Ayurvedic preventive medicine, which stresses
nutritional and herbal recommendations for individual body
types, offers a potentially effective and inexpensive
complementary treatment for patients with respiratory
illnesses.
Ayurveda is a system of wellness
that includes a wide range of practices and recommendations.
Relatively new in Western culture, Ayurveda is well known in
India, with more than 300,000 doctors in the All Indian
Ayurvedic Congress. In the United States, some medical doctors
already use Ayurvedic techniques—which include physical
observation, documenting personal and family history, and
measuring palpation—to supplement modern diagnostic methods.
Ayurvedic preventive medicine emphasizes creating and
maintaining a lifestyle in harmony with the changing cycles of
nature and the environment; its physicians emphasize
prevention and development of natural disease resistance by
correcting imbalances. Removal of symptoms is merely a side
benefit to a larger, holistic definition of healing. The word
Ayurveda comes from the Indian Sanskrit words ayus, which
means life, and veda, which means knowledge. Thus, it is
literally “the science of life.”
Nutritional recommendations are among the most interesting
and immediately useful aspects of Ayurvedic knowledge. It is
reasonable for respiratory therapists to have some
understanding of Ayurveda for several reasons. Some Ayurvedic
recommendations have direct applicability to respiratory
disease. The Ayurvedic tradition of medicine, which dates back
5,000 years or more, was possibly the first system to use
inhaled substances for managing asthma.1 Some of
our patients might already be using Ayurveda as complementary
medicine for treatment of their conditions.1 While
Western medicine offers specific dietary recommendations for
people with heart disease and diabetes, such nutritional
guidance often is lacking for lung diseases and other
conditions. Ayurveda provides general seasonal suggestions
that apply to everyone and specific suggestions for balancing
the effects of body types and disease states. When asked for a
recommendation that would apply to a patient with asthma, for
example, an Ayurvedic physician might say, “he should favor
apples and avoid bananas.”
Ayurvedic nutritional recommendations might also be worthy
of serious consideration by health care professionals who find
their work environment stressful and out of balance. Ayurveda
emphasizes that living in harmony with the environment is
essential to spiritual, mental, and physical well-being, and
offers specific suggestions for identifying imbalances and
correcting them.
Increasing Studies
In addition to
dietary advice, Ayurvedic recommendations might include an
array of herbal supplements and is arguably the primary source
of current interest in that burgeoning market. Many
supplements are beginning to be evaluated by the scientific
process. For example, a 1998 6-week, double-blind,
placebo-controlled study of 80 individuals with relatively
mild asthma found that treatment with Boswellia at a dose of
300 mg three times daily for 6 weeks reduced the frequency of
asthma attacks and improved FEV1, peak expiratory flow rate,
and forced vital capacity and decreased eosinophil
counts.2 In animal studies, Boswellia has been
found to inhibit 5-lipo-oxygenase and leukotriene B4
production, which cause bronchoconstriction, chemotaxis, and
increased vascular permeability.
More randomized, controlled studies are needed to properly
assess the efficacy of complementary medicines in general and
Ayurvedic herbal recommendations in particular. Current
knowledge of drug-herb interactions is limited, and clinicians
should closely monitor patients who elect to add herbs to
their conventional treatment.
Complementary medicines increasingly are offered in US
medical schools, and Ayurvedic medicine has begun to influence
western medical practice.3 Deepak Chopra, MD,
author of Perfect Health and Quantum Healing, has successfully
combined his impeccable credentials as a practicing
endocrinologist with an exploration of what he calls mind-body
medicine. He has dramatically influenced many in traditional
medical circles and helped to bring the benefits of Ayurvedic
medicine to the general public’s attention. Andrew Weil, MD,
founder and director of the University of Arizona’s Program in
Integrative Medicine, uses Ayurveda and other aspects of
integrative medicine to combine the best ideas and practices
of both conventional and alternative medicine into
cost-effective treatments that aim to stimulate the human
body’s natural healing potentials.
Three Seasons
Ayurvedic physicians
recognize three basic seasons, called Kapha (“earth/water”),
Pitta (“fire”), and Vata (“air”), which correspond to the
fundamental governing principles of spring, summer, and
winter. These qualities also are applied to daily activity
cycles. Night shifts and continuously changing cycles of rest
and activity are perhaps the ultimate examples of upsetting
this balance, and working such schedules can manifest itself
in health problems. The seasonal concept is also applied to
body types, not unlike the endomorph, ectomorph, and mesomorph
described in Western science. John Douillard, DC, a nationally
recognized consultant who practices Ayurvedic and chiropractic
sports medicine, describes the three growing seasons and
harvests in The 3-Season Diet:
Ayurvedic Body Types and
Nutritional Recommendations |
SPRING Body
Type: This person has a solid, heavy build, is
characteristically calm, and has superior physical
endurance. Individuals dominated by spring
characteristics may be prone to exercise-induced asthma
and need to limit mucus-producing foods. He has an
aversion to damp, cold weather. The dietary
recommendations for spring weather are extended for this
mind-body type.
Should Eat:
A low-fat diet featuring salads and leafy
vegetables, beans, berries, and spouts. Dried fruits,
apples, blueberries, alfalfa sprouts, corn, peas,
lentils, and black pepper are favored.
|
SUMMER Body
Type: This person is strong, with a moderate
build, and tends to be athletic. She may be quick to
anger and impatient, with an aversion to hot weather.
The dietary recommendations for summer weather are
extended for this mind-body type.
