What is Ayurveda

What is Ayurveda? Ayurveda is a holistic system of medicine that originated in India centuries ago. The name Ayurveda comes from ayur meaning life and veda meaning science. In India it is believed to be equivalent to modern Western medicine, however, in other places, it is believed to be pseudoscientific. Providers in India who practice Ayurveda undergo similar certifying processes as doctors in the United States. Ayurveda is used to treat a plethora of conditions. It can be used to remedy common conditions such as acne, allergies, nausea, hemorrhoids, stress, and fatigue. In addition, Ayurveda is utilized to treat more severe conditions including diabetes, febrile seizures, and arthritis. 

In Western medicine, it would be unusual for one thing to be able to solve so many problems. Ayurveda achieves this because it is not a drug but rather a lifestyle. It is based on the principles that 1) disease arises from imbalances in a person's consciousness and 2) the body contains three doshas: pitta, vata, and kapha. A person is believed to be dominated by one or two doshas and which dosha is pertinent determines their particular path of treatment. A shift in lifestyle is encouraged in order to restore the balance between the body, the mind, and the environment. This most common change is an adjustment to one's diet. Other treatments include meditation, yoga, and herbal remedies. 

Ayurveda is not a common medical practice in the United States. This is because limited studies have been conducted and in those done, it has been shown that some herbal remedies contain toxic levels of heavy metals. This practice has not been proven to be safe or unsafe. However, if wanted, some products can be obtained as dietary supplements since they are less regulated. It is recommended to speak to a medical provider prior to trying Ayurveda as it may alter the effectiveness of medications. Herbal cocktails utilized for Ayurveda have the potential to either increase or decrease the effectiveness of any prescribed drugs. This could be life threatening in some cases. 

So why does this matter? It has been proven time and time again that there are significant connections between parts of the body. If the lower part of your spine is misaligned, for example, it causes a domino effect, throwing off the balance of the rest of your body. This is because the human body is a complicated system, and homeostasis must be maintained, or the system fails to function as intended. The human mind must remain in a healthy state in order for the body to also remain healthy. This is why yoga and other exercises are often used in combination with herbs when practicing Ayurveda. Other holistic approaches to healthcare have also arisen and I believe they would cease to exist if bodily systems were not intertwined.  

Diabetes is a condition which impacts millions of people around the world. It arises when a person cannot properly regulate their insulin production. This imbalance, which begins in the pancreas, can affect every other organ in the body. Not only does diabetes have a physical impact, but it has an ecological impact. Ayurveda has been used as a treatment  for diabetes. The idea is that restricting certain foods in your diet can allow you to prevent spikes in your blood glucose levels. I believe Ayurveda would be a more effective treatment for type 2 diabetes than type 1 diabetes. This is because for many type 2 diabetes patients, the imbalance of the physiological systems stems from poor diet, lack of exercise, and high blood pressure. All of these factors can be reversed through proper planning and execution.

The Link Between Diabetes, Our Gut Microbiome, & Ayurveda

 Ayurveda was created in India around 3,000 years ago and focuses on the connection between our body, mind, spirit, and environment. Some people might dismiss this ancient concept because they think it’s outdated, but I absolutely think that there is a connection between our body, mind, spirit, and our environment. Our environment (current events, relationships with other organisms and humans, stress, chemicals, location) can have an impact on the cells in our body and impact our physical, spiritual, and mental health. How we choose to react to external events will shape our environment and our body’s well-being. The way that we treat our own body (exercise, diet, setting healthy boundaries, healthy relationships, pursuing interests and passions) will have an impact on our physical health, emotional well-being, mental health, and spirit. The environment that we live in and the choices that we make as we react to the world around us will impact our body’s health. I often think about the saying “what goes around comes around.” What you put into the world will ultimately have an impact on you. What you put into your body will have an impact on your cells. Your cells will respond to the environment that they are in and that can have an impact on how you physically and emotionally feel.  It’s a continuous cycle that involves factors that can be in our control or out of our control. 

When something is disrupted in a cell’s environment, our body’s well being could be jeopardized and become diseased. For example, if we experience a lot of chronic stress from school and work, it could cause our body and mind to become unbalanced and unhealthy. We might be getting less sleep and eating poorly. We aren’t getting enough exercise and taking time to recharge and rest. Our immune system could become compromised and we might be more likely to get sick. We could develop high blood pressure and potentially experience long term cardiovascular health consequences. Our mental health could deteriorate and we might feel depressed or anxious. We begin to neglect things that are important to us like our relationships or our spirituality. Disease doesn’t just affect our body; it affects our mind and spirit too. 

I would argue that Ayurveda ties into the field of epigenetics. Epigenetics focuses on how our environment and behavior influences what genes in our cells are expressed or “turned on.” If a “bad” gene is turned on in our cells because of a factor in our environment, then this can lead to disease. While Ayurveda is an ancient and holistic idea and epigenetics is a scientific field of study, I think that they intertwine and both concepts explore the connection between body and environment. I have decided to explore this topic for my capstone thesis.

One topic that interested me in this module is the link between Type II diabetes, our intestinal microbiome, and our overall health. I took time to read a handful of published academic articles that explore the link between a western diet, T2DM, and our gut microbiota. 

One group of researchers (Rodrigues et al. 2021) found that different species of bacteria that live in our intestines can have a major impact on our physical health by potentially increasing our risks of developing obesity and diabetes. There are good and bad bacteria species that live in our gut. Lactobacillus bacteria species such as L. johnsonii and L. gasseri are considered good bacteria because there is evidence that they improve our body’s glucose metabolism. Romboustia bacteria species such as R. ilaelis and R. gnavus are thought to be harmful and worsen our body’s glucose metabolism. Additionally, R. gnavus is thought to help cause obesity and R. ilaelis has been linked to a decreased function in pancreatic beta cells. If pancreatic beta cells aren’t functioning, that can increase our risk of developing Type II Diabetes Mellitus. The “Western Diet” is high in refined sugars and fats. Individuals who frequently eat foods that are associated with the western diet, especially in first world countries such as the United States, may be at a higher risk of disrupting and changing their microbiome. People may have an increased chance of having fewer good gut bacteria and an increase in bad gut bacteria. This change in the gut microbiome, called dysbiosis, could be contributing to why many folks have obesity and glucose intolerance in the United States and ultimately end up developing Type 2 diabetes.

I read another published article (Chen et al. 2021) that found that people with T2DM have gut microbiota that have more microbiome species diversity than people without T2DM. Additionally, they found 12 groups of gut bacteria that were associated with T2DM (including the Romboustia bacteria species). Our gut microbiome changes based on what we eat. A lifetime of eating foods that are dense in calories and highly processed could have detrimental effects on the microbes living inside of us.

