8 Foods that promise to be with you in sickness and in health

Our generation is one that has to learn to cope with pressures from every part of our life. Sometimes it is work, sometimes it is personal life and other times it is societal pressures that lead to us not having the time to take care of our body’s needs. Whatever the reason, it is admittedly a big part of our lives that we need to have the time to take care of. How do we combat these ailments? We take medicines, ten different pills for ten different problems. Instead of reaching for a pill next time, try these simple foods to relieve you of your pain be it a common cold or digestion difficulties these foods will help you better. These are age old remedies that your grandma would have used on you when you were a kid. They’re easy to incorporate into your daily routine without the hassles of having to pop pills in. It may seem easier and less time consuming to pop a pill but these remedies cancel out the side effects of ingesting too many pills in the long run. Plus since it is food it has multiple benefits other than just curing.

1. Honey

1. A teaspoon of honey with a small piece of ginger or ginger shavings will cure a sore throat and congestion.
2. A teaspoon of honey with a teaspoon of turmeric in warm milk before bedtime will help you sleep better and cure a common cold.
3. A spoonful of honey with warm water and half a lime squeezed will help with weight loss.

Honey is one of the sweetest medicinal cures you could ask for. It is so versatile that almost all cures ask for a teaspoon of honey with some other ingredient. Before sugar, honey was the sweetener used in food.

2. Garlic

1. One clove of garlic before sleeping at night with a pinch of salt will help ease an irritated throat and cure a sore throat, dry cough and congestion.
2. Use garlic slices to get rid of acne without leaving behind ugly scars.
3. Garlic is known to aid weight loss.

The only thing with garlic is to remember not to have more than one clove at a time because of its pungency and never more than 2-3 times a day.

3. Ginger

1. Ginger shavings reduced (to bring to boil and reduce by letting the steam escape) in water with honey will ease your common cold and soothe throat irritation.
2. Ginger tea, i.e. simply boiling ginger like for 5 minutes and adding a teaspoon of honey if you can’t handle the heat helps reduce stress. Also effective in aiding weight loss.
3. Dried ginger shavings that are seasoned with sea salt are known to cure digestion problems.

Ginger is very pungent and creates a lot of heat due to which it is best taken in moderation. To bring down the pungency a teaspoon of honey helps, not sugar, just honey.

4. Green tea

1. Antioxidants in green tea relieves stress, soothes the nerves
2. A cup of clear green tea first thing in the morning helps lose weight
3. The antioxidants in green tea also help in giving you a better complexion

Consumption of green tea has picked up in the last few years. Dieticians, doctors both recommend clear tea instead of tea infused with milk. Black tea is fine too but green tea just does it all and does it better.

5. Chocolate

1. Mood swings, irritability and nerves are all eased by piece of chocolate.
2. Depression can also be eased some with chocolate
3. Dizziness caused due to low sugar levels can be taken care of with a piece of chocolate too.

Not a bar of chocolate! A bar of chocolate will send your weighing scales tipping on the higher side. Also keeping a bar of chocolate handy will take you a long way. Sometimes getting carried away with work is possible; keeping a nutrition bar that contains chocolate can help keep the dizziness away.

6. Fennel seeds 

1. Digestion problems, fennel can take care of that. Just munch on a little after a meal.
2. Bad breath can also be cured with a little munching on fennel seeds.

Fennel seeds are easily found in all households. Some use it in their home brand of “mukhwas” others just roast the seeds a little and bottle them for having after meals.

7. Peppercorns

1. Roasting peppercorns and putting them in a thin cloth to sniff works wonders for a blocked nose.
2. Roast a couple of peppercorns and crush them, take a pinch of the crushed peppercorns with a few drops of honey just coating the crushed peppercorns and chew on it slowly to ease a congestion.

Peppercorns are very spicy but the freshly grounded powder with honey does wonders not only for relieving a common cold or viral infection but also helps with digestion problems.

8. Apples

1. Munch on apple if you have diarrhoea.
2. Apple skins help if you have just thrown up and can’t keep anything down.
3. Nausea can be relieved by eating small, thin slices of a peeled apple with a sprinkling of salt.

‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away’ may or may not be completely true. But an apple does have its benefits. It is the one fruit that is easy to digest no matter how tasteless it may feel during a cold and it is always easy on your stomach when you have difficulty keeping things down.