ANCIENT VEDIC WISDOM IN DISEASE PREVENTION - CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC 7

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Proper cleaning procedures must be followed when using traditional cookware.  Each type of metal has a particular cleaning agent recommended by our ancestors.  For example, sugar is used to clean gold. Tamarind is generally used to clean bronze and copper vessels. There is no danger in using traditional cookware as long as proper care is taken to remove tarnish from the traditional vessels. If unsure, use tin vessels and soft stone vessels for cooking food and transfer the cooked food into silver/copper serving bowls. 

When time permits, change the chrome hardware in your homes to brass hardware. Changing doorknobs, faucet handles and other commonly touched hardware to brass will help minimize the spread of germs. A study even found that brass doorknobs sanitized itself within 15 minutes!

Stay safe by eating only home-cooked meals. Keep in mind that the spoons and plates at restaurants have been used by someone else. Most restaurants wash dishes by hand even when they have access to an electric dishwasher. Due to the high volume of visitors at restaurants, most restaurants cannot keep up with sanitizing procedures.  Not only during the pandemic, but at all times one should develop the habit of eating only at home.

Get into the habit of offering food to Perumal during thiruvaradhanam. Even if there are any defects in the food, when we pray to Perumal, He blesses the food and makes it wholesome. As this is not the case at restaurants, they should be avoided at all times.

Concluded. 

ANCIENT VEDIC WISDOM IN DISEASE PREVENTION - CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC 6

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Tin (eeyam ஈயம்) also has excellent bactericidal and fungicidal properties. Pickles and chutneys stored in eeya sombhus have a longer shelf life and do not go mouldy.  Eeyam got a bad rep a few decades ago as mistakenly people associated eeyam with lead. There were also many reports of food poisoning related to eeyam. There are two types of eeyam; kariyam (காரீயம் ) is lead. The metal used to make vessels is velliyam(வெள்ளீயம் ) which is tin. Tin doesn't corrode. A few decades ago milkman used to bring butter and milk in tin cans. Tin is used as an overlay on vessels made of bronze or brass. The cases of food poisoning occurred when the tin overlay was scratched and the tarnish on the substrate metal went unnoticed.

Keep in mind that copper, bronze and brass should not be used to cook acidic foods like rasam and sambhar which contain tamarind. This is why these vessels were coated with tin to prevent adverse reactions. Tin has a low melting point therefore tin vessels should only be placed on low heat. Heating tin vessels on high heat may result in the vessel disappearing! Someone we know in Mumbai placed the eeya sombhu with ingredients to make rasam on high heat and left the kitchen. 30 minutes later when she returned to the kitchen, she was shocked to see that her eeya sombhu had vanished and her stove was inundated with tamarind water and tomatoes!!! There was a white metallic blob on the burner which was the only thing that remained of the eeya sombhu!

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ANCIENT VEDIC WISDOM IN DISEASE PREVENTION - CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC 5

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We have seen the positive effects of copper, silver and tin in the above post. Let us now see the effect of iron on microorganism.  Iron is an essential nutrient required by all lifeforms. While silver, gold, copper and tin cause cell death in microorganism,  iron causes an increase in the population of the microorganisms.  The stainless steel spoons and plates may look shiny, but when viewed through a microscope could reveal the presence of large pathogenic colonies! Nowadays it's fashionable to have a stainless steel kitchen countertop,  sink and appliances.  Keep in mind that these shiny stainless steel surfaces are breeding ground for pathogenic organisms.  One study found that even when the surfaces were kept dry for a period of 48 hours, the surface showed significant growth in certain bacterial colonies. No wonder using the same stainless steel vessel to make curd results in a bad-smelling product, because even after washing and drying the vessel there is a significant increase in the population of lactobacilli,  the bacteria responsible for producing curd.

If you can afford, start using silverware. For those who don't have the luxury of using silverware, try copper/bronze utensils. Stores now even sell copper jugs and water bottles. I was inspired to write this article after reading a New York Times Post that confirmed rapid deterioration of the novel coronavirus on surfaces made of copper.

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ANCIENT VEDIC WISDOM IN DISEASE PREVENTION - CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC 3

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For the past few decades, our society has been brainwashed in thinking that traditional cookware is harmful to health. Many families even traded their traditional brass/bronze(vengala வெங்கலம்) and eeya ஈய (tin) vessels for shiny stainless steel vessels which were traded under the name "ever silver". Any attention drawn to the iron content in stainless steel was dismissed by the statement that the ancient people did not have any knowledge about iron alloys and that they did not have manufacturing processes in place to produce stainless steel. I request those who think that our Vedic ancestors did not know about iron alloys to take a good look at the iron pillar at Delhi. For centuries this pillar has withstood weathering effects without rusting. The corrosion-resistant pillar installed during the reign of King Chandrahupta II between 375 and 415 CE is a testament to the high level of metallurgical skills possessed by ancient ironsmiths. The chemical composition of this pillar still remains a mystery to modern-day metallurgist. So, it was not the lack of iron alloys that made our ancestors choose brass, copper, tin and silver kitchenware. They carefully selected the material for cookware to promote good health.

        The ancient Vedic surgical medical text Shushrutha Samhita specifies the material of choice for surgical instruments based on the oligodynamic effect of certain metals. Oligo means a few and dynamic means force. Certain metals like copper, silver and tin release metal ions in minute quantities. This minute release of metal ions exerts a force that keeps pathogens at bay.

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ANCIENT VEDIC WISDOM IN DISEASE PREVENTION - CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC 2

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In this newsletter, I want to throw light on traditional cooking utensils which were specifically designed to kill pathogens (disease-causing organisms). My attention was drawn to the traditional cooking utensils by HH Srimath Thirukkudanthai Andavan (his Thirunakshatram is approaching. Panguni Pushyam, Apr 3rd 2020). In one of the Thiruppavai upanyasams, HH Srimath Andavan mentioned that it is prohibited by shastras to use serving spoons and cutlery which contain iron and as stainless steel cutlery contain iron, HH Srimath Thirukkudanthai Andavan advised those who could afford to use silver serving spoons and silver cutlery.

            My mother also drew my attention to microorganisms in stainless steel vessels when she mentioned to me that one must not repeatedly use the same stainless steel vessel to make curd as doing so will ruin the quality of the curd. Using the same vessel to make curd results in a very smelly end product. Even when the vessel has been cleaned and dried, one must not reuse the vessel to make curd immediately.

            Our ancestors used brass, copper, tin (eeyam), clay and soft stone cookware. Silver plates and Cutlery was used to serve food.  Those who couldn't afford silverware used natural biodegradable products like banana and lotus leaves.

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