I also found one last article (Adeshirlarijaney & Gewirtz, 2020) that discusses how to fix gut dysbiosis in T2DM patients. One treatment option is fecal microbiota transplants (FMT), which can help replace an unhealthy gut microbiome with a new one that is balanced. If a diabetes patient receives a FMT from a healthy individual, they might be able to lose weight and gain back glucose intolerance. Their T2DM could become more manageable with this treatment. Some other treatments mentioned in this article include probiotics that contain several Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus bacteria species. Introducing these probiotics to the gut could also help to increase “good” bacteria concentrations. This article also mentions other treatments such as prescribed medications, herbal agents, and dietary fiber intake. 

It’s amazing to think that our cell’s ability (or inability) to remove excess glucose from our bloodstream could be linked to little indivisible microorganisms that live in our intestines. This really ties into the idea of Ayurveda. The connection between our body and our gut bacteria has the potential to keep us healthy or increase our risk of obesity and diabetes. The bacteria respond to the environment that we provide for them in our gut; how we choose to eat and live our lives could negatively or positively impact these microorganisms. In return, those microorganisms can have an impact on our bodies. It’s a two way connection. What you put into your body positively or negatively affects what happens to you and the bacteria living in your gut.

The Connection Between Disease and Imbalance

  What is Ayurveda exactly? Ayurveda is a natural system of medicine originating in India and translating to the knowledge of life. This term is based on the idea of balance throughout our bodily systems, our minds, and our consciousness. It classifies diseases according to where they originate physically, psychologically, and spiritually. The purpose of Ayurveda is to protect the health of the healthy and alleviate the disorders in diseased people by helping them find their individual balance in their own bodies. 

Ayurveda classifies balance through three doshas: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Vata deals with movement in the lower abdomen and the mind. If the Vata is disturbed it can cause fear, depression, and nervousness. Pitta deals with energy, mainly in the middle of the body. Excess Pitta can create feelings of anger, hate, and jealousy. Kapha deals with cohesion, lubrication, and structure in the chest and upper torso. If the Kapha dosha is aggravated it can cause feelings of possessiveness, greed, and attachment. In some practices, humans are classified according to their doshas, and which of them dominates creating an imbalance in the body. This can show susceptibility to certain illnesses. Different imbalances in these doshas can be caused by many things like diet, changing or different environments, emotions, and other experiences a person might encounter. 

The balance of the doshas is not only centered on humans dealing with balance, but it also functions with all living organisms. Think about intaking something that’s already out of balance and just imagine how that can affect everything inside of you. If one system in your body is out of balance, take for example your digestive system, it not only affects your digestion and ability to absorb nutrients, but problems with those lead to other problems like mental health, problems with skin, and could cause issues with your gut microbiome. In order to be healthy, people need balance in all aspects of their lives. For this reason, people are starting to take a closer look at these medicinal practices and how finding imbalances can be the key to dealing with illnesses and diseases and finding the root causes of them.

I believe the Ayurveda concept makes complete sense when dealing with how disease prevails in humans and other animals. All the systems of the body have to work in harmony in order to keep us healthy and strong so it would be extremely beneficial to look into how imbalance affects how our body works. Not only would it be great to explore how those imbalances create these diseases we are seeing, but also how we can learn to treat just those specific portions of the body or disease to bring back that balance we need while not disrupting any other systems through side effects or anything else that would create another change in the body that’s not particularly necessary. 

Metabolism refers to the bodily process of extracting energy from food. The cell’s metabolism is all of the chemical reactions that collectively take place inside of a cell. The end product, or intermediate product, of metabolism, are metabolites that maintain balance by the metabolic pathways staying tightly regulated. Everything you ingest is being metabolized and is converted into energy by combining with oxygen in the body. In order for the body to maintain this cycle, it needs balance within the systems.

Diabetes messes with the metabolism by affecting the body's processes and preventing the body from storing energy that it gets from the food we intake. This happens because the reduced insulin levels create high blood glucose levels that can lead to serious consequences. Diabetes connects to the microbiome and other systems of the body. One imbalance of the hormones, like beta-cell damage, can cause many different issues in the body like increased lipolysis, decreased peripheral muscle uptake, and increased glucose production. With everything in the body being connected, it’s no surprise that it’s not only the pancreas that regulates glucose levels. Your liver can also produce glucose and the organs work together. Glucose released from the metabolism after being fed is dietary glucose and the release of that causes hepatic glucose to be inhibited.

Like many other diseases, diabetes comes with other complications if not properly treated. Damage to the blood vessels in the eyes, also known as diabetic retinopathy, is caused by high blood sugar and can cause blurry vision or can completely stop blood flow by damaging the retina. Kidneys are also overworked causing nephropathy which is the deterioration of kidney function and can lead to end-stage renal disease. Peripheral nervous system nerves can be damaged by decreased blood flow and high blood sugar causing pain and numbness, this is one of the most common complications of diabetes. Narrowing of the blood vessels also occurs because the high amount of glucose in the blood decreases the elasticity of blood vessels which can lead to a lack of blood flow to the extremities. Diabetes also increases your risk of having a stroke, high blood pressure, and coronary heart disease. 

Along with all of the biological factors of diabetes, there are also economic and societal impacts placed on individuals with the disease. Many people consider it a pandemic and the World Health Organization estimates that it will be the 7th leading cause of death by the time we get to 2030. The cost to take care of the disease in the United States has also risen by 41%. Your wallet not only gets dented from regulating the disease itself but also from the additional bills you have to pay that come from complications arising from the disease requiring hospital stays, new medications, or procedures. 

When there is an imbalance in one area of your life, it affects another area, and another, and so on. We are affected by disease not only in our bodies, but in our daily lives. In the activities we do, how we spend our money, how we live. Your whole life could change one day because you find out your beta cells are damaged. You change what you eat, the activities you do, how you save and spend your money, all to get yourself back in balance because of one little change. We as people make these changes because we know we need to keep that balance in order to stay healthy and happy. We may not know how to keep that balance but that’s what we figure out on the way to finding it and that is why Ayurveda is so important.

Ayurveda Benefits

 

Mercy Rhodes

Ayurveda Benefits

Ayurveda styled treatments can be beneficial and do work. Although we may not understand exactly why it can help certain ailments, they can still be useful. I believe prevention and medical treatments are the most effective at treating illnesses. However, through research we do know that psychology and mindset can be powerful tools to combat illnesses. The placebo effect could be the reasoning behind our mental state determining the outcome of treatment. I think the best course of action is to make sure that mind, body, and spirit are healthy so that all bases are covered. This ensures there is a higher chance of overcoming the problem.

Ayurveda is a type of holistic treatment that focuses on connecting the mind, body, and spirit. It is thought that if one or more of these areas need work, it can greatly affect the rest of your health and wellness. The mind and body connection has already been researched in the use of placebo effects and medications. Research has proven that physical and psychological changes in the body can occur due to the idea or expectation that the treatment will work. The brain is a powerful tool that is often overlooked. Ayurveda expands upon and utilizes the fact that our mind, body, and spirit are all intertwined and working together.

