Changing seasons can often find a lot of us suffering from and increased body temperature which, to a layman, is know as fever. It is a situation that arises when the body temperature rises more than the normal of 98.6° fahrenheit or 37° celcius. However changing seasons is not reason enough for an increased body temperature. There are various reasons why we have fever or our body increases it’s temperature beyond the normal. For the body to keep functioning, it must be kept within a fairly small range of temperatures. This is controlled by a region of the brain known as the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus collects information from all over the body about temperature, and can adjust the heat being produced and being lost so that it stays remarkably stable throughout the day. Sometimes though, the level that the hypothalamus ‘sets’ this stable temperature at is raised a little higher than usual. It does this through stimulation by the bacteria and viruses themselves, as well as some chemicals called ‘cytokines’, released into the blood by cells of the immune system. This is most commonly done to try and fight off infections. Infections are most commonly invasions of the body by bacteria or viruses, and if left unchecked they can do massive amounts of damage. It is up to the body’s immune system to fight off these infectious agents and one of the methods that the immune system uses is a fever.
According to Ayurveda, a disturbance in the regulation of body temperature is called jwara (fever). Fever can either be a disease or a symptom of another disease. There could be various reasons that contribute to causing fever. Usually, Fever is caused as a response to an infection causing the body to raise its temperature. Extreme heat or sun exposure can also lead us to run a fever.
Naturally this increasing body temperature is a cause of worry to all of us and as a result, we turn to a number of medicines to lower the temperature back to the normal. The process often works after gulping down 2 or 3 pills in a day, but do you realise it does more harm than good to you. Taking medicines do help to kill the viruses or bacterias that our body tries to fight away but along with that, it also kills the good bacteria in our body, the ones that make up our immunity system. Hence, the best way to avoid killing your immunity is to take up natural remedies that ayurveda provides like it does for every other disease.
Tulsi
Tulsi is one of the most important herbs in India for its therapeutic value and for its divine connotations. The herb is used in a variety of forms, including herbal teas, extracts like powder and capsules, as well as in tonics. With its heating energy and pungent taste, tulsi is regarded as vatta and kapha pacifying. It can be consumed in various ways by boiling it with ginger and black pepper or kali mirch in water until the water reduces to its half. This remedy can even bring down really high temperatures by continuous intake.
Adrak or Ginger
Ayurvedic physicians have long regarded ginger as one of the best fever reducing foods because of the ability of ginger to pacify kapha. It is highly recommended for the treatment of fevers, especially when congestion is an accompanying symptom, as this is most likely to be linked with kapha buildup. Ginger also has an agni strengthening effect, which helps when dealing with fever. Like tulsi, ginger can be consumed in various forms including herbal teas, raw juice, powdered extract, or in combination with other herbs like tulsi.
Black Pepper or Kaali Mirch
Black pepper is a popular culinary ingredient on the Indian subcontinent and many parts of the world, but it was long recognized as a healing agent in Ayurveda. A powerful cleansing and healing spice, black pepper is commonly referred to as gulmirch or kalimirch. With its heating energy and pungent taste, the spice is particularly effective at pacifying kapha and also helps pacify vata. It can be crushed and boiled in water with tulsi and ginger until the water gets reduced to half its quantity and then be used to drink as kadha or tea.
These natural remedies are tried and tested and have proven extremely effective in treating cold, cough and fever throughout the history of Ayurveda. 4-5 leaves of tulsi, if consumed on a regular basis, can keep away the deadliest of diseases and boost your immunity more than any other medicine. Hope you find this article useful and use these remedies to treat the conditions mentioned above.
