headaches,தலைவலி

30th APRIL 09:HEADACHES
In western medicine, x-rays are taken to find the root cause of migraine and headaches. However even after various kinds of scans, there are some patients who are not able to permanently cure their head related problems.

There are patients who tie or wrap small towel around their head very tightly to stop their throbbing head aching problem. However this is not a permanent solution to stop headaches from attacking again.

There are many types of headaches with different degrees of pain. All these types of headaches have to be cured as headaches are a symptom or the beginning of a major and serious disease. Therefore make sure you permanently cure head related problems to prevent yourself from major health problems.

joyweed ponnanganni,பொன்னாங்கன்னி

29th APRIL 09:JOYWEED (Ponnanganni)
Joyweed leaves are rich in iron and if eaten frequently, the leaves will help
a) produce new blood cells
b) act as blood purifying agent
c) improve eye sight
d) and cools the eyes.

Joyweed is a cooling food and siddha of yester years used these leaves to treat eye related problems. If your eye sight is reducing, or feeling irritation or sensitive when there is sun light, shallow fry the leaves with a little ghee. Place the leaves on your eye lids and secure the leaves by tying a cloth around the eyes. You will notice a big difference within a day.

Joyweed leaves have a distinct smell and children will not be able to eat this vegetable due to the smell. Therefore to avoid the smell, add grated coconut when cooking the leaves as it will give sweetness and good taste to the dish.

Joyweed leaves are also effective in reducing heat in the anus area. To reduce and remove excess heat from the anus:
a) fry the leaves with ghee
b) consume with rice and ghee as your first course during your meal.

How to grow joyweed plant?
Take a small stem and plant in a pot. Water the stem everyday and within a few days the plant will start growing.

tension,டென்ஷன்,மன கலக்கம்

28th APRIL 09:TENSION
High blood pressure is normally experienced by people who work long hours and undergo lots of tension and stress causing lack of sleep and improper food intake. To avoid high blood pressure, you need to solve and avoid situations which can cause tension and stress.

To avoid tension, you need to make a schedule or time table and follow accordingly. Make sure you eat, sleep and wake up at the right time and stop worrying unnecessarily.

Also make sure your head is not too heaty. This is because when your head becomes too heaty, excessive pitta will start to rise to the head causing one
a) to have various kinds of negative thoughts leading to no peace of mind,
b) problem in sleeping, disturbing dreams and hallucinations
c) headaches and neck pain
d) bad and short temper and
e) fast heart beat

All these conditions are symptoms of high blood pressure. Low blood pressure patients will also experience short and bad temper, tension, body and neck pain.

If you are suffering from tension problems, the best home remedy is to relax and sleep as much as possible. You should and must apply oil on your head and body. Make sure the oil is soaked into your scalp and your body is massaged properly with oil. Soaking and massaging oil on your head and body will help reduce and remove the excessive heat.

Besides applying oil, you should also eat various kinds of vegetables and fruits. Lime juice is very good in reducing high blood pressure and pitta. Besides lime, there are many kinds of herbs and vegetables that can reduce excess heat from the body. Make sure you find out and consume more of the types of food which can reduce heatiness and avoid food which creates pitta.

கிவீ பழம்,kiwi fruit.

27th APRIL 09:KIWIFRUIT
The nutritional values in kiwifruit provides strength and helps restore weak immune system The fruit should be given to ailing elderly patients and also patients who have been sick for a long time. Kiwi is also good for heart patients who has undergone an operation or just recovered from a mild or severe heart attack.

Kiwi fruit is best eaten raw or added in salads. It can also be blended with apples and carrots to give extra taste and nutritional value. Try to eat this fruit at least once a month

aruvatha pachai,அறுவதா பச்சை

24th APRIL 09:COMMON RUE (Aravatham Pacchai)
The leaves have strong fragrance and in Tamil tradition, the leaves are used to tie around infant's wrist. The strong fragrance, when inhaled by the infant, will increase and helps build good digestion system.

Boil two leaves with water and consume the herbal drink. The herbal drink will cure constipation and aids in removing bad bacteria and dirt from the body. You can even dry the leaves and smoke it to prevent small insects, like ants, flies and flees from infesting your home. The leaves are also good to be eaten raw. Serve the leaves as garnish when preparing salads of your choice.

Pound the leaves and extract the juice. By giving one teaspoon of the extracted juice to your baby, it will help control kappa in their body. Therefore to treat infants and small children, you should have 3 types of plants, i.e. Holy Basil (Thulasi), Coleus aromaticus (Karpooravalli) and Common rue (Aravatham Pacchai). These plants are regarded as holy plants (thevigai muhligai) and considered pure. If you were to grow these plants in a pot, make sure you have them placed in a special and clean place. It is said that when woman with menstruation were to touch common rue (aravatham pacchai leaves, the plant will become dull.

The leaves can also prevent excess phlegm from developing and also kills bacteria and small tiny insects. Common rue leaves can also be grinded and used as a body scrub while bathing.