Diabetes is a physical disorder that can be very serious if not treated properly. There are medications and medical treatments that already exist to help manage a diabetes diagnosis. However, it would most likely be beneficial to add Ayurveda treatment for added improvement in quality of life. Mental health, lifestyle choices, diet, and fitness are some of the factors that can have a large impact on how a patient with diabetes is doing. Ayurveda seeks to focus on and bring about a more well-rounded and satisfying lifestyle. Ayurveda helps prioritize the important things in life.

 

References

            "Diabetes." World Health Organization, 10 Nov. 2021, www.who.int/news-room/fact-           sheets/detail/diabetes.

Paranjpe, P., Patki, P., & Patwardhan, B. (1990). Ayurvedic treatment of obesity: a randomised double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Journal of ethnopharmacology, 29(1), 1-11.

The Link Between Ayurveda and Diabetes

Ayurveda
    Ayurveda is all about balance. This includes balance between body, mind, and spirit. Balance within the body is critical for good health. When studying disease, the idea of ayurveda is extremely relevant. Disease occurs when there is disorder and imbalance present within different organs and processes. Meaning that through practicing ayurveda medicine and maintaining bodily balance, we should be able to prevent disease. 
Balance within our body is affected by many different factors. Some of these being environment, diet, and emotions, among others. Many of these factors are interconnected and can affect specific processes within the body causing an imbalance. Understanding how these factors affect balance, can help us to understand a disease as well. It is suggested by scientific trials that ayurvedic approaches are effective in helping prevent and treat certain diseases. A clinical trial showed that ayurvedic medicine is effective in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. However, studies also show that ayurvedic approaches can also cause harm to the body. Many ayurvedic preparations include metals such as lead and mercury. These metals can be harmful to the body in large amounts, and may cause issues within the body. 
Ayurveda classifies disease into three different categories according to origin; physical, psychological, or spiritual. Classification determines the way in which the disease is treated. External factors such as environment, diet, living habits, and weather are very capable of creating disease such as the diseases that arise due to internal factors. Ayurvedic medicine believes that disturbance that is presented in the physical form will later affect the mind. For example, disturbance in the vata dosha is believed to lead to fear, depression, and nervousness. 
The idea of ayurvedic medicine is very interesting and can get very complex. I think that ayurvedic medicine can be beneficial when used along with traditional medicine. Balance within the body, or homeostasis, is important for good health and proper bodily function. Disturbance within an environment or diet, can lead to disturbance in homeostasis throughout the body. This is why it makes sense that ayurvedic practices have been suggested to be fairly effective for certain diseases. If balance within the body equals a healthy and properly functioning body, 
Diabetes
    In order for cells to survive and stay healthy, they are constantly carrying out chemical reactions in pathways that make up the metabolism. The metabolism pathways are extremely complex and must be regulated and maintained. One disease that is caused by an imbalance within our body is diabetes. When the body is not able to correctly balance the pathways that control glucose levels, it can lead to diabetes. Diabetes is said to be an epidemic due to the high number of individuals diagnosed with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes.  Recently, the CDC has released the 2022 National Diabetes Statistics Report. Within this report, it was estimated that “more than 130 million adults are living with diabetes or prediabetes in the United States.” There are many different factors that increase or decrease the risk of getting diabetes including age, weight, diet, and genetics. Diabetes can affect many different pathways throughout the body including the brain, kidneys, and colon among others. The interruption within ayurveda causes interruptions in many different places in the body. 
The cause of each type of diabetes however, is different. The causes for type 1 diabetes includes hereditary predisposition, autoimmune diseases, removal or damage of the pancreas, among a few others. The risk factors of type 2 diabetes include physical inactivity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and race/ethnicity. Obesity appears to be a large driver in the progression of type 2 diabetes. This is a modifiable risk factor, so why aren’t people doing more to place their health in their own hands?
In 2013, five of the 15 leading causes of death were related to physical inactivity. I have been trying to brainstorm the reasons why so many individuals are watching their own health deteriorate. Within the CDC’s National Statistics Report for Diabetes, there was a link between diabetes and poverty. Having access to an overabundance of unhealthy food with no access to healthy food is directly contributing to the diabetes epidemic. 
    I think another reason reversing the diabetes epidemic is so hard is because there is a lack of education within the general population. Scientists and physicians are painfully aware of the repercussions that physical inactivity, and unhealthy diet can have on the body. However, this doesn’t mean that everyone in the general public is aware. I think that if education on diabetes and the risk factors was increased, the percentage of the population diagnosed with diabetes would decrease. 
Effects on other parts of the body
    The imbalance of glucose and hormone levels within the body of someone diagnosed with diabetes interrupts Ayurveda and can lead to other diseases. Hyperglycemia results in oxidative stress through the production of ROS. ROS toxicity leads to damage to all Macromolecules. Diabetes can lead to complications of the microvascular and macrovascular systems. When an individual is diagnosed with diabetes, the risk of stroke increases, the risk of heart disease increases, and slow healing of the extremities due to narrowing of blood vessels can lead to complications. 
Biosocial approach to Diabetes
We know that diabetes can be caused due to several different biological factors, but social factors can have just as large an effect on the body’s ayurveda. In order to productivity treat and prevent diabetes, the social determinants must be considered. Social determinants include income, employment level, education level, as well as living conditions. The effects of diabetes can also be expressed mentally. Through research, it has been shown that low levels of glucose increase aggression levels due to the body not having the energy to control impulses. Brad Bushman, et al, did a study on married couples, and the results showed that individuals with lower glucose levels were more likely to express higher levels of aggression towards their spouse. 
    The effect that diabetes has on the body can cause imbalance within many different areas of the body, as well as life. This is directly linked to and can be explained by Ayurveda. Focusing on the balance within life, such as physical activity, diet, and sleep can help control the effects of diabetes. 
Sources
    Bushman, Brad J., DeWall, C.Nathan, Pond, Richard S, Hanus, Michael D. (2014, April 14). Low glucose relates to greater aggression in married couples. PNAS Nexus https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.1400619111
    National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2022, March 7). Cost-Effectiveness of Diabetes Interventions. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/programs-impact/pop/diabetes.htm
    National DPP Customer Service Center. (2022, January 26). CDC 2022 National Diabetes Statistics Report. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://nationaldppcsc.cdc.gov/s/article/CDC-2022-National-Diabetes-Statistics-Report 

