| Studies have also shown that gotu kola works as a botanical treatment for high blood pressure, varicose veins, burns, and circulatory problems. In ayurvedic medicine, it was a popular treatment for healing skin ulcers and treating leprosy.
A Wound Healer
In Sri Lanka, people eat the leaves in salads or use them to brew a medicinal tea. The entire plant, however, has healing properties.
The most active compounds in the herb are triterpenes and saponin glycosides. The glycosides are particularly important. |
| Ayurvedic medicine in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
"Ginseng is one of the most abused herbal medications that I know of. If you look in any lay literature or magazine, it's still being touted as therapeutic for everything from cancer to an ingrown toenail," he says. "It certainly has its uses, but it is not a panacea."
Despite these reservations, though, there are still some things that ginseng seems to do quite well.
Adapting to Conditions
The Chinese think of ginseng as a normalizing or restorative agent. |
Gabriel Cousens, M.D.
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 Also involved in the practice of a vegetarian diet is the science of Yoga and the science of ayurvedic medicine that itself originates from the Vedas. As pointed out earlier, Ayurveda describes three diet types. One of them, called the sattvic diet, enhances inner peace and spiritual development; it is a simple vegetarian diet. Ahimsa is another primary force behind vegetarianism in India. Ahimsa may be broadly defined as nonviolence or a dynamic compassion for all of life. Mahatma Gandhi, a vegetarian, taught that the two pillars of ahimsa are truth and compassion. |
| Like Westerners who are trained in ayurvedic medicine who do not share certain Indian cultural beliefs about vata and live foods, these Western acupuncturists are not blindly holding onto the ancient Chinese cultural beliefs about vegetarianism. With some noteworthy exceptions, such as the vegetarian Shaolin priests, throughout history and to this day the Chinese culture has attached a higher social status to including flesh in the diet. Being a pure vegetarian in China is, to some degree, associated with poverty and lack of social standing. |
Bill Gottlieb
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 If that doesn't work, he recommends the herb triphala, a bowel tonic from ayurvedic medicine. It's available as tablets; follow the dosage recommendations on the label.
FOOD: Eat on Schedule
Many people with chronic headaches believe that food sensitivities are the main cause of their problem. But food affects only one in three headache sufferers, says Dr. Robbins. In fact, he believes that to prevent a headache, when you eat is much more important than what you eat.
"Low blood sugar is a common headache trigger," he says. |
| CARDAMOM: An Ayurvedic Antidote
In ayurvedic medicine, the ancient system of natural healing from India, the "antidote" to caffeine is the spice cardamom, says John Douil-lard, D.C., a chiropractor, expert in Ayurveda, and director of the LifeSpa in Boulder, Colorado.
To stop the craving for coffee during the withdrawal period, he recommends sucking on cardamom seeds (just as you would suck on lozenges) all day long. Cardamom is available in the spice section of most grocery stores. |
| Hochschuler, including back specialty clinics, chiropractic, physical therapy, therapeutic massage, movement therapies such as the Alexander Technique, acupuncture (including techniques using electrical stimulation, such as electroacupuncture and Craig PENS acupuncture), gentle exercise therapies such as tai chi and qigong, and natural medical systems such as Traditional Chinese Medicine and ayurvedic medicine. |
| The treatments in ayurvedic medicine are aimed at restoring balance by decreasing excessive elements and increasing the others. Someone with a cold might be given a fiery herb such as garlic and instructed to stop consuming kapha-producing dairy products.
Ayurveda emphasizes the psychological, social, and spiritual causes of disease. Practitioners believe that almost all illnesses are based in unhap-piness, usually in the form of stress and confusion about life's purpose. Many of the techniques of Ayurveda, such as meditation, are aimed at relieving stress and restoring clarity of purpose. |
Ralph Golan, M.D.
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 The system that has, I believe, the longest history in this type of diet individualization is ayurvedic medicine, a form of natural medicine practiced in India for several thousand years. This system recognizes three main constitutional types, each with a specifically recommended diet. Excessive departures from your particular recommended diet will usually result in predictable ailments. Dr. Vasant Lad's Ayurveda: The Science of Self-Healing (Lotus Press, 1984) is an easy-to-use and thorough guide to identifying your type and corresponding diet. Also, see Dr. |
Earl Mindell, R.Ph., Ph.D.
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 There are many lessons to be learned from ayurvedic medicine, but the most important of all may be that early intervention can make a real difference in the lives of patients. An example is the Ayurvedic approach to menopause. In the West, menopause is not usually treated until women begin experiencing telltale symptoms such as hot flashes, and only then are synthetic hormones prescribed to reduce their symptoms, often with potentially dangerous side effects. |
Muhammed Majeed, Ph.D. Vladimir Badmaev, M.D., Ph.D. Uma Shivakumar, Ph.D. R. Rajendran, M.S.
