Tasty road to immunity

In 2017 Anuraj Jain alumnus of IIM Lucknow began scrambling for an alternative line of treatment when he realised that radiation and chemotherapy werent effective in his mothers battle with ovarian cancer She had experienced two relapses Doctors had given her six months he says Through a common friend the family was introduced to an Ayurvedic ashram in Bhilwara Rajasthan The herbs and quality of food that she was offered improved the quality and longevity of her life and made me realise the power of AyurvedaVazha koomb thoran banana blossom stir fry pineapple pachadi kootu curry muringa parippu curry drumstick and dal naranga achar lemon pickle chammandi Pappadam and ada pradaman payasam prepared by Marina BalakrishnanUsha Jain went on to live for three years Her son now wants to help others His new venture HealWithFood which he launched with Bhanu Ravichettu a graduate of Institute of Management Technology Ghaziabad aims to empower people to live diseasefree by eating right The information Ive had access to in the last three years isnt available to everyone There is a dearth of credible practitioners and the quality of food you need to heal is hard to find he says The duo has got certified and experienced Ayurvedic practitioners Dr Arati A from Alvas Ayurveda Medical College Mangaluru and Dr Amala Jyothi a sixth generation Vaidya and postgraduate from SDM College of Ayurveda with 10 international papers on the subject to recommend easy diet changes The health conditions that the products target range from cholesterol and diabetes to allergies and psoriasis And the supplies are sourced from Ravichettus fouracre organic farm in Telangana For each disease we have herbs mixed into a superpowder Lets take PCOD For it there is a pomegranate peel powder that boosts your cardiovascular health improves dental hygiene and also helps maintain youthful skin It can be consumed with water or in your smoothie Ravichettu says The diet plans are curated taking into account each persons body or prakriti food preferences and family historyMarina BalakrishnanThe timing of their venture has coincided with the rapid strides that the ancient Indian cure system is making in the mainstream healthcare arena The Ministry of AYUSH is exploring the therapeutic potential of Ayurveda in treating COVID19 and has released an advisory on the use of several wellknown Ayurveda formulations to improve the immune system For independent entrepreneurs in the field the efficacy of Ayurveda is not just a wellness trendEnergy bars from HealWithFood with high concentration of dates and raisins meant for low bleedingChef Marina Balakrishnan runs a home kitchen named Oottupura which means eating place in Malayalam and is often used to describe not just a restaurant but any space that serves a traditional homestyle Keralite meal A certified plantbased chef from the Natural Gourmet Institute New York her culinary philosophy lies in connecting her technical training with family recipes from her Thalassery home in Malabar Theres not a single nonstick pan or pressure cooker in her kitchen She prefers to slow cook using traditional earthen pots called manchattis soapstone vessels called kalchattis and cast iron pans to retain the authenticity of the flavours My grandmother used to say that theres so much hype about ashwagandha and shatavari as heroes of Ayurveda that we rarely look beyond it Take the Dashapushpam for instance Its a group of flowers that are found almost everywhere in the state especially in the Western Ghats and are remarkable for their therapeutic properties In ancient times people foraged what was around them so Ayurveda had a very practical and daytoday approach It was a way of life Balakrishnan says the more she cooks the more she has begun to realise how Keralite food is aligned with the principles of AyurvedaAnuraj JainAccording to Ayurvedic philosophy there are three types of dosha or energy elements in the body vata space and air pitta fire and water and kapha earth and water Each person is composed of a unique combination of these energies based on their physical mental and emotional attributes and one type of energy is typically more dominant than the other Thats why knowing your doshamdashand understanding how to balance itmdashis important suggests Balakrishnan In Kerala eateries serve sambaram or spiced butter milk spiked with shallots and ginger and green chillies on a hot summer day Sometimes people feel queasy after having it Its not the fault of sambaram The reason for the unease is because you have not observed or listened to the workings of your gut In this case it means excess pitta or acidity So your samabaran also changes as per your dosha Ayurveda says if your gut is good then everything else will fall in place she saysBhanu RavichettuRavichettu believes no one size fits all diet formula in Ayurveda The foods to treat somebody with low bleeding will be different from the one youd administer to somebody with heavy bleeding In the first case we try to improve the condition by improving their blood count We do this by giving them an energy bar with high concentration of dates and raisins Sesame seeds and jaggery also help in this case She cautions that there are guidelines when it comes to application and ingestion We have a herbspiked hair oil which is one of the fast moving items Youre supposed to apply it on the scalp leave it for 10 minutes and rinse it off with cold water But people hungry for results keep it overnight What happens is that it blocks the pores and doesnt yield resultsOn May 28 recognised as Menstrual Hygiene Day food blogger and certified Ayurveda nutrition consultant Amrita Kaur put up a post about a ginger tea that is perfect for mahino ke un din This trusted ginger tea recipe is an ageold remedy and works like a charm for period cramps she wrote Kaur has been trying to cull nuskas that are relevant to people in their daily lives in order to make Ayurveda more accessible In her post on everydayayurveda she suggests you always start the day with cleaning the tongue ideally with a copper scraper or with oil pulling where you just swish a spoonful of sesame or coconut oil in your mouth for a minute Its great for the gums teeth and gutBalakrishnan finds it amusing that the ancient technique of dental care became popular only after the West christened it oil pulling When it comes to Ayurveda I think weve only about scratched the surfaceAmrita Kaurs ginger teaIngredients1 12 water1 knob of ginger1 tiny cinnamon stick12 tsp haldi turmeric1 2 tsp jaggeryAmrita KaurMethodBring water to the boil Grate in the ginger and add the turmeric and cinnamon stick Let this summer for 810 min Add jaggery to sweeten it And drink it warmGet in touchAnuraj Jain and Bhanu Ravichettus HealWithFoodhttpshealwithfoodinMarina Balakrishnans Oottupura cloud kitchen9967582367Amrita KaurFollow on amritaoflife InstagramCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current 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