Fight Monkey Malaria with Ayurvedic Herbs

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After Swine Flu, another disease that is making news these days is Monkey Malaria. This week, Researchers in Malaysia have confirmed that a form of malaria thought to primarily affect monkeys can infect and kill humans, according to a study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases journal. Let me provide some critical information to my readers on the causes, symptoms, prevention and ayurvedic cure for monkey malaria.
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Malaria usually, is caused by protozoan parasites of the Plasmodium genus and is widespread in parts of the Americas, Asia and Africa. Malaria infections occur in more than 500 million people each year, with 1-3 million deaths. The parasite has two hosts in the course of its life cycle - a mosquito vector and vertebrate host. The parasites are transmitted to humans by female mosquitoes, multiplying within red corpuscles with consequential symptoms of anemia and fever.

The distinction between a disease that is occasionally transmitted to humans exposed in an area of natural occurrence and transmission (a zoonosis) and an actual human disease is one with serious biological implications. Although at least ten species of Plasmodium can infect humans, only four forms of specifically human malaria are believed to exist. In the case of these four established human malaria types, the parasite is transmissible from one human to another, and a stable transmission cycle is established in the absence of any other vertebrate host. Now Doctors have confirmed that monkey malaria made that switch and become the fifth human malaria.
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The parasitic organism responsible, Plasmodium knowlesi, is an established cause of monkey malaria.The P. knowlesi parasites reproduce every twenty four hours in the blood, the disease can be potentially fatal, so early diagnosis and appropriate treatment is essential.

Symptoms of Monkey Malaria: Though any concrete information has not been released by any medical body till date on the correct symptoms of monkey malaria, its most obviuos symptoms are very similar to the known form of malaria. The major difference between other forms of malaria and monkey malaria is that the lungs and kidneys are impacted the most in this. The major symptom is breathlessness that starts creeping in after almost 24 hours of the infectious bite. Till date, breathlessness has been reported as the major cause of human deaths in case of monkey malaria. People with severe monkey malaria can develop bleeding problems, shock, liver or kidney failure, central nervous system problems and coma. This disease impairs the immune system of the body making it prone to other diseases too. 
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Prevention of monkey malaria: Like other malaria variants, the traditional advice on its prevention includes avoiding exposure to mosquitos, wear appropriate clothing, use mosquito repellents or mosquito nets while sleeping etc. but early research in Ayurveda suggests that certain immunity building herbs can be very effective in your fight against monkey malaria. One of the wonder herbs is Giloy (Tinospora cordifolia). It is a climbing shrub. Barks are gray-brown or cream-white and warty. The upper layer of the bark is as thin as a paper and it is of brown color, which if removed gives way to a green stem. Leaves are broad, pointed at the tip and having margin. Small flowers appear in summer and fruits in winter. It grows in tropical and sub tropical regions up to an altitude of 300 meters.
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Take GILOY herb (AMRITA or Tinospora cordifolia or Guduchi) one foot long branch and seven leaves of TULSI and mix it and collect juice of this mixture in a vessel. Boil this juice and drink it. This herbal juice will increase our body resistant up to three times. It is very early to confirm the exact impact on monkey malaria but the immunity it develops is surely powerful enough to counter plasmodium virus attacks that are the cause of all malaria variants. Please be congnizant of the fact that though Giloy itself (with tulsi) is sufficient to improve your body resistance but if the Giloy plant climbing on a neem tree (called as Neem Giloy popularly) can be found, it is considered to be therapeutically much more useful.
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Another prevention tip is to drink a decoction made of fennel seeds soaked in warm water first thing in the morning which helps again in building body resistance against all kinds of malaria.
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Cure: The exact ayurvedic medicine for curing monkey malaria should be out in next few months (though Ayush 64, which is a most effective drug for malaria can be effective in monkey malaria also) but one important fact that we need to keep in mind that though it is completely curable through other medical sciences like Allopathy but it has the potential to come back after 24 hours (relapse) so taking ayurvedic herbal supplements as stated above can always make you stronger to fight the relapse while you are recovering from the disease.

Home Remedies - Part...3

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As promised last time, let us today talk about the healing properties of Ginger and Garlic in this post.

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Ginger - It is known to prevent stomach upset  from many sources including pregnancy, motion sickness and chemotherapy. Ginger is also known to be effective in regulating the blood flow which inturn will lower the blood pressure. Its anti-inflammatory properties might help ease arthritis in some cases.

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For motion sickness, Ginger is best taken as 500 mg of dried ginger powder, 30 to 60 minutes before the scheduled travel and then 550 mg every 2 to 4 hours as per requirement. This does will need to reduced to 50% in case of children.

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The best ways to include Ginger in your daily food habits is to take freshly grated ginger combined with lemon juice, honey and water to make ginger lemondae; mix ginger, olive oil and garlic to make a healthy salad dressing and spice up all your legumes and vegetables by adding freshly grated ginger. It can also be taken as in Ginger Tea which is considered a good medicine for heart.

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Garlic - Another wonder herb from Indian Kitchen, Garlic makes sure to lower the rates of ovarian, colorectal and other cancers if taken in substantial quantities and included in daily fooding habits. Couple of years back, a Japanese trial found that after a year of taking aged garlic extract extract supplements, people with a history of colon polyps saw a reduction in the size and number of the pre-cancerous growths detected by their doctors.

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Garlic also protects heart. It contains more than 70 active phyto-chemicals, includeing allicin, which many studies have shown decreases in high BP by as much as 30 points. It also may prevent strokes as well by slowing arterial blockages. 

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Garlic is best taken in the form of crushed fresh garlic which offers best cardiovascular and cancer fighting benefits (chew a clove of fresh garlic early morning with warm lemon water for heart health). When cooking, add garlic to retain sulphur compounds and its volatile constituents. You can even marinate crushed garlic in oilve oil and use this flavoured oil in dressings and marinades.

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We talked about a few herbs or spices from Indian Kitchen that have mercurial healing properties but we sill need to keep in mind few myths and their truths. One of the myths about herbs is that they are completely safe as any other food when taken in moderation. The truth is that we can not ASSUME that all herbs are safe. Most herbs are not regulated for safety or efficacy. Also, we need to be particular about the grades and quality of the herb. Many people have allergies to some herbs and these need to be tested before you can started taking them in quantities.

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The other myth is that anyone can take Herb Extracts. Well, largely it is true but as mentioned above, we need to take care of the allergies and also the fact that some herbs might react with some allopathic medicines if they are taken together. So, we need to consult the doctor in this case.

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A myth about herbs is that you can take as much quantity as you want. It is a big NO. Ayurveda, which is the parent science behind herbs healing, says that more isn't necessarily better - infact, that can be even dangerous. For a treatment of length, some herbs need to be substituted with another after a few months of continuous use. Make sure to check with your herbal medicine practitioner.

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With this, I will conclude my Home Remedies posts series and I hope that the information will benefit the people with health conditions.

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