Chyawanprash, is dark, thick and tangy sweet-sour in taste. My dad told us about its health benefits but as kids all we could think was “who cares?” As years pass by, one becomes more and more health conscious. I would like to share the multiple health benefits of this comprehensive herbal tonic with an interesting tale of its origin.
Chyawanprash got its name from the great sage ‘Chyawan Maharshi’. Legend says that the old sage Chyawan had married a beautiful young princess. To regain his own youth and longevity the sage prepared this ancient Ayurvedic tonic, called the ‘Chyawanprash’. The first historical documentation of this recipe was found in the ‘Charak Samhita,’ an ancient Ayurvedic treatise written in the 4th century BC by Acharya Charaka. According to this text, Chyawanprash is “the foremost of all ‘rasayanas’ or herbal formulations and administration of rasayana provides endurance of life, memory, health, youthfulness, vigour, brightness, improved voice, and body stamina.
Each spoonful of Chyawanprash contains a mix of 49-52 vital herbs with ‘amla’ the Indian Gooseberry as the base (powerful antioxidant). Irrespective of age and gender, this elixir is good for all creating a harmonious synergy in the body leading to better health.
Daily recommended dose
Adults – 1tsp with a glass of warm milk every morning.
Children (above 5 yrs)– ¼-½tsp with a glass of warm milk every morning.
Chyawanprash is hot in potency so to counteract this, one should drink warm milk as per rule. But if you prefer you can take it with cold milk, buttermilk or even water and when convenient.
Our great sages lived over 500 years with lots of vigour. So why not slow down the aging process with our own Chyawanprash when compared to anti-aging formulas that flood the market?