According to a senior official, the government is looking at including Ayush in the take-home rations that children, pregnant women, and nursing mothers get from Anganwadi centres in order to boost their nutrition. The idea is being tested on a trial basis in Gujarat and Karnataka, with positive results in both states, according to the source.
According to a Women and Child Development Ministry official, the project’s findings will be shared with the ICMR to examine whether there may be a third-party medical certification for this programme. ‘We are in active discussions with Secretary Ayush to guarantee this occurs,’ the official said at the ministry’s sub-zonal meeting today.
In Gujarat, many Ayurvedic components such as Trikatu and Vidang in Balshakti for children and Jeera and Musta Churn in Matrushakti of take-home ration for pregnant and lactating mothers have been included, according to Avantika Darji, Joint Director in ICDS. The pilot project in Gujarat is being carried out at Jamnagar, Devbhumi Dwarka, Dang, Narmada, Bhavnagar, and Dahod.
‘To improve the health and nutritional status of ICDS recipients, the government of Gujarat is distributing micronutrient-rich ‘take-home ration’ with the cooperation of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF-AMUL) and respective Dairy Unions,’ Darji stated.
She stated that it has been seen that it reduces intestinal worms and dyspepsia, as well as children’s appetite, nutritional absorption, and weight increase. According to her, Jeera or cumin helps ‘hypoxic conditions in the placenta’ in pregnant and nursing mothers. When a foetus lacks an appropriate supply of oxygen, hypoxic conditions develop in the placenta.
The medicinal properties of cumin seeds include anti-inflammatory and anti-hypertensive actions, whereas Musta aids in the treatment of stomach discomfort, indigestion, the management of worms, and the reduction of fever in pregnant and breastfeeding women, according to Darji. The country is dealing with worrying levels of malnutrition.
According to the NFHS-5, 35.5 percent of children under the age of five were stunted and 32.1 percent were underweight in 2019-21. To prevent malnutrition and keep nutrition under control, the government has started giving take-home meals to homes with children aged 6 months to 6 years, as well as pregnant and nursing women. Malnutrition refers to shortages, excesses, or imbalances in a person’s energy or nutritional consumption.
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