This is the 5th and the concluding part of the series of Juice Therapy articles. Previously having covered numerous juices and their health benefits, a few more effective juices have been discussed below which may be useful to people suffering from particular diseases or illnesses.
For Lowering Body Temperature: Juices of watermelon, pineapple and apple may prove to be beneficial.
Fracture: First of all the fracture needs to be treated by an orthopedic surgeon. For the fractured joint to join and heal faster the following could be consumed: juice made out of equal parts of spinach, alfafa, drumstick, fenugreek and bishops seed. Juices of amla, guava and papaya may also help in healing the surrounding tissue mass, provided the patient takes the required amount of rest.
Gastric Ulcers: Cabbage is well known for its property of decreasing gastric acids, healing properties and anti-carcinogenic action. Some other natural antacids are cucumber, calabash (bottle gourd, dudhi) and potato. Juices of cabbage and calabash in higher amounts, with small amounts of cucumber and potato may cure gastric ulcers if consumed on a regular basis. Remember not to add black pepper or salt in this juice, or else it may not have the desired effect. Goat milk is believed to be suitable for such patients, as it readily gets digested and thereby helps in healing gastric ulcer. Apart from this, one should also avoid eating foodstuffs that are hot, spicy, and sour. Food items which are fermented and prepared may also further aggravate the condition. As one of the most common causes of gastric ulcer is believed to be psychosomatic, it is advisable to learn a few relaxation techniques.
Gout: This is the condition where more uric acid levels may be visible in the blood. This disease evidently starts its effect from the small toe joints and progresses further. Remedy should be based on removal, or rather decreasing the blood uric acid levels. Combination of lemon and honey (at least one year old) could be consumed on an empty stomach twice or thrice a day. Application of garlic oil over the swollen area may give relief from the pain. Non-vegetarian foodstuffs and products with high proteins like pulses could possibly be avoided. Tea and coffee may also be notorious in raising the blood urea levels. Furthermore, juice of French beans is believed to be a good remedy for gouty arthritis. Paste made out of around 50gms of beans, is to be boiled with 100ml water for about ten minutes. This mixture can then be taken by the patient twice a day.
Headache: Dry ginger powder if deeply smelled, is believed to be a powerful technique to cure any sort of headache. After inhalation, a lot of sneezing may take place, which is not to be resisted. Patients having chronic headaches should not eat hot, pungent, spicy and sour foodstuffs. On the other hand, they can enjoy warm, simple and sweet food items. Carrot and apple juice with a few drops of ginger in it may also help in relieving headaches to a certain extent.
High Blood Pressure: Since ages in India, garlic has been a traditional medicine for high blood pressure. Half a spoon of garlic juice taken twice a day may allay high blood pressure. This juice may be taken at least for about 2 to 3 months with modifications in one’s lifestyle. Sedentary lifestyle is to be changed to an active but a tension-free life. 20ml of onion juice without salt or with a pinch of rock salt and about 2 spoons of mint juice in the evening may also prove to be helpful to a great extent. Hypertension patients consuming garlic juice should try to eat meals which are devoid of red and green chilly. In case of acidity problems arising due to an increased intake of garlic juice, then about 30 pieces of black resins can be soaked overnight and its juice can be taken in the morning on an empty stomach. Quitting smoking, meat consumption and alcohol may also prove to be beneficial. Avoid consuming foodstuffs with high saturated fats like cheese, butter, ghee or any kind of oil. All oils irrespective of their labeled brands like ‘oil for heart patients’ and similar wordings are believed to raise triglycerides. Such oils may have a decreased level of cholesterol but its triglycerides may still be present.
Impurity of Blood: Drink juices made out of green leafy vegetables. Carrot and beetroot combination may also be good for an individual. All sour juices are to be avoided. Seemingly, neem, bitter gourd, Holy basil (tulsi) and turmeric juices are potent enough to control and cure most skin infections.
