In ancient times, Ayurvedic herbs were used to cure many diseases. With the passage of time, science has also changed, but even today, herbs are used in some cases when needed. One of these herbs is Tinospora cordifolia. Even though many people do not know about it, but the benefits of Tinospora cordifolia are many. Tinospora cordifolia is also known as Giloy, Giloe or Guduchi. In this article, you will know about surprising health benefits of giloy. In addition, nutrition value and side-effects of giloy will be discussed.
WHAT IS GILOY (TINOSPORA CORDIFOLIA):
Giloy is a vine, which is mainly found in forests, fields and rocks of mountains. Its fruits look like pea seeds. Its stem is green and looks like a rope. During the summer season, it bears small yellow flowers, which are present in the form of clusters in the male plant and singly in the female. This is the reason that the identification of Giloy as male and female is done by looking at its flowers. Giloy leaves are rich in protein, calcium and phosphorus, so the benefits of giloy leaves are also many.
The scientific name of Giloy is Tinospora cardifolia. Its vine has amazing ability to cure many diseases alone. Its most important thing is that whatever tree it clings to grows, many medicinal properties of that tree are absorbed in the medicinal properties of Giloy. For this reason, the giloy vine present on the neem tree is considered beneficial and the best.
GILOY NUTRITION VALUE:
As we have mentioned previously that giloy is a vine and the chemicals present in it are the reason for its store of medicinal properties. Let's take a look at those chemicals:
- Flavonoids
- Quinones
- Polyphenols and Tannins
- Steroids
- Coumarins
- Lactic and polypeptide
- Glycosides
- Saponins
- Terpenoids and Essential Oils
HEALTH BENEFITS OF TINOSPORA CORDIFOLIA (GILOY):
The benefits of giloy can be seen in many types of health related problems. Benefits of Tinospora cordifolia (giloy) include:
BOOSTS IMMUNITY:
A weak immune system can make a person more vulnerable to disease. In such a situation, the consumption of giloy can prove beneficial. It is said that one of the medicinal properties of giloy is also immunomodulatory effect, which can work in increasing the body's immunity. So, it would not be wrong to say that giloy can help boost immune system.
HELPS TREAT CHRONIC FEVER:
The benefits of Tinospora cordifolia can be seen here. For this, you can use the stem and leaves of it. They have antipyretic, a substance that helps reduce fever. Not only this, giloy juice can also help treat chronic cough. To get the benefit, you can make juice or decoction of giloy leaves and take it with honey in case of fever.
IN DENGUE:
Giloy is considered a storehouse of medicinal properties. It contains several chemicals due to which it exhibits immunomodulatory effects. This effect increases the immunity of the body and gives it the ability to fight against many diseases. These diseases also include viral infections such as malaria and dengue. For this reason, the benefits of Tinospora cordifolia can be seen in getting relief from the problem of dengue.
IN ASTHMA:
Giloy can also have benefits for getting relief in the problem of asthma. Along with increasing the body's immunity, it is also believed to have a strong ability to reduce the symptoms of breathing problems such as asthma. For this, the juice of the stem of the giloy can be used by mixing it with honey.
IN ARTHRITIS:
Giloy can also be beneficial in the problem of arthritis. According to experts, the properties of giloy have an anti-inflammatory effect. In addition, it also has anti-arthritic and anti-osteoporotic effects that helps relieve joint pain and inflammation. The combined effect of these three can be considered helpful in removing the problem of arthritis.
INCREASE SEXUAL DESIRE:
Giloy can play a vital role in the sexual health. A research found that it has immunomodulatory properties that work increase the body's immunity. Along with giving the body ability to fight against diseases, it can also help in increasing sexual desire due to the aphrodisiac effect.
FOR EYES:
Giloy can also be used to get rid of eye related disorders. According to health experts, the immunomodulatory properties found in it also exhibit beneficial effects for the eyes.
An another research done in this regard found that the properties of Tinospora cordifolia can prove to be helpful in getting rid of problems related to the eyes.
