Barley, Betel, Black Pepper, Bitter Melon

Barley Powder Benefits, Natural Healing Herbs

Barley is grown in many provinces in India. Dry decorticated (peeled-off) grain and the seeds are used in medicine.

Barley contains fat, starch, albumin, cellulose and ash containing various acids, iron and lime. It is given as a nutritive food to invalids. Especially during convalescence. About 10 tolas of barley is boiled in 4 pints of water and reduced to two pints.

Barley is diuretic, brings clear urine and is useful in fevers. Sugar and a little limbu can be added to it, otherwise it can be prepared in milk. In cases of mucus colitis, or simple diarrhea with fever, it is used as a nutrient. It can be given to women after delivery.

A pudding is prepared in the following manner:

Take 4 tablespoons of barley powder. Add sufficient quantity of milk to form a thin paste, pour on it a quart of boiling milk, then add a little butter, a tablespoon of lump sugar, fresh lemon peel for flavouring, and two eggs which have been well beaten up. Mix all together very well, and bake for an hour and a half in a slow oven. This is very nutritious. Easy to digest and is given to invalids.

Barley is also good for persons suffering from diabetes and can take the place of normal food where rice is prohibited.

A well-known medicine prepared from barley is known as Yavakshara, which is effective in urinary disorders and renal calculi. It is given in dose of 4 rattis (8 grains) with coconut water or other suitable drink, morning and evening.

According to some authorities, barley has a laxative value and hence it should not be given in excess to those who have loose bowels.

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Betel Leaves Benefits, Herb Benefits

Betel leaves are cultivated in the tropical countries and especially in South India and Ceylon.

People take the leaves after food to clean the mouth, but nowadays they are taken with tobacco and other things as an addiction.

The juice is often used for medicinal purposes. Having a typical aroma, it is a mild stimulant and has a refreshing effect.

It removes anorexia, increases appetite, brightens up the complexion, alleviates vayu. It is a digestive, increases saliva and reduces pain. It is a vermicide.

Modern medical practitioners have also extracted a volatile oil from it which has been found to be an antiseptic, and good for the respiratory system and hence it is used in bronchitis. Many an ayurvedic preparation is given mixed with the juice of betel leaves; especially aphrodisiacs and tonics are freely mixed in the juice of pan.

Too much of pan chewing, however, spoils te teeth. It increases pitta of heat in the body. Children and pregnant women should not take pan.

Its juice is poured into the ears to relieve earache. The leaves are boiled and placed over abscesses. The ripe leaves contain medicinal properties to a higher extent and should be used for greater effect.

The betel leaf when chewed produces a sense of well-being. In ancient times members of princely families used to take it along with camphor, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg and other valuable aromatics. Taken particularly after dinner it produces a pleasant effect, refreshing the mind, giving vital power and removing bad odour from the mouth.

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Black Pepper - Useful Cough Remedy

Black pepper occupies a prominent place among home remedies, particularly in rural areas. It is useful in eolic, cough, dyspepsia, piles, urinary disorders and diseases of the chest.

A combination of dry ginger, black pepper and long pepper, known as Trikatu is one of the most well known remedies and an important combination in ayurvedic pharmacopeia.

In rural areas powder of black pepper is given as inhalation in cases of fainting and hysteria.

Black pepper after the principal meals helps digest food. Pickles are prepared from unripe fruits.

A formula for thin people; 10 black pepper berries should be chewed with betel leaf early in the morning on an empty stomach and the juice swalloed with a draught of water. A two months course will increase weight and transform the emaciated individual into a healthy person.

Black pepper is used successfully in cough remedies by ayurvedic physicians. In chronic cold, the powder of black pepper is taken with gur (jaggery).

A masala (spice) for tea is made out of black pepper, dry ginger, clove, cardamom and cinnamon and the tea becomes anti-kapha and useful against cold.

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Bitter Melon - Karela Benefits

The bitter melon is a climbing plant grown throughout world. There are two types, one with small fruit and the other with bigger fruit.

It is a laxative, stimulant, a form of bitter, good for the stomach and a tonic. It is also diuretic and carminative, an antidote to worms.

It is effective in disorders of the spleen and liver as well as in cases of pain in the joints due to gout, rheumatism and arthritis. In cases of chronic fever. If there is enlargement of the spleen and liver and even if there is an accumulation of fluid in the abdomen, the juice of the leaves is extremely useful. This increases the quantity of urine, one gets one or two loose motions, appetite increases, and food is digested and blood starts increasing. The dose of the juice of the leaves is 1-2 drams and for children 15-30 drops.

Its leaf – juice along with 50 grains of turmeric (half a teaspoonful) produces an emetic action and cleans up the stomach. It is a blood purifier.

The fruits and leaves are effective in case of jaundice and piles. Karela fruits dried in the shade and powdered and given in the dose of one tola morning and evening on an empty stomach with water help control excessive sugar in the urine and blood.

The juice of the fruit is also used for external application to burns, boils and eruptions.

In ancient times it was used in cases of snake poisoning.

In chronic disorders of the skin the juice of the leaf is applied externally.

The root powdered and applied in the form of a poultice in the mouth of the uterus cures prolepses of the organ. Even the root rubbed in water can be used in the form of a paste.

Kalmeghasava, used in disorders of liver, consists partly of Karela.

Karela dishes are prepared by removing the skin, steeping it in salt water, then boiling it well and squeezing out its seeds. The dietary item is then prepared, so that the bitterness will be lessened.

According to ayurvedic theory, all the six tastes (sweet, sour, salt, bitter, astringent and pungent) are essential in the diet. It has, however, been found that predominance is given to the other tastes and the bitter taste is often neglected. All the tastes should be given equal importance and those who want to take advantage of the bitter taste should use Karela fruit, but excess of the same is unwise as it is a laxative and perhaps may do a little harm if used too often.