Ayurvedic treatment is not same for all people with same disease. For example, different variety of cloth absorbs different amount of the same dye and produce different shades of the same colour. In the same way, same treatment will have different effects on diffeeren individuals. This is the reason why Ayurveda treatment is always personalized.
Ayurveda treatment is based on following factors. Even if you are looking for some home remedies, you should first consider the following points. Otherwise, there is only the luck factor that can help you get cured by a home remedy.
Prakrati
The first factor is prakrati. Prakrati is the body type that is distinct for each and every individual. Based on the 3 dosha, you can broadly have 3 tpyes of body types or prakrati – vata dominant, pitta dominant or kapha dominant. There are combination prakrati types as well. however that level of information is better applied by a qualified ayurvedic physician only.
There are many online tests for finding out your prakrati. Once you know your prakrati, you will have a fair idea what you have to treat!
Type of disorder
As mentioned in the earlier blog, you can find the type of aruchi you have , depending on the kind of symptoms that you exhibit. There can a confusing combination of symptoms sometimes. In that case, it is better to consult a qualified Ayurveda physician.
Physical strength
This is an important factor because it shows the length of lease that you have to experiment with the herbal remedies. If you are very healthy and otherwise physically strong, you can try the following herbal remedies. However, if you have a chronic anorexia , with a very weak body, it is time for you to visit hospital.
Ayurvedic remedies for aruchi
Having said all this, now we present you some of the most easily implementable and classical Ayurvedic remedies that can be safely practiced at home.
Mental plane
According to Ayurveda, mind is the harbor for all kinds of disorders. It is esp. important to target mental state in case of aruchi. A person suffering from anorexia must ensure peaceful and cheerful environment around him. He should try to get rid of stress, anxiety, fear and any other negative emotions that he might be suffering from.
Psychotherapy and individual counselling also can be very helpful in elimination of anorexia. In fact, there is enough evidence to believe that many people suffering from severe aruchi can be treated solely by effective psychotherapy.
Force feeding or compelling patient to eat something by being angry with him, shouting at him or scaring him will have severely debilitating effects in future. This is a condition very commonly seen in young children. Children force-fed in their early years have a huge tendency to develop bhaktadvesha (aversion to food) in their later years.
Physical plane
Shodhana chikitsa or detox treatment is the best option to initiate Ayurvedic treatment for aruchi. Now shodhana chikitsa or Ayurvedic detox treatment normally implies complicated and time taking procedures like panchkarma.
Fasting
The simplest method of detox in Ayurveda is fasting. Fasting helps to release the alimentary canal ,from the daily work-load of digestion for some time. This break helps the body to repair and rejuvenate the digestive system. In this time, the digestive system might be able to clear the excess mucus (as in the case of kaphaj aruchi), or pacify inflammation in the body (in pittaj aruchi) or relieve pain in the body (as in the case of vataj aruchi).
Fasting is a method that does not require anything. It is also the safest of all detox methods. In case of aruchi, there can be different kinds of fasting according to the body type, body strength and intensity of the disorder. Now vataj (vata dominated) aruchi can severely aggravate if hunger is curbed forcefully. In fact fasting should be done only till the extent it is able to stimulate natural hunger and desire to eat something, and not cause any side effects.
With the help of simple no food fasting, this aim can be achieved very easily in the case of temporary aruchi. However, in more complicated forms of aruchi, it can be dangerous to rely only on fasting. It is required to consult a qualified Ayurveda physician for advice in such cases.
Water Detox
Water detox is another very fast, easily available and safe method of detox for aruchi. Both fasting and the water detox can be clubbed together to achieve the desired results in a short time. Fasting will relax the digestive system and water will be able to rapidly facilitate the flushing away of the undesirable material from the alimentary canal.
It is important to note that water should be used in different ways for diferent kinds of aruchi. For vataj aruchi, water boiled with guduchi and saunth will be very beneficial. For pittaj aruchi, a combnation of green cardamom and turmeric boiled in water, will work wonders. For kaphaj aruchi, warm water consumed with a pinch of back salt will help to take apart the sticky phlegm, stuck in different channels of the alimentary canal.
Once the digestive channel is free from toxins and impurities (ama), it becomes easier to cure aruchi. Sometimes aruchi gets cured naturally if the overall system is given a holiday by fasting.
Oral Cleansing
Mouth pulling with medicated herbal decoctions or oils (example – Irimedadi oil) can be very helpful. Sometimes aruchi is induced by the excess mucus in the sinus or cavities in the mouth. If the mouth feels free of excess layer of mucus, we have cleared the first step of aruchi.
Proper tongue cleaning by the use of a metal strip is considered to be very beneficial. Mucus layer deposited on top of the tongue reduce the efficiency of the taste buds and destroys the taste stimulation. When the mouth, tongue and eso-phyreageal cavity is clean, patients experience significant relief in almost 30-40% cases of aruchi.
Digestives as Food
After initial fasting, the patient is given appetizers and different types digestive foods to remove the effect of ama (undigested toxic food in the alimentary canal) from the body. These digestives provide immediate energy to the body starved during fasting. They also help the boost the rate of metabolism, which in turns help to stimulate the hunger.
These digestives are esp in the way that they are extremely light to digest. They do not burden a tired digestive system. Instead they act like ghee in the fire. Some of the simple digestives that can be used in aruchi are given below with recipes. They can be made easily at home.
- Mukhshodahna Leh ( mouth cleansing sauce)
- Roasted white jeera (cumin) : 50 gm
- Ginger powder : 10 gm
- Black pepper powder: 10 gm
- Roasted normal cumin: 50 gm
- black salt: 10 gm
- Currant (kishmish): 50 gm
- Mint leaves: 5-6 leaves
- Long pepper: 10 gm
- Tamarind juice : 10 ml
Take all the ingredient in the given amount and grind them to a fine paste. Add 100 gm ground sugar to the mixture. You change the quantity of sugar in this preparation. You can also make small balls of this mixture and use them as and when necessary.
This remedy is helpful for all kinds of aruchi.
- Nimbu pani (Ayurvedic lemonade)
Take a glassfull of water and add 1 tsp of sugar and 5-6 drops of fresh lemon juice. Add a pinch each of powdered clove and black pepper. Stir the liquid till all the ingredients are well dissolved.
This remedy is esp. very helpful in kaphaj aruchi. It also works well in vataj aruchi. However, you should try to consume a preparation that is at a normal temperature and not chilled. Chilled products can severly aggravate vata and kapha aruchi.
You must avoid this remedy in case of pittaj aruchi, as lemon is said to have a hot temperament. It can aggravate pittaj symptoms like inflammation, acidity etc.
- Ayurvedic Buttermilk
Take 100 gm of buttermilk derived from a desi A2 type cow.
Mix the following ingerdients, each 10 gm in weight and grind them into a fine powder
- Roasted sarso (mustard seeds)
- Roasted jeera (cumin seeds)
- Roasted hing (asafoetida)
- Saunth (dried ginger powder)
- Rock salt (saidha namak)
Add all of this mixture in the buttermilk and mix well.
This preparation is good for all kinds of aruchi. Please make sure that you do not consume this preparation in the chilled form.
In this blog we have covered some of the basic remedies for different kinds of aruchi. These basic preparations can help you to effectively avoid and cure all kinds of aruchi or anorexia in their primary stage. However, it is best to consult your physician before implementing any of the above remedies.
Hope this information helps all the people in need. We will see you with more easy to use Ayurveda information in the next blog.
Ritucharya 