India: Going Back to Traditional Medicine

May 20, 2006

Dear Group members, Iam forwarding a piece of article found in a bi-weekly magazine called Natural Health Line. QUOTE: ------------- Sources: http://www.naturalhealthvillage.com/newsletter/HL970201.html ...............In a remarkably similar story on January 23 -1997 datelined Thiruvananthapuram and titled "India: Going Back to Traditional Medicine," Inter Press Service notes that the south Indian state of Kerala "is setting the pace for a new national policy co-opting Ayurveda, the ancient system of healing, into a 'barefoot doctor' scheme to aid an ailing public health delivery system." The new policy arose

from last year's official announcement by former health minister A.R. Antulay acknowledging the failure of India's public health delivery system. Antulay initiated a series of policy measures to formally utilize the services of India's half a million registered practitioners of Ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine. The policy quickly took hold in Kerala state where, untouched by the influence of foreign medicines, Ayurveda has been a continuing tradition of vaidyans (master physicians) who train students and treat patients in sylvan retreats called "ashrams." At the Santhigiri Ashram, according to Inter Press Service, patients suffering from diseases considered chronic by allopathic doctors are routinely "cured" by ayurvedic physicians, under the supervision of their 70-year-old master, Guru Karunakaran. In the tradition of Ayurveda, Guru Karunakaran looks for underlying spiritual causes for diseases such as rheumatism, diabetes,

epilepsy, and heart conditions, and may prescribe psychic treatments and past life therapy, which are free of charge, in addition to a wide range of herbal palliatives, oil massages, fomentations, and steam baths, all offered at a nominal cost. The Inter Press report cites the case of Saraswati Amma, "a 50-year-old diabetic, was told that her festering foot would have to be amputated by specialists at the prestigious Trivandrum Medical College Hospital. She decided to go to Santhigiri Ashram for a second opinion. 'In fact I was encouraged to try out the Ashram's ayurvedic hospital by the allopathic doctors and I am glad I did,'" Amma told Inter Press. "Not only did she save her foot, but the herbal cures helped control her blood sugar levels permanently." For diabetes, the main treatment prescribed by physicians at the Santhigiri Ashram is "Panchamridwekarasa," a pancreatic rejuvenant, the ingredients of which are carefully grown and tended at a herbal farm

nearby. The government is playing a significant role in the adoption of traditional Ayurvedic treatments. In Kerala itself, the state government fully reimburses its employees for medicines from Santhigiri Ashram. After the central government announced support for the formal entry of Ayurveda into primary health care, especially in the poor rural areas, Santhigiri Ashram set up a model project in the Palakkad district of Kerala. With central government funding, the 15 million rupee basic health project emphasizes women and child care and consists of a 20-bed base hospital servicing six satellite clinics and 33 outreach centers covering 50,000 people in an 80 square mile area. The strength of the project is the Ayurvedic treatments for childhood ailments and for antenatal, natal, and post natal care based on ancient formulas. According to chief physician Dr. K. N. Shyam Prasad, the herbal preparations include "Balasarvangam," a pediatric

nerve medicine which not only works as a prophylactic against poliomyelitis but also cures it in the early stages. "It also works well against tetanus and convulsions and as a respiratory relaxant in asthma and whooping cough," added Dr. Prasad, a qualified specialist in allopathic eurology. Oral rehydration therapy (ORT), promoted vigorously by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) as a life-saver in childhood diarrhea, is also described in ancient Ayurvedic texts using unrefined sugar and rock salt or thin rice gruel, Gopalakrishnan said. Traditional care for new mothers includes a three-month period of herbal oil massages, compresses, and tonics to restore correct body weight and muscle tone. Although urban Kerala is better served with allopathic doctors and health facilities than anywhere else in India, there is a strong movement in the state favoring the revival of Ayurveda because of its effectiveness and lack of side

effects.................... Sources: http://www.naturalhealthvillage.com/newsletter/HL970201.html UNQUOTE: -------------------- With regards Dinesh kumar.D Chennai

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