Why Traditional Indian Spices Are So Good For Your Health?
The human body is utterly complex. It is adaptable and is finely tuned to allow it to function properly. Nature has placed different regulatory systems in the body helping in its proper functioning. This lets the body respond to external or outside environmental conditions.
For example, when our body temperature rises beyond a threshold, sweat glands are activated and sweat is secreted by our skin evaporates giving a cooling effect. Hence, it helps in lowering down the body temperature. When the body temperature reaches an appropriate temperature, the brain signals deactivate the sweat gland. This process of regulating body temperature is known as homeostasis.
Accumulated toxins disturb the body’s homeostasis. Living organisms produce toxins in day to day life. Toxins are usually small molecules of peptides or proteins leading to diseases. These have a major role in detoxification. Detoxification is also known as body cleansing. This is a treatment to remove toxins from the body having undesirable effects on the body either for the short term or for the long term. This process involves dieting, fasting, consuming specific foods, avoiding certain foods, and colon cleansing.
What you need to know about detoxification
It takes nearly eight hours after having the last meal for the digestion, absorption, and assimilation of nutrients. The body then enters into a mode of detoxification which is a process that we usually don’t think about. A healthy body usually requires a time of about four hours to cleanse and detoxify the body from waste products of normal metabolism, without considering the toxic overload of today’s modern life. The nighttime of fasting every day for about twelve hours after the last meal detoxifies our body. But, following today’s modern lifestyle, this is not enough. You need to make an extra effort to detoxify your body periodically.
Human beings consume natural products during early life. However, nowadays, we buy most of the food items from supermarkets, and it usually arrives in containers. The preservatives added to extend the shelf life of food products protect food from getting deteriorated by bacteria. Most of the food items also contain additives giving them color, smell, taste, and texture. Just imagine when these chemicals kill the bacteria and virus cells; these also have a bad impact on the metabolism of the normal human body cells. In other words, these chemicals are the major sources of toxins.
The Danger Of Free Radicals
Free radicals are highly active and attacking molecules due to missing electrons in their molecular structure. These molecules are highly unstable and in an attempt to get stabilized they try to get electrons from surrounding molecules.
This cause a lot of damage to the cells and it leads to degeneration of the cells. Free radicals are usually formed due to the accumulation of toxins in the body. As we know that toxins are the result of our lifestyle and poor environment. These come from the type of food we eat, from the air that we breathe, from water that we drink and also the emotional pressure that we feel.
Lysosomes are the structures present inside the cells helping in the removal of the degenerating cellular organelles. These help in removal of worn out and old cells. Toxins form a layer around the lysosomes; thereby, impairing their normal function. This leads to the accumulation of toxins as well as the formation of free radicals. Therefore, it is very important to detoxify our bodies so that our bodies can function properly.
Foods To Detoxify Our Body
The traditional Indian food has various types of detox foods that remove toxins from our body and also rejuvenates our body. These foods help our body to function efficiently and stay healthy. Some of the best detoxifying herbs and foods commonly used in traditional Indian cooking include:
Turmeric (Haldi)
It is one of the most common food ingredients and you can find it in every kitchen. Curcumin, the active ingredient present in turmeric gives it a bright yellow color. Curcumin stimulates bile production and helps in improving digestion. Turmeric helps in flushing out toxins from the liver and in breaking down harmful compounds. Thus, it enhances the functioning of the liver. There are some other benefits of turmeric such as it could be used in preparing face masks and reversing the ill effects of pollution.
Recipe of haldi/ turmeric tea- Boil grated ginger in two cups of water for about eight to ten minutes. Then, lower the flame and add about half a teaspoon of turmeric powder and allow it to brew for about five to seven minutes, occasionally stirring the mixture. Sieve it in a cup and add about half a teaspoon of lemon juice; you can also add honey could make it taste better.
Fenugreek Seeds (Methi)
Fenugreek does not help in the production of more bile like turmeric but it does increases the concentration of bile acid and thus improves the proper functioning of the digestive system. Methi helps in cleaning up the liver and expelling toxins through sweat glands. Methi also helps in controlling the sugar levels in the blood.
Recipe of Methi / Fenugreek tea- In about four cups of water, add jeera/ cumin seeds, half teaspoon of dhania/ coriander seeds, half teaspoon of saunf/ fennel seeds, one-fourth teaspoon of ajwain/ carom seeds and one-fourth teaspoon of methi/ fenugreek seeds. Boil this mixture at low heat for about ten to fifteen minutes. Sieve it in a cup, squeeze lemon juice and drink on an empty stomach.
Carom Seeds (Ajwain)
Ajwain is useful in treating flatulence and improving the digestion process. It is also helpful in curing constipation and it is also helpful in expelling out kidney stones. It is also helpful in the secretion of mucus and therefore helps in cleaning up of impurities from the body which are responsible for causing cold and asthma. Ajwain is a natural antioxidant and helps in removing harmful toxins from the body. It is also helpful in weight loss.
Recipe of carom seeds water: Take a glass of water; add a teaspoonful each of ajwain and cumin seeds into it. Let this soak overnight. In the morning, strain the water, add 1 teaspoon of honey and take it on an empty stomach.
Cumin Seed (Jeera)
Jeera is rich in antioxidants and helps in eliminating toxins from our body and thus helps in losing weight. It is also helpful in the proper functioning of the liver by improving its bile producing ability. Bile helps in reducing gas and bloating.
Recipe for cumin water– Take a fistful of coriander leaves and add about one teaspoon of jeera in about six glasses of water, allow it to soak for overnight. Boil the mixture in the morning. Allow it to cool, sieve, and drink in the entire day.
Cinnamon (Dalchini)
This aromatic spice helps in reducing sugar craving and it also boosts body metabolism. It is rich in antioxidants and assists in detoxifying the body. It also has antibacterial properties that help in cleaning the mouth. Chewing a cinnamon stick helps in beating bad breath.
Recipe of cinnamon water– Take about six glasses of water, add one teaspoon of ajwain and a pinch of cinnamon powder, boil the mixture. Allow it to cool down, sieve it and consume. Finish this water in the entire day.
Coconut Water
It is rich in electrolytes. It helps in replenishing electrolytes which are lost due to alcohol consumption and if you take part in any sports activity. It helps in removing toxins from the body. It keeps your body hydrated.
