diabetes - ayurvedic treatment

[Guest guest]

dear drs. muzumdar, bhate and friends of ayurveda

 

of the various points i have been labouring to make, the most

important one is that the classical ayurvedic protocol for diseases

like diabetes need to be interpreted cautiously, and cannot be

applied universally

 

this is not to say that the theory of ayurveda is wrong, or that the

samhitas are not a treasure trove of information, but that when we

take this knowledge and apply it to different populations living in

different climates, living during different periods of time, we may

see that the classical dietary recommendations are either unsuitable

or actually promote the disease itself

 

with regard to diabetes and the validity of the ayurvedic dietary

protocols, a case in point is canada's first nations people (i.e.

" amerindians " , " native peoples " etc), who now suffer from the highest

rates of diabetes in the country

 

for the historical record, it is very clear that when the europeans

first encountered these peoples they were impressed with their

strength and vigor, and that diabetes (and many other chronic

diseases) did not exist

 

contrast to this to eurasia, where diabetes seems to have become

prevalent in europe in the 1600's (see " Western Diseases: Their

Emergence and Prevention " , by Burkitt/Trowell), with rare mention of

the condition by roman physicians like Claudius Galen (c. 1 cent CE)

(see: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?

artid=1033927), and is of course found in the very earliest medical

literature of India, given much prominence and importance in both the

Sushruta and Charaka samhitas

 

whereas the first nations peoples were the apparent picture of health

when the europeans arrived, a couple centuries of pervasive western

influence has turned this once strong, vital and proud people into a

pale shadow of their former selves

 

in the last century or so, first nations peoples have increasingly

depended upon western foods, abandoning the traditional foods they

used to hunt and gather

 

some have even adopted western foods such as bread, calling it

bannock and refering to it as a " traditional " food

 

when i was in college years ago, i wrote a paper on the traditional

diet of the coastal first nations, the people that traditionally

" own " the land that the fair city of Vancouver stands upon

 

what follows is an excerpt of that paper on their dietary practices,

which more or less went unchanged for at least 10,000 years before

the arrival of the europeans

 

because of their relative isolation from the " old world " , they make

an interesting study when looking at the natural history of diabetes

 

interestingly enough, their diet wasn't so different from coastal

peoples living in northwestern europe before the romans invaded

 

 

" Coastal native peoples traditionally ate two times a day: 'morning

eating' and 'evening eating', the latter of which was more

substantial that the former. Fasting was considered a beneficial

activity and was taken on during spiritual training or cleansing, but

was also a factor during the day when a hunter or traveler wouldn't

eat until they were safe in camp or after a day's work. Perhaps

there was an intuitive understanding of the role the para-sympathetic

and sympathetic nervous systems had on digestion.

 

Salmon was the principle food of coastal native groups, and was eaten

either fresh, from spring to mid fall, or dried for winter

consumption. The salmon spawn was beaten with water, mashed into

jelly, and mashed again with huckleberries and cooked. Halibut was

also an important part of the diet, only second to salmon in

importance and was prepared identically. A typical meal would be

prepared by the mother of the family, who filled a dish with eulachon

grease, held a dried fish before the fire until the oil exuded, broke

it into several pieces and placed them on a platter with which the

family dipped into the grease before eating. Coastal natives usually

ate no raw fish or meat except for sea water soaked salmon heads,

fish spawn and shellfish. Fresh salmon and halibut was generally

either boiled, roasted or baked. Boiling was undertaken by means of

heated rocks in water filled wooden boxes or spruce baskets. Roasted

usually meant on a spit over a fire. Baking or steaming was

conducted in a hole paved and lined with flat stones, with the salmon

or meat placed between alternating layers of leaves and heated

stones, then covered with leaves, seaweed and earth. The fish might

be left an hour, whereas the meat would usually take a half a day.

 

Herring and eulachon were also important sources of nutrition and

were cured for winter use as well as eaten fresh, but by far their

most important use was as a source of grease, which was all the more

desirable if a bit rancid. Cod, bass, flounder, sculpin, eel, smelt,

trout and whiting were eaten fresh and were not cured for winter

use. Clams, cockles, scallops, abalone, chiton and mussels were

eaten from fall to spring, but generally avoided during the season of

growing plants, which seems to point out that natives knew about the

effects of the 'red tide'. Crabs were a popular dish, as were the

ovaries scooped from sea urchins with a probing finger. Seal, sea

otter and porpoise were also eaten, the blubber of the latter being

particularly esteemed. Land animals, including waterfowl, although

rare in the diet as compared to marine animals, included deer, bear,

porcupine, marmot, beaver, duck and ground squirrel. Most tribes,

excluding the Haida who were fearless boatsmen, did not hunt whales,

and avoided eating them even when they were beached.

