Western Medicine (updated perception on Digestion)
Over last few years, many studies in western medicine have provided evidence that the digestive system/ gastrointestinal tract (which stretches from the mouth to the anus) is the only system which has its fully independent nervous system and has therefore earned its name as “Second Brain”.
Although, Nick (professor at Flinders University in Australia) after studying the Gut for 23 years is now calling it the First Brain. The nervous system of the gut, referred to as the Enteric Nervous System (ENS), has hundreds of thousands of individual neurons and works without any communication with the brain.
Ayurveda Medicine Perception on Digestion
Ayurveda has always given a lot of emphasis on digestion and describes it as a complex process that involves the interaction of many factors, including digestive fire (Agni), quality of the food, physical breakdown of food, overall constitution of the individual, their environment and mental being.
According to the Sushrut Samhita—an ancient Ayurvedic text—healthy digestion comes from balanced doshas (mind-body energies), balanced agni (digestive fire), balanced dhatus (bodily tissues), balanced malas (wastes), and a well-coordinated and alert state of Self (Atma), senses (Indriyas), and mind (Manas).
Balanced digestive fire gives you great health (nourishes each and every cell/organ by digesting each and every component properly and eliminating the toxins (ama), and an imbalanced digestive fire brings diseased states (due to accumulation of undigested food/elements/toxins).
Imbalanced Digestive Fire for short time, gives you symptoms of tiredness, fatigue, brain fog, constipation, diarrhoea, acidity, bloating, bringing up food or bitter tasting fluids, headache, stomach pain, nausea, consuming excess water and many more.
However, if the digestive fire remains imbalanced for long time, it leads to channel obstruction and depending on the nature of toxin (ama) and the stress level of the organs/channels, specific diseases can manifest in the body (for example Indigestion, Acid Reflux, Irritable Bowel Disease/IBS, inflammatory bowel disease, Gastritis, stomach/peptic/duodenum Ulcers, Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn's, Gastroenteritis, Coeliac, Haemorrhoids/piles). Before reading further, if you have short/long term digestive issues, do liaise with an Ayurvedic consultant to get the right support you need.
Western Medicine Treatment Approach
Even though Western medicine is finally realising that digestion is the star of the show their treatment approach is far behind ideal. To list a few reasons:
- Treatment method is not cause driven; therefore, many times symptoms keep re-appearing and, in most scenarios, they get worse!
- Treatment approach is too specialised – that is their focus is the affected organ/system only.
- They don't take into account the importance of individual responses to the stresses/treatment and conditions of life.
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On the other hand, in Ayurveda the treatment method includes:
- Wholesome approach
- Elimination of cause(s), treatment of the condition/organ, rebuilding of the body and the continuing support of a rejuvenation program.
- Depending on the strength of patient's digestive fire, the dose/choice of the medicine is given
It is only by meticulously following Ayurveda's treatment values that I have been able treat many patients with digestive disorders.
If you suffer from any of the symptoms/diseases listed above, then contact me. I will through the Ayurvedic treatment method determine and eliminate the cause of your problems, conduct clinical assessments and develop a personalised treatment plan.
If you're still craving for more evidence to help you believe in the efficacy of Ayurveda's treatment then many clinical studies have been published, which provide enough evidence of Ayurveda's success in treating digestive disorders.
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Looking forward to being part of your healing journey.
