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.

Mengkudu

3rd JULY 09:NONA (Mengkudu)
Nona trees grow in tropical countries. Nona leaves and fruit have many medicinal values and is used widely by Australian aborigines from years of yore.
Grind or pound Nona leaves and apply on small or big wounds. The leaves have the properties to heal and dry the wounds.
Grind or pound unripe nona fruit with salt. This paste is effective in
a) healing broken bones. b) healing big boils or wounds which has inflamed into pus. The paste removes the pain and dirty blood.
Ripe nona fruit is very smelly. If you can't stand the smell, take semi ripe nona fruits, cut into four and boil in water. Consume the boiled fruit. By consuming the fruit, blood flow will increase and helps clear any blocks in the blood vessel.

Senna

1st JULY 09:DRIED SENNA LEAVES
Some Tamil families still practices giving their young children a tablespoon of castor oil once a month to help clear and flush dirt out from their body system.By drinking the oil, worms will be killed and toxins will be flushed out.
The flushing of waste and toxins from the body will help clean the child's stomach, increases digestion. The child will also be free from any sickness and diseases.
When worms start to live in a child's stomach/intestines, it will absorb all nutrients. Gas will start to develop in the stomach causing gastric and increases acidity in the body. To cure this problem naturally, you need to clear or prevent the worms from living or growing in the stomach.
Senna leaves are natural remedy, effective in removing body waste from the body. Boil the leaves and consume the water to help loosen the stools and ease bowel motion. If waste is not removed for a period of time, it will get stuck in the colon which can cause colon cancer. To prevent this, you need to remove the waste through bowel motion everyday.
Make sure you and your child opt for this natural treatment and consume the boiled senna leaves once a week or once a month to remove any dirt from the body through bowel motion.

Daun setawar padang

30th JUNE 09:DAUN SETAWAR PADANG (Rana kali)
Children to adults of all ages are prone to suffer from boils which can develop in any part of the external body. Boils are normally formed when one's glands or enzyme are not functioning properly. When this happens, toxins will start to accumulate and leads to formation of boils. Boils can also be formed when the blood is dirty.
Women normally develop boils on their breast. To cure this problem easily, cover 5 to 6 leaves over the boil and support the leaves by wearing a bra before you go to sleep. The leaves have the property to absorb the itchiness and pain caused by the boil. Use the leaves continuously for 3 days to see noticeable effect.
If your legs are painful or swollen, wrap the swollen area with the leaves. Dirty blood trapped inside the swollen area will be absorbed out and the pain will disappear.
If your child is suffering from a fever due to extreme heat, pound and boil the leaves.Serve the boiled herbal water to your child. The water not only cools the body but also reduces fever.

henna

29th JUNE 09: HENNA LEAVES
When pitta predominates in the body, palms will be itchy and soles will have a burning sensation. To cure the itchiness and burning sensation, pound henna leaves with either slaked lime (sunambu) or lime juice. Apply on your finger tips, palms and soles.
The root of henna tree are said to have properties to cure cancer. Pound the roots, boil and consume the concoction. It helps to clear/clean dirty blood. The roots have antiseptic properties whereby it kills and clears free radicals in the blood.
If your throat is painful, swollen or have developed a wound in the mouth, boil the leaves and gargle the concoction. You can also consume the boiled concoction. Since it has antiseptic properties, it cures mouth wounds very easily.
Damaged nails are difficult to be healed or cured. New nails will never grow until the damaged nails are healed. Henna leaves are the only cure to heal damaged nails Grind the leaves into a paste and apply on the damaged nails until you see noticeable effect.

basil holy basil

26th JUNE 09: HOLY BASIL (Tulasi)
Holy basil is regarded as a holy plant and plants which come under the holy plant category are said to have properties to cure any types of sickness or disease.
Take 10 holy basil leaves and soak in a glass of water. You can eithera) soak the leaves in the morning and consume the water in the evening ORb) soak the leaves at night and consume the water in the morning.Dried holy basil leaves are good to be burnt together with incense powder. Combine dried henna seeds and dried holy basil leaves with the incense powder. According to Indian tradition, smoke from the incense powder mix will ward off bad spirits and negative vibrations and bring prosperity to the house.
Dried holy basil leaves can also be consumed as tea. Boil the leaves and add rock sugar for extra taste. Individuals from all ages can consume this hot beverage.Holy basil tea is very effective and provides temporary relief to patients who are suffering from high fever and cold.
Holy basil leaves also has the properties to remove toxins through urination. The leaves also serve as an antiseptic. Blend the leaves into a paste and apply the paste on external wounds. The paste will dry and heal the wound.

white lotus

25th JUNE 09: WHITE LOTUS FLOWER
Lotus plant grows in water and produces flowers of 4 different colours, i.e. red, yellow, blue and white.
If you intend to grow lotus in your home, all you need to do is make a shallow pond and place a plant in the water. Soon you will notice new growth will begin to sprout out. The flowers, roots, seeds, young flower stalk and young leaves are all edible. Compared to all parts of the lotus, the seeds has the most nutritional and medicinal value (see artcile 12th March 09: Lotus Flower for more details)
a) Break the flower petals and boil them in water. Consume the boiled water. b) Dry the petals and grind into powder form. Add one tablespoon of the lotus powder when consuming any type of beverage.
By consuming the petals either in dried or liquid form will help improve and increase brain functionality. According to Indian Medicine, white lotus flowers are effective in improving brain functionality while red lotus flower are effective in healing heart related problems.