An Ayurvedic Approach to Diabetes and Illness

    The study of medicine can be dated back to around 2600 BC, with it first being mentioned in different texts recovered from the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, and has since then undergone many facelifts as it adapts and changes with the world around it and the knowledge humans have gained throughout time. The medicinal practices created thousands of years ago may not look exactly like medicine does today, but many ideologies from long ago have remained a staple in different cultures and can still be found in modern-day medicine. One of these medicinal practices was a natural medicinal system developed in India over 3,000 years ago known as Ayurveda; it is the idea that perfect health is defined as a balance between body, mind, spirit, and social wellbeing. It is thought that one can only truly be healthy when each of these categories is perfectly balanced with one another, as an imbalance in these causes major disruption within the body, leading to poor health and disease. Though seemingly archaic given that it was developed thousands of years ago, some modern medicine seeks to incorporate Ayurveda into their practices to look further into what could be causing an illness instead of limiting it to strictly physiological disease and disfunction—our bodies are in constant interaction with itself and the world around us, so it is justifiable to look at how balanced the body is with the mind, spirit, and environment and use all of it to come to a conclusion about what could be causing the ailment. The body is not a singular entity but relies on the world around us to keep it functioning just as much as it relies on its own processes to stay functioning. Ayurveda is not widely accepted in every modern medical clinic but is on the rise in modern countries as they seek to find less pervasive and more personalized medical care. Despite the sometimes intolerance to this ideology, Ayurveda is actually incredibly similar to another topic that is taught in nearly every Biology class available: homeostasis. Homeostasis is a state of steady equilibrium between interdependent elements that keep something properly functioning, which is the same ideology behind Ayurveda, just on a smaller scale. The two, in my opinion, go hand in hand—one smaller in scale and the other larger in scale—because they argue the same point, just on different planes. Ayurveda is to health what homeostasis is to the body, and homeostasis is just one version of Ayurveda. 

Homeostasis within the body is significantly important to one’s health and wellness but is also necessary for metabolism to take place. Metabolism is a very complex and systematic process that is composed of every individual chemical reaction that takes place within the body—it is the life-sustaining chemical reactions that are carried out to keep the body functioning properly. Collectively, the chemical reactions are known as metabolic pathways, which are tightly regulated, direct in the course, and precise in nature to properly maintain the flow of the metabolites that they produce. Metabolic pathways are not only hard-working, but resilient when predictable changes within the body occur, though should the environment be unpredictable and homeostasis is off-kilter, the metabolic pathway cannot perform as it needs to which leads to illness, disease, and complications within the body. There is a multitude of diseases that can occur from an improperly functioning metabolic pathway, though one of the most common and pervasive diseases resulting from this is known as diabetes. 

Diabetes is a classic case of metabolic homeostatic imbalance occurring when the body loses control over glucose levels through the inability to make enough insulin or the inability to properly use insulin leading to an imbalance of insulin and glucagon in the body. This imbalance leads to a multitude of issues within the body on both the microscopic and macroscopic scales, all of which are connected to one another in some way. Insulin helps carry sugar from the bloodstream into the cells, which then convert the sugar into energy, fueling our bodily functions. When the hormone insulin is diminished or unable to be properly used, there is a build-up of glucose in the blood which increases blood glucose levels to a risky amount which leads to other complications—blindness, kidney disease, nerve damage, heart attacks, and even strokes. All of these complications are caused by an imbalance of insulin and glucagon which is an imbalance in metabolic homeostasis. The consequences of just one hormone being out of balance are severe and numerous because of how interconnected the body is, and that interconnectedness maintains itself throughout every aspect of our lives; the body is just as connected with itself as it is with our thought processes, the environments we live in, and the way we interact with everything around us. Diabetes may be an internal imbalance, but the way we live externally does not only affect how diabetes presents itself in a person, but also the likelihood of getting the disease as well.

A multitude of studies has linked diabetes to poor eating habits, exercise regimes, and the way we choose to use our bodies. America is notorious for its extra-large and sugary food portions, its love of toxins and drugs, and its all-too-common laziness that many other countries love to point out; sure none of these are really bodily functions, but believe it or not, they are causes of diabetes in Americans. The food you choose to consume, the amount of exercise you commit yourself to, and even the income level of the population you grow up with are just a few factors that affect the likelihood of you getting this disease. Recent studies have shown that diabetes is more prevalent in low-income populations; this could have a lot of reasons attached to it, but the ones I found to be the most interesting are that of repetitive unhealthy behaviors and stress linked to poorer populations. Unhealthy food typically lasts longer in storage, is easier to buy in bulk, and more often cheaper than healthier alternatives; when a family is struggling financially, they will buy cheaper foods that will stretch further, and I can promise you that fresh produce and protein are not the cheaper options. This leads to unhealthy eating behaviors because it is not only what the family can afford, but it is what the family gets accustomed to. When people are struggling just to put food on the table, it can lead to high amounts of stress. These two factors put together are a deadly combination and one that can lead to an increased likelihood of developing diabetes. This example just goes to show that it is more than just your body that plays a part in your health, but also the environment around you and the way your mind is working, which just further supports the idea of Ayurveda and the interconnectedness one has with their mind, body, spirit, and environment. When an environment is unstable and when someone is struggling with their mental health, it creates a deadly cocktail that opens a person up to physical health issues that can be prevented not with medicine or treatment, but by realigning your life in a healthy way and working through the detrimental outside forces that are a cause of the illness at hand. 

Ayurveda is a very fascinating ideology, it does not seek to treat an illness but instead seeks to encourage lifestyle interventions, natural therapies, and overall health improvement by regaining balance between the mind, body, and environment. The goal is to create and live a healthy life before illness can take hold of one’s life, further spiraling one’s balance further out of control. It is not just one’s physical health that can affect their body’s ability to function properly, but everything it comes into contact with as well. One of the best ways I have found to describe how Ayurveda works is by analogizing it to Newton’s third law: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. For example, if you jump, your legs apply a force to the ground, and the ground applies an equal and opposite reacting force that propels you into the air; if you have unhealthy energy surrounding you and your body, your body will, in turn, become unhealthy and emit poor energy back. When you give a sponge dirty dishwater to clean up, it will drain dirty dishwater back when it is rung out; the body is the same in terms of Ayurveda. The more stressed you are, the more unhealthy food you eat, the more you tell yourself you aren’t good enough, and the more negative energy you give your body, the more negative energy it will give out in illness and disease. Diabetes is just one example of disruption of the balance in the body, but it is all-encompassing in showing the relationships between our body and the world around us. By putting more energy and focus into the relationships between our mind, body, spirit, and environment, we will be able to find the discrepancies in our lives causing the problems and find solutions to them before they affect our health to the point of disease, illness, and sometimes, death. After all, you can try to treat a disease with every medicine under the sun, but if you refuse to find the cause of the disease, you will be stuck in a never-ending loop of wrong medications, increasing numbers of problems, and a world of pain and discomfort.

The Impacts of Diabetes on the Balance of the Human Body

  Diabetes is a disease that is severely overlooked in the US. Although most of us know someone who struggles with this disease, I believe the effects to be misunderstood and under-taught. In fact, I think most of the population only knows two facts about diabetes. We know that this disease has a large effect on blood sugar levels, and we know that it is often caused by obesity. These facts are very important to gaining a clear understanding of the disease but further knowledge is required in order to decrease the effects of it on our population. Throughout this paper I want to focus on what these two factors mean, and how this disease affects the balance of our regular body systems.

