There are two ancient medical systems that originated from India. Ayurveda and Siddha. Siddha is the ancient, traditional medical system that originated in Tamil Nadu. These methods of healing were written on palm leaf manuscripts and continue to be preserved even at present.
You might wonder why Siddha medicine did not receive the same amount of attention as Ayurveda did but a little research into this topic reveals that most of the literature about Siddha is written in Thamizh! (*evil smile*) However its practices are slowly gaining its popularity in the western world as well. Especially, after its contribution to healing COVID-19!
An article from August 2020 stated that over 6000 people (and counting) in Tamil Nadu were cured of COVID-19 through Siddha treatments. There are currently over 11 Siddha COVID-19 Care centres in Tamil Nadu, healing patients who were affected by COVID-19.
As per their schedule, “the treatment would start at 6 am with a cup of herbal tea, followed by walking, breathing exercise and a herbal concoction before the patients’ head for a herbal breakfast. Through the day, the patients will go through several physical exercises, herbal baths and yoga.”
One of the ways these patients start their day is by gargling salt water. This has been something I’ve been taught to do as a go to remedy whenever I have a sore throat. So many of our daily practices that our parents taught us had medicinal benefits that we probably haven’t taken the time to research or wondered why it was followed. As long as it works right?
And before you question the validity of the information I share here, I discovered a study that was conducted in Chennai (link below) to determine the effectiveness of using ‘Kudineer,’ one of the many medicines consumed in Siddha tradition to reduce symptoms in asymptomatic COVID-19 patients. The study concluded that there was a reduction in symptoms such as fever, cough and breathlessness and had visible changes in immunity markers! It also became a common drink amongst front-line workers to help prevent them from infection.
So there you go, this isn’t fiction! Isn’t it fascinating that practices that were discovered and followed decades ago are still as effective and stand its time? Are there any ancient health practices that you follow?
So proud that our roots are so strong in every field, especially in healing, medicine and sciences and our ancestors were able to follow a simple, healthy lifestyle with disciplines that we can follow many, many years later!
Here is a YouTube video if you'd like to look more into this:
PS: It’s preferable to consult with a physician for advice on dosages of Siddha medicines. The intention of this article is to promote using traditional, safe methods of healing with ingredients/spices found in our kitchen that are easily accessible and a safer remedy rather than over the counter medications.
References https://trialsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13063-020-04823-z