Should Eat:
A high-carbohydrate diet featuring increased fruits and
vegetables. Apricots, cherries, asparagus, sunflower
seeds, milk, and chamomile are
favored. |
WINTER Body
Type: This person is slender and mentally
quick, and often has dry skin, brittle hair, and cold
hands. He may have difficulty sleeping without
interruption, and has an aversion to cold weather. The
dietary recommendations for winter weather are extended
for this mind-body type.
Should Eat:
A high-protein diet, including animal fats,
nuts, and grains. Bananas, grapes, carrots, chilies,
sweet potatoes, oats, almonds, peanuts, meats, and
ginger are
favored. |
The first harvest to come is spring, and consists mainly of
roots, sprouts, and bitter greens that burst from the ground,
aided by spring rains and melting winter snow. Summer provides
a much more plentiful and longer-lasting harvest of fruits and
vegetables that are picked continually during its extended
growing season. Finally comes the fall harvest that precedes
winter, gathering the last growths of vegetation along with
the nuts and grains that will see us through the long winter
months. This is when the grapes are harvested and crushed to
make wine, when people traditionally put up preserves and
gather hay into barns. I refer to this season as winter,
because although the foods are harvested in the fall, they
serve us all through the long cold winter months. These three
harvest seasons translate easily into the three diets as I
describe them: low-fat, low-calorie in the spring, high-carb
in summer, and high-protein in winter.5
According to the Ayurvedic system, we should eat the foods
traditionally available during the appropriate season. Modern
technology makes fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy products,
and meats from around the world readily available throughout
the year. This has eliminated our natural relationship with
the seasons and the foods that correspond with them. Douillard
asserts that the reason so many dieting plans fail is that
they are appropriate for only one of the seasons, and
consequently create imbalance during the other two.
Although we can select the same menu items at a grocery
store, the hospital cafeteria, or a restaurant throughout the
year, Ayurveda recommends favoring and avoiding specific foods
depending on the season. During the summer, when days are
longer and warmer, our bodies need energy from
high-carbohydrate fruits and vegetables. In the spring, when
food supplies have traditionally diminished, a low-fat,
low-calorie diet is normal. In the winter, when facing
shorter, colder days, we should consume a high-protein diet.
This naturally requires choosing foods according to the
season. The system is easy to learn, and proponents suggest
that weight normalization, improved health, and consistent
energy levels will ensue.
Scheduled Meals
Perhaps even more
important than what we eat, Ayurveda stresses the importance
of when and how we eat. Meals should be consumed in a relaxed
atmosphere that offers the experience of seeing, smelling,
tasting, and enjoying the meal, as free of distractions as
possible. Breakfast is a light meal, just enough to break the
fasting that naturally occurs at night. Lunch is the most
substantial meal of the day, and is preferably followed by 10
minutes of rest. It provides the calories and energy needed to
get us through the rest of the day and into the evening.
People who follow the regime find a light dinner that is easy
to digest (ie, soup) is all that is required in the evening.
Many seniors and people with chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease might already have gravitated to a similar regime,
with plenty of time for a substantial mid-day meal and a brief
rest after eating.
The typical health care professional must make a concerted
effort to get nutritious food and take the time to consume it
in a relaxed atmosphere. We often have a decidedly substandard
lunch “on the fly,” and by mid afternoon are “treating” our
complete lack of energy with colas, candy, or coffee. We may
be famished by evening, and have actually forgotten what we
ate for lunch. Consequently, we consume a huge meal at exactly
the wrong time. When the body should be winding down, we are
stressing our physiology by loading up with calories that
cannot be burned. It is possible to follow an Ayurvedic regime
even when working in a busy medical center, but it does
require planning and a reasonable commitment.
Body Types
Ayurvedic science describes
“summer” and “winter” types in great detail. Because the
characteristics of body types also apply to thought processes,
the Ayurvedic types have been described as “mind-body” types.
Most people exhibit characteristics of two or all three types,
but an understanding of the three classic examples offers
insight into the concept. Not surprisingly, Ayurveda also
offers dietary suggestions and herbal advice for each body
type. The goal is to balance the characteristics of that body
type with the most appropriate foods and seasonings.
Conclusion
Traditional Ayurvedic
medicine does not offer an alternative to established Western
medical practice, but it does provide a vast area for
potential research and represents a cornerstone of the current
interest in complementary and alternative medicine. Used in
conjunction with competent health and medical advice,
Ayurvedic dietary and nutritional recommendations are
relatively easy to understand, inexpensive, and inherently
safe. They provide an effective guide to weight management and
a system that offers to restore balance, improve health, and
increase energy.
John A. Wolfe, RRT, CPFT, is a contributing writer for
RT magazine.
References
1. Ganedvia B. Historical
review of the use of parasympatholytic agents in the treatment
of respiratory disorders. Postgrad Med J. 1975;51(7
Suppl):13-20.
2. Ernst E. Complementary/alternative
medicine for asthma. Chest. 1999;115:1-3.
3. Eisenberg DM,
Kessler RC, Foster C, Norlock FE, Calkins DR, Delbanco TL.
Unconventional medicine in the United States. Prevalence,
costs, and patterns of use. N Engl J Med.
1993;328:246-52.
4. Wetzel MS, Eisenberg DM, Kaptchuk TJ.
Courses involving complementary and alternative medicine at US
medical schools. JAMA. 1998;280:784-7.
5. Douillard J. The
3-Season Diet. New York : Three Rivers Press;
2000:9-10.