simple oral and dental care

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How many times has it happened that you had to take a step back while you are talking to someone because of his/her bad breath problem? We all have experienced how embarrassing it is to talk to someone who has a bad breath. With this feature on homeremedies for bad breath, we plan to tackle the cause and solutions for this issue. It can be even more disturbing when a friend or relative or worse, your girlfriend points it that the same problem plagues you. The medical term for bad breath is Halitosis. What we all know is that poor oral health can lead to halitosis but what we don’t know is that it can be easily avoided by simple oral and dental care.

Reasons: Firstly, we need to pinpoint the reasons that cause halitosis as this will ultimately help in getting rid of it. Bad breath is a result or a culmination of various factors combined like smoking, dry mouth, diseases of the gum, the kind of food we eat and lastly, consumption of alcohol to name a few.

Remedies:

1 – Use of Tongue scraper helps in removing all the dead cells and bacteria from the tongue. It is an instrument easily found in any medical store. It has to be used gently and you should make sure that you rinse your mouth properly after using it. Regular and daily use of scraper is very helpful in eradicating bad breath.

2 – Using a dental floss is very helpful. However the right way to use it is important. Start by selecting floss 16 to 18 inches long. Slip it between your teeth to form a U shape. With a gently rubbing motion get rid of food particles. Floss your teeth at least once daily.

3 – Next time you are hungry between meals, help yourself to some crunchy vegetables and fruits such as apples, carrots etc. instead of a bag of potato chips. These fruits and vegetables are instrumental in removing bacteria and plaque from teeth thereby preventing bad breath.

4 – Using a gargle of baking soda helps in keeping the tongue bacteria free. Mix baking soda with warm water for gargling. It is extremely safe and is a very good remedy to prevent bad breaths. Also drink plenty of water or simply put keep your body adequately hydrated. Water helps in keeping your mouth moist which in turn reduces bad breath.

5 – Use mouthwashes containing essential oils such as plant oils, they are known to reduce bad breath. However never try and prepare a mouthwash at home. It is always advisable to buy a mouth wash from the market. It’s very important that alcohol based mouth washes be avoided.

6 – Herbs are known to refresh the breath, so you can make it a point to chew on some parsley, spearmint or rosemary. Preparing tea with Fenugreek seeds can significantly reduce bad breath and bad odor.

7 – Cardamom has an aromatic flavor which works as an excellent breath freshener. Chewing on some cardamom is an effective remedy against bad breath. Parsley is also known to be an excellent food neutralizer. The leaves contain chlorophyll in abundance and chewing on these leaves can be an excellent way to eliminate bad breath.

8 – In most cases bad breath can be cured by simply keeping your teeth, mouth and tongue clean. Proper brushing techniques, proper toothbrushes, and following regular oral hygiene will be of immense help. Make sure that you rinse your mouth with a mixture of a glass of water and some lemon juice before going to bed every night.

9 – Research has found that vital vitamins such as vitamin A and D help in keeping the mouth healthy. Vitamin C helps in curbing bleeding gums problems. So make it a point to consume fresh citrus fruits, dairy products, vegetables etc.

10 - Drinking lots of water is another very simple bad breath home remedy that can work wonders. One of the purposes of the saliva in your mouth is to fight bacteria, so a dry mouth tends to result in bad breath. Staying properly hydrated will go a long way to reducing the smell.

Likewise, beware of beverages that can dry out your mouth. Alcohol can cause you to become dehydrated so it is best to avoid it if you have a problem with bad breath. Sugary drinks like soda can leave sugar residue in your mouth, which helps bacteria breed, so try to avoid them, too.

11 - Cloves, cinnamon or fennel are other members of the herb family which make excellent bad breath home remedies. Their astringent qualities and taste work very quickly on bad breath, and the real beauty of them is that there is no preparation involved in the remedy.

12 - One of the most popular benefit of Neem which is known to everyone is that it is used as a used as a tooth brush. It keeps teeth whiter,  prevents gum problems, bad breath, tooth decay, bleeding and sore gums and to prevent cavities.

