Banana

What are different home remedies for leg pain and cramps? – Part 2

- Leg cramps are an involuntary contraction of a single muscle or a group of muscles in the leg.
- These are usually painful and extremely discomforting.
- Leg cramps often occur in elderly patients though age is no criteria.
- Leg cramps generally occur in the calf muscle, the hamstring and the quadriceps.
- The duration of a leg cramp ranges from less than a minute to several minutes at times.

1. Healing Herbs tea
- This is an anti-pain
- It is also a relaxing tea that will help in preventing leg cramps and provide relief:
- 1 part St. Johnswort
- 1 part Passionflower
- 1 part Skullcap
- 1 part Chamomile
- 1 part White Willow Bark

2. Anti-Stress/Pain Potion
- GAIA Herbs
- 1 part Gaia Herbs Serenity Elixir
- 1 part Herb Pharm White Willow Bark
- A red flannel can also be wrapped around the area with pain.
- Use of coconut helps in curing the leg and knee pains.
- 1-2 teaspoonful of fenugreek powder in the morning water is also effective leg pain remedy.
- A gentle massage with Arthcare Oil is recommended to leg pain cure and to strengthen the bone tissues.

3. Massage oil
- Take 10 grams of camphor and 200 grams of mustard oil.
- Mix in a glass bottle and keep the bottle in the sun till the camphor dissolves.
- Massage the affected area daily.
- This is very good home remedy for leg pain.

4. Saffron solution
- Boil 1-teaspoon saffron in 1/2 cup water and divide this solution into three portions and take with equal quantities of water, thrice daily for a week.
- This is one of the effective home remedies for leg pain.

5. Various yogasanas
- Janusandhi,
- Uttanpadasana
- Gomukhasana

Other Home remedies
- Make sure that you use appropriate footwear when walking that provide your feet with adequate support.
- Stretch your muscles gently with light exercise like riding a stationary bicycle for a few minutes before going to bed.
- This can help loosen up and strengthen the muscles.
- This would greatly limit the occurrence or severity of night leg cramps.

Make sure that your diet is not restrictive
- A well balanced diet with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables should be taken regularly.
- This should provide you with all the essential nutrients you need. – Mineral deficiencies can aggravate the problem of night leg cramps.
- The best way to get it to pass is by consciously relaxing your mind and body.
- Deep breathing is the most effective method of relaxation at such times.
- Lightly massage the cramped muscle with your hands using a soothing balm.
- A hot shower or soak in a warm bath should also offer considerable relief.
- Multi-vitamin and mineral supplements may help.
- Calcium, potassium, and magnesium deficiencies are often the cause for night leg cramps.
- Try and consume fresh fruits and vegetables.
- Whole meal varieties of grains should be taken.
- Fruits like dates and bananas are rich sources of magnesium and potassium.
- It would be best to get the required dosage of calcium from supplements that do not contain phosphorus.

Some good dietary sources of essential minerals like potassium are:
- Bananas, dates, grapes, apricots, and raisins.
- Pulses, cabbage and broccoli.
- Oranges, tomatoes and grapefruit, including their juice.
- Pork, lamb, and fish like tuna.
- Potatoes and corn.

Additional Tips to Cope
- Avoid using tight bed covers or restrictive sheets.
- Stretch the calf muscles with some light exercise for at least five minutes before going to bed each night.
- Take up a non intensive fitness regime like yoga or pilates to strengthen the muscles and also to loosen them up.
- Yoga is particularly useful as the breathing exercises and meditative practices.
- Yoga also helps improve circulation.

| More

If you found this post informative, why not sign up to receive new posts ?
It's simple, and free, and you can even opt to receive by email:
Subscribe in a reader
Subscribe to Good Health Tips by Email

What are different characteristics, uses and benefits of Plantain?

Plantains are generally called as herbaceous plants of genus Musa. The fruits produced by plantains are soft and sweet banana which is also used for cooking. Basically, there is no as such difference between the plantains and bananas; the use of the term is based on the way how these fruits are consumed. They are firmer and have lower sugar content than the desert bananas. Bananas are always eaten raw, while the plantains are cooked or processed, and are used green or unripe or overripe. They are staple food of the tropical regions of the world and used in the same way as potatoes like boiling, cooking and frying. Plantain crops are grown in almost all the regions like United States, Sri Lanka, Hawaii, Mexico, Columbia, central America, Peru, Puerto Rica, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Egypt, Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria.

Origin:-
Plantain are also called as cooking plantain, banana plantain, beer banana, bocadillo plantain but, formally classified as musa acuminate, musa balbisiana. Most of the plantains come from AAB cultivator and hybrid AAB groups. The genus musa members are all native to the regions of the Southeast Asia and oceania.

