Thursday, August 11, 2011

Chyawanprash: In Sickness and in Health

The practice of using natural medicines and (ayurvedic medicines) originated in India, bringing remedies for illnesses from the major to the minor. With the main concern being finding a cure for sickness using all natural ingredients, ayurveda provides natural medicines for things like upset stomachs or bad gas to artery and heart disease to diabetes and more. There are even yoga exercises that are practiced to keep good health as far as illness and disease are concerned. Within India many ingredients, such as turmeric and cumin, that are used in everyday foods are also key to ayurvedic practice of maintaining good health.

I recently started showing symptoms of a cold (first one in 6 months, I think thats pretty good!), so Abhinav introduced me to a new "product" used in ayurveda. Its not exactly a cold medicine, per say, but more of an immunity booster. It can be eaten throughout the year... in sickness and in health.

Its called chyawanprash and I really have never seen anything like it in my life. Its this dark brown paste with a strong sour smell; not appealing to the senses in any way by its looks alone. The taste is not so bad, though i takes some getting used to if you've never had it before. And its really difficult to describe, other than a mixture of salty, spicy, sweet, and sour all-in-one.

Chyawanprash is made up of around 50 different ingredients, but the main effective ingredient used is Amla(Indian Gooseberry). Amla is considered the fruit with the highest Vitamin C content on the earth, and is a key ingredient in many ayurvedic medicines. For a list of other ingredients used in chyawanprash, look here.

Nice color, huh? 




Here's to better health!

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