24. The Kitchen Pharmacy — Traditional Home Remedies

Indian households have long used kitchen ingredients for small everyday complaints. The table lists traditional culinary practices that are generally safe in food amounts. They are comfort measures, not treatments: each row lists when to stop and see a doctor.

Complaint	Traditional kitchen practice	How	See a doctor if
Low appetite, heaviness	Ginger–rock salt–lemon slice	A thin slice of fresh ginger with a pinch of rock salt and a few drops of lemon, 15 min before lunch	Weight loss, persistent nausea, pain
Gas, bloating	Ajwain or saunf water	½ tsp ajwain or 1 tsp fennel boiled in 1 cup water 5 min; sip warm	Severe or persistent pain, vomiting, no stool or gas
Acidity, heartburn	Fennel–coriander water; cool (not cold) milk	Soak 1 tsp each overnight, strain, sip; or ½ cup cool boiled milk	Chest pain (emergency), black stools, difficulty swallowing
Constipation	Warm water on waking; 1 tsp ghee in warm milk at bedtime; soaked figs or raisins	Daily; plus fluids, fibre, walking	Blood in stool, sudden change in habit, pain, weight loss
Loose motions	Rice kanji, thin buttermilk with roasted cumin, ripe banana, bael	Small frequent servings; ORS for fluids	Blood, high fever, signs of dehydration, more than 2 days
Nausea	Laja peya; cardamom chewed; ginger tea	Small sips	Persistent vomiting, cannot keep fluids
Common cold, cough	Tulsi–ginger kadha; honey with ginger juice (unheated); steam inhalation	2–3 times a day	Fever over 3 days, breathlessness, chest pain
Sore throat	Warm salt–turmeric gargle	¼ tsp each in a cup of warm water	Difficulty swallowing or breathing, high fever
Poor sleep	Nutmeg-pinch golden milk; warm oil foot massage	At bedtime	Snoring with pauses in breathing, persistent insomnia
Joint stiffness in cold	Warm sesame oil massage; warm foods; dry ginger in milk	Daily in winter	Hot, swollen, red joint; fever
Dry skin	Abhyanga before bath; ghee in diet	Daily or 3 times a week	Itching with rash, non-healing sores
Mouth ulcer	Coconut oil or ghee applied; avoid spicy and sour	2–3 times a day	Ulcer lasting over 2 weeks
Hiccups	Sip warm water slowly; a little honey (unheated)	—	Lasting more than 48 h
Mild headache from heat	Coriander water; rest in shade; rose water compress	—	Sudden severe headache, confusion, weakness (emergency)
Bad breath	Tongue scraping; chewing fennel; gargling	Daily	Persistent with dental pain or gum bleeding