ALL ABOUT NATURAL WAY TO GOOD HEALTH

The Jambul fruit is a well-known common fruit. It has two varieties. The big one is oval in shape and is commonly called as Suva-jumun. The bigger variety is sweeter than the smaller one. It is regarded in traditional medicine as a specific against diabetes because of its effect on the pancreas. The fruit as such, the seeds and fresh juice are all useful in the treatment of this disease. The seeds contain glucose ‘Jamboline’ which is believed to have the power to check the pathological conversion of starch into sugar in cases of increased production of glucose. They are dried and powdered. This powder in doses of three grams should be given three or four times a day mixed in water. It reduces the quantity of sugar in urine and allays the unquenchable thirst.

The grapefruit occupies a high place among the citrus fruits because of its flavor, its appetizing properties and its refreshing qualities. The fruit is often very large-larger than the human head. It is nutritive and refrigerant and possesses very much the same properties as the orange, lemon and lime. The seedless variety is the best as it often contains greater amount of sugar, calcium and phosphorus. The grapefruit is often used as table salad and is taken together with other fruit and vegetables. It is sometimes cut into half, and the seeds and the hard pith removed from the centre. The cavity is then filled with sugar which is also sprinkled over the cut surface. It is left for one hour in a covered plate and then taken. Inspite of its often sharp, sub-acid taste, the fresh grapefruit has an alkaline reaction after digestion.

The fig occupies a high position among fruits. Soft, sweet and pulpy, this delicious fruit promotes health. It is a pear-shaped hollow fruit, with sugary pulp and a large number of small seeds of golden color sticking to the wall of the cavity. An analysis of the fresh fig shows it consists good amount of moisture and little protein, fat and carbohydrate. The dry fig has a high nutritive value. Its most important food element is sugar which forms 51 to 74 percent of the whole fruit. It can be taken in various ways; either by itself or in combination with other foodstuffs enriches their fruit value. When taken with white flour, it removes much of its constipating effect. It combines very well with milk. Figs are often used for preparing cakes and jams. They are also made into pudding. Owing to its laxative property, the fig is an excellent remedy for piles.

The date is one of the most nourishing fruits. It is a food of high nutritional value. It provides natural sugar in the form of glucose and fructose. This sugar is ready for immediate absorption and is, therefore, infinitely superior to cane-sugar. It is usually taken raw or with milk, which makes it highly nutritious in most respects. Taking it with curdled milk is also common. The date palm yields a sweet juice of high food value. It can be taken fresh with great advantage or make into a tasty country sugar. The juice can also be allowed to ferment and made into alcohol. Dates are valuable as medicine for their tonic effect. Being easily digested, they are very useful for supplying energy and repairing waste. Milk in which clean and fresh dates have been boiled is a very nourishing and restorative drink to children and adults alike, especially during convalescence.

The avocado is a large fleshy pear-shaped berry. It has a single large seed surrounded by buttery pulp and a hard skin. It is an excellent food remedy in acute digestive disorders. Its blandness is comforting to the hypersensitive surfaces of the stomach and duodenum, and its abundant vitamins reanimate the inflamed and crippled cells. The avocado is an efficient aid in changing the intestinal flora to combat autointoxication, colitis, and biliousness. In cases of hyperacidity with sour stomach, avocado and well ripened papaya should be used as a staple diet. These two fruits are most appropriate foods in cases of duodenitis and duodenal ulcer, because they are blend or soothing to the sensitive membrane and pass quickly into the intestine.

The apricot is one of the most important fruits. It belongs to the sub-acid class. It is somewhat acid in its raw state, but its acidity decreases and the sugar content increases in the process of ripening. The fruit is regarded as a nutritious and tonic food and enjoys world-wide popularity. It is a stone fruit and has nut within it. It is round or oblong in shape, flattened to some extent. It is smaller in shape as peach, but is considerably smaller. It is yellowish in color. The fruit which ripens on the tree alone develops its true flavor which is very much like that of the peach. Fresh juice of apricot leaves is useful in skin diseases. It can be applied with beneficial results in scabies, eczema, sun-burn and itching of the skin due to cold exposure.

The apple is a sub-acid fruit and one of the most valuable of all the fruits. It is the fleshy fruit, with tough skin, ranging in color from greenish yellow to red. It is usually five to seven cm in diameter and has pinkish or yellowish white flesh. The apple is considered “protective” and most wholesome food. Apart from its energy value, it plays an important role in the normal development of metabolic functions-i.e. the chemical and physical changes that take place within the body and enable its continued growth and functioning. The food value of the apple is chiefly constituted by its contents of sugar which ranges from 9 to 51 percent. Of this, fruit sugar constitutes 60 percent and glucose 25 percent and cane sugar only 15 percent.

Fruits are highly beneficial in maintaining acid-alkaline balance in the body. They neutralize the toxic condition of the body resulting from excessive intake of acid-forming foods and restore its alkalinity. They help clear the system of morbid waste and cater to the body’s requirement of natural sugar, vitamins and minerals. Vitamins, minerals, enzymes and trace elements contained in fresh fruit juices are extremely beneficial in normalizing all the body processes. They supply needed elements for the body’s own healing activity and cell regeneration and thereby speed up the recovery. Each day, while fasting, it should be ensured that the bowels are cleansed of the toxic matter thrown off by the self-cleansing process set up by the body. This can be done by a warm water enema.