Home-made Immune Boosting Powder

Ingredients

Cloves  ½ tsp

Peppercorn  1 tsp

Carom seeds / ajwain  1 tsp

Flax seeds  1 tso

Coriander seeds  2 tsp

Jeera  2 tsp

Organic turmeric pdr.  4 tsp

Dry ginger pdr  2 tsp

Cinnamon pdr  ½ tsp

Method

In a kadai/ pan dry roast all the spices on medium heat till brown, not the powders.

Once cool, powder the spices, add the powder spices, mix well, store in an airtight, dry container.

Boil 1 glass water, add ¼ tsp of the pdr., let it reduce, drink it warm adding some honey if you find it too spicy.

Note- in case you find the powder too spicy, slightly reduce the amount of cloves and peppercorns. 

 

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

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Human Immunity And Rasam: What We Know And Don’t

Note: This piece does not say that consuming rasam will prevent a person from contracting Covid-19. It talks about how rasam boosts immunity.

In 2015, the Nobel Prize for medicine was shared by three people, of whom Youyou Tu attracted high attention.

Neither a ‘doctor’ and nor an academic PhD, her research was in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

In the early 1970s, she isolated an anti-malarial principle artemisinin from a well-known Chinese herb, sweet wormwood, or Artemisia annua.

Now, in 2020, there is a chance that a culinary delight from traditional Hindu culture can play a role in effecting a food-based resistance to the spread of COVID-19 mortality rate by boosting the resistance of the body.

Given the fact that the presence of background diseases along with the age-factor increases the chances of COVID-19 fatality, a boost in immunity is important in battling the viral epidemic.
In this, rasam seems to have triggered some renewed interest of late.

‘Rasam’ is a southern Indian common liquid food item consumed by people from all sections of the society.

Tradition has it that a Brahmin priest came up with this formulation to cure a Pandya prince who was suffering from an ailment that could not be cured with any then known medicines.

Rasam in Sanskrit means ‘essence’.

In Vedic literature, rasa is the living fluid essence - from the breast milk through clarified butter to the juice of the fruits - rasa is the very essence of life.

In the culinary context then, rasam becomes a very important component in Indian meals.

What we know
A study in 2014 discussing the medicinal values of various southern Indian traditional food items has pointed out that like all things Indic, rasam also comes in quite a number of varied forms, each with their own medicinal valuer

Selavu rasam a known traditional food of Tamilnadu is prepared by boiling and seasoning a mixture of ground ingredients of black pepper, coriander seed, jeeragam, garlic and curry leaves. Selavu rasam is not only given to children and adult with cough, but also to lactating mother after their child birth. Vitamin C was rich in recipes like Murugai keeerai rasam (8.96mg) and Millagu rasam (10.55mg). 

Studies by researchers from the department of biotechnology, SRM University and National Institute of Siddha, Chennai, reveal that 'Thaaleesaadhi chooranam', a polyherbal formulation prepared from 23 different herbs is mixed with rasam and given to people to build in them resistance against microbial infections.

Professor Agilandeswari Devarajan of the Department of Pharmaceutics, Hillside College of Pharmacy and Research Centre, Bengaluru, has been studying this delicacy for quite some time along with researcher Mohan Maruga Raja of PRIST University, Thanjavur.

Defining rasam as a traditional preparation with 'tamarind juice as a base, with the addition of Indian sesame oil, turmeric, tomato, chili pepper, pepper, garlic, cumin, curry leaves, mustard, coriander, asafoetida, sea salt, and water' they state that 'preclinical and clinical studies on rasam and its ingredients support' the traditional claims of medicinal values of rasam.

What we don’t

They point out that 'the real challenge lies not in proving whether the functional foods have health benefits' but 'in investigating the bioactive properties of these functional foods beyond a nutritional context'.

The study after describing the various common individual components of the rasam then points to an important fact - the processing factor

The processing in the formulation of rasam involves heating the spices in water and oil. This processing provides tremendous opportunity for a completely altered/different chemical composition of the finally formulated rasam. Loss of active principles or synergetic effect or breakdown of inactive metabolite to an active one or formation of new chemical entities (NCEs) is a real possibility.

This study published in the peer-reviewed journal 'Pharmacognosy Reviews' in 2017 says that a study of rasam with respect to these newly formed chemicals would reveal the following:

-the structural and functional features of these newly formed chemicals in the context of body's physiology and biochemistry;

-the same in the context of the origin and development of diseases;

-how these new entities emerging out of rasam interact with them;

-and interaction between organic and inorganic constituents.

Now with COVID-19 spread necessitating the building of measures to increase the disease resistance of the general population, India does have a great advantage of using her traditional food system, fortified by local medical knowledge to achieve this goal in a cost-effective and efficient way.

Rasam - a very easy to make food item makes itself available to all sections of the society.

And who knows an active principle that may inhibit COVID-19 may be hiding in plain sight in one of the rasam recipes of a village grandmother, waiting for our labs to find out.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  
https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement

Garam Masala: Why This Have-It-All Spice Must Be Added To Your Tadkas, Curries And Sabzis

Garam masala benefits: Are you a fan of garam masala? Can you simply not cook sabzis and dal tadkas without that extra tsp of garam masala? If yes, then this article is certainly going to be your favourite! Garam masala is essentially a powder made by grinding some of the most popular spices in the Indian kitchen like: dried red chilli, bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom, clove, cumin, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, black pepper, etc. All of these ingredients are slightly roasted and then ground to form a powder, commonly known as garam masala.

A tsp of garam masala (less or more if you want) in your tadkas and sabzis can impart a tangy and spicy flavour to your food. What's more, it also offers you a variety of health benefits! Talking about the multiple benefits of garam masala is lifestyle coach Luke Coutinho on Facebook.

The many health benefits of garam masala and why you must add it to your food


In his video, Luke mentions that there are different recipes of garam masala according to different cultures and their aesthetics. The richness of spices in one single tsp of garam masala is what can do wonders to your health.

Luke highlights that there are certain spices which have been "scientifically tagged" as anti-cancer spices, because of the anti-inflammatory effect they have on cancerous cells in the body.

Spices like cinnamon have been related to lowering blood sugar levels and being beneficial for diabetes; cloves have been known to be an effective remedy for tooth pain and cavities; cumin given to pregnant women to give a boost to their haemoglobin, cumin can be helpful for those dealing iron deficiency.

According to Ayurveda, garam masala is warm in nature. Foods that are naturally warming can be good for your metabolism. A healthy metabolism can help you feel more energetic throughout the day. Efficient metabolism can also help in burning fat and easing weight loss.

The human body also needs warm foods in order to detoxify (release toxins from the body).

Garam masala is great for your digestive system. It can stimulate the digestive system to produce digestive enzymes that help in breakdown of fat, protein, carbs and fibre. Without sufficient digestive enzymes, you are likely to experience indigestion, bloating, gut issues, etc.

Do add black pepper for preparing garam masala. Piperine in black pepper increases bioavailability (aborption) of most foods.
Do add black pepper to garam masala
Similarly, add turmeric to your garam masala. Curcumin in turmeric can be better absorbed in the body in the presence of piperine in black pepper.

In times of cough and cold, you can have half a tsp of garam masala with warm water and it can offer you some relief.

You can prepare garam masala according to how it has been traditionally prepared in your family for generations. Make sure there is a jar-full of freshly ground garam masala at your home, at all time!

Word of caution

If you have acidity and experience gut issues, then garam masala is probably not as good for you.

this is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     
https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  
https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement