Dr. Satish Sawale

With the super busy lifestyle that everybody is gravitating to, there is less and less time for everything, including cooking and eating. Thus, more and more processed foods are finding their way into our refrigerators, as they can just be picked up and eaten anytime hunger pangs are felt. And, we do not immediately realize that processed foods are devoid of all the essential ingredients. What we end up eating has less fiber, more salt, and more preservatives (generally not very safe for all), all leading to an unhealthy lifestyle.

Refined flour, white sugar, cheese, canned juices, frozen foods, cheese laden pizzas and breadsare all yummy, but not something that is readily accepted and digested by your stomach. Try eating pizza with loads of cheese for two days and experience the bloated feeling for yourself. Not to scare you, but imagine this; you would have to eat an entire medium pizza to get 2 g of fiber. Where as, your body requires about 25 to 40 g of fiber per day for regular health maintenance.

Biologically, our digestive system requires a lot of fiber, which adds to the roughage. This is very important as it helps in digestion and aid in cleansing the bowel later. The function of the large intestine is to remove water and essential ingredients when food passes through it. Junk food passes through quite quickly, thereby, leading to loss of water and ingredients. A lot of digestive issues are also related to lack of fiber in the food, like polyps, colon cancer, irritable bowel syndrome, high cholesterol, and obesity. 

Most of us are aware, but tend to ignore the fact that junk food is as the name suggests, junk. There is hardly anything of nutritious value in it. On the contrary, it contains lots of salt, fat and artificial chemicals, which though, make it very tasty, but has zero nutrition value. 

Try to eat only junk food for about a week regularly, and you will surely feel:

1. Bloated (a lot of gas due to indigestion)
2. Dehydrated (excessive salt needs more water, which we don't realize)
3. Constipated (lack of fiber leading to reduced bowel movement)
4. Weak and lousy (due to lack of nutrition)

This of course does not include the harmful effects on skin, hair, looks, etc. It does not mean you have to stop eating junk completely and eat only healthy food all the time. The human body is adaptive and can adjust to a lot of variations. It is not wise to try the example above (eating pizza for a week), however, binging on junk food once a week would definitely not hurt. Use your discretion as nobody knows your body as well as you do.

Yoga is a complete workout of body and mind, and is a combination of stretching along with deep breathing and meditation. It is a way of keeping yourself fit without doing strenuous workouts and lifting heavy weights.

Ayurveda is the ancient Indian medical science, which treats an illness or a disease using natural ingredients. Ayurvedic treatment has been proven to be the most effective in cases of asthma, paralysis, joint pain, headache and gynecological issues. The following points emphasize the relation between Yoga and Ayurveda:

1. Aim at ensuring mental peace: Yoga and Ayurveda both are extremely powerful in treating medical issues as well as in delivering mental peace. Ayurveda uses diets, herbs, shrubs, meditation and pranayama for treating purpose. Both of them are interrelated branches of India's ancient knowledge.

2. Based on similar principles: The principles of Trigunas i.e. Sattva, Rajas and Tamas and the principles of panchamahabuthas i.e. fire, water, air, space and earth are the base of Yoga and Ayurveda. Both of them are based on the basic principles of the body, such as working procedures of the body and effects of food and medicine on our body.

3. Share common beliefs: Both Yoga and Ayurveda have a common belief regarding healthy body as the two believe that a healthy and balanced mind result in a healthy body. Both of them have the similar metaphysical anatomy and physiology that consist of 7 primary chakras (centers of energy), 5 bodily sheaths, 72,000 nadis (subtle channels) and the Kundalini Shakti (energy). Yoga and Ayurveda both believe that in order to fulfill the four aims of life it is necessary to keep your body healthy. The four aims are:

1. Dharma (duty)
2. Artha (wealth)
3. Kama (desire)
4. Moksha (liberation)

4. Similar treatment measures: For the purpose of treatment, Yoga and Ayurveda, both use meditation and pranayama practices. For improving the mental and physical health, both of them use body purification procedures, herbs & natural ingredients and chanting of mantras. The body purification procedure is known as 'Shatkriyas' in Yoga and as 'Panchakarma' in Ayurveda.

Many Yoga practitioners add Ayurvedic remedies to your daily routines because Yoga and Ayurveda together are powerful mediums that maintain your body, breath, senses, mind and chakras. Together Yoga and Ayurveda work excellently and cure you naturally with no side effects. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult an Ayurveda.

