Traditional medicine exists in every community that has access to clean freshwater, foliage, flora and fauna. The virgin forest is one of the many assets a community can have. Sometimes it is not the forest of trees and woods, but a dry desert savanna or a beach vegetation, or wild shrubs and flowers which grow wild by the sandy or dusty roadside. Sometimes they are just plants grown around the house for daily or occasional use. In many communities of Asia, their food is their medicine, which is different from Western medicine.
INDIAN SUBCONTINENT
The Indus Civilisation has provided humans with a myriad of good traditional Ayurvedic herbs that work for many common ailments.
In the hot tropics and the equator, people resort to iced-cold water and ices to quench thirst. Cheap unboiled tap water is used for making ice, and then shaved to obtain ice shavings, which are needed to make attractive, colourful, flavoured ice balls. People who consume such ice-balls (or ABC) can contract hepatitis A after a month of consuming such food. The patient looks terribly unwell. Hepatitis A is a nasty disease which incapacitates the patient. The patient becomes lethargic and fatigued day by day, and appears at the ER on wheelchair. The patient has no energy to even walk or stand. The skin and sclerae are light yellow (mata kuning). Hepatitis A can be rapidly cured with
Jetepar, a fast-healing Indian herbal capsule manufactured in India and useful for modern hospital prescription by specialists in Medicine.
Jetepar helps to regenerate liver cells (hepatocytes). Use of
Jetepar clears hepatitis within two weeks to a month. Use of
Jetepar and Malay traditional medicine clears hepatitis A within two weeks, faster than what modern medicine today possibly can.
As we go about our daily lives, we tend to be careless at times, and often fall. Sometimes a slight sudden movement (jerk) can give us a fracture. Children tend to get fractures when they fall down from trees. Adults tend to get fractures as they carry or shift heavy objects about in the house. Some adults get injury while at work, carrying or moving heavy packages. The Indians use
ingu for fractures and bone pain.
Ingu is a dark (black) herbal paste which can be purchased from well-stocked Indian stores in most Malaysian cities. It is sold in small plastic wrapped balls and smells. Ingu is applied on the skin at the fracture site and then wrapped overnight. It can be replaced if the pain continues. With use of
ingu, pain usually subsides after 3 days. Fracture will take about a month to heal and longer to have functional strength.
Indian black tea is served with dusted cinnamon and a dash of honey. This tea is consumed to overcome diabetes. It may work in some people. It may not work in people who are sensitive to cinnamon and suffer allergy and migraine as a consequence of consuming this type of tea.
INDIA & SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Indian cuisine has curries. Indians do not consume beef, but consume mutton, chicken and fish curries instead. Indian curries have many spices, including seeds, nuts and beans. Indian curries contain coriander seeds (
biji ketumbar), star anise (
bunga lawang), cinnamon (
kayu manis), cloves (
cengkih), mustard seed (
biji sawi), fenugreek (
halba), ginger (
halia), galangal (
lengkuas), tamarind (
asam jawa) and
asam keping. Indian curries also have ladies finger (
bendi or
bendeh), long beans (
kacang panjang), moringa (
keloh), brinjals/eggplants (
terung) and curry leaves (
daun kari). When the Malays make curries, they add more spices (
jintan), turmeric (
kunyit), lemon grass (
serai),
daun limau purut and extra spicy ground chili (
cili boh or
cili giling).
The Indian, Indonesians and Malays then add coconut milk and macademia nuts to thicken curries. Salt and MSG are added to taste. Curries are a good source of minerals. Moringa is a rich and cheap source of iron in many countries where the tree grows wild. Drumsticks (beans) of the moringa tree are consumed by mothers who are about to deliver and expedites labour. Moringa seeds are sold commercially at speciality food stores. Brinjals give good clear vision. Lemon grass helps in arthritic conditions. Coconut water is used to cool down the body and expand blood volume in fever and dehydration. Plain water is drank immediately after a fall to overcome shock.
MALAY CIVILISATION
The Malay Archipelago is vast and mainly covers hundreds of scattered islands and a peninsula in SEA in addition to a belt around the equator. It includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei. Borneo, Philippines, Sulu, parts of China, Taiwan, Japan, Polynesia, Melanesia, Guam, Hawaii, Ceylon, South India, Madagascar, South Africa and parts of the Amazon forest also contain Malays.
The Malays use coconut water for healing heat conditions and fever. Coconut water is like blood plasma and is a plasma expander. Guava shoots are used for dengue to increase platelet count. Quinine is consumed fresh to overcome malaria and its fatal outcome. Quinine is close to machang/macang, a fragrant fruit from a perennial very tall tree. Macang is grown and sold in the fresh market, but quinine is rarely sold.
Inai leaves are pounded to a paste and applied on severe skin afflictions without bandage. Betel leaves (
daun sireh) are chewed and spat onto children to remove evil spirits and to break away a mother from her clinging child. Turmeric is either eaten raw or cooked. Raw turmeric is pounded to make
sambal belacan and eaten with hot rice to increase milk in breastfeeding and improve appetite. Fresh fish is covered with a mixture of pounded or ground turmeric, chilli and salt, then deeply fried and eaten with hot rice. Turmeric contains curcumin, and curcumin kills cancer. Betel leaves,
pandan (
Pandanus leaves),
daun cermai and fragrant flowers, are used for mothers to bathe in the post-partum period; they reduce body itch. Soaked crushed watercress (
air kangkung) makes a good light latex emulsion for treating itch and warding off chickenpox. It stops chickenpox infection from spreading.
