Benefits of grapes

13th MAY 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 childrenGrape 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

Gastric Pain

12th MAY 09: GASTRIC
Gastric problems can be caused by
a) Improper food intake
b) Too much hot and spicy food.
Acid from spicy food stimulates the increase of stomach juice.
c) Intake of various types of medicines.

When gastric attacks, the patient normally suffers from stomach pain and excess gas will start accumulating in the stomach. The stomach gas will then lead to headaches. When this situation happens, one will not be able to identify the root cause of the problem and end up taking pain killers which will aggravate the gastric problem.

Make sure you take precautions to heal gastric at early stages as chronic gastric problems leads to stomach wounds or ulcers. You should take precautions by avoiding sour food and forbid yourself from eating bird's eye chilies. The acid from the sour food will stimulate the gastric glands to increase the secretion of stomach juice. Therefore to heal gastric problems, make sure you eat various types of alkaline food as it has the properties to stabilize the stomach acid's pH level.

If you are suffering from gastric pain:
a) Beat and drink white egg only or
b) Drink watermelon juice as the juice helps cool the stomach and cures gastric pain or
c) Try prescribing siddha medicine as there is medicine to cure gastric problem permanently

bawang,வெங்காயம்

11th MAY 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

dragon fruit

8th MAY 09:DRAGON FRUIT
The flesh of the dragon fruit comes in two colors, red and white. Dragon fruit which has red flesh in it has more nutritional value as it aids in increasing blood production.

Generally fruits which have many seeds have the properties to increase the production of sperms. By consuming this fruit does not mean that it can cure virility problems. The fruit has to be eaten from young age and is a gift from god to help build and maintain a good and healthy body system.

The fruit is very fleshy and thick and it has the properties to cut fat. Women who are above 25 years who have menstruation problems often put on weight. These individuals and individuals who are in the obese stage are advised to live on fruits and avoid rice and high carbohydrate foods. Chocolates, yellow wheat noodles and cheese are also to be avoided as much as possible as it has high fat content. Therefore to achieve noticeable and effective results in losing weight, it is best to avoid and control the types of food which can cause you to put on weight.

முருங்கைகாய்,drumstick

7th MAY 09: DRUMSTICK FRUIT
Make sure you use young tender drumsticks pods for cooking as old matured drumsticks pulp are hard and not suitable for cooking. However in Siddha Medicine, the seeds from matured drumstick pods are used for medicinal purposes Drumstick tree is very useful as the gum, bark, root, flower, leaves and fruit pods are used as medicine to treat many types of sickness and diseases.

Drumstick fruit is good in improving men virility and women fertility level. Husband and wife should consume drumstick fruit at least once a week. This is because lack of sufficient and relevant hormones for progenating can lead to marital problems.

To have more nutritional value, add aubergines, drumstick fruit and sword beans (avarakai) or drumstick, sword beans (avarakai) and raw young banana (valakai) when cooking. It is not only nutritious but also produces good aroma if these 3 vegetables are added and cooked as "avial"

Bitter gourd,பாகற்காய்

Symptoms of diabetes are:
a) Feeling weak
b) Feeling tired
c) Poor virility
d) Low sexual desire

If you are suffering form diabetes and your sugar level has increased, extract the juice from two small bitter gourds and consume the juice. Do not drink the juice everyday and only consume when necessary. Also make sure you consult a physician immediately to check your health conditions.

Cut bitter gourd in round pieces and remove the seeds. Add corn flour and salt and deep fry them if you want to serve to your children. To serve for adults, cut the bitter gourd into small pieces and cook it with tomatoes, tamarind juice and curry powder.

Try to add this vegetable in your diet as least once a week as the bitterness from the bitter gourd prevents stomach and intestines worms and reduces sugar level for diabetic patients. Therefore try to eat food which has 6 types of tastes i.e. bitter, sweet, sour, spicy, salty and astringent as the nutrients from these foods are needed to maintain a good health.

நீரழிவு,இனிப்பு நீர் வியாதி,diabetic

5th MAY 09: DIABETES
Diabetes in very common disease today and the number of individuals suffering from this disease is increasing. Diabetes among children is also rising significantly.The disease is prone to attack adults who are above 35 years old who has been practicing an unhealthy diet and unhealthy way of leaving for many years.It is believed that wrong eating habits practiced from tender age are one of the causes to develop diabetes at a young age. The disease is also caused by genetic reasons which are unavoidable.If you were to drink too much of carbonated drinks from your childhood days, the carbon dioxide from the carbonated drinks will increase the sedimentation rate in the nerves and blood capillaries. This causes the lungs and nerves to be blocked which leads to poor blood circulation and results in poor health conditions. Therefore you need to prevent this condition by stopping yourself and your family members especially children the habit of drinking carbonated drinks.Try to avoid giving any types of high sugar content food to children as much as possible. Also forbid from giving foods which has any sugar content to toddlers who are below the age of two. Make sure you do not add sugar when giving them milk.Symptoms of diabetes are:a) Feeling thirsty frequently
b) Ants will start to gather on your urine
c) Feeling hungry very fast
d) Lost of weight.Make sure you consult a doctor when you are experiencing any of the symptoms mentioned above as soon as possible. This is because the disease can be rectified and cured before it proceeds to an advanced stage

HOARY BASILl (Thirunetri Pachalai)

4th MAY 09: HOARY BASILl (Thirunetri Pachalai)
In Siddha Medicine, hoary basil leaves are used to cure young children who are suffering from excess phlegm. Take 2 to 3 leaves, each from hoary basil, holy basil (tulasi) and Coleus aromaticus (Karpooravalli). Pound the 3 types of leaves and extract the juice. Prescribe a teaspoon of the extracted herbal juice to your toddler if he or she is suffering from excess phlegm in the chest area. The herbal juice has the power to dissolve and remove the phlegm.

The leaves are fragrant and are used by Thailanese for bathing. Tamils normally boil the leaves and are prescribed to newly delivered women for bathing purposes.

If you are suffering from hand, leg, joint pains or suffering from rheumatism or arthritis, boil the leaves with other herbal leaves and pour on the affected areas. Also make sure you drink a glass of the boiled herbal water to get the full effect.

If you have a normal headache, head heaviness or sinus headaches, pound the leaves into a paste and apply on your forehead. Headaches will be cured.

சுண்டக்காய் PEA AUBERGINE (Sundakkai)

1st MAY 09: PEA AUBERGINE (Sundakkai)
Pea aubergine plant is bushy and spiny and plants that have torns and spines are said to have many medicinal values.

Pea aubergines are eaten by cutting the fruit in half or slightly pounded and added in 'sambal' or "sambar". Pea aubergines can also be added in "ulam".

Pea aubergines should be eaten by young children, adults who have weak bones, broken bones or brittle bones. This is because pea aubergines are effective in
a) strengthening bones
b) activates the growth of bones and
c) cures broken bones.

The vegetable also has astringent properties which are good in producing new blood cells.

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.