Ayurveda is a 5,000-year-old traditional Hindu system of medicine with abundant secrets to a healthy and fulfilling life. One can use the wisdom of Ayurveda to gain inner peace, balance in bodily systems, longevity, vitality and good health.

We live in a world that is obsessed with diet culture. Food companies selling products that have the label ‘diet’ are an instant hit among the calorie conscious crowd. Many times, they are made from unhealthy artificial sweeteners or shortening that can cause a number of health hazards. Thus, dieting as such can cause more health hazards than offer benefits. Research has shown that a combination of 80% optimum diet and 20% exercise can help people achieve their desired weight loss results. While following a specific diet is important in achieving weight loss goals, starving the body or eating diet-labeled foods do more harm than help in this endeavour.

What is then the safest and most effective way to shed those extra pounds without losing on essential nutrition and energy? The answer to this is Ayurveda.

Ayurveda is a holistic approach to human life. It addresses the mind, body and soul. It treats the body as a temple which needs to be worshipped. Use of packaged, artificial and chemically grown foods is considered as an abuse to the body. Ayurveda talks of being natural and achieving inner balance by serving the body simple, healthy and nourishing food.

Let’s now look at what Ayurveda has to offer for people who want to get back in shape:

1. Warm water: Ayurveda recommends drinking warm water as it assists in digestion and purification. So, ditch chilled water and drink warm water on a regular basis. Sipping green tea with ginger or lemon is also found to be effective.
2. Meditation: Research shows that stress can cause hormonal imbalances in body and many times weight gain. Meditation helps ease anxiety and stress, and thereby helps in achieving inner peace. To see the results of this powerful medium, devote 20 minutes each day for meditation.
3. Eat right: Nature provides us with nutritious and wholesome foods to nourish our bodies. Consume natural foods as much as possible and avoid too much of processed foods or refined sugars. Ayurveda recommends a diet comprising of at least 40 to 50% of fresh fruits and vegetables. Making lunch the biggest meal is also recommended.
4. Say no to snacks: Unhealthy snacking between meals is the biggest culprit to abnormal weight gain. Stick to the food timings and eat fibrous and nourishing meals. Eating wholesome food can help curb cravings for snacks to a large extent.

The ayurvedic way of life teaches us to be healthy, happy and hunger free, and at the same time helps achieve optimum weight in the most natural way. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult an Ayurveda.

Two kidneys are present on either side of the spine, above the waist. The kidneys perform important functions of cleansing the blood, controlling blood pressure and maintaining salt and mineral balances. Kidney related issues are to be treated as soon as they occur as failing to do so might lead to kidney failure, which is a serious condition.

Ayurvedic approach for treating kidney related problems
Each type of medical treatment has their distinctive approaches towards such treatment and so does Ayurvedic care. The weak body is toned up in a natural way in the first stage. The second stage is the prevention of diseases using natural remedies and the final stage is treatment through ayurvedic care.

Causes for kidney related issues and Ayurvedic care for such issues
The causes for kidney related issues are toxins, anatomical abnormalities, abiotic stress, mental imbalance, the easy entrance of microvita, and side effects of various allopathic medicines. One major reason for kidney related problems is the side effects of modern medicines or over dosage of allopathic medication. On the contrary, the medication system of Ayurveda effectively treats all the issues in a natural way without imposing ill-effects to the human body.

When to seek Ayurvedic care?
A few symptoms, the occurrence of which indicates that you should consult a doctor for checking of kidney related issues are nausea, weakness, ankle swelling, vomiting and shortness of breath. A few other symptoms are high blood pressure or urea and decreased hemoglobin. If these symptoms are due to kidney related problems, Ayurveda cure for kidney related issues is one of the best options for recovery.

Prevention of kidney failure- Ayurveda treatment to avoid dialysis
"Prevention is better than cure." If kidney problems arise, it is best to take preventive measures to avoid kidney failure. A few things that help in preventing kidney failure are controlling blood pressure, controlling blood sugar and improving breathing pattern. Diet plays a major role in preventing kidney failure. Ayurveda approach insists the change of acidic diet to an alkaline one. Diabetes and blood sugar can also lead to kidney failure. According to Ayurveda, natural remedies are available to treat chronic kidney failure patients. Dialysis can be avoided and the kidney functions can be restored with the help of a few herbal remedies in the Ayurveda approach. The level of creatinine and urea are controlled effectively by Ayurveda treatment

Recovery using Ayurveda care for kidney failure patients
Kidney damage for a period of 3 months or more is known as chronic kidney failure. The treatment of underlying cause, treatment of damaged kidneys and treatment of dhatus (body tissues) which makes up the kidneys are done in the case of Ayurvedic care. The kidneys are made up of "Rakta" and "Meda" and treating these two will lead to recovery. The benefits of using Ayurvedic medications for kidney related issues are plenty. The kidney damage is recovered, the risk of death can be reduced to a significant extent and frequency of dialysis can be minimized effectively. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult an ayurveda.

