HEALTH BENEFITS OF CURRY LEAVES

Curry leaves is an essential ingredient of Indian cooking. Curry leaves adds flavour and aroma to the cooking and the recipe is incomplete if curry leaves are not added. The Curry leaf tree (Murraya Koenigii) is native to India. Also known as sweet neem leaves.

Children often wonder why curry leaves are added in the dishes . They find this annoying and remove curry leaves prior to consuming the dishes. Children do this in ignorance. By reading this article you will remind the significance and healing properties of curry leaves.

Curry leaves have vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin B2, vitamin C, calcium and iron in plenty. Curry leaf has many medicinal properties. It stimulates digestive enzymes and helps break down food more easily and therefore find a prominent place in Indian cooking. Gradually other countries have started to use Curry leaves . Oil of curry leaves can be used in the absence of fresh curry leaves. However fresh curry leaves are in demand .

Studies reveal that curry leaves consist 66.3% of Moisture, 16.0% of Carbohydrates, 6.4% of Fibre etc. The rest is made of a mixture of carbohydrates, fiber, minerals, and vitamins. Many of these are directly responsible for the health benefits you experience.

Curry leaves treats tasteless tongue

Curry leaves can be used to treat a tasteless tongue. It also contains good amounts of amino acids. Excessive use of antibiotics, indigestion etc can result in loss of taste. The leaves tend to excite the taste buds.

• A handful of curry leaves along with ginger, salt, garlic, tamarind and chillies is ground to a fine paste. This is then mixed with hot rice. A few helpings of this mixture help arouse the taste buds. This is repeated two to three times a day till the condition improves.
• When dealing with issues like loss of appetite and tastelessness, have a remedial drink prepared by adding curry leaf paste, cumin seed powder, and black salt in a cup of buttermilk.

Curry leaves treats excessive Pitta condition

Curry leaves can relieve nausea and vomiting in the mornings  which is a symptom of excessive pitta conditions . There may be even vomiting of bile.

• Make a paste of curry leaves with ginger, fried black gram, and salt. This paste is taken with food for a couple of days. This is very effective in treating nausea and vomiting due to excessive pitta.

• Extract juice of curry leaves, squeeze a lime and add a pinch of sugar.

Curry leaves treats morning sickness during Pregnancy

During Pregnancy women experience morning sickness due to hormonal changes which makes them vomit or they have the repeated urge to vomit.

• To relieve morning sickness, take juice of 15-20 curry leaves, mixed with one teaspoon of sugar and two teaspoons of lemon juice in the morning.
• Having buttermilk mixed with a paste prepared from freshly chopped curry leaves provides relief from nausea and vomiting. This mixture relieves fatigue too.
• Soak some curry leaves in four cups of water for two hours, filter the solution and drink half a cup of the mixture three times in a day.

Curry leaves Improves eye sight…minimizes cataract

Curry leaves are also known to improve eyesight, so make sure you do not throw away the leaves while eating. Its richness in vitamin A and antioxidants may help explain its use in preventing early development of cataract. Being a good source of folic acid, the leaves can also help in absorption of iron.

• The fresh juice of curry leaves are also used as an eye treatment for certain eye disorders, especially in arresting the development of cataract.
• Traditional practitioners suffuse the fresh extract of curry leaves in the eyes of patients who suffer from bad eyesight thus helping them to prevent early development of eye disorders.

Curry leaves helps in digestion

They also help in quick digestion. Curry leaves take care of indigestion, stomach ulcers due to excessive acid secretion in stomach, diarrhea and other similar problems. It also prevents deposition of fat in various parts of the body.

• Take a handful of curry leaves, a dry red chilli and sauté them in ghee. Add a pinch of salt and pinch of tamarind to this and grind all of these to a fine paste adding water as necessary. This paste is mixed in hot rice and taken as a remedy for nausea, vomiting, digestive problems, diarrhea, bloated stomach etc.
• Have a glass of buttermilk mixed with a little hing (asafoetida)  and a few chopped curry leaves , after meal for good digestion.

Curry leaves has Anti-Diabetic property

This is an ideal herb for people suffering from the ill effects of diabetes. Common observation in Diabetes patients are having aches and pains in the upper and lower limbs coupled with impaired vision , they often suffer from frequent vertigo ( giddy feeling due to unsteadiness). These patients should take curry leaves at frequent intervals to overcome these problems.

• Diabetes due to heredity factors can be cured by eating ten fresh fully grown Curry leaves every morning for three months. It also helps in curing Diabetes due to Obesity due to the weight reducing properties of the leaves.
• Kashayam made of curry leaves dried in shade and powdered is a very potent remedy that helps stabilize glucose levels in a diabetic patient.
• You can control blood sugar levels in a diabetic patient by chewing and eating a couple of curry leaves along with a few pepper corns first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.

Curry leaves Reduce Cholesterol

Increase in cholesterol can lead to obesity, increase in blood pressure, lethargy and other ill effects. Cholesterol levels in edible oils can be reduced to a large extent by making use of a handful of curry leaves. Helps reduce blood cholesterol.

• Boil 1 kg of the cooking oil with 15-20 curry leaves and then filter. This oil can then be used in preparing food stuff. This is said to bring down cholesterol level in oils.

Curry leaves effective for Diarrhea

An excellent remedy made using curry leaves is found to be very effective in treating diarrhea.

• Finely powder 40 gm of curry leaves and 10 gm of cumin seeds and take orally. Drink a glass of warm water. A teaspoon of honey is taken after 10 minutes. This routine is continued three to four times a day.