| Also Known As
Arabic: kharak
English: miracle fruit, periploca of the woods, ram's horn
German: waldschlinge Hindi: gurmar
Sanskrit: meshashringi, sarpa-darushtrika
Part Used
Leaf
Physiological Effects
Astringent, cough suppressant, diuretic, hypoglycemic, laxative, refrigerant, stomachic, tonic
Medicinal Uses
Gymnema has been used to treat diabetes for more than two thousand years in ayurvedic medicine. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
See article keywords and concepts |  Just like the Chinese food served in the United States is nothing like Chinese food purchased in China, Chinese medicine in the United States doesn't match the Chinese medicine practiced in China.
"Ayurvedic medicine" is a system of holistic medicine practiced widely in India and throughout Southeast Asia. It is also gaining popularity and recognition in the United States, Europe, Australia and many other areas of the world as people come to recognize the inherent wisdom and innate safety of ayurvedic medicine. |
David Winston, RH(AHG), and Steven Maimes
See book keywords and concepts |  In the modern practice of ayurvedic medicine, herbs usually are prepared in tablets or capsules and neither honey nor ghee is included.
Chinese Tonics
Many of the herbs used in Chinese medicine are not particularly pleasant tasting. The Chinese believe that "good medicine is bitter but good for treating disease, the more bitter the better." There are some exceptions to the general rule of foul-tasting Chinese herbs. In fact, some herbs (see chapter 12, "Adaptogens as Food") are cooked in rice porridge or soups as nourishing tonic remedies. |
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
See book keywords and concepts |  In her terrific book Food and Healing, she says that ghee is one of the three best quality fats to use.
In ayurvedic medicine, ghee is believed to help stimulate the healthy flow of fluids throughout the body. It is considered an important rejuvenative tonic for the mind, the brain, and the nervous system. And, since it has all the milk solids removed, it can be used for cooking at higher temperatures. Ayurveda describes ghee as one of the finest cooking oils; it increases "digestive fire," thereby improving assimilation and enhancing the nutritional value of foods. It also doesn't go rancid. |
David Winston, RH(AHG), and Steven Maimes
See book keywords and concepts | | Selected Research Studies
Adaptogenic Properties of Six Rasayana Herbs Used in ayurvedic medicine (Rege, Thatte, and Dahanukar 1999).
Six traditional rasayana herbs were studied to determine if they had adaptogenic activity. All six (amla, guduchi, shatavari, ashwagandha, pippali long pepper, and haritaki) were found to protect mice against a variety of biological, physical, and chemical stressors. The study suggested that amla not only prevents oxidative damage but also stimulates production of anti-inflammatory prostaglandins. |
J. Douglas Bremner
See book keywords and concepts |  Ginger {Zingiber officinale), a natural remedy obtained from the root of the ginger flower that is used in ayurvedic medicine for the treatment of inflammation and rheumatism, is thought to have anti-inflammatory properties. There is no evidence that the ginger contained in supplements is superior to fresh ginger from the grocery store or ginger tea. Ginger has no side effects, so if you want to use it there are no reasons not to. |
David Winston, RH(AHG), and Steven Maimes
See book keywords and concepts | | The first major written classic of ayurvedic medicine contained the teachings of Charaka. His writings, the Charaka Samhita (written approximately 200 BCE), identified 350 plants as valuable medicines.
Ayurveda has always held the plant kingdom in high esteem. Here the role of plants is exalted. It was written in the Chandogya Upani-sbad, "The essence of all beings is Earth. The essence of the Earth is Water. The essence of Water is plants. The essence of plants is the human being" (Swahananda). | | In ayurvedic medicine, there is a balance of the three dosha, or bodily humors, known as the tridoshas: kapha, pitta, and vata. The first requirement for health is a proper balance of the doshas. The root cause of imbalance, or disease, is an aggravation of a dosha caused by a wide variety of internal and external factors.
