What can Ayurveda do for me?

This question is a good starting point for exploring the benefits of a new health practice. Too often, we just hear another person’s testimonial about something that worked for them — a diet, an herb or supplement, a specific way of exercising — and try it for ourselves. Sometimes it works, but more often it doesn’t.

When I entered the world of Ayurveda, I had questions like “Isn’t practicing Ayurveda actually going backward instead of forward?” and “how is Ayurveda relevant in today’s world?” As I learned more about Ayurveda in formal study, I was intrigued by the simplicity and logic, making gradual changes in my lifestyle and diet as I learned the concepts in my courses. It was notable that a majority of fellow students began the study of Ayurveda after having profound healing experiences that delivered them from longterm chronic illnesses and vague illnesses that couldn’t be addressed by the medical system.

To address the questions about Ayurveda’s relevance in today’s world, I went to the literature to find out more about the history of the Western medical system. First I went to Hippocrates, who lived nearly 2500 years ago (b. 460 BC) and is considered the father of modern medicine.

It turns out that the medicine of Hippocrates was pretty similar to the medicine of Ayurveda (which was recorded more than 5000 years ago). This is evident in the Hippocratic oath:

“I will apply dietetic and lifestyle measures to help the sick to my best ability and judgment; I will protect them from harm and injustice.”

Or consider Hippocrates’ writings in De Alimento: “In food excellent medicine can be found, in food bad medicine can be found; good and bad are relative”. He also used the idea of “humors” in the body, explaining that excesses and deficiencies of different humors contributed to disease. One of the physician’s major roles was to identify the balance of the humors (related to the elements water, air, fire, and earth) and apply treatments (usually in the form of food) to bring them into balance.

Dietetic and lifestyle measures? Food being good and bad medicine? Humors in the body that can cause illness when in excess or deficiency? These are Ayurvedic concepts!

Okay, so Ayurveda and Hippocratic medicine (derived from Greek medicine) have a lot of similarities. Why aren’t we still practicing Hippocrates-style medicine? Galen (about 200 years after Hippocrates), who made contributions to medicine in anatomy and physiology, continued the practices of Hippocrates, further embellishing the ideas of humors and their relationship to moods, personality, and behaviors. (Another Ayurvedic concept.) This humoral medicine was practiced for thousands of years, until the discovery of the microscope in the 19th century, which gave us the ability to see germs. With the discovery of germs, scientists were able to identify specific causes of many illnesses, which exploded into development of antibiotics, purification of water systems, and public health measures to address widespread problems.

This means we have been practicing our current form of medicine for less than 200 years! In the meantime, Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and the general practice of Herbalism have continued to provide natural healing modalities for many populations. Although these medical systems have some cultural influences (Ayurveda is from India, TCM is from China), their concepts translate well to our modern world. In Ayurveda, food is medicine; kitchen spices and herbs add medicinal properties to foods; “dietetic and lifestyle measures” (Hippocrates) are introduced gradually into a person’s life to make lasting health improvements. .

While medicine has made miraculous advances in many areas, many people still suffer from chronic illnesses that aren’t being relieved or vague illnesses that can’t be explained by modern medicine. Data from the National Health Interview Survey (2018) reported that more than half of the US population suffers from at least one chronic disease and that 27% suffer from multiple chronic conditions. Of course there are many reasons for this, but the fact remains that the state of health in the US is mostly getting worse. It’s interesting that once the germ theory took over the practice of medicine, everything else was left behind. Even nutritional advice changed — medicine went from an individualistic approach of prescribing foods according to the condition and the patient to recommending specific nutrients that could be identified in food.

So you might ask again “what can Ayurveda do for me?” Do you have mood swings, anxiety, depression, or excess anger? Do you have gas, bloating, or indigestion? Do you suffer from chronic constipation or diarrhea, menstrual difficulties, or chronic conditions? Or do you just have low energy? Do you feel un-well but don’t have an explanation for it? Do you have a chronic disease that gives you pain? Or are you just wanting to ensure optimum health and prevent disease? Ayurveda defines all illnesses in terms of imbalances and addresses these imbalances through natural methods including proper diet, lifestyle practices and herbal remedies. These are the same methods used in our own medical system until the past 175 years.

Modern medicine is critical for many conditions, and we are fortunate to have this system during our lifetime. We are also fortunate that scientists and physicians continue to make miraculous discoveries and advances. But perhaps it’s time to remember our roots in the healing arts, and take advantage of the natural and simple remedies that surround us. Ayurveda, as a complementary system, equips individuals with knowledge and tools for addressing their imbalances by living in harmony with the laws of nature.