Healthy lungs bring vitality (Prana), that’s why Ayurveda refers respiratory system as Prana vaha strotas. Lungs are constantly working to provide healthy oxygen to the body for its proper functioning.
Just like other systems of the body, even the respiratory system is prone to wear and tear due to the increasing pollutants, toxins, and respiratory infections like COVID 19.
Role of Ayurveda to maintain healthy lungs:
Nasya
This therapy includes the installation of herbal medication through the nostrils. You can do Nasya therapy on an empty stomach an hour before or after a shower or exercise. One should lie down with the head tilted back and put 5 drops of Nasya oil in each nostril. Nasya prevents nasal respiratory allergies, improves eye health, relieves fatigue, and alleviates Vata Dosha.
Gandusha/ Oil pulling
Humans may breathe through their nose and mouth as well. The nose has a filtering mechanism in preventing pollutants that entering the respiratory system.
But in case of mouth breathing, Gandusha or oil pulling helps to maintain a healthy oral cavity and acts as a barrier to prevent the entry of pollutants and toxins through the mouth.
Gandusha involves holding medicated oil in the mouth for 10-15 minutes and then spitting it out. It cleans the harmful toxins and bacteria and strengthens the mucous lining of the mouth and oral cavity.
Ura Abhyanga/ Massage
Ura abhyanga includes the application of medicated oils or sesame oil on the chest and back followed by hot fomentation or hot water bath. It helps to loosen the toxins and sticky adherent Kapha dosha in the lungs and expel them out thus maintain healthy lungs.
Swedana
Facial steam with medicinal herbs helps to liquefy and melt adherent doshas and pollutants and expel them out an inefficient manner thus removing pollutants and toxins from the respiratory system. Facial steam can be taken by adding eucalyptus oil, camphor, and tulsi drops to cleanse and strengthen the nasal and oral cavity.
Diet
Follow Kapha reducing diet- avoid oily fatty foods, heavy to digest, dense foods, and fried foods. Consume warm water throughout the day. Avoid curd, cold drinks, ice-creams. Do not overeat or drink in excess, have light to digest and freshly prepared food and regular meals in time. Include herbs like cardamon, holy basil, pippali, liquorice, turmeric, etc in the diet to strengthen the respiratory and immune system.
Immunity Boosters
Chyavanprash, Ayush Kwatha, and various other Ayurvedic medicines if taken as per the Ayurveda Physician’s advice can help to strengthen the respiratory and immune system and maintain healthy lungs and avoid respiratory infections and diseases.
These Ayurveda tips will not only help prevent illness but also help nurture and maintain healthy lungs so that they can perform to their utmost capacity each and every day.
Also, Read► Lung Cancer - Causes, Symptoms & Ayurvedic Treatment
Kolkata: Extract from the bark of the neem tree, indigenous to India, may help treat and reduce the spread of coronavirus, a team of international researchers found.
Neem, used for over thousands of years, is known for its pesticidal, insecticidal, and medicinal properties.
The bark extract has helped treat malaria, stomach and intestinal ulcers, skin diseases and many other diseases. People also use it in hair and dental products.
The study, led by a team from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata, shows that components of neem bark may target a wide range of viral proteins, suggesting its potential as an antiviral agent against emerging variants of coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-2.
The Indian researchers tested it in animal models and showed that it had antiviral properties against coronavirus.
Using computer modeling, the researchers predicted that Neem bark extract will bind to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein at various locations, preventing virus entry to host cells.
Further, a team at University of Colorado, US, tested the Neem bark extract in SARS-CoV-2 human lung cells. It proved as effective as a preventive drug for infection and also decreased virus replication and spread after infection. The findings are reported in the journal Virology.
"The goal of this research is to develop a Neem-based medication that can reduce the risk of serious illness when someone is infected with coronaviruses," said study co-author Maria Nagel, research professor in the department of neurology and ophthalmology at the varsity's School of Medicine.
"We hope that scientists won't have to continuously develop new therapies every time a new SARS-CoV-2 variant emerges.
"Just like how we take penicillin for strep throat, we envision taking the Neem-based drug for Covid, allowing us to resume our normal lives without fear of hospitalisation and death," Nagel said.
The scientists believe this research could guide new antiviral therapeutic efforts to combat the ongoing pandemic, while holding out the promise for treating new coronavirus strains. (agency)
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Having a company of a pet friend may protect you from memory loss in later life and other kinds of cognitive decline, finds a new study.
The preliminary research found that pet ownership was especially beneficial for working verbal memory, such as memorisation of word lists, reports CNN.
"To our knowledge, our study is the first to consider the effect of duration of pet ownership on cognitive health," first author Jennifer Applebaum, a sociology doctoral candidate and National Institute of Health predoctoral fellow at University of Florida, was quoted as saying by CNN in an email.
"And it is not just cats and dogs that can boost the brain. People in the study also cared for rabbits, hamsters, birds, fish and reptiles, Applebaum said, although "dogs were most prevalent, followed by cats," Applebaum added.
Owning household pets for five years or more produced the most benefit, delaying cognitive decline by 1.2 points over the six-year period of the study compared with the rate of decline in people without pets, the study, to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 74th Annual Meeting, indicated.
