3rd AUGUST 09: BRINJAL
Brinjal or eggplant comes in many varieties. Brinjals are low in calorie and rich in potassium, sodium and folic acid. Obese or overweight individuals are advised to eat brinjals to help them lose weight.
However those who suffer from rashes or any type of skin disease are strictly forbidden to eat brinjals. Brinjals has properties to cure stomach cancer. Potassium from the brinjals also helps give nutrition to the brains.
To make a tasty brinjal dish:a) Cut the brinjal into small pieces.b) Fry the cut brinjalsc) Add masala powder and brown sugar and cook the vegetable until the gravy becomes dry.
Besides helping obese individuals to lose weight, brinjals also helps cure measles

Bitter gourd

31st JULY: BITTER GOURD
We have 72,000 nerves and for each nerve to function effectively, we need to consume food which is bitter in taste. This is because the properties in bitter food aids in strengthening the nerves.
Bitter gourd and its leaves have many medicinal values. To kill stomach worms and help clean your stomach, consume 1 tablespoon of bitter gourd leave juice once a month.
Bitter gourd is effective in treating diabetic patients. Instead of cooking the vegetable, try to consume 2 tablespoon of freshly squeezed bitter gourd juice once a week. If you are to practice this habit, nutrients from the bitterness will help strengthen the nerves and helps reduce the severity of diabetes. It also helps reduce sugar level in the body.

30th JULY 09:TURMERIC
To cultivate a turmeric plant, break either a dried turmeric or raw turmeric into half and plant in a pot filled with soil.
Pound and extract the juice of a small piece of raw turmeric.Pound and extract the juice of one clove of garlic.Pound and extract the juice of one small onion or one shallot.Mix all the three juices and prescribe half or one tablespoon of the juice to your child who is suffering from cold and chest phlegm. Excess phlegm in the chest area will be dissolved and removed from the body.
Prescribe one tablespoon of raw turmeric juice to your child. The turmeric juice has the properties to kill and remove stomach worms. Mix a small amount of freshly powdered dried turmeric with honey. The mixture is good in reducing the severity of jaundice.
Lastly, as mentioned in previous article (27th July 09), turmeric is good for liver as it kills and removes bacteria. It also provides nutrition for the liver to function effectively.

burdock root

29th JULY 09:BURDOCK ROOT
Peel the skin off and cut the root into small pieces. You can either make soup or stir fry the root. The root is available in supermarkets and is treated as a vegetable among the Chinese community to treat sickness and diseases.
Benefits of consuming the root:a) effective in melting kidney stonesb) good for cleaning kidney and liver and c) efficient in cleaning the blood
Diabetic patients are advised to consult their physician before consuming this root as the root is sweet. The root is very suitable to be eaten by gout and arthritis patients.Pregnant women are forbidden to eat this vegetable.
In short, those who are suffering from any disease except for diabetic patients are advised to eat once a week to obtain the medicinal values from the root.

28th JULY 09: RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
Rheumatoid Arthritis attacks when vata or gas gets trapped in between the joint areas. When this happens, it will effect the nerves and bones and causes extreme pain and swelling.
Those who suffer from arthritis are
a) strictly forbidden to bathe in cold water. If you are suffering from extreme pain, add salt in hot water and pour the hot salt water over your body and affected joint areas.
b) Avoid constipation When you suffer from constipation or have irregular bowel motion, dirty gas will spread and gets trapped in the joint areas.
c) Make sure you do not have difficulty in urinating. Irregular urination will lead to accumulation of salt in the body which causes harm to the body system.
d) Excess phlegm can also lead to diseases. Therefore make sure your tridosha, i.e vata, kappa and pitta are in balance. To maintain a balance, practice oil bath and consume the necessary medicine to root out the cause of your sickness or disease.

turmeric

JULY 09: RAW TURMERIC
According to Hinduism, taking a human birth is a great privilege. This is because by taking the human body alone can one attain the goal of life. It is also stated in the scriptures that humans can live to more than 100 years. But how many of us are able to live up to this age without any sickness or diseases?
Today many of us are dying at a very young age. Many of us experience many types of sickness and diseases before or after 60 years of age. To maintain a healthy body system, we need to have a healthy liver. To maintain a healthy liver, we must
a) exercise regularly andb) eat proper food to provide nutrition to the liver to function effectively.
Turmeric is one type of food that can help to maintain a healthy liver. Raw turmeric ( ibu kunyit in BM) helps increase blood flow, avoids blood thickening and acts as an antibiotic. Try to use 2 inch of raw turmeric in your cooking everyday. Grind the raw turmeric and treat it as a " masala" paste.
If you are suffering from a disease or sickness, pound raw turmeric and extract the juice. Treat this juice as a medicine and consume once a week.

