JOIN USIf all your sentences get punctuated by a sneeze or a cough, instead of a silent pause, then your immune system has not survived the dry and dreary impact of cold during this seasonal change. Do not let a sore throat take your spirits down. Keep your system humming by following basic remedial therapies right out of your kitchen to keep the cold at bay.
There are definitely no sure-shot ways to avoid the contagious germs in the air but one should carry along a handy soap to wash hands on the go. An ayurvedic doctor, Parvinder Bajaj recommends taking, “Take ghee and put some almonds or ajwain (carom seeds) in it and apply it over your back and chest before sleeping. In your diet, increase the intake of soups that contain gourds such as bottle gourd and ginger rather than just sticking to tomatoes.”
Chakshu Prakash, a 50-year-old homemaker, shares her household wisdom, saying,” We just do not follow the simplest methods that our ancestors used to believe in. Just warm up some oil and massage it onto your soles before sleeping. Keep a portion of ginger and honey in a jar by your side and eat it periodically throughout the day. It is tasty and beneficial as well.” Chakshu also suggests making a kahdha (potion) by boiling up water containing tulsi, cardamom, ginger and pepper to only retain 75% of it by the end.
A septuagenarian Surendra Kumar says, “It is ridiculous to see youngsters huffing and puffing around and easily catching the cold. In our times, we used to take besan (gram flour) mixed in milk with dry fruits and believe me that keeps your immune system strong against cold related diseases.” He cautions that one should not take water after drinking besan with milk.
The hale and hearty Surendra doesn’t even pant once during our conversation and recommends that one should exercise daily and not depend upon medicines for everything. You cannot battle out cold and cough with packs and packs of medicines, what you need is a strong system to fight against a disease, says Surendra.