory therapy (rasayana chikitsa) are better to avoid this in routine diet.

Pharmaco therapeutic uses of horse gram in various contexts

1.      Rheumatoid arthritis- soup of horse gram (kulattha yusha)

2.      Excess perspiration- powder of fried horse gram is rubbed to the body

3.      Chronic cough – ghee or linctus (lehya) prepared out of horse gram/soup of horse gram

4.      Urinary calculi- decoction of horse gram or medicated ghee prepared out of horse gram.

5.      Amenorrhea/ dysmenorrhoea- to the decoction of horse gram, asafoetida is added and given

6.      Utricaria – soup of dried raddish and horse gram

Evening snack

Here is a tasty and nutritive evening snack that can be prepared out of horse gram

Ingredients

100 mg horse gram

400ml water

10 g salt as per ones desire

20 g jaggery

25g coconut pulp

Pepper and cumine seed- 1 g each

Ghee- 5ml

Curry leaf

Method of preparation

1.      Stoneless horse gram is washed and cleane

2.      On the previous day, water is added and soaked

3.      Next day, it is cooked well with the same water

4.      On proper cooking, salt ,jaggery,pepper and cumin seeds are added and mixed well

5.      5 ml ghee is added and mixed

6.      Coconut pulp is added at the end and if required seasoning is carried.

This is served when it is warm.

It is very tasty and nutritive.

This dish is good in chronic cold, cough,urinary disorders,etc