Guide To Understanding Ayurvedic Medicine (Ayurveda)
Ayurvedic medicine is a term used to describe an ancient medical system that originated in India and is derived from ancient writings. Ayurveda utilizes a more holistic and natural approach to mental and physical health. First developed in India over three thousand years ago, Ayurveda is one of the oldest known systems of holistic medicine. The most common treatments used in Ayurvedic medicine include special diets, aromatherapy, exercise, herbs, massage, and other formulated supplements. While it is used abundantly in India and surrounding regions, Ayurveda is considered to be a form of complementary and alternative medicine in the United States. Ayurvedic treatments and products are not approved or reviewed by the U.S. Food And Drug Administration, and state-approved Ayurvedic schools and training programs are scarce in the United States.
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How It Works
Ayurvedic medicine works through the belief every individual is made of five different components present in the universe: air, water, space, fire, and earth. These components congregate together to form three different energies referred to as doshas. Each individual inherits a different combination of the doshas, and these determine how their body works. The balance of an individual's doshas is associated with the chances of becoming ill and the health problems they develop. Ayurvedic medicine treatment plans are individually created and take unique emotional and physical makeup into consideration along with the primary life force and the delicate balance of these three components. One main goal of Ayurvedic medicine is to remove all undigested food from an individual's body through the use of a cleansing process referred to as panchakarma and relies on methods such as massage, herbs, laxatives, blood purification, medical oils, and enemas.
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Comparison To Traditional Medicine
Traditional or mainstream medicine differs from Ayurvedic medicine in several ways. The term disease is defined in different ways by each medical system. Disease in traditional medicine is characterized by any disruption or deviation in the normal function or structure of any part of an individual's body. Disease in Ayurvedic medicine is caused by the three doshas being out of balance. The approach to the treatment and causes of disease in traditional medicine is through concentrating on certain parts of the body systems. In contrast, Ayurvedic medicine is based on the principle that the cause of all diseases is poor digestive function and stress. The treatment in Ayurvedic medicine is standard for all diseases and includes repairing the digestive function in an individual, acting on any unbalanced doshas, and removing stress from the body. Traditional medicine uses pharmaceutical treatments in combination with diet changes and lifestyle changes with the addition of complementary treatment methods. Ayurvedic medicine uses changes in diet and lifestyle and moves to the use of herbs and panchakarma when those changes are not effective.
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