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?