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  yurveda, "battle against NCDs" 

An opportunity for Ayurveda to go mainstream)

 Narayan Prasad Acharya ( AHA, BPH )

Central Ayurveda Hospital, Nardevi

Introduction

A Non-Communicable Disease (NCDs) is a disease that is non-infectious and cannot betransmitted from one person to another. The disease includes medical conditions such as, stroke,

chronic kidney disease, heart disease, cancer and osteoporosis, which are chronic medicalcondition that are characterized with a long duration of slow, progressive and painful illness.

According to the World Health Organization, the four main types of non-communicable diseasesare cardiovascular diseases (like heart attacks and stroke), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases

(such as chronic obstructed pulmonary disease and asthma) and diabetes.

 NCDs affect low- and middle-income people. Nearly 80% of deaths occur due to non-

communicable diseases in developing countries like Nepal. NCDs are projected to exceed the

combined deaths of communicable and nutritional diseases and maternal and perinatal deaths asthe most common death.

Ayurveda is the science of life. The aim of Ayurveda is to promote the health of the healthy lifeand cure of the sick person. Ayurveda deals about the hygiene, lifestyle, behavior, ethics, spirit,

socialization, etc. Ayurveda has eight divisions, every division deals with different aspects of

 peoples' health. Ayurveda focuses mostly on noncommunicable disease and its holistic approachof treatment is successful over all other systems.

Who is at risk of such diseases? 

All age groups and all regions are affected by NCDs. NCDs are often associated with older age

groups, but evidence shows that more than 9 million of all deaths attributed to non-communicablediseases (NCDs) occur before the age of 60. Of these "premature" deaths, 90% occurred in low-

and middle-income countries. Children, adults and the elderly are all vulnerable to the risk factorsthat contribute to noncommunicable diseases, whether from unhealthy diets, physical inactivity,

exposure to tobacco smoke or the effects of the harmful use of alcohol ( WHO).

These diseases are driven by forces that include ageing, rapid unplanned urbanization, and theglobalization of unhealthy lifestyles. For example, globalization of unhealthy lifestyles like

unhealthy diets may show up in individuals as raised blood pressure, increased blood glucose,

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elevated blood lipids, overweight and obesity. These are called 'intermediate risk factors' which

can lead to cardiovascular disease.

Risk Factors of NCDs

Modifiablebehavioralriskfactors:

  Tobacco use

  Physical inactivity

  Unhealthy diet and

  Harmful use of alcohol increase the risk of or cause most NCDs.

Metabolic Risk Factors

  Raised blood pressure

  Overweight/obesity

  Hyperglycemia (high blood glucose levels) and  Hyperlipidemia (high levels of fat in the blood).

In terms of attributable deaths, the leading NCD risk factor globally is elevated blood pressure (towhich 16.5% of global deaths are attributed) followed by tobacco use (9%), raised blood glucose

(6%), physical inactivity (6%) and overweight and obesity (5%). Low- and middle-income

countries are witnessing the fastest rise in overweight young children. (WHO)

Socioeconomic impact of NCDs

Poverty is closely linked with NCDs. The rapid rise in NCDs is predicted to impede poverty

reduction initiatives in low-income countries like Nepal. Vulnerable and socially disadvantaged people get sicker and die sooner than people of higher social positions, especially because they are

at greater risk of being exposed to harmful products, such as tobacco or unhealthy food, and have

limited access to health services.

World Health Organization states, in low-resource settings, health-care costs for cardiovascular

diseases, cancers, diabetes or chronic lung diseases can quickly drain household resources, drivingfamilies into poverty. The exorbitant costs of NCDs, including often lengthy and expensive

treatment and loss of breadwinners, are forcing millions of people into poverty annually, stifling

development.

AYURVEDA AND NCDs

In its own terms, expertly practiced Ayurveda can definitely yield reliable, efficacious results when

applied to all manner of chronic diseases. Its etiological theory must be robust. This theory is based

on the concept of ‘Tridosha’ , the three doshas, Vata, Pitta  and  Kapha,  their roles in system,subsystem and organ function and the sequence of processes occurring as they are driven ‘out of

 balance’ in a general sequence known as ‘Shad kriya kala’ , the six stages of dosha imbalance. This

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is the winning point of Ayurvedic theory, allowing it to tackle chronic illness - a ‘Trojan Horse’  

transporting the guardians of health into the camp of disease.

The reason why biomedicine cannot treat chronic disease as effectively as Ayurveda lies in its

apparent lack of any knowledge structures equivalent to Ayurveda's Tridosha and Shad kriya kala. 

