What Type of Food to have in Summers?

If you want to stay cool in summers, take the right type of food. Read the list below to have an idea about what to have and what to avoid in summers!

• Take more carbohydrates, sufficient protein but lesser fats.
• Have more fluids like water and other cool summer drinks and less semi-fluids.
• Decrease your intake of solid foods. Instead, have easily digestible food that can cool your body like summer special fruits and vegetables.
• Have more of vegetarian food and less of non-vegetarian food as they have warming effect on your body

Wonders of Aloe Vera Juice

Aloe vera an ancient herb is primarily known for its numerous benefits. Aloe vera plant is considered best for treating burns, irritation, and various skin problems. And the herb also has other beneficial uses which are not much known, it improves blood circulation, detoxification, digestion, and pain relief. At the same time extracts of aloe vera are equally beneficial, whether it is aloe vera juice or gel extracted out of aloe vera plant. Aloe vera juice is rich in vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C, B- iron, copper, calcium, potassium, complex, and manganese. In fact drinking aloe vera juice on daily basis is safe and extremely beneficial. Doctors recommend to drink at least 30ml every day to obtain maximum benefits of aloe vera juice.

Moreover, consuming aloe vera juice has an overall balancing impact on the body. Drinking juice regularly alkalizes stomach acids, normalizes fat metabolism and improves new cell growth while inhibiting the spread of cancer cells and viruses. Click here to read more advantages of Aloe Vera.

Ayurvedic Remedies for Stretch Marks

There was a time when pregnant women used to think that stretch marks are forever - once they've made their presence felt, they simply do not go. But now, times have changed. Yummy Mommies are today's trendsetters. They bear children with elan and then go on to flaunt their spotless attractive bodies after child birth. So, doing away with stretch marks is not really a problem anymore for pregnant mothers. There are plenty of effective ayurvedic remedies. Try them during your pregnancy for a stretch mark-less toned tummy:

• Basil, gotu kola, sandalwood, Indian margoza, Indan madder are some of the useful herbs for curing stretch marks. Make a paste of any of these herbs and apply on your tummy during pregnancy.
• Apply cocoa butter twice a day on your tummy for an after-delivery scar-less abs.
• Prepare a mixture by adding avocado oil, sweet almond oil, jojoba oil to a few drops of lavender and charmomile, and apply it on the affected areas. This is a very effective remedy for reducing stretch marks.

Log in here for more such wonders of Ayurveda.

How to Prevent and Cure Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)?

Urinary tract infection is the bacterial infection of urinary tract that takes away all body waste in the form of urine from bladder out of the body. When a person gets infected with UTI, s/he feels a strong urge to urinate every now and then and sometimes the expelled urine is of milky cloudy nature due to the presence of pus in it. In more severe cases when the infection reaches the kidneys, urine might also contain blood traces. The person with urinary tract infection feels extremely weak. There are many causes for UTI like infection from bacteria in the colon that reach and cling the cells that line the urinary tract, sexual contact with infected person, unhygienic conditions like using unclean public toilets or not keeping one's private areas clean, kidney or gall stones etc.

Whatever be the cause of urinary tract infection, once a person catches UTI, s/he tends to be infected often. Therefore, the best policy to cure UTI is to prevent it at the first instance by taking care for avoiding all the reasons that can lead to UTI. Secondly, one should always drink enough water during the day to cleanse the body toxins and to flush off all harmful bacteria from body. Also, one should avoid using public toilets (or use those that do not come in body contact like Indian toilets instead of Western toilet seats.) If anyhow, one catches urinary tract infection, she should immediately get a urine test done (with the advise of physician) to know the gravity of the infection. One should always complete the whole medicinal course prescribed by doctor as UTI tends to recur. There are many home treatments for UTI that can also be followed for UTI cure. Read these Home Remedies for Urinary Tract Infection (UTI).

Try Antibacterial Herbs- Avoid Side Effects of Antibiotic Drugs!

Everyone now knows how antibiotics can affect health adversely. Perhaps that is why doctors too avoid prescribing antibiotics unless extremely essential. So, why not try antibacterial herbs that do not have any side effects and work more efficiently than any drug! In fact, there are many antibacterial herbs that are used as spices and condiments for preparing Indian dishes. These herbs have antibacterial properties that can inhibit growth of bacteria in human body. Some of the common antibacterial herbs (spices, condiments, plants etc.) include

• Clove (clove oil kills bacteria that causes food poisoning)
• Cinnamon (Cinnamon bark oil destroys many forms of pathogenic organisms)
• Garlic (garlic fights off not only bacteria but also other parasites and viruses)
• Neem (its leaves can make you skin germ free and can cleanse your whole system marvelously)
• Basil or Tulsi (wonderful antibacterial herb- even a plant of basil in your home can purify the whole environment)
• Turmeric (a pinch of turmeric in all your dishes or with milk can keep you away from harmful effects of bacteria)

These antibacterial herbs are so commonly available that you can store and use them easily. However, there are many other antibacterial herbs some of which are common and others a little uncommon but available with a herbalist. Read about these Antibacterial Herbs

Other foods and condiments that are powerful natural antibacterial herbs and can boost immunity can be listed as onions, leeks, shallots, radishes, fenugreek, fresh ginger root, chili. Have them and keep all bacteria at bay as also all those harmful side effects of antibiotic drugs!

Why take Analgesic Herbs for Pain Relief?

When you can be relieved from pain in a matter of seconds by taking a pain relieving pill, why bother about finding and using analgesic herbs for pain relief? That is the first question that occupies your mind when you come across the concept of pain relief herbs or pain relieving herbal oils, creams etc. Here are some reasons, why you should use analgesic herbs instead of those chemical pain relievers.

• The drugs used for pain relieving are mostly anti-inflammatory drugs (Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAID). They put you at a risk for gastro-intestinal bleeding and liver dysfunction.
• The newer pain relievers- the COX-2 inhibitors- do not have side effects on that wider scale but they may still cause some abdominal discomfort.
• According to the reports of the Federal Drug Abuse Network, anti-inflammatory drugs were one of the reasons for the deaths of 16,000 people in the USA in 2000.

Scientists have also found out that once established, the minor pains can become chronic pains and then they are the most difficult ones to treat. Therefore, one should eliminate pain as soon as it is felt but with something that do not carry any side effects. It is known that substances which nourish, calm, and soothe the nervous system can treat pain, even chronic pain. Analgesic herbs have all- natural, nourishing, calming, and soothing analgesic effect and that too without any side effects! And that is why, you should go for these analgesic herbs for pain relief.

To know how analgesic herbs work and to get the list of these herbs, read Analgesic Herbs

Embarrased by Gas Problems?

Do you often feel restless and uncomfortable due to stomach gas problems? And worse, are you embarrassed every now and then at office, public place and in social gatherings due to flatulence or belching? You can very well avoid all these intestinal gas problems like bloating, belching and flatulence. In fact, these problems are due to excessive gas formation in intestine and you have to control this- the formulation of excessive gas! For this, the best way is to recognize the foods that cause gas and bloating and avoid them. Also, some problems like belching is not due to the type of food but due to the manner of eating and drinking. So, you have to change your lifestyle a little by avoiding foods that cause gas and by improving your eating habits. How to do so? To know this, read Tips to Avoid Gas Problems- Bloating, Flatulence, Belching