In order to understand why this disease is so serious, we need to have a general understanding of the disease and how it works. In order to understand this, we need to also understand a bit of the normal processes of the human body. The process that is most directly affected by diabetes is the balance of blood glucose levels in the body. Our body uses two chemical signals to regulate blood glucose levels. These are glucagon and insulin. Many of us have heard of the latter but are unaware of its natural process in the body. Insulin converts glucose into glycogen and also works to open glucose channels in our cells. So in whole, insulin works to move glucose from the blood to storage or our cells to be used. Glucagon does the exact opposite of insulin. Glucagon converts glycogen into glucose that is transferred to our blood supply. So, put more simply, insulin lowers our blood glucose levels while glucagon raises it. Our body is constantly working to regulate the concentrations of each of these two chemicals to control the amount of glucose that is in our blood supply. When these become unbalanced, the body struggles to maintain the balanced blood glucose levels which leads to diabetes. The treatments that are used by doctors work to maintain this balance. When the balance is restored, the body functions normally. 

Despite the efforts of medical professionals to control the effects of diabetes, we as a community still suffer from this disease. The imbalanced chemicals in our bloodstream lead to several other issues in our bodies. Our GI tract stops metabolizing correctly, our neurons are unable to fire correctly, and our heart is overworked. In fact, upon my research, it is difficult to locate a process that is unaffected by diabetes. While medicine is improving constantly, the best thing we can do to prevent diabetes is maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Most cases of diabetes are caused by obesity in the US. One possible reason for this upward trend in obesity could be the sudden change in environmental factors. With new arising technologies, we have less of a need for manual labor. This means a greater need to set aside time for exercise and a healthy diet. When we put the needed effort towards preventing diabetes we save ourselves from many symptoms of diabetes by restoring the natural balance in our bodies.

Overall, the main takeaway that I gained from my research of diabetes was the effect it has on the balance of our natural body systems. This balance is referred to as ayurveda. When all systems in the body are properly balanced, the body is healthy. Any unbalance leads to symptoms from the body as an effort to restore balance to the body. As we lead healthy lifestyles, the body becomes better adept at balancing these systems. 

Works Cited

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, December 16). What is diabetes? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved June 24, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/diabetes.html#:~:text=With%20diabetes%2C%20your%20body%20either,and%20released%20into%20your%20bloodstream. 

Home. American Diabetes Association | Research, Education, Advocacy. (n.d.). Retrieved June 24, 2022, from https://www.diabetes.org/ 

Ayurveda. Johns Hopkins Medicine. (2019, December 2). Retrieved June 24, 2022, from https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/ayurveda 

Relationships Are Complicated

            Single. Married. It’s complicated. A relationship status label helps us to define and share the condition of our relationship. It can be posted on social media to be shared with the world or it can be discussed privately between partners. There is often no right or wrong status for relationships. It’s complicated. Like physical and emotional relationships, everything we interact with inside and outside of our bodies has relationships, and it’s complicated. As I have studied Ayurveda, diabetes, and microbiomes I have noticed a common theme between them all. They are all based on relationships.  Whether it be blood sugar levels or the number of microbes in our gut, it all comes back to the topic of Ayurveda, which is all about keeping relationships happy and in homeostasis.

 

            First, it is important to understand what Ayurveda is and how it applies to relationships. “The term Ayurveda is derived from the Sanskrit words ayur (life) and veda (science or knowledge).” With these definitions, Ayurveda means the knowledge of life. This also means knowing and understanding the relationship between life and science. The more we know about our lives and our health, the more we can help, support, and heal ourselves specifically. How we care for our body’s relationships in our life determine our quality of life. If we take care of our bodies and maintain relationships properly then we are less likely to get sick. In Ayurvedic medicine, its main goal is to promote good health, not fight disease. Ayurvedic medicine believes in the delicate balance between mind, body, and spirit. 

The definition of Ayurveda reminds me very close to the definition of Osteopathic medicine, which is a holistic form of medicine. The PCOM website says, “Osteopathic medicine is a "whole person" approach to medicine—treating the entire person rather than just the symptoms. With a focus on preventive health care, Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DOs) help patients develop attitudes and lifestyles that don't just fight illness, but help prevent it, too.” With this definition, I would believe that Ayurveda and Osteopathy come from the same root concepts. This concept is helping and healing through natural methods. Believing our body can heal itself and prevent diseases effectively is important in these forms of medicine. Caring for the relationships that have been made in our body helps us not only heal ourselves but to prevent disease. 

 

One of the diseases that is directly affected by the balance and relationships in our body is diabetes. I have some personal connections with diabetes. I have multiple family members that have been diagnosed and are living with diabetes. One of them is my grandpa who was only diagnosed with type two diabetes after he had been fighting and beat lymphoma cancer. I haven’t talked to him too much about how diabetes developed, but I know that it was in correlation with his other treatments and other health problems. This continues to encourage the idea that all diseases can be connected to each other in our bodies. He tells me stories about how active he was and how he used to run marathons very easily, but after the got cancer his entire health and wellness declined. This can call back to my research earlier in the field of Ayurveda and about how everything is connected in our bodies. Cancer treatments and other factors interrupted and affected his metabolic relationships which resulted in diabetes. His relationships got complicated. 

 

Diabetes can be caused by glucose or insulin imbalances in our bodies. In studying beta cells and what really causes diabetes, it is easy to see that there is a domino effect with diabetes. Beta-cell function causes hyperglycemia, affecting the brain, muscles, tissues, kidneys, etc. Diabetes can have a great effect on lots of different parts of our bodies. When applying that to the general idea of metabolism and relationships, there are many chemical reactions that need to take place for our bodies to work. That means that we need substrates, enzymes, and cofactors as well as the correct conditions like temperature and pH for these chemical reactions to take place. If something up the pathway isn’t working and producing correctly, then other things towards the end of the pathway will not work either. Glucose and insulin are both just single parts of a greater relationship between our bodies and the world, but if their levels are incorrect, then other reactions are affected negatively as well. 

 

Overall, we have been making relationships our entire lives. Before we were born, we were creating chemical relationships. As we developed, we made connections between cells. While growing our organs learned to work together. Since then, we have made many more relationships, as well as tried to keep our previous ones intact. But it’s complicated. Ayurveda is an idea that can help us to maintain and prevent disease, or complications, in our health. Diabetes is an example of a disease in a “complicated relationship”. As we study relationships and understand the relationship status, we can better understand and prevent disease. 

 

 

 

The Ayurveda and Diabetes Connection

    Ayurveda was an interesting concept for me to explore and learn more about. I have always believed that we obtain the highest degree of overall health when we are healthy in all aspects of our lives, including physical and mental health. Ayurveda is a completely new term and practice to me, but thee idea and principles behind the big picture of Ayurveda is something that I have long believed. Ayurveda, I found, is thee connection between mind, body, and spirit to obtain the highest level of health. Ayurveda, being one of the world's oldest forms of holistic medicine focuses on the whole body, rather than just treating specific ailments, like our idea of modern medicine often does. Ayurveda doesn't focus just on treating disease but is aimed to promote entire physical body health.

