**Summary on Traditional Indian Medicine: Focus on Research, Application & Institutions**

1.

**Diet and Lifestyle in Traditional Indian Medicine:**
   Ayurveda, the principal system of Indian herbal medicine, emphasizes a holistic approach where nutrition, mental state, and lifestyle are key – especially evident in advice for pregnant women to consume sattvic (pure, calming) diets, avoid certain foods (like eggplant and papaya), and manage stress.

This aligns with contemporary preventive medicine.

**Integration & Modernization of Ayurveda:**
   - **Fact Checking & Accessibility:** The emergence of initiatives like THIP Media’s chatbot RAKSHA, in collaboration with the Amrita Centre for Advanced Research in Ayurveda (ĀCĀRA), reflects efforts to provide scientifically validated Ayurvedic information and dispel misinformation.

- **Global Standards & WHO:** Steps are underway to integrate Ayurveda into the WHO’s ICD-11 (International Classification of Diseases), supporting standardization and international recognition, while fostering inclusion in global health systems.

**Contemporary Research and Applications:**
   - **COVID-19 Treatment & Recovery:** Recent studies (e.g., from IIT Delhi) suggest that Ayurveda and yoga can aid COVID-19 patients, particularly by addressing anxiety and potentially supporting recovery, complementing conventional medical care.

Patient belief in these traditional treatments was found to be strong when integrated with standard therapies.

- **Emerging Recognition:** Ayurveda and its allied practices (Siddha, Unani) are being considered for their roles alongside Western medicine in addressing new and persistent health challenges.

**Evidence-Backed Herbs and Practices:**
   - Herbs long revered in Ayurveda (e.g., ashwagandha, turmeric) are being substantiated by modern research for their roles in immunity, mental health, and chronic disease management, leading to greater acceptance in evidence-based integrative care.

- Professionals like Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary advocate combining traditional Ayurvedic herbs and practices with the rigor of modern clinical science.

**Institutional & Governmental Support:**
   - The Indian government’s Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy) fosters research, education, and integration with allopathic medicine.

- Specialized hospitals (e.g., National Institute of Ayurveda, AIIMS-integrated AYUSH departments) and research centers are at the forefront of clinical trials and scientific validation.

**Rising Global Interest & Wellness Tourism:**
   - Global wellness trends increasingly recognize “self-healing” concepts rooted in Ayurveda.

- Ayurveda’s preventive and lifestyle-based strategies are driving growth in wellness tourism and are becoming integral to holistic healthcare approaches worldwide.

**Conclusion:**
Traditional Indian medicine is transitioning from a historical practice to an evidence-backed, globally integrated system, especially regarding herbal treatments for specific conditions.

Ongoing research, technological innovation, and institutional support are key in aligning Ayurveda’s rich knowledge with modern healthcare paradigms.

**Summary Nuggets: Traditional Indian Herbal Medicine – Current Research and Application**

1.

**Rising Scientific Interest:** Over the past 70 years, there has been significant growth in scientific research on traditional oriental medicine, with European and global doctors investigating its efficacy and mechanisms.

**Rich Plant Resources:** Researchers have documented about 160 actively used medicinal plant species in the region of interest, with 130 species utilized specifically for therapeutic purposes.

Indian herbal medicine’s materia medica is extensive.

**Specific Traditional Applications:** A striking example includes using black bleach (belene) seeds with animal fat to generate medicinal smoke for combating parasitic fly larvae (miasis).

**Integration with Modern Medicine:** There is a consensus among modern phytotherapists and faculty that medicinal plants should be used with the same rigor as conventional drugs.

Institutions emphasize that medical education should include the basics of herbal medicine.

**Research & Development:** Russian scientists have synthesized curcumin-fluorine compounds with notable anticancer effects, showcasing innovation inspired by curcumin, a key Indian herb (from turmeric).

Such plant-derived compounds are often used as adjunct therapies to support organ systems during conventional treatments (e.g., cancer therapy).

**Evidence and Skepticism:** While there is popular enthusiasm, medical professionals generally stress that serious diseases (such as cancer) cannot be treated by herbs alone and warn against substituting modern therapies with unproven remedies.

**Regulatory Landscape:** The application of herbal medicine as part of regulated clinical practice is being debated and developed; legislation is advancing to empower doctors—not laypersons—to prescribe herbal supplements, to ensure patient safety and evidence-based use.

**Affordability and Accessibility:** Herbal preparations are noted for their accessibility and lower cost, making them popular options, especially in chronic, non-severe conditions (e.g., spine and joint ailments).

**Health System Integration:** India, as the origin of Ayurveda and Siddha medicine, hosts numerous research and clinical institutes, often collaborating with the World Health Organization (WHO) to promote best practices and integrate herbal medicine into broader health care.