Corn

24th JULY 09: CORN
Corn has many medicinal values. Some babies will not have any teeth even after they are 1 to 1 � years old. To cure this problem, boil the kernels of young corn or blend the kernels and feed your baby continuously for 2 - 3 days. You will see amazing results! Teeth will start to form out and starts growing.
Corn kernels are fibrous and helps ease bowel motion. If your pituitary glands are not functioning properly, consume corn kernels once a week. Glands will start to function properly and you will mot feel tired anymore.

sundakai vathal

23rd JULY 09:DRIED PEA AUBERGINES ( sundakai vathal)
Pea aubergine is rich in vitamin C and calcium. Slightly dry the pea aubergines and soak in buttermilk "mooru" and salt. Dry the soaked pea aubergines again under the sun for a few days until it is completely dried. InTamil the dried pea aubergines are called sundakai vathal.
The dried pea aubergines can also be bought in any Indian grocery shops and very tasty to be made as "Vathal Kulambu".
Dried aubergines are effective in curing stomach bloatness. Most men have big stomach due to stomach bloatness. When this happens, the lungs and heart will be pressed down. They will not be able to breathe properly and the heart will not be able to pump blood effectively.Dried aubergine cures piles related problems and helps releases stomach gas.
To release excess stomach gas, grind dried curry leaves, dried pea aubergines and ajwain (omam) into powder form. Every time you suffer from gas problems, take 1 tablespoon of the powder, mix with ghee and rice and consume as your first course during your meal. This will prevent gastric formation and helps release the gas from the body.

epilepsy

22nd JULY 09:EPILEPSY
Toddlers when they start to walk, they tend to fall and have bruises. If they fall on their head, it can cause internal damage to the head. The fall or internal injury can lead to epilepsy.
Epilepsy can also be caused by a) Severe constipation b) Excess phlegm c) High feverd) Lack of iron
Epilepsy is related to nerves. Nutrition has to be given to nerves which are related to brains. Epilepsy patients need to be massaged from head to toe using various types of oilment to strengthen the muscles.
Young children who have bowel movement once in every four to five days will suffer from excess heat in the body. This will lead to high fever and can end up with epilepsy. Therefore it is advised to get treatment in curing constipation. When the feaces are released, excess phlegm will also be removed and this will reduce and cures the occurrence of epilepsy attacks.

dried avaram poo

21st JULY: DRIED AVARAM FLOWERS
Dried Avaram Senna flowers are best to be prescribed as tea. When boiling the tea, add dried ginger, coriander leaves and cardamom pods. This beverage is a good substitute for tea and coffee.
Dried Avaram Senna flowers are good in producing blood and increases blood flow.Avaram flowers, leaves, root, bark and gum have its own medicinal values and very beneficial if you can plant this tree in your home. The leaves are effective in warding off any insects and can also be used to create smoke while burning incense.
Dried avaram flowers are effective to cure bad body odour. Grind turmeric ( Kasturi Manjal), white turmeric ( poolan kilangu), dried avaram flowers, dried mung beans and chana dal into powder form.Make a paste and apply on your body and leave it to soak for 10 minutes. Apply regularly and you will notice your skin color will brighten slightly and bad body odour will be cured. In conclusion, avaram flower is the medicine to remove bad body odour.

nochi

20th JULY 09:NOCHI LEAVES
There are three types of nochi leaves, one leaf nochi, three leaved nochi and five leaved nochi. Nochi leaves are effective in curing 'vata' related problems, i.e. body pain, muscle pull and back pain.
To remove excess vata or gas from the body, either a) boil the leaves and inhale the steam b) or boil the leaves and bathe with the hot nochi water.
If you have joint pains, grind 7 young tender nochi leaves with 7 black peppers into a fine paste and shape into round balls and consume.
You will purge after consuming the nochi paste. Prescribe this herbal medicine 2 to 3 times and joint pain will disappear.

Lemon

17th JULY 09: LEMON
There are different varieties of lime. All types of lime are rich in vitamin C.
Lime juice is effective in curing morning sickness among pregnant women.Morning sickness among pregnant women happens when pitta predominates in the body. To normalize the level, lime juice is normally consumed.
Lemons are good to be made pickles. Cut lemon into small pieces and marinate with salt. Do not use vinegar to marinate lemon pieces as vinegar is very acidic and will damage the stomach and intestines if consumed regularly
Marinating lemon pieces with salt is a healthy way of preparing pickles The pickle can be a bit bitter but is very tasty if eaten with rice and other vegetable dishes. Above all pickle plays an important role in increasing ones digestive power.

