Ayurveda is not a religion, rather it is a science and philosophy. Its name is translated from Sanskrit: “the science of life.” In order to perform Ayurvedic practices and take Ayurvedic medicines, you do not need to become a follower of Hinduism or another Indian religion. Ayurveda does not talk about any gods and does not describe religious rituals. She only tries to explain how the human body works, why disturbances occur in it, and how to cope with them, to make your life harmonious. And Ayurveda, as the experience of millions of people shows, does it quite well.
The effectiveness of Ayurveda has not been proven, it is pseudoscience.
Let’s see what the scientists themselves say about this. For example, experts from the World Health Organization. They believe that Ayurveda, like other systems of traditional medicine, helps to relieve pain, get rid of a number of ailments, improve the patient’s condition, and reduce his suffering.
Ayurvedic remedies have no side effects.
Like all medicines, herbal and other Ayurvedic preparations have their own side effects and contraindications. Their risk is especially high if the Ayurvedic remedy is used incorrectly. Some people are allergic to plants. On packages with many traditional Indian drugs, there is a note: “Take under the supervision of a doctor” – pay attention!
Ayurvedic remedies contain dangerous toxins.
There are reports and even scientific publications that describe cases of poisoning with Ayurvedic remedies containing heavy metals. There are three important notes here: Any substance in large doses, even water, is a poison. Some Ayurvedic remedies contain substances that can be toxic to the body in large quantities. But in the preparations they contain negligible, and they are safe. Ayurvedic products are produced not only by large reliable companies. Handicraft production is also flourishing in many countries. If you bought a fake, you may well get poisoned. But such products have nothing to do with real Ayurveda.
Any Ayurvedic remedy must be taken correctly. Some people visit Vaisya healers in India, take a course, and before leaving, they thoroughly purchase the drug that they were prescribed and begin to take it at home constantly, more often than necessary. This increases the risk of poisoning.
In Ayurveda, they are treated only with plants – this is the same herbal medicine.
Yes, medicinal plants play an important role in Ayurveda. But Ayurveda is not only herbal medicine. Honey, oil, minerals, fish and animal oils, and rock salt are all Ayurvedic remedies.
To improve the body Ayurveda, massage, psychological practices, and recommendations on proper nutrition and lifestyle are widely used. Ancient texts on Ayurveda describe eight directions of healing, and among them, there is even Shalya Tantra – surgery.
Ayurveda is not suitable for everyone.
Ayurveda always takes into account the individual characteristics of a person. Especially for this, there is a doctrine in it about three principles: vata, pitta, and kapha, which are combined in different proportions for different people.
Similar systems are used by modern general practitioners. For example, depending on the physique, people are divided into asthenics, normosthenics, and hypersthenics – their descriptions are almost identical to those that we can find in Ayurvedic texts. Of course, there are diseases that Ayurveda cannot cure. In this sense, it is not suitable for everyone. It is better to go to the hospital in advanced cases or when surgery is needed.
Ayurveda is a strict diet that makes you give up meat and is generally not suitable for everyone.
Ayurvedic diet and vegetarianism are not equivalent concepts. There is no food that is equally beneficial for all people. And in general, the recommendations that relate to Ayurveda, it is more correct to call it not a diet, but a healthy diet.
For some people, meat is undesirable, for others, it is necessary, in which case Ayurveda recommends it.
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