Where this lack remedied, it would be able to do so, provided that it also adopted Ayurvedicdiagnostics and approaches to treatment; the whole system is needed, not parts in isolation. That

is why the whole structure of Ayurveda dosha  theory, the theory of tridosha  should then be

extended to include other Ayurveda fundamental concepts; the 5 mahabhutas, 7 dhatus and 13agnis. One uncomfortable fact about Ayurveda is that its knowledge system is very different from

that of biomedicine. Ayurveda never loses sight of the whole, while biomedicine remains primarily

concerned with parts of the system. Ayurveda begins with properties of the whole organism,

starting from the whole system, and moving to smaller and smaller subsystems, so to speak.Biomedicine, on the other hand, being reductionist, is wedded to the idea that, if cause and effect

theories are to be properly articulated, tiniest components must be considered most fundamental,

then building larger structures out of smaller ones. The primary objective of the former is to

describe integration of systems, of the latter, structural components, and their individual function.

Possible Ayurveda method of preventing NCDs

Ayurveda describes about food habits, body purification, purification of the mined, meditation,

medication, Rasayan and Bajikaran etc. Ayurveda is mainly associated with health where modern

medicine and allied sciences are based on illness . Some possible methods preventing NCDs are

illustrated bellow:

Fig. Ayurveda method of preventing NCDs 

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Panchakarma is the best technique to prevent NCDs

Before referring to the benefits one experience through Panchakarma one needs explain thetreatment in regard to the key treatment procedures in the Ayurvedic doctrine. Originally the

detoxification process of Panchakarma is one of the three important stages of Ayurvedic treatment,

namely, Purvakarma or preparatory processes, Panchakarma or combination of five processes thatconstitute the main body of the treatment and Rasayana or healing chemistry of Ayurveda in

comprising the restorative processes, rejuvenating measures, dietary methods and healing herbal

 preparations as well as supplements along with prescriptive life style orientation. In contrast to theother stages that are broader and gross in nature, Panchakarma is the specific Ayurvedic treatment

 process for the purpose of detoxification of the body through 5 specific natural physical processes.

The 5 natural physical treatment processes include Vaman or medicated vomiting, Virechana or

medicated purgation, Basti or medicated enema, Nasya or medicated treatment through the routeof nose and Raktamokshana or bloodletting. The benefits one experience through Panchakarma

treatment varies in accordance with the purity and authenticity of the above mentioned processes.

The Benefits one experience through Panchakarma

The benefits one experience through Panchakarma is huge and varies in accordance to the healthcondition of the deserving patient and the authenticity of the treatment process. The basic function

of purification of the organic process situates the organism on the natural functional process ofnature and thus prevents the body from becoming subject to reaction from the toxic wastes. The

 benefits one experience through Panchakarma primarily relates to this detoxification process. As

our body is vulnerable to the intake of various kind of pollution and polluted materials through our

regular interaction to the external world either by taking inorganic or non-hygienic food or inhaling polluted air or developing other harmful life style habits and thereby accumulating toxic wastes in

the body, the detoxification process is necessary for eliminating the toxic waste from the organic

system and thereby assuring smooth and natural organic function. In complete contrast to thetradition of Allopathic treatment which is centered on the separate treatment of different

syndromes instead of finding and eliminating the root cause of various syndromes, Ayurveda with

such key treatment processes like Panchakarma actually takes the responsibility of the purificationand balancing the whole organic system that can guarantee natural wellbeing as well as health. So

the benefits one experience through Panchakarma not only be considered in regard to treatment of

some particular diseases or disorders, but rather in regard to rendering total health benefits thatwould naturally combat any disorder or disease or any malfunctioned syndromes from the inner

strength and potential of our organic process.

With this fact, surely it is time to explore integrative practice of Ayurveda to treat chronic disease.

When the world of biomedicine is locked into a vision that the best it can do for the chronic diseasecrisis is to let millions languish in the pain and misery of ‘chronic care’, are Ayurveda, or Yoga

and other traditional systems, going to sit by in a state of apathy? Is it not rather our call and ourduty to offer the best of our knowledge and skills to assuage the crisis with which our world is

now faced? All the policy makers, Stake holders of Ayurveda, herbalists and other persons related

to the health should be aware about the emerging problem of NCDs and solution through theholistic Approach of Ayurveda. Now whole concern of the world is how to manage the non

communicable diseases and we have many battles against it. Not only the panchakarma, Ayurveda

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clearly defines the best life style, discipline of life, Health promotional activities, Diseases

 prevention,  Rasayana  &  Bajikarana  techniques and many more methods to prevent the

noncommunicable diseases in the different Acharyas' Samhitas, like Swathyabritta. Mainresponsibility goes under the Ayurveda stakeholders to aware people, pressurize the policy makers

and explore the efficacy of Ayurveda to go in mainstream of health service and prevent from

 NCDs.

In conclusion, Ayurveda is of course old, but the most effective system against all of

noncommunicable diseases than any other systems of treatment. This fact is proved from thesuccessful treatment of many chronic diseases like arthritis, diabetes, thyroids, hypertension,

 parkinsonism, muscular dystrophy, hyperlipidemia, infertility. That is why we obviously

 pronounce, Ayurveda, a battle against communicable disease. This is an opportunity to promote

Ayurbeda in reference to the NCDs and mainstreaming it in the health care system by integratingits services.