CLEANS LUNGS
Eating chilli peppers is good for the lungs and helps clear stuffy noses due to colds, says Irwin Ziment, professor of medicine UCLA. He also recommends hot peppers for emphysema, sinusitis, hay fever, asthma and chronic bronchitis. Hot foods thin secretions in the air passages.
THE VALUE OF GINGER
FIGHTS NAUSEA Recent tests in Denmark showed that ginger reduced seasick sailors’ vomiting by 70%. British research found ginger as effective as drugs at relieving nausea after surgery.
REDUCES INFLAMMATION. In Japan, an anti-inflammatory drug is based on gingerol, the aromatic compound in ginger. A study at Denmark’s Odense University found that three quarters of 56 patients with rheumatoid arthritis or muscular discomfort got relief from pain and swelling after taking ginger daily for at least three months.
THINS BLOOD. Several studies suggest ginger makes blood platelets less likely to stick together, helping to prevent blood clots that lead to heart attacks and strokes. A Danish researcher, K.C. Srivastava, found the same effect in cumin, turmeric and especially cloves, which are stronger than aspirin in this aspect.
(The Hadith too mentions the medicinal properties of cloves – YMMA)
KILLS GERMS. Ginger and turmeric, destroy bacteria including salmonella, a common cause of food poisoning.