வாழைப்பூ,banana flower

23rd APRIL 09: BANANA FLOWER (Jantung Pisang)
Banana Flower has many medicinal values and rich in astringent properties. Foods which are rich in astringent properties are good in producing blood and works as a blood thickening agent.

The astringent taste can be reduced significantly by adding the flower in "sambar".
The over powering taste can also be reduced by making "kootu". Try to eat the flower once a week as the properties from the flower helps

a) Prevent urinary track problems and ease urination
b) Helps prevent kidney problems
c) Avoids failure or malfunction of prostrate veins and
c) Increases appetite.

Like banana, the flower is also rich in potassium

pulicha keerai,புளிச்ச கீரை

22nd APRIL 09: RED SORREL (Pulicha keerai)
Red Sorrel leaves are very sour. We should eat this vegetable as sourness is one of the six types of nutrients we need to consume to maintain a healthy body.

Some people cook the vegetable by boiling the leaves and throwing the excess water away. This is a wrong way of cooking as all the nutritional values in the water will be lost. . Before cooking the leaves, remove the core vein from the leaves and cut the cleaned leaves into small pieces. Add garlic, onion, 1 small brinjal, 1 tomato, 2-3 chillies and boil all the ingredients and mash the leaves. If you are suffering from piles, omit chillies with black pepper.

The sourness property promotes salivation and effective in removing stones from the body. Stones are formed in kidneys, throat, mouth and gall bladder. The more saliver the body produces, the easier it will be for the saliver to flush out the remaining small tiny stones out from the system. Even specialist prescribes this vegetable to patients suffering from various types of stone problems.

Therefore try to eat red sorrel once a week. This vegetable is not only tasty but also aid digestion.

womb,கர்ப்பப்பை

21st APRIL 09: WEAK WOMB
Women who are 40 years and above are very common to have womb related diseases. This is due to improper care after child birth, miscarriage or abortion which cause the womb to become weak.

Women of yester years had more than 10 children and they were able to live a healthy and long life. They took good care of themselves by removing excess dirt from their womb, produced new blood and prescribed the right medicine required to be consumed during confinement period.

Today, women do not take proper care of themselves after delivery, miscarriage or abortion. Women who are in confinement period should not bath in cold water. They should only bathe in hot water as bathing in cold water will cause the veins to shrink, causing varicose veins and severe body pain.

To prevent from internal damage, siddha of yester years have prescribed various herbs to be boiled for external and internal use. If you have a weak womb and have developed lots of phlegm, you must remove the phlegm by inhaling the steam of boiled herbs and roots. By removing the excess phlegm, you will have good blood circulation. Excessive phlegm can also cause blockage around your collar bones and neck area. When this happens, you will experience nerve pain around your neck area and develop hypertension.

Therefore it is extremely important for you to remove the excessive phlegm and blocks by consulting a physician or siddha practitioner to check your health and remove unwanted phlegm and toxins to prevent from any major sickness or diseases

ஜம்பு ,jambu air

20th APRIL 09: WATER APPLE (Jambu Air)
Water Apple not only tastes good but also has high water content and a great source of vitamin C. 70 % of our body consists of water and due to its high percentage of water content, water apple has the capability of quenching your thirst if you are not in favour of drinking plain water or any other types of quench thirsting drinks.

Water apple is good in curing mouth blisters. By eating and chewing the fruit slowly, the blister/s can be cured within 2 days. Children from the age of two can be given water apple juice to cure mouth blisters.

Water apple juice is very effective in diluting the thickness of carrot juice. The mixture is a good nutritional food and provides a marvellous flavour combination. Water apple can also be added in salads. Try to consume water apple once a week as this fruit has high content of vitamin C.

curry leaves,கறி வேப்பிலை

17th April 09:CURRY LEAVES
Curry leaves is a vegetable and is used in our daily cooking for taste and fragrance. In indian cooking, curry leaves are used for tempering and while eating, the whole leaves are taken out and thrown away. We should not throw away the leaves as it has many medicinal values. You should train your children to eat curry leaves and the leaves should be slowly chewed and swallowed in.

Curry leaves are very effective in blackening white hairs which are very common in children today. You will not notice the effect by eating 1-2 curry leaves. One should eat at least one handful of curry leaves daily to notice the blackening effect.

You should not throw the stems away. Dry the stems and boil and consume the boiled stem juice when your child is suffering from indigestion or fever. By consuming the water, your child will be prevented from fever as the water helps build your child's immune system.

Curry leaves aids in reducing excess pitta, helps strengthen womb and removes ovarian related problems.

HOW TO MAKE CURRY LEAVES CHUTNEY?

A handful of curry leaves, a small piece of ginger, 1-2 cloves of garlic, 1 onion, salt and dry fried grated coconut. Hand grind or blend into a thick paste.

This chutney is very effective to cure morning sickness among pregnant women. Morning sickness, i.e. frequent vomiting is caused due to excess pita in the body. Hence to cure and prevent morning sickness, it is best to consume a little rice with the curry leave chutney before adding other dishes in your meal

health,ஆரோக்கியம்

16th APRIL 09:HEALTH
In today busy life, we fail to practise our forefather's tradition of proper eating and way of living. If we were to practise their teachings, we will be free from major sickness and diseases and will lead a happy, healthy and long life.

