Ayurveda is a concept native to India and more specifically to the Hindu religion. It consists of multiple categories of human health extending past the physical. Emotional, mental, and social well-being are also monitored allowing it to serve as a traditional comprehensive medical system. It’s based around the idea of bodily balance; this idea consists of diets, breathing patterns, and herbal treatments much more broad than modern western medicine. The Hindu religion and culture believes that the mind, spirit, and body are linked and that these connections can be used as powerful methods to keep the body balanced.
Interestingly enough, physical health can be significantly altered if the balance of overall well-being is disrupted. Diseases, viruses, illnesses, etc., which are all part of what we consider disruption in physical health can be enhanced by unbalancing oneself emotionally, mentally, or socially. The invasion of a virus, a bacteria, or a mutation in genetics can occur naturally but by disrupting the balance, our immune systems weakens and we become more vulnerable to disease and infection. This type of balance exists at all levels of life; at the most basic levels and at the most complex.
Metabolism is a crucial set of highly regulated metabolic pathways that help an organism function properly. These metabolic pathways consist of several complex reactions that produce and sustain the bodily functions in the organism. The basic function of metabolism however can be defined as the chemical breakdown of food ingested and producing vital resources and energy the body requires. These key pieces are essential to life.
Homeostasis is the state of steady equilibrium in the body. This state of equilibrium can only be achieved if the body can regulate and maintain systems correctly. Physiological processes like metabolism are complex systems that require high regulation and control. If the metabolic pathway is working too much or if it is working not enough, it can lose control over the bodily function and begin to leave homeostasis. In order for the organism to maintain control, signals are used to regulate the activity of these pathways.
In the process of metabolism, the pathway's main job is to process ingested food and break it down into a state that the body can use as a source of energy. Glucose is a sugar that is broken down to nurture cells within the body and is part of the metabolic pathway. Glucose can either be obtained from ingested food or internally produced by the liver. The liver produces glucose when blood sugar levels are low in the body and when the cells signal for more nutrients. The majority of the time, a body receives most of its glucose from food that has been eaten. Once the food enters the small intestine, the glucose is absorbed into the bloodstream where it then can circulate through the body. When glucose enters the bloodstream, a signal is sent through the body saying that blood sugar is increasing. The pancreas will then release insulin to break down the glucose to energy or store it as fat for later use. Insulin moves the glucose from the blood toward muscles and fats; muscles use it for energy and fats.
This process is highly regulated when functioning normally. Insulin levels increase and decrease due to the amount of sugar (glucose) circulating in the blood. However, if the body loses control and is unable to regulate secretion levels of insulin, homeostasis is broken and the regulatory communication is lost. This disruption in the metabolic pathway leads to hyperglycemia (high blood sugar), energy loss, and a decline in fat storage. Without insulin uptaking glucose from the blood, cells begin to lose function due to the fact that they aren’t receiving proper nutrients. Ultimately, this can lead to one obtaining the disease diabetes.
Diabetes is presented in more than one form. There are several types of diabetes and each is obtained in different ways. The two types are type 1 and type 2 which are becoming more prevalent in the world today. Type 1 diabetes is unpreventable while type 2 diabetes is preventable. Even though both are slightly different, the metabolic pathway that causes diabetes is the same. Diabetes is a great example of how a metabolic pathway disruption can cause an overall health problem. Beta cells in the pancreas are responsible for producing insulin that is used in the metabolic pathway. However, diabetes causes the beta cells to be damaged and considered foreign to the immune system. The immune system’s job is to eliminate any altered self-cell or any foreign cell (bacterial cells) that has entered the body. When the beta cell is damaged, it is considered altered and the T cells of the immune system attack the beta cells, eventually killing them. When this occurs, little to no insulin is produced. This dramatically causes disruption in the metabolic pathway. Our body will signal that it is hungry, food will be eaten, and glucose will enter the body. The glucose will be absorbed into the blood but without insulin to break it down into energy, the body doesn’t receive what it needs. This will result in the body calling for more food and the feeling of hunger will continue. The continuation of eating will increase the glucose levels in the blood causing hyperglycemia (high blood sugar). The liver will also begin producing glucose because the body signals it needs energy. The system works that more glucose equals more energy (assuming insulin is present). This will increase blood sugars even more because two forms of glucose production are feeding the system without insulin to break it down. As we can see, insulin not only disrupts the uptake of glucose in the body but it also affects other pathways throughout the body.
Some other symptoms in those that do have diabetes are: tiredness, numbness in hands and feet, excessive urination, sores healing slowly, hunger, blurry vision, more infection, etc.. This almost seeming simple concept of metabolism if not regulated properly has a larger holistic effect on the body as a whole.
Unfortunately there is not a cure for diabetes and type 1 is unpreventable. However, there are some treatments that do help those diagnosed with this disease. There are insulin injections and insulin pumps that add artificial insulin in the body when blood sugar levels increase. There is a surgical transplant method that replaces the pancreatic islets (where insulin is produced by beta cells). There are other treatment options but aren’t done in ways that are common in western medicine. These other types of treatment base their ideas in a more comprehensive medical view. A major contributor for treating diabetes is regular exercise. Exercise in general has proven to increase one's health overall. The stimulation of muscles demands more energy and also uses some fat storages. This signals a higher demand for insulin in the body to break the glucose down to provide the energy. By increasing the demand, more beta cells are being produced to create insulin. Increasing the concentration of beta cells makes it easier for the body to produce insulin because not as many percentage wise are damaged and eliminated by the T cells.
Ayurveda looks beyond modern medicine and roots its views into a traditional medical system. The treatments look at the body as a whole and not specifically at a disease. Using methods like exercise for diabetical treatment isn’t directly focusing on the disease but it looks at the overall health of a person who is suffering from a disease. Future research into Ayurveda traditional medicine hopefully can result in finding additional methods for treating chronic disease like diabetes. Restoring overall balance through more holistic medicine may help to rebalance pathways that have been disrupted and lost homeostasis in the body. As research advances and as this traditional type of medicine has obtained popularity, it will be interesting to see what scientists and doctors create as future treatments against chronic diseases.
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