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Govt to focus on quality Education

Ayurveda has a history of more than 5000 years and ensured generations of Indians the healthcare they needed. However, the advent of modern medicine dwarfed it, and as a consequence, it almost lost the predominant position it used to hold. However, the government is now taking concerted efforts to take Ayurveda to its original glory, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad said. In an interview to Ayurveda and Health Tourism, the Minister elaborates the steps the government has taken to propagate authentic Ayurveda. More .......

The Mind of AYURVEDA

The practice of Ayurveda in our country is passing through a significant phase, with the ancient branch of medical science embracing new practices. However, there are legendary physicians who stick to the traditions. S Jalaja, Secretary, Department of AYUSH meets Vaidyabhooshanam Raghavan Thirumulpad, one such practitioner.We often seek complex solutions to simple problems. This is especially true in the case of the healthcare industry since there are established institutions, specialist physicians and complicated procedures to diagnose diseases. Unaffordable costs and lack of medical resources force us to seek a way out of the present malaise plaguing the not-so-rich public. Here is a man who blended the traditional knowledge of Ayurveda with Gandhi’s ideals and offers the mix to those who seek a worthy alternative medical service. More .......

Herbs to the rescue of farmers

Farmers in several parts of India take up cultivation of medicinal plants, with a little prodding from the
government. Ayurveda employs thousands of herbs and plants in the preparation of medicines and cosmetics. And India has always been a fertile land for some of the world’s rarest and most valuable medicinal plants. Among the over 17,000 species of flowering plants identified in India, over 6,000 are estimated to be of medicinal value and are used in preparations such as drugs and cosmetics; and they form a major resource base for medicinal and herbal industries. Ayurveda has intense knowledge about the immense medicinal potentialities of plants like turmeric, tulsi, and sandal for the care of skin and hair, and of such plants as ‘hing’ and jeera to cure stomach upsets. More .......

Personal touch makes the Difference

From diagnosis till the end of treatment, and even afterwards, everything is more personal in Ayurveda compared with modern medicine, says the patriarch of Ayurvedic practitioners, E T Narayanan Mooss. “And it makes all the difference,” Mooss, who has been conferred the Padma Bhushan recently, tells K Govindan
Nampoothiry.

Ashtavaidyan E T Narayanan Mooss is a practitioner of authentic Ayurveda. Even at the age of 77, he serves patients forgoing, if need be, his own food and sleep.

Narayanan Mooss was born on 15 September, 1933. His father, Asthavaidyan E T Neelakandhan Mooss, was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1992, while his grandfather Ashtavaidyan E T Narayanan Mooss was conferred the title of ‘Vaidyaratnam’ by Lord Reading, the then viceroy of India, in 1924.

Without diluting the ethics and principles of Ayurveda, Narayanan Mooss has been steering the Vaidyaratnam Oushadhasala since 1954. And he ensures that the public get medicines at reasonable rates there. More .......

The soft Option

Ghritham is medicated ghee having the medicinal properties of plants, minerals or animal products. It is an integral medium in the manufacture of Ayurvedic medicines.

Ayurveda says that ghritham is better than the three types of fat/oil derivatives, i.e. fat from bone (majja), fat from animal flesh (vasa) and oils (thailam). The unique feature of ghritham is that it retains the potency of the drug without compromising the drug’s quality. More .......

Spring in the Autumn

Childhood is the time of innocence and discovery, youth is a phase of excitement and adventure, middle age is a period of career, family and responsibilities. And old age means time to relax and slow down. This is life, as we would like it to roll itself out. But not everybody is blessed with the pleasures of a perfectly balanced life. Very often the over-enthusiasm and over-exertion of the youthful days take a toll on the body and mind. The years of play, adventure, long working hours, stress, etc, slow the body and may cause aches and pains. As one nears the senior citizen mark, the mind and body s ometimes turn weak and become an easy prey to health problems. Geriatrics focuses on such ailments.

Geros’ in Greek means ‘old man’ and ‘iatros’ means ‘healer’. Thus geriatrics is that branch of medicine which deals with the problems and diseases specific to the old age—how to prevent them, if possible, or, if they have already set in, how to manage them.

Jara chikitsa, one of the eight branches of Ashtanga Ayurveda, exclusively deals with measures for retaining agility and vitality in the old age. It suggests that it is possible to achieve this feat through a combination of measures—medicines, food and control over the body and mind.

