Everything about Giloy
In the last few months Giloy has been either glorified too much for immunity building or abused so much for its hepatotoxicity. Will try to clarify its role in this blog
Genesis
When Rama attacked Raavana with his Vaanar Sena and killed him, many Vaanars were also killed during the battle. Indra, the king of heaven, was unhappy and sprayed the elixir of life on the dead Vaanars. A few drops of the nectar fell on the earth and, wherever these drops fell, amrita plants sprang up.
Amrita is today’s time is commonly known as Giloy.
The Sanskrit name Amrita is one of the 1008 names of Mahadev
Giloy is the Sthal Vriksha of Kalyana-pashupateshwar Temple at Karur in Tamil Nadu.
And in this world which is full of so much conflicting info on Giloy, let me try to clarify the same from an authentic Ayurvedic perspective.
1. Name: Giloy or Guduchi or Amrita. Botanical Name: Tinospora cordifolia. Tinospora crista is sometimes used as an adulterant; so, it should be procured from good sources
2. How to consume- Available in the form of juices, capsules, powders, extract, teas, wines etc. The best way is to take 1 Tablespoon powder (10gms) and boil in 160 ml water. When the water reduces to 40 ml, the same may be consumed. Since the decoction is very bitter, children may be given Giloy Satva 125 mg with honey twice daily
3. Part to be used- Stem; if you plant it at your home, best way is to extract fresh juice of around 5 ml from the stem and consume daily (Adults only)
4. Which body type can use- Since Giloy balances all 3 Doshas (Vata, Pitta & Kapha), any one can use it. However, Diabetics should consume under medical supervision (may reduce Blood sugar)
5. Dose for immunity building- 2gms powder once daily with honey or 40 ml decoction once daily for 6 weeks
6. Some Home remedies
a) Giloy powder with Jaggery helps in constipation
b) Giloy powder with Sugar Candy (Mishri) helps in hyperacidity and vomiting
c) Giloy and Turmeric powder in milk reduces high uric acid (Gout)
d) Giloy with ginger powder and warm water helps in reducing Arthritic pains
e) For seasonal allergies mix Giloy powder 3gms in turmeric (2 pinches), Black pepper, ginger and long pepper powder (total 1gm) and mix with honey and consume.
7. Giloy for Liver: Since Giloy is bitter in taste, it has a liver protective effect. All bitters including Giloy stimulate bile secretion and liver detox. There have been some instances where Giloy has been associated with liver toxicity. In all these cases either Giloy has been consumed in very high amount; for a very long duration or been adulterated with Tinospora crista. Infact Giloy is a drug of choice in Liver diseases in Ayurveda.
8. Evidence of Safety and efficacy of Giloy in 40 clinical trials
a) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2924974/
b) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/288416808_Safety_of_aqueous_extract_of_Tinospora_cordifolia_Tc_in_healthy_volunteers_A_double_blind_randomised_placebo_controlled_study (group of 39 trials)
In the b) link there are only 2 trials where p value>0.005; in all others it is less than 0.005 which clearly shows that all these blinded RCTs are statistically significant. Infact the confidence interval mentioned in most trials is 95% which means that the results can be replicated as many times as the study is done.
Ideally Giloy should be consumed under the supervision of an Ayurvedic practitioner Because Ati mein Amrit (Giloy) bhi Vish Hota Hai...