Ayurve da Carli Hill
Dec 22, 2015
Ayurveda
Carli Hill
Objectives• Introduction to Ayurveda
• Tridosha theory
• Reported benefits
• Reasons for caution
• Current Research
• Conclusions
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”
• 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)
• Clinical exam includes
– Pulse diagnosis– Urine examination– Stool examination– Tongue examination– Examination of body
sounds– Eye examination– Skin examination– Assessment of total body appearance
• Treatment has four main parts– Shodan – cleansing
– Shaman – palliation
– Rasayan – rejuvenation
– Satwajaya – mental nurturing and spiritual healing
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
• 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
Questions?