We’ve all heard that Mom’s chicken soup is just what you need when fighting a cold, but can the foods we eat really fight disease? In India,Ayurvediccooking is an ancient practice designed to do just that, but does it work?Chef Geeta Bansal, owner of Clay Oven, an Indian restaurant in Irvine, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011. Devastated, she began doing her research and elected to start a trial for a new type of treatment that delivered a single powerful dose of radiation in one session, followed by a surgery and other therapies. The severe side effects of those treatments began to take their toll. So she turned toAyurvediccooking to counteract them. The anti-carcinogenic properties of turmeric was first on her list. Also, by taking Fenugreek, she was able to keep her hair from falling out. She used cumin & coriander when making soups to help her quickly regain her energy. To offset nausea, ginger & lemon weretopon her list and she incorporatedproteins like tofu and lentils to counteract anemia, low blood pressure & loss of appetite.
Today she is in remission and points to her embrace ofAyurvedicpractices to her recovery.
While the Clay Oven doesn’t suggest eliminatingtraditional treatment methods to fight cancer and other serious medical conditions, they hope that you could learn by Chef Geeta’s example that anAyurvedicdiet can help offset some of serious side effects and set the stage for recovery. Hermenunow features many of the healing dishes that helped her.
A brief list ofAyurvedicingredients:
- Turmericis an anti-carcinogenic
- Corianderis a natural diuretic (cancer causes swelling & an inflammatory reaction in your body
- Fenugreekis an astringent, meaning a natural blood cleaner which kills harmful bacteria
- Fennelis an antioxidant
- Gingerstimulates appetite & relieves anxiety (chemotherapy is stressful and causes patients to lose appetite)
- Seaweedsaag is great for fighting anemia (a common side-effect of cancer)
- Curryleavesare an anti-bacterial & contain calcium, iron and Vitamin C
- Cuminhelps with digestion
- Green tea with rosehas a cooling and calming property and can help with inflammation
visitclayovenirvine.comto take a look at their menu
posted 3/17/15 by Andrea Gonzalez
