Curry Leaves: Flavor Or Medicine, Or Both? – With Dr Teitelbaum; PLUS: PK Certified Education with Maharani – your SV Ayurveda Newsletter Jan 17, 2026, #1, Vol 16or or

Nature gives us delicious plants, herbs, spices, to enhance not only our taste buds but to balance and heal us! You want to incorporate more flavor and balance into your diet but not sure how to? Try one of Vaidya Mishra’s spice blends. Mom’s Masala is our “one size fits ALL doshas” – you can sprinkle, cook with it, or add it to your fruit or drinks. It has 20 spices/herbs plus Soma Salt.

Curry Leaves



Flavor For Food, Medicinal Plant,

Or Both?

~ Dr Marianne Teitelbaum

Herbs and spices are used as medicine in Ayurveda. They each contain some agni, or digestive fire, and can therefore help you digest and assimilate the nutrients in your food. We use spices instead of the commonly used digestive enzyme formulas available in health food stores since herbs and spices can help your body to produce its own digestive enzymes. 

This is because some spices, such as cardamom, help you digest protein. Fenugreek and cumin help you digest fats, cinnamon helps you digest sugar and carbohydrates, and ginger and fennel are great for the digestion of all foods, capable of igniting the digestive fires without burning out the digestive tract. 

Today I’d like to talk about the medicinal qualities of curry leaves. When people hear the word curry, they think of curry powder, but this is not the case with curry leaves. Curry powders are various blends of powdered spices used in cooking, but here I’m talking about the actual curry leaves which come from the curry plant.

They impart a wonderful earthy taste to the food and are famous because they support liver detoxification. As a result, they are used for many health problems since the liver is at the root of most, if not all, of our health issues. They help to reduce cholesterol and triglycerides, and purify the blood. 

Curry leaves are known as “sweet neem,” which indicates that they have the quality of neem without being bitter. Like neem, curry leaves get rid of microbes, viruses and other pathogens without the bitter taste which neem gives, making it very difficult for many to incorporate it into their treatment protocols. And like neem, curry leaves can also lower blood sugar. Studies suggest they protect pancreatic cells and enhance insulin sensitivity. 

When you have excess body heat without an infectious condition curry leaves can help and in fact they are known as the “tulsi of southern India” since they are a considered a “holy spice which can take care of everything.” Similar to tulsi, they can get rid of negatively charged environmental energies and balance and clean your own energy, especially if you grow a curry leaf plant in your own house, which is fairly easy to do since it grows well indoors near a window or skylight. 

They are commonly used in traditional hair oils and masks in Ayurveda since they strengthen hair roots and reduce hair fall and premature graying. And their antimicrobial and antioxidant properties help maintain clear, healthy skin.

They stimulate your body to produce its own digestive enzymes and therefore help relieve indigestion, nausea and constipation. They are used quite often in remedies for gas, diarrhea and morning sickness. 

They are rich in antioxidants and reduce oxidative stress and inflammation. Some studies even suggest that curry leaves might help protect brain cells from damage linked to aging or neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. 

You don’t need to use a lot when cooking with them. Usually one or two leaves per person should be enough. You can eat the curry leaves if you sauté them in ghee until they are crisp. The ghee picks up the fat-soluble benefits from the leaves and delivers those nutrients into your cells. Remember, all the cell walls in your body are made of cholesterol, so ghee becomes an excellent vehicle to deliver nutrients from not only curry leaves, but any food it is cooked with. 

If you cook curry leaves into foods using water then traditionally they should not be eaten. The water picks up the water soluble nutrients and transfers them into the food. 

Buy them fresh in an Indian market and pick them off the stem and add to your foods. I think you’ll love the flavor and at the same time reap some of the health benefits that these delicious little leaves have to offer. 

Thank you,

Dr. Marianne Teitelbaum 

856-786-3330

drmteitelbaum.com

Launch Your New Year

with a

New Vocation in Ayurveda

The Maharani Academy, guided by senior SVA practitioner Corinna Maharani, offers a lineage-rooted training for those ready to cultivate hands-on, clinical skill through hands-on practice. The program emphasizes Ayurvedic Sacred Bodywork™ techniques, SVA Marma Therapy as taught by Vaidya R.K. Mishra, and the precise clinical use of SVA products, integrating treatment logic, preparation, administration and follow-up care. 

Whether you are an experienced healthcare professional or new to Ayurveda, this training meets you where you are. Level 1 begins January 31, 2026 with 12 live online classes. For full certification, the journey continues with an intimate 10-day in-person practicum in Santa Barbara, limited to just six participants, offering deep experiential learning through daily hands-on practice, in a retreat-like setting. 

Join us! The world needs healers and we love to have you join our family of healers and SVA practitioners. 

Warmly,

Corinna Maharani

www.maharaniacademy.com | (805) 452-2526 

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