Siddha of yester years and our forefathers have taught us

a) To have oil bath once a week. Men should have their oil bath every Saturday or Wednesday. Women should have their oil bath every Friday or Tuesday. By having oil bath, it will not only remove hair dirt but also helps maintain our beauty, internally and externally and also promotes good health.

b) To consume 1 tablespoon of castor oil every month. Children who drink castor oil at their young age are normally healthy when they enter adulthood. However they are not able to practise this habit on their children due to lack of time and unawareness of the importance of our forefathers way of live.

Parents should teach their children to eat dried ginger, cumin, coriander and fenugreek seeds as these herbs help build immune system and produces good digestion system. When children starts to age, their stomach will start to bloat up and develop tummy. When this happens, internal body organs will start to fail. Therefore if you are suffering from stomach bloatness, you should immediately seek treatment to cure the problem. It is best to take holistic treatment, i.e. ayurvedic, siddha or unani as it will treat both your mind and body at the same time.

அன்னாசி பழம்,pineapple

15th April 09: PINEAPPLE
When removing the skins of a pineapple, also remove the brown spots and the stem as it will irritate the tongue if the brown spots and stem are eaten together with the fruit.Those who have menstrual problems, it is advised to eat one whole pineapple. Pineapple fruit is a heaty fruit and women are advised to consume pineapple during their monthly menstrual period to

a) regulate proper blood flow
b) easy release of dirty blood
c) to avoid and prevent cyst, fibroids and other menstrual related problems

By drinking pineapple juice every month during menstruation, it will help heal and cure cyst, fibroid and menstrual problems. However if your problems are in advance stage, you should consult a specialist as drinking pineapple juice will not heal your ovarian related problems.

Extract the juice and add honey and drink half glass during your monthly menstrual cycle. You can also consume pineapple as a salad. Cut pineapple into small pieces and add onions, green chilli and sugar. Try to eat pineapple fruit once a week

வேப்பிலை பூ,neem puu

13th APRIL 09: NEEM FLOWERS

Neem flowers have the properties to kill germs and bacteria in the body. Boil the flowers and give a tablespoon of the boiled water to your children once a month. Your child will have an easy and healthy bowel motion and helps fight intestinal worms. Intestinal or stomach worms can be detected by the size of your naval. If your naval is bloated, there is a high possibility of worms residing in your stomach or intestines.

Neem flowers are used by our forefathers to make chutney and it is usually made during festive and special occasion days. Dry fry the flowers and add grated coconut to remove bitterness of the flower, 1 dried chilli, 1 onion, 1-2 cloves of garlic, small piece of ginger, salt to taste and a little tamarind juice. Grind all the ingredients together into a thick paste or chutney. The flower and other ingredients in the chutney will kill and remove dirt from the body through bowel motion.

amaranth leaves,முலை கீரை

10th APRIL 09:AMARANTH LEAVES(Mulai Keerai)

Mulai keerai's root, stem, leaves, fruit and flowers has its own nutritional value.If the vegetable's stem is big, throw away the root and utilize the stems to prepare soups. If the stem is thin and small, utilize the roots, stems and leaves when preparing a dish for your family.

How to prepare a tasty dish with Mulai Keerai? Clean the leaves, boil and cook the leaves with garlic, onion, cumin seeds and a chili. Mash the leaves and once the leaves are cooked, add coconut milk. The dish is good to be eaten by children from the tender of two as it is not hot and spicy.

This vegetable cannot be eaten raw and has to be cooked before eating it. Make sure you do not overcook the leaves. Mulai Keerai is rich in calcium and can be consumed 2 to 3 times a week. However those who have chronic arthritis are not advised to eat this vegetable as the leaves has the properties to retain water in the knee cap. Patients with knee pains, swollen knees or excess water in the knees are forbidden to eat Mulai Keerai.

crepe jasmine,நந்தியாவட்டை

9th APRIL 09:CREPE JASMIN (Nandiavatta Poo)

Our forefathers used to have this plant grown in temples as the fresh flowers are used as an offering to the Lords. The flowers are also used to treat eye problems or eye heatiness. The juice of the flower is used to treat 99 types of eye problems.

When your eyes turn red due to extreme heat, crush the flower and pour two drops into each eye. Make sure you do not use the milk. The juice will cool the eyes and eye redness will disappear.

திராச்சை,grapes

th APRIL 09:GRAPES

In Malaysia grapes are grown in Cameron Highlands. There are around 8,000 types of grapes available in this world. Even though there are many varieties of grapes, the most common types of grapes we encounter are black, purple and green grapes.

Black grapes have more medicinal values compared to purple and green grapes. In western countries black grapes are used to prepare wine.

If you, siblings or your life partner is weak, tired or stressed up, instead of consuming alcohol drinks, it is best to consume black grape juice.

Take 1 handful of black grapes.

Blend the fruit with water (optional)

Make sure you blend the seeds also.

