Ayurvedic Home Remedies: Triphala Health Benefits

Triphala is one of the most popular and effective Ayurvedic remedies used over the millennia to treat various illnesses.  This powder with excellent medicinal properties is effective in treating constipation as well as detoxifying the body.  It is a gentle detoxifier par excellence.  It regulates glucose levels in diabetics, controls hypertension and even stops the progression of cancers.

Indian Gooseberry

Triphala means ‘three fruits’ in Sanskrit; the three fruits are Indian gooseberry, kadukkai (Terminalia chebula) and thanrikkai (Terminalia Bellirica).  The three fruits on their own have immense medicinal value and are used in the preparation of various home remedies.  When these fruits come together in Thiripala, their medicinal powers multiply synergistically, resulting in a remedy that has a wide range of healing applications.

Triphala balances the tridoshas vata, pitta and kapha.  It is mentioned in Ayurvedic text Sushrut Samhita.  Generally Ayurveda physicians prescribe Triphala for constipation as it is cleanses the bowel in a gentle manner while acting as a detoxifier.  Hence this preparation can be taken in moderation every day without any nasty side effects.  But when we limit its usage to just a laxative, we might miss out on its other health promoting properties.

Regular intake of triphala benefits lungs and reduces the intensity of an asthmatic attack.  It is rich in antioxidants, hence effective in combating cancers and signs of aging.  It guards you against infectious diseases and tackles chronic ulcers and arthritis effectively.  Triphala’s detoxifying effect results in healthy skin and good hair growth.

Thiriphala powder can be taken with water or honey.  A tablespoon of the powder is mixed in water and taken at nights at bedtime (one hour after supper) for constipation.  It can also be taken with honey for cleansing and other health purposes.  Some find it hard to stomach the taste of the powder.  They can take the powder in capsule form.

Triphala tea is yet another easy way to consume the remedy.  Boil a glass of water and add a teaspoon of triphala powder.  Allow the water to cool and add honey as needed to hide the taste. 

Triphala can also be used an eyewash for eye infections.  For this purpose triphala powder steeped water kept overnight is used.  Splashing this water on eyes is found to be beneficial in redness of eyes etc.

Pregnant women should desist from taking Triphala as it has a tendency to favor miscarriage.  Excessive intake can lead to dehydration and stomach troubles due to its laxative properties.

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How to preserve Gooseberries using Honey

Gooseberry is an excellent source of vitamin C. It keeps you active and drives away lethargy. Honey is an excellent source of energy. It is a natural preservative. It is also an antiseptic par excellent. Gooseberries that are available only 2-3 months in a year can be preserved in honey and used throughout the year. Honey helps retain the vitality and medicinal properties of gooseberries. One way to preserve gooseberries using honey is described below.

A small note on honey, honey harvested from mature honeycombs is the most beneficial. Prematurely harvested honey gets sour quickly and becomes useless.

Take required number of mature gooseberries. Each gooseberry is pierced at various spots (5-6 piercing) with a stainless steel sharp object or thorn. Now take a jar full of pure honey and drop these pierced gooseberries into them. Let the gooseberries be fully immersed in honey. Cover the mouth of the jar with a thin white cloth and place it in sunlight for 1 hour each day for 15 days. Now the gooseberries are storehouses of energy.

On getting up in the morning, after cleaning your teeth, take a honey soaked gooseberry first thing in the morning. This eliminates lethargy and keeps you active throughout the day.

This is an excellent source of energy for both young and old and ideal for strengthening the mental faculties.


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Siddha Remedies for Eye Problems

Eyes are sensitive enough to reflect changes that happen internally in our body. We are familiar with doctors checking the eyes for jaundice. Redness of the eyes in many cases is regarded as increase of “heat” in the body, according to Siddha practitioners. They would say the body has “heated up” and it has to be cooled down. To that end they use both external and internal preparations to regain the needed balance. The redness is cleared once this balance is established.

While some problems of the eye may be due to simple “heat” (“heat” in Siddha terms is when the body’s pH becomes acidic, this may be due to deprivation of sleep, stress etc) from a home remedy perspective, it is always advisable to seek the help of a qualified physician if problems persist for more than three days. Certain problems of the eye require a complete study of the individual to diagnose the exact cause.

Now for some simple remedies of the eye.

Neem flowers help improve eyesight. For this purpose dry neem flowers are used, preferably 6 months to one year old. These flowers are fried lightly using ghee and then taken internally in the form of thuvayal.

The extract of crushed jasmine flowers also help improve eyesight. Four drops of this juice is put in the eyes using a dropper. Regular application will help in clearing up the redness of the eye.

Following preparations are used to “cool” the body.

Arugampul (Bermuda grass) root is dried and powdered. This powder is then fried in ghee and taken internally.

Take a small amount of cumin seeds. Boil the seeds in water. Filter the seeds out. The boiled seeds are then taken internally with cow butter.

For irritation of the eye, kadukkai, gooseberry, neem seeds, coconut, and white pepper are taken in equal quantities and ground to a fine paste. This paste is applied on scalp 5 minutes before bathing. Use this paste once in two days until irritation ceases. This simple Siddha home remedy helps clear eye irritation.

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