Natural Home Remedy Tried and tested : Medicinal Benefit of Assam Jawa / Tamarind

I was down and out with a cold and fever last weekend, I couldn’t even move a limb and I was feeling so dizzy and tired. I can feel my temperature is not that high but it was there and I wasn’t going away though I tried to cover myself up with a blanket and just tried to sweat it all up. Orang melayu will call it ‘kebah’ demam because when you sweat your fever will eventually go away. I was taking panadol and clarinase to ease up the pain.

And so there I was sleeping myself away for literally two whole days. Woke up just to get some sustenance, go toilet or drink water. On Sunday evening at about 5pm ish I was like bored already of sleeping and feeling dizzy I went downstairs to have my lunch, I remembered a tip from my grandmother to use assam jawa as a cure to lower the body temperature. I remember one time when I was small, I had the most horrible fever ever and my temperature was just high, my grandmother made some air assam jawa (complete with the putty) ask me to drink some and put it on my head all over my head. I remember feeling better bit by bit after that.

So I asked the maid to make me some air assam jawa and true enough my temperature started to lower and I was feeling a bit better I can get up, shower and watch tv. Natural home remedy truly works! So here’s the tip: Take some assam jawa used for cooking and just add water. It’s really really sour and I mean really really sour so you can add a bit of sugar or honey to make it easier on the palate. For me I can just drink it like that without any added sugar or honey. Take 2-3 times a day and see for yourself. I can bet you that you will feel better in no time.

Assam jawa or tamarind paste is the key ingredient in many malay dishes. It is usually sold in packets or in slabs in the supermarket. Apparently tamarind juice is a good source of vitamin C, vitamin B, iron, thiamine, riboflavin and niacin and antioxidants.

One of the many benefits of tamarind includes fighting against vitamin C deficiency and helping in reducing fever while fighting against cold infections. The ingredients in tamarind can also help in lowering blood cholesterol and promoting a healthy heart. Tamarind juice can be gargeld to relieve sore throat and throat infections. As tamarind is rich in vitamin C, it can also be used to prevent scurvy and as an antiscorbutic agent.

So before you start on any antibiotic regime, you may want to consider giving air assam jawa a try whenever you feel a fever or cold coming :)