Ayurveda

Herbal and Complementary Medicine

PHA4007
Lecturer: Dr Denise K. Daley
 Objectives
• Introduction to Ayurveda
• Tridosha theory
• Reported benefits
• Reasons for caution
• Current Research
 Ayurveda
• Ancient system of healing developed in
India. It focuses on unbalances in “life
energies” as etiologic for disease states.
By eliminating unbalanced states, we
cure the root of disease, not simply the
“symptoms,” broadly defined as nearly
ANY physical manifestation of disease
(pain, fever, CHF, pneumonia, etc).
 Introduction to
Ayurveda
• Comprehensive system that places
equal emphasis on the body, mind and
spirit, and it strives to restore the
innate harmony of the individual
• Ayurveda is the combination of two
Sanskrit words
– “ayu” meaning long life
– “ved” meaning knowledge
– “Knowledge or science of life”
 Definition
• It is called ‘ayurveda’
• because it tells us (vedayati)
• which substances,qualities, and
actions are life enhancing and
(aursuya) which are not.
 History
• Practiced in India for over 5000 years
• Covers all medical fields
• Diagnosis done by observation, touch, and
questioning
• Four components to
disease management
– Physician, Drug, Patient,
Attendant (such as
a nurse)
 Health: Ayurvedic
•
definition
Health can be defined as a state of an
individual in which his doshas , dhatus,
agni & malas are in equilibrium, at the
same time his manas, atma, sensory
faculty are in a state of well being and
optimum efficiency.
 Principle
• Ayurvedic medicine focuses on
achieving optimal health through the
integration of mind and body with
nature
 Prakriti
• Our Nature- does not change
• There is an ideal proportion of doshas
for each person. The key is
determining the individual’s balance
and bringing him in line with it. There
is no “perfect formula” for everyone.
 Treatment
• Individualized
• Determine best method for
rebalancing the Doshas based on
lifestyle and individual characteristics.
 Examination
– Pulse diagnosis
– Urine examination
– Stool examination
– Tongue examination
– Examination of body
sounds
– Eye examination
– Skin examination
– Assessment of total body appearance
Other Considerations
• Age
• Gender
• Dietary habits
• The season
 Treatments
• Designed for the needs of each individual
and include:
• yoga, meditation & breathing exercises
• diet
• internal cleansings
• herbal preparations
• aromatherapy
• massage
 Treatments
• Practitioners are also familiar with:
• Climatolgy
• Psychology
• Astrology
• Gem therapy
• Sound therapy
• Color therapy
 Diet
• Critical to Ayurveda
• Food alters our doshas based on the
interaction of its intrinsic categories with
our Prakriti.
• Altering intake can greatly alter the
balance
• Includes supplements and everyday
food
• Certain combinations must be avoided
 Exercise
• Our imbalances often depend upon
certain physical
strengths/weaknesses.
• We can alter some of these through
targeted exercises or elimination of
certain activities.
 Yoga
• Yoga simply means “path” in Sanskrit
• There are many “Yogas” in addition to
the physical one we see hyped on TV.
• The most important is breathing Yoga.
• Spiritual paths (i.e. Yoga of faith) are
critical as well.
 Daily Habits
• Sleep
• Regularity of activities
• Work
• Worldview and stress
 Scientific Laws of
Personal Hygiene
• Regular trimming of nails, beard and hair;
• Daily cleansing of nostrils, eyes, ears and feet;
• Use of perfumes and garlands made of fragrant flowers;
• Putting on clean clothes;
• Use of umbrella and shoes to protect from heat and dust;
• Covering the mouth while sneezing, laughing or yawning;
• Avoid seeing the sun directly;
• Avoid sleeping under a tree at night, etc.
 Treatment has four
– Shodanmain parts
– cleansing
– Shaman – palliation
– Rasayan – rejuvenation
– Satwajaya – mental nurturing and
spiritual healing
 Application In Today's
Scenario
• important for each one of us to maintain a good
health. With so much of pollution in the environment,
food adulteration, untimely working hours and
unhealthy lifestyle it has become mandatory for
everyone to look after his /her own health.
Application In Today's
Scenario
• Waking up in the morning is always good for health.
But if you are working late nights, then you should
set your biological clock accordingly. Six to eight
hours sleep is a must. Drinking a glass of Luke-warm
water helps to flush out all toxins accumulated
overnight in the body.
Application In Today's
Scenario
• A regular self-massage with herbal oil is necessary for every
person.
• It makes the skin supple, enhances blood circulation,
encourages quicker removal of the wastes and relaxes the
body. Along with food, hygiene, sleep exercise and meditation
is also very important.
• Regular light exercises help the body to shape up, increase
muscle strength, improve appetite and maintain health.
 Indicators of Good
Health
• All 3 doshas are in balance
• All bodily tissues are functioning properly
• All 5 senses are functioning normally
• Normal elimination of waste products
• The channels of the body are unimpeded
• Perfect harmony of min, body and
consciousness, individual is happy
Tridosha Theory
• Three energies/doshas
– Pitta – digestion, metabolism, emotions
– Kapha – lubrication, structure, synthesis
– Vata – movement, physical and mental
function, degeneration
• Individualized combination/ratio of the
three doshas
 Pitta Dosha
• Defined by its relation to Fire
• Metabolic
• Digestive
• Perception of the outside world after
mediation by the senses (i.e. mental
status).
 Kapha Dosha
• Defined by preservation and solidity.
• Physical strength
• Immunity
• Emotion
• Regeneration
 Vata Dosha
• Defined by movement- sometimes
referred to as the wind or air.
• The senses
• Motion
• Creativity
• Action
 Motto of
•
•
Ayurveda
SWASTHASYA SYASTHYA
RAKSHANAM, AATURASHCHA VIKAR
• PRASHAMANAM”,
• means:
• “Preservation to health of healthy
person
• and treating ailments with breaking
• causative factors of pathogenesis”
• Imbalance in the doshas is the main
cause of disease or poor health
 Reported
Benefits
• Slowing the aging process
• Promoting health of all the organs of
the body
• Reducing fatigue and stress
• Nurturing the body with proper diet
• Healing disorders of the nervous
system
 Caution
• Herbal/metal/mineral Ayurvedic
treatments
– Safety dependent on following a
complex procedure
– Many include heavy metals such as
mercury, lead, and arsenic
– 1 in 5 herbal products produced in
South Asia have toxic levels
– Reports of lead poisoning
 A biostatistical approach to Ayurveda: quantifying the
Tridosha. Joshi R. J Altern Comp Med. 2004;10;5;879-889.

