What is ama? Context: Alzheimers and glaucoma

[Guest guest]

I would like to hear the opinions of the ayurvedic experts on this group

about the modern scientific definitions of ama. What is ama? Is

amyloid-beta included in the concept of ama?

 

If you care to, please comment on this article I posted on my blog

today:

Glaucoma and Alzheimer's May Have Common Origins and Treatment

<http://fiteyes.com/blogs/glaucomatreatment/2007/08/07/Glaucoma-Alzheime\

rs-Common-Origins-Treatment>

The direct link is:

http://fiteyes.com/blogs/glaucomatreatment/2007/08/07/Glaucoma-Alzheimer\

s-Common-Origins-Treatment

 

Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge.

 

Regards,

Dave

[Guest guest]

hi dave,

 

the beauty of the concept is that it isn't tied to a particular

substance per se, but the qualitative aspects of a dysfunctional

force that saps the body of life energy

above all its presence is noted by its qualities: heavy, sticky,

greasy, cold, congesting, etc, which causes and promotes the

obstruction, increase and vitiation of the doshas

 

as such, ama can be linked to many different conditions and states,

such as cancer or chronic fungal infections

 

for me, it has a close link to the concept of intestinal permeability

and autoimmunity - in this case, the activated antibodies are a

marker, or a shadow, of the looming presence of ama

 

but if we stray too far from the qualitative distinctions to a realm

of specificity, we do damage to the entire system of knowledge and

lose our holistic focus

 

in classical ayurveda, the removal of ama is through amapachana (ama-

cooking) and the enhancement of digestive function

for e.g. guduchi, triphala, trikatu, agnitunda vati, pippalyadi

kavtha etc are all examples of amapachana dravyas, which also enhance

digestion

 

despite implementing amapachana, the effect of long-standing ama

usually continues to aggravate the doshas even once removed, which is

why there is specific treatment to the doshas (eg. panch karma), so

the imbalance that perpetuates ama-accumulation is properly dealt with

 

even if after ama is removed, if the doshas aren't addressed, the ama

comes back again

 

for the life of me, i cannot understand why medical researchers

continue to only focus on small discrete aspects of a much larger

problem (well actually, i can, its called $$)

 

there is a fundamental arrogance here, that refuses to study and

understand the inter-relationship of all things

 

its a puzzle to me that chaos theory only makes it as far as

meteorology, and that medical science remains enclosed in a bubble of

mechanistic thinking

 

even something so incredibly diverse and complex as our DNA becomes

reduced to a magic bullet solution (gene therapy), instead of at

least admitting the element of chaos - that the wings of a butterfly

in one part of the world is enough to cause a weather system in

another part of the world - this is the epitome of holistic thinking

 

the doshas exists to help translate the chaos into a discernable and

predictable pattern, that takes into account factors that might

otherwise seem unrelated

 

best... todd

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

Ayurvedic practitioner, Clinical Herbalist

203 - 1750 East 10th Ave

Vancouver, BC V5N 5K4 CANADA

web: http//:www.toddcaldecott.com

email: todd

tel: 778.896.8894

fax: 415.376.6736

 

 

On 8-Aug-07, at 2:17 AM, ayurveda wrote:

 

> What is ama? Context: Alzheimers and glaucoma

>

> Posted by: " David " dave freeradicalfederation

>

> Tue Aug 7, 2007 10:36 am (PST)

>

> I would like to hear the opinions of the ayurvedic experts on this

> group

> about the modern scientific definitions of ama. What is ama? Is

> amyloid-beta included in the concept of ama?

<snip>

[Guest guest]

hi dave

further to your question....

 

alzheimer's in particular would seem to be related to ama, probably

through several different mechanisms, and not one in particular

 

even a mild obstruction in the cerebrovascular circulation could

promote factors in the brain that lead to oxidative damage

 

this perhaps natural/inevitable activity would seem to be made worse

by other factors that promote brain damage

 

for e.g. drinking aspartame-sweetened soft drinks packaged in PET-

lined aluminum cans would seem an obvious factor, comprised of

several factors in and of itself

 

apart from the issue of metabolic derangements promoted by PET, the

inherent toxicity of aluminum and methyl alcohol, the aspartame in

particular contains phenylalanine which competes for the brain uptake

with other amino acids

 

present in high amounts, it promotes a mutation in the production of

amyloid precursor protein (APP) by displacing the amino acid valine

in the transmembrane domain of APP

 

could be another important factor in glaucoma too, in addition to

several other factors like advanced glycosylation end products

http://www.iovs.org/cgi/content/abstract/48/3/1201

 

multiple factors exist for AGEs however, including high sugar/carbs,

maillard reactions in cooked food and nutrient deficiencies (e.g.

lysine)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?

cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uids=12234125 & dopt=AbstractPlus

 

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

Ayurvedic practitioner, Clinical Herbalist

203 - 1750 East 10th Ave

Vancouver, BC V5N 5K4 CANADA

web: http//:www.toddcaldecott.com

email: todd

tel: 778.896.8894

fax: 415.376.6736

 

 

On 8-Aug-07, at 2:17 AM, ayurveda wrote:

 

> What is ama? Context: Alzheimers and glaucoma

>

> Posted by: " David " dave freeradicalfederation

>

> Tue Aug 7, 2007 10:36 am (PST)

>

> I would like to hear the opinions of the ayurvedic experts on this

> group

> about the modern scientific definitions of ama. What is ama? Is

> amyloid-beta included in the concept of ama?

<snip>

[Guest guest]

hey Dave,

 

ama is said to be a product of improper digestion of food

which causes harm to the entire body and is the root cause of all

diseases.