IN PILES:
According to a scientific research, consumption of giloy can provide relief from piles. It is rich in medicinal properties which can be helpful in the treatment of bloody piles.
An another study mentions that to get rid of the problem of piles, taking the stem of this plant mixed with milk or water can provide relief. At the same time, its consumption can also prevent bleeding and constipation in piles.
REDUCE INFLAMMATION:
The use of giloy can be beneficial in inflammation related problems. According to a research, it has anti-inflammatory properties, which can be helpful in relieving inflammation to some extent.
According to an another study done on rats, consumption of giloy can provide relief in inflammatory diseases.
REDUCE THE EFFECTS OF AGING:
The effect of aging can be reduced with the help of giloy. It contains such chemical elements act as anti-aging. For this reason, along with removing many health problems, it can also reduce the effects of aging. On this basis, it can be said that regular consumption of giloy in balanced quantity can also play an important role in keeping the skin young.
FOR DIGESTIVE HEALTH:
Giloy comes with medicinal properties, which can help in recovering from many digestive problems such as diarrhea. On this basis, it can be assumed that the use of giloy can also prove to be helpful in strengthening the digestive system.
HELPS CONTROL DIABETES:
The benefits of Tinospora cordifolia can be seen when it comes to treating diabetes. For this, the anti-hyperglycemic effect present in it can be considered beneficial. It can help control blood sugar by increasing the activation of insulin in the body. For this, you can consume giloy juice.
HOW TO USE GILOY:
Giloy (Tinospora cordifolia) can be used in following ways:
- By grinding the stem and leaves of giloy, you can make its juice.
- It can be used as decoction. For this, its root and stem will have to be boiled and its decoction has to be prepared.
- You can also use its fruits for consumption. Don't consume more than two to four fruits.
HOW MUCH TO USE (RECOMMENDED INTAKE):
It is recommended to take about 20 to 30 ml dosage of its juice twice a day. In the form of a decoction, it can be used up to 20 ml twice a day.
SIDE EFFECTS OF GILOY:
Excessive intake of giloy can also cause some side-effects. Side-effects of giloy may include:
- It may lower blood sugar. The people who are taking diabetes medicine should avoid its use, otherwise blood sugar can be very low.
- It has been considered useful for digestive health, but its excessive consumption can cause stomach related problems such as stomach upset and gas problems.
- Pregnant women must consult a doctor before consuming it.
TAKE AWAY
After reading this article, you must understood the secret benefits of giloy. Due to medicinal properties, it can prevent many types of health problems. Keep in mind that its excessive consumption can cause side-effects. So, consume it in moderate quantity.
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REFERENCES:
- Tinospora cordifolia (Willd.) Hook. f. and Thoms. (Guduchi) - validation of the Ayurvedic pharmacology through experimental and clinical studies; Avnish K. Upadhyay, Kaushal Kumar, Arvind Kumar and Hari S. Mishra; PMCID: PMC2924974. PMID: 20814526.
- Optimized micropropagation protocol to establish high-yielding true-to-type plantations of elite genotypes of Tinospora cordifolia for consistent production of therapeutic compounds©; Author: V. Srivastava, R. Chaturvedi; ISSN:0567-7572.
- Anti-inflammatory activity of Guduchi Ghana (aqueous extract of Tinospora Cordifolia Miers.); Biswajyoti Patgiri, Bharti L Umretia and Pradip U Vaishnav; PMID: 25364210. PMCID: PMC4213960.
- Tinospora cordifolia(Guduchi); Kirti Sinha, N P Mishra and J Singh; Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge.
- Anti-Oxidant and Antimicrobial Studies of Tinospora cordifolia (Guduchi/Giloy) Stems and Roots under In Vitro Condition; Bhairav Vaibhav, Bhairav Prasad and Aditi Chauhan.
- Tinospora cordifolia: One plant many roles; Soham Saha and Shyamasree Ghosh; PMCID: PMC3644751. PMID: 23661861.