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Both the English and Latin words for lettuce are based on the heavy, milky juice of the vegetable, which in its primitive form is prickly, with large leaves on the ends of long stems.The close-packed lettuce heads were well developed in Europe by the sixteenth century, while the loose-head type was developed later. Leafy types such as Cos lettuce are the most nutritious, being richer in chlorophyll, iron, folic acid and vitamins A and C and contains the most silicon of common vegetables. Iceberg and other types of head lettuce are very gas forming and contain little nutritional value. Lettuce contains the sedative lacturcarium, which relaxes...

Kohlrabi means "cabbage turnip" in German, and is the swollen stem of a cabbage family member. It comes in both light green and purple varieties. It's pronounced cole-rah-bee. This is one of the more obscure vegetables we've covered in our A-Z of Ayurveda series, you may not have come across, or cooked with it before. It's an integral part of Kashmiri cuisine, being one of their most commonly cooked vegetables. It's favour and texture is similar to broccoli stalk. The leaves can be used in place of other greens like Kale. It's very high in vitamin C and high in potassium. Kohlrabi improves chi energy...

Image Credit Not from Jerusalem OR part of the artichoke family, the name is derived from the Italian Girasole Archicioffo meaning “sunflower pinecone” being the root of a species of sunflower. If you haven’t seen it before it looks a little bit like ginger, and it’s a starchy vegetable which can be used in place of potato. Jerusalem Artichoke contains small amounts of anti-oxidant vitamins such as vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin E, and the dietary fiber Inulin. A very good source of minerals and electrolytes, especially potassium, iron, and copper.  It also contains small levels of some of valuable B-complex group of vitamins...

Native to India, cucumbers have been cultivated for thousands of years. The skin is rich in silicon and chlorophyll. Eating cucumber ‘skin-on’ enhances its medicinal virtue. You can eat it, add it to juices and use it externally on the skin. It’s incredibly refreshing and indeed is the perfect vegetable for summer, Pittas and hot climates. Ayuveda recommends using black pepper with cucumber for Vata to counter its coldness. Cucumber is a diuretic, it slows the movement of food through the intestines, counteracting toxins and lifting depression. It cleanses the blood, influences the heart, spleen/pancreas, stomach, and large intestine. It quenches thirst, moistens the lungs, purifies the...