foot yam,சேம கிழங்கு

29th MAY 09: ELEPHANT FOOT YAM To consume the yam, remove the skin and wash the peeled yam. Cut the yam into small pieces and boil with a pinch of salt. Throw the boiled water away as the water cannot be consumed. Treat the cooked yam as potato.The difference between potatoes and yam is potatoes have high content of carbohydrate and yam has only 0.01 mg of fat in it.Benefits of consuming elephant foot yam are:
a) cleans urinary bladder
b) strengthen urinary bladder linings
c) ease bowel motion
d) cures all types of piles problemElephant Foot Yam relieves constipation problem and is rich in potassium, nitrogen and amino acid. Since the yam has many medicinal values, try to consume this vegetable at least once a week to gain the nutrients and help treat your body to prevent any major sickness or diseases

karisalangkani,karisalai

27th MAY 09: FALSE DAISY (Karsilangkani)
Pound and extract the juice from the leaves. Add this juice while preparing hair oilment. The juice has the properties to blacken grey or white hair effectively.

In siddha medicine, false daisy leaves are used to treat damaged spleen.Some individuals may suffer from wounds or damage due to

a) excessive alcohol consumption
b) excessive smoking
c) virus infection
d) a fall or an accident
e) or any other serious problems that has affected the spleen.

There are many plants that look similar to False Daisy. To determine whether the leaves are false daisy leaves, rub the leaves on your palm. If your palm blackens, the leaves are indeed false daisy leaves.

The blackening effect helps to treat graying problems and when consumed internally, it becomes a long life elixir (kaya kalpa).

Benefits of false daisy leaves
a) Helps cure all types of spleen problems
b) Helps spleen function efficiently
c) Helps spleen produce more blood which leads to a good body system.
d) Helps cure anemic patients by producing blood.

You can consume the leaves by juicing it or by eating it raw or cooked together with other green vegetables, Indian style.

செலரி,celery

26th MAY 09: CELERYCeleries 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.

drumstick flower

25th MAY 09:DRUMSTICK FLOWER
Flowers and fruits that bear from trees with deep long roots have many medicinal values. This is because the long roots are able to absorb the nutrients and minerals stored deep down the earth.

Do not throw away the flowers which have fallen from the tree. Dry these flowers and grind or pound them into powder form. Store in a bottle and use the powder when necessary. Add one tablespoon of the powdered drumstick flower in milk and consume.

The flower is good in increasing men virility and women fertility level. Try to consume drumstick flower once or twice a week if you want to improve, increase or maintain your fertility or virility level

Misai kucing

22nd MAY 09: CAT WHISKERS ( Misai Kucing)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.

Misai

lotus flower

21st MAY 09: LOTUS FLOWERLotus 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.

kadukkai,

19th MAY 09: CURRY LEAVES
Curry leave 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.

19th MAY 09: CURRY LEAVES
Curry leave 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.

mangoosteen ,manggis

18th MAY 09: MANGOSTEENMangosteen is a seasonal fruit and its fruit bearing coincides with durian. Both fruits are god's gift to mankind as mangosteen is created to balance the heat from the durian. Mangosteen is a cooling food and it has many medicinal values. Therefore try to eat the fruit whenever the fruit is in season.Do not throw the skins away. Cut the skin in small pieces and dry the skin until it hardens. Store the dried mangosteen skins in a bottle/jar as it will be useful for home remedies. Eating too much seafood, chicken or red meat will cause excessive heat in the body. Even vegetarians' will experience excessive heat in the body. Excessive body heat mainly depends on their body type, i.e. tridosha. When there is excessive heat in the body, it will lead to dehydration which causes stool to be hardened and dry and require great pressure for bowel movement. When this happens, the tissues in the anus area will swell up. The symptoms of having this condition are: a) Short temper and b) Constipation. Home remedies to solve the swelling: a) Pound dried mangosteen skin into powder form b) Consume one teaspoon of the powder. The astringent properties in the skin will cool the interior and reduces the size of the swelling. Pound raw mangosteen skin and extract the juice. The juice is best to be consumed by anaemic patients as the juice helps produce blood. The juice also helps reduce excessive blood overflow during menstrual period. In previous episode, 21st Jan 09, it has been mentioned that coconut flower also helps to cure excessive blood flow. Try to combine ingredients, coconut flower and mangosteen skin when you are treating menstrual problems. If you can't find coconut flowers, consume mangosteen skin extract alone as it produces the same effect. Western medicines are currently using mangosteen skin to produce expensive facial creams. For home treatment, a) Blend the mangosteen skin b) Add turmeric c) And apply as a facial mask. Leave to dry and wash with fresh water.The properties in the mangosteen skin and turmeric will bring glow to your skin. Try it as it really works!

AMARANTH LEAVES(Mulai Keerai)

15th MAY 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 JASMIN (Nandiavatta Poo)

14th MAY: 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.

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.