We all know that Rice has been a staple diet in many parts of India. It contains mainly carbohydrates with almost negligible proteins, fats and minerals. 100 grams of Rice gives us 300-400 calories. In Ayurveda, Khichari (rice-lentil stew) has been recommended because the proteins in rice, when mixed with proteins in the grams/lentils can produce nutritious results. Many people in Western and Southern India cook rice in milk to make “Payasam” which is very nutritious, but it should be taken without sugar. Other milk products like curd, buttermilk, yoghurt etc when mixed with rice show good nutritional value.

Forms of Rice : From all varieties, the manually polished rice is the best for digestion. Try to get this organic rice from villages or directly from farmers. It may be difficult to get this form of rice in cities or big metros.

Ayurvedic Analysis : Rice has a sweet post-digestive effect (”Vipaka”). It reduces pitta vitiation and has a cooling effect on the body. This holds special mention since most of the people in North American region have elevated “Pitta Dosha” imbalance due to stressful lifestyle and intake of junk food etc. The best way to cook rice is to add double the water to it for boiling. When half the water remains, remove that water and serve it. This form of cooked rice is light for digestion and rich in nutrition. This form of a light meal is very good for children suffering from fever, mumps, ring worm, hay fever etc. Rice also strengthens semen. Many Ayurvedic texts recommend mixing milk, rice and dates to increase the strength of semen and quality of sperms.

Beneficial in GERD, Bloating and Acidity : People suffering from Gastro-Esophageal Reflux or Hyperacidity should not be afraid of rice. Rice milked with milk, or plain yoghurt, will improve digestion and relieve you of loose motions. In South India, Thailand, Indonesia etc - rice is a staple food and most of the dishes are made from some form of rice. Still, you will not find many obese people in these parts. Vitamin B1 (thiamine) is a nutrient found in brown rice, but not in polished white rice.

Read : How to overcome nutritional shortcomings in an American Diet (This article suggests why whole grains such as rice should be added to correct mineral deficiencies).

The correct way to have rice is to chew it to a fine paste. Over-cooked rice does not help, and neither does the one which has too many things thrown into it. While cooking, if you mix the rice with plenty of other things, you are just killing its nutritional value.

a) Do not mix any type of flour with the rice and then cook or deep fry it.
b) Do not add curd in rice flour and then ferment it.
c) Do not use leave rice overnight and use it the next morning
If you do any of these, it surely causes acidity, and increases Pitta Dosha.

Hence, Rice when taken in the right away actually helps you to stay light, improve liver metabolism and thereby increases your ability to reduce weight. If you have any clarifications, submit your health questions to us here.

Find out your dosha here.
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Tags: Ayurvedic Medicine, Herbal Supplements

In ayurveda, many experts claim that if you have nothing else to blame, or if you cannot find the cause of the problem, blame it on the Liver. Liver plays a fundamental role in maintaining the body fat, state of fertility, blood purification and detoxification or rasa, rakta, mamsa and medha dhatus. Liver should be detoxified twice a year.

To do an Ayurvedic liver flush take 8 ounces of distilled water with 8 ounces of apple juice in which is blended 1-4 cloves of garlic and a hunk of fresh ginger and 1-4 tablespoons of olive oil. Take this each morning on an empty stomach for four days in a row. Follow with a cup of tea made with fennel seed and dandelion root.

One of the best herbs which can be planted in-house, or obtained easily would be Aloe-Vera (Ghrit Kumari). Aloe Vera enhances the Agni (hunger), improves digestion, and relieves the body from undigested “ama”. It reduces excess fat by activating the liver. Aloe Vera can be combined with ginger, Haritaki (Terminalia Chebula), and Kalmegh (Andrographis Paniculata) to enhance its curative properties. Aloe Vera balances all Doshas and strengthens digestion and ocular health. Aloe-Vera is diuretic and addresses problems with genito-urinary system.

So if you have a problem and cannot find out the root cause, if you are obese and can’t seem to shed that weight, try AloeVera. If you have trouble finding the “extract or ghan-satva” of AloeVera, you can write to us at www.yourhealthquestions.com

Regards, Puneet

Tags: Herbal Supplements, Ayurvedic Medicine

Music is curative ! A great historian, Balaji Tambe has done research in the effect of sounds, to treat various problems in us.

