Skin care with Ayurveda

Skin is the largest organ in the body and considered by many to be the most important. Depending on one's body type, the skin type also differs.

The Vata Skin type tends to be dry, cold and also rough at times (if there is dosha imbalance). It is more sensitive to cold climate and cold items becuase these cause the vitiation of Vata dosha in the body.
Since this skin type tends to be more dry, extreme cold temperatures must be avoided. Clarified butter (ghee) can be applied on the lips in case of chapped lips which is very common during cold seasons. Drink a lot of fluids to maintain the body fluid levels. One very good product is Shatadhouta Ghrita. It is clarified butter that has been boiled a hundred times over. This makes it very thin and very nourishing for the skin. It is also used for many skin disorders, in burns, cracked nipples during brestfeeding etc.

The Pitta skin type needs more nurturing and is hot or warm as compared to the Vata type.
To keep this skin type healthy, one must avoid hot spicy food items that tend to increase Pitta in the body. Instead, cold or cooling items can be partaken. Over here too, Shatadhout Ghrita can be used as it has a cooling effect on the skin.

The Kapha skin type tends to be unctuous, oily (shiny), with profuse sweat and thick. This type is more sensitive to oily, heavy and fried foods which all tend to increase Kapha in the body and therefore they must be avoided. Frequent massage can help improve circulation. Also, purificatory procedures can be undertaken so as to releave the body internally of toxins and also help in proper blood circulation and in removal of any collection of toxins that might occur in the body.

International Congress of Ayurveda

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The first ever International Congress of Ayurvedic Medicine will be held in Milan, Italy on the 21st and 22nd of March 2009. There will be many well known speakers from the world of Ayurveda, both Indian and Italian. The congress will culminate with a workshop that will deal with introduction to ayurveda, nutrition and hygiene in Ayurveda.

Click here to have a look at the programme details.

Miracle cure for Diabetes

VIJAYSARA

Vijaysara (pronounced Vijaysaara), or Pterocarpus Marsupium of the fabaceae family is a tree that is commonly used in Ayurveda. Its common name is Indian kino tree. It is known for its magical effects in diabetes. It is also used in cases of inflammation, elephantiasis, leucodermia, diarrhoea, dysentry etc.
The most common method of administration is by soaking two teaspoons full of the powder of the wood of the indian kino tree in a glass of water overnight. In the morning, filter and then boil the water to half of its original quantity and drink it. This can be taken every morning. The result is the normalisation of blood sugar levels. This is achieved by the action that vijaysara has on the blood cells. It helps in the absorption or digestion of glucose by the cells (glucose synthesis). It has also been proven to improve the glucose transport in the body.
This of course works in tandem with an active lifestyle and the other measures that need to be taken or avoided in such a situation.
There is available in the market today, a glass made out of the wood of Vijaysara called Diaslim tumbler. The glass must be filled with water and kept overnight and its contents can simply be drunk in the morning. One glass can be used until the water stops changing colour in the morning, at which point, the glass will have to be replaced with a new one. Click here to check out a website that sells the diaslim tumbler.

Stevia- Natural Plant Sweetener

"Stevia Rebaudiana" or "Stevia" is the newest threat to multinational companies around the world concerned with production of artificial sweeteners and sugar based products. It is for this reason that its popularity has been hampered, although this did end up working out the other way round. With all the restrictions on its benefits and uses, and with internet today, its popularity has been blown out of proportion. But, of course that which threatens something that is already holding majority of the market share (which most of the time "happens" to be a product that is harmful), will always be shunned or banned.

Now, why is it a threat one may ask.

It is nature's answer to all aching diabetics who suffer a hard time because they cannot indulge or even get a taste of their favourite dessert because their life depends upon it. Well, this of course doesn't mean that with Stevia, one can eat himself or herself to obesity or chronicity.

It is nature's pure alternative to sugar. It is scientifically proven to be 200 to even 300 times sweeter than sugar.

This plant is native to Paraguay, where the natives have widely used it for it's many curative abilities. Apart from it being a sweetener, it also helps in cleansing of the oral cavity, it fights high blood pressure, is a natural anti-bacterial and anti-viral agent, it also has a therapeutic effect on topical (local) application.

The reason why stevia is such a life saver is because the human body reacts in a completely different way to it as compared to the way it does with sugar.

This plant's active principle (Steviosido/Steviosides) are glycosides that are extremely sweet agents that the body does not metabolize but it gets flushed out directly. This is unlike sugar which is converted into glucose and is absorbed into the blood stream thus leading to increase in blood sugar levels and could consequently lead to diabetes. This is not the case with Stevia. It has also been proven to stimulate the production of insulin in the body & is also good for heartburn.

As of today, only one market in the world has openly accepted the import and the sale of Stevia and that is Japan (other than Paraguay of course). Over 50% of the market is governed by the use of Stevia .

Since the majority of  markets in the world are against promoting this beatiful plant, the only way to spread knwoledge about it is to talk about it. So, go ahead and spread the word!

CHIKUNGUNYA

Chikungunya, also commonly known as "Chicken Guinea" (a misnomer), is a viral disease caused ue to the bite of a mosquito, the aedes aegypti  mosquito to be more precise and the aedes albopictus that is more commonly known as the "tiger mosquito". The disease orginiated in 1952 in Tanzania. Chikungunya means "to turn upwards" which refers to the joints that start bending upwards and are very painful which is a characteristic of this disease. Along with this symptom, fever is also common. Therefore it is likened to a disease called "Sandhijvara" that has been mentioned in the ancient classic texts. It consists of two words, Sandhi & Jvara. Sandhi meaning joints and jvara meaning fever. As of now, the region that is afflicted the most in the world today is the south of India.

CAUSES

The cause is vector bourne by a bite from aedes aegypti or aedes albopictus (tiger mosquito). Stagnant water is where they thrive and lay their eggs. Regions afflicted with floods and that have more water stagnation are most susseptible.

SYMPTOMS

The symptoms start with;

Fever with high temperature (Jvara)

Body pains/aches (Angamarda)

Profuse rashes

Conjuntivitis

Pain and swelling in joints

Ulcers in the mouth etc

TREATMENT

The only systems of medicine that have found a cure for Chikungunya are Ayurveda and Homeopathy. Modern medicine (allopathy) administers only pain killers to relieve the patient of the pain. There is no vaccination against this disease. This is why many people are turning towards Ayurveda since it offers the only effective cure.

Ayurvedic medicines used to combat the disease  most commonly are:

Sudarshana churna,

Dhanvantaram gutika,

Mahasudarshana churna,

Yograja guggulu,

Panchatikta Kashayam,

Amruta Arishta,

Chewing of holy basil and carrots that help alleviate the fever etc, etc.

These are some of the medicines that are used to allaeviate the symptoms in the patient.

Homeopathic medicines used to combat the disease most commonly are: 

Eupatorium-perf,

Pyroginum,

Arnica,

Belladonna,

Cedron.

Note: This article is only for information. Please do not take any medicine or undergo any treatment without consulting your Physician. The administrators of this blog, decline any responsibility.