What is Ayurveda?

For more than 5000 years the practice of Ayurveda has employed ancient healing techniques that use the natural powers of herbs and medicinal oils. Recent research has shown that its synergy of healing abilities can encourage continued good health. This holistic system focuses on physical, mental and spiritual balance. It aims to remove the underlying causes of disease and restoring the equilibrium of three subtle bio-energies. These bio-energies are doshas, known as vata (nerve energy), pitta (digestive energy) and kapha (nutritive energy).

Ayurvedic Medicine, or Ayurveda, is a system of medicine that originated in India several thousands of years ago.  The term Ayurveda combines two Sanskrit words: ayur, which means life, and veda, which means science or knowledge.  Therefore, Ayurveda means “the science of life.”

Ayurveda is a whole medical system which integrates and balances the body, mind, and spirit.  This balance is necessary for contentment and good health.  Moreover, Ayurveda also proposes treatments for specific health problems.  A primary aim of Ayurvedic medicine is to cleanse the body of substances that can cause disease.  This helps re-establish the harmony and balance necessary for optimal health.

Ayurveda herbs in modern days

Nowadays, pharmaceutical companies can extract active ingredients from plants and sell them as drugs. However, the benefits of medicinal plants cannot be replicate. The reason is that it is difficult to reproduce their synergistic combination of hundreds of naturally occurring phytochemicals.

Ayurveda has long been the main system of health care in India.  About 70% of India’s population lives in rural areas. However, about two-thirds of rural people use Ayurveda and medicinal plants to meet their primary health care needs. In addition, most major cities have an Ayurvedic college and hospital. Moreover, there are almost 600 thousand traditional medical practitioners, 3000 hospitals providing Ayurvedic treatment, and more than 22000 dispensaries for traditional medicine in India.  As a result, this allows over 500 million people in India to rely solely on Ayurveda today.

According to World Health Organization report, over 80% of the world population relies on plant-based traditional medicine for their primary healthcare needs.

In Ayurveda, the distinction between food and medicine is not as clear as in Western medicine.  Both food and diet are important components of Ayurvedic practice. Thus, there is a heavy reliance on treatments with combination of herbs and plants, oils, common spices, and other naturally occurring substances. For instance, some of the most common examples are turmeric and sesame oil.

Currently, the “pharmacy” of Ayurvedic treatments include approximately 5000 products.  In the past, they would grouped plant compounds into categories according to their effects.  For example, some compounds are thought to heal, some promote vitality, or relieve pain.  Many texts prepared through national medical agencies in India has been described these compounds. We can list some of examples of the commonly used herbs:

• Turmeric is effective on various diseases and conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, and wound healing.
• An extract from the resin from a tropical shrub has been used for a variety of illnesses.  In recent years, there has been research interest in its use to lower cholesterol.
• To counteract depression and mental stress, Ayurvedic practitioners would use the essential oil extracted from Holy Basil.

India has 16 climatic zones, 45000 different plant species, and 15000 medicinal plants.  The Indian Systems of Medicine have identified 1,500 medicinal plants, and for the preparation of drugs, whey have used about 500 species. Consequently, these medicinal plants contribute to 80% of the raw materials used in the preparation of Ayurvedic Medicine.