For the study, the team analysed cognitive data on more than 1,300 adults who participated in the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative study tracking the lives of Americans age 50 and older.
"Having a pet or multiple pets combines many core components of a brain-healthy lifestyle," said Richard Isaacson, director of the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic in the Center for Brain Health at Florida Atlantic University's Schmidt College of Medicine.
Read More► Boost Your Pet's Health Using Ayurveda
London: Improving air quality may not only help your lungs but also your kidneys, suggests a study.
Researchers from King's College London found that ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentration reduction led to significant improvement in laboratory test results used to assess a patient's kidney function.
"Long-term exposure to PM2.5 has been associated with declined kidney function. However, whether the association is causal remains unknown," said Co-author Yiqun Han, Research Associate in School of Public Health, Imperial College London.
In the study, published in the journal Health Data Science, the team conducted a quasi-experimental difference-in-difference analysis. They identified a strong linkage between the reduced PM2.5 with improved kidney function, Han added.
The researchers analysed the demographic and laboratory records of 5,115 adults. They investigated the change in kidney function parameters between 2011 and 2015 according to the population's long-term exposure to PM2.5 derived from an environmental database.
The team found that a 10 Ig/m3 reduction in PM2.5 significantly improved multiple kidney function parameters. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) increased by 0.42 mL/min/1.73m2, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) decreased by 0.38 mg/dL, and uric acid (UA) decreased by 0.06 mg/dL, respectively.
GFR is a test used to check how well the kidneys are working and further progression of chronic kidney disease.
Air pollution is known to affect kidney function. Several studies have shown that exposure to bad air is associated with an increased chronic kidney disease-related morbidity and mortality. Exposure to PM2.5, even at relatively low concentrations, is a risk factor for a lower kidney function and a faster decline in kidney function.
Han suggested the need for rapid air quality improvement driven by the action.
Besides kidneys, reduction in air pollution may help improve "population health, including cardiorespiratory diseases, metabolic diseases, mental and neurological disorders, and indicators for non-fatal risks (e.g., medical expenditure and disability), in addition to kidney diseases," he said. (agency)
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Now-a-days Lungs are prone to various infectious diseases caused due to increased levels of pollution, chemical exposure, time to time weather change or due to viral disease. The food which can clear the airways should be incorporated in daily life so that ill effects of pollution & aerosols can be checked on a regular basis.
A few of the important food items are warm water, dry ginger, honey, black pipe, garlic, cloves, Carrot soup, Cinnamon, turmeric etc.
1. Warm water helps in the mucus breakdown & enhances the flow of natural blood to the body. Steam inhalation with warm water also plays an important role in clearing the lungs.
2. Dry ginger helps in breakdown of mucus & makes it easier for the body to expel the air. It has anti-inflammatory properties along with increasing blood circulation. The ginger can be boiled in water, strain the ginger out, add honey & drink as tea.
3. Black piper is having anti-inflammatory & anti-viral properties. It can be used with a glass of warm milk & a pinch of turmeric. It can be added in a pinch in green tea too.
4. Mustard Oil is considered as natural decongestant & it can be used for massage on chest when mixed with few cloves of garlic & ajwain. Massage followed with steam gives immediate relief from congestion.
5. Turmeric is a natural anti-inflammatory, it’s a potent antioxidant, acting as an expectorant is the third benefit turmeric for lungs
6. A tea containing cloves work as it can help in respiratory infection. Cloves work as an expectorant and helps in loosening mucus in the throat.
7. Soupous are highly recommended for Lungs health especially when they contain spices like clove, cinnamon, garlic etc.
8. Seasonal fruits and vegetables supply rich amounts of antioxidants, nutrients that support your immune system ability to protect your body from infections, disease and toxins.
9. Garlic is claimed to have numerous beneficial properties to the health of humans, it fights against infection have anti-inflammatory properties too.
Read More► Ayurvedic home remedies to shield your lungs
Faculties and research students of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) are doing vital research on diabetes. The central university will carry out research on cost-effective anti-diabetic drugs through new routes for which the Central government and the Union Education Ministry have sanctioned Rs 40 lakh.
Nazar Hussain, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Ayurveda, Institute of Medical Sciences, BHU, has bagged the much-coveted project by Science and Engineering Research Board, a statutory body of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, on C-glycosides synthesis.
Hussain said C-glycosides are the derivatives of carbohydrates that are widely used in the treatment of diabetes.
He will be receiving a grant of more than Rs 40 lakh for his research in this project. Under this project, he will be carrying out research on anti-diabetic drugs through new routes in a cost-effective manner.
Along with the synthesis of anti-diabetic drugs, the project also aims at synthesising some polyphenolic C-glycosides. Polyphenolic compounds are known for the treatment of various viral infections.
This study will also explore the possibility of combining polyphenols with carbohydrates to test their anti-viral activities against different viral infections, including Covid-19. This will be one of the major studies of its kind in the country.
For BHU, it is a matter of great pride as the Department of Medicinal Chemistry has been given a project of such vital importance and significance.
Also, Read in Hindi► कोविड के कण 200 फीट की दूरी पर भी संक्रमित कर सकते हैं: स्टडी
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