**Institutions & Initiatives:** Institutions like FITO PHARMA (in Russia) and various Indian government-supported research centers promote the cultivation, study, and clinical evaluation of medicinal plants.

Regular international summits (e.g., those held in India and under WHO auspices) foster global exchange on advancements, standardization, and evidence-based integration.

**Case Studies & Treatment Areas:** Most common uses for herbal medicine are in long-standing, non-acute conditions.

Successful integration is typically in combination therapy (e.g., herbal adjuncts with chemotherapy), with some reports of symptom improvement but little evidence for cure in severe diseases.

**Caution Advised:** Both for practitioners and consumers, the report stresses the need for regulation, evidence-based prescribing, and protection against fraud or occult practices, which are not part of legitimate traditional medicine.

**Takeaway:** Traditional Indian herbal medicine is gaining scientific validation and integration, particularly as supportive or adjunct therapy for chronic and non-acute illnesses.

Regulatory reforms and research collaborations are underway to ensure its safe, effective, and evidence-based incorporation into modern healthcare.

**Summary of Key Points about Traditional Indian Medicine (Indian Herbal Medicine) in Modern Context**

1.

**Principles and Scope**:
   Traditional Indian medicine, notably Ayurveda, is rooted in the belief that health and disease result from a balance or imbalance in the body's vital energy, or prana.

It emphasizes maintaining inner balance, integrating mental, spiritual, and bodily health, often through the use of herbal remedies.

**Distinct from Western Medicine**:
   Unlike modern Western medicine, which often utilizes scientifically developed combination drugs targeting specific diseases, traditional Indian medicine relies on simple natural products—mainly plant-based, sometimes animal-derived—with treatments based on centuries of empirical observation and cultural practice.

**Challenges in Research**:
   High-quality, systematic studies on the efficacy and safety of Indian herbal medicines are still limited, mainly because these are complex, holistic systems that do not always align with the reductionist approach of Western clinical trials.

However, interest is growing, both in India and internationally.

**Global Recognition and Regulation**:
   The World Health Organization (WHO) is taking notable steps to study and integrate traditional medicine into global health strategies.

It aims to establish credible evidence, policies, and standards for these practices, recognizing their widespread use and cultural significance.

**Complementarity with Modern Medicine**:
   Anthropologists and health professionals are increasingly exploring how traditional and modern medical systems can complement each other.

For instance, Indian herbal medicine is often sought for mental health issues or chronic conditions where Western medicine may be less effective or carry side effects.

**Cultural, Religious, and Social Aspects**:
   The choice between traditional and modern therapies is often influenced by cultural beliefs, religious practices, and trust in healthcare providers.

Many individuals prefer traditional medicine for its holistic approach, lower cost, or alignment with personal beliefs, even when modern options are accessible.

**Clinical Applications and Examples**:
   - **Fig (Ficus carica)**: Cited as an example, figs are used in both Chinese and Indian systems for a variety of health conditions, illustrating the crossover and historical depth of certain herbal remedies.

- **Dry Eye**: Some Ayurvedic herbs have been investigated for eye conditions, showcasing efforts to treat specific modern ailments.

**Healthcare Structures and Institutions**:
   India hosts numerous hospitals and research centers dedicated to Ayurveda and herbal medicine, such as the All India Institute of Ayurveda and the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences, providing both treatment and research into efficacy and safety.

**Cautions and Side Effects**:
   While many experience benefits, side effects and risks exist, underscoring the need for ongoing research, regulation, and informed integration with modern healthcare.

Animal-based broths (e.g., chicken) combined with herbs are cited as nutritional interventions.

**Summary on Traditional Indian Medicine: Focus on Research, Application & Institutions**

1.

Title:

Content: Ri Bhoi AYUSH Society Recruitment 2024 - Dispenser Vacancy, Job Opening

AYUSH Society Ri Bhoi is recruiting for the post of Dispenser, Apply Now for the latest Ri Bhoi AYUSH Society Recruitment.

AYUSH Society Ri Bhoi released the latest job notification for the recruitment of Dispenser vacancy. Interested candidates can apply before the last date. Check more details on the AYUSH Society Ri Bhoi job vacancy 2024.

Ri Bhoi AYUSH Society Recruitment 2024

AYUSH Society Ri Bhoi has released an employment notification for the recruitment of Dispenser Vacancy. More details about the recruitment are provided below:

Ri Bhoi AYUSH Society Recruitment 2024

Details about Ri Bhoi AYUSH Society Recruitment

Post Name- Dispenser

Posts- 1

Location- Ri-Bhoi - Meghalaya

Salary- Rs. 13,000/- per month

Last Date- 04-03-2024

Age- 32 Years

Application Fees- N/A

Educational Qualification for Dispenser Job Vacancy at Ri Bhoi AYUSH Society Recruitment 2024

To apply for the post of Dispenser at Ri Bhoi Social Welfare, candidate should have experience in Homoeopathic Pharmacy and Dispensing. Minimum 2 years working experience certified by a Registered Homoeopathic Doctor from Meghalaya Homoeopathic Council.

