Arthritis and Cancer medicines found in the kitchen?

[Guest guest]

Ayurveda appears to conquer new peaks with time.

 

Arthritis and Ovarian Cancer? Even though these two appear quite

different diseases there are common points between them! Both entrap

women as their victims and both have common herbs which are

effective for their treatment.

 

God has given us many herbs to keep the body not only in the best

possible shape, but also in the best possible health. What a

wonderful discovery it is to learn that where you have disease you

will inevitably find the solution is not very far away! Even our

daily food has many medicinal properties and our kitchen is full of

such medicines whether we realize it or not. Take spices such as

turmeric, already widely discussed on ayurveda, ginger, black

pepper, cinnamon, cloves, mustard, fenugreek and asfoetida, all these

are to be found in every Indian kitchen. Most of us think that by

adding these common spices to our food it will become more tasty. But

with the right herbs and spices the food itself becomes the medicine

too. The ayurvedic philosophy is "food itself is the medicine".

 

Today we will take ginger for our discussion. Ginger is the most

effective medicine for arthritis. The person who keeps eating ginger

will rarely ever have arthritic symptoms as it prevents the

initiation of both Vatic and Kapha diseases. Those who are unable to

find fresh ginger can take the dry ginger powder.

 

One of the most prevalent Vatic disorder is encountered after

childbirth. Ginger is an elixir for any mother at this time. Since

ginger is not readily available in all seasons it is better to use

dry ginger and powder it as and when needed. Ginger will appear in

the breast milk of any mother who takes this spice, or its decoction,

for a minimum of two months starting immediately after childbirth.

This means baby will also get the benefits in Kapha and Vata

disorders even into later life, provided baby got ginger through

breast milk throughout.

 

Tea is the most favoured drink in all of India. Irrespective of the

ages or times of day of those who enjoy it, tea is offered to every

visitor. Gujaratis in India or U.S. or even Canada are very fond of

adding a masala, meaning a powdered mixture, to make tea both very

tasty and very healthy. Most patients with arthritis are told to

avoid tea and coffee at all cost. But is not easy to get rid of these

addictions! So you need to take an equal proportion in weight of

ginger, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom and pound them

all together. Do not strain them. When making your tea, you can add

about a ¼ teaspoon of this masala mixture for each cup of tea just

after it starts boiling. You add the sugar and milk later. This is

an ayurvedic tea which will not cause Kapha and is also a good remedy

for infected throats and by using this tea the voice is able to open

up in volume and altogether increase vigour in the body.

 

Tea taken in this way will not cause obesity, due to these added

spices. The milk looses its Kapha causing property, and those

suffering from milk allergy can take this milk (without tea powder if

you wish to avoid tea) without any fear of an allergic reaction.

Frequently, when obesity is treated, weight gain occurs in place of

weight-loss! This tea does not add layers of fat and will make body

both healthy and well proportioned. The very process of making tea

offers flavenoids to the drinker while the milk softens the caffeine

content without causing addiction.

 

Ginger ranks highly amongst herbs used to treat liver disorders in

ayurveda and it is needed to give energy and vigour to the body as a

result of correcting the metabolism. As ginger does not allow Meda

(obesity) to increase, it has been used in Trifla Guggulu, one of the

most well known formulations aimed at reducing obesity. Furthermore,

along with black pepper and pepper longum, it is also used in Medohar

Guggulu, another formulation with the same use. These should both be

used under supervision of a vaidya, as the proportions need to be

changed dynamically, otherwise dizziness and vertigo can be

additional problems. Only Trifla Guggulu is harmless, but it may

cause constipation with overuse. Despite Trifla being laxative in

effect, Trifla Guggulu does not have the same effect and in fact some

people can get constipated if these remedies are used incorrectly.

Despite such difficulties there are never any complaints from

patients to say that there is an increase in obesity while taking

Trifla Guggulu.

 

In this author's post on Glycosugars he mentioned uses of jaggery in

herbal remedies. If one takes a teaspoon of cow ghee and about 20 gm

jaggery in a small iron vessel, warms them a little so that jaggery

melts, and then adds ½ teaspoon of ginger powder, mixing them

together will produce a paste. This warming paste, when taken on

empty stomach, is an excellent remedy for frequent coughs, colds and

general swellings. It both increases hunger and also prompts better

digestion.

 

Gas and acidity are two prevalent complaints of old age. Today there

are many senior citizens who know ayurvedic remedies too well and

take ginger, licorice and Peepramul powder together everyday to guard

the mobility of the body.

 

Ginger is a very versatile herb and even a small 40 – 50 page book

would be inadequate to describe its far-reaching impact in health

science. In allergic skin diseases such as Psoriasis or eczema,

ginger is both soothing and preventive.

 

For those Indians living in villages who may have some medical

plants in their court yards, this author describes a healthy juice

aimed at reducing the incidence of all allergic diseases. Ardusi,

ginger, tulsi, pudina (mint) are all required, it is then necessary

to mix ½ teaspoon of the fresh juice of each herb and add a pinch or

two of saindhav or black salt and a teaspoon of honey and drink this

after mixing well, first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach.

