Your Health: Benefiting from the AYURVEDA secrets
LOBSTER and pomfret tandoori, crab curry, and cheese naan for lunch? Not a chance, if you allow an ayurveda guru to do the ordering. CHAI MEI LING and R. YASOTHAI learn how forgoing some of life's indulgences can make a big difference to your ticker.
"So doctor, what should we eat?" we asked ayurveda guru Dr Rangesh Paramesh.
Big mistake. The good doctor took it as an invitation to order for the table. He studied the menu, flipped to the vegetarian section and ordered away. "Paneer makhani, bendi masala, plain rice…"
Going vegetarian for lunch wouldn't have seemed such a bad idea if we weren't dining in one of KLCC's upscale restaurants, where glorious food lined the menu.
As the doctor puts it, ayurveda is more than just ancient rites on healthy living or popping of herbal pills. It's a lifestyle, and one which he projects effortlessly.
The senior medical adviser to the Himalaya Drug Company paints a picture of robust health, and a calm, self-composed nature.
His days are made up of simple actions atypical of most urbanites' routines: Choosing the stairs over elevators, parking the car further away from the building entrance, not talking during meals, starting meals with something sweet and ending them with bitter items, and basically, just living life in the slow lane.
These are also the acts Dr Rangesh recommended to others when he was flown into town last month from India to give a public talk on ayurveda's approach to managing cardiovascular health.
Ayurveda, derived from the Sanskrit terms ayus (life) and veda (knowledge), basically means knowledge of life, which is what bioscience is today.
Besides curing diseases, this ancient art also protects and promotes health using therapeutic measures relating to physical, mental, social and spiritual harmony.
Its all-encompassing nature, fostered by the extensive use of herbs, is a natural and effective way of nursing the body, including treating cardiovascular diseases, says Dr Rangesh.
Cardiovascular diseases, including coronary heart disease, heart attacks, high blood pressure, stroke, chest pain, and arteriosclerosis, are the number one killer in the world, claiming 17 million lives each year.
In Malaysia, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death — one out of three die from it.
Statistics show six new cases of stroke occur every hour in the country, with an estimated 40,000 new cases recorded annually.
In ayurveda, the human heart is controlled by four factors — prana vata, which controls respiration and oxygen intake; vyana vata (circulation and blood vessels); sadhaka pitta (enzymes in the heart); and avalambaka kapha (fluid between the cells).
As for nourishing the heart, rasa, rakta, and ojas deal with nutrient fluid, oxygenated blood and immune system.
A holistic approach to heart health requires one to nourish the emotional as well as the physical heart, says Dr Rangesh.
"The heart is not just a pump. It is the fountainhead of all emotions, from joy and exhilaration to sadness and frustration. Mental and emotional stress disrupts the emotional heart."
Aside from staying positive and warding off excess stress, it helps to take ayurvedic herbs like Arjuna, Brahmi and Ashvagandha, which possess positive influence on the mind and emotional heart, he says.
Arjuna, the bark of a 60-foot high medicinal tree, improves heart muscle tone and regulates blood circulation, while Ashvagandha has rejuvenating properties and helps one in coping with life's daily stresses.
Diet-wise, how one eats is as important as what one eats, says Dr Rangesh.
"Eat moderately. The ideal ayurvedic portion is what fits in two cupped palms.
"Skipping meals is unwise, as eating three meals at regular times each day trains the digestion to anticipate and digest food."
If one's physiology fails to rid toxic matter that builds up in the blood vessels efficiently, it turns into arterial plague or ama.
Part of the ayurvedic cleansing ritual which helps the body flush this out involves drinking lots of warm water throughout the day and eating a lighter diet high in fibre and antioxidants.
One should also be in bed by 10pm as that is when the body's natural purification takes place, and avoid taking drugs, alcohol and smoking.
The best exercise for the heart is the moderate and regular kind, and one good example is plain walking, said the medical researcher.
Healthy living may seem to command a highly disciplined, regimented lifestyle, but it is not such a chore as many had assumed, as one doesn't have to give up on life's many sinful (delightful) indulgences in favour of it.
One can still splurge on rich food, but just don't make it a habit, says Dr Rangesh.
The best chance to avoid health complications as one ages is to stay well, and one way is to keep indulgences to a minimum.
If you have been living life in the fast lane with instant food, alcohol, cigarettes, stress, sleep deprivation and sedentary lifestyle making up a huge part of it, it's still not too late to change for the better.
Begin by making small, simple changes to the factors in life you can control — diet, exercise, and stress — and there will be results in no time, says the doctor.
The harder part is staying committed.
"Resolution is a must for staying healthy, and healthy living is the key to getting the most out of life."
* The Himalaya Drug Company's pharmaceutical range offers research-based pure herbs as alternative medicine. Its heart-friendly products include Lasuna (garlic) for cholesterol protection, Brahmi for calming effect, Amalaki for lowering serum cholesterol level, and Shuddha Guggulu as a lipid regulator.
Monsoon clouds bring good news to lovers of Ayurveda all round the globe. Kerala, where Ayurveda is a way of life and monsoons spectacular, is getting ready to receive tourists from around the world who flock to experience Ayurveda rejuvenation therapy during the monsoon. The reason: the monsoon season is known to be the best time to receive Ayurvedic therapy.