Talking of mind, Ayurveda stresses that the mind exerts the deepest influence on the body. A state of balanced awareness leads to right attitudes, which result in right actions, culminating in a higher state of health. A tough task. But Ayurveda has a way to perform it. More .......

Be far-sighted

See, age doesn’t matter. A little care and right treatment can keep your eyes healthy and bright, even at 80.We see the world with our eyes; we recognize colours, identify faces and places, and gaze at Nature with our eyes. Constant exposure to intense light or extreme weather conditions and pollution and over-strain weaken eye muscles and gradually affect eyesight. The eyes of a 60-year-old person may not be as powerful as the eyes of an 18-year-old. This difference is evident in their vision too. The rate of degeneration, however, varies from person to person: i.e., according to the climatic conditions he/she lives in, their food habits, lifestyle and hereditary factors.

“Cataract, macular degeneration and glaucoma (primary open angle) are the main diseases that usually blind aged people. If a patient is diabetic, the chances of his developing diabetic retinopathy are high,” says Dr K Prasad, chief physician, Sunethri Ayurveda Hospital, Thrissur, Kerala. “Early diagnosis and right corrective measures are very significant in treating these diseases.” Prevention of diseases is the key and the ideal way, he says as rasayana chikitsa, which Ayurveda suggests for eye ailments, is performed on people in the middle age. More .......

Fighting rheumatism

There is effective Ayurveda treatment for rheumatism and related ailmentsMost aged people suffer from rheumatic diseases that seriously affect their mobility. The most common among them are osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.

A freely movable joint has cartilages to prevent friction between two bones. The synovial fluid at the joint ensures nourishment and removal of wastes from the joint. Degenerative changes in the old age may prevent synovial fluid from performing its duty, resulting in osteoarthritis (degeneration of cartilages) or osteoporosis (degeneration of bones). All degenerative joint diseases result in joint deformities and abnormal body postures. Osteoarthritis and osteoporosis along with stroke and parkinsonism are the four main diseases triggered by an aggravated Vata.

Generally it is seen in people who are 65 or more. At this age, the degeneration of tissues would have already weakened the bodies, making treatment difficult. More .......

Be calm

Emotional imbalance will hasten deterioration of health, sensesA guiding principle of Ayurveda is that the mind exerts the deepest influence on the body. Disease is seen to be the result of emotional imbalance and stress as well as climatic variations, bacterial attack and nutritional deviance. In short, lifestyle as a whole.

Mental strength is a result of well formed structures. Mind is present in all cells with which they take in whatever is needed for that cell and expels the metabolic wastes. So proper absorption and expulsion take place in a healthy cell. As metabolic power and energy source decline in cells, their immunity as well as and their selective absorptive and expulsive power decrease. So in general discriminative capacity of cells gradually deteriorates in old age. More .......

Eat right- Exercise right

Wipe away the aches and pains of old-age with a balanced diet, regular exercise and a happy mind.Doing it right is the key for healthy living. A healthy diet, an active life and a happy mind can go a long way in keeping the body strong and fit. The right nourishment in right proportions is very essential in the growing up stage for any living being. It is often seen that people who have been overly active during their childhood but have not received sufficient nourishment during the growing days are more prone to health problems during old age. Eating less and exerting more is not a healthy practice in the long run. More .......

Breathe…properly

Pranayama is a combination of physical exercise and meditation which brings immense good to the body and mind. In a three-part series, A P Jayadevan illustrates the steps to its meaningful practice.A P JayadevanWe may live for many weeks without food and for days without water or sleep. But without breathing, life will cease within minutes. We know this very well but most of us are unaware of the importance of proper breathing. Normally, people use only a fraction of their full breathing capacity. Stress, poor posture, long hours of sitting in office and bad habits – all these factors affect our proper breathing. Improper breathing creates an imbalance in the oxygen/carbon dioxide ratio, which results in hyperventilation and dizziness. If the brain does not get adequate supply of oxygen, it will result in the degradation of all vital organs in the body. More .......

Neurological disorders

A lot of research is being done on the efficacy of Ayurvedic herbal medicines for geriatric complaints, especially neurological disorders.

Dr G S Lavekar, Director-General of the Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and Siddha, New Delhi, writes about some of the findings.The twenty-first century is witnessing a gradual decline in fertility, and with increase in life expectancy, society will need to grapple with issues of longevity. The cause of morbidity and mortality world over is shifting from communicable diseases a few decades ago to non-communicable diseases. Among the significant causes of morbidity among the aged people are neurological disorders. Insomnia has troubled people for ages; recent studies have thrown more light on diseases such as Alzheimer’s. More .......