Take tea or coffee as desired after 30-40 minutes, but only if one is

addicted to tea/coffee.. It will give you a clear voice and all old

chronic coughs, panting, breathing difficulties and cardiac asthma

will slowly improve until they are cured.

 

One remedy which author described in an old post on sciatica (2073,

2829) is very useful for all arthritic conditions too. Many mothers-

in-law know this and pass the details on to their daughters-in-law.

Take 200 ml water, add 1 tsp ginger powder (3-5 grams), slowly bring

to the boil until only 25% water remains and then drink after

straining while adding 5-25 ml castor oil. Start with 5 ml castor oil

only, and go on increasing up to 25 ml, as your constitution will

allow. This is a very effective remedy for arthritis (both osteo and

rheumatic) for disorders of apan vata (which also include nocturnal

emission of semen), and for gulma and bloating etc. It will also

increase blood circulation to the extremities, taking care of

varicose veins and heel pain etc. Try this for 3-6 months, every

morning, and patience pays gradually in the end. So be very patient

and do not be disappointed if at the end of the first month no

benefit can yet be seen.

 

While many correlate ginger powder with Pitta and acidity, this is

not correct. Ayurveda has many exceptions which one comes to know

only after the familiarity of long experience. The combination of

ginger, black pepper and Pepper Longum is termed `Trikatu" in

ayurveda. Take a pinch of black pepper powder in the hand and inhale

this for clearing a nose block or alternatively inhale the steam

after boiling it in water for the same benefit. Trikatu is used in

many formulations of ayurveda, like Medohar guggulu which was

discussed here earlier. Many formulations aim at increasing hunger,

improving digestion and tackling gas and bloating, for these try some

trikatu. Acidity is also tackled by formulations which use trikatu.

Here the digestive agni does not only mean hunger but also creating

all dhatus from all the foods we eat. This gives vigor, energy and

weight gain by increasing muscle density and not, as one might have

imagined, by increasing body fat and obesity.

 

One of the most common uses of ginger is in Gujarati meals. Ginger is

added in Tadka Dhal, and ginger is also served as appetizer offering

a few pieces sprinkled with a little salt and lemon juice. Heavy

meals also will get more quickly digested in this way. Thus ginger

does not cause indigestion but imparts health and balance to

digestion. Some people make a pickle from ginger root pieces and

lemon juice alone, no other preservative is needed. Slightly less

known is the use of ginger for blood purification along with other

herbs.

 

After so many uses of ginger this author wishes to bring a special

property of ginger to the reader's attention. It has been found to

treat a great number of ailments effectively including stomach ache,

diarrhoea, and nausea. When it comes to women's health, ginger root

has proven beneficial[1] in helping treat morning sickness with

dosages ranging from 125to 350 mg of ginger root extract per day. [2

3 4]

 

Now a new study[5] has just found that ginger root extract may

provide another benefit for women by helping protect them against

ovarian cancer (which is the eighth most common cancer found in women

and the fifth most common cause of death in women from cancer).

 

In this study, researchers dissolved ginger powder in solution and

applied it to ovarian cancer cells in the laboratory. Not only did

ginger cause the cancer cells to spontaneously die (apoptosis), the

extract also caused the cancer cells to digest or attack each other

(autophagy).

 

For researchers, the value in this study is that "Most ovarian cancer

patients develop recurrent disease which eventually becomes resistant

to standard chemotherapy. If ginger can cause…cell death…it may

circumvent resistance to conventional chemotherapy."

 

That is the scientific mindset. They want to use ginger to circumvent

resistance to chemotherapy - but why can chemotherapy not be avoided

altogether? This is the ayurvedic mindset! (First do no harm!) This

study cleared a query in the mind of this author – why should western

women be so very vulnerable to ovarian cancer whereas for Indian

women there is only a negligible risk?

 

One of the answers appears to be the far greater use of ginger in the

Indian diet!

 

Editing help from Jane MacRoss is gratefully acknowledged.

 

Dr Bhate

 

1. Afzal M, Al-Hadidi D, Menon M, Pesek J, Dhami MS. Ginger: an

ethnomedical, chemical and pharmacological review. Drug Metabol Drug

Interact 2001;18:159–90

 

2 Borrelli, F., R. Capasso, et al. (2005). "Effectiveness and safety

of ginger in the treatment of pregnancy-induced nausea and vomiting."

Obstet Gynecol 105(4): 849-56

 

3 Sripramote M, Lekhyananda N. A randomized comparison of ginger and

vitamin B6 in the treatment of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. J

Med Assoc Thai 2003;86:846–53

4 Fischer-Rasmussen W, Kjaer SK, Dahl C, Asping U. Ginger treatment

of hyperemesis gravidarum. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol

1991;38:19–24

 

5 "Ginger: An Ovarian Cancer Killer" posted on the American

Association for Cancer Research website www.aacr.org/page5941.aspx