Ayurvedic Medicine - what is it?

Ayurvedic medicine has been practised in the Far East for centuries and has developed a large following in the West. It is based on a system for understanding the way the world and the universe and all in it, relates together. It is based on some very ancient ideas about how the world is.

In ancient times, it was believed that the whole of reality was composed of combinations of four fundamental elements, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Various cultures added additional elements. For example, in Ancient Greece, Aristotle added a fifth, aether, to allow for the non-material world. In Tibetan philosophy the fifth element was Space. Cultural differences aside, the belief was that the whole of reality could be explained in terms of the combination of these elements.

In the Taoist philosophy of ancient China, the element Air was replaced by a more mystical element Qi, thought of as a form of energy. But that is not energy in the sense used by biologists or physicists. Ancient China had no such concepts.

Ayurvedic Medicine is based on these ancient beliefs, interpreting illnesses as an imbalance of these elements. It assumes that each person has a particular combination of elements represented by a body type called a dosha. A number of alternative therapies make use of these ideas to describe channels along which the Qi energy is supposed to flow, and several talk about the channels being blocked, leading to unbalanced chakras.

The mystical vocabulary is inevitably poorly defined and it is difficult to pin down what is actually meant by the terms. None of the practitioners explain the meaning except in other mystical terms. The doshas and chakras are undetectable, and there is no evidence for the existence of Qi, so it is difficult for practitioners to provide any tangible demonstration that these entities have any effect on anything. Nevertheless, it forms an important part of a belief system.

Ayurvedic treatment

Medicines are dispensed based on the diagnosis of ailments but as there is no consistency in the techniques used, different diagnoses are obtained from different practitioners faced with the same illness. Each practitioner will make a different diagnosis and on that basis recommend some form of herbal treatment.

But without a consistent diagnosis, there can be little confidence that any real illness has been properly detected. Since treatment is based on diagnosis, that also implies that the medicine is likely to be unrelated to the illness as well.

The medicines dispensed are typically herbal extracts though there is growing evidence of adulteration with prescription medications as well as aspirin, paracetamol, and other drugs. It seems that many Ayurvedic medicine suppliers are hedging their bets.

In a survey of Ayurvedic medicines in the Boston area in 2003, many adulterations were detected and some dangerous contaminents as well. One in ten contained above the safe Arsenic level and one in ten contained excessive Mercury, with one containing more than a thousand times the safe limit. One in five of the samples contained excessive Lead with one containing more than 10,000 times the safe level.

The reason this can occur is because the production process is unregulated. In the absence of reliable and repeatable diagnostic techniques and controlled trials, there is no accumulated knowledge about the effects of the extracts beyond anecdotal accounts. Historical descriptions are utterly unreliable and do not identify the actual active ingredient, nor their pharmacological effects, nor the dosages, nor the method of administration.

What about the science?

Ayurvedic medicine is based on a medieval view of the world. The named elements do not form the basis of human biology and belief in these ancient theories leaves the practitioner with no understanding of how the human body behaves. Fire is not an element but a chemical process, the rapid oxidation of a combustible material. Air is not an element, but a mixture of gases. Whatever the practitioner might believe, they cannot simply ignore the accumulated knowledge of human biochemistry and physiology. We cannot simply wish the human body to behave differently, and expect it to happen.

There are no controlled clinical trials because there are no agreed diagnostic techniques and treatments; it is a random pick and mix. There is no reason to believe that an Ayurvedic practitioner can diagnose anything. In the absence of clinical diagnostic skills, they will not be able to identify illnesses reliably, far less find a preparation which contains a pharmacologically appropriate combination.

The pharmacology of herbal medicines is being assessed scientifically and already there are some extracts which, when purified, have medicinal properties. But with plant extracts, there are always impurities, sometimes with ingredients which are harmful. With low quality standards and unregulated preparation, there is a sigificant risk in taking these medicines, especially if you are already ill or in a weakened state.

The bottom line?

Ayurvedic medicine is not medicine. It is the sale of unregulated and uncontrolled herbal preparations based on beliefs in a medieval view of how the world works. It pays no attention to the known facts of human biology and puts people at risk by administering such preparations.

Even supposing some of the preparations are pharamacologically active, they are untested, uncontrolled, with variable doses and contaminants. You will have no idea what chemicals you have taken nor what their likely effect will be. Ask yourself if you would even treat your dog in this way. No? Then why subject yourself to it?