
Alcohol is a hot depressant. Initially, the heat combined with the relaxing qualties of alcohol dilate blood vessels, an aid to circulation. The heart, which is a naturally affectionate and social organ, predisposes one to fun and perhaps risky social...
Often used for weight loss, vinegar strongly increases the flow of bile. Bile is a fatty, oily substance made by the liver, and stored in the gall bladder. It helps you digest fats. Since bile is also a fatty oily substance, draining bile from the...
Basil's warm and spicy aroma adds a passionate flare to any dish, bringing the heat of the Mediterranean sun to your table. Its bright green color and vigorous flavor is unmistakable in pesto. It adds verve to a home-made tomato sauce, and is a perky...
The word 'pepper' is dervied from the South Asian word 'pippali'. Pippali (long pepper) is a famous herb in Ayurveda for lung and heart conditions, and is a close relative of black pepper. The word pepper gradually came to include the unrelated New...
Bitter detoxicant, Cold vasodilator, depurative, alterative, astringent diuretic. Stimulates kidneys to eliminate uric acid. like dandelion root but not a potassium diuretic
Love for cardamom resonates through history - for instance, ancient Egyptians chewed cardamom to whiten their teeth and sweeten their breath. Cardamom helps take the edge off of caffeine in the famous drink Turkish coffee. Cardamom is a member of the...
The entire nightshade family (solanaceae) aggravates Vata and Pitta, due to the weak liver of these two body types. All peppers aggravate Pitta due to heat. Note that black pepper...
This bright food is one of the lightest of root vegetables. It's the only root vegetable with as much flavor and freshness as leafy greens - something you can't get from a turnip or carrot. Imagine a root vegetable that's perfect for spring, and that...
Celery seeds are actually a very small fruit, these "seeds" yield a valuable volatile oil.
The word for celery comes from the Greek word selinon which translates to 'parsley,' a close relative of celery. Celery's powers have been known since antiquity. Leaves of it were found in the garlands surrounding King Tut's tomb, and Homer makes...
Chamomile infuses your tea with a delicious floral aroma that is warm, light & airy. Its smell is reminiscent of apples, first noted by the Greeks, who named it 'ground-apple' (kamai=ground & melon=apple). Improve Sluggish...
Cinnamon is a small evergreen tree in the Lauraceae family native to Sri Lanka. Other members of this family include sassafras, avocado, camphor, and spicebush. Trees of the laurel family, including cinnamon, predominate in the world's laurel forests....
Cloves are native to India and Indonesia. They are the aromatic dried flower bud of a tree in the same family as Eucalyptus and Guava (Myrtaceae family). Cloves resemble a nail in shape. The English name 'clove' derives from the latin 'clavus'...
Coriander is the seed of the cilantro plant. Its pleasantly fragrant aroma lifts the spirits and has a rustic feel.
Hot, pungent, antiemetic, appetizer, digestive, spleen tonic; stimulates saliva.
Daikon is native to southeast and east Asia. From white to purple to green to pink, Daikon comes in several varieties. It's also known as white radish, winter radish, long white radish, oriental radish, and mooli. In Japan, many types of pickles are...
Dill seems to lighten the palate. As one client reports, "Dill embodies the taste of freshness with a little kick." It is called shatapushpa in Ayurveda. Dill is a member of the carrot family (apiaceae) along with parsley, celery, cumin,...
Fenugreek is one of the oldest medicinal plants. It has been used since 4000BC. It's name means "ram's horn clover". It was found in the tomb of Tutankhamen.
Regarded as both a force for good and evil, folklore and superstition abound when it comes to this little but poignant member of the onion family. A garland of garlic kept evil spirits and vampires away in the west. In an eastern Islamic myth, garlic...
Raw garlic’s benefits are many. A spicy root, garlic is known for clearing, which flushes everything out of your body. One student writes, "At first taste it was like a bee stinging my tongue.... my whole body got very warm."Clears...
Ever reach for dried ginger as a quick replacement for the fresh root and assume it's an apt substitute? Ginger is ginger, right? Actually, not at all. Dried ginger packs a...
Horseradish is a sharp, acrid spice that kindles agni. It is even used in steakhouses to help digest a heavy meal. It is a strong vasodilator, bronchodilator, and diaphoretic (encourages sweating) that invigorates the whole body.
The origin of lemons are a mystery. Do they come from southern india? burma? or china? Speculation abounds. Genetic study reveals lemons are a hybrid of a sour orange and a citron.
Limes are strongly sour, thus encouraging secretions in the digestive tract and salivary glands. These secretions improve taste, digestion, and regular elimination (functioning as a mild laxative) Limes and Cleansing Lime's sour...
From tingly shampoos to teas and flowerbeds, mint is an inspiring, popular worldwide herb whose medicinal qualities are also extensive. Varieties of mint grow in nearly every country and climate. In Central and South America mint is called hierbabuena,...
Found in Tutankhamun's tomb, black cumin is a famous as an Old World spice and medicine. The 'Tibb-e-Nabavi" or "Medicine of the Prophet (Muhammed)", reports the only disease it cannot cure is death. It's many uses have earned it the nickname "seed of...
Parsnip is native to the Mediterranean, where it is cultivated like carrots.
The word radish derives from the latin word for root, "radix." Domesticated in Europe in pre-Roman times, radishes are an edible root of the Brassicaceae family. They come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors. They are inexpensive, grow quickly...
Like all roots cooked onion brings a grounding feel. Yellow onions are the standard onion in American grocery store shelves. White onions tend to be sweeter and crunchier. Red...
Wine stimulates agni & taste. It penetrates deeply into tissues. It is warming and brings mental satisfaction. Wine softens stools. Wine contains tannins which are astringent. It is hot, sweet and sour. Certain wines may be sharp or bitter as...
Vinegar heats up digestion, but aids fat metabolism. Balsamic vinegar is made with red wine, which is hotter than other vinegars.
Rosmarinus, is from the latin "dew" (ros) and "sea" (marinus), and means "dew of the sea". Rosemary grows in arid Mediterranean conditions and, as its name implies, can survive on the humidity carried by the sea breeze.
Saffron's use is ancient. Saffron-based pigments have been found in 50,000 year-old paintings in northwest Iran. It conjures romance, royalty, and delicacy wherever it appears. Alexander the Great bathed in saffron to cure battle wounds. Cultivated...
Culinary sage, although a diaphoretic, has an anhidrotic action - it prevents excessive sweating. This is useful in night sweats of all kinds - from chronic febrile conditions to menopausal syndrome. Culinary sage stimulates the pituitary adrenal...
Dry, astringent, sweet and sour depurative and diaphoretic helpful for thinning fluids and purifying blood. Blood moving like Frankincense (Boswellia) and Ginkgo but warming. Old folk remedy is to blend with sarsaparilla to treat BPH. Avoid if pregnant.
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Founder of Joyful Belly Ayurveda, John Immel, answers the question ‘What is Ayurveda?’