Uses of Plantain Food:-
- Steamed, boiled, grilled, fried or baked
In the countries like Honduras, Jamaica and Trinidad, Tobago, the plantains are simply boiled, fried or added to the soup. In Nigeria, the plant is eaten boiled, roasted and fried; the roasted plantain called as booli is usually eaten with groundnut or palm oil. In Ghana, the boiled plantain is eaten up with cabbage stew or kontomire stew. Ripe plantains are also eaten fried with black eyed beans. The dish called as Rellenitos de Plátano made from the plantains is also served as a dessert after the food.
- Rootstock
The root of plantain contains a lot of fiber and starch and is used as a food in many parts. It is also used for making dry curry and used as food in Ethiopia. The young shoots of the plant can also be cooked and eaten.
- Fruit
In the state of Kerala, the yellow fruits called Nendran are deep fried after dipping in a thin batter of gram flour which can be very difficult to remove.
- Drink
Plantain fruit can be mixed into alcoholic drink. They can also be boiled and blended with sugar and water to make chapo juice.
- Chips
Plantains can also be used to make banana chips after removing the skin and deep frying the sliced sections in hot oil. Chips are also named as bannan fris, chicharritas or mariquitas etc. Plantain chips are a popular treat in Ghana, Nigeria and Jamaica etc.

Other uses:-
- Plantain flowers
The flowers of the plantain are also used in variety of ways, for example, the young male flower at the end of bunch is used in salads. It can be used in vermicelli soups. Flower of the plant can also be used to make dry curry and thoran dish. The plantain flower can also be used to make sweet and sour gojju.
- Plantain leaves
The leaves of this plant can exceed two meters in length. The leaves of the plant when smoked in open fire help to improve the storage properties, flavor and aroma. They can also be used to wrap seasoned meat while cooking to keep the flavor. The plantain leaves are also used as plates while serving the food in South India. They also have religious importance in Hindu rituals. The leaves are also used as cooking foil for steaming idlis. It can also be used as a packaging material for packaging food and flowers.
- Plantain shoots
The plantain tree after harvesting is cut and peeled into layers to get cylinder shaped soft shoot, which can be used in salad or dry curry. It can also be used as a very good remedy to avoid constipation. Regular dosage of the juice of shoots can also help to procure kidney stones and stomach ulcers.

What is the ideal time for eating fruits?

More than just eating fruits, it is very important to know how and when to eat them. Fruits should be eaten empty stomach and not after meals or after deserts.

BENEFITS OF EATING FRUITS

- Best source of natural sugars.
- Best sources of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, amino acids and fatty acids that a human requires.
- Good sources of anti-oxidants.
- Easy to digest.
- Fruits are alkaline forming.
- Abundance of pure water.
- Healthy body and skin.
- Good source of fiber.

TIMING AND BENEFITS OF EATING FRUITS EMPTY STOMACH

- Eating fruits empty stomach will play a major role to detoxify your system, supplying you with a great deal of energy for weight loss and other life activities.
- Graying hair, balding, nervous outburst, and dark circles under the eyes will not happen if you take fruits on an empty stomach.
- After eating fruit, leave a time gap of 30 minutes before you eat any other food.
- After meal, take a gap of three hours and then eat.
- Try to eat fruit mostly before noon. This helps to raise blood sugar in a slow and unhurried manner.
- Try eating bananas and avocados in mid-day.
- Avoid canned, frozen and processed fruit.
- Go on a 3-day fruit fast to cleanse your body. Just eat fruits and drink fruit juice throughout the 3 days.
- Eating 5 servings of fruit a day is beneficial to weight loss and maintaining sugar balance and so on, but it is all about timing.

Some Fruits :
- KIWI: good source of potassium, magnesium, vitamin E, fiber and vitamin C.
- APPLE: antioxidants & flavonoids which enhances the activity of vitamin C thereby helping to lower the risks of colon cancer, heart attack & stroke.
- STRAWBERRY: highest total antioxidant power among major fruits & protect the body from cancer-causing, blood vessel-clogging free radicals.
- ORANGE: reduces cholesterol, keep away from colds, prevents and dissolves kidney stones.
- WATERMELON: Coolest thirst quencher.
- GUAVA & PAPAYA: Highest vitamin C content. Guava is rich in fiber and prevents constipation. P

Diabetic person should be selective in eating fruits and the time for eating should be always in between the regular meals and definitely not after the meals. Timing regularity and punctuality in eating fruit is definitely important to get the desired result of eating fruit. Grape is good for health but preferably in limited quantity.