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| Turmeric is one of the oldest anti-inflammatory drugs used in ayurvedic medicine. In fact, it was in India that the research on the antiinflammatory properties of turmeric was initiated. Turmeric extract, volatile oil from turmeric and curcuminoids were reported to possess anti-inflammatory activity in different experimental models of inflammation in mice, rats, rabbits and pigeons. |
Neal Barnard, M.D.
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 GINGER
Ginger has been used in traditional Indian ayurvedic medicine for intestinal discomfort and flatulence, as well as for inflammatory conditions, such as arthritis.
Its value has been specifically demonstrated in motion sickness. Because this is a common problem for navy personnel, pilots, and astronauts, researchers have been interested in finding solutions. In one study, researchers decided to test ginger's effect on sailors heading out to sea for the first time. On the first day of rough water, the sailors were given a capsule that contained either one gram of ginger or a placebo. |
Michael Castleman
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 In Chinese and ayurvedic medicine, all living things possess life energy, chi or prana, that flows around the body along various pathways. According to these traditional practices, when the energy flow is disrupted, illness results. However, healers can transfer their own life energy to those who are ill if.they consciously intend to do so. The energy transfer helps the sick person get well.
Meanwhile, modern physics views matter and energy as interdisorders are so mentally divorced from the reality of their own bodies that they can't see what they look like. Massage helps them jeel it. |
Mark Stengler, N.D.
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 Practitioners of ayurvedic medicine, who are familiar with these outcomes, often recommend it for patients who are starting to experience memory loss. Studies on rats have shown that it improves cognitive function.
Stress
Ashwagandha appears to help the body cope with the effects of stress more effectively. 1 am sure that ashwagandha will become as popular as the ginsengs in helping to deal with this all-too-common problem.
Astragalus
Jerry had been undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, and he fully understood the ramifications of continued treatment. |
| The Zulu of southern Africa use it to heal wounds, as do the Chinese. In ayurvedic medicine the bitter latex, taken internally, is one of the medicines that's used to expel worms.
The plant is also well known for its properties as a laxative. European colonists to Africa, praising the laxative properties, brought some samples back to Europe, where its popularity soon spread. It was also brought to North America from Europe. In fact, if you asked a nineteenth-century pharmacist anywhere in the western world to recommend some kind of laxative, he would almost certainly have named aloe. |
| However, it has remained popular and highly valued through thousands of years of use in ayurvedic medicine. This is a classic case of an herb that has often been used for successful treatments yet never "proven" by modern scientific research. In my opinion, ashwagandha should be used when indicated. I am sure there will be continued scientific research that will eventually shed light on the reasons why this wonderful plant has proven so helpful to so many people.
DOSAGE
The standard adult dosage is 1,000 to 3,000 milligrams daily of the root.
WHAT ARE THE SIDE EFFECTS? |
| TAMING THE SWEET TOOTH
Also known as gurmar, or "sugar destroyer," gymnema sylvestre has been embraced by many physicians who practice ayurvedic medicine. Somehow, it has the ability to block the taste of sweetness, so it helps to stave off the "craving for sweets" that leads to overeating of simple-carbohydrate foods.
Gymnema grows in the forests of India and has been used by local healers and Ayurvedic physicians for the treatment of blood-sugar imbalances for more than 2,000 years.
Gymnemic acids are thought to be the important active constituents in gymnema. |
| Sometimes referred to as "Indian Ginseng," "Winter Cherry," or "Withania," ashwagandha herb has many similarities to Chinese ginseng. In ayurvedic medicine, it may be used to treat a number of other diseases besides those already mentioned—including asthma, bronchitis, psoriasis, arthritis, and infertility. Ayurvedic doctors prescribe it in very specific ways that are suited to certain constitutional types. It's often given with the so-called "warming herbs," such as ginger, to increase its tonic effect.
Ashwagandha root differs from Chinese ginseng in having a mild sedative action. |
John Heinerman
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 The seeds are often used in ayurvedic medicine (an ancient healing system indigenous to India) but only after first being treated to detoxify them. The process is known in Hindi as shodhana and consists of soaking them in fresh cow's milk for a week and then peeling off their softened outer coats.
Many alkaloids are obtained from the strychnos tree, but none has been more thoroughly studied than strychnine, which is contained in the bark and leaves of the tree. Strychnine is an extremely poisonous substance used for destroying rodents and predatory animals and for trapping fur-bearing animals. |
Donald R. Yance, j r.,C.N., M.H., A.H.G., with Arlene Valentine
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 Traditionally used in ayurvedic medicine to treat a variety of disorders, including osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, Boswellia serrata has been found, in recent studies, to contain a group of triterpene acids that demonstrate potent antitumor activity. These acids were found to inhibit the synthesis of DNA, RHA, and protein in human leukemia cells. They have also been shown to inhibit topoisomerase I and II (enzymes that catalyze the passage of individual DNA strands through one another) by interacting with binding sites on the DNA molecule. |
Earl Mindell
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 Gugulipid (An extract from the mukul myrrh tree, native to India, and used for centuries in ayurvedic medicine. Take one 25 mg. capsule with meals three times daily. CAUTION: May cause a rash or hives in susceptible individuals.)
