amavata, was New Joinee

[Guest guest]

i agree with dr venugopal - RA and amavata cannot be equated per se

one needs to look at the lakshanas of the disease not at medical

diagnostic criteria

there is obvious overlap but not total congruency

 

rather, the etiology and pathology of amavata are strikingly similar

to the recently described "intestinal permeability syndrome", which

is associated with a larger number of symptoms including those

traditionally associated with amavata (eg. poor digestion, poor

appetite, lethargy, burning pains, urinary disorders, insomnia,

thirst, vertigo, chest/heart pain, constipation etc etc)

 

here is an excerpt on this from my book (with edits for the sanskrit

terms, since isn't unicode compatible)

 

"To put a modern slant on the concept of ama, let us examine the

issue of intestinal permeability, or “leaky-gut syndrome.”

Succinctly put, intestinal permeability describes a process by which

some agent or combination of agents initiates an inflammatory

response in the digestive tract. Persistent gastrointestinal

inflammation eventually disrupts the integrity of the mucosal lining

of the gut, and tiny perforations allow for molecules larger than

usual to pass across this barrier. These molecules can be derived

from the diet, or may be in the form of microorganisms such as

bacteria and fungi that naturally inhabit our digestive tract. In

response to this infiltration, an immune response is initiated and

the body begins to manufacture specific antibodies to these

antigens. Unfortunately, many human tissues have antigenic sites

almost identical to those substances that pass across a permeable

intestinal wall. These antibodies then circulate throughout the body

and bind with endogenous (self) antigens to initiate an inflammatory

response.

 

Ayurveda describes a condition analogous to intestinal permeability,

in which a deficiency of agni promotes the formation of ama. Ama

then enters into the dhatu cycle and begins to localize in areas such

as the joints, or in already weakened or susceptible areas. Once ama

is firmly wedged in these locations the doshas become vitiated: first

kapha, with an increase in congestion; followed by pitta, which sets

up a cycle of inflammation; and then vata, which promotes

degenerative changes. Thus the basic dynamics of intestinal

permeability syndrome were identified several millennia ago in India

as being an important causative factor in the development of disease,

even if the pathogenic mechanisms described are somewhat different."

 

amavata is a sannipatija condition, affected by all three doshas

however its origin clearly lies with poor digestion and the dietary

habits which promote weak digestion and feed ama

 

my experience with this condition is that antigenic or

immunosuppressive foods need to be removed from the diet

 

thus, i typically remove things like dairy, flour, gluten, sugar etc,

(instituting a strict paleolithic-style, see: http://

www.toddcaldecott.com/health_pn.html) and then use herbs and

supplements to address both the core issues (e.g. digestion/

elimination, vitality, joint integrity etc) and specific symptoms

based on the doshas

 

some patients respond remarkably quickly - one patient i recall had

100% remission of all symptoms in as little as 2 weeks - but she

wasn't all that advanced in the condition

 

sometimes the best treatment can be very confronting, especially if

it challenges some of the choices we have previously made

 

for eg. one women suffered and eventually died from complications of

RA after years of suppressive medical treatments simply because she

wold not stop eating antigenic foods in her adopted indian vegetarian

diet (because she was devotee) - yet her ancestry was northern

european, and very clearly her disease was caused by ASATMYA -

improper dietary patterns for her ancestry - so she chose to suffer

die of the disease despite undergoing extensive pancha karma and

ayurvedic treatments that did little to halt the disease

 

in cases where typical treatments aren't working and patients aren't

getting better i cannot emphasize enough that a proper elimination

diet is absolutely crucial to addressing the core issues, and must be

followed rigorously for several months (at least 9-12 months)

 

best... todd

 

 

On 31-Jan-07, at 3:10 AM, ayurveda wrote:

> Dear Dr. Venu Gopal,

> I appreciate your emphsising the point that Rheumatoid Arthritis

> and Amvata are not same. But Sir, If we go on like this perhaps we

> will not be able to co-relate most of the Ayurvedic Diseases in the

> modern science language. It is just like literally translating one

> language to the other one, which may not always be possible.

<snip>

 

 

Caldecott, Dip. Cl.H, RH(AHG)

Ayurvedic practitioner, Clinical Herbalist

203 - 1750 East 10th Ave

Vancouver, BC CANADA

web: http//:www.toddcaldecott.com

email: todd (AT) toddcaldecott (DOT) com

tel: 778.896.8894

fax: 415-376-6736

 

 

Wishing you the best of Health.