Quick Tips:

–Flossing after eating.
–Gargle with baking soda dissolved in warm water.
–Gargle with lemon water.
–Chew on one to two cloves after eating.
–Rinse with hydrogen peroxide. Gargling with hydrogen peroxide is safe, if you do not swallow any of it.
–Boil two cups of water with two to three cloves and some parsley, let cool, and use the liquid as a mouth wash.
–Mix one teaspoon of ginger and lemon juice in a cup of warm water and use the liquid to gargle with daily.
–Chew on fennel seeds. Fennel seeds freshen the breath and also aid in digestion.
–Eat ample amounts of fruits high in vitamin C such as oranges, lemons and limes.
–Use a tongue cleaner to remove white film from the back of the tongue.

This list of home remedies for bad breath is easily available and will not pinch your pocket. The highlight of these remedies are that they will work better than your market chemical-based products which might cost you a significant sum without giving any promising results. Most products available claim to treat bad breath but all they are doing is hiding it temporarily. Most mouthwashes are alcohol based and they cause more harm than good. They damage soft oral tissue and ultimately make way for more bacteria in your mouth which defeats the purpose of using them. No one would want that his or her social life be affected by something as embarrassing as bad breath, especially when it can be treated by following simple remedies that are present right in your backyard.

Shilajit : Witness a hundred summers on earth, free from disease and decay !!!

Shilajit – A Wonder Of Ayurveda and Powerful Rejuvenator

Introduction:

Shilajit is one of the most widely used medicines in Ayurveda due to its broad spectrum uses. Shilajit literally means ’sweat of rocks’ in Sanskrit, it is a mineral pitch which oozes out from the rocks of Himalayas. Shilajit is one of the very important drugs of the ancient Ayurvedic medicine which is extensively used until today. It is a wonderful medicine which alone cures many diseases. Shilajit is considered one of the wonder medicines of Ayurveda. Neither a plant nor animal substance, it is a mineral pitch that oozes from the rocks of the Himalayas, as they become warm in the summer months.Shilajit carries the healing power of these great mountains. Shilajit is an important drug of the ancient Hindu material medica and is to this day used extensively by the Ayurvedic physicians for a variety of diseases. Early Ayurvedic writings from the Caraka Samhita and Susruta Samhita describe Shilajit as a cure for all disease as well as a Rasayana (rejuvenative) able to increasing longevity from 100 to 1000 years of age.

Shilajit is a blackish-brown exudation, of variable consistency, obtained from steep rocks of different formations found in the Himalayas at altitudes between 1000 to 5000 meter, from Arunachal Pradesh in the  East to Kashmir in the West. It is also found in Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, China, Tibet and U.S.S.R (Tien-Shan, Ural and Caucasus).

FOLKLORE

Some Himalayan tribal villagers, who were observing white monkeys migrating to the higher mountains in summer months, made the discovery of shilajit. The monkeys were observed to lick the semi-solid substance exuding out the rock crevices. Since observing the animal behaviors were an important part of healthcare research in ancient times, those villagers attributed the great strength, longevity and wisdom of those monkeys to this substance. Curious by the thought, they themselves started taking the substance and reported a broad spectrum of improvement in their health and stamina. It gave them more energy, relieve digestive problems, increase sex drive, improve to memory etc., with the passage of the time traditional health practitioners established the methods to purify the substance.

Source:

Until 1991 it was believed that shilajit contains only mineral contents oozed out from rocks of Himalaya. Researches conducted in 1991 showed that it contains humus and organic plant material that has been compressed by layers of rock mixed with microbial metabolites. This research proved the actual potency of shilajit. Ancient Indian medical scholar Sushruta stated that “A gelatinous substance is secreted from the side of the mountains when they are heated by the rays of the sun in the months of Jyaishta and Ashadha (May and June). This substance is what is known as Çilájatu and it cures all distempers of the body.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Traditional Uses:

The Charaka Samhita states that there is no curable disease in the universe, which is not effectively cured by shilajit when it is administered at the appropriate time, in combination with suitable drugs and by adopting the prescribed method. When administered to a healthy person, with similar conditions it produces immense energy. This opinion of Charaka is true and Shilajit is being used for many ailments of different organ systems. Here are few of the disease cured by Shilajit:

1. Adoptogenic: It increases the resistance to stress, anxiety and rejuvenates the body.

2. Dermatological: Leprosy and parasitic infections of skin is effectively treated with Shilajit

3. Worms: It is a very good anthelminthic drug.

4. Diabetes: It is prescribed for diabetes mellitus, renal stones and urinary tract infections.

5. Obesity: scraping effect of Shilajit on fat helps in losing weight.

6. Reproduction: It is extensively used to treat male and female reproductive problems. It is beneficial in cases of premature ejaculation, impotency and spermaturia (loss of sperms in urine). It is effective in treating dysmenorrhea and infertility in females.

7. Anemia: It is beneficial in treating anemia as it increases the production of red blood cells.

8. Neurological: Epilepsy, Alzheimer’s and loss of consciousness can be treated with Shilajit.

9. Immune: It is proved to improve the immune system.

10. Bodybuilding: It helps in muscle building and losing unnecessary fat.

Research Studies:

Many researches has been conducted on rats to confirm the effectiveness of Shilajit, here are few of the proven results:

1. Analgesic activity: Analgesic activity of aqueous suspension of shilajit justified its use in different painful conditions.

2. Anti-ulcerogenic activity: It has shown anti ulcerative properties by creating a mucus barrier on the walls on stomach.

3. Anxiolytic activity: It has significant anxiolytic activity, comparable qualitatively with that induced by diazepam.

4. Anti-Alzheimer: Shilajit has shown positive results in treating Alzheimer’s disease which is apparently untreatable by modern day medicines.

Final Words:

Charaka has stated in his literature that Shilajit enables the user to witness a hundred summers on earth, free from disease and decay. This may sound as a line of exaggeration but the beneficial properties of Shilajit are a very big asset for medical field of all times.

Honey ‘Madhu’ help us to lead a healthy long life

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Honey is the natural sweet substance produced by honeybees from the nectar of flowers or from secretions coming from living organisms feeding on plants, that bees gather, transform and combine with specific ingredients, store and leave to ripen in the combs of the hive.

In Ayurveda honey is called as “Madhu”. Its qualities are explained as follows.

Vaatalam guru sheetam cha raktapittakaphapaham |
Sandhatru cchedanam ruksham kashayam madhuram madhu || 

“It has sweetness with added astringent as end taste. It is heavy, dry and cold. Its effect ondoshas (imbalances) is that it aggravates vata (air / moving forces), scrapes kapha (mucus / holding forces) and normalizes pitta (catabolic fire) and rakta (blood). It promotes the healing process.”

It has sweetness (madhura rasa) with added astringent as end taste (Kashaya anu rasa). It is heavy (guru guna), dry (ruksha) and cold (sheeta). Its effect on doshas is as follows It aggravates vata, scrapes kapha and normalizes pitta and rakta. It promotes healing process.

The contents of Honey are
1. Sugars like fructose, glucose, sucrose, maltose, lactose and other disaccharides and trisaccharides.
2. Proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, enzymes and amino acids,
3. Volatile aromatic substances.
4. Ashes and water etc.

Various ingredients of honey have helped it to become not only a sweet liquid but also a natural product with high nutritional and medicinal value. The medicinal quality, taste, texture, color, aroma of honey differs according to the geographical area and the species of plants from which it has been collected.

Types of Honey: 

Eight types of honey are described in ayurveda depending on the type of bee which collects it. They are Pouttika ,Bhramara .Kshoudra, Makshika , Chatra , Arghya ,Oudalaka ,Dala .

Pouttika – This honey is collected by very large bees from the nectar of poisonous flowers. It increases vata, causes gout and burning sensation in chest.It is also sedative and reduces fat.
Bhramara – This honey is collected by large bees and Sticky in nature.

Kshoudra – (Honey collected by medium sized honey bees ) light and cold in nature. Dissolves Kapha.

