Brief About Disease

According to Ayurveda, a person is considered to be in a state of health when the doshas are balanced, the agni is neither high nor low, ama is not present, the malas, or wastes of the body (urine, feces, sweat) are normal, and the srotas are not blocked.

The Indian system of medicine believes in "Prevention is better than cure" It describes the means by which, one can remain healthy and fit to a ripe old age. It also provides cure for all the diseases and is especially effective in treating chronic and recalcitrant disorders.

Ayurveda believes that the human body is composed of three different humors (Air, Bile and Phleg). Imbalance of any one or two of all of them results in the manifestation of varies diseases. It also tells how to maintain harmony between these three.

Ayurveda relies totally on nature to heal, while Áyurvedic therapies only help in the healing process. Swabhavoparama (recession by nature) is the method of using herbs, diet, lifestyle, and other therapies to return the mind and body back to its natural state of balance. The nature of an illness is learned through five methods.

1. Cause (nidana)
2. Premonitory or incubatory signs (púrvarupa)
3. Signs and symptoms (rupa)
4. Diagnostic tests (upaahaya)
5. Pathology or stages of manifestation (samprapti)

1. Nidana or etiology (cause)—All diseases are caused by the aggravation of the doshas.
2. Purvarupa (hidden or incubatory signs)—Signs and symptoms cannot be attributed to any specific dosha due to their mild nature. Two forms exist;
a) Symptoms may occur due to one or more of the aggravated doshas and disappear when the disease manifests, or
b) Symptoms that develop into the specific disease.
3. Rupa (signs and symptoms)—Manifestations of the disease are clearly observed.
4. Upaahaya (diagnostic tests)—When practitioners cannot determine the cause of the illness through the other methods they test with herbs, food, or habits. These therapies show whether they heal or aggravate the illness.
5. Samprapti or pathogenesis (disease development)—Not merely symptoms or signs, this is the actual manifestation of disease. Five kinds of development exist:
a) The varieties of a disease.
b) The different aspects of the doshas causing the illness.
c) Whether a disease is of primary or secondary nature.
d) The severity of the illness, strong or weak (e.g., due to age, general health, etc).
e) Time of digestion, day, or season when the dosha is predominant.

Etiology: Cause of All Disease

All diseases are caused by aggravation of the doshas. This aggravation of different doshas is caused by the intake of improper diet and leading an improper lifestyle (Mithya Áhar Vihar). The three causes of illness are excessive, insufficient, or improper use of,
1. The senses
2. Actions
3. Seasonal factors

1. Unsuitable use of the senses:- Unwholesome contact of the senses (taste, touch, sight, sound, and smell) with objects. For example, sound (hearing loud voices, noise pollution cause serious mind and health problems). Touch (contact of the skin with chemicals, hot objects, or overly cold objects). Sight (exposure to too much light, such as staring at the sun).

2. Actions:- Relate to body, speech, and mind. These include, conduct, urge, posture, concern, and emotions. Thoughts and decisions leading to harmful or unhealthy situations are said to be errors of the intellect. Spiritually speaking, the first intellectual error is to believe that anyone or anything is separate from oneself. The Ayurvedic texts say that this is the first cause of all diseases, the loss of faith in the Divine.

3. Seasonal factors:- Vayu accumulates during the dry or dehydrating heat of the summer (Grishma: mid-May to mid-July). It becomes aggravated during the rainy season (Varsha: mid-July to mid-September), which causes weakened digestion, acidic atmospheric conditions, and gas produced from the earth.

Food Intake and Dosha Illness

Improper quantity of food results in impairing strength, complexion, weight, distention, longevity, virility, and ojas. It afflicts the body, mind, intellect, and senses, causing harm to the dhatus (tissues)—especially Váyu. Food taken in excess aggravates all three doshas.
Obstructions are produced in the stomach and move through the upper and lower tracts, producing diseases according to one’s dosha.
Váyu:- Colic pain, constipation, malaise, dry mouth, fainting, giddiness, irregular digestive power, rigidity, hardening and contracting of vessels.
Pitta:- Fever, diarrhea, internal burning sensation, thirst, intoxication, giddiness, and delirium.
Kapha:- Vomiting, anorexia, indigestion, cold fever, laziness, and heaviness.

Signs and Symptoms of Disease, by Dosha

Excess Váyu: Drooping, dilation, loss of sensation, and weakness; continuous, cutting, pricking, crushing, or splitting pain; obstruction, contraction, or constriction; twisting, tingling, thirst, tremors, roughness, dryness, throbbing, curvatures, gas, winding, stiffness, or rigidity; astringent taste in mouth, blue/crimson discoloration, partial vacuums in bodily liquids.
Excess Pitta: Burning sensation, reddish discoloration, heat, high digestive fire, pus, ulcers, perspiration, moistness, debility, fainting, toxicity, bitter and sour tastes in the mouth, oozing, fungus.
Excess Kapha: Oiliness, hardness, itching irritations, cold, heaviness, obstructions, toxic or mucus coatings inside the srotas (channels), loss of movement, swelling, edema, indigestion, excessive sleep, whitish complexion, sweet and salty tastes in the mouth.

Doshas, Nutrition, and the 6 Tastes

Váyu is balanced by supplementing with moist tastes, sweet, sour, and salty (balancing dryness), and some warm tastes as well. Pitta is balanced by using sweet (moist), and bitter and astringent (cooling) tastes. This helps counter heat-related illness (e.g., infection, rash, anger, impatience). Kapha diseases are removed by using sour and pungent tastes (i.e., they heat and burn up water). Bitter tastes, by causing a drying action, also reduce Kapha.
Sweet: Generally, food is sweet in taste, neutral in energy, and sweet in its post-digestive effect. It decreases Váyu and Pitta, and increases Kapha. It nourishes and maintains humors, dhátus (tissues), and malas (wastes).
Sour: Examples of sour tastes include sour fruit, tomatoes, and pickled vegetables. All tissues are nourished by sour tastes—except reproductive tissue (of the sour tastes, only yogurt nourishes all tissues).
Salty: Seafood or condiment. In moderation, salt strengthens all tissues. When used in excess, it depletes tissues.
Pungent: Spices and spicy vegetables do not offer much nutrition, but they stimulate digestion.
Bitter: Such vegetables offer little nourishment. They are useful in clearing and cleansing digestive organs, and in aiding digestion, especially if taken before meals (for Pitta and Kapha doshas).
Astringent: This is mainly a secondary taste. Astringent foods, like green vegetables or unripe apples, provide minerals but do not build tissue.
Energy: Most foods are neutral in heating and cooling effects. To apply hot or cold therapeutics, appropriate spices and foods are eaten cooked or raw.
Heavy/Light: Most foods tend to be heavy, though many light foods also exist. Spices can make foods lighter. Oils can make them heavier.
Dry/Moist: Foods are also dry or moist. Eating dry foods or toast can increase dryness. Frying foods or adding liquids can increase moistness.

Dual Doshas

It is simply a matter of balance. When doshas are not in a balanced state, one has to increase the depleted dosha and/or decrease the aggravated dosha. When a person has a dual dosha (e.g., Vayu/ Pitta) they are advised to ingest foods and herbs that increase the third or deficient element (e.g., Kapha). Simultaneously, one reduces the intake of foods and herbs that increase the two excessive doshas (e.g., Vayu and Pitta).
Foods affect the surface nutrition, while herbs aid the subtle nutrition. There also may be instances when one dosha is greatly excessive, and a second is mildly aggravated. Thus, proper consideration of the degree of derangement is necessary as well.