Ayurveda, Ayur means life, longevity, and Veda means science, knowledge,  is an ancient medical science dating back 3000 years from India.  There are four aspects of Ayur:   Life as intelligence, Mind, Senses and Physical Body.  Veda is the science or knowledge of life.

According to Ayurvedic principles five types of energies make up the elements:  air, water, fire, earth,  space coalesce into three energies called Doshas in the body.  These are the underlying organising principles of the physical creation that govern how nature functions.

Each of the three Doshas is made up of 2 elements,   Vata, a combination of air/space,  Pitta, a combination of fire and water and Kapha, a combination of earth and water.  Interrelationship of  the Doshas determines individual Doshas or the body type constitution of individuals that underpin human beings.

These three Doshas  are regarded as faults in Ayurveda and a disease can be caused due to an imbalance of any of these three Doshas. Ayurvedic medicine is focused on keeping the body in a state of balance by using nutrition, diet, lifestyle, herbs and spices, managing seasonal changes in the environment and improving mental health.

On the other hand allopathic medicine is an expression coined to refer to mainstream medical use of pharmacologically active agents or drugs  and physical interventions such as surgery to treat or suppress symptoms of disease.

The difference between Ayurveda and Allopathy is primarily based on three characteristics.

(1)  Ayurveda depends on a hierarchical structure rather than an experimental approach in allopathy.

(2) Ayurveda takes a philosophical approach based on the Vedas to health while Allopathy focuses on scientific clinical trials making use of all measures that have proved to be of value in treatment of disease

(3) In Ayurveda the focus is on prevention of disease and to find the root cause to bring the body back into balance rather than the   focus on treating symptoms with interventions as in Allopathic medicine.

Discussion

There will be advocates for both Ayurveda medicine and Allopathic medicine.  One needs to understand and consider the fundamental differences to  make informed decisions.  Fundamentally Ayurveda and Allopathy are diametrically different in their approach to health. The former is philosophical  and the latter  scientific experimentation.  Though each methodology has both strengths and weakness, it’s important  to remember what you are trying to achieve when it comes to your health.

What if you took your health for granted, abused your body, over indulged  food, alcohol, lack of exercise, worked incessantly, on the go continually, and one day woke up to find you might have diabetes, liver disease, heart condition, depression, chronic  fatigue, poor stamina, etc.  What would you do?

What if you lived a balanced life, ate the right foods for your constitution, moderated your behaviours for your constitution and lived moderately  according to seasonal changes, how would you feel then?

What if you ate high quality,fresh natural foods, cooked according to the seasons, managed your mind, controlled your behaviours.  How would your life look then?  Would you be enjoying life with less problems?

Consider this.  Ayurveda is interested in showing the way to live in harmony with nature and with yourself.        Allopathic Medicine takes a different route and focuses mainly on treating symptoms, depending heavily on pharmaceutical industry for drugs to use in the treatment of disease.  They do not treat the whole person.  Though they have built a large body of scientific knowledge using the clinical approach.

The choice is yours.  There is evidence to show that when you adopt an Ayurvedic lifestyle and  look after your own health, well-being, be mindful of the way you live and what  you do, you reap the benefits of vitality, energy and good health.   With the help of the knowledge of Ayurvedic preventative medicine, diet and lifestyle you can learn to maintain the body and mind in a balanced and healthy state which has flow on effects into all areas of your life.

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