Potatoes

24th JUNE 09: POTATOES
Potatoes have high content of starch and are grown extensively in China. It is used widely in Indian cooking and we should try to avoid eating potatoes as much as possible.
Most of us normally boil or cook potatoes with its skin removed. This cooking method is wrong and we must boil or cook potatoes with its skin intact. This is because when you peel of the skin after cooking, you will notice a yellow layer on the outer flesh. This yellow layer is said to have protein in it. Many of us are unaware of this and tend to peel and throw the skins away when cleaning the potatoes and end up consuming the starch only.
Eating a potato is equivalent to eating a plate of rice. For westerners, potatoes are regarded as their staple food. However for Indians, potatoes are eaten together with their staple food, i.e. rice. By eating this way, you not only consume a high content of carbohydrate but also have a high tendency to gain weight.
Individuals who are fat or obese should forbid themselves from eating potatoes. Potato is not only starchy but also is a gassy food which makes one to bloat. Therefore try to avoid potatoes as much as possible.

Sweet flag

23rd JUNE 09: SWEET FLAG ( vasambu)
Sweet Flag plant requires wet soil to grow. Sweet Flag is effective to treat gassiness and stomach aches in infants. Burn the root until it blackens. Crush or pound the burnt root into powder form and mix with castor or coconut oil. Apply on infant's stomach.
If your child is suffering from diarrhoea, prescribe them a small amount of burnt sweet flag. It provides a temporary relief before consulting a doctor. As for adults, mix 1 tablespoon of honey with the burnt sweet flag. Purging will also stop.
Pound sweet flag into powder form and boil with milk and consume. Sweet flag is effective in improving memory power. In Indian Tradition, Sweet flag is tied around an infant's wrist on the 16th day as it is believed that the smell will help build good memory power. By giving a minute paste of sweet flag to the infant will also help build good digestion system

snake plant marul

22nd JUNE 09: SNAKE PLANT
Snake plants grow in dry areas and do not need much water to grow. This plant only requires sun light and moisture from the wind to live. The leaves are generally used for medicinal purposes.
In Indian Traditional Medicine,the juice is normally squeezed out by heating the leaves under a flame. The extracted juice is poured into the ears to treat ear related problems.The juice has the properties to flush out dirty water and excess phlegm from the ears.Do this continuously for 3 days, at least 2to 3 times a day to notice the amazing results.
For children who are suffering from cough and cold, heat the juice before consuming.It works wonderfully in curing cough and cold. This plant also bears fruit and is used to prepare leyham to treat piles patients. Individuals who are suffering from piles due to excess heat in the body are advised to eat leyham made by snake plant fruit.This is because the fruit is a cooling food and piles patients are required to eat cooling food

cloves

19th JUNE 09: CLOVES
Cloves are one of the many spices used in Indian Cooking. Cloves not only give taste and fragrance to the food but also aids in digestion.
Grind 5-6 cloves with luke warm water and apply the paste on your forehead, nose and below the eyes, around your cheekbone area. The grinded cloves will help remove and heal sinus pain around the face area.
For temporary relief of tooth pain, bite the clove with your problem tooth. Cloves are known for its antiseptic and anesthetic properties. The juice from the clove will help kill bacteria and create numbness to the problem area. You can also apply clove oil on your cheeks to help release the pain. Just like the clove, the oil will help create numbness and remove the tooth pain temporarily.
Pregnant women tend to have vomiting problems due to indigestion and increase of pitta in the body. To stop the vomiting, boil 2-3 cloves and drink 2 ounces of the boiled herbal water as the clove helps digest food faster.

Red amranth

17th JUNE 09: RED AMARANTH (Sigappu Tandu Keerai)
Green leaf vegetables are good for our body as it has many nutritional and medicinal values. Besides green leaves, leaves which are red in colour are good to be consumed as it has high level of carotene and helps produce red blood cells.

There are many types of green leaf vegetables, i.e. tandu keerai, manali keerai, parathai keerai, kuppa keerai, manathakali keerai, agathi keerai and many more. Tandu keerai or amaranth leaf comes in various types.

On of the many types are the red amaranth leaves. Red amaranth leaves helps in producing red blood cells. Before cooking, wash the leaves at least three times to remove any dirt or stones. Add a pinch of black pepper powder, salt, 2-3 cloves of garlic and 1 green chilli or dried chilli (optional) when boiling the leaves. Make sure the pan is covered with a lid when boiling the vegetable. Smash the boiled leaves and serve.

Red amaranth leaves also aids digestion and ease bowel motion. Children or adults who consume red amaranth leaves continuously for 48days will experience an increase in memory power!

COMMON RUE (Aravatham Pacchai)

16th JUNE 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