The Charaka Samhita states that problems of the digestive system are the root of disease. When the doshas become aggravated and start to accumulate toxins, this causes imbalance and disease. Properly digested food produces rasa, which helps to form healthy blood. | | Both ayurvedic medicine and traditional Chinese medicine teach that the free flow of energy {prana, qi) maintains health and helps to heal disease. It is thought that the use of acupuncture, herbs, massage, t'ai chi, yoga, and other techniques help correct and stimulate the body's innate healing forces.
Pure Water Has No Fish
Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine both do not believe that a disease has to be completely removed. This is in direct contrast to the antipathogen approach of Western medicine. |
Brenda Watson and Leonard Smith
See book keywords and concepts |  The evening formula would ideally contain important Indian herbs long used in ayurvedic medicine. These herbs have liver-protecting and detoxification properties that have been documented in scientific studies. Two evening-formula capsules would ideally be taken with water before bed.
Heavy Metal Cleanse (Optional)
Since the Industrial Revolution, production and distribution of heavy metals have rapidly accelerated, so that the air, water, and topsoil of the planet have become permeated with them. These metals tend to persist and accumulate in the environment (and in our bodies! | | The therapeutic use of herbal preparations is also an integral part of ayurvedic medicine, an ancient Indian system of healing that has its roots in Vedic culture. The American Indians also relied heavily on the healing properties of herbs. In fact, many of the over-the-counter drugs and prescription drugs in use today in our society are derived from Native American herbs. All cultures have traditionally used eliminative herbs that have laxative, diuretic (increases urine flow), diaphoretic (sweat-inducing), and blood-purifying properties to remove toxins from the body. | | Galen, another highly influential Greek physician, born 129 ce, believed cleansing was crucial to keeping the body in balance and good health. ayurvedic medicine, a traditional healing system that has developed over thousands of years, utilizes detoxification methods to treat many chronic conditions and to prevent illness.
It's very empowering to know we can reduce our risk for disease and lessen our exposure to these ubiquitous toxins that are a product of our modern culture and, inevitably, our attempts to advance the science of food, agriculture, medicine, and engineering in general. |
David Winston, RH(AHG), and Steven Maimes
See book keywords and concepts | | That country has nearly four hundred thousand registered ayurvedic practitioners, and ayurvedic medicine is the third-largest medical system in the world today. Almost 70 percent of modern medicines used in India are derived from natural products.
In Japan, 80 percent of physicians have prescribed a traditional Chinese medicine in the past year, mostly in formulas known as kampo. Approximately two hundred kampo formulas are officially recognized by the Japanese government. According to the World Health Organization, Japan has the highest per capita consumption of herbal medicines in the world. |
Dawson Church
See book keywords and concepts |  He wrote a book called Susruta Samhita, one of the core texts of ayurvedic medicine.
Human awareness of these energy channels along which qi flows is ancient indeed, and methods to enhance the flow may have been part of the knowledge base of prehistoric shamans from many cultures. Of the exercises designed to enhance qi, T'ai Chi is one of the most widely practiced in China and the West. It emphasizes large, gentle, slow motion movements, as opposed to the abrupt offensive movements of other martial arts. |
Herbert Ross, DC with Keri Brenner, L.Ac.
See book keywords and concepts |  In addition, probiotic supplements can help resolve yeast overgrowth and prevent it from occurring in the future, and ayurvedic medicine is also quite effective.
Anti-Candida Supplements
Garlic, a well-known folk remedy, is now formulated as an odorless extract. Allicin, the active ingredient in garlic, has been found to be more potent than many other antifungal agents; a typical recommended dose is 4 mg daily (equal to about one clove of fresh garlic). As an alternative to garlic extract, you can also take either liquid garlic (available at health food stores) or fresh garlic cloves. | | Sodhi attributes this malfunction, and thus candidiasis, to environmental stress, society's addiction to sugar in the diet, and widespread use of antibiotics, birth-control pills, and hormones. "Ayurvedic medicine believes that these stresses on the system cause carbohydrates to be digested improperly," he says. "Furthermore, the immune system in the gut becomes worn down."
