Yes, we all know everything about water. Haven’t we been learning about it since we were little kids in school? However, you’ll be surprised to find the number of people who have come to me with problems that stem from not drinking water.

Dehydration affects our body in many ways, all of them bad.

Are you making the same mistake like this teen?

In a very drastic case, I once had a 17-year-old boy who was chronically constipated, had hyperacidity, and acne. He said he couldn’t drink plain water, barely managed half a glass a day, but was very happy to report that his overall liquid consumption was very high. He proudly informed me that he was consuming three and half litres of liquid a day. When my eyebrows shot up, he clarified that he had two litres of some aerated drinks, four cups of tea and three to four cups of coffee, apart from the odd glass of wine. I tried my best to explain that when the body needs to be hydrated, the best liquid is water. The caffeine in coffee, tea, and the aerated drinks was actually dehydrating instead of hydrating his system. He refused to drink plain water, so I put him on a therapeutic decoction of mint, parsley, ginger, lime, and honey, all added to three litres of water. He loved the taste, saw the difference it made to his bowel movement, skin and general health, and now says he has been converted for life.

What your body goes through without water

Water is one of the most important things that a human body needs to survive. So much so that your body actually has a drought management system, which prevents dehydration and hence ensures your survival. Water makes up more than two-thirds of human body weight, and without it, we would die in three to four days. Dehydration is one of the most common causes of daytime fatigue.

Water makes up more than two-thirds of human body weight, and without it, we would die in three to four days

Water acts as a lubricant in digestion and almost all the other body processes that take place daily. It also lubricates our joints and cartilages resulting in fluid movement. When dehydrated, the body rations water away from the joints, which means greater friction and aches of joint, knee, and back, which leads to injuries and arthritis. Water helps our bodies remove toxins in many different ways like it flushes toxins and waste from the body through urination and perspiration, it also helps in reducing constipation and aids in bowel movements, which ensures that waste removal is done quickly and regularly lest it becomes poisonous. This waste build-up can occur in the body if dehydration becomes a regular occurrence and this can cause headaches, toxicity, and illness.

Water therapy or hydrotherapy is treating an ailment with any form of water. Hot water, cold water, steam or water imbued with the therapeutic goodness of herbs, spices, fruits, and even condiments. While detoxifying or fasting, it is essential to drink more water so that the body can be cleansed of all the toxins that have accumulated.

Therapeutic water: The DIY kit

Making your own therapeutic water at home is very easy. Just remember to use a clean glass bottle and if you are going to be travelling with it, please put the bottle in a jute or cloth bag… your wine bottle bags will come to good use now!

To make your own therapeutic water, go through the chart below to identity your health condition and to decide on the ingredients you will need. Then simply add the ingredients to a litre of water, and let them soak in the water for an hour before starting to drink the water.

My advice would be to make just one litre of the therapeutic water. Drink from mid-morning till 7 pm. Keep adding fresh water to the bottle as it comes to an end. This way you will also be able to keep a tab on how much water you have had throughout the day.

It’s surprisingly simple but it works! Consuming therapeutic water daily is like the rich chocolate icing on a super yummy cake. It will not only remind you of drinking water daily, but also keep you in top shape! Remember, without good health, all your work will go down the drain.

Don’t forget to store your therapeutic water in a clean glass bottle and carry it along everywhere you go.

Excerpted with permission from Kitchen Clinic by Charmaine D’souza published by Random House.

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A kitchen garden doesn’t require a large plot of land. All you need is a windowsill, an unused corner, or even the stairs—these can all be turned into verdant little areas lush with fragrant herbs and veggies. Container gardens, windowsill gardens, and balcony gardens are good examples for people who live in metropolitan cities and have a paucity of space.

Where to begin?

Space: While planning on growing a kitchen garden, one of the most important things to consider is space. Even though there is not much space to garden in urban India, container-planting is a very easy solution to that. Mark out the area in your house that gets sufficient light and has the space to host a few pots and containers.

