Coronavirus: Indians seek ancient ayurvedic home remedies to boost immunity
- Many people have been trawling the web for various herbs and spices to boost their immune systems; others are taking up yoga or cycling
- Milk and turmeric drinks are selling out as the country’s coronavirus cases surge past 1 million
Reckoning it’s one of the best ways to avoid contracting the virus in a nation where social distancing in densely populated cities is near-impossible, Indians have been trawling the web for home remedies.
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India's Covid-19 cases pass 1.5 million mark
A study in May of Google searches showed a big increase in people from India looking up the medicinal properties of certain foods. And they’re not looking for honey or mint tea. Those are humdrum. They are going much deeper in the search for the elixir of immunity.
Herbs normally known only to practitioners of ayurveda, the ancient system of medicine, appear to be sought. For example, the herb giloy is actually known by ayurvedic doctors as the “heavenly elixir” because of its immunity-boosting properties. Kadha is a herbal concoction that claims to protect people against the flu and infections.
Apart from the fact that there is no cure for coronavirus, Indians are extra anxious about contracting it because of the country’s limited medical facilities. Some government hospitals are putting people off because of their decrepitude and lack of hygiene.
A video last week showed pigs roaming in a hospital holding coronavirus patients in the southwest state of Karnataka.
Coronavirus patients in another hospital, in Uttar Pradesh, were stunned to see rainwater gushing like a waterfall through the ceiling because of a damaged pipe.