ayurvedic therapy

Ayurveda is not an "Indian magical treatment" that can cure all diseases. It is a traditional life and health system that originated in ancient India and has been passed down for more than 5,000 years. The core logic is to divide people into three categories according to their constitution: Vata (wind), Pitta (fire), and Kapha (earth). By adjusting diet, work and rest, and exercise , emotional management and other methods can help individuals return to a state of physical and mental balance. It is currently classified by the WHO as a traditional complementary medicine and has certain reference value for adjusting sub-health states. However, it has no therapeutic efficacy verified by modern medical evidence. When using it, you need to avoid risks and do not blindly follow it.

To be honest, I first came into contact with it by accident. Last year, I was hiding from the heat in Chiang Mai and randomly signed up for a one-week retreat in a small suburban yard. On the first day, I was pulled into a physical fitness test by an old Ayurvedic doctor in his seventies. His hands were wrinkled like old tree bark. He turned over my tongue and asked a few questions, "Is your mouth sore after staying up late?" Does your stomach burn when you eat ice? ”I nodded like garlic, and he smiled and said that with a typical pitta constitution, the fire is too strong and needs to be suppressed. Don't tell me that the plan he gave me was much more reliable than I thought. He didn't give me any weird magic medicine. He just asked me to replace the two cups of iced Americano every day with room temperature ones. Instead of running five kilometers from 12 to 2 noon, I walked in the yard instead. I rubbed the soles of my feet with cold-pressed coconut oil for five minutes before going to bed. I just did it for 14 days. I came back and tried for more than half a month, half convinced. I used to have heartburn two or three times a month, but it only happened once that month. The problem of lying in bed for half an hour before falling asleep was actually much better.

But I never thought this thing was very "magical". When I came back, I specifically asked my friend who was a clinical doctor. He rolled his eyes and said that you people always like to engage in these metaphysics. The modern medical circle is too controversial about Ayurveda. The most criticized thing is that there is no unified quantitative standard for constitution diagnosis. The same person may find three completely different constitutions after seeing three different Ayurvedic doctors. Just like the zodiac signs, whatever they say is right for you. In addition, the FDA has previously inspected a batch of Ayurvedic herbal preparations produced in India. Nearly half of them contain excessive amounts of heavy metals such as lead and mercury. Long-term consumption may lead to heavy metal poisoning, let alone curing diseases. Some traditional schools in India still retain procedures such as bloodletting and enemas. The risks are so high that they have long been boycotted by the mainstream medical community.

In fact, the Ayurveda we usually come into contact with now is basically an improved version in Europe and the United States. Those high-risk operations have long been cut off, and the rest are basically low-risk content such as dietary advice, essential oil massage, herbal tea, and meditation guidance. To put it bluntly, it is not much different from the "health care" we usually talk about. I met a teacher of modified Ayurveda in Beijing before. She is a clinical nutrition student herself. She combines Ayurveda's physical advice with modern nutritional content. For example, the advice for people with pitta constitutions to "less spicy food, less fried food, and eat more cold fruits and vegetables" actually basically coincides with the modern nutrition advice on protecting the stomach, and there is nothing mysterious about it at all.

Of course, there are many people who fall into this trap. I once had a friend who suffered from hypothyroidism. He was deceived that Ayurveda’s “deep detoxification therapy” could replace Euthyrox. He spent more than 30,000 yuan to buy a bunch of herbal pills to eat. After taking it for three months, he went for a review. His thyroid indicators got worse and he lost a lot of hair. In the end, he went back to the hospital to find a doctor to get some medication. To put it bluntly, if you really have a clearly diagnosed organic disease, don't expect Ayurveda to cure the disease. Go to the hospital instead. At most, it is just a reference to assist in adjusting your living habits.

Last week I went to buy coffee and subconsciously changed the iced Americano to room temperature, added some coconut milk, and it tasted pretty good. In fact, whether it’s Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, or modern nutrition, they essentially remind you to pay more attention to how your body feels—eat less if you feel uncomfortable, take more rest the next day after staying up late, and don’t always compete with your body. If you can do this, it will be more effective than any other therapy.