 

The Coastal Indian population fulfilled most of their dietary needs

by consumption of animal products but maintained a nutritional

diversity present in the flora of the B.C. coast. Carbohydrates were

typically in short supply in the diet, especially in the northern

areas of the B.C. coast and Alaska where vegetation is limited

because of cooler temperatures. This was in part remedied by the

consumption of the glycogen rich livers and glycoproteins from the

epithelial tissue of various land animals. Some roots and tubers

were gathered and consumed in autumn, like springbank clover, yellow

dock, blue camas, wild carrot, kamchatka lily and silverweed, that

did provide a source of carbohydrates. These roots and tubers were

sorted, cleaned and dried for storage, and later boiled for

consumption during winter. Vegetable protein was even more limited

than carbohydrates, but the shortage was more than made up for by the

abundance of animal protein. After a meagre diet of dried animal

products and grease of late winter plant foods were craved as spring

came around. The tender shoots of salmonberries, thimble berries and

wild celery were eaten raw after being peeled and mashed with

grease. Seaweeds, the sprouts of cow parsnip and fireweed,

fiddleheads, lambsquaters, nettles and the nutrient rich cambium of

hemlock, spruce and pine were also collected in the spring and eaten

with grease. Wild berries were a favorite food of the Coastal

Indians. They were eaten fresh as gathered and were also mashed,

boiled and poured into rectangular wooden frames and allowed to dry

in the sun or near the fire, and then stored. Ceremonies were often

held to celebrate the ripening of each kind of fruit. They were

reconstituted with water in the winter as needed and were said to

have tasted like the fresh picked fruit. Soapberries, when cooked,

mashed and whipped yielded a highly ritualized bitter dessert that

was often served at potlatches and eaten with special carved spoons.

Lichens, especially black tree lichen were eaten as food, but were

used primarily as emergency food, as where the rhizomes of some

ferns. Tea was drunk, especially that made from Labrador tea leaves,

as well as from many other species. "

 

now, given that their natural, native diet was absent in grains and

legumes, does it make any sense to suggest to these people to eat

foods which satisfy the classical Ayurvedic dietary criteria for the

treatment of diabetes? if not, how does impact our understanding of

prameha?

 

best...

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

Ayurvedic practitioner, Medical Herbalist

web: http//:www.toddcaldecott.com

[Guest guest]

Dear

The point of discussion started with low carbs and high proteins with relation

to dietary management of Madhumeha. Remember, Prameha is a group of disorders of

which Madhumeha (diabetes) is one type.

The dietary management also includes meat and vegetables ie plant source, as I

have pointed in earlier mail. My point was cereals and pulses were adequately

incorporated in Madhumeha diet and no indications as to exclusion of rice was

found in Ayurvedic texts.

One has to incorporate what is beneficial and available in one's own

surroundings, is the clear instruction given in Ayurveda conveyed by the concept

of 'Oka-Saatmya' which I have discussed in my earlier mail.

So you, being the resident and exponent of Canada, should decide what food

settings are useful in your environment using the basic guidances from Ayurvedic

texts.

I know , it may be a tad tedious for you, as the Ayurveda you are exposed to is

of a very limited version. Ayurveda expects this from Indians too. There is so

much diversity of food from Kashmir in the north to Tamilnadu in the south and

Bengal in the east to Gujarat and Maharashtra in the west. The dietary versions

developed by vaidyas suit their different environs and food habits and are

beneficial to the patients. No two diet patterns from two different states may

be similar, but they still fulfill the therapeutic requirements. AND none is

contrary to Ayurvedic guidelines.

So, that is a logical approach.

 

Dr.D.B.Muzumdar

M.D.Ayurvedic Medicine (INDIA)

< dahpc >

_________________

of the various points i have been labouring to make, the most

important one is that the classical ayurvedic protocol for diseases

like diabetes need to be interpreted cautiously, and cannot be

applied universally...

 

this is not to say that the theory of ayurveda is wrong, or that the

samhitas are not a treasure trove of information, but that when we

take this knowledge and apply it to different populations living in

different climates, living during different periods of time, we may

see that the classical dietary recommendations are either unsuitable

or actually promote the disease itself