Ayurveda

India has a large and well-trained force of practitioners of modern medicine. In addition, it has several types of traditional medicine, the largest of which is called Ayurvedic medicine. The ancestry of this type can be traced back 3,000 years or so, but it evolved into its current form from about 500 BC to AD 500. Based on Sanskrit texts, it has a wide following at every level of society. It is governmentally supported, has a defined curriculum, and has schools that grant degrees. Some of these schools are part of universities that may also have a modern medical school. Like other major types of Asian traditional medicine, Ayurvedic medicine is based on humoral theories. That is, the human body is considered a microcosm of the universe. The seven body substances bone, flesh, fat, blood, semen, marrow, and chyle are the product of three humors: kapha, or phlegm, pitta, or bile; and vata, or wind. Health depends on the equilibrium of these humors, and sickness is a disequilibrium. The point of equilibrium depends on age, sex, temperament, climate, nutrition, and the nature of daily activities. Ayurvedic medicine is considered to be the science of living to a great age, and emphasis is placed on diet and the conduct of life. This introductory book offers to demystify the concepts of this unique system of medicine and its methods of treatment in a simple language.