Fitness Fruit

A laxative and rejuvenator, papaya is a storehouse of vital nutrients and fights ageing.

A palate cleanser, a refresher, a healthy snack… fruits are packed with goodness and symbolise healthy eating. They are anytime foods—can be taken as an appetiser, a dessert, or even as a meal. Most fruits are a storehouse of nutrition and medicinal properties too. Papaya is one such versatile fruit.

Ayurveda places papaya high on the list of useful fruits based on its nutritious, therapeutic and beauty care aspects. The therapeutic use of a substance is determined based on its taste (rasa), quality (guna), potency (virya), taste at the end of digestion (vipaka) and specific potency (prabhava). The papaya has different properties in its ripe and unripe stages. Based on these properties, it has different therapeutic values and contraindications. More .......

Papaya in pregnancy

Studies have found that consumption of ripe papaya during pregnancy poses no significant danger while unripe or semi-ripe papaya could induce spasmodic contraction of the uterine muscles similar to oxytocin and prostaglandin F, harming the fetus.

Ayurveda suggests that Kapha dosha is responsible for the stability and growth of the fetus. Unripe papaya reduces Kapha and enhances Vata and Pitha, and hence is harmful to pregnancy, especially in the earlier stages. Unripe papaya, rich with pungent properties, could act as an emmenagogue (herbs which stimulate blood flow in the pelvic area and uterus; some stimulate menstruation), and induce bleeding. This could cause abortion. More .......

Restrict (food) Ailments

Since lifestyle diseases have become so common and food is one of the causative factors, a moderate and well-planned diet plan will help counter the onset of diseases at an early age.

Knowing what not to eat is more important than knowing what to eat. In this series aimed at creating an awareness among the public about the different aspects of food, here, we focus on what type of food items patients suffering from specific diseases should avoid (and why) to keep off diseases. More .......

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Edibles: Avoid black gram preparations, jaggery and nuts in general as they form mucus and hence increase the formation of toxins.

Vegetables: Most of them reduce the formation of kapha and toxins. However, they should be consumed along with some spices to counter their cold nature. It is better to avoid brinjal, a variety of spinach, and lady’s finger. More .......

Realise the real

Ensure you select the right place to experience the bliss of Ayurveda. Or, you will regret forever. Awareness on what is the benchmark for authentic ayurveda practice and where it is available will help you to choose the right place. Go authentic, and enjoy the real!“Come to India”, reads the brochure. “ And recharge yourself through centuries-old therapies in the land of Ayurveda.” This is followed by the picture of an oil massage by beautiful women in traditional Indian attire, against the backdrop of the setting sun radiating an orange hue. The tourist, seduced enough, welcomes the chance to unwind and books his ticket to God's Own Country alias Land of Ayurveda. At the earliest, he reaches his dream destination-an Ayurvedic resort in Kerala. In all probability he won't bother to ascertain whether this is a standard one or not. More .......

United they fall

Hair loss or untimely balding is not fatal, but can have psychological effects on men and womenHair is as much a part of our body as eyes, ears or skin. But very often hair is associated more with beauty and less with health. Problems related to hair or scalp need to be addressed on time, or else may lead to excessive hair loss, untimely graying, balding or infections.

Alopecia areata is a non-scarring, inflammatory hair loss seen in men, women and children. This condition is commonly manifested by patches of hair loss on the scalp and other parts of the body. In severe cases, it can progress to complete loss of all body hair. While it is not a life-threatening condition, Alopecia areata is a serious problem because hair loss could have psychological or sociological effects on the individual. More .......

A shot in the head…really!

A person who was shot in the head near- fatally is recovering well; he can eat and walk with the aid of others. All thanks to Ayurveda.

Sanveer Rajkumar, 23, was a car-racing champion in South Africa. A person of Indian origin, he was enjoying every second of his life by racing towards new horizons. Until destiny razed all his ambitions to the ground.
On February 23, 2008, Sanveer was returning to his Johanneseburg home in his car when armed robbers stopped him. Their demand was simple: leave the car with them. A demand he could little approve. A scuffle ensued and the robbers shot at him. The injury on the head was near fatal. Though surgeons in a local hospital removed the bullets stuck in his head, he continued to be a vegetable. More .......

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