Empty promises made by the pharma industries, spurious medicines and deadly chemical drugs have redirected people’s attention towards herbal medicines. Recently, herbal medicines market is being seen from a different point of view as these medicines are fast proving to be cheap, safe and even life saving.
Seeing the effect of herbal medicines, the whole world is now forced to acknowledge the wisdom of traditional knowledge. Many forest herbs are scientifically verified to be infinitely more effective than various deadly chemical medicines available in the market.
International pharma giants,that manufacture allopathic medicines, are also now showing an inclination towards herbal science. This article, however, concerns itself about the benefits of two plants — namely garlic and arjuna — besides informing about tribal wisdom regarding their medicinal properties. Also will be mentioned the health issue of high blood pressure and its diagnosis.
The bark and fruit of Arjuna is used for treating asthma, bile duct disorders, scorpion stings, and poisoning. Pic: Deepak Acharya
Importance of Arjuna and garlic
Discussions pertaining to heart and heart related ailments without the mention of garlic and arjuna are inadequate, and why not? The two are said to be heart’s true companions. Whether it is a remote village of India or some tribal region, learned people always talk first of garlic and arjuna as a cure for various heart ailments.
In this article, garlic-related ongoing modern researches will also find a mention so that the readers may learn that Indian traditional knowledge system is now being hailed universally.
As per modern researches, garlic is a fine, cheap and safe answer to the three most deadly diseases across the globe. Garlic has been hailed even by the scientists working in ultra sophisticated labs and multinational pharma companies.
Odor emanating from a tiny clove of garlic stays with us from our kitchen to our mouth and clothes and so the same garlic has over 4,245 research papers published in national and international journals advocating its uses. A study of all these papers suggests that garlic has been proven effective in a minimum of 150 different types of diseases including cancer, diabetes, cardio vascular ailments and radiation side effects.
Garlic has significant antibiotic properities. Pic: Deepak Acharya
Garlic’s great medicinal benefits
It is a fact that if garlic’s beneficial properties were accurately publicized across the world with people being suggested to incorporate garlic in their lifestyle and food habit; definitely the number of thousands of yearly deaths could be brought down.
As per records of World Health Organization, majority of deaths in poor countries happen due to communicable diseases and sadly these deaths are not due the unavailiblity of vaccines but owing to infected food articles, lack of hygiene and atmospheric pollution.
If garlic were used as a cheap and readily available drug in the poor countries then the trend of said death would be broken. Readily available garlic can be cultivated almost anywhere and so can be grown and distributed almost instantly across the areas of need.
Researches on the medicinal properties of garlic
Researches on the medicinal properties of garlic are being conducted by scientists across the globe, especially about its effectiveness against heart ailments. Researches have proven that people who chew fresh garlic cloves every morning have their LDL cholesterol lowered without affecting HDL cholesterol level.
Researches have also proven that garlic hinders the excessive production of LDL in liver. Several modern researches have shown that garlic helpsnormalization of high blood pressure and prevents thickening of blood thereby reducing the chances of cardiac arrest.
- Onions reduces the risk of obesity, heart disease, and cancer. Pic: Deepak Acharya
Traditional garlic herbal remedies
In tribal areas, garlic is considered beneficial for arthritis and heart ailments. 15 cloves of dry garlic, half litre of milk and 4 litre of water are boiled together and reduced a bit. This reduction is then given to the patient giving him relief.
Chewing raw cloves of garlic is also quite beneficial for heart patients. People with high blood pressure should chew raw garlic cloves every morning. Direct consumption of salt and garlic is believed to purify the blood. Those with low platelet count should also consume salt and garlic in equal quantity. If people are made aware of uses and importance of garlic there will be no need of many deadly medications and garlic could then be popularized as cheap medicine for the common people.
Arjuna tree considered a heart’s companion
Like garlic, arjuna tree is also considered heart’s companion. Found usually in the forests, the tree is readily identifiable due to its striped fruits which are green when raw and reddish brown upon ripening. Its botanical name beingTerminalia arjunaits bark and fruit are more useful medicinally especially with cardio vascular ailments.
Tribal people often use arjuna for the problems of heart and blood pressure. Bark from arjuna and wild onion tubers are pounded to a powder in equal quantities. Taking half a spoon of the said powder with milk daily proves beneficial for heart patients. They may also be benfited by taking whole punarnava plant extract with bark of arjuna in equal quantities.
Arjuna is also used to lower cholesterol and to prevent death of heart tissue. Pic: Deepak Acharya
Arjuna tea immensely beneficial
As per tribal wisdom, taking arjuna bark powder with 3-6 grams of jaggery, honey or milk helps heart patients a lot in recovery. Making a tea of arjuna bark also provides relief to heart and high blood pressure patients.
Powder of arjuna bark (1gm) to be boiled in a cup of waterand served optionally with sugar and milk is extremely beneficial. When pulse rate shootsup to 150, regular intake of a spoon of arjuna bark powder in a glass of tomato juice soon restores the heart beat to normal. Upon suspicion of a heart attack keeping a spoonful of arjuna powder in the mouth would rapidly resolve the problemand mitigate the after effects of a cardiac attack.
Regular heart activity and our body’s blood pressure are mutually dependent so increase in blood pressure due to any reason may invite heart disease.
Blood pressure control
Situated in the remote forest areas of Madhya Pradesh, tribal people even today seek herbal remedies for all types of ailments. While they cure all their common ailments with the help of common plants found in the nature they are also known to treat many serious ailments with the help of herbal remedies.
Bhumkas (local traditional medicine men) are the experts of herbal medicines in Madhya Pradesh’s Patalkot Valley and its surrounding areas. For several generations they have practiced this traditional wisdom of wellness. After collecting material on the tribal’s traditional medicine practices for over one and a half decade and on the basis of personal experience, the writer fully subscribes to their effectiveness.
(1) Fenugreek leaves stir fry with ginger and garlic is quite effective in lowering blood pressure. So, the patients should maximize its consumption.
(2)Tribal herbal experts prescribe a concoction of jatamasi roots to the patients of low Blood Pressure. As per them a dosage of 3ml of the said concoction twice daily shall effectively regulate the blood pressure.
(3) 2gms of long peppers pounded into a powder with 3gms of asvagandha rootswhen administered once daily in the morning with lukewarm water also effectively regulated blood pressure. Tribal herbal experts routinely presecribe the above formula to their low blood pressure patients.
(4) People afflicted with high blood pressure are told to eat jackfruit stir fry, ripened jackfruit and drink jackfruit leaves juice.
(5) Patharchur root’s powder mixed with honey when taken can alleviate high blood pressure. As per herbal experts taking this mixture over a month’s period helps blood pressure patients significantly.
(6)Lotus petals blanched in hot water and thereafter mashed and fed to high blood pressure patients every day morning with some sugar provide them adequate relief.
(7) 2gm Sarpgandha root powder when taken twice a day with lukewarm water can show improvement in patients of high blood pressure within a month.
(8) Asfoetida is also considered excellent for high blood pressure patients. As per tribal folks it helps thicken the blood and acts as a stimulant.
(9) Chewing two raw cloves of garlic on an empty stomach daily in the morning regulates blood pressure.
(10) As per tribal people, raw onion too is quite effective in high blood pressure. Modern researches inform about quercetin flavonoid present in onion which is a powerful antioxidant regulating coronary functions.
Watch Also:
