Making simple herbal remedies at home need be no more difficult
or time-consuming than brewing a cup of tea. More complex herbal
products, such as ointments and creams, are now readily available
from health-food stores and pharmacies, so this section focuses only
on the simpler options :
Traditionaly ayurvedic remedies are taken
as fresh juices, pastes, or purees, generally
mixed with ghee or oil; as decoctions; as hot
and cold infusions; or as macerations. The
traditional proportion for decoctions
is one part herb to 16 parts water, which is then simmered
until the volume has reduced to one-quarter of the original
This process takes several hours to complete. Hot infusions use the
proportion of one part herb to eight parts boiling water,
with the infusion being left for up to 12 hours,
rather than the 10-15 minutes that are generally
allowed in the West. Some ayurvedic practitioners In the West
recommend increasing the dosage and cutting the
simmering or infusion time to Western proportions in
order to make the preparation more compatible with
Western lifestyles. Decoctions can be simmered until
three-quarters of the water is left and dosages doubled
or trebled, with a similar increase in dosages for a
minimum hot-infusion time of 30 minutes.
Milk decoctions are made…
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