ALL ABOUT NATURAL WAY TO GOOD HEALTH

The asparagus is cultivated mostly for its tender shoots, commonly known as spears. This vegetable is of great importance in the diet because of its valuable salts, vitamins and for its large amount of cellulose contents. It has multiple therapeutic properties. It is an alkaline foodstuff. It is an excellent body cleanser and its use will prevent or combat blood activity. It has a nitrogenous content called ‘asparagin’ which has diuretic properties. The asparagus is a valuable food medicine in rheumatism on account of its potash content. It is an excellent food for strengthening the heart. The dried roots of asparagus are used in Unani medicine as an aphrodisiac which arouses sexual desire.

Amaranth is a popular green leafy vegetable grown all over India. It is usually a short-lived annual herb, with erect and often thick and fleshy stems and green leaves. Amaranth is valuable in valuable in respiratory system disorders. Drinking fresh juice along with honey is remedy for chronic bronchitis, asthma, emphysema and tuberculosis. Regular use of amaranth during pregnancy and lactation is highly beneficial. One cup of fresh leaf juice of amaranth mixed with honey and a pinch of cardamom powder should be taken during the entire period of pregnancy. It will help the normal growth of the baby, prevent the loss of calcium and iron from the body, relax the uterine ligaments and facilitate easy delivery without much pain. Its use after child birth will shorten the laying-in period, check the postnatal complications, and increase the flow of breast milk.

The juices extracted form fresh raw vegetables are highly beneficial as they furnish all the cells and tissues of the body with the elements and the nutritional enzymes which they need. It is true that they body can derive these elements from whole vegetables. But the fresh juices can provide them in the manner in which they can be most easily digested and assimilated. A vitamin and mineral deficiency can thus be made much more quickly by drinking fresh juices than by eating raw vegetables. Practically all vegetables make good juices, but some bitter than others. In most cases, it is desirable to use juice individually and in no case more than three juices should be included in any one mixture. Vegetable juices soothe jaded nerves and gently carry away toxic matter and accumulated waste products. They are best taken at least half an hour or more after meals.

The raisins are dried grapes. All grapes are, however, not suitable for making raisins. The grapes, which are very sweet, are only selected for drying. The raisins are esteemed for their rare food value. They form a very valuable food when taken with milk. They supplement each other as the milk contains sufficient protein and the raisins, sugar. In some way they can be taken with advantage with nuts such as cashew-nut, walnut and groundnut. They are extensively used in salads. They may be added to curries. They are also used in the bakery and confectionaries and widely used in the preparation of jams, jellies, cakes, puddings and pies.

The pomegranate is a very delicious and semi-seedy fruit. It has refreshing and soothing qualities and is easier to digest than any other fruit. The fruit has been held in high esteem from time immemorial as a food and a medicine. The sweet varieties of the fruit are considered a good laxative, while those which are intermediate between sweet and sour are regarded as valuable in the stomach inflammations and heart pain. It supplies the required minerals and helps the liver to preserve vitamin A form the food. It increases the body’s resistance against infections, particularly tuberculosis. Pomegranate juice is of great value in digestive disorders. It is an apetiser, a digestive food item and is useful for patients suffering from colitis and mucous. It binds the stools and tones up the intestines.

The papaya has been regarded as one of the most valuable of tropical fruits. It is a large, fleshy, hollow berry upto 50-60 cm. in diameter and usually weighs from ½kg to 2kg. It is cylindrical or peer-shaped. The central cavity is surrounded by hundreds of small seeds, though sometimes seedless varieties of the fruit are also found. The papaya has remarkable medicinal virtues which were fully recognized even in ancient times. It is not only one of the most easily digested fruits, but it also aids the digestion of other foods. Ripe papaya is excellent tonic for growing children, for pregnant women and nursing mothers. It is an energy giving food. The ripe fruit, if eaten regularly, corrects habitual constipation, bleeding piles and chronic diarrhea. The juice of the papaya seeds is also useful in dyspepsia and bleeding piles.

The orange is one of the finest gifts of nature. It is the most popular wide-spread of the citrus fruit. The orange is a rich source of protective food ingredients like vitamins A, B, C and calcium and its health-promoting properties emanate from this fact. It is superior to almost any other fruit as a source of calcium. The orange also contains sodium, potassium, magnesium, copper, sulphur and chlorine. Its vitamin C content helps the body tissues to use the calcium contained in the food. Orange is an excellent food in all types of fever when the digestive power of the body is seriously hampered. It gives energy, increases urinary output and promotes body resistance against infections, thereby, hastening recovery. The orange also gives rest to the digestive organs and supplies nutrition in a most easily assailable form.

The mango enjoys a unique status among the fruits. It is the most popular fruit of the tropics and is called ‘The King of Asiatic fruits’. It is regarded as a valuable item of diet and a household remedy. The mango is used as food in all stages of its development. Green or unripe mango contains a large portion of starch which generally changes into glucose, sucrose and maltose as the fruit begins to ripe. The mango is well-known for its medicinal properties both in unripe and ripe states. The unripe fruit is acidic, astringent and anti-scorbutic. The ripe mango is anti-scorbutic, diuretic, laxative, invigorating, fattening and astringent. It tones up the heart muscle, improves complexion and stimulates appetite. The fruit is beneficial in liver disorders, loss of weight and physical disturbances.

The lime is an important fruit of citrus group. It is very popular all through the tropics and is used as a necessary adjunct in everyday meal. It is regarded as a health-building food of great value. Limes are generally mistaken for lemons, but they represent two varieties of the same genus. The lime is smaller in size than the lemon, with a thin smooth skin. It has sweet smell and contains less juice than the lemon. The lime grows on a small, multi-branded tree upto 5 m. in height, with spiny branches, small green leaves and white and strongly scented flowers. There are many varieties of limes, differing in size, color and shape. They are, however, classified into two main groups, namely, the sweet and the acid limes. The sweet limes contain a higher proportion of sugar but they have an insipid taste and are not considered to be of high nutritive value. They are, therefore, not grown on any great scale. Acid or sour limes, on the other hand, are extensively cultivated as their importance as food and medicine has been recognized for centuries.

The lemon is an important fruit of citrus group. It ranks high as a health food. The lemon is rich in many food ingredients, particularly citric acid. Different varieties contain this acid in different proportions ranging form 3.71 to 8.40 percent. It is mainly due to its citric acid and Vitamin C contents that the lemon is widely used in medicine. It is valued for its juice which is mostly used as an accessory food. It increases the flavor and improves the taste of various dishes. It is often used in the preparation of salads and prevents and discoloration of sliced bananas and apple. It is widely used in the preparation of lemonades, squashes, jams, jellies and marmalades. The lemon juice has a good keeping quality and it can be preserved for a long time with certain precautions.