Strain and leave for 4- 6 hours.

Serve to your husband or siblings. This juice is good as

a) it aids and increase digestion. Make sure you take one glass of black grape juice after your meal

b) ease bowel motion

c) gives strength to small intestines

d) provides strength to children

Grape seeds have many medicinal values. The seeds are used to produce oil and have the healing nutrients to prevent cancer. When serving grapes to your kids, make sure you remove the skin as their body system will not be able to digest the skins properly. As for adults, they should consume the skin, flesh and seeds. This is the right way of eating grapes and the way to gain the fruits full nutritional values.

Black grape juice will not cause dizziness. Instead it will calm the mind, promotes good sleep and gives vigorousness to men when they wake up in the morning.Hence try to consume black grapes at least once in every fortnight.

health,ஆரோக்கியம்

7th APRIL 09:HEALTH

Health is very important to lead a happy life. However we tend to spoil our health by leading a wrong lifestyle which causes or leads to various types of sickness or diseases.

Headaches, stomach pain, gas problems, hand, leg and joint pains are some of the sickness you will suffer if your have a poor health. If you have excess toxins in the body, you will also experience similar problems. When you experience these symptoms, boil suitable leaves and herbs and consume the herbal drink to remove the excess toxins from your body.If you frequently catch a cold, accumulation of phlegm in the chest area will increase, thus creating difficulty in breathing. Therefore you need to take proper care and medicines to cure this problem as phlegm is toxic.

To prevent your children from frequent cold and running nose, practice oil bath as this prevents heatiness which leads to cold and accumulation of phlegm. Also during oil bath, excess phlegm will flow down to your nasal area and make sure you force the excess phlegm out by blowing your nose.

In Siddha medicine, there are various types of medicated herbal oils (tailam) to be applied on the chest, leaves and herbal medicines to be consumed which helps reduce excess body heat. When proper care is taken from tender age, asthma, cold and flu can be prevented. Hence children will lead a healthy life and their growth will not be hindered.

Instead of giving carbonated drinks to your children which increases body heat, boil dried flower and dried herbal leaves as serve as tea. Licorice (nanari) root can also be boiled and served as a drink. The herbal drink has the properties to cool down the body.

onian,வெங்காயம்,

6th APRIL 09:ONIONS

Onions are used in various dishes for thousands of years by many cultures around the world. There are many different varieties of onions, i.e. small onions, big red onions, white onions and yellow onions.

All varieties of onions have the same nutritional and medicinal values. In India, poor families usually pour water in left over rice and eat it the next day. They usually eat raw onions with the old rice as the raw onions have the properties to kill insects and germs which can be formed or found in the old rice.

If you have boils on your skin, take two onions, dry fry the onions, grind and add a little turmeric. Apply on the boils. The boils will ripe and fall off after 2 days. You do not need to go for an operation to remove the boils. Onions will do the trick!

Make sure you teach or train your children to eat raw onions as they will gain the full medicinal and nutritional values. Cut onions in small tiny pieces and add together with other raw vegetables i.e. cucumber, celery, salad leaves, tomatoes. Add fresh herbs like mint, coriander and asiatic pennyworth (vallarai) leaves into the vegetables. Mix all the ingredients together with thick yogurt and salt.

Eating raw vegetables is the right way of eating as it will provide you the full nutritional value your body needs.

ரோசா,ரோஜா,rose

3rd APRIL 09:ROSE FLOWER

Roses which are grown at home ground are best to consume and it has more medicinal values compared to roses which are specially cultivated in the farms. This is because specially cultivated flowers are grown with the help of chemicals.

Soak rose petals in honey and add palm sugar, blend it into a thick paste or leyham. By eating 1 tablespoon of rose leyham (legiyam) everyday, will help make the heart stronger.
You have to teach your children to eat rose petals as it rich with nutrients and minerals. Rose petals can be used as garnish when preparing fruit or vegetable salad. In aromatherapy, rose petals are soaked in water and used for bathing.

HOW TO PREPARE ROSE WATER (Paneer)
4.5 liters of water
1.5 kilo's of rose petals
Boil for at least ½ to 1 hour and the boiled liquid should be obtained through distillation process.
You can include Rose Water while cooking ��Kesari��or ��Beriyani��. Rose water can also be used as body perfume.

ranakkalli,ரணக்கள்ளி

2nd APRIL 09:DAUN SETAWAR(Ranakali)

Chikungunya is a very dangerous disease which is caused by mosquito. In India, enzyme from the leaves is taken to cure the life threatening disease. The thicker the leaves, the more toxic water it removes from the body.When there are excess toxins in the body, boils or growth will form on our skin. Instead of going for an operation to remove the growth, use rana kali leaves which can effectively remove the growth without any pain and fuss.

a) Place the leaves at the area where you have the growth.

b) The bacteria and toxic poison will be released and the growth will be removed by itself.

Improper cleanliness or excess toxins in the body can also cause growth or boils under the armpit. To remove the growth, place 2 leaves under your armpit and amazing results can be seen after 3 days.

