In recent times, the world of cosmetics seems to have rediscovered Ayurveda with a vengeance. The operative principle is that the more you create the impression that the product is based on Ayurveda, the more it is likely to sell.

The most recent instance of the application of this principle is in the use of tamarind fruit as an enhancer of cosmetic values.

Apart from cosmetics, the use of tamarind fruit in our cuisine and culture plays an important and integral part and thus tamarind trees can be spotted in many parts of the country. The use of tamarind fruit in the diet has resulted in ensuring good health though possibly in an unwitting fashion.

This is borne out of the fact that after some investigation into the increased incidence of fluorosis (caused by the excessive ingestion of fluoride — a contaminant present in borewell water) in some parts of the country, the cause was traced to the switching from tamarind to tomatoes in the diets in the regions where the disease was most evident. The point to be noted is that tomatoes did not cause fluorosis, rather, tamarind was a preventive against fluorosis.

Tamarind, through the presence of several chemical components in it, mobilises the excess fluoride from the bone by flushing it out though the urine.

According to the findings of a study published in the journal Nutrition in 2004, the inclusion of just 10 grams of tamarind for a period of three weeks had benefited in the fluorosis prone areas.

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