To address the Candida overgrowth and bolster immunity, Dr. Sodhi uses grapefruit seed oil and tannic acid, which act as antifungals and antibiotics, along with L. |
Peter h. Fraser and Harry Massey
See book keywords and concepts |  Traditional Chinese medicine and Indian ayurvedic medicine have long explored the energies of the body. Acupuncture and homeopathy are practiced widely in Asia and Europe (Britain, for example, has at least four exclusively homeopathic hospitals) and are slowly gaining acceptance in the United States and elsewhere. |
Thomson Healthcare, Inc.
See book keywords and concepts |  It is used as an infusion mixed with honey (in Kerala); with water cooked in rice (in Nepal); in the treatment of gonorrhea and as an anti-aphrodisiac in ayurvedic medicine.
Homeopathic Uses: Uses of the drug in homeopathy include urethral inflammation. It is advisable to use Sandalwood in combination with other diuretic or urinary disinfecting drugs. contraindications
Sandalwood is contraindicated in diseases of the kidney. precautions and adverse reactions
No health hazards are known in conjunction with the proper administration of designated therapeutic dosages. |
Richard Bartlett
See book keywords and concepts |  I remembered one of my instructors at Bastyr who taught a course in beginning ayurvedic medicine. Toward the conclusion of our semester with him, he told us that if we could develop the compassion in our hearts as physicians to such a degree that a person could cry from just our presence in the room, then we were truly on our way to becoming something more, perhaps even healers. Well, this woman had the opposite reaction. What does that imply? Then I remembered a book I'd read whose title asserted that laughter is the best medicine. "We'll see," I muttered to myself. |
Herbert Ross, DC with Keri Brenner, L.Ac.
See book keywords and concepts | | Ayurvedic Detoxification
Practiced in India for the past 5,000 years, ayurvedic medicine is a comprehensive system of medicine that combines natural therapies with a highly personalized approach to maintaining health. Ayurveda describes three metabolic, constitutional, and body types (doshas) based on combinations of the five basic elements of nature in combination. These are vata (air and ether, rooted in intestines), pitta (fire and water, rooted in the stomach), and kapha (water and earth, rooted in the lungs). |
Michael Friedman, ND
See book keywords and concepts |  Ashwagandha is considered to be the best rejuve-native in ayurvedic medicine, particularly for vata dosha and for the muscles, marrow, and semen. It is also clarifying and nurturing for the mind and promotes deep, dreamless sleep. It is considered a good food for weak pregnant women as it stabilizes the fetus and regenerates hormones. Externally, it may be applied to wounds, sores, skin diseases, obstinate ulcers, carbuncles, and rheumatic swellings. It is excellent in conjunction with chemotherapy, because it enhances the effect of the drugs while protecting against side effects. |
Joe Graedon, M.S. and Teresa Graedon, Ph.D.
See book keywords and concepts |  Turmeric (curcumin)
This yellow spice has been used for thousands of years in ayurvedic medicine. Its diverse anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and immune-modulating activities make it one of the most exciting compounds in the food pharmacy. Preliminary research and reports from readers suggest that turmeric may help ease joint pain, psoriasis, and other inflammatory conditions.
Side effects: Skin rash, liver enzyme elevation, and increased risk of bleeding when used in combination with warfarin (Coumadin) looking into the amazingly diverse physiological activity of curcumin. |
Michael Friedman, ND
See book keywords and concepts | Adrenal Support: Eleutherococcus senticosus Nervine Support: Hypericum perforatum ayurvedic medicine that has been used for thousands of years in India to treat diabetes and its secondary complications. Jambul not only helps with lowering blood sugar but also with the secondary complications. | | It has been used in ayurvedic medicine to treat madhu meha or "honey urine." Gymnema came to be known as a gurmar or "destroyer of sugar" because Ayurvedic physicians observed that chewing a few leaves suppressed the taste of sugar. It has been used in India for the treatment of diabetes for over 2,000 years.