Indigestion: Mixture of one spoon of ginger juice with half a spoon of lemon juice and a pinch of salt may be a permanent cure for indigestion and flatulence problems. People with indigestion may benefit by adding about 4-5 pinches of black pepper in all their meals. Apart from this, a glass of buttermilk may also aid in digestion. During indigestion, people are to avoid the consumption of cold foodstuffs, cold water, potato and pulses.
Infertility: Juice of papaya, wheat grass, garlic, onion, couch grass (durva) taken once a day may help in curing infertility. Consumption of amla juice with 2 spoons of sugar during bedtime may aid in curing infertility.
Influenza: Juice prepared by adding ¼th spoon of black pepper, ¼th spoon of dry ginger powder, ½ spoon of turmeric, ½ spoon of garlic juice in either lemon water, orange or mosambi juice may aid in curing influenza. This juice is to be consumed thrice a day. To further enhance its taste one can also add sugar to this juice. People with this condition may possibly avoid consuming buttermilk, cold and sweet foodstuffs.
Insomnia: People with this condition may benefit from consuming about 5-6 spoons of onion juice with curd, while having dinner. This may help them in getting sound sleep. Also people with this problem could try and avoid drinking too much water after 7 p.m.
Jaundice: In small amounts but frequently, juices of beetroot, grapes, sugarcane and citrus fruits may help in curing jaundice. Seemingly, patients should be on a fat-free diet when suffering from this disease.
Loss of Appetite: Consumption of a glass of warm water mixed with ½ spoon of ginger juice, few drops of lemon and a pinch of salt, taken 15 minutes before meals may stimulate appetite. People facing this problem are to avoid the intake of cold foodstuffs.
Menstrual Disorders: Papaya, grapes, apple and carrot are believed to be very good in regulating menstrual disorders.
Nausea and Vomiting: In case of vomiting, no juices should be taken for at least an hour after the episode of vomiting. Later on, in order to avoid vomiting and nausea, patients could probably take non-citrus juices like papaya, pomegranate, sugarcane and apple.
Nervous Disorders: Apple juice and wheat grass juice may be useful for this condition. Couch grass (durva) juice is believed to be the best remedy for nervous disorders.
Osteoporosis: Consumption of foodstuffs rich in calcium may be helpful for people suffering from this condition. Seemingly, early morning sunbath may also be a good source of vitamin ‘D’, while citrus foodstuffs may be a good source of vitamin ‘C’. Juice made from the paste of green vegetables, beetroot and tomatoes may also provide adequate calcium. One glass of fresh butter milk is presumed to be equivalent to almost 2 tablets of calcium.
Peptic Ulcers: Increased secretion of hydrochloric acid may damage gastric mucosa thereby leading to the development of ulcers. Sweet foodstuffs may be a better alternative over hot, spicy and pungent foodstuffs for people with such ulcers. Apple, pomegranate, cabbage and calabash (dudhi) juice may also help in curing ulcers. The consumption of citrus juices may also be avoided.
Piles: People facing this problem may benefit from consuming the juice of onion, garlic, carrot and spinach. The intake of foodstuffs rich in fiber like banana, spinach, papaya etc. may also be helpful to such patients.
Pneumonia: Intake of mixture made out of 1 spoon of garlic juice, 1 spoon of turmeric powder and ¼ spoon of black pepper for thrice a day may result in faster cure of pneumonia. Fresh basil with mint juice taken for twice a day may even prove to be helpful. Also people with this disease may benefit from avoiding the intake of cold, sweet and sticky foodstuffs like okra.
Pregnancy: Daily drinking the juice made out of 1 apple, 1 pomegranate, spinach and beetroot is believed to be better than the iron-folic acid and multivitamin tablets which pregnant women are prescribed. Expecting mothers should also try and eat healthy and fresh fruits.
Problems Regarding Teeth: Strawberry, apple and diluted lemon juice are believed to be very good for maintaining one’s dental hygiene.
Pyorrhea: Masticate carrot, guava and apple properly before eating or taking their juice. Consumption of citric juices like lemon and orange may also be good during pyorrhea.
