Ayurvedic Significance of Indian Spices and Household Remedies: A Review

Abstract

For ages, Indian kitchens have held a quiet power—where herbs and spices did more than add flavour; they offered healing. This paper reviews how everyday ingredients, such as turmeric, ginger, and black pepper, have played dual roles as both food and medicine. Ayurveda draws heavily on herbs and spices commonly found in our homes, shaped by generations of household experience and everyday practice. The study explores how these natural remedies have majorly shaped preventive health traditions. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, many families returned to these trusted ingredients, realizing their value and properties in boosting immunity and maintaining wellness.

These valuable indigenous spices and herbs, which once were common in Indian kitchens, have re-emerged as symbols of wellness and resilience. This review explores their well-established roles as flavouring agents and effective medicines, examining how Ayurvedic tradition uses kitchen biodiversity to develop preventive and promotive healthcare. These native medicines not only highlight the limitations of contemporary diets but also the wisdom of household pharmacopoeias compared with modern industrial foods. Interest in functional foods increased during the COVID-19 pandemic as families returned to traditional species and herbs, confirming the healing power of functional foods for health maintenance. The discussion places current changes, driven by global supply chains and mechanised agriculture, in context and emphasises the importance of reintegrating these traditional culinary practices to create sustainable health policies that are ecologically and nutritionally sustainable. This study aims to acquire the practical knowledge from Indian kitchens that can be effectively incorporated into modern health strategies, thereby linking the past with the future and comparing these time-tested practices with the limitations of processed foods, calling for a renewed focus on natural, local, and sustainable healthcare choices. Ultimately, we can bridge ancient knowledge with our modern medical strategies by recognizing the wisdom which is stored in our kitchens.

Keywords: - Ayurveda, Indian kitchen, spices, herbal medicine, traditional remedies, immunity, harmacology, preventive healthcare, AYUSH