Ayurvedic Medicine For Weight Loss
An ayurvedic way of life combined with remedial ayurvedic treatments and an ayurvedic diet can be a good strategy in your weight loss journey. Attempting quick fix solutions may prove harmful to the body. Talk to your Ayurvedic practitioner, do a diagnosis of the reasons and causes. Get a tailored ayurvedic treatment plan for weight loss. Start the journey in small steps.
The Ayurvedic term “Sthoulyam” is analogous to obesity where excess body fat (medha) is deposited unevenly and also interferes with normal healthy bodily functions. Ayurveda explains the cause of weight gain as a reduction in tissue fibre of fat and muscles (reduced medhodhathu). Weight gain and diabetes can coexist with other diseases and this relationship is well explained in classical Ayurveda texts. New studies show that about twenty years of obesity and about ten years of impaired glucose tolerance can lead to diabetes.
According to Ayurveda all the three doshas (or doshas such as vata, pitta and Kapha) should be in a balanced state to attain and maintain perfect health. This is an ideal state and few people are lucky enough to be born in a balanced state. Any one of these humor’s either increased or decreased state can lead to an unhealthy situation. In that sense weight gain is very much a kapha increased state. Kapha is formed of earth and water elements and gives size, form and rigidity to the body. Naturally increased kapha can increases the bulk and heaviness of the body.
Reasons why people gain weight gain can be different. It can be due to genetic reasons, due to poor eating patterns, hormonal reasons, lack of exercise, liver complaints or due to long term medication. Obese people are more susceptible to high blood pressure, diabetes, PCOS, uterine fibroid, fatigue, high cholesterol, menstrual irregularities, liver and gall bladder diseases.
Weight loss diet
Obesity treatment in Ayurveda never insists on a blanket diet pattern because that will make one feel tired and can increase cravings. As we are all different human beings because of our genetic combinations and due to differing constitutional patterns, there is no single method or a common or generic weight loss diet plan. However there are some guidelines which address the fundamental lifestyle habits of virtually everyone.
Weight loss tips
- Include more fruits and vegetables in every day diet
- Reduce or avoid processed food, white flour and refined sugar
- Avoid cold and fizzy drinks
- Drink 6-8 glasses of water a day
- Avoid dairy products, red meat and salty food
- Have dinner at least 2-3 hrs before sleep
- Try to get 6-7 hrs of sleep everyday
Natural remedy to lose weight
- Follow individual constitutional diet plan and life style plan provided by an Ayurvedic expert
- Follow the exercise that suits your body type (it can be heavy or gentle, gym or yoga according to your constitution)
- Ayurvedic herbal combinations for increasing the metabolic functions by correcting the thyroid functions, liver functions, sugar metabolism and bowel movements for about three to six months.
- Ayurvedic massage for reducing excess fat and fluid deposition. This can be achieved either by an acetic liquid shirodhara (herbal head massage) or by a herbal paste massage or by both for a few days consecutively. Normal ayurvedic practice is to perform this therapy for anywhere between seven and fourteen days.
- For long lasting benefits, an ayurvedic panchakarma (ayurvedic detox) tailored for an individual’s situation is essential.
- And finally Rasayana treatments for maintaining benefits from any or all of the above treatments.
Where to from here ?
While a diet regime and an exercise routine can give weight loss benefits, extreme cases do require an individually tailored ayurvedic therapy consisting of a body type analysis and a combination of medication and ayurvedic treatment.