If your child is suffering from fever due to body heatiness:

a) Crush the leaves in water with your hands.

b) Wet a small cloth in the water and place it on your child��s forehead, shoulders and chest.
The leave gives a cooling effect and helps reduces fever.

If you purging or having a stomach upset:

a) Pound the turmeric into powder form

b) Grind the leaves

c) Add both ingredients and wrap the solution around your hips. It will heal purging and also removes stomach pain.

அகத்தி கீரை,agathi keerai

1st APRIL 09:AGATHI LEAVES

In Malaysia, there are only a few trees and plants that can be used as food, i.e. drumstick leaves are taken from drumstick tree. Agathi leaves are taken from agathi tree. Agathi leaves are rich in Vitamin E, have the properties to kill germs, bacteria, and clears poison.

If someone has cast eye on any of your siblings, they experience loss of appetite, indigestion, face looking tired and dull:

a) Boil a handful of agathi leaves in plain water or washed rice water.

b) Do not add salt

Drink once a week. The poison in the body will be removed and will lose it��s effect.

You can even give the boiled water to your children to drink.

Agathi leaves have the properties to balance excessive pitta in the body and is a cooling food. That is why our fore fathers consume agathi keerai when they break their fast during ��amavasya�� day. Agathi leaves are a must and should be eaten during amavasya day.

This is because the body gets heated up during fasting period and by taking the leaves, it will cool down the body. You can cook the leaves by frying it with grated coconut.

The leaves are rich in Vitamin A and are very good for the eyes. Therefore try to eat agathi leaves once a month or during amavasya fasting day or any other fasting days.

Besides the leaves, the flowers are also good to consume as it has many medicinal values. Agathi flowers are rich in iron.

setawar,ரணக்கள்ளி

31st MARCH 09:DAUN SETAWAR(Ranakali)

Siddha of yester years have given a name to each and every herbal plant available according to its medicinal capability. Rana Kali comes under the cactus family. This plant does not produce milk and grows very well in dry and hot environment. It needs very little water to grow.

Every family should cultivate this plant in their home as it has many medicinal values. and can be used to treat many types of sickness and diseases. This plant can be seen in many Chinese homes as they are fully aware of the plant��s medicinal capabilities.

How to grow this plant?

Pluck one leave and soak in water for a couple of days. Transfer the leave to the soil.

women and menstrul cycle,

30th MARCH 09:WOMEN AND MENSTRUAL CYCLE

Every teenage girls and woman should have their menstrual cycle once in every 28 to 30 days. If you do not get your period on time, the lower layer of your throat will swell up. The swelling of the throat indicates that there is a problem in your womb and the relevant hormone, estrogen is not in balance. This problem should be fixed by taking the right medicines or remedy.

You can either eat boiled Horse gram (Kollu) or boiled sesame seeds (Ella). If the problem still persists, it is best to consult a physician or a siddha practitioner to get the right and proper prescription. If ignored, it can lead to major health problems.

By having your menstrual on time, internal dirt will be removed which causes the body will to be healthy and fertile. Failure to get your period can cause growth of tissues in the womb and pelvic area. If the growth is not removed, the dirt will turn toxic and will spread through the body. Once it starts to spread, it will damage other internal organs. At the same time the blood will become dirty and you will have boils on your skin. There are many medicines to clean the blood. Also try to take bedhi (purging medicine) to clean your stomach. Eat sufficient fruits to gain the necessary nutritional value. Make sure you find out why your period is delayed. The cause of delay could be due to:

a) Excess air/gas in the body ( vata)

b) Excess pitta

c) Or lack of blood

If you are anaemic, you need to consume proper medicines to increase blood production.

The beauty of women lies on the size of their waist and flatness of stomach. If you have growth or boils in your stomach, your stomach will bloat up. Therefore exercising alone is not enough. You need to consume proper herbs and medicines to avoid menstrual problems

நுணா,Mengudu

27th MARCH: NONI (Mengkudu)

Siddha of yesteryears have prescribed many types of herbs for newly delivered women to consume to prevent them from having side effects, sickness or diseases which can be caused by improper care after delivery.

NEWLY DELIVERED WOMEN who suffers from stomach pain or whose dirt are not completely removed during delivery can use below remedy to cure their related problems:
a) Boil noni leaves and drink the boiled water. The water is very effective in removing trapped dirt from the body.
b) Boil noni leaves and wash joint areas.

This is because newly delivered women usually suffer from joint pains. The boiled herbal liquid can either be consumed or used as a body wash.
If your spleen or liver is swollen, take a few large noni leaves and wrap around your waist with a thread before you go to sleep. Remove the leaves in the morning. The leaves have the power to reduce swelling.

Cut noni fruit into small pieces and extract the juice. Add brown sugar and water into the juice and consume the herbal liquid. The juice of the fruit helps remove dirt and has the tendency to kill bacterial infection in the intestines. Drink this herbal juice once a month. Both noni leaves and fruit are rich in antioxidant and each has the properties to kill bacteria and germs.

