Curated Paper

 

Ayurveda is a traditional and holistic (Hindu) Indian medicine system that focuses on natural approaches to health and wellness originated thousands of years ago. It is based on the idea that disease is caused by an imbalance or stress in a person’s consciousness. Also, its basic idea is that everything in the universe is connected to each other. Yes, I do believe, as we, human, know very little of the universe. Even though things are independent from other events, I think it is really connected in some way we can’t understand. I think even though one thought does not physically happen in the world I believe that a thought can affect something in the real world at some point in some way. Your negative thought might incur secretion of hormones that might have affect on your mood or body. If those kinds of reaction occur and cascade into other reactions, that might cause actual disease. Changes in daily routine can make you sick, such as binge eating or skipping meals or sleep. As our body is out of control or routine, we refer to it as disease and it is subject to treat.

The Ayurveda treatment is to support the body in removing toxins and impurities, reduce symptoms, increases disease resistance, reduce stress, and create more harmony and balance in life. For me, this sounds like it is relying on the immune system itself by making your body focus on fighting the disease. It does not sound like “active treatment”.  Ayurvedic medicines are mostly considered as dietary supplements in the US. The US is more open to dietary supplements than other countries. Things that are necessary or produced in our body naturally are dietary supplements, not medicine here, but it is not the case throughout the world. For instance, 3mg or more melatonin requires doctor’s prescription in South Korea, but it is dietary supplement in the US even it is kind of “high dose (10mg)”.

Ayurveda would be more accessible to people who don’t have health insurance in the US since it sounds like it does not require fancy and expensive technology. Or maybe free from major side effects or toxins of medications. Yoga, herbal medicine, meditation, massage, diet with a variety of spices, and so on are more accessible to people. But as these are not scientifically proven medical treatments, they cannot cure some severe diseases. There were even lead poisoning cases as a result of taking Ayurvedic treatment in Victoria. Since it has been practiced for over thousands of years, some treatments are not scientifically proven “good”, so not all treatment is free from side effects. Maybe more dangerous.

But overall, these days, ayurveda can be a good disease preventing life-style guide. Building your own healthy daily routine such as mealtime, regular workout, meditation, well-balanced nutrition, and being happy can prevent diseases that are caused by imbalance in our body.

One of the prevalent diseases caused by imbalance of our body is diabetes. Diabetes is a metabolic disease characterized by high blood sugar level associated with changes in carbohydrate, protein, and fat metabolism. It causes problems on every part of the body as it increases blood sugar level and blood circulates in every single part of the body. Diabetes increases blood acidity since the body is using fat to produce energy instead of sugar, and breaking down fat produces ketone. This condition is called diabetic ketoacidosis. When our body regulates the blood acidity, it utilizes the blood oxygen and carbon dioxide level. To reduce the blood acidity, would diabetic people’s body try to increase the respiration rate? To find the balance in blood acidity?

I found a journal article that says diabetic patients cannot synthesize fatty acids and triglycerides from carbohydrates and amino acids. Also, adipose tissues play important roles in communication and insulin sensitivity and regulate fat storage, energy metabolism, satiety and insulin release. How would this be related to diabetic people’s physical condition?

Speaking of hyperglycemia, when I went back to South Korea last year, I visited my mom’s lab and helped her experiment with a drug candidate for diabetes. Those were tested on Gallus gallus which is chicken, but I remember I read a paper about blood sugar level of chickens. Chickens’ normal blood sugar level is much higher than human. When chickens eat, their blood sugar level rises until it hits fatal level for us. They are resistant to high blood sugar levels. Would chickens have a key to prevent damage caused by high blood sugar levels?

Our gut microbiome also plays a role in terms of metabolism in our body. People who have higher insulin sensitivity have different gut microflora than people who have lower insulin sensitivity. I wonder if the changes in microflora would cause diabetic conditions or diabetic conditions changes the microflora? My gut feeling is the change in the composition of microbes is result of diabetes. The imbalance in microbiome can cause the disease. Also, I found a paper which found that the bacteria species that are found in people who have higher insulin sensitivity is a part of human fecal microbiota, but they could not find them in colon cancer. Which made me think change in environment killed them.

Before searching about diabetes, I thought diabetes is caused because of the not healthy lifestyle and eating habit. Also, I did not know about the effort and money the US government spent each year. If diabetes is really cause by the imbalance of the body, would ayurveda can help prevent or reduce diabetes in the world?