Food should not replace medicine, of course, but it can still be used to ease various day-to-day ailments that may not really require medicines. Though this may seem like something that your grandmother tells you to do, you have to believe that certain food items do work miracles and can help the medicine do its work faster.
If your digestive system is finding it difficult to retain food, chances are that you are getting dehydrated and your body needs nutrients.
Eating bananas is a good idea as they are rich in potassium which is required by your body to regulate blood pressure and the depleted nutrients if you are suffering from diarrhoea or nausea.
Bananas also contain sugar which provides the body with energyproducing carbs without being so sweet that it irritates the already suffering taste buds.
Starchy food items like rice, boiled potatoes and plain toast line the stomach when consumed.
This prevents acidity and acid reflux, acting as a cure for hyper acidity. They are also accommodating when you feel bloated or heavy because these food items don’t sit in the
stomach but are easily digested.
If you have a cold, the best thing to do is have a hot bowl of clear soup. It is a known fact that there is no cure for the common cold in modern medicine, so your best bet is home remedies like ginger and common button mushrooms. Button mushrooms contain polysaccharides which stimulate the natural killer cells of the body like T-Cells, B-Cells and neutrophils.
These killer cells destroy cold and flu causing viruses, relieving your respiratory system. These polysaccharides are also known to help in shrinking tumours i n t h e body.
You can stock up your body with gamma interferon, a substance that fights viral and bacterial infections. This substance can easily be introduced by consuming natural yogurt. Having two servings of yogurt or curd in a day can increase your chances of beating a cold by many notches.
If you suffer from chronic headaches or migraines, it’s probably time you started having Omega-3 rich food items like fish, or maybe just the capsules containing it.
If your head is hurting, your body is probably producing a chemical called prostaglandin, which is responsible for the ache.
Omega-3 reduces this chemical and in turn the pain too. If you can take the heat, another good item for consumption to help ease headaches is chillies. Red or green, all chillies contain
a chemical called c a p s a i c i n which is responsible for the heat. This chemical i s present in a lot of pain relieving salves that you apply externally.
Capsaicin prevents the peripheral nervous system from relaying signals of pain from one cell to another, so it essentially cuts the communication of pain from the body to the brain and helps in providing relief.
The deficiency of magnesium is a common cause of headaches as magnesium is what helps keep the arteries relaxed and fully functioning. In absence of magnesium, the blood vessels shrink, which is what causes the pounding headache that one feels during a migraine attack. Quinoa is a magnesium rich food and so is dark chocolate containing 80 per cent cocoa,
nuts, seeds and dark green leafy vegetables like spinach.
Including these in your diet will help reduce the frequency of migraines and will also help in uplifting your mood by fighting depression and keeping your heart healthy.
What we eat is what we are.
In a world that has a medical miracle everyday, it is very easy to pop a pill and go about your day, but using natural remedies will not only save you from side effects but also help in preventing the ailments in the first place.