Mash the fruit with water and use it as a genital wash to wash wounds caused after delivery. All dirt and bacteria infection will be removed. Since noni leaves and its fruit have many medicinal values, try to grow this plant in your home and obtain the medicinal values from it.

mengkudu,நுணா

26th MARCH: NONI (Mengkudu)

This plant is originated from Queensland, Australia and grows very well in our country's soil. This plant is currently being cultivated largely in rural areas.Noni leaves and its fruit were used by Hawaiian natives over 2,000 years ago. Noni fruit is known as "Hawaiian Magical Fruit" and the herbal plant has been an integral part of ancient Hawaiian folk medicine.

In Siddha medicine, noni leaves are boiled and the boiled water is used for bathing mainly by newly delivered women. The boiled water can also be used to heal wound and skin rashes. Its roots are also grinded to treat arthritis and gout patients.Arthritis is caused by gas trapped in the joints. To remove the gas, noni leaves and its root are very effective in removing the trapped gas from the joints which can cause extreme pain and suffering.

Javanese use over - ripe noni fruit to make shampoo as they believe it is good for the hair and helps remove dirt from the hair. Mash the ripe fruit with water. Instead of wetting a cloth in ice water, wet the cloth in the fruit mixture and place it on your child's forehead when they are suffering from a high fever. The fruit liquid is effective in curing headaches, heaviness of head and reduce fever. Noni fruit is rich in vitamin C and beneficial in increasing blood flow and helps regulate menstrual flow.

Pudina,புதினா

25th MARCH 09: MINT (Pudina)

Extract from mint leaves are used as a fragrance and gives an appealing taste in sweets and cigarettes. Mint are best to consume raw. Take 10 mint leaves and garnish on salads. By serving mint this way, you will be able to get your family members to eat raw mint and obtain the nutritional values from the mint leaves. Mint leaves are very effective in killing germs and bacteria. If you have an insect bite which has turned into a wound, take a few leaves, pound into a paste and apply on the affected area. Mint leaves are normally used to make chutney.

HOW TO MAKE MINT CHUTNEY?
Grind mint, grated coconut, one small piece of ginger, 1 to 2 cloves of garlic, 1 onion, salt and tamarind juice into a thick paste.

Eat this chutney with rice. By eating mint chutney,
a) Help reduces pitta
b) Helps cure loss of appetite or poor appetite
c) Helps pregnant women cure indigestion and vomiting

Instead of juicing the mint and consuming it in liquid form, it is best to consume mint in chutney form. Grind mint into a thick paste and apply as a facial mask. The mint has the properties to make the skin looking fresh and bright. Mint leaves and any leaves which can be eaten raw are rich in vitamin A, E, C and phosphorus.

rose flower,ரோசா,ரோஜா

24th MARCH 09: ROSE FLOWER

Roses which are grown at home ground are best to consume and it has more medicinal values compared to roses which are specially cultivated in the farms. This is because specially cultivated flowers are grown with the help of chemicals.

Soak rose petals in honey and add palm sugar, blend it into a thick paste or leyham. By eating 1 tablespoon of rose leyham (legiyam) everyday, will help make the heart stronger.
You have to teach your children to eat rose petals as it rich with nutrients and minerals. Rose petals can be used as garnish when preparing fruit or vegetable salad. In aromatherapy, rose petals are soaked in water and used for bathing.

HOW TO PREPARE ROSE WATER (Paneer)
4.5 liters of water
1.5 kilo's of rose petals
Boil for at least ½ to 1 hour and the boiled liquid should be obtained through distillation process.
You can include Rose Water while cooking ��Kesari��or ��Beriyani��. Rose water can also be used as body perfume.

தக்காளி,tomato

23rd MARCH 09: TOMATOES

Both unripe green tomatoes and ripe red plum tomatoes can be consumed either by cooking it or eating it raw. Lycopene is a nutrient, responsible in transforming tomatoes to turn red and is regarded as a potential agent for cancer prevention. Siddha's of yester years have advised us to eat tomatoes raw including the skin. Tomato skin has many nutritional values, therefore do not remove the skin, and try to eat the skins when eating raw tomatoes.

Chinese medicine prescribes tomatoes to be the best medicine to cure eye redness. Eye redness could be caused from lack of sleep or an increase in eye pressure. Blend 2 tomatoes and drink the juice in the morning on an empty stomach. Drink the juice continuously for 3 days and eye redness will disappear.

In Siddha medicine, tomatoes are used as a body scrub while bathing. The enzymes in the tomatoes help transform dry, rough and wrinkled skin to soft, smooth, silky and glowing skin. Blend the tomatoes and apply as a facial mask. The enzymes helps remove dry and dead skin cells and help build new skin cells.

Tomatoes can be eaten every day and teach your children from the age of two to eat raw tomatoes and other vegetables raw. This practise will benefit them in future as they will not have the difficulty to eat raw vegetables when they grow up. Make sure you wash the tomatoes before you consume as cultivated tomatoes are usually sprayed with pesticides.

Eat tomatoes with its skin intact, RAW!

oil bath,எண்ணெய் குளியல்.