• Lemongrass oil
• Lentils: pinto beans, lima beans, navy beans, kidney beans
• LipoGuard™ (Contains a combination of fish oil and garlic. The recommended dosage is 4-10 capsules daily. CAUTION: Should not be taken by anyone with a bleeding disorder, or on blood thinners, unless advised by a physician. |
| Among the better-known alternative therapies are:
Ayurveda One of the oldest recorded medical systems in the world, India's ayurvedic medicine is still practiced in that country today. It has been dubbed the "mother of all healing" because of its profound influence on nearly all other medical systems. Ayurveda does not just treat the symptoms of a disease: the treatment must encompass the entire body—as well as mind, spirit, and lifestyle. |
Rebecca Wood
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 But in ayurvedic medicine, radishes increase agni, or digestive fire, and are therefore considered warming. Both are correct within context. For consistency, I follow the traditional Chinese medical way of evaluating thermal properties.
Here are seven rules of thumb that suggest a food's thermal properties:
1. Foods that take longer to grow, like cabbage and winter squash, are more warming than foods that grow quickly, like lettuce and summer squash.
2. A food is more cooling when eaten raw than when it is cooked.
3. Chilled food is more cooling than warm or room-temperature food.
4. |
Earl Mindell
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| Turmeric, the spice itself, has long been used by Indian healers in the practice of ayurvedic medicine to strengthen liver function, and many alternative practitioners today prescribe curcumin to people with the common liver ailment hepatitis C. Turmeric also helps prevent the formation of blood clots that can lead to heart attack. As a supplement, one to three 500 mg. curcumin capsules daily with food is the suggested dosage. Many commercial preparations combine curcumin with bromelain, another anti-inflammatory. |
Rebecca Wood
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| In ayurvedic medicine, it is used for the treatment of gonorrhea.
See Sunflower Family.
GARLIC
(Allium sativum)
Now bolt down these cloves of garlic. Well primed with garlic you will have greater mettle for the fight.
Aristophanes, The Knights
The Greeks used garlic for more than fueling the fighting spirit; they also set garlic on stone piles at crossroads to propitiate Hecate, the underworld goddess of magic, charms, and enchantment.
Garlic is a universal seasoning agent and home remedy. And it's been a favorite from the dawning of Egyptian, Indian, and Chinese civilizations. |
Muhammed Majeed, Ph.D. Vladimir Badmaev, M.D., Ph.D. Uma Shivakumar, Ph.D. R. Rajendran, M.S.
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| Although I did not have the foresight to include turmeric compounds in my laboratory animal studies, I am extremely excited about the research that links modern science to ancient ayurvedic medicine. Fortunately these compounds have been in my diet for many years, and I am looking forward to the availability of food supplements that can conveniently increase these quantities to enhance my antioxidant bioprotection.
The reader may ask, "why do we need another antioxidant? Aren't vitamins A, C and E enough?" The answer is simple. We can start with a comparison to vitamins. |
Michael Lerner
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 Moreover, the specific foods that are included and excluded by macrobiotics for breast cancer differ from those recommended by many other systems of diet coming from other traditional medicines of equally noble lineage. ayurvedic medicine from India, for example, gives dietary recommendations for breast cancer that are quite different from, and often contradict, macrobiotic recommendations. |
| Western patients widely report that traditional Chinese medicine offers considerable relief from the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation, as well as being a nonpharma-cological method of pain control. ayurvedic medicine from India, Tibetan medicine, and homeopathic medicine also have their adherents among American cancer patients and health practitioners.
Relatively few of the traditional medicines claim to be able to cure cancer on a regular basis. But some have treatments that seem to help with symptom control, the side effects of mainstream treatments, and quality of life. |
| Traditional Medicines
The World Health Organization (WHO) designates "traditional medicine"—as opposed to "conventional" or "allopathic" medicine—as those practices which come from the great medical traditions of the world, such as traditional Chinese medicine, Tibetan medicine, ayurvedic medicine from India, naturopathic and homeopathic medicine from Europe, and the eclectic modern folk medicines practiced in many countries. WHO recognizes traditional medicines as the legitimate and often efficacious providers of medical care to a large part of the world's people. |
Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D.
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 Chopra claims that ayurvedic medicine is the world's oldest medical tradition, but that it has particular relevance to modern times.
Many people were amazed when the sober voice of organized medicine, JAMA, carried a highly favorable article on Ayur-veda by Chopra and others in May 1991 (1). The article was later attacked as a "marketing scheme" and a hoax within the pages of JAMA itself (2,3). The main charge was that Chopra had failed to disclose his own past and present financial interests in the therapy. |
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