Rejuvenation: It is believed that if a patient only survives on juices for 10 to 15 days, then a new being may be born who has better resistance power against infections and good control over the body. Usually all fruits may serve this purpose. But if taken according to one’s body prakruti (constitution of vata, pitta, kapha); then it may have a better and a faster effect on the body. In general, amla, wheat grass, couch grass (durva) and basil juice can be taken along with the other juices. They not only rejuvenate the body but also help in building a strong positive aura around the body and thereby a sound and calm mind. Ayurveda focuses more on amla and basil juice, which can be consumed everyday by everyone in order to remain disease-free.
Renal Diseases: All fruits have good amount of water stored in them and are therefore diuretic. Usually due to obstruction or infection there may be acidic urine which may result in burning micturation. In such cases if alkaline juices (of any taste other than sour) are used then it may provide relief. Juices of cucumber, watermelon, calabash (dudhi) and spinach may also be very helpful. Patients of this disease may want to avoid the use of citrus fruits and vegetables. On the other hand, coconut may be considered as a good diuretic as compared to the other juices. But it should not be used by patients having an obstruction in their urine outflow. Since, there may already be some electrolyte disturbances, consuming coconut could further add to this problem rather than resolving it. This could occur because coconut is believed to have high contents of both sodium and potassium. Notably, wheat grass juice alone may act as the best alkaline juice in burning micturation.
Scurvy: Lack or deficiency of vitamin C may lead to scurvy. Amla, orange, pineapple, mosambi and tomato are believed to be rich in vitamin C. Their regular consumption may provide sufficient amounts of this vitamin. However, high intake of vitamin C may also temporarily result in loose motions, which could be rectified by lowering the intake of Vitamin C supplements.
Skin Diseases: Juices of bitter neem, basil leaf, mint and turmeric are believed to cure almost all types of skin infections.
Splenomegaly: This is a condition where there is an enlargement of the spleen. Papaya is believed to be good for shrinking any type of organomegaly, and therefore may also be used in splenomegaly. Juices of pomegranate, spinach, apple and carrot are believed to assist in resuming the normal size of the spleen.
Sun Stroke: Cucumber, calabash (lauki) and watermelon juice can be consumed in high quantities under such circumstances. Juice made from the leaves of fresh rose may also be of assistance in a faster cure from sunstroke. Couch grass (durva) when mixed with neem juice is believed to be another wonder plant in cooling the body.
Throat Troubles: This may result due to the lack of zinc and decreased vitamin A content. Throat troubles may also lead to repeated throat infections. Regular intake of fruit juices with mint and garlic may also help in curing this problem. Patients with this problem should avoid speaking too much and should also restrain from smoking.
Tuberculosis: For this condition, necessary medical treatment should be taken. Do not neglect this treatment. Garlic, mixed with black pepper and turmeric powder can be given to such patients thrice a day. This will aid in burning off the cough and killing the tuberculosis bacteria, thereby restoring the normal health of the patient.
Typhoid: Patients suffering from this condition are to avoid the intake of spicy, oily and fried foodstuffs. They could probably try taking lighter, easily digestible and high calorie foodstuffs. Drinking honey water in the morning may also prove to be a good alternative because of its high calorie content and also because it is easy to digest. Apart from this, sugarcane juice may also prove to be good for typhoid patients.
Weakened Sexual Drive: For this condition, the juices of garlic and onion are recommended. Their juices are believed to be good aphrodisiacs. Consumption of these juices in small quantities may tackle this problem.
Weight: To reduce one’s weight, juices of carrot, cucumber and tomato can be consumed. Papaya is also believed to be good for weight reduction, but it should preferably be taken at night. Apart from this, physical exercises should also be done. On the other hand, for increasing one’s weight, rejuvenation by milk is believed to be very effective. In addition to this, the intake of dry fruits is also believed to be a good alternative.
Worm Infestation: Garlic with turmeric juice may aid in killing intestinal worms. For this condition, patients can probably drink papaya juice every night. Other than that, neem juice can also be taken at least once a day.
– Dr. Hiren Parekh