• Raga Sarang helps in epilepsy, Pitta Imbalance.
• Raga Bhairavi helps in Tuberculosis, Cancer, Severe Cold, Phlegm etc
• Hindol and Vasant gives relief to problems in Vata Imbalance, Blood pressure, Gastritis, blood impurities.
• Raga Kalyani, Charukesi and Sankarabharanam gives relief from heart ailments.
• Stomach operations can be avoided by singing the 72 Melakarta Ragas.
• Raga Darbari helps in relieving stress
• Raga Shiva Ranjani helps in intellectual excellence.
• Raga Ahir-Bhairav and Todi are good for high blood pressure.
• Raga Deepak helps to relieve acidity.
• Bhairavi helps in Sinusitis.
• Raga Bageshri, Kafi, Khamaj and Darbari help in insomnia
• Todi and Poorvi help in Headache and Anxiety.

You can read more at : Read more here

raga, effect of sound on health, ayurvedic sounds,raga bhairavi, acidity, high blood pressure

Tags: Ayurvedic Medicine, Herbal Supplements

An allergic dry cough can be hard to get off, its a common problem and hence I attempt to offer you some tips here. The antigens in the environment like dust-smoke particles in the atmosphere/air, pollen, smell of certain flowers, chemical or natural sprays, proteins from certain foods, some allopathic drugs can cause Dry Cough. Intestinal worms also cause it.

Symptoms of Dry Cough

• Breathing difficulties, Recurrent Cough spells
• Mucous resembling frothy soap lather, after a coughing spell
• Whizzing sound heard in the lungs
• Sneezing and Irritating Nasal Drips
• Low Fever, chest heaviness, pain in calf muscles, and Chest pain.
• Lack of Sleep and Total Fatigue.

These symptoms are caused by Vitiated Vata Dosha accompanied by a mild imbalance of Kapha. You’ll also have bad breath which indicates an excess of “Ama (the dead energy)” under the attack of microbes giving rise to foul smell.

Ayurvedic Treatment for this type of Dry Cough

•  Try and observe a fast for a day or two. Boil 1/2 tsp Ginger powder and 1/4 tsp Turmeric (Haldi) and reduce it to half. Keep sipping this decoction the whole day. Alternatively, you can also take Talispatradi Choornam or Sitopladi Choornam with hot water.
• Early morning, on an empty stomach - drink the ginger decoction above along with 3-4 tsp of Cold-pressed Castor Oil. All these suggestions have to be followed under the supervision of a qualified medical/ayurvedic practitioner. The fasting would increase the agni (the good digestive fire), and boost immunity also. The castor oil balances apana vata and eliminates the bad energy (Ama).
• For those who cannot fast, they can try and take a supplement under supervision (For example - 1 tablet each of Swaskas Chintamani Ras, mahalaxmi Vilas Ras, Trikant Mani Ras etc. The tablets’ effect is further potentized by mixing them together with 1-2 tsp of Haridrakhand Avaleha. If you cannot get these in the market - the simplest could be to mix 1/2 tsp of Pure Raw Turmeric with 1 tbsp of Honey)

Some lifestyle changes -

1. Take Dinner early by 7.30 PM. Let the dinner be light. Do not stuff yourself and chew properly.
2. Vegetables should not be cooked in oil. Try using cow ghee and that too, sparingly.
3. After the attack is over, you may use sesame oil for cooking.
4. Avoid all ground nut items, Pickles, Papad, Curd, Tomatoes, fermented foods, brinjal are
   to be entirely avoided. Stop all legumes. Only permitted is green gram water, tempered with cow ghee. Tempering can have fenugreek, cumin seeds, turmeric powder, asfoetida.
5. If there is disturbance in the sleep, try to compensate a little by taking nap during the day. Weakness increases by loss of
   sleep. The ghee/castor oil massage on soles at bedtime may help relaxing the nervous system.

Take care !

- Puneet