Jamu : A healthy drink for health and beauty

Me and Self Care

Recently I have been really into self care. Fatigue and other problems like dull skin, coarse and frizzy hair really made my mom and aunt nag at me. I thought it was normal until I felt my body became heavy and uncomfortable. I think I have too much toxic residing happily in my body. Maybe, it is also the cause for my dull skin and fatigue problem. 

Taking supplements

So, I started to think about what I should do and available choices that I have. First I tried to eat prune extract. It worked great but I have to continuously buy and consume it, and in that time my income is really in a sad situation. Then I tried green tea with herbs. And it works also, for my digestive system that is. While consuming the herb tea I also consume vitamin C and glucosamine for a month. It gave good result but the prune extract is the best.

However my nurse cousin warned me not to take excessive vitamin C. She said that we only need less than 100 mg a day. I read if we take extra, our body will excrete the excessive vitamin C and thus we eat it for nothing. 

I also think that we should consult the doctor first before taking any supplements and undergo any beauty treatments to prevent unwanted health problems in the future. And supplements also must be taken in moderation.


Jamu

Then I came to a thought. What if I try to consume jamu. Our ancestors have drank jamu for centuries to maintain health and beauty. It is a drink made from various types of herbs and spices. It works to improve health and beauty from within the body. Since our ancestors had put so much efforts researching and inventing it, why not I give it a try. Maybe it is the best remedy for me. 

Then I came to making jamu. Jamu is the healthy drink is famously consumed by Indonesian. In Malaysia we also consumed jamu but many of us left it long ago due to modernization. I personally respect our Indonesian neighbor because they still believe and preserve what our ancestors have left for us. 

Ingredients in Jamu

Jamu contains several ingredients that is well known for its health benefits such as turmeric and ginger. Turmeric is well known for its anti inflammatory properties and it  improves blood circulation. Ginger is known as a good remedy for bloating and indigestion, and it promotes blood circulation as well. It also brighten the skin and decrease dullness in skin. 

Another ingredients in jamu is lemongrass. Lemongrass has a calming smell and effect, and reduce bloating. It also helps the body to detoxify and reduce inflammation. I still remember a few months ago when I had an abdominal pain. An aunt which I usually call for massage treatment told me to drink lemongrass tea with lemon and honey to decrease the inflammation and swelling in my abdominal muscles which might be the cause of my pain. I drank it for a few days and the pain decreased.

Other ingredients in Jamu are fragrance ginger, tamarind juice, pandan leaves, and palm sugar. There are many types of Jamu made with many types of herbs, and spices, consumed for different purposes. The Jamu I always make is called Jamu Asam Kunyit or in Javaness Jamu Asam Kunir (Sour Turmeric Jamu). 

Some of the ingredients I used to make jamu.

Jamu Recipes

The easiest way to make Jamu is Jamu Asam Kunyit (Sour Turmeric Jamu). The recipe is here. 

Cooking jamu

The benefits of drinking jamu

After I drank Jamu for a month I felt some difference in my health. I feel more energized and healthier. My muscle pain and headache decreased and my skin became brighter (less dull). My hair also became more manageable and smoother. Below are some popular believed benefits of drinking Jamu.

Detoxify the body
Improve blood circulation
Reduce inflammation
Increase body strength
Increase immunity
Brighten the skin
Tighten the skin
Tighten loose muscles
Slow down ageing process
Reduce acne
Reduce depression and stress
Boost energy 
Boost mood

My homemade Jamu

However, it is advised that we should take the jamu in certain amount only. Usually based on one's need, jamu should be drank half a cup a time, once to thrice a week. Because any food, if we eat abundantly, may cause unwanted side effect to our health that we cannot predict. And some people don't drink jamu during menstruation. But before the menstruation come, it is good to drink jamu because lemongrass and ginger works to reduce period cramps, and clean the uterus from clotted blood that did not came out during previous menstruation. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Homemade Rice Turmeric Scrub 2

Image
Scrub is an essential beauty product in our beauty routine. Exfoliation is one of the important process for people who care for their skin. The process exfoliate dead skin cells and sometimes add nutrients to the skin. Thus the skin may become smooth, clean and healthy.  There are abundance of ready made body scrub in the market. Herbs, fruits, rice and milk are some of the ingredients contained in body scrub. And the price of these scrubs range from cheap, affordable to expensive.  But many of us also loves to make homemade scrub. Why. Because it is not only cheaper, but also fresh and flexible. It is flexible as we can control the ingredients used to make our body scrub. And making scrub is also take not much of our time.  There are many ingredients can be used to make homemade scrub. And they range from long lasting scrub to easily expire one. Dry ingredients such as rice, coffee ground and dried ingredients are usually last longer than wet ingredients such as milk
Read more

Brazilian Spinach : How To Care

Image
Brazilian Spinach, or Sissoo Spinach, or Poor Man's Spinach is the name of a shiny crunchy small shrub plant which is also edible. I got this plant cuttings last year. In the beginning I did not have any idea what it is. I was looking at my aunt's plants when I noticed a pot of shiny shrub. They are so cute because they grow like a small bush with shiny green leaves. They look edible. I asked my aunt about the plant. And my aunt said it is Brazilian Spinach. It can be eaten raw or cooked. My cousin bought the spinach from fresh market and my aunt regrow the stems. Brazilian Spinach seedlings. I grew them in my container garden. They survived thank to God. Now I have 5 pots of it and I don't know where to plant them anymore. I put some in my DIY square container and some more in pots. They grow well. Even though sometimes I forgot to water them. Brazilian Spinach loves rich soil. Below are some tips to grow Brazilian Spinach from my experience. Love Rich Soil
Read more

SEA Beauty Secret : Hibiscus and Pandan Hair Mask

Image
I went out this morning, and found some hibiscus flowers in my mini garden. So I planned to make hibiscus hair mask for today. And walking beside a pandan container reminded me of the idea that I just thought yesterday, which is making a pandan-hibiscus hair mask.  Hibiscus and Pandan Mask So I prepared my  hibiscus hair mask . I blended 3 pandan leaves with a little water and strained the pandan juice. I then took the strained juice and and mix it with hibiscus hair mask. The remaining pandan leaves paste/particles on the strainer I added in the body scrub. (I used 3 hibiscus flowers and 3 pandan leaves of 20 cm length). You can also blend hibiscus flower and pandan leaves together with some water (enough to cover your hair). Applying the hair mask on my scalp, I feel a very cooling experience. My hair also smells of pandan. It is so refreshing, and cooling especially during hot weather. I am keeping it for a few hours and will update when I washed my hair...
Read more