Ayurvedic means the science of life, and is probably
the oldest system of healing. It encompasses a
philosophy that is both subtle and complex. In
treating an individual, an assessment is first made
of metabolic body type or dosha. There are three
doshas: vata, pitta, and kapha, and the dominance
of one over the others determines classification.
Doshas are blueprints, or a health profile of an
individual, encompassing physiology, innate ten
dencies, strengths, weaknesses, and susceptibilities
to ill health. Once a diagnosis of the illness
has been made, the methods of treatment may
include cleansing the body of toxins, whether
of an environmental, bacterial or viral nature,
appropriate changes in diet, herbal and mineral
preparations to rebuild and rejuvenate body tissues,
and stress management through activities
such as meditation, deep breathing, and sound
therapy. The purpose is to balance the doshas
within the individual.
Several factors are believed to be at the basis of
physiological imbalance and disorder. There may
be a genetic predisposition to an illness that is
prompted by something in the surrounding environment
or triggered while still in the womb by
the activities of the mother. Individuals usually
have natural tendencies toward a particular habit
or behavior such as alcoholism, overeating, or
overworking. A disease may be the result of a
congenital defect acquired during development
in the uterus. Environmental pollutants, poor
diet, or eating the wrong foods according to dosha
type can cause illness; and each dosha may be
susceptible to seasonal influences. Other conditions
affecting health are physical and emotional
trauma, and electrical or magnetic imbalances
along the spinal cord.
The foremost characteristic of the vata metabolic
type is changeability. People of this type are
active, energetic, moody, imaginative, and impulsive;
prone to erratic sleep patterns, intestinal
problems, nervous disorders, and premenstrual
syndrome. There is a sensitivity to cold and dry
and their vulnerable season is autumn. Pitta types
are predictable, aggressive, intense, efficient, articulate,
moderate in daily habits, short-tempered,
and impatient. They tend to perspire more and
may be open to poor digestion, ulcers, skin
inflammations, hemorrhoids, and heartburn. In
summer they are sensitive to the sun and heat.
Kapha is relaxed, stable, conservative, with a tendency
to laziness and procrastination. They sleep
long and move, eat, and digest food slowly. There
is an inclination toward overweight, allergies,
sinus, and lung congestion and they are highly
susceptible to the cold of winter.
An important aspect of Ayurvedic medicine is
the categorization of food according to taste and
other inherent properties, then using that information
to establish the proper diet for each
dosha. Ayurvedic medical schools often teach
pharmacology and cooking in the same course.
Whether a food is sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter
or astringent, heavy or light, solid or liquid,
dry or oily as well as its hot or cold-producing
abilities, all have an effect on the health of an
individual.
There is also a consideration of food transformation
once digested, for example, from sweet to
pungent, as is the case with honey. Honey is
sweet when eaten but once processed in the body
becomes pungent. From a health aspect it would
not have the affect that sweet foods do. The
pharmacological effect of a meal can be altered
by adding or subtracting a spice or herb. The
Ayurvedic method of nutrition is ultimately to
observe the reactions that different foods have on
each patient.
Ayurvedic medicine is very effective in treating
metabolic, stress related, or chronic conditions
and for relieving the deleterious effects of surgery
and debilitating treatments such as chemotherapy.
Many Ayurvedic herbal preparations have
been clinically tested and documented as improving
a wide range of health conditions. A number
of studies have shown guggul (an extract from the
mukul myrrh tree) to lower cholesterol. For
example, in a study of 40 patients with high cholesterol,
the herb was shown to reduce in a 16-
week period, serum cholesterol levels by 21%,
triglycerides by 27%, a 35% rise of HDL cholesterol,
and a decrease in LDL levels.8 Guggul
properties have an anticoagulating effect on blood
platelets and prevent LDL cholesterol from oxidizing.
9 Other illnesses that have responded to
therapy in studies are metabolic and endocrine
gland dysfunctions, neurological disorders, gastrointestinal
diseases, mental disorders, inflammation
of the musculoskeletal system, and the
prevention of cancer.
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