Public Health

As a preface to this post, I have to offer a general complaint against media (both print and television) and their bias against providing citation information or links on studies when they report on them. You always have to go digging to find the actual study, and it seems to me to be lazy-ass reporting. We already know how often they misinterpret information, and then they make it even harder to find the originating information. For example, take this story Toxins found in pregnant U.S. women in UCSF study from SFGate yesterday. The UCSF link took me to another SFGate page. Oh,…

Phragmites karka Trin. ex Steud. ( Syn P. karka Retz. , P. roxburghii(Kunth) Steud.; P. maxima Blatter & McCann in part. Family Gramineae Used Part Root Distribution Area A tall reed, with thick creeping rhizome, found in marshy places and along banks of lakes and streams throughout India, ascending up to 1,300 m. in the Himalayas. Common Uses .The plant is sweet, acrid; cooling, aphrodisiac; useful in biliousness, urinary troubles, vaginal and uterine complaints, erysipealas, heart diseases. The root of this reed is regarded as cooling and diuretic by the Chinese. It is…

Entada phaseoloides (Linn.) Merr. syn. E. scandens Benth. Family Fabaceae Used Part Fruits. Distribution Area The plant occurs throughout the sub-Himalayan tract, from Nepal eastwards ascending to 4,000 ft. in Sikkim, in Assam, Bihar and Orissa, and in the monsoon forest of western and eastern ghats; it is abundant in Andaman Islands. Common Uses . The seeds are considered tonic, emetic, antiperiodic and anthelmintic. A paste prepared from the seeds is applied locally for inflammatory glandular swellings. The stem is used as emetic. The juice of the wood and bark is used as an…

Forget spray-on tans, new research in Evolution and Human Behaviour says eating carrots and tomatoes gives you a more healthy tan than even the sun.Dr Ian Stephen, from the School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus, led the research and said, "Most people think the best way to improve skin colour is to get a suntan, but our research shows that eating lots of fruit and vegetables is actually more effective." Stephen and colleagues in the Perception Lab found that people who eat more fruit and vegetables each day have a more golden skin color, thanks to carotenoids.…

Terminalia arjuna (Roxb.) Wight & Arn.= T. cuneata Roth Combretaceae Bark. A large, evergreen tree, common in most parts of India. . It is rare in the Karnatic, but is fairly plentiful in Tirunelveli and on the west coast. It extends north- wards to the sub-Himalayan tract, where it is distributed along the banks of streams; in Punjab, it is a cultivated tree. It is common in Chota Nagpur, Orissa and in the Northern Circars. The bark is astringent,sweet, acrid,cooling aphrodisiac, demulcent, cardiotonic, styptic, antidysenteric, urinary astringent, expectorent, alexiteric,…

Saraca asoca (Roxb.) De Wilde syn. S. indica auct. non Linn. Caesalpiniaceae (Fabaceae) Bark. Distribution Area It occurs almost throughout India up to an altitude of 750 m. in the central and the eastern Himalayas and the Khasi, Garo and Lushai hills; it is also found in the Andaman Islands. Common Uses . The bark is bitter , astringent, sweet, refrigerant,anthelmintic, Styptic, Stomachic, constipating, febrigue and demulcent. It is useful in dyspepsia, fever, dipisa, burning sensation, visceromegaly, colic, ulcers menorrhagia, metropathy, leccorrhoea and pimples. The flowers…

Butea monosperma (Lam.) Taub. syn. B. frondosa Koenig ex Roxb. Family Fabaceae (Papilionaceae ) Used Part Fruit pieces Distribution Area It is common throughout the greater part of India, ascending the Himalayas up to 900 m and in peninsular India up to 1,200 m. Common Uses . The seeds are purgative, ophthalmic, anthelmintic, rubefacient, depurative and tonic. They are useful in herpes, skin diseases, ringworm, opthalmopathy, epilepsy, round worms, arthritis, flatulence, constipation and diabetes. The seeds possess a faint odour, and taste slightly acrid and bitter. They are…

Vanda tessellata (Roxb.) Hook ex Don (=V.roxburghii R.BR.) Family Orchidaceaae Used Part Root. Distribution Area An epiphytic orchid, 30-60 cm. high, found from Uttar Pradesh to West Bengal, extending southwards to Kerala. . Common Uses . The root is a bitter heating alexiteric, antipyretic, useful in dyspepsia, bronchitis in lammations, rheumatic pains, diseases of the abdomen, hiccough, tremors. In Yunani system root is used as tonic to the liver and brain ; good for bronchitis, piles, lumbago toothache, boils of the scalp; lessens inflammation; heals fractures. The root is said to…

"The theory of the three humours is one of the fundamental principles of traditional medicine. As has been mentioned above, Ayurvedic theories draw an analogy with the universe, the physics of which serves as a model for an elementary physiology. Comparatively speaking, one may say that the bile (Thripa) corresponds to fire, the phelgm (Beken) to water and the air (Lung) to the wind of the universe. Each humour has its own function in this general system. - Air is responsible for respiration and bodily activity, speech and the mind. It controls blood circulation. It is dry and light. - Bile…

Himalayan region medical system goes well beyond the notion of medicine in the narrow western sense. It forms a part of their culture and tradition, in which "Buddhism" is the prevailing influence. Health and spirituality are inseparable and together they reveal the true origin of any sickness. The art of healing is, therefore, a dimension of the sacred life style of Bhutanese people. The system of medicine used in Bhutan is known as "Sowa Rigpa". Today, this medical system is practiced in many countries, but owing to its origin and development in ancient Tibet, it is, currently, known…