Plants: If your apartment is small, grow plants that are small. You don’t want a plant that grows up to six feet in your one-room apartment!

Lighting: Your garden must get enough sunlight, full or partial sun, to keep the plants healthy.

Seeds or saplings: You can either plant seeds [available at your local nursery] or saplings. Both will work.

Soil: Choose the right soil for your indoor garden. Some soils hold on to water while others are more porous. Ask your local nursery to help you with the type of soil, the amount of water and other such details.

Container gardening

Use plastic takeaway containers, old mugs, old buckets, and wire baskets for hanging smaller plants. Don’t throw away your empty cans and bottles. You’ll be amazed what you can grow in them. Don’t forget to make drain holes in all the pots.

When using small containers, make sure that the plants you grow don’t have large roots.

How to select which vegetables to grow?

The two important factors to consider are: which plants can thrive indoors, and which one you can use. Decide on the kind of vegetables to grow and plan your space accordingly. Choose vegetables and herbs based on your kitchen requirements, your knowledge of growing them, and the resources at your disposal.

Also, grow plants according to season. Planting vegetables as per the changing climatic conditions will ensure that there is a regular supply of vegetables throughout the year. It doesn’t make sense to grow a winter crop in summer, and expect it to thrive.

Herbs and vegetables you can easily grow at home

Chives
Chives are happy-go-lucky plants—you can grow them anywhere for they thrive in window boxes as well as gardens. They are best grown in full sunlight, but being hardy plants, they grow well in shade too. They will also grow well in almost any average, well-drained soil. Just keep in mind that when growing chives in containers, you need to fertilise them once a month and water the plant whenever the compost begins to dry out.

Coriander
Bury a few coriander seeds into a pot and keep watering it regularly with care. You’ll see the first bloom very quickly.

Curry plant
Curry plant makes a very nice house plant—provided you can give it plenty of sunlight. This plant will need supplemental light if you can’t give it six to eight hours of powerful light a day. If you do place a curry plant in a pot, make sure to add some sand to the soil for good drainage and water it sparingly. These plants prefer soil that drains well, sunlight, and warm conditions.

Garlic
The three things that you need for a healthy garlic crop are: a good sunny location, loose soil, and good drainage. Even though garlic doesn’t require any special handling per se, it can often contract a fungus [referred to as white or pink rot] in cool and damp climates.

Ginger
Get yourself a ginger root, one that isn’t shrivelled, and soak it in warm water overnight. The next day, fill a pot that has good drainage with potting soil and plant it.

Mint
Mint is easier to grow from a sapling than from seeds. Take a sprig of mint [make sure that the cut is below a node] and plant it in a moist but not wet pot. Mint likes shade and consistent moisture so don’t expose it to direct sunlight.

Spring onions
This is the easiest to grow. Take an onion that is sprouting just a little and plant it. Water it carefully and soon you’ll have fresh spring onions in your house. Harvest spring onions when their green tops are one inch
in diameter.

Tomatoes
The tomato remains one of the easiest and most successful vegetable plants to grow. Most tomato varieties only need well-draining soil and six to eight hours of sunshine per day. The soil must be kept consistently well watered. Depending on the mature height of the tomato plant, you may need cages or stakes to provide support for the plants.

Peppers
Pepper plant varieties include sweet bell peppers, chilli peppers, and banana peppers. Pepper plants need conditions similar to tomatoes: six to eight hours of sunshine per day and well draining soil. Also remember that they need to be watered at an even rate of one inch of water every week.

Tulsi
Tulsi seed is easy to germinate and grow. It prefers full sunlight, rich soil, and plenty of water. Tulsi does well in pots or window boxes. One thing to keep in mind about tulsi is that it needs a warm, humid environment to grow.

There’s no feeling quite like seeing the fruit of your efforts—that first leaf, the first vegetable sprouting… and then using your produce to prepare yummy meals. Now that you know, go for it. Try your first kitchen garden. But don’t forget: kitchen gardening takes a lot of time and commitment.

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