Makshika – (Honey collected by small honey bees) very light and dry natured. Usefull in VataKapha diseases and kapha diseases

Chatra – Heavy and cold in nature usefull in gout, Leucoderma (Shwitra),

Arghya – Good for eyes but causes arthritis .

Oudalaka – Useful in skin diseases, and helps in modulation of voice.

Dala – Dry and reduces vomiting.

Amongst all the above “Makshika” is considered as the best type with immense medicinal properties.

Therapeutic uses of Honey: 

1. As it contains sugars which are quickly absorbed by our digestive system and converted into energy, this can be used as instant energizer.

2. As it is hygroscopic it speeds up healing, growth of healing tissue and dries it up.

3. Honey acts as a sedative and is very usefull in bed wetting disorders.

4. Honey is very good antioxident which restores the damaged skin and gives soft, young looks.

5. Honey has antibacterial properties due to its acidic nature and enzymically produced hydrogen peroxide.

6. Constant use of honey strengthens the white blood corpuscles to fight bacteria and viral diseases.
In Ashtanga Hridaya the great classic of ayurveda, the therapeutic uses of honey are explained as follows.

Chakshushayam Chedi tritshleshmavishahidmaasrapittanut |
Mehakushtakrimicchardishwaasakaasaatisaarajit ||
Vranashodhana sandhaanaropanam vaatalam madhu ||| 

Honey is very good for eyes and eye sight.
It quenches thirst.
Dissolves kapha.
Reduces effects of poison.
Stops hiccups.
It is very useful in urinary tract disorders, worm infestations, bronchial asthma, cough, diarrhea and nausea -vomiting.
Cleanse the wounds.
It heals wounds.
Helps in quick healing of deep wounds.
Initiates growth of healthy granulation tissue.
Honey which is newly collected from bee hive increases body weight and is a mild laxative.
Honey which is stored and is old helps in metabolism of fat and scrapes Kapha.

Ayurveda explains another special quality of honey. Honey is called as Yogavahi. The substance which has a quality of penetrating the deepest tissue is called as Yogavahi. When honey is used with other herbal preparations it enhances the medicinal qualities of those preparations and also helps them to reach the deeper tissues.

Precautions to be taken before using honey: 

Honey should not be mixed with hot foods.
Honey should not be heated.
Honey should not be consumed when you are working in hot environment where you are exposed to more heat.
Honey should never be mixed with rain water, hot and spicy foods, and Fermented beverages like whisky, rum, brandy etc, Ghee and mustard.
Honey includes nectar of various flowers of which some may be poisonous. Poison has hot or Ushna qualities. When honey is mixed with hot and spicy foods the poisonous properties get enhanced and cause imbalance of doshas.

Few Home remedies with Honey 

Mix 2 tea spoon of honey with carrot juice and consume regularly. This helps to improve eyesight and is very helpful for those who sit before computer for long hours.

In cold, cough and congested chest mix 2 tea spoons of honey with equal quantity of ginger juice and should be consumed frequently.

A mixture of black pepper powder, honey and ginger juice in equal quantities, when consumed thrice daily help to relieve the symptoms of asthma.

Regular use of one tea spoon of garlic juice mixed with two tea spoons of honey help to control blood pressure.

One glass of warm water taken with two tea spoons of honey and 1 tea spoon of lemon juice in early morning reduces fat and purifies blood.

Consuming one spoon of honey daily help us to lead a healthy long life.

No green thumb needed with electronic plant pot

Electronic Plant Pot

Who needs a garden when you’ve got an electronic plant pot to grow you flowers? Check out the Click & Grow system, which allows users to grow flowers, basil, and tomatoes with only 4 AA batteries and a bottle of water.

The concept of a garden is appealing to many of us, but the idea of taking the time to care for a full garden? Not so much. For those of us who have busy lives and are lacking a green thumb (I’ve even killed a cactus or two), there aren’t many options. At least that’s what we thought until we saw the brilliant Click & Grow ($70), designed by Mattias Lepp. With a combination of aeroponics, hydroponics, sensors, processors, and software, Lepp created a electronic planting system that requires neither soil nor gardening talent. Each Click & Grow starter kit comes with the pot itself and a Busy Lizzy (impatients seeds) flower cartridge. Users then insert 4 AA batteries, fill the pot’s reservoir with bottled water, and place the pot in a place that receives indirect sunlight. After just two weeks, your plant should start to grow.

