The Materia Medica of the Hindus, compiled from Sanskrit Medical Works c4.s8.4

c4.s8.4

Iron, it is said, increases strength, vigour and longevity, cures all sorts of diseases and is the best of tonics. When gold and silver are not available, iron is substituted for them. It is used in painful dyspepsia, chronic fever, phthisis, anasarca, piles, enlarged spleen and liver, anæmia, jaundice, obesity, urinary diseases, diseases, of the nervous system, skin diseases etc. When iron is administered, the following articles of diet should be avoided, namely, kushmànda (fruit of Benincasa cerifera), sesamum oil, kulattha (pulse of Dolichos uniflorus), mustard, wines and acids.