Food and Medicines an Ayurvedic Viewpoint

This is a continuation of the article on Ayurveda. Kerala Ayurveda's Panchakarma Treatments during the Rainy Season of Karkidaka 

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Our ancestors wanted food to be medicine and medicines as safe as food. So they collected food from their locality. They procured the medicines also from their surroundings. The foods used as protection like oushadhakanji, soups, mukkudi etc. comes under this category. There are medicines in Ayurveda that can be used in the place of food like Chyavanaprasham. Take equal parts of Puli leaves, Chukku, Kurumulaku, Jeerakam and mix with a glass of buttermilk. Boil and keep to cool when it froths and add manjal podi and salt before drinking in the morning

Chukku, Jeerakam, Ayamodakam, Kurumulaku, Puli leaves, Kudakapalayari and Kothamalli can also be prepared as described above. Mukkudis are that which can cleanse the intestines from wastes such as hair and clean the stomach and improve the action of gastric juice.

There are different types of medicine kanjis. Uzhinjakanji, Navadhanyakanji, dashapushpa kanji, pathilakanji etc. are known in the name of the medicines added. Make the kanji with either one or all of Njavara Ari, Unakkalari & Uluva. When rice boils, mix the juices of the pachamarunnu juice in the kanji. Jeeraka powder and tablesalt can be added to make the kanji tastier. During karkitaka month, meat soups mixed with medicines are also consumed to protect the body.

Keralites used thavidappam also as a karkitaka delicacy. Thavidu mixed with water and pasted on banana leaves.Scatter jiggery, coconut grater, Jeerakam, chukka, Elathiri and fold the banana leaves and prepare the food from steam cooking.

Above mentioned food medicine mixture delicacy are helpful for getting agnideepthi, dehaposhanam, Proper expulsion of wastes and to mitigate health calamities that could arise in Karkitaka month.In the worst case they can reduce the superiority of diseases on the human body.

After each year, the popularity of karkitaka treatments are increasing ever. Increasing awareness about health, tensions, business interests may be reasons for that.Karkitaka treatments are about simple lifestyle adjustments and can be contained in branded and packaged oushadha kanji kits.

Reference

1. Ayurvedavum Deerghayussum - Dr. K. Muraleedharan ISBN 987-81-8264-931-6