Living with HIV? Let Giloi be your flatmate!

This weekend was quite special for me. No, I didn't have a smashing date, didn't watch a great movie or dine out. What I did, instead, is this: plant a Giloi (Tinospora cordifolia) creeper in my balcony garden.

Giloi or Giloy - also called Guduchi.

I had been looking for Giloi for several months - July to be exact. That was the month I shifted from Goa (where it was very commonly found) to Hyderabad and ever since, I had been on the lookout for a Giloi plant. Finally, after a long search, my mom discovered this creeper in the garden of a neighbo who thought it was a wild nuisance and was about to pull it out and throw. So, I did a timely intervention!

Now, what makes a Giloi so special for me or us? Lets see: this is a plant you can use for a number of sicknesses such as Jaundice, TB (Tuberculosis), Piles, constipation and chronic fever. As I often suffer from common cold and hay fever,Giloi is just what I need.


But , above all else,  Giloi strengthens the immune system which is why it is the greatest gift of nature for  those living with HIV

A number of  medicine brands (with dried Giloi extract) are available in the market.But here is how you can use it at home.

Take a one-foot long branch of giloi, add five to six leaves of Tulsi (sacred basil) and boil in water for 15-20 minutes.. Add black pepper and a little rock or black salt, or Misri (palm candy) to make it sweet. Let it cool a bit and drink this concoction while still warm. 

If you have piles, then boil giloi leaves and have that extract with butter milk. 

This is  of course our traditional (community) knowledge. If you need experts' opinion on the effectiveness, click here 

So, go ahead, plant a Giloi today - it wont take much space, can grow in a corner,around that pillar with little supervision!

As for me, I have to wait for my creeper to grow a bit. After all, its just a baby now!