Herbal medicine use has risen considerably in recent years. Notably, Ayurvedic medicine or Ayurveda is India’s major healthcare system, as it integrates herbal use. Over 90% of the total global practices Ayurveda somehow, whether through adhering to its dietary guidelines, practicing traditional medicine, or seeking professional treatment from certified Ayurvedic practitioners. Currently, Ayurveda is regarded as a complementary healthcare system in the United States, with many Americans incorporating Ayurvedic aspects such as massage, meditation, specialized diets, herbs, or cleaning therapies. The use of Ayurvedic medicine through a variety of resources available in India can empower individuals and have a positive impact on the global community as a whole.
How Ayurvedic Medicine Can Empower Patients
Patient empowerment is a cyclical process characterized by a patient’s acquisition of knowledge, conviction, and self-determination over their health and health treatment (Chen et al., 20126). Notably, understanding Ayurvedic Medicine enables individuals to take control of their health. The most practical and direct method of patient empowerment is to amass information about and comprehend the Indian traditional medical system.
By grasping the fundamental concepts of Ayurvedic medicine, patients understand their bodies’ composition and how it affects the body’s proper functioning. The ayurvedic doctrine states that everyone’s existence comprises five elements: fire, air, water, earth, and space. Within the body, these components combine to generate three energies or life forces known as doshas: Vata, pitta, and Kapha (Wong, 2020). Although each individual has a unique combination of the three doshas, one dosha is often the most significant in their lives. These doshas are collectively referred to as “Tridoshas” in Ayurvedic medicine. They regulate the body’s main physiological activities, along with five sub-doshas for each of the primary doshas that are not discussed in this article (Jaiswal & Williams, 2017). Once patients grasp these principles, they can appreciate how this treatment may be used to promote whole-body health. As a result, they may be equipped to prevent sickness before it occurs.
According to Ayurveda, patients may establish a perfect equilibrium between the natural elements and their Tridoshas by adhering to a healthy way of life-based on divine knowledge. The balance of a person’s doshas, according to Ayurveda, explains certain individual variances and the possibility of sickness (Pradhan & Pradhan, 2011). A dosha imbalance may suffocate the normal flow of vital energy or prana. Additionally, it is believed that interrupted energy flow hinders digestion and allows for the accumulation of bodily waste, or ama, which further degrades energy and digestion (Wong, 2020). This information enables patients to take control of their bodies and guarantee that these aspects are in perfect balance, avoiding further ailments at all costs. Thus, for a human to possess total authority over the elements, they must possess some feeling of responsibility. As a result, Ayurveda encourages patients to take responsibility.
The Impact of Ayurvedic Medicine on the Global Community
Positive Impacts
Can Help in Treating Illnesses
Ayurvedic medical therapy may be used in conjunction with contemporary medicine. Ayurveda is as effective, if not more so, in treating a specific condition. Two Ayurvedic formulations of plant extracts were tested in 2013 on 440 persons with knee osteoarthritis, together with the natural product glucosamine sulfate and the drug celecoxib (NCCIH, 2019). Each of the four drugs had similar effects on pain and function. The NCCIH also approved a small 2011 pilot study that found that both conventional and Ayurvedic treatment for RA were equally effective. Methotrexate was used in the conventional trial, whereas 40 herbal substances were used in the Ayurvedic therapy (NCCIH, 2019). This scientific research suggests that Ayurvedic medicine may be an excellent complement to conventional medicine. The latter provides a greater possibility for the worldwide population to tackle particular disorders such as arthritis. Clinical investigations and comprehensive literature evaluations indicate that Ayurvedic techniques are feasible.
Can Assist in Prolonging Human Life
The worldwide community may receive valuable insight into the enigma of aging and longevity. Notably, humanity has been interested in creating and retaining young vitality and extending life by halting or postponing the aging process from time immemorial (Rao, 2018). Furthermore, no one has ever invented a flawless treatment capable of greatly delaying or reversing an irreversible natural process. However, Ayurveda medicine offers natural strategies for extending life. According to this kind of treatment, Doshas or natural energy systems determine cellular lifespan. Vata, which is closely connected to pranic life energy, is the energy of movement. It regulates all life processes and biological activity. Pitta is the element that regulates digestion and metabolism. Kapha regulates anabolism and is the energy of construction and lubrication that gives the body its physical shape, structure, and smooth functioning. Health and sickness are intimately related to the state and interplay of the Doshas in the body, and a harmonious lifestyle may help restore balance to these Doshas, assuring a long life of good health (Rao, 2018). As a result, if the worldwide society takes the effort to practice this kind of medicine, they will profit from improved health and longevity.
Additionally, Ayurveda’s methods to longevity are attainable and individualized. Unlike contemporary medicine, which seeks to prolong an individual’s health span via drugs and supplements or by replacing body parts, Ayurveda depends on a holistic program that includes nutritional, behavioral, lifestyle, and psychological intervention. The objective of such a wide therapeutic intervention is to simultaneously restore the average balance and function of all systems on the physical, mental, and emotional levels. The whole strategy is tailored and personalized, including all therapy methods to extend the individual’s life expectancy (Rao, 2018).