 

Ayurveda has 3 main life forces, and the combination and power of these life forces determines what physical ailments you are likely to suffer from. An Ayurvedic practitioner will take into account all of the life forces and strength of each when deciding the best treatment to create the balance that is needed to achieve maximum health. 

An individual can decline physically if there is something out of balance in the mind or soul. Take stress for an example. Stress is not inherently a physical ailment, it's very much a mental imbalance, but stress can lead to physical ailments if not taken care of and balance is not restored.

Diabetes, specifically, is very much a physical ailment. The two types of diabetes each affect the body differently, are treated differently, present differently, and are caused by different factors. Type I diabetes, which is considered an autoimmune disease (the immune system attacks the body's insulin producing cells,) can be extremely detrimental to an individual's health as insulin is an essential protein for proper function of the body and endocrine system. In terms of type I diabetes, Ayurveda style treatment is not necessarily the way to go, because you body lacks the proper proteins for proper function and restoring balance without medication and insulin that replaces what is missing is not always possible. 

Type 2 diabetes is different from type I in that it is developed over time, mostly through lifestyle choices, and can be avoided completely, or managed, with lifestyle changes. Ayurvedic treatment is completely geared towards managing type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes treatments are all about balance and finding the proper lifestyle to diminish symptoms and manage the disease. Something went wrong somewhere which caused an individual to make choices that in turn caused them to develop diabetes. Type 2 diabetes really is an imbalance in the body, and life, and sometimes mind (which can influence lifestyle.) Finding balance is the core of Ayurvedic treatment and the core of managing type 2 diabetes. 

There is so much overlap between Ayurveda and type 2 diabetes. Diet, lifestyle, and mental health all need to be in line and balanced for an individual to treat type 2 diabetes. The number of individuals developing type 2 diabetes today is increasing. The World Health Organization's statistics on diabetes states that in 1980 it was estimated that roughly 108 million people were living with type 2 diabetes and that number had risen to 422 million in 2014. 

With our ever changing world and the priorities of society today is is not surprising that diabetes diagnoses are rising. One of thee main factors influencing the development of type 2 diabetes is weight and lifestyle, which are connected in many ways. Much of this imbalance comes from our shifting priorities. Our society has shifted from having a work life balance, to being all about work and forgetting that we need to have a life outside of work (work to live, not live to work!) This has caused a detrimental shift in the lifestyle that society values. As a society, we no longer prioritize ourselves and our mental health, but prioritize our paychecks. This is difficult, especially today when many people and families are living paycheck to paycheck. Finding the balance here is obviously much more difficult. It is nearly impossible to shift the perspective of an entire country, and the rates of diabetes and the costs of treating diabetes are showing that. 

 

                 

Sources

"Diabetes." World Health Organization, 10 Nov. 2021, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes.

Holistic metabolism

  Ayurvedic medicine is a holistic healing that draws a connection between the mind, body, and spirit. A deficiency in any of these dimensions can greatly influence the other dimensions, and your overall health. This connection between the mind and body can be seen in modern medicine based off the use of placebo medications. It has been shown that some patients receiving placebo medications are able to produce physiological changes in their body solely based off the expectation from their mind that the medication will work. Ayurvedic medicine is known as the science of life, and the idea that everything in the world is made of energy. These energies can be split into three doshas, Vata, Pitta, and Kapha, each of which are related to a bodily function. “Vata is the energy of movement; pitta is the energy of digestion or metabolism and kapha, the energy of lubrication and structure” (Lad, 2021).  It is the decreased function of any of these doshas which is seen to be the cause of disease in the body. 

A process that can largely affect each of these doshas and your bodies overall health is metabolism. Metabolism is a process that can be linked to many pathways throughout the body and works by extracting energy from the food you eat. This energy is then converted to a form your body can use for its physiological processes. Diabetes is an example of a disorder that can impair metabolism by reducing the amount of insulin in the body, which in turn prevents the body from storing extra energy. For example, in the body, carbohydrates will be broken down into glucose, which is then released into the bloodstream to carry energy throughout the body. If blood glucose levels raise too much, the body will promote the pancreases to release insulin, which causes the liver to remove glucose from the blood and turn it into glycogen (Diabetes and Metabolism, 2021). Glycogen is then able to be stored in the body for later use. Those with diabetes have decreased insulin levels and are not able to stimulate the liver to remove the glucose. This leaves high levels of glucose in the blood, as well as prevents the body from storing excess glucose for later use.  

Ayurvedic medicine sees diabetes as an imbalance in the dosha of Vata. The major causes of this imbalance are physical inactivity, excessive sleep, and eating excess sugar and curds (Ayurveda and Diabetes, 2022). To treat diabetes and bring Vata back into balance it is vital that the person starts to maintain a healthier lifestyle (including diet and regular exercise). Several herbs such as Amla and Triphala are recommended, as well as the introduction of bitter fruits and vegetables into the diet. 

Works Cited  

Lad, Vasant. “A Brief Introduction and Guide.” Ayurveda, 6 Dec. 2021, https://www.ayurveda.com/ayurveda-a-brief-introduction-and-guide/.  

“Diabetes and Metabolism: The Impact of Type 1 and Type 2.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 2021, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/diabetes-and-metabolism#diabetes-and-metabolism. 

“Ayurveda and Diabetes: Everything That You Must Know!” Kerala Ayurveda , 2022, https://www.keralaayurveda.biz/blog/ayurveda-for-diabetes-guide-to-wellness. 

Crazy Connections

Garrett Darrington

24 June 2022

Diabetes and Ayurveda

Capstone Blog

Connections in the Body

            Ayurveda according to google is a natural system of medicine that originated in India over 3000 years ago. I had honestly never heard of this topic before just researching it, but I have heard of other cultures using natural medicine to treat illness. It is interesting that it is considered just as useful as regular western medicine in India to the point the people will commonly use both to treat a patient. The balance between the body and stress or anxiety is a common illness that this treatment seems adapt at treating by balancing the body, and purifying it of harmful energy. Ayurveda is based upon 5 elements: space/ether, air/wind, fire, water, and earth. Wind is the communication and movement of the body such as nervous system, joints, elimination of waste and so on. Fire relates to the metabolic process, and earth relates to the structure of the body such as tissues, bones, and muscles. It is said that both Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine focus is the patient rather than the disease, and I think that we can take a lot of away from this in Western cultures. I feel like that in the West, we have a tendency to look a disease and not a patient as much because doctors are taught to solve the problem. This is becoming more of an issue because doctors will not listen to patients. However, it is their body, and they would know better than anymore how they feel and what’s going on.