The Malays are noted for their salads (
ulam). They eat a variety of salads not found in many other communities. The Malay
ulam includes boiled or fresh four-angled beans (
kacang botol), watercress (
kangkong), ladies finger, big & small brinjals (
terung &
terung pipit), big & small cucumber (
timun &
timun susu), cashew shoots (
daun ketereh/gajus), long beans, drumstick (
kacang keloh), marrows (
labu air), young corn (
ketiak jagung),
jering,
petai, etc. These fresh vegetables are dipped in anchovy sauce (
budu) or peanut sauce (
kuah rojak). Blanching or boiling kills
E. coli and flatulence is minimal.
Ulam helps to overcome problems of constipation. However, vegetables are regarded as cold food and are avoided by mothers in the post-partum period. As such these mothers suffer from constipation.
Tropical fruits which are grown around the house are eaten fresh by the Malays. They include big & small bananas, big & small papayas, hard & soft guava,
durian, mango (
mangga),
rambutan,
pulasan, mangosteen (
manggis),
langsat,
dokong, laichi, grapes, pomegranate (
delima), soursop (
durian belanda,
Graviola),
ciku, custard apple (
nona), etc. Some fruits are used for making fruit preserves such as
acar buah (chutney) and
jeruk buah.
Pak Ali is a famous fruit preserve brand in Malaysia. It includes nutmeg, prunes, cherries,
buah bidara,
buah cermai, etc. Preserved fruit is eaten as snacks or made into acar buah.
CHINESE CIVILISATION
Herbs used in Chinese traditional medicine include garlic, ginger, ginseng, lotus seeds, barley, red dates, white fungus, and spices. Mothers are fed garlic and ginger-rich chicken soup in the post-partum period to expedite recovery. Babies get a lime oil rub for colic. There is a plain cabbage soup to avoid constipation. The hot or cold beans drink,
leng chi kang, helps to overcome thirst and is nutritious. Barley water is alkaline and is used to cool down the body, for hypertension, diabetes and renal problems. Chinese children eat a lot of oranges for vitamin C.
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| Barley, basil and pandan drink |
Chinese fruit preserves and seeds are widely marketed in Malaysia. It includes dried orange skin, dried plums, dried prunes, pumpkin & melon seeds (
kuaci), and crystallised fruits.
In the old days in China, excess oranges were cooked in sugar and made into crystallised oranges. These were consumed in winter when there were no fresh oranges to consume. Crystallised oranges were also used as gifts when the Chinese travelled the world. In California where the Chinese arrived and set up trading posts, crystallised oranges were gifts for exchange with Californian sweet jelly-apple-walnuts clusters dusted with powdered glucose.
Chinese coffee shops offer sweet black coffee to go with
char koay. This is good for overcoming hypoglycaemia when rising from overnight sleep. Light unsweetened Chinese green tea is consumed at coffee-break and in the afternoon. This is good for avoiding a multitude of afflictions such as hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and diabetes.
THAI CIVILISATION
Thai snacks include sugar-coated tamarind, skewed honey squids, puffed rice crackers, cashew nuts, coated groundnuts, honey fried anchovies, popcorn, etc. These are cheap nutritious food. Some help to overcome protein needs of poor communities, which is prevalent in South-east Asia (SEA).
The Thais have a special spice mix that is used in terminal cases to overcome near death. This is a fragrant spice mix and is not sold in the open market. This is a protected spice mix and is only available upon request through special people. Not everyone can get hold of this spice. Even if it is made available, it is only available less a teaspoonful and once only.
The Thais have a rich thick sweet green tea recipe. This tea has recently crossed borders and come into the Malaysian market, especially at universities, fresh markets and Ramadan food fair. This tea can be dark green or light green. Its green colour does not resemble that of green algae or natural chlorophyll. It could be artificial edible food colouring or other. It has a metallic odour. Whether this type of green tea is good for health or otherwise is a wonder.
The Thais have invented a soy-based health drink that combines black seed. Black seed is mostly used in Arabic medicine. Black seed is the Mother of Medicine in Arabic medicine. Black seed is especially useful for dissolving tumors (any organic solid mass). Its proper usage is unknown. There is scarce knowledge of its proper use in medicine in order to obtain maximum benefits.
PHILIPPINES CIVILISATION
The Filipinos eat
manuk - eggs containing unborn chicks (with feathers, beak, eyes, wings and legs. It is eaten with chilli sauce. It is a good source of protein.
OTHER
There are isolated communities who rely on human flesh and brain for protein. These communities are dying out. Cannibalism and head hunters are a dying tradition. The wild boar and pythons are main sources of protein for isolated communities, especially in hilly regions far from the sea or rivers. Protein malnutrition is rare in these communities. However, transmission of viruses from consuming infected human or animal brains is a possibility.
BIOPIRACY
Patients are always hoping for a miracle drug, only to find out that they are consuming an illegally patented drug in a first world nation but the original source was actually smuggled out from a civilised community of a third world country. It may be too late when this happens.
When entrepreneurs and researchers in biotechnology and pharmaceutical products take a plant, flower, fruit, seed, bark, root, sap or gum out of a country, and do R&D to obtain a patent for a new drug or cure, this is a bad thing for the original country where the plant was first sourced. When this happens, the original country loses its ownership of the original plant source and the newly developed drug. Money may mean everything for big pharma.
Biopiracy did not just suddenly come into the world. It has been around since rubber seeds were smuggled out from Brazil to Kew Gardens in England and then brought to Malaya for R&D and commercial cultivation. Bitangor is a useful tree for cure of hepatitis. It was smuggled out from Malaysia and now patented for a new drug in the USA. The Chinese eat red yeast rice as part of their normal routine to keep optimal health. Red yeast rice has been exploited to produce statin drugs by pharma in USA. Statins are expensive drugs used in the treatment of hypercholesterolaemia.
External links
Mongabay
https://news.mongabay.com/2015/06/amazon-tribe-creates-500-page-traditional-medicine-encyclopedia/