16th JULY 09: SWEET TURNIP (sengkuang)
In Siddha Medicine, sweet turnip juice is used to prepare medicines for post natal women. Sweet turnip is good to be consumed by women who are breast feeding as it helps to secrete more milk.
Sweet turnip juice is also a good combination to be added with carrot juice as it not only gives a good taste but helps to dilute the thickness of the carrot juice. Sweet turnip is a cooling food. Those who have a heaty body should consume this root vegetable as much as possible. It can be consumed either by juicing it or eating it raw.

sweet beverage

15th JULY 09: SWEET BEVERAGES
Children love to drink sweet beverages. Instead of buying cordials from supermarkets which has high sugar content and chemicals, try making your own sweet beverages at home.
a) Boil Pandan leaves with sugar until it turns into thick syrup. Bottle it This beverage cools the body and helps burn fat.
b) Extract one glass of ginger juice. Keep aside for at least 20 minutes. A layer of residue will form at the bottom of the glass. Take the clear juice only and boil with honey.
c) Boil mango flesh until it melts. Strain and extract the juice. Mix with sugar and bottle it.
All the above beverages are very cooling and are thirst quenching drinks. You can even juice mint, cucumber and other cooling vegetables. Unlike the above said beverages, mint, cucumber and other vegetable juices cannot be kept for a long time It has to be consumed immediately.
You can also consume basil seeds (biji selasih) and add it in any sweet beverages. The seeds are very cooling and should be eaten regularly. You can even add the seeds in coconut water to give more cooling effect to the body.

Elephat Yam

14th JULY 09: ELEPHANT YAM (senai kilangu)
Elephant Yam is good in treating piles patients. Patients who are suffering from asthma, sinus, cold or running nose are strictly forbidden to eat elephant yam. This is because elephant yam is a cooling food and it will aggravate the condition even more.
This vegetable is only suitable for heaty bodies and hypertension patients.
To consume the yam, first boil the vegetable with its skin intact in salted water.Peel of the skin and eat the flesh. Instead of consuming high GI food for breakfast, i.e nasi lemak and fried noodles, try having elephant yam for breakfast.
Mash the boiled yam and mix with grated coconut and sugar. Shape into round balls and serve. This type of food is not only nutritious but also is very filling as yam has carbohydrate in it.

vegetables

13th JULY 09: ROOT VEGETABLE
In previous episodes, many types of leaf and root vegetables have been discussed. Potatoes are considered a root vegetable and are regarded as a gassy food. It has high carbohydrate content and should not be eaten regularly.
Elephant Foot Yam is the total opposite. It is regarded as a cooling food and effective in treating piles patients. It also aids in removing and curing colon related problems and increases digestive power.
To cook the yam:a) remove the skinb) cut the yam into small pieces andc) boil in salted water.d) throw the boiled water away and cook the boiled yam in any way you like.
Elephant Foot Yam is best to be cooked as "Puli Kari"

Sensitive Plant

9th JUNE 09:SENSITIVE PLANT (thottal sinugi)
This plant has many medicinal properties and is highly spoken by siddhas of yester years. This plant is very sensitive whereby the leaves closes by itself when it is touched.
The roots have the capability of melting kidney stones. Stones are naturally formed when there is excess accumulation of toxins in the body. To melt the stones, boil the roots and consume the boiled root water. Those who are facing obesity are also advised to drink the boiled root water as the herbal water helps burn fat. The roots are effective in treating hypertension patients.
The leaves can also be used. Grid or pound the leaves and apply on small wounds. The leaves heals wounds effectively.

sun flower seeds

8th JUNE 09: SUNFLOWER SEEDS
Sunflower oil is extracted from the seeds and is rich in vitamin E. There are many types of oil. Tamils regards gingerly oil and coconut oil as good oil while other cultures and traditions regards sunflower oil and date seed oil as good oil. In general any oil which is extracted from any seed is considered as good oil.
Sunflower seeds are normally dried and sold as "kuaci". The kernels are good to be eaten by all walks of life. Elderly people who are toothless, the kernel can be pounded and consumed.
Today, the seeds are roasted and treated as coffee. You can also apply sunflower oil on your body. Pour 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil on top when serving soups to your family members.

kovai keerai

7th July 09: KOVAI LEAVES
Young kovai leaves are good to be used in soups. It is not only nutritious but also gives good taste to the soup. Kovai plant produces small cucumber shaped fruits and is suitable to be cooked as "kutu" or included in "Sambar". The fruit can also be consumed raw with a pinch of salt.
Kovai leaf is a cooling food and is effective in curing piles patients. Treat this leave as any other green leaf vegetable and cook in any way you prefer.To treat piles, steam the leaves for a minute or two and place the leaves on your anus. The leaves have the properties to heal itchiness and prickling pain.

cashew nut

6th July 09: CASHEW NUTS
Cashew tree is very rare to be found and is mostly found around Kelantan , Trengganu, and sea coast areas. In India, cashew trees are cultivated in Kerala and are one of the main exporters of cashew nuts.
Cashew nuts are seeds taken from the fruit. Much is said about the seeds but very little is known about its fruit.Cashew fruit or also known as cashew apple is rich in vitamin c and iron. Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the apple before eating it as it gives taste to the fruit.
The young tender cashew leaves can also be consumed. The young leaves are suitable to be made chutney or "thuvaiyal". The young shoots have properties to secrete milk, hormones and produce semen.
Pregnant women who have early morning sickness are advised to boil the tender leaves and consume the boiled water. The leaves are able to reduce pitta level in the body.