For thousands of years, in the absence of technology and trained medical practitioners and with no means of travelling any distance from home, man has had to devise ways of treating everyday health problems, using only materials supplied locally by nature. Naturally, trial and error and practical experience must have figured more prominently than intelligence, but over time every culture has built up its own library of knowledge, and this would be handed down through the generations. We generally refer to such a way of treating illnesses and injuries as ‘Folk Medicine’.

With a 5,000 year history Ayurveda has possibly the largest range of home remedies to be found anywhere, many of which are readily available or easy to grow. Because they cost little or nothing people sometimes question their efficacy, but research constantly identifies active ingredients that are effective in treating illnesses, and pharmaceutical companies are then keen to isolate these ingredients to form the basis for new drugs.

Let us look at a few examples of common Ayurvedic home remedies. The Adusa is a plant which is easily grown, and has long been used as an Ayurvedic medicine to treat coughs and colds, as well as being effective for pyorrhoea and bleeding gums. Recent research has shown it to contain a phytochemical that can be used to treat tuberculosis. Turmeric, used in all Indian kitchens, is known to be very beneficial to the immune system, and is used to treat coughs, colds and asthma. Orthodox medical research has recently focused on its effectiveness as an anti-inflammatory and in fighting cancer. To give another example, the root of the humble dandelion has long been used to treat liver problems and the leaves to help kidney function, while its flowers have antioxidant properties.

So if these home remedies are so effective why are they not more extensively used? The simple answer is that in an age where everything comes ready packed and prepared most people would have no idea how to use these herbs, in what quantity, how often and for how long. It would be a good idea to keep in the home one of the many books of Ayurvedic home remedies. Looking up the recipe for a cough or a cold you might find: Heat 500 mg. of turmeric with a teaspoon of ghee, and mix with honey. Hundreds of formulas exist for such simple but effective treatments.

It was originally the Indian tradition for all ailments, from simple to complex, to be treated with home remedies. Now that life has become more complex, and commercialism is taking over from tradition, we are in danger of losing the know-how.