20th MARCH 09: OIL BATH

We should and must take oil bath once a week and not have oil bath once a year, i.e. during Deepavali! Gingly oil is obtained from sesame seeds (Ella) and coconut oil is extracted from coconut milk. These two oils are the common oils which are used to apply on the head and body and have been practiced from years of yore.

OIL BATH FOR CHILDREN
Tear two betel leaves, pound 1 thumb- sized turmeric and 2 cloves of garlic and add all the ingredients into the oil.

You can apply this oil mixture on your children when they are having a cold. By having oil bath once a week, it will prevent your children from getting frequent colds. When your child is suffering from a cold and has developed lots of phlegm, heat the oil and massage your child��s head, forehead and the whole face. You can also pour a drop of oil into their ears and eyes. Applying oil into the eyes can be done once a week or once a month. By applying oil into the eyes, it will help loosen the hardened phlegm trapped in the nose and throat and the oil will help push the phlegm out either through the nose or throat. By applying oil into the ears, it will provide lubrication and help soften the veins around the ear-neck area.

In aromatherapy, cinnamon and cloves are added into the oil for fragrance and is used for massaging the body. You can also add these herbs or any other fragrant herbs and use it for your children.

Coconut oil cannot be used for sinus patients. Those who have a heaty body should use gingerly oil. It is best if you could add betel leaves, turmeric and garlic into the gingerly oil as it produces good results to sinus patients. Therefore practice oil bath every week and if possible make oil bathing a family ritual.

spinach,pasalai keerai

19th MARCH 09: INDIAN SPINACH (Pasalai Keerai)

There are two types of Indian Spinach, Red Indian Spinach and White Indian Spinach. Red indian spinach has more nutritional value compared to white Indian spinach. This vegetable is rich in vitamin A, C and D and good for cooling the eyes. Any vegetable which gives a cooling effect to the eyes are categorized under the types of cooling foods. Those who suffer from frequent constipation are advised to eat Indian spinach as it will make tools soft and ease motion.

When preparing porridge for children, it is good to add 2 to 3 leaves of Indian spinach into the porridge. The leaves are soft and tender and require minimum time to cook. Wash the leaves and cut the leaves into small pieces. Dry fry the leaves with grated coconut. This way of cooking will produce a very tasty dish. I

ndian Spinach can be treated as a very good medicine to provide sufficient vitamins and minerals to men and ladies reproductive organs. Lack of sufficient vitamins and minerals in women's egg and men's sperm is very common today as many of us tend to eat foods which contain lots of chemicals.

Indian spinach is very easy to grow and can be grown in any type of soil without the help of any chemicals. You can grow Indian spinach in a pot and have it grown in your kitchen or any suitable places. Since it is very cooling, do not eat it everyday. It is best to eat this vegetable 2 to 3 times a week.

Asthma patients are strictly forbidden to eat Indian spinach .This is because the cooling effect will increase kapa, i.e. more phlegm in the chest area. For those who are not suffering from asthma should include Indian spinach at least once a week as it is rich in nutritional value and has lots of health benefits.

நெல்லிக்காய் indian goosberry

18th MARCH 09: INDIAN GOOSEBERRIES (Nellikai)

There are two types of gooseberries. The first type of fruit is very sour and the size of the fruit is small. The fruit is light green and has few medicinal values. This type of fruit is normally included while preparing fish curry or ��puli�� curry. The second type of fruit is the actual Indian Gooseberry.

The leaves are similar to agathi leaves (agathi keerai) and should have white vertical lines on it. This type of fruit is very hard to obtain. If you can find fresh Indian Gooseberry, pound it and extract the juice. Add honey as the Indian Gooseberry juice is very sour and should be consumed by diabetic patients.According to Siddha medicine, diabetic patients will see vast improvements if they were to consume Indian Gooseberry juice, 1 tablespoon a day. Dried Indian Gooseberry is easier to be obtained.

To cure constipation,
a) Soak dried gooseberries in water and boil it.
b) remove the dried fruit and drink the water only.
Constipation is very common problem and is the cause of many types of diseases. If waste is not removed from the body, it will turn toxic and will cause bacteria infection. This will then lead to various types of skin and internal body diseases.

celery செலரி கீரை

17th MARCH 09: CELERY

Celeries are rich in nutrients and it has soluble salt properties which includes sodium, needed by our body. You can either stir fry or eat it raw as a salad.

Blend 2 celery sticks and consume the juice. This will help reduce high blood pressure. If you feel your pressure is going up, feeling dizzy or heavy headed, blend star fruit and celery together and consume half glass of the juice. You will notice a big difference after 1 week or 10 days. Consuming celery regularly can help control your blood pressure. Make sure you also apply oil on your head to reduce heatiness which can be one of the causes of hypertension. Celeries are good in controlling body weight, removing excess water and ease bowel movement.

When you are eating meat, chicken or any types of seafood, make sure you add celery in your meal as it provides a good combination and balances the body's yin and yang. When consuming celery, try not to cook it as it will lead to nutrition loss.

