Naturopathy is fast gaining popularity around the world for its safe and effective healing. In Indian homes, home remedies come before the trip to the doctor. All ailments are believed to be caused by what you eat and what you don't eat. A traditional Indian doctor will first make slight adjustments to your diet before he prescribes a medicine, which is the last resort. There are various forms of medicine in practice in India, such as Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Unani, etc. Ayurveda is based on the theory that with proper diet and corrective therapy aided by massages, techniques of respiration and through meditation, all problems can be cured. Yoga therapy corrects respiration and all bodily imbalances by the use of different postures that facilitate the above and initiate recovery. Yoga is practiced by itself and can be combined with other therapies as well. Diet plays a very important role in Unani medicine as well. When an illness is being treated, diet is controlled during the initial stages and if the problem persists, medicine is administered.
Similarly, skin ailments are also naturally cured. Be it acne, dryness, a rash etc. In fact, in India skin care and beautifying rituals have such an important place that there are 16 steps to complete care. These are cumulatively called Solah Shringar or 16 adornments. These start with the pre-bath oil massage and go up to the perfuming step. The beautifying ritual for a bride begins with a ceremony in which a mixture of gram flour, turmeric and mustard/vegetable oil or clarified butter is rubbed on her. Then she is given a manicure and a pedicure with milk and on the big day she is bathed in milk and rose water. Milk softens the skin and the rose water cools and deodorizes the body.
For those with oily skin, a mixture of gram flour and turmeric makes for a great scrub and face pack removing excess oil and cleansing the face. There are many such concoctions that Indian women use even today for problems as varied as colds and unwanted hair.
Following are a list of such mixtures guaranteed to work very effectively and if they don't work as desired, you can be sure that there won't be any side effects since these are completely natural.
LEMON
For cough, cold and fever, lemon is very effective. Squeeze a lemon in a glass full of water and drink repeatedly. This will cure all three. But if the fever is high and makes you thirsty, boil the water. This will bring down the fever and reduce the thirst. If the cold is severe, add required amounts of honey in the above mixture. Another very beneficial method is: cut a lemon in half, add in it salt, ground black pepper and powdered molasses. Heat this and squeeze the juice directly on the tongue.
If you don't like the freckles on your face, rub a piece of lemon on them everyday and they will lighten considerably. Sprinkling a little alum on the lemon works wonders for the complexion. Rubbing half a lemon on the teeth not only makes them shiny and bright but will also cure bad breath.
If you are looking to lose some weight, before crash dieting try this: add a little salt and one lemon to 350mls of lukewarm water. Drink this daily on an empty stomach. If you prefer honey to salt, you can substitute. Drink this mixture every time you feel thirsty. Try this for a month and you are sure to see results
MILK
Milk should ideally be consumed in the morning since it is believed that the heat of the sun digests milk. Adding sugar to milk is very harmful since it not only induces phlegm, it also destroys the calcium content in it. It should be drunk at room temperature if possible, or cold. But if you prefer warm milk then don't overheat it. Overheating destroys all its beneficial elements. For the sweetening of milk and easy digestion, add honey to it. Never drink milk if you are suffering from cough, constipation, diarrhea, stomachache or indigestion. For acidity, drink cold milk twice a day. And for tiredness a glass of warm milk will prove effective.
For wrinkles, pimples and blemishes apply warm milk and wash with water. Do this regularly before sleeping at night, it will solve your problem and improve your complexion. Adding a little saffron to a spoonful of fresh milk and applying on the lips will cure their darkness and make them softer.
If you are suffering from an itchy rash, add a little water to some milk and apply on the rash with cotton wool and then wash. It will stop the itch and cure the rash.
SALT
Salt is good only in small quantities and rock salt is better than sea salt. Eating excessive salt weakens the gums and is also the cause of body odour. Due to excessive consumption of salt, body cells die and these dead cells come out from the pores through perspiration. This makes the odour very strong and foul. To help the situation, eat salt in very small quantities. Salt is very drying, thus excessive amounts of salt causes unnatural thirst. Small quantities of it can be very beneficial.