Knee pain can be caused due to a variety of reasons as the knees are large joints that are often subjected to heavy loads. The occurrence of knee pain is on the rise, which may be caused due to sports injuries and unilateral load. Osteoarthritis, arthritis, wearing of the patella, inflammation of bone and cartilage are some of the common forms of knee pain. If you had been suffering from knee pain for quite some time, then there is nothing to worry about; Ayurveda has a great solution to alleviate this condition.

The herbal remedies offered by Ayurveda help in improving immunity, providing strength and endurance.

1. Massage: Massage therapy can relieve the joint pain by soothing inflammation and improving the circulation. Several health studies indicate that the regular massage has the power to alleviate pain along the affected joint. You can pick up any oil such as coconut, mustard, olive, castor or garlic oil and heat it and apply it with a gentle pressure while massaging.
2. Hot and cold compress: Heat therapy can help in increasing blood flow, decreasing pain and relaxing sore muscles and joints whereas cold therapy aids in reducing inflammation and benumbing the area around the affected knee. But before you apply them, you will have to wrap them separately in towels and not apply directly to the skin. The hot compress can be placed for 3 minutes and then immediately replaced with cold compress for about a minute. The entire process can be repeated for about 20 to 30 minutes. But you shouldn’t be using hot compress if the affected area is hot and irritated. Also, do not opt for cold therapy in case you have circulatory issues.
3. Fenugreek: Owing to its anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, fenugreek or Methi is a highly favourable home remedy for knee pain. It is particularly helpful for people suffering from arthritis. So you can swallow a teaspoonful of fine fenugreek seeds’ powder and drink a glass of lukewarm water after that. Follow the process regularly unless you get positive results. You may also soak one teaspoon of fenugreek seeds in warm water overnight and eat them in the morning.

Ayurveda has a solution to all your mental and physical problems, but it is important to note here that the treatment must be administered after evaluating your present health condition and medical history. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult an ayurveda.

Thyme is one of the most famous herbs from the mint family. It is a common herb present in every spice set for garnishing and flavouring of the dish. In fact, apart from its modern-day use, it had been used by Egyptians in the process of mummification as well as by the Greeks as a form of incense. However, apart from its culinary uses, it is gaining a reputation as one of the most useful ingredients with several medicinal properties. Some of these medicinal properties are highlighted below.

1. Regulates Blood Pressure: When it comes to blood pressure, consumption of salt and maintaining a balanced level of cholesterol are the two important things to keep a lookout for. Thyme itself can be used as a substitute for salt. Though the taste would not be quite the same without a trace of salt in the dish, but at least it would benefit your health and keep a balanced level of salt and cholesterol in your body. This would help you in maintaining a balanced blood pressure and also prevent you from falling prey to any kind of heart disease or even diabetes for that matter.
2. Controls cough and cold: If you feel that you are about to experience an attack of a cough and cold due to seasonal changes or whatever reason, do not forget to keep some thyme at hand. You can make thyme paste and rub it onto your chest. The vapours coming out of it would help in curing cough. Further, thyme oils can always be used for a chest massage or can be rubbed onto the sides of your nostrils. Moreover, drinking warm thyme infused tea helps you in recovering faster.
3. Boosts immunity: To maintain a proper immune system the body needs, vitamins, minerals, water and various other elements. With thyme being a rich source of vitamin C and Vitamin A apart from having the benefits of iron, manganese, copper and fibre, it is not unusual to know that it boosts the immune system in an individual. Thus, thyme is often consumed in a small quantity with at least one or two dishes of the day. This makes sure that the quantity of thyme entering your body is regulated and is just enough to provide you with all the necessary elements.
4. Acts as a disinfectant: Mould is an element present in the air which not only causes air pollution but can be fatal to human health. In fact, it hurts those with asthma even more than regular people. One of the easiest ways to get rid of moulds in the air is to regularly use thyme oil in your house. Thyme oil acts as a disinfectant and helps in reducing the concentration of moulds in the air.
5. Used for therapeutic purposes: Carvacrol is a substance present in thyme which helps it in making a mark as an important compound in aromatherapy. Many essential oils are made of thyme essence. These essential oils are not only used on the skin for massages but also used as incense and de-stressors.