Negative Impacts
Metals, minerals, and stones may be found in certain Ayurvedic compositions. Some Ayurvedic medications, according to the US Food and Drug Administration, are harmful because they contain metals. Ayurvedic remedy patients were found to have higher blood lead and mercury levels in 40% of the 2015 research. Nearly half of the supplements tested included high levels of lead, and one in four contained excessive levels of mercury (Breeher, 2015). Another research published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report linked a 64-year-old woman’s lead levels to internet purchases of Ayurvedic treatments (Rao, 2018). Metal levels are unknown, but the whole public has been warned against using these pills since they don’t meet established safety standards (Rastogi, 2018). There is a lack of data on the effectiveness, safety, side effects, and probable interactions between Ayurvedic herbal treatments and other medications. There has been some research, however the study design has often been flawed.
Ayurvedic Resources within a Specific Community
Ayurveda, the oldest, most widely accepted, most widely practiced, and most prosperous of India’s indigenous medicinal systems, has a long and distinguished history in the country’s traditional medical system. India’s various medical systems include Unani, Siddha, Homeopathy, Yoga, and Naturopathy.
Siddha
The Pancha mahabhootas of Siddha, like those of Ayurveda, hold that the human body is made up of the five components of the cosmos. In addition to these characteristics, the Siddha system analyzes 96 variables that influence an individual’s moral, physicals, and physiological well-being. Among the 96 criteria are perception, speech, and pulse diagnosis. Perception is a frequently employed factor in treating psychosomatic systems using metals, minerals, and, to a lesser degree, some plant items. The Siddha method uses a variety of powdered mineral and plant preparations that are made by various techniques, including calculations (Jaiswal & Williams, 2017).
Unani
Hippocrates, a great Greek philosopher and physician, developed the Unani medical system in Greece during 460–366 BC. For treating sickness, Hippocrates put down the “humoral hypothesis” and described each humor’s moist and dry properties that make up the human body. When the Mongols invaded Persia, numerous professors and doctors of the Unani system escaped to India, and this school of medicine became stronger as a result. As a result, this system of medicine has gained a foothold in India and has been approved for clinical practice and research funding by the Indian government. Treatment involves the use of plant-based preparations such as oils, tinctures, powders, and ointments (Jaiswal & Williams, 2017).
Homeopathy
Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, a German physician in the mid-17th and 18th centuries, popularized homeopathy. Homeopathy is founded on the rules of “immunological memory” and “water memory,” as well as the pharmacological parallels between medicine and sickness. It treats diseased problems by first developing or exacerbating pathological circumstances and then treating them. This approach has been practiced in India for over a century and is a vital element of the Indian traditional medical system. The Indian government acknowledges it, and various organizations, research institutes, and regulatory authorities aid in the spread of this system. In this type of medicine, aqueous extracts of pharmaceuticals (compounds, venoms, minerals, plants, and animal origin) are diluted and succussed (a specialized process of mixing or shaking) according to Pharmacopeial standards to create strategies with very low potencies (Jaiswal & Williams, 2017).
Yoga
Yoga started in ancient India. It proposes contemplative activities and lifestyle management to achieve tranquillity and promote health via its treatments and diagnosis based on pulse readings and studying an individual’s Tridosha condition. Yoga Asanas (postures) are used in various therapeutic and nonclinical settings to treat a variety of physical and mental ailments (Jaiswal & Williams, 2017).
Naturopathy
In the nineteenth century, naturopathy, often known as naturopathic medicine, began in Germany and is now practiced in several nations. Although Naturopathy is not an old system of medicine, certain practitioners of traditional medicine sometimes employ it in conjunction with the practical method. Naturopathy is founded on the principle of using nature’s healing power in conjunction with both traditional and contemporary approaches to aid in the restoration of health. This approach employs a variety of therapeutic modalities, including homeopathy, herbal formulations, and hydrotherapy (Jaiswal & Williams, 2017).
Conclusion
Ayurvedic medicine is a holistic medical approach that focuses on purifying the body and rebalancing the mind, body, and spirit via nutrition, herbal medication, meditation, exercise, breathing, and physical treatment. Ayurveda advocates for particular lifestyle changes and natural remedies that help restore balance to the body, mind, spirit, and environment. Ayurveda maintains that our health is dependent on the balance of our surroundings, body, soul, and mind, which forms the foundation of Ayurvedic medicine. This balance may be attained via numerous Indian resources, including yoga, naturopathy, homeopathy, and Unani. While some researchers suggest that Ayurveda is hazardous, evidence indicates it may treat sickness and extend human life.
References
Breeher, L., Mikulski, M. A., Czeczok, T., Leinenkugel, K., & Fuortes, L. J. (2015). A cluster of lead poisoning among consumers of Ayurvedic medicine. International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 21(4), 303-307.
Chen, J., Mullins, C. D., Novak, P., & Thomas, S. B. (2016). Personalized strategies to activate and empower patients in health care and reduce health disparities. Health Education & Behavior, 43(1), 25-34. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198115579415
Jaiswal, Y. S., & Williams, L. L. (2017). A glimpse of Ayurveda–The forgotten history and principles of Indian traditional medicine. Journal of traditional and complementary medicine, 7(1), 50-53.
National Center of Complementary Integrative Health. (2019). Ayurvedic Medicine: In-Depth.https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/ayurvedic-medicine-in-depth
Pradhan, S., & Pradhan, P. (2011). Ayurvedic medicine and anesthesia. Indian Journal of Anaesthesia, 55(4).
Rao, R. V. (2018). Ayurveda and the science of aging. Journal of Ayurveda and integrative medicine, 9(3), 225-232.
Rastogi, S. (2018). Ayurveda formulations: A roadmap to address the safety concerns. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, 9(1), 81.
Wong, C. (2020). What Is Ayurveda? verywellhealth.https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-is-ayurveda-88174
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