Turmeric, Memory and Mood

In a study published in January 2018 it was found that, “… people who took curcumin experienced significant improvements in their memory and attention abilities, while the subjects who received placebo did not, Small said. In memory tests, the people taking curcumin improved by 28 percent over the 18 months. Those taking curcumin also had mild improvements in mood, and their brain PET scans showed significantly less amyloid and tau signals in the amygdala and hypothalamus than those who took placebos.” (Source: EurekAlert!, the online, global news service operated by AAAS, the science society.)

In Tibb (Islamic Medicine), turmeric is classified as hot and moist: food qualities.

Yoghurt and Heart Health

A February 2018 study published in the American Journal of Hypertension, published by Oxford University Press, suggests that, “higher yogurt intake is associated with lower cardiovascular disease risk among hypertensive men and women.” (Source: EurekAlert!, the online, global news service operated by AAAS, the science society.)

In Tibb (Islamic Medicine), yoghurt is classified as cold and dry: food qualities.

Strengthening the stomach

“Include in the diet: pomegranate, quince, orange and orange peel, cinnamon, gur, senna, cloves, cardamom, and mint … Everything that strengthens the stomach also strengthens the intestines and throat.”

Chishti in "The Traditional Healers Handbook" 

Strengthening the Liver

“Include in the diet: chickory, roasted chickory root, pomegranate, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves. Liver weakness comes mainly from things that cause coldness and moisture.  Therefore, including heating [garmi] foods and spices.”

Chishti in "The Traditional Healers Handbook" 

Strengthening the heart

“Eat peaches, pomegranate, tamarind, apple, rhubarb, cowslip, mint, coriander seeds, orange, cinnamon, senna, gur, saffron, carrot, cardamom…”

Chishti in "The Traditional Healers Handbook" 

Strengthening the brain

“Include these items in the diet: quince, apples, orange, rose water, ginger, valerian, cloves, chicken, brains, and goat’s milk."

Chishti in "The Traditional Healers Handbook" 

Strengthening the kidneys

The signs of weak kidneys are, “white or colorless urine and pain, weakness of the body, loss of virility, backache and headache.” The remedy is, “by diet consisting of large amounts of pure water, kidney meats, parsley, leafy green vegetables, wheat germ, and fresh green peas. Avoid coffee … and other stimulants.”

Robert Thomson, in “Natural Medicine” (Wildwood House, London, 1981)

Fish, Sleep and IQ

A study published in December 2017 by Pennsylvania University found that, “Children who eat fish at least once a week sleep better and have IQ scores that are 4 points higher, on average, than those who consume fish less frequently or not at all.” and discussed the link between fish, better sleep and IQ.  (Source: EurekAlert!, the online, global news service operated by AAAS, the science society.)

In Tibb (Islamic Medicine), fish is classified as having cooling and moisturizing properties: food qualities.

Coffee and liver health

In a roundtable, held at the Royal Society of Medicine in London, 2017, key research findings highlighted included a suggestion that “coffee consumption versus no coffee consumption is associated with up to a 40% risk reduction of liver cancer…” and that “…coffee consumption is consistently associated with a reduced risk of cirrhosis, with a potential risk reduction of 25-70%.”

Source: EurekAlert!, the online, global news service operated by AAAS, the science society.

In Tibb (Islamic Medicine), coffee is classified as cold and dry: food qualities.

Cinnamon and obesity

In a November 2017 study, the University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute found that the cinnamaldehyde in cinnamon improves metabolic health by acting directly on fat cells, inducing them to start burning energy and so may be of benefit in dealing with obesity.

Source: EurekAlert!, the online, global news service operated by AAAS, the science society.

Aloeswood - Arak

Oud - Agarwood - Aloeswood - Agor - Agoro Gach - Lignum Aloes - Chen Xiang

As-Suyuti in "Medicine of the Prophet" said, "Aloeswood is the wood from which the tooth-pick is made. Said Abu Hanffa: aloeswood is the best for the brushing of the teeth, for it renders speech more eloquent, frees the tongue, benefits the weakness due to disease, generates an appetite, and clears the brain. It is better if it is used moistened with rose-water. Tradition says that Ibn ‘Abbas said: In the tooth-pick there are ten benefits: it gives a pleasing perfume to the mouth, strengthens the gums, dissolves phlegm, drives scales away from the teeth, and opens the stomach for food. It is in accordance with [the Sunnah] and it pleases the Lord. It adds to a man’s merit and it gives joy to the angels. Said al-Hadi'qa: When the Prophet, peace be upon him, got up in the morning, he used to clean his mouth with an aloeswood stick.”