Thus, these are some of the most important uses of thyme apart from adding flavouring to some of your favourite dishes.

Ayurveda is a form of medicine that has been practiced for thousands of years and has many effective cure for some of the most complex diseases. Cancer, in this day and age, is one such complex disease and its incidence is increasing rapidly. It is always recommended to consult a Ayurveda specialist for severe cancer. Some of the common ingredients for treatment of uterine cancer through Ayurveda are mentioned here.

1. Turmeric: Already a staple spice in many Indian dishes, turmeric as a herb in raw form and as a spice in powdered form, is touted the new wonder herb all across the world. It has been used as a traditional healing herb in India since ages. It has also been seen to be a very effective anti-inflammatory agent and thus it is very effective in stopping the growth of cancer cells.
2. Green tea from the Camellia Sinensis plant: Green tea has been known to be effective in treating multiple types of cancer, aid in weight loss and also facilitate detoxification. Regular consumption of green tea from the Camellia Sinensis plant is known to fight the growth of cancer cells within the body; thus is a very effective in treating uterine cancer as well.
3. Ashwagandha: This herb is not only used in Ayurveda, but has also been adopted by homeopathy as conventional medicine to make extracts. Ashwagandha is an adaptogen, which means it can adapt to the requirements of the body and then make the changes to provide support to the necessary areas. It is also very good at preventing the growth of cancer cells.
4. Garlic: This spice is known to be good for multiple forms of cancer as it contains allicin, which is being hailed as one of the best fighters of inflammatory diseases. It also contains other types of phytochemicals and thus helps in detoxifying the body. It is very effective in fighting cancer cells and can arrest the growth of cancer within the body.
5. Ginger: Ginger is extremely effective in the treatment of many ailments, if consumed regularly in controlled amounts. It has been known to be very effective in the treatment of colon cancer. Due to its properties, it is also known to be effective in the prevention of uterine and many other forms of cancer.

Ayurvedic Thrapies

Ayurveda, an enigmatic yet enthralling science offers numerous treatment methods for uterine cancer. Here are a few: 

1. Matra Basti: Matra Basti is a special treatment in traditional ayurveda for chronic constipation, low back pain, rheumatoid arthritis, obesity, and various neurological disorders like multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, dystrophy and atrophy of nerves and muscle. In this treatment, certain herbal oils and herbal extracts are applied through the rectum on a daily basis. Matra Vasti has a lubricating, balancing, nourishing, strengthening and pacifying effect. It also works as rejuvenator, immune-modulator and nutrient and subdues elevated vata dosha. The treatment lasts for a period of 3 to 7 days.
2. Pichu Dharanam for Soothing at Advance Stages of Uterine Cancer: It is a special treatment modality in Ayurveda where sterile medicated cotton swab is kept inside the vagina for a specific period of time. This comes under local treatment modalities specific to gynaecological diseases in females and is also done in ante natal care. Pichu means “cotton ball”. Yoni pichu is the application of a sterile cotton swab soaked in medicated oil or ghee in the vagina.
3. Abhyanham: Abhyanga is a form of Ayurvedic medicine that involves massage of the body with large amounts of warm oil. It’s a complete body massage and really effective. The Abhyangam massage therapy is very beneficial and prevents degeneration and ceases the aging process. This therapy needs more positions to massage and comparing to other massage therapy, Abhyangam is very special. It usually involves oils prepared with specialized Ayurvedic herbs and essential oils for lymph drainage, detox, and relaxation. It has seven positions and it treats the whole body. It assures new healthy physical changes. 
4. Nasyam: Nasyam or errhine therapy is an Ayurvedic treatment excellent remedy for chronic sinusuitis, headache, throat diseases, epilepsy, catarrh, migraine, voice constraint, eye diseases and cervical spondylitis. In Ayurveda, the application of medical oils or powders through the nostrils is called Nasya. It is said in classical texts that the nostrils are the doorway to the brain. Nasya is an important method of treatment for illnesses of the cranial region. Nasya treatment - the forehead and neck regions of the patient are gently massaged with a suitable oil to induce sweating. Thereafter the patient is made to lie down on his back with his head bent slightly back. Warm oil is then dripped into both nostrils which the patient draws in.