FRESH GINGER/ DRY GINGER POWDER (SONTH) 
(Zingiber officinale)

Sonth is the powder of dried ginger root or ‘Adrak’. Fresh ginger has some effective oils that the dried powder does not. The taste is pungent, and the more fibrous variety has greater medicinal value than the non-fibrous ones.
In India, it is commonly used as a kitchen-spice, an ingredient of chutneys/ foods/ choorans/ drinks and herbal teas, and a common household remedy for a variety of complaints. Its action on the body is heat- producing.
A few drops of fresh ginger juice with honey or Ginger & Tulsi tea is used to alleviate coughs, colds, throat problems and many respiratory complaints.
Ginger is also a potent blood thinner, heart stimulant and an anti-coagulant.

It is highly effective in gastric disorders such as flatulence, nausea, and indigestion. It reduces/ removes mucous and phlegm. If taken 20-30 minutes before traveling---it suppresses nausea due to motion or travel sickness.
With garlic and onions--- it is a potent remedy to open blocked arteries and lower blood pressure.
Precautions:  Being heat-producing and anti-clotting---- it should be consumed in small quantities, and should be avoided in hot seasons, by people suffering from inflammatory skin diseases, high fevers, bleeding ulcers, or those with haemorrhagic or anti-clotting disorders. It is better tolerated in winters.

How To Use it :
·        Dry ginger powder with ‘Gur’ [jaggery] helps in curing jaundice.
·        Make a paste of dry ginger powder with water and apply on affected parts to relieve pains. Applied on the forehead, it relieves headaches. Mix equal quantities of ginger juice and lemon juice and apply at night on head, spine and painful joints if any, to get relief within a few days from even the most chronic headaches, backaches and rheumatic/arthritic joints.
·        One fourth to one half tsp. dry ginger with a little liquorice (Mulatthi) taken with milk at night, reduces the risk of abortions in pregnant women. This mixture is also good to soothe sore throats, and for coughs.
·        Dry ginger powder taken with water ---kills worms.
·        Ginger tea with honey is good for colds, cough and chest problems. A tsp. of Ginger juice or grated ginger mixed with a tsp of honey reduces phlegm effectively.
·        Ginger with lemon & ajwain is anti-flatulent and digestive. Given to kids--- half an hour before meals, it increases their appetite.
·        Use it to flavour food & drinks, in salads, and to make herbal teas, chutneys and choorans, or as an appetizing drink [jal zeera].
Open up blocked arteries with the following preparation:--
Grind to a paste…1 cup garlic and 1 cup of fresh ginger. Mix with I cup of sour lime juice (limbo ka ras) and 1 cup of pure apple cider vinegar (not synthetic).
Mix it and boil on low heat, until 3 cups are left. Then take it off the heat and let it cool.
When it is cold, add 3 cups of honey, mix it thoroughly, and store in a glass bottle/ jar.
Have one tablespoonful first thing in the morning before breakfast. Keep the bottle in the fridge for further use.

After few minutes, enjoy your breakfast. It really works wonders, as it can open up multiple blockages of the arteries!
Parents are always complaining about their children’s poor appetite. Make this delicious ‘chooran’ at home and end all complaints of ‘not being hungry’.
Take 50gms of fresh ginger and chop it very fine. Mix it with 50gms of juice of ‘Kagzi Nimbu’ (thin skinned sour lemons). Add 10gms of ‘Lahori Namak’/ Rock salt/ Sendha namak. Mix well, and keep it in the sun for 2-3 days.
Chew 2gms (1/4 tsp.) of this ‘chooran’ everyday, half an hour before meals. It not only improves the appetite drastically, but also improves digestion, and takes care of any flatulence, acidity and indigestion etc.