People can avoid diseases and medicines by reforming the home kitchens on traditional lines by adding ingredients such as ‘sukku’ (dried ginger), ‘milagu’ (pepper), ‘omam’ (carom seeds), ‘Elam’ (cardamom), ‘perunkayam’ (asafoetida) and ‘manjal’ (turmeric) in the daily food cooked at home, said R.S. Ramaswamy, Director-General, Central Council for Research in Siddha, Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy), Government of India.
Speaking at the World Health Day celebrations conducted as part of World Siddhar Day festival organised jointly by the Tamil Nadu Parambariya Siddha Vaidhya Maha Sangam and Sri Putru Maharishi Social Medical Service Centre here recently, Dr. Ramaswamy said that intake of food was not just to satiate hunger but also to lay the foundation for good health. But unfortunately, the food that is consumed by most people today has been poisoned by the chemicals in the form of pesticides that have found their way into the vegetables, fruits and other crops grown by the farmers.
The health of the people has deteriorated on account of the changes in the traditional food habits of the people, and their shift to fast foods, he said.
Pavannan, Sahitya Academy Award winner, said that traditional food alone will maintain the metabolic balance of the body. Cool drinks may quench the thirst, but they would not facilitate maintenance of the metabolic balance. They also tend to bring toxins into the body, he said.
A. Kumaravel, president of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Central Council for Research in Siddha said that fast foods damaged the kidneys. The kind of food we take is directly responsible for diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity, he said.
T. Sivakumar, Field Publicity Officer, Puducherry, said that hundreds of chemicals are added to fast foods in order to enhance taste and aroma, give a good colour and to preserve them. Such foods lead to obesity. Urban surveys revealed that 36% of men and 40% of women had excess weight, while in the rural areas, only 7-8% of men and 10.9% of women were overweight, he said. K.P. Arjunan, State president of the Tamil Nadu Parambariya Siddha Vaidhya Maha Sangam welcomed the gathering.