            I think the idea of a connection between our body in itself is one of the most important concepts that Ayurveda teaches. The past 100 years has shown that our body is a complex ecosystem that is unique to each and every person. This means that each person will work a little different when it comes to connective body systems, and the idea that each system can connect to each other can help people to really understand the importance of living a healthy life style. I really like the idea of the connection between the body and nature as well. Over the long period of humans surviving, and eventually thriving, we learned how to become very in tune with our surroundings, but most of that has been lost due to the advancement of technology. I heard a saying once that said “Technology is how humans are evolving in today’s age, but it is at the cost of our natural evolutions”. I think this saying couldn’t be truer because we had cars, nice beds, and so many amenities that have made us kind of squishy in the sense of the natural world. However, with the advancement of medicine and antibiotics, we are able to outlive the past humans, but it doesn’t mean that we are living any better than they would have been to an extent.

            This natural medicine has had some studies showing that it can help with diabetes, arthritis, asthma, and anxiety. These things are actually very prevalent in society, and I believe that a lot of these can be helped with a diet change, or the natural remedies have chemical compounds that are able to lessen or help the symptoms of these diseases. I really think that it is a great concept that should be looked more into, and if it helps people than that is all you can ask for. However, very few studies have been done into the effects that are shown after doing treatments with natural remedies, and the studies that are done don’t have a lot of backing to them. I do think that hospitals should have knowledge of these natural medicine because it could help connect with people that follow these set standards.

            In conclusion, I think that Ayurveda is an amazing way that could be cheaper especially in the US to treat lesser diseases, but if it is not working looking into more western medicine could be a great move. I think there could be grounds that it could be a great way to help people, but until further research is done into the effects then it will just be kind of a side bar to Western medicine.

            A wide spread disease that is known as diabetes has a lot of known causes from obesity to the body not running correctly which means creating insulin or properly using insulin that is created in the body. This disease is said to been affecting 1/10 Americans, and it is one of the widest spread diseases up there with depression and heart disease. The papers that we had provided for us contained information about how low glucose levels can lead to an increase in angry feeling which might lead to more altercations. This means that people with diabetes that cannot process glucose properly may tend to be more aggressive than those who’s system function properly. Another paper talked about how impulse control is affected by the uptake of glucose as well because it takes energy to be able to exhibit self-control to stop one for lashing out in anger. The last paper talked about the consumption of alcohol along with having diabetes. This article talked about the best types that should be consume, and that keeping a watchful eye on people that have diabetes just in case they do go into diabetic shock.

            I have a family member that has diabetes, and he has had it the majority of his life. He didn’t really take great care of himself because he used to drink all the time, and not watch his sugar levels. I have even seen times when he has been really low, and it has caused him to go into an episode of mania basically. Another example of having spent time with a diabetic is my past boss. He was a very in shape person who enjoyed lots of outdoor activities, and he got diabetes in his early 20’s. He drank a lot of MT Dew which could have helped in him developing the disease, but he takes very good care of himself. However, I remember in one of the articles it talked about how drinking diet soda may not be the best choice because of all the additives inside. I know that he drinks a lot of diet soda, so this was interesting because my previous thoughts were that diet soda was very safe especially for diabetics. This just goes to show that new information coming out can challenge a previously held notion.

            Reading about how diabetes happens because of obesity, and it is usually a precursor to heart disease really makes me sad. Humans have developed into such a great society, but we have taken to poisoning ourselves with tons of sugar because it activates the dopamine in the brain. Also, the lack of exercise in the US is below par, and I think the developing ways to get people to do small things such as yoga or walking could help a lot of people stay healthy.

            Looking at the amount of money that people who have diabetes and what it will cost them with and without insurance is absurd. When the average amount of money spent on medical bills is 2.3 times that a person without diabetes will spend makes me consider why it is so high. One of the main reasons seems to be that people are unable to take care of themselves or afford insulin because of price gouging done by companies that hold patents over it. Not being able to afford the insulin leads to complications of diabetics not being able to regulate sugar intake. These complications lead to diabetic comas, diabetic shock, and trips to the hospital. Not taking care of a body or being unable to regulate it effectively leads to larger complications in the kidneys, increase in stroke, and increase in heart disease and obesity. All of these things can become risk factors if a person has diabetes already, but they can also be a cause of someone developing diabetes as well. This leads into the talk about metabolism because the body is just as Ayurveda explains that the body is connected, and it functions within each system separately and together.

            The two concepts of diabetes and Ayurveda are interestingly connected because when we talk about the connections of the body, it moves right into the uptake of glucose into our body which is what diabetes is not doing. Having the ability to uptake glucose with the use of insulin is a huge factor in living a healthy life especially because the majority of foods in society today are high processed grains the produce a lot of glucose. Ayurveda teaches that these connections happening all over the body especially the metabolism path would show that it is out of line. This means that people with type 2 diabetes need to correct how they are eating. This has been shown to really help people with type 2 in which they can change diet and exercise putting the auto immune disorder into a type of remission. These connections between an autoimmune disorder and a natural remedy are intertwined, and I believe that most of our modern medicine comes from a place of previous knowledge that was not fully understood. Not only is diabetes manageable and treatable by these types of natural practices but also it is one of the cheapest ways to treat the disease compared to the thousands of dollars diabetics spend in hospitals each year.  I think the most important part of Ayurveda is that it focuses on treating the patient first then the disease, and doing it this way makes a lot of sense compared to treating the disease the same each time like Western medicine does. For example, we have seen cancer treatments that work completely on one person, but on a person with the same cancer type it doesn’t work at all. This clear cut shows that each and every body is created different. I like to think of every person as an entirely different ecosystem, and in the world of biology treating each ecosystem is approached differently.

            In conclusion, diabetes and Ayurveda are intertwined creating this relationship of focusing of the person and their disease, and treating it with a lower cost. The connections of the body show us that each and every person is made different, and it shows that just as Ayurveda has taught the natural medicine users of the world is treat the person and the disease different with each approach.

 

Sources

“American Diabetes Association | Research, Education, Advocacy.” American Diabetes Association, www.diabetes.org. Accessed 24 June 2022.

“Ayurveda.” Johns Hopkins Medicine, 2 Dec. 2019, www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/ayurveda.

“Ayurvedic Medicine: In Depth.” NCCIH, www.nccih.nih.gov/health/ayurvedic-medicine-in-depth. Accessed 24 June 2022.

“Diabetes - Symptoms and Causes.” Mayo Clinic, 30 Oct. 2020, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/symptoms-causes/syc-20371444.

“What Is Ayurveda?” WebMD, 13 Dec. 2016, www.webmd.com/balance/guide/ayurvedic-treatments.

“What Is Diabetes?” National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, 9 Dec. 2021, www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes/overview/what-is-diabetes.

 

Mind body balance

Medical care dates back to our ancient hominid relatives, but has come a long way since the dawn of man.  Although modern medicine is colloquially referred to as a miracle, these advancements are only possible because of research, practice, and strict record keeping.  Thanks to ages of expansion on past medical treatment, modern people are able to develop treatments for diseases that may have been untreatable and detrimental to entire populations in the past.  Many modern practices are effective, but there is still value in looking to popular medical practices of the past, because these treatments had to be effective enough to keep populations stable, otherwise large populations of ancient people would not have survived.  One of these ancient practices that still has remnants today is a practice called ayurveda. 

