Ayurveda

An ancient Indian system of medicine that promotes balance in the body through diet, exercise, herbal remedies, and other natural therapies.

What is Ayurveda?

- "Ayurveda is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent." - "The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific." - "Ayurveda therapies have varied and evolved over more than two millennia."

Where is Ayurveda heavily practiced?

- "It is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population report using Ayurveda."

What are some examples of Ayurvedic therapies?

- "Therapies include herbal medicines, special diets, meditation, yoga, massage, laxatives, enemas, and medical oils."

What are Ayurvedic preparations typically based on?

- "Ayurvedic preparations are typically based on complex herbal compounds, minerals, and metal substances."

What are some ancient surgical techniques taught in Ayurveda?

- "Ancient Ayurveda texts also taught surgical techniques, including rhinoplasty, kidney stone extractions, sutures, and the extraction of foreign objects."

How is Ayurveda linked to Hindu mythology?

- "The main classical Ayurveda texts begin with accounts of the transmission of medical knowledge from the gods to sages, and then to human physicians." - "The Sushruta Samhita (Sushruta's Compendium) frames the work as the teachings of Dhanvantari, Hindu god of Ayurveda, incarnated as King Divodāsa of Varanasi, to a group of physicians, including Sushruta."

How has Ayurveda been adapted for Western consumption?

- "Through well-understood processes of modernization and globalization, Ayurveda has been adapted for Western consumption, notably by Baba Hari Dass in the 1970s and Maharishi Ayurveda in the 1980s."

When does historical evidence for Ayurvedic texts appear?

- "Historical evidence for Ayurvedic texts, terminology and concepts appears from the middle of the first millennium BCE onwards."

What is the importance of dosha balance in Ayurveda?

- "In Ayurveda texts, Dosha balance is emphasized, and suppressing natural urges is considered unhealthy and claimed to lead to illness." - "Ayurveda treatises describe three elemental doshas viz. vāta, pitta and kapha, and state that balance of the doshas results in health, while imbalance results in disease."

What are the components into which Ayurveda practitioners divide medicine?

- "Ayurveda treatises divide medicine into eight canonical components."

What substances have been found in some Ayurvedic preparations?

- "Some Ayurvedic preparations have been found to contain lead, mercury, and arsenic, substances known to be harmful to humans."

What is the prevalence of metallic contaminants in Ayurvedic medicines?

- "A 2008 study found the three substances [lead, mercury, and arsenic] in close to 21% of U.S. and Indian-manufactured patent Ayurvedic medicines sold through the Internet."

What are the public health implications of metallic contaminants in India?

- "The public health implications of such metallic contaminants in India are unknown."