Celery has great nutritional values, therefore try to add this vegetable in your diet. Celery is best to be consumed once in every fortnight and should be consumed raw. To live a healthy live and maintain a healthy body, eat more vegetables in raw form.

banana வாழப்பழம்

16th MARCH 09: BANANA

Banana root, its core trunk, flower and fruit can be treated as medicine.Bananas have loads of nutritional value and it is rich in potassium, vitamin A and D. Banana also helps to restore normal bowel actions and cures constipation.

You can feed bananas to toddlers who are 8 months and above.
Cut the bananas into small size pieces, boil the bananas with water and serve. Bananas have to be boiled before giving to toddlers as it can cause side effects if bananas are given as it is.

Another healthy way of serving bananas to your children is by cutting "rastali" bananas into small round pieces and place it in a wide bottle. Pour castor oil until it covers the bananas, add palm sugar and mix the banana with the oil and palm sugar. Soak it for at least 2 days and serve your child 1 piece of cut banana and 1 teaspoon of castor oil. Children will be able to eat this as it is sweet and very effective method of curing constipation. Banana can also be used as a garnish while preparing sweet rice (Ponggal).

TIP: Do not overeat. All types of food have to be eaten moderately. Instead of living to eat, we should eat to live and stay healthy. Therefore practice eating healthy food in moderation.

13th MARCH 09: CAT'S WHISKERS PLANT (MISAI KUCHING)

Cat's Whiskers are widely found throughout South East Asia region, especially in Malaysia and Indonesia. It is called "Misai Kucing" in Malay as the flower resembles the shape of a cat's whiskers. Cat's Whiskers leaves are very effective in cleaning urine and helps cure kidney problems. The leaves have the function in increasing the excretion of creatinine in the urine. This plant has great medicinal values and everyone should grow this plant in their home.

In siddha medicine, cat's whiskers leaves are added with other herbal ingredients to treat high fever. The mixture of herbs are boiled and consumed as tea. You can even eat the flowers raw. When boiling the dried cat whiskers leaves, add dried avaram senna flowers (avaram poo) and other dried flowers. Consume the boiled water as tea.
By prescribing this tea, it will not only help reduce kidney malfunction but also prevents kidney patients from dialysis treatment.

Puncture vines (Nirenjal) and cat's whiskers leaves are effective in removing excess water from the body through urination. The leaves also helps avoid body swelling which is caused by excessive water held in the body. If the excess water is not removed, it will lead to various kinds of diseases. Therefore to avoid sickness and promote good health, consume cat whiskers leaves as tea.

lotus flower தாமரை பூ

12th MARCH 09: LOTUS FLOWER (Tamarai Poo)

Lotus flower is good in treating patients and elderly persons who have a weak heart. Boil the petals and consume one glass of the boiled juice everyday. The lotus flower has its root deep in the soil and grows under water. This root is edible and should be treated as a vegetable. It can either be stir fried or added in "Sambar".

The seeds obtained from the flower pods can also be consumed. The seeds are good and effective in increasing male virility. The seeds are very tasty if it is stir fried. If you have the seeds in dried form, powder the seeds and prescribe one tablespoon of the lotus seed powder to your husband or male counterparts. It not only provides virility to men but also gives good strength to the body.

chebulic myroblen கடுக்காய்

11th MARCH 09: CHEBULIC MYROBLAN (Kadukkai)

Slightly knock the dried fruit with a pestle and remove the seeds. Use the outer skin only. Like the skin of dried ginger, the seeds of chebulic myroblan are considered toxic.
Chebulic Myroblan skin helps to heal stomach wounds and open wounds.
a) Boil the skin with water
b) Strain the herbal concoction
c) Wash the open wounds with the boiled herbal liquid.

The concoction works effectively in removing bacteria's from the veins. If you have gastric and unable to eat hot and spicy food, you can cure the severity of your gastric by mixing one teaspoon of the powdered chebulic myroblan with honey. Consume regularly. This remedy also prevents constipation. You can also eat the skin raw by itself. Siddhas treat chebulic myroblan as Kaya Kalpam (long life elixir).

Chebulic Myroblan's skin is rich in astringent properties and any food which is rich in astringent helps ease bowel motion. Hence Chebulic Myroblan is effective in curing and relieving constipation.

ivy gourd leaves கோவை கீரை

10th MARCH 09: IVY GOURD LEAVES (Kovai Keerai)

Ivy gourd leaves cannot be obtained from the market and are very effective in treating excessive heat in the anus are. If your have the plant growing around your house area, try to add the leaves in your diet. Cook it like you are cooking Indian spinach (pasalai keerai) or add the leaves when preparing any types of soup.

The leaves are effective in healing boils in the anal canal.
a) Apply a few drops of castor oil and gently heat the oiled leaves.
b) Place the leaves below the anus.

The leaves will kill the bacteria and transforms it to pus. The boils will heal once the pus matures and oozes out voluntarily. Since the vegetable is a cooling food, try to eat this vegetable once a week. You will be free of piles problems. The vegetable will ease bowel motion and helps cool the body.