Ayurveda is a holistic healing practice dating back 3,000 year to India.  It is centered around the idea that wellness depends on a balance between the body and the mind, and that an imbalance between these two causes disease (John Hopkins).  In ayurveda, the body is split into three doshas, these are “elemental concentrations”  in the body, which control certain parts of the body.  Disease and illness occur when these doshases are out of alignment (Hankey, 2005).  There are certain treatments used to help maintain balance in all parts of the body, but the entire process starts “with an internal purification process, followed by a special diet, herbal remedies, massage therapy, yoga, and meditation” (John Hopkins).  Treatments such as oils, herbs, and spices are used frequently in ayurvedic treatment to help maintain balance.

In India, ayurveda is a more common form of medical care, and to become a practitioner people need special licensing and education.  However in the United States, there is no licensing needed for this practice, which has caused concern, because many of these treatments, if administered in the wrong amounts, can cause more harm than good.  Whether or not someone chooses to follow ayurveda entirely, there are ideas that come from it which can be beneficial, like stressing the importance of movement (e.g. yoga) and the importance of keeping the mind and body balanced by keeping things like stress level under control.

There are many instances where stress, which is something mind related, has physical manifestations on the body.  Many diseases are more prone to flare up during periods of stress, and some of them have visible physical manifestations, like rosacea.  Rosacea is a skin condition that tends to be associated with a redness, a distinct rash, and pustules on the skin.  There are different kinds of rosacea, but these are fairly common characteristics between them.  Generally though, “rosacea results from an inflammatory process… the stimulus of which include a wide variety of foods, as well as environmental, chemical, psychologic, and emotional factors.” According to the American Family Physicians, sun exposure is listed as the most common factor causing rosacea at 61%, followed closely by emotional stress, causing 60% of rosacea cases

 (Blount, W.R, Pelletier, A.L., 2002).  This is a visible example of an imbalance in the mind, excessive stress, causing damage to the body, which is the inflammation and rosacea.  

Conversely, the body can come out of balance and affect the mind.  Take for example the experience of being “hangry.”  This is a term for short temper and general bad mood caused by hunger.  In a study done on male fruit flies, there was a clear link between food deprivation and aggression.  When the males were deprived of food, their behavior changed and there was an increase in lunging, tussling, chasing, and fencing with their competitors, as well as a perceived increase in value to the food (Edmunds, D., Wigby, S., Perry, J.C., 2021).  Although this experiment was done on fruit flies, being “hangry” is something often seen in people. 

One of the ways that ayurveda promotes balance in the body is through yoga, which is a type of exercise.  Exercise not only helps to improve people’s moods through the release of endorphins, but it can also help maintain a healthy body weight.  Maintaining a healthy body weight is dependent on many factors, not only limited to a healthy diet and consistent exercise, but these are two good places to start for most people.  A healthy body weight looks different on everyone, but it has many benefits like lessening chances of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and diabetes. 

Diabetes is a disease that has to do with the body's insulin production.  There are 3 types of diabetes, Type 1, Type 2, and Gestational diabetes.  Type 1 diabetes is genetic, this occurs when the body does not produce insulin or produces very little insulin, this affects the bodies ability to maintain steady glucose levels, and tends to start at an early age for most people affected by this.  Type 2 diabetes does not have a clear genetic inheritance pattern, but people with type 2 diabetes may be predisposed if they have family members who have also been affected.  However, type 2 diabetes generally appears later in life than type 1 diabetes, and is often related to a heavier weight.  Similar to type 1, the body does not produce insulin, but unlike type 1 diabetes, heavier people are much more at risk, but this type can be managed with diet and exercise (Diabetes UK), type 1 cannot.  The third type, gestational diabetes, is pregnancy related.  It can cause high blood pressure, and can also cause difficulties during the birthing process.  Mother’s who had gestational diabetes during pregnancy may be more at risk for developing type 2 diabetes after pregnancy (Mayo Clinic). 

Although type 2 diabetes is often associated with diet, there are certain dietary factors that may affect a person’s chances of getting type 1 diabetes, which come mostly very early in life.  During the fetal lactation period, babies who drank formula and cow milk were more likely to develop type 1 diabetes than those who were fed with breast milk.  Young children who ate processed foods were also at risk, because of a process called glycation, whose end products are glycated lipids and proteins.  Nitrate compounds in processed meats were also a concern for increased likelihood of developing type 1 diabetes (Virtanen, S.M, 2016).  

In terms of ayurveda, there is a link between type 2 diabetes, which stems from the body, and depression, which stems from the mind.  According to the American Diabetes Association, the prevalence of depression in the diabetic population is 24%, whereas in the non diabetic population, it is 17%.  There were many listed factors that may contribute to this, including BMI, work status, gender, whether or not a person is a smoker, and more.  One important point though, was that people affected by depression may have trouble maintaining exercise habits, healthy eating, and other lifestyle factors that generally help prevent the development of type 2 diabetes (Goldney, R.D., et. al, 2004).  

The human body is full of intricate processes.  If these processes have an issue, or if something changes their effectiveness, there can be a ripple effect that is not only isolated to the part of the body that was originally disrupted.  The practice of ayurveda, although ancient, has many teachings that can be applicable to today.  Keeping the mind in balance through stress management and exercise can help keep the body from being affected by things like inflammation and diabetes.  Keeping the body in balance can help keep the mind more positive, ideally leading to less stress, and a positive feedback loop for both the mind and body. 

Sources 

“Ayurveda.” Johns Hopkins Medicine, 2 Dec. 2019, https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/ayurveda#:~:text=Ayurveda%2C%20a%20natural%20system%20of,translates%20to%20knowledge%20of%20life. 

Blount, R. Wayne, and Allen L. Pelletier. "Rosacea: a common yet commonly overlooked condition." American family physician 66.3 (2002): 435.who 

Gary-JayBourley. “Differences between Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes.” Diabetes UK, Diabetes UK, https://www.diabetes.org.uk/diabetes-the-basics/differences-between-type-1-and-type-2-diabetes#:~:text=The%20main%20difference%20between%20the,producing%20cells%20in%20your%20pancreas. 

“Gestational Diabetes.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 9 Apr. 2022, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gestational-diabetes/symptoms-causes/syc-20355339. 

Hankey, Alex. "The scientific value of Ayurveda." Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine 11.2 (2005): 221-225.

Robert D. Goldney, Pat J. Phillips, Laura J. Fisher, David H. Wilson; Diabetes, Depression, and Quality of Life : A population study. Diabetes Care 1 May 2004; 27 (5): 1066–1070. https://doi.org/10.2337/diacare.27.5.1066

Virtanen, Suvi M. "Dietary factors in the development of type 1 diabetes." Pediatric diabetes 17 (2016): 49-55.

Virtanen, Suvi M. "Dietary factors in the development of type 1 diabetes." Pediatric diabetes 17 (2016): 49-55.