11 Foods With Medicinal Properties

Wednesday, January 2, 2013, 18:10 [IST]

Food is not just for filling your stomach and giving you the energy essential to do your routine jobs. There are many uses of foods that you may not have even considered. For example, did you ever imagine that food could have medicinal uses. There are many food that have healing properties. But we are talking about using food for medicinal purposes.

Some foods like bitter gourd can control diabetes. So, a regular intake of bitter gourd ensures that your blood insulin level stays regulate. In this way, food is actually a medicinal substance that can help you get cured of a chronic disease. There is no surprise element to this because food was used as medicine in the ancient times. Food is infact the most primitive and a natural way to cure diseases.

There are many foods that have medicinal properties. A piece of ginger kept in your mouth can stop bouts of coughing. Similarly, honey when applied on wounds can heal it due to its antiseptic properties.

Here are some of the common foods that have medicinal properties.

Ginger For Cough & Cold

The oldest home remedy for cough is to keep a piece of freshly cut ginger in your mouth. Tea that is brewed with ginger relieves cold and cough.

Honey For Cuts & Scratches

Honey has antiseptic properties. So if you apply honey on open wounds and cuts, they get healed quickly.

Chilli Peppers For Pain

The capciasin that is present in all chilli peppers stops the production of pain-causing chemicals in the body. Apart from that Cayenne (pepper) is also used to relieve joint pain.

Bitter Gourd For Diabetes

Regular intake of bitter gourd helps regulate the blood insulin levels. It is the oldest medicine for diabetics.

Olive Oil For Lice

Olive oil is not just famous for its omega-3 fatty acids. A head massage with olive oil can help you to get rid of lice that causes scalp infection.

Banana For Warts

Warts are ugly pustules that erupt on the skin. Banana with its high potassium content can help cure warts effectively.

Black Tea For Stinky Feet

Stinky feet is not a cosmetic problem, it can be a hormonal disorder. Soak your feet in lukewarm black tea to get rid of the smell.

Lemon For Nausea

When you feel car sick or nauseous, you are usually given a lemon to smell or suckle. The citrus smell of lemon can cure nausea.

Milk For Sunburn

A sunburn is much more serious than a sun tan. This happens when the harsh sunrays burns the top layer of the skin. The pain and dryness associated with sunburns can be soothed by cold milk.

Watermelon For Dehydration

When you are dehydrated, you need lot of fluids. Watermelon is a fruit that has almost 60 percent of water content. So, having watermelon can also help you get hydrated.