Thursday, November 1, 2007

Herbal Home Remedies For Common Diseases Part V

Here are few more home remedies:

*PRURITIS (ITCHING): Dissolve 1 vitamin C tablet in water and apply it on site of itching. Appling lemon juice, raw onion slice, apple cider vinegar also helps. Add Tulsi (Basil) and Neem leaves to coconut oil and heat it, allow it to cool and apply it on the site. Applying paste of baking soda and water also provides relief.

*PSORIASIS: Add garlic cloves to coconut oil and heat, allow it to cool and apply it on site. Applying the gel from aloe vera leaves also helps.

*MUSCLE ACHE: Add fresh grated ginger or dry ginger powder to water, boil the water till it is reduced to half, let it cool down to lukewarm state, dip a clean cloth in it and place it on the site of pain.

*RINGWORM: Make a paste of Tulsi leaves and salt and apply on the site. Applying powder of mustard seeds and paste of raw papaya also helps.

*SORE THROAT: Add salt and turmeric powder to warm water and gargle. Add 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to warm water and gargle.

*POOR IMMUNITY: Drink lots of Orange juice (but first get your blood sugar checked), drinking juice of bitter gourd, carrot is also good. Drinking Wheatgrass juice is also very beneficial as it makes your blood slightly alkaline, hence less prone to disease. Eating 3-4 Amla daily is very effective in boosting your immunity. Echinacea has also shown to improve immunity. Daily consumption of curd also helps to boost your immunity since it contains probiotics-good bacteria.

Please note that these remedies are not substitute for conventional medicines.

Posted by DrSri at 12:39:32 | Permalink | No Comments »

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Prebiotics and Probiotics

Intestinal Bacteria:
 Our intestinal tracts contain bacteria. Some bacteria are not so good for us and can us sick, but some of the bacteria are beneficial. These beneficial bacteria help to keep the bad bacteria and yeast in check. Some bacteria also help to make vitamin K, and some bacteria help our immune system function properly. Normally our intestinal bacteria are in a healthy balance, however antibiotic therapy, stress and poor dietary choices may all cause a bacterial imbalance.
When the bad bacteria and yeast become overgrown in your intestinal tract, you have a condition called dysbiosis. Dysbiosis has been linked with disorders like yeast infections, irritable bowel syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis. A common cause of dysbiosis is anti-biotic therapy. The anti-biotics that you take for killing an infection will also kill the healthy bacteria in your digestive tract. At the very least, you may experience diarrhea. You may also be at risk for the other diseases.
Prebiotics and Probiotics:
 Prebiotics and probiotics can restore the balance of bacteria in your digestive tract. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that can be found in various foods. When you eat probiotics you will add these healthy bacteria to your intestinal tract. Common strains include Lactobacillis and Bifidobacterium families of bacteria.

Prebiotics are non-digestible foods that make their way through our digestive system and help good bacteria grow and flourish. Prebiotics keep beneficial bacteria healthy.

Prebiotics in the Diet:
 Prebiotics that feed the beneficial bacteria in our gut mostly come from carbohydrate fibers called oligosaccharides. We don’t digest them, so the oligosaccharides remain in the digestive tract and stimulate the growth of beneficial bacteria. Sources of oligosaccharides include fruits, legumes, and whole grains. Fructo-oligosaccharides are used as supplements are added to many foods. Yogurt made with bifidobacteria contain oligosaccharides.
Probiotics in the Diet:
 Probiotic bacteria like lactobacilli are naturally found in  foods yogurt. Some foods will have added probiotics as healthy nutritional ingredients.
Examples of Probiotics and Prebiotics
Class/Component Source* Potential Benefit
Probiotics
Certain species and strains of Lactobacilli, Bifidobacteria, Yeast Certain yogurts, other cultured dairy products, and non-dairy applications May improve gastrointestinal health and systemic immunity
Prebiotics
Inulin, Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), Polydextrose, Arabinogalactan, Polyols—lactulose, lactitol Whole grains, onions, bananas, garlic, honey, leeks, artichokes, fortified foods and beverages, dietary supplements and other food applications May improve gastrointestinal health; may improve calcium absorption
Posted by DrSri at 15:00:08 | Permalink | No Comments »

Monday, October 1, 2007

Yoghurt and its Health Benefits!

Yoghurt has been known to provide all the health benefits available in milk with an added advantage that it can be consumed by even those suffering from Lactose Intolerance, which makes consumption of milk a real pain!

What we do not know is that it can provide much more. It consists of Probiotic Bacteria (Good bacteria), Lactobacillus Acidophilus and Lactobacillus casei. These Probiotics have prophylactic and therapeutic benefits in GI disorders like Diarrhoea, Lactose Intolerance, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Inflammatory bowel diseases,etc.

Yoghurt also helps in preventing Yeast infections in women.Yoghurt may also delay the progression of Type II Diabetes, and research is going on in this regards, which has shown encouraging results.

Do not forget to make Yoghurt an integral part of your Diet plan!

Ayurvedic way of preparing your Yoghurt: Take cow’s milk in a silver container,add3-4 Tulsi leaves to it and keep it overnight-the yoghurt that you get will offer excellent immune boosting properties.

Posted by DrSri at 06:37:51 | Permalink | No Comments »