Ayurveda
or ayurvedic medicine is a form of alternative medicine
in use primarily in the Indian subcontinent. The word
"Ayurveda" is a tatpurusha compound of a-yus "life"
and veda "knowledge", and would roughly translate
as the "Science of Life". Ayurveda deals with the
measures of healthy living, along with therapeutic
measures that relate to physical, mental, social and
spiritual harmony.
Ayurveda is also one among the few traditional systems
of medicine involving surgery. It is very important
to note that the mainstream scientific community has
produced almost no support for the claims of Ayurvedic
practitioners, while they have found strong evidence
that using Ayurvedic medicine involves potentially
serious risks.
Ayurveda is a wholistic system of medicine from India
that uses a constitutional model. Its aim is to provide
guidance regarding food and lifestyle so that healthy
people can stay healthy and folks with health challenges
can improve their health.
According to Ayurveda, every person contains some
of the universe's five basic elements: earth, air,
fire, water, and ether (or space). The combination
of these elements in each individual breaks down into
three metabolic body types, or doshas. The doshas
are known as vata, pitta, and kapha. Vata consists
of ether and air, and is associated with lightness
and movement. Pitta is made of fire and is associated
with transformative metabolic processes--the digestion
of food to produce energy, for example. Kapha consists
of earth and water and is associated with structure
and stability. Although each type of energy resides
in every individual, one is usually dominant.
