Amrita or Giloy the wonder herb

Amrita or giloy is one of the many herbs i grow in my garden and it is such an easy to grow herb that anybody can grow it in a large pot......a foot long piece of it's stem ( having at least 2 inter nodes) has to be planted in a pot and watered occaisionally.......it grows very fast after an initial slow growth and you can get your daily dose of health from this home grown plant........

As it's name is amrita , it is useful in curing many many diseases....ranging from diabetes, arthritis, gout, high blood pressure, urinary infections , asthma, infection caused fevers and is also beneficial for detoxification, for skin infections and to promote general immunity......

There are very few herbs of such immense use, Ashwagandha,Tulsi and Aloe vera are the herbs you should always grow in your garden or balcony as these are easy to grow and maintain........

In recent times the use of giloy and tulsi in prevention from swine flu is being talked about too much , as some of our Ayurveda experts have claimed that this is the effective prevention of swine flu........no wonder...........as these herbs are immunity boosting , it will certainly work ...so i believe.........in addition with Tulsi , which is a good antibacterial as well as anti viral agent , giloy can make you immune to swine flu........and most importantly if it does so many good things to your system , then why not giving it a chance........

you can see the pictures of giloy stem cut in about 10 inch pieces here...

orning.....these can be stored at room temperature for a week and in the fridge for a month...

according to baba ramdev , the extract of giloy with tulsi is capable to prevent you from swine flu......you need to boil a foot long stem piece of giloy with around 10 leaves of Tulsi in 250 ml of water and reduce till 3/4 quantity ...cool and drink first thing in the morning.

and here is the giloy and tulsi decoction ready as a drink...has a mild tulsi taste and can be consumed without seasoning....you can season if needed..

if we talk about swine flu , there are some more practices suggested .......doing pranayama in the morning and eucalyptus oil , a few drops applied on the handkerchief or on the masks is supposed to be beneficial...as it is anti microbial and immunity booster......

there are many more yoga practices like neti and snehan etc. which should be done under supervision and this blog is not an appropriate place to suggest it.

apart from the recent swine flu generated curiosity, giloy or amrita is one herb which is useful in counteracting infection and promoting resistance to infectious diseases.....it is a constituent of several compound preparations in Ayurveda ...

amrita or giloy is anti periodic , antipyretic, alterative, diuretic and anti inflamatory in nature and is used for the treatment of fever, urinary disorders, dyspepsia, general debility, and urinary infections. it is very useful in the treatment of rheumatism and jaundice.

It is considered to be a blood purifier and detoxification agent , it is considered to detoxify the micro circulatory system ( lymphatic system and blood circulatory system) and it has the unique ability to remove toxins from both exogenous and endogenous sources . The bitter principles of the herb help in such effective detoxification ( the herb is a bitter group of herbs called 'kashaya' in ayurveda...

the herb has some credible research backup too....you can go through the research papers here...

there is no dearth of research in Ayurveda and more is going on but the practice of Ayurveda is so ancient that it has impregnated into the belief system of a common Indian man , but still for common illness we rely upon the herbs but whenever there is an acute problem , we tend to go with the modern medicine.....which is not bad at all.... but i believe that the modern medicine is better advertised and has a better presence everywhere....and these are the reasons why the common man goes with the modern medicine......if my migraine cannot be treated completely by the modern medicine but it can be managed with Ayurveda as good as with modern medicine, then i would always go with Ayurveda , reason being, it is holistic way of healing and not just a symptomatic treatment ....tell me if you believe in it..


And now some practical uses of Amrita........

it's principal constituents are tinosporine , tinosporide , tinosporaside , cordifolide , cordifol , heptacosanol and tinosporidine ...all of these are effective in removing body toxins and improving immune system.

giloy satva is considered to be a good remedy of headaches ( along with triphala churna) caused due to dosha imbalance.... giloy satva is a solid powdery substance which is a water soluble extract of the stems of giloy....giloy juice is considered to be clearing some nervous toxins which in turn helps in brain function , that might be helping in management of headaches too..

giloy juice taken with neem , haldi and amla is effective in treatment of skin affections.....the most annoying types of eczema , lichens planus and other infections can be treated with this ( point to be noted is that long standing affections take more time to be cured).....the juice is considered a good blood purifier and hence useful in skin affections.

giloy juice with buttermilk is beneficial in treatment of piles and fissures....other dietary restrictions should be followed alongside.

the root and bark juice taken with whey helps in curing asthma and other respiratory ailments.

stem decoction is considered good for improving the quality of breast milk in lactating mothers.

the fresh juice of stem ( a foot long stem crushed and juiced) taken daily first thing in the morning is useful in controling blood sugar...( dietary restrictions not to be forgotten).

excessive menstrual bleeding can be controlled by fresh juice too......to be taken twice a day ..till condition improves.

warm decoction of stem with pippali ( piper longum) and honey is good for fevers cause by infections in the body.

for indigestion , the juice of stem with honey or leaf paste mixed with buttermilk and seasoned with black salt and roasted cumin powder are very effective..

since the stem decoction is considered anti inflammatory and diuretic , it helps in urinary tract infections....addition of fennel seeds and palm candy to the decoction is useful.

for gout and high uric acid conditions , the fresh stem juice first thing in the morning helps.......low protein diet will be helpful in a fast relief...

since it is a good immunomodulator , it helps in the management of several auto immune diseases........

also as is claimed in Ayurveda , the juice of wheat grass , giloy and aloe vera is considered very beneficial in treatment of blood cancer......a foot long stem piece of giloy , 3-4 inch piece of aloe leaf and a cup full of wheat grass has to be juiced together......the green juice is considered to lessen chemotherapy sessions ....i have personally seen that this juice can improve hemoglobin levels within a fortnight ...upto 3 units....it works ...