The medicinally active parts of the plant are the leaves and the roots. Plant constituents include two resins (one soluble in alcohol), gymnemic acids, saponins, stigmasterol, quercitol, and the amino acid derivatives betaine, choline, and trimethylamine. |
by Michael Murray, N.D. and Joseph Pizzorno, N.D.
See book keywords and concepts | | In ayurvedic medicine, coconut oil infused with herbs has been used medicinally for almost 4,000 years as an effective treatment for skin diseases caused by infestation with parasites, such as scabies and head lice.
Today, about 20 billion coconuts are grown each year, and although the major producers are the Philippines, India, and Indonesia, virtually everywhere the coconut palm grows—in the tropical regions of Latin America and East Africa, as well as Asia, the Pacific Islands, and the Philippines—coconut products serve as a dietary staple. | | To treat scabies, practitioners of ayurvedic medicine extract the juice from the leaf of bitter melon and apply it externally to the affected area.
In the Philippines, bitter melon has been used for centuries as a remedy for diabetes, leukemia, asthma, insect bites, menstrual cycle problems, and stomach problems. And in traditional Chinese medicine, it is used as an appetite stimulant; as a treatment for gastrointestinal infection, dry coughs, bronchitis, and throat problems; and to combat breast cancer. |
Michael Friedman, ND
See book keywords and concepts | | For example, Rauwolfia serpentina can lower blood pressure very well without affecting glucose intolerance. In ayurvedic medicine, this herb has been used in the treatment of insomnia and schizophrenia since 1,000 BC. In China, it had also been used for thousands of years in the treatment of a Chinese pathology called 'liver fire rising'. Pharmacology studies indicates that it blocks the adrenergic transmitter vesicles, which take up and store the amines, resulting in depletion of norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin, and a consequent decrease in blood pressure. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
See article keywords and concepts |  Out of all the systems of medicine available in the world -- Chinese medicine, ayurvedic medicine, Homeopathic medicine, herbal medicine, nutritional medicine, etc. -- Washington State just happens to choose the most lucrative and politically influential system of medicine to push onto patients at gunpoint: Western medicine, a system of medicine based almost entirely on profiteering, monopoly control, corruption, bribery, disease mongering, false claims and truly bad science.
King County calls this mother a criminal, but who are the real criminals in this case? |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
See article keywords and concepts |  This herb has also been used in ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years as something that aids in joint flexibility. By using this herb, people are able to reduce joint inflammation and resume a wider range of motion in their joints. To enhance the range of motion of joints in your body, you are going to have to push the envelope a little bit -- try to move those shoulders a little more and unlock those hip joints a little more, because none of these ingredients are going to do the work for you. They do, however, create a much better situation in terms of lessening the pain. | | Ginger is used in both traditional Chinese and ayurvedic medicine. It's also recognized in Western medicine. Ginger is a whole body tonic. It also has outstanding benefits in terms of immune system enhancement. Ginger helps boost circulation in all the joints and extremities in the body. This is why many diabetics derive some benefit from ginger. It's more popularly known to help treat motion sickness or nausea. That's really only one of the minor uses of this herb, however. |
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ABOUT THE CREATOR OF NATURALPEDIA: Mike Adams, the creator of this NaturalNews Naturalpedia, is the editor of NaturalNews.com, the internet's top natural health news site, creator of the Honest Food Guide (www.HonestFoodGuide.org), a free downloadable consumer food guide based on natural health principles, author of Grocery Warning, The 7 Laws of Nutrition, Natural Health Solutions, and many other books available at www.TruthPublishing.com, creator of the earth-friendly EcoLEDs company (www.EcoLEDs.com) that manufactures energy-efficient LED lighting products, founder of Arial Software (www.ArialSoftware.com), a permission e-mail technology company, creator of the CounterThink Cartoon series (www.NaturalNews.com/index-cartoons.html) and author of over 1,500 articles, interviews, special reports and reference guides available at www.NaturalNews.com. Adams' personal philosophy and health statistics are available at www.HealthRanger.org.
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