• Objective – create an equation to quantify

the three doshas
• Methods
– 280 subjects
– Add worth-coefficients to dosha
characteristics
– Individual doshas predicted using equation
– Predictions compared to qualitative diagnosis
• Results – equation predicted correct
dosha over 90%
 Hypothalamic digoxin, hemispheric chemical dominance,
and the tridosha theory. Kurup R, Kurup P. Intern J
Neuroscience. 2003;113:657-681.

• Objectives
– Show that the three doshas represent
different states of hemispheric dominance
– Show how hemispheric dominance relates to
certain disease and psychological states
• Methods
– 90 individuals aged 20-30 years divided into
six groups
• Right hemispheric dominance, left hemispheric
dominance, and bihemispheric dominance
• The three doshas – vata, pitta, kapha
• Six factors were assessed in the
individuals in each group
– The isoprenoid pathway – HMG CoA
reductase, serum digoxin, dolichol and
ubiquinone
– RBC Na+-K+ ATPase activity and
serum magnesium
– Neurotransmitter patterns – tryptophan,
serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline,
tyrosine, quinolinic acid, strychnine,
nicotine, and morphine
• Factors continued
– Serum lysosomal enzymes, total glycos-
aminoglycans (GAG) and different GAG
fractions, glycolipids, and carbohydrate
residues of glycoproteins
– Free radicals and scavenging enzymes
– RBC membrane composition
• Serum digoxin and RBC Na+-K+ ATPase
activity assessed in several disease states
and psychiatric conditions (15 cases or
individuals per condition) to find a
correlation between tridosha and disease
• Conclusions
– Correlation between tridosha and
hemispheric chemical dominance
– Link between doshas and predisposition
to diseases and psychological states
 Classification of human population based on Ayurvedic
concept of Prakriti. Patwardhan B, Joshi K, Chopra A. J
Altern Comp Med. 2005;11:349-353.
• Objective – assess relationship between prakriti
and phenotype in a healthy population
• Methods
– 76 subjects
– DNA extracted and genes typed
– Prakriti assessed
• Results – frequency of certain alleles associated
with vata and kapha, but pitta had no significant
association with any alleles
• Conclusion – correlation found, but need larger
sample size
 Conclusions
• Evidence supporting/validating the
tridosha theory of Ayurveda looks
promising
• More research needs to be done to gather
a larger body of evidence
• Additional research needs to be conducted
in the area of Ayurvedic herbs
– Biochemical, pharmacological, and toxological
especially
 Online
Resources
• Seattle’s Ayurvedic acadamy and
clinic:
http://www.ayurvedaonline.com/
• Ayurvedic Institute:
http://www.ayurveda.com
THE END