- After using natural remedies instead of surgery for his mother’s arthritis, Maran G began selling packets of remedies
- Now he runs a successful cafe selling soups, juices and health foods and others are following suit
In the small town of Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu, India, the kitchen in a small cafe Thaai Vali Iyarkai Unavagam (translated as Natural Food, Mother's Way) is opened up at daily at 4am. It will serve healthy soups, juices and foods as nourishment and healing remedies to up to 400 patrons a day. They include schoolchildren, diabetics, women with hair loss, arthritis sufferers and others.
Ten women work relentlessly to meet the demand, under the guidance of 59-year-old shop owner Maran G. When his mother was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 1998, doctors recommended surgery, an expensive option at 125,000 rupees (US$1,740). A local farmer friend advised Maran that obesity was arthritis' cause and that with some changes to his mother's diet, such as giving up caffeine, and having buttermilk and sprouted lentils, she would be back on her feet. They followed his advice and prepared some family recipes for healing, such as soup made from balloon vine, and she lost 10kg in a month. Gradually the pain went away, as did the need for surgery.
"I was so happy to witness my mother's recovery, that I wanted to spread the word in my community," Maran says. So he began selling packets of black gram sprouts, mixed with shredded gooseberries and carrots, buying ingredients from local farmers, and selling them in town. On good days he would sell 7,000 packets. He added other healthy ingredients to the mix, including green gram and groundnut sprouts, and some friends set up similar stalls.
"We never thought of each other as competition, because we all had the same goal: to promote wellness using locally grown healthy food," Maran says.
That venture sprouted into a cafe that opened in 2012 selling soups, juices, salads and millet-based health foods. Maran attended naturopathy workshops to gain more insights into healing foods, and is pleased with the way his small initiative has shaped up.
"I'm not in it for the money, and I'm not interested in turning it into a franchise," he says. He's organised many health camps and training workshops in Sivakasi over the years, with the help of local naturopaths and farmers. Dozens of similar cafes have opened up in India, inspired by Maran's work, and the government of Tamil Nadu has begun serving his nilavembu kashayam " andrographis tea made from the "king of bitters" " in hospitals, to help patients suffering from dengue and viral fevers.
His most popular items are bitter gourd juice and fenugreek pudding (for type 2 diabetes control), mountain knotgrass soup and banana stem juice (both useful in kidney stone treatment), sprouted horse gram tea (for coughs and colds), curry leaf juice in coconut milk (for hair loss), beetroot juice in coconut milk (for anaemia). They are priced from just 10 rupees, making them affordable for all.
Most of these natural ingredients are readily available, and science has also studied them closely. Several studies, for instance, have shown that bitter gourd is effective in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Results of a four-week clinical trial published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, in January 2011, found a link between a 2,000mg daily dose of bitter gourd and significantly reduced blood glucose levels among patients with type 2 diabetes.
A study published in 2017 in AYU, an international quarterly journal of research into traditional Indian Ayurvedic medicine, concluded that a simple complementary addition of fenugreek seeds to the diet could have a synergistic effect, along with diet control and exercise, on fasting blood glucose.
Banana stem extract has been recommended as a useful agent in the treatment of patients with kidney stones, according to a study in the British Journal of Urology International in 1994.
Maran's goal is to make people focus on self-care using natural remedies, and to empower farmers and women in his community.
"There have been many research studies conducted on many of the ingredients we use, and at the same time, we want everyone to be aware of paati vaidya (grandmother's wisdom/ medicine)," he says. "We want people to learn about the benefits of naturopathy, to maintain immunity and vitality. Take curry leaves, for example " they are rich in beta-carotene, antioxidants, amino acids. and proteins. My grandmother used curry leaves to strengthen her hair follicles."
THREE SIMPLE REMEDIES FROM MARAN
Hair loss remedy " curry leaves juice in coconut milk
2 cups curry leaves
1 cup coriander leaves
1 inch piece of ginger
1 cardamom pod
1 tablespoon jaggery (unrefined sugar)
1.5 cups water
Coconut milk extracted from 1.5 cups grated coconut
Liquidise first five ingredients in a blender, adding a little bit of the water at a time. Mix in the coconut milk. Drink immediately for best results.
Kidney stone remedy " banana stem juice
1 six- to eight-inch piece of banana stem, washed and chopped into small pieces
1 cup water
Juice of 1 lemon
Liquidise the banana stem pieces in a blender, adding a little water at a time. Add the lemon juice, stir well, strain and drink immediately. Keep the banana stem pieces immersed in water until you grind.
Diabetic remedy " bitter gourd juice
1 bitter gourd, cleaned and chopped fine
2 gooseberries, deseeded and chopped
2 tablespoons aloe vera juice/ extract
A handful of avarampoo or Cassia auriculata flowers (optional)
1 cup water
Liquidise all ingredients in a blender, adding a little bit of water at a time. Strain and drink immediately, preferably in the morning.
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