KERALA AYURVEDA

Ayurveda operates on the precept that various materials of vegetable, animal, and mineral origin have some medicinal value. The medicinal properties of these materials have been documented by the practitioners and have been used for centuries to cure illness and/or help maintain good health. Ayurvedic medicaments are made from herbs or mixtures of herbs, either alone or in combination with minerals, metals and other ingredients of animal origin. The metals, animals and minerals are purified by individual processes before being used for medicinal purposes. Panchakarma is a high profile process of cleaning the entire human body internally, as described in Ayurvedic Science.

Ayurveda emphasises on prevention and not on management of diseases. From the chapters of daily routines and hygiene, Hrudayam moves to methods for the prevention of diseases. It is advised not to pollute body and mind with sins to be healthy. Use of proper foods and food combinations, giving due consideration to natural instincts, etc. are described next. In a similar vein, Charaka Samhita dwells on activities destroying janapathams (communities). It is important to recall that even environmental protection is recognised as an important aspect of health. In today's world, cleaning of pollutants accumulated in the body due to the modern life style is even more important. Ayurveda suggests this through Panchakarma.