Users will have to refill the pot’s water reservoir about once every month, but the pot will display a notification so we’re hoping that most people can handle that kind of mild responsibility. The Click & Grow system is reusable as well. If you’d like to change out your plant, all you have to do is replace the cartridge, fill the reservoir again, and your magic plant will begin growing. The seed cartridges are available for about $10 in variations like French Marigold, Mini Tomatoes, Chilli Pepper, and Basil Mix. Whether you consider yourself a garden type or not, there’s nothing quite like having fresh flowers or useful plants like tomato and basil in your home to brighten things up.

The simple tricks that could help you lose weight WITHOUT going on a diet !!!

Forget calorie-counting!

Number of recent studies have revealed how making several small lifestyle changes could help you lose weight without feeling deprived of the food you love. Habits such as using a smaller plate or drinking water before a meal can have a significant impact on your waistline, the research revealed.

 

Good habits: Using a bigger fork can have a significant impact on your waistline

Even the people you eat with can make a difference, with male companions encouraging women to eat less, and skinny friends with large appetites making people think they too can eat more. The latest study into the subject found that those who cook at home, rather than eat out, make healthier food choices. If the association between positive emotion and healthy food is built in the home, then that environment can serve as a reminder of that association and motivate people to choose healthier food that can make them happier.

Experts believe that such subliminal behaviour changes are more effective than regimes that require one to exercise willpower.

Dieting in general does not work, so the odds are against it. But it’s worth a try. ’It’s better to make gradual, long-term changes to how you eat than to use your willpower to resist temptation bite by bite.

10 TIPS TO LOSE WEIGHT WITHOUT GOING ON A DIET

1.  USE A SMALLER PLATE

When a fixed portion of food was eaten from a large plate, you will feel you had been give a smaller than average portion, so you tend to eat more. When the same portion of food is eaten from a smaller dish, the meal seemed more substantial, so you tend to eat less.

2.  USE A BIGGER FORK

An Italian study into the relationship between fork size and consumption found that diners who used smaller forks ate more than those given larger forks. Researchers believe those with smaller forks felt they were making slower progress in satisfying their hunger, so ate more.

3.  EAT WITH MEN

…If you’re a woman. Women eat less if there are men around. It is possible that small food portions signal attractiveness.

4.  READ THE LABELS

Those who read nutrition labels on food packaging eat around 5 per cent less fat than those who don’t bother, according to researchers .

5.  DRINK WATER BEFORE MEALS

Those who drink two glasses of water before each meal can loose an average of 4.5lb.

6.  AVOID LIGHT AT NIGHT

This includes late-night television and computer use. A study into the effects of bright light, dim light or darkness on weight-gain in mice found that those under a bright light at night gained 50 per cent more weight than those in darkness.

7.  HIDE UNHEALTHY TREATS

…And keep healthy snacks in sight. Office workers ate less chocolate when dishes of candy were moved from their desks to the other side of the room, reveals a study by Mindless Eating author Brian Wansink.

The same trick can be reversed to positive effect. A Cornell University study found that when a middle school cafeteria salad bar was moved to a more prominent position, consumption of some items increased by 250-300 per cent in a year.

8.  BE CAREFUL AROUND FRIENDS

Children eat more with a friend than with a stranger, according to a study . Researchers said that this trend, which applies to adults too, can be blamed on the fact that friends act as so-called permission-givers, and encourage one to indulge.

9.  BEWARE OF SKINNY FRIENDS WHO EAT A LOT

Worse still, are thin friends who have large appetites. A study found that participants snacked more during a movie when accompanied by a skinny person who ate a lot, compared with those sitting next to a fat person who ate a lot.

10.  AVOID ADVERTISEMENTS FOR EXERCISE

A  study revealed that participants who were shown advertisements encouraging exercise ate more than those who weren’t. The same was true of participants exposed to subliminal words relating to exercise during mealtimes.