Ayurveda

Ayurveda is a traditional life science system that originated in ancient India and has been passed down for more than 5,000 years. Its core logic is to maintain a healthy state by balancing the connection between the individual's body, mind and environment. It is currently included in the official medical system of South Asian countries such as India and Sri Lanka. It has certain practical effects in adjusting sub-health problems such as chronic gastrointestinal disorders, stress-induced insomnia, metabolic disorders, etc. However, because most therapies lack the support of modern evidence-based medicine in large samples, and some traditional preparations have the risk of excessive heavy metals, it has always been controversial. It absolutely cannot replace formal clinical treatment and can only be used as a personalized lifestyle supplement option.

The first time I came into contact with Ayurveda was as a volunteer at a sea turtle protection base in Sri Lanka in 2019. I stayed up for a week to catch up on project application materials. Not only was my face covered in red and swollen acne, but I was also constipated to the point where I couldn’t go to the toilet for three or four days. My right temple also throbbed every day. After three days of taking Chinese patent medicines to reduce inflammation, it had no effect at all. The old doctor who has been running an Ayurveda clinic next to the base for 30 years pinched my wrist, looked at my tongue, and gave me a small jar of homemade ghee without prescribing any medicine. He asked me to drink half a spoonful of warm turmeric milk every morning on an empty stomach. He changed my habit of three cups of iced American tea a day to hot spice tea made with cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves. I was not even allowed to touch it when it was cold. All I drank was lukewarm. I dubiously followed it. Within a week, most of the acne disappeared, bowel movements became smoother, and the headache didn’t happen again. At that time, I thought this thing was interesting.

After returning to China, I searched for relevant information and talked with practitioners, only to discover that the internal factional differences in this seemingly "mysterious" therapy were greater than the controversy outside. Practitioners of traditional classical Ayurveda insist that the three major human constitutions (Vata corresponds to wind energy, Pitta corresponds to fire energy, and Kapha corresponds to water and earth energy). All conditioning plans must be based on the innate constitution. For example, people born with Pitta constitution should eat less spicy food and avoid exposure to the sun throughout their lives. People born with Vata constitution should always eat less raw and cold foods and avoid overexertion. However, modern modified Ayurveda, which has become popular in Europe and the United States in the past two decades, prefers to believe that physical constitution changes dynamically and changes with age, living environment, stress status and even seasons. For example, when you are young, you may have a pitta constitution with a fast metabolism. After the age of 40, your metabolism slows down and you may have a kapha constitution. The conditioning plan must also be adjusted accordingly. You do not need to keep your natural constitution unchanged for a lifetime.

Of course, the most controversial aspect is its effectiveness and safety. In terms of compliance, India now has more than 700,000 registered Ayurvedic physicians, and public Ayurvedic hospitals have been included in the national medical insurance system. There are also many small-scale clinical studies showing positive results in auxiliary intervention for prediabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome, and chronic gastrointestinal diseases. But on the other hand, there is a type of preparation called "Lhasa medicine" in traditional Ayurveda, which uses heavy metals such as lead, mercury, arsenic and so on. Even after the so-called "purification" process, many are still found to contain excessive heavy metals. The World Health Organization issued relevant risk warnings as early as 2017. Now Indian officials have banned the public circulation of most of these preparations, and only a few traditional doctors with special licenses can use them in limited quantities.

I met a fan before who said that he bought the so-called "Ayurvedic detoxification pills" online. After taking it for half a month, his face turned yellow. He went to the hospital to check that the liver enzymes were three times higher. Later, when he sent for a test, it was discovered that the lead content in the pills exceeded the legal limit by more than 20 times. There is also the "Ayurvedic 7-day fasting and detoxification method" that has been very popular on the Internet two years ago. It claims to be able to cure cancer. Someone around me followed it. On the fifth day of fasting, I went to the emergency room due to electrolyte imbalance. Later, I found out that formal Ayurvedic fasting does not allow ordinary people to eat nothing at all. It is adjusted according to physical constitution. People with weak constitutions also drink hot porridge with ghee and brown sugar during fasting. It is not a one-size-fits-all operation like online.

In fact, after four or five years of exposure to Ayurveda, I feel that the most useful thing about Ayurveda is not its fancy essential oil massages and detoxification therapies, but that it never gives you a set of health care standards that are "one size fits all." Unlike many bloggers today who tell you that everyone should drink eight glasses of water a day, eat light salads, and walk 10,000 steps a day, the logic of Ayurveda first requires you to observe your body: Do you get diarrhea after drinking iced coffee? After staying up late, do you want something sweet or something heavy? Do you have a headache or joint pain when the air conditioner is turned on? These signals, which only you can feel, reflect your physical condition better than any standardized physical examination report.

Oh, by the way, if you are really interested in Ayurveda and want to give it a try, let me give you two small reminders: Don’t believe those nine-dollar physical fitness test questions on the Internet. Most of them are made up at random, and the test results are not accurate at all; and don’t buy Ayurveda products from micro-businessmen randomly. If you really want to treat yourself, it’s best to find a healer with formal registration qualifications, especially one who also understands modern medicine. If there is any discomfort during the conditioning process, stop immediately and don’t bear it. After all, whether it’s traditional therapy or modern medicine, the core thing is to make you feel comfortable, right?