What is Ayurveda Medicine?

• Ayurveda is India's traditional, natural system of medicine that has been practiced for more than 5,000 years. 

• Ayurveda translated from Sanskrit means science of life (Ayur = life, Veda = science or knowledge).

• It offers a body of wisdom designed to help people stay vibrant and healthy while realizing their full human potential.  Medicine Net

• Ayurvedic medicine is based on the belief that health and wellness depend on a delicate balance between the mind, body, and spirit. Its main goal is to promote good health, not fight disease. Web MD

• In the United States, Ayurveda Medicine is considered a form of complementary and alternative medicine.  In India, ayurvedic practitioners receive state-recognized, institutionalized training.  Web MD 

• Ayurveda includes 400 medicinal herbs.

• Herbs can help with digestion, mind and emotions, men and women's health, balancing the metabolism, alleviating pain from arthritis and inflammation, detoxification, rejuvenation and energy, and enhancing circulation.

• Of the 150 most popular pharmaceutical products sold today, over 80 contain ingredients from natural sources.  Examples include:  morphine, Metamucil, quinine, camphor, aspirin and atropine.

• There is a growing body of scientific literature demonstrating measurable benefits of herbal remedies.* 

• Laboratory and clinical studies have shown herbs have a range of potentially beneficial effects for preventing and treating certain cancers and infectious disease, and promoting health. Medicine Net

• Herbs are not a substitute for prescribed medication nor good nutrition.

• There is not a magical herb that cause physical problems to evaporate without any other lifestyle change.*

If you are interested in finding a herb to address a specific health issue there is a lot of information on the internet.  Or you could borrow the The Chopra Center Herbal Handbook*  from the library.  It includes 40 herbs and their specific benefits.  Walmart carries many herbal supplements, you don't have to a go to a health food store.   

MoonJuice offers a combination of herbal supplements that are made into "dusts".   The  "dusts" can be sprinkled into smoothies or drinks to help with beauty, brain, power, sex or spirit. The company is from California and is growing.  I read about them in Money magazine.  (Money, November, 2018 page 76-79, Meet the CEO Selling $40 Jars of "Sex Dust")

Tumeric
I started taking a Tumeric supplement several years ago  (see 5/29/2018 post, Tumeric Really Works!).  At the time I did not know that it was an important herb for healing in India.  

Ashwagandha (Winter cherry)  - I recently starting taking this supplement when I learned that it helps with achy joints.  (It has been very humid lately and my joints have been achy).    Ashwagandha has helped.  It is one of the most important herbs in the Ayurvedic pharmacy.  It is classified as an adaptogen which means it helps the body adapt to stress.  It also protects the immune system, provides calming effects, and improves memory and logical thinking.

*The Chopra Center Herbal Handbook, Chopra, Deepak and Simon, David, Three Rivers Press, New York, 2000