amavata

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Arthritis is one of the most common chronic diseases in the world. Despite lot

of research and effort, an effective cure has still eluded us. All that can be

offered are the anti inflammatory and pain killers like Aspirin. According to

Ayurveda arthritis is primarily a vata (air) disease which is due to

accumulation of toxins in the joints and is known as amavata.Symptoms The main

symptom of this disease is severe pain in the affected joints. The tissues in

and around the joints become inflamed and movement of the joint becomes

extremely painful. Untreated arthritis may lead to permanent deformity of the

affected joints.Causes Causes include internal and external factors. It is more

common in cold, damp and windy climates. Internally it is a condition which is

related to low Agni (poor digestive fire)

and poor digestion which leads to the accumulation of toxins (ama). The toxins

(ama) produced in the colon are taken up by various parts of the body and

depending on the site of deposition, it causes many diseases in the body. For

example, if it deposits in the lungs, it causes cough and asthma, in the

intestines it causes dysentery. When it deposits in the joints and at the same

time there is aggravation of vata, that means if biological humor air is also

disturbed, it results in a disease called amavata or arthritis.Remedies

The first step in treatment is to burn up the accumulated toxins and this can be

achieved by reviving the digestive fire. Short fasting is very beneficial for

digesting the ama. Eating habits should be regularized and heavy, damp, ama

forming foods should be avoided. Hot spicy herbs can be very useful like,

cayenne, cinnamon, dry ginger and galangal. Hot gemstones such as ruby or

garnet set in gold can be used. Bake one or two egg plants (about 250gms.).

Mash it properly and fry it in about 50ml. Castor oil. Some spices like cumin,

coriander, turmeric and salt can be added to it while frying. This recipe can

be taken once daily for two to three months. Adding two cloves of garlic while

cooking makes it very beneficial. Medicated oils used for massage are very

helpful in relieving stiffness and pain in the joints, whole body massage with

sesame or mustard oil helps to reduce the vata and thus reduce the pain.

Camphor, wintergreen and cinnamon oils are beneficial for external application.

They can be combined with herbs like ashwagandha in sesame oil for external

applications. Daily use of the Ayurvedic compound Triphala is recommended to

cleanse the colon. Guggul is a very helpful herb for curing arthritis. It is

most specific for cleaning and strengthening the bone tissue. If available it

can be taken in one to 3gm dose twice a day after meals with warm water. Taking

2gm turmeric powder twice a day along with warm water helps in curing arthritis.