Posts Tagged ‘Benefits’

What are the Health Benefits of Garlic?

Garlic (Allium Sativum)

Garlic is a magical herb that has proven its effectiveness in almost all common ailments. It is very effective in heart diseases particularly in lowering cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. So if you are the one having high cholesterol, increase your garlic intake. It will also help you to reduce blood pressure. As garlic helps in reducing cholesterol and blood pressure, it also reduces the risk of heart attacks and heart diseases.

Chemical agents found in garlic are

• Allilin

• Allicin

• Diallyl disulphide

• Ferulic acid

• Saponin

• Beta Carotene

• Beta Sitosterol

• Phytic acid

Minerals found in garlic are

• Magnesium

• Phosphorus

• Calcium

• Selenium

• Zinc

• Folate

• Iron

• Potassium

Vitamins found in garlic are

• Niacin

• Ascorbic acid

• Thiamine

• Riboflavin

Garlic works as an antibiotic, antiviral, antifungal, antiseptic and a germicide. It is also an antioxidant, so diet rich in raw garlic fights against harmful free radicals. It improves blood circulation, and also helps in prolong erection. It is an excellent remedy for whooping cough. Syrups of garlic is given in doses of five drops to a teaspoonful two or three times a day in this condition.  Read more...

Health Benefits of Massage Therapy

Massage therapy is no doubt an effective natural therapy that has tremendous healing properties. To get maximum benefit from this therapy you should know the principles of massage therapy and do’s and don’t while doing massage. Touch is both healing and comforting and what’s more you can enjoy the pleasure of it – both giving and receiving. Massage improves blood circulation; calms the nervous system; stimulates skin function; improves muscle tone and eases aches and pains in muscles and joints.

The basic principles of massage

Massage is a way of stroking the body, with variations in the length and depth of strokes. However, you should always direct firm strokes towards the heart, as this will be beneficial to the circulation.

Long flowing massage strokes with little pressure on the body are the most soothing and relaxing. This type of movement is called gentle, even pressure and is often used to start and finish a massage.

Patting or tapping the skin with your fingers quickly and slowly is stimulating and helps to increase blood flow. This is called tapotement. It is usually done on small areas such as the forehead, cheeks and neck.

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Aromatherapy and Health Benefits – the Natural Healing Power

Aromatherapy is a complimentary therapy that helps to restore the body and mind to a balanced, healthy state, using healing essences extracted from plants, shrubs and trees.

In aromatherapy these essences are usually applied to the body by way of a gentle massage, although they can be used effectively in many other ways. Apart from their healing powers, these aromatherapy plant essences exude powerful scents which have an effect on the memory and sensory nerves. As a result, aromatherapy treats the whole person, both mind and body. It is a very helpful way of treating the stress-related problems that many of us seem to suffer now that our lives have become so pressured.

Health benefits of aromatherapy

Aromatherapy helps us to keep healthy by improving the circulation, soothing the nervous system, reducing waste products and lessening the effects of stress. It can to help chronic conditions such as migraine, eczema, rheumatism and sinus problems, offering more relief to some sufferers than others. Obviously, there are acute conditions which you wouldn’t treat with aromatherapy, such as heart attacks and appendicitis.

Aromatherapy oils which are safe to use if used with care are benzoin, bergamot, black peeper, clary sage, camomile, sweet funnel, frankincense, jasmine, lavender, ginger, marjoram, geranium, eucalyptus, grapefruit, tea tree, lemongrass.

Four common aromatherapy oils  Read more...

Several Health Benefits Of Massage

Massage is a widely used naturopathy with several health benefits. Massage unites the fractured of bones. It relieves sprains and brushes. It is beneficial in muscle wasting. It regenerates the muscle tissue. The contractile power of muscles is increased by sticking and tapping. Effleurage, kneading and tapotement massage are used for relieving muscle pain.

Normally dry palms are used for massaging but if the skin is too dry or if the body is very weak, oil may be used. Til (sesame) oil is widely used for massage as it is specific for removing pain which is produced by vata. There are three humors which control the body viz-vata, a more or less a nervous activity, pitta – enzymes, digestive juice and bile. Kapha – a growth factor and material present in joint spaces lungs, throat, head, joints and stomach.

There are several herbal oils widely used in massage, they are maha masha taila of black gram used in wasting of muscles, marichadi oil of pepperused in phlegmatic diseases, karpasas thyadi taila of cotton seed oil used in nervous diseases, chandnadi taila of sandal wood used in bilious disorders. The massage is usually done for 30 minutes and for local massage 15 minutes. After massage, the oil is removed by a dry cloth and if needed warm water bath is given.  Read more...

The Health Benefits Of Eating Sprouts

Sprouts retain vitamins and minerals, even after cooking. Where as grains, fenugreek, mung (mung bean, green bean, moong, green gram), ground nut will lose a substantial amount of their vitamin and minerals on boiling.

Sprouts contain an amazing increased amount of nutrients in comparison to dried seeds. Sprouting increases the vitamins, minerals and protein and decreases the calories and carbohydrate contents. The water content of the sprouts also increases as compared to dried seeds, grains, and legumes. Sprouts are a great, cheap source of obtaining a concentration of vitamins, minerals and enzymes. Alfalfa seeds contain manganese, calcium, vitamins as A, B, C, E, K and amino acids.

The following are used for sprouting.

1. Legumes- Peas, ground nut, mung
2. Seeds- Radish seeds, carrot seeds
3. Grains- Wheat, barley, ragi,

Method of Sprouting

The seeds must be washed well in pure water and soaked in water for 24 hours, after closing the vessel with a clean cloth. The next morning seeds are cleaned and water is removed. To one fourth of the vessel the seeds are put and they require more space for their sprouting, bulky, and pulpy and with full of water. The sprouting will happen within three days. One can notice the green leaves at their tips. They must be preserved in a refrigerator and used whenever necessary. These will contain all the nutrients and minerals after boiling. The vitamins are not lost after boiling. So the sprouts are safe and useful to the body. They aid in the maintenance of good health. So, one must use sprouts daily in their meals either in breakfast, lunch or dinner.  Read more...