Curry Leaves Benefits

                    Effective Home Remedies with Curry Leaves

Curry leaves or karivepaku or kadi patta are the most commonly used flavoring agent in the Indian cuisine. Many of us remove the leaves from the food and only few actually eat them. However the leaves offer numerous health benefits when consumed on a regular basis.

Curry leaves are rich in anti-oxidants and are particularly good for improving skin texture and hair growth. The leaves also protect hair from premature graying.

Curry leaves are anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anti-carcinogenic.

The leaves are proven to provide effective means to control glucose levels in diabetic patients.

Phenols present in curry leaves offer protection against various types of cancer.

The leaves help in lowering cholesterol levels and controlling blood pressure.

Regular intake of curry leaves improves eyesight due to the high proportion of vitamin A found in the leaves.

Few chemical compounds found in curry leaves aid in liver protection. The leaves further aid digestion and reduce the symptoms of diarrhea when consumed with butter milk. Curry leaves with butter milk and little jeera powder is a good remedy for indigestion. 

The anti-fungal and anti-bacterial characteristics makes the leaves fight against several types of infections.

Consuming curry leaves on a daily basis is good for people suffering from anemia.

Applying paste of curry leaves on pimples, insect-bites and burns eases the pain and inflammation.

Wash and eat few leaves daily for hair growth, skin care and to maintain correct BP levels.

Many people actually do not prefer to eat the curry leaves either fresh or even in recipes. Alternatively, one can make karrapodi and eat it with rice, idly or roti to get the full benefit of curry leaves.

Karrapodi Recipe

Ingredients
Curry leaves- 2 cups (cleaned in water and dried) 
Urad dal - 3 tbsp
Dhania (whole) - 2 tbsp
Channa dal - 1 tbsp
Jeera - 1 tbsp
Red chillies - 20
Garlic pods- 15
Tamarind - about a small-sized ball
Salt to taste
Method

Fry curry leaves in a kadai without oil. Remove and keep aside. Take oil in the kadai add all other ingredients. Fry till they turn little brown and remove from stove. Let the mixture cool a little.

Take the mixture in a mixie and blend. After a single run add tamarind, salt and haldi and blend again. Repeat till the mixture becomes a fine powder and remove to a bowl.

How I Cured my Asthma

I do not remember how it started, but since about 12 years of age I had asthma attacks...severe cough followed by wheezing for several nights. My parents visited several doctors, including homeopaths and I was given various types of medications. Though few worked the results were temporary and as soon as I was off the medication, asthma is back.

Then through our relatives we came to know about Dr. Bapuji, a naturopath. He cured me of asthma in a single visit. He gave me a list of foods to avoid and taught me few breathing exercises. I followed his advise to the word and within a month I could see real results. My cough vanished and so was wheezing. But he asked me to stick to the regimen and to relax few of the food restrictions. To this date I follow the same with few exceptions here and there.

Here is the list of foods to avoid:
Dairy products
Maida and related products
citric fruits after 6 p.m and totally avoid grapes
all types of nuts
bakery foods
processed foods
deep-fried (esp. outside food)
Ice creams, chocolates, biscuits, chips


Here is the list of foods I can binge on:

All home-made sweets, savories
Substitute green-tea or lemon tea for regular tea
pickles, salads
all kinds of fruits (but for citric fruits and grapes)

Even today I avoid most of the foods, but cannot resist few, such as  morning coffee, evening tea, buttermilk, dark chocolates, ice creams and citrus fruits. But now I'm in control and rarely have any asthma attacks. Sometime in the middle I even stopped breathing exercises but still had no wheezing. Now, anyway I do breathing exercises regularly. The most important thing is consistent adherence to the regimen yields definite results and as added benefit my overall stamina improved. 
Thanks to Dr. Bapuji.

Since a long time I wanted to share this important development in my health and I would be more happy if anyone finds this post useful. I always believe, few changes in lifestyle can bring huge benefits.

A note about grapes : Though grapes are loaded with anti-oxidants, many doctors advice against eating them as they are proven to contain pesticides in high proportions.