Image:  Hafizmuar at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16551002

Warss - Kamala - Ceylon Cornel Tree

Warss - Kamala - Ceylon Cornel Tree

Ibn Qayyim in "Medicine of the Prophet" said, "Warss is dry and hot in the second degree. The best type of warss is the red warss, which is soft in the hand and does not have much bran. Warss is used as an ointment to treat spots, rashes and pimples that appear on the surface of the skin. Warss constipates, has a dyeing quality and helps against leprosy when taken as a drink. Warss has similar benefits to sea qust (costus), and if it is used as an ointment it relieves vitiligo (skin condition of unknown cause, characterized by patchy loss of pigment), rashes, pimples and ulcers. When the clothes are dyed with warss, they strengthen the sexual drive.”

Camphor - Kaafur

Ibn Qayyim in "Medicine of the Prophet" said, "Ibn Samjun said, "There are several kinds of oud and they all carry the general name of Aluwwah. Oud is used in and out of the body and is burned alone or with other substances. There is a medicinal significance when the oud is mixed with camphor as each of them makes the other milder. In addition, burning the oud helps cleanse the air, which is one of the six necessary elements for the body's well-being."

Cinnamon - Darsi'm

As-Suyuti in "Medicine of the Prophet" said, "Cinnamon is hot and dry in the third degree. It contains within it a fragrance which strengthens the stomach. A mouthwash containing cinnamon on an empty stomach is good for dimness of vision. Cinnamon also adds strength to ointments.”

Cumin - Sanoot

Ibn Qayyim in "Medicine of the Prophet" said, "As for cumin there is a difference of opinion concerning its nature. Umar bin Bakr As-Saksaki, for instance, said that cumin is either honey or butter extract. Another opinion suggests that cumin is a seed that resembles the Kammon (cumin), as Ibn AI-Arabi has asserted. The fourth and fifth opinions suggest that cumin is the Persian cumin or fennel, according to Abu Hanifah Ad-Daynoori. The sixth opinion suggests that it is the Shibitt (dill), and the seventh opinion suggests that it is the date, according to Abu Bakr bin As-Sunni, the eighth opinion suggests that it is honey that exists in butter-skin, according to Abdul-Latit Al-Baghdadi. Some doctors stated that the last meaning is the most probable. In this case, the Cumin is prepared by blending senna powder with some honey mixed with ghee, as this is better than taking the senna by itself. Then one licks the mixture that contains the senna, as in this case the senna taste will be made milder, because of the honey and butter, which will assist the laxative power of the senna. Allah knows best.”

Quince - Safarjal

Ibn Qayyim in "Medicine of the Prophet" said, "Quince is cold and dry, constipates and benefits the stomach. Sweet quince is cold and dry and is somewhat mild. Sour quince constipates more than sweet quince and is colder and drier. All types of quince quench the thirst, stop vomiting, help produce urine and constipate. Consuming quince before the meal constipates, while consuming it after the meals softens the stool and helps the digestion process … quince jam strengthens the stomach and the liver and relieves the heart and the soul.”

Ginger - Zanjabil

Zanjibeel - Zanjabil - Zinger - Zanfil - Adrak

Ibn Qayyim in "Medicine of the Prophet" said, "Ginger is hot in the second degree and wet in the first degree. It heats the body, helps the ingestion process, softens the stomach mildly, helps open the clogs of the liver that are caused by coldness and wetness and helps against the wetness that causes sight impairment, when it is eaten or used as kohl. [It strengthens sexual power and decomposes the thick gases accumulating in the intestines and the stomach.  [It] is good for the cold temperament of the liver and the stomach. When one takes some ginger along with two measures of sugar and some hot water, it will work as a laxative and will rid the body of harmful excrements. [It] is an effective ingredient in the ointments that dissolve the phlegm.

Aniseed - Anisun

As-Suyuti in "Medicine of the Prophet" said, "Aniseed is hot and dry. It soothes internal pains, dissolves wind, increases the flow of the menses, the milk and the semen, and takes away all harm from poisons. Used as an eye collyrium it heightens vision.”

Coriander

Coriander – Habbat -ul-Suda  - Kishneez  - Cilantro  - Chinese Parsley – Hu Sui

As-Suyuti in "Medicine of the Prophet" said, "Al-Bukhari says that coriander seeds are hot and dry ... Abu Harira reports an apocryphal saying, ‘yours be the seeds of coriander, for they are a cure for all diseases, save the swelling and that is a fatal disease’ … [It] is universally accepted as a panacea. Coriander seeds are useful for all diseases that are cold and wet … [They]never fail to increase the urine, the menses and the milk … They will also cure a cold. If they are boiled in fat, they are good for baldness, warts, and delusions. An ointment of coriander seeds stimulates the growth of the beard and prevents grey hair. … If eaten on bread the seeds remove wind and relieve headaches.”

Jasmine

As-Suyuti in "Medicine of the Prophet" said, "Jasmine is cold and dry. It is an aid to the aged, but much smelling of it turns the complexion yellow. The oil of jasmine is heating. If jasmine is dried, powdered up and then placed upon a thing, the black is turned white.”