How to Apply for Ri Bhoi AYUSH Society Recruitment 2024

Eligible and interested candidates can submit their application in hard copy only in the Office of the District AYUSH Society (Homeopathic OPD) Ri Bhoi District on or before the 4th March 2024 upto 5 pm.

Date of interview:- 08.03.2024

Venue:- Office of the District AYUSH Society (Homeopathic OPD)

Disclaimer: Provided by AYUSH Society Ri Bhoi

About AYUSH Society Ri Bhoi

AYUSH stands for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy. These are traditional systems of medicine in India. AYUSH societies are often established at the state level to promote and regulate activities related to these traditional systems of medicine.

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Sentinel Assam
www.sentinelassam.com

**Diet and Lifestyle in Traditional Indian Medicine:**
   Ayurveda, the principal system of Indian herbal medicine, emphasizes a holistic approach where nutrition, mental state, and lifestyle are key – especially evident in advice for pregnant women to consume sattvic (pure, calming) diets, avoid certain foods (like eggplant and papaya), and manage stress.

Title:

Content:   1. You Are At:
  2. English News
  3. Health
  4. Tips for Self-Care during Pregnancy

Tips for Self-Care during Pregnancy

During pregnancy, a woman must take care of her diet intake and well-being as she is not feeding herself but eating for two individuals. Eating fresh fruits, fresh veggies, high fibers, and protein-rich food are good for the mother and the baby. Taking good care of health during pregnancy leads to smooth and healthy delivery.

Edited by: Health Desk
New Delhi Published on: December 26, 2021 10:28 IST

The phase of pregnancy modifies the whole lifestyle of a woman as this period needs extra attention and care. Pregnancy tends to bring about a gamut of physical to emotional changes, mood swings, food cravings are the most common ones. It became of utmost importance to eat more nutritious food and keep the body and mind in a calming stage. The habits and lifestyle followed by a pregnant mother not only affects the health of the mother but also affects the infant's health. Everybody talks about the beauty of being a mother but nobody wants to discuss the complications during pregnancy. The sudden increase in blood pressure, chances of anaemia, bacterial infections, weight change, joint mobility, morning sickness, mood swings are some of the most common complexities of pregnancy.

During pregnancy, a woman must take care of her diet intake and well-being as she is not feeding herself but eating for two individuals. Eating fresh fruits, fresh veggies, high fibers, and protein-rich food are good for the mother and the baby. Taking good care of health during pregnancy leads to a smooth and healthy delivery.

The psychological health of a mother is as important as physical health, taking care of emotions, happiness, and spiritual nourishment leads to a smooth pregnancy period. A pregnant woman can also follow a healthy diet month by month depending on the requirement of each month, considering a healthy diet post-pregnancy is necessary till the recovery period.

Ayurveda recommended some do and don'ts a woman should consider during pregnancy.

Do’s during Pregnancy

•  Follow a Sattvic diet including fresh fruits such as peach, pears, mango, and coconut, sprouted veggies, juices, herbal tea, and seeds. Sattvic diet calms the mind and provides energy to the muscles and bones which is extremely beneficial for women at the time of giving birth.

•  Favor the Appetite when desired, consuming foods with nutritional benefits such as protein, healthy carbohydrates are a must in pregnancy. The intake of plenty of water, juices, and fiber-rich food keep the hunger at rest for a longer period.

•  Doing Pranayam is effective in improving health and erecting the posture of the women, for the difficulty while sitting also practicing the breathing exercise balances the oxygen supply to the tissues.

•  Body Massage with herbal oils is helpful for the relaxation of the whole body and gives relief from muscle tension.

•  Practice Garbha Sanskar helps in educating the mind of the baby in the womb. It is an effective therapy that undergoes music therapy, mantra chanting, yogasana, and spiritual counseling.

Don'ts during Pregnancy
•   Avoid heavy diets and food such as eggplant, papaya, and raw eggs.

•   Stress during pregnancy can be harmful to the mother as well as for the baby. Plenty of sleep and rest and sipping peppermint tea instead of coffee calms the person mentally and refreshes the mind.

•   Avoid uncomfortable positions, as sitting on hard surfaces with wrong positions may lead to pain.

•   Don’t hold urges such as sleeping, eating, and yawning.

•   Ashwagandha is unsafe in pregnancy as the component present in the herb can harm the infant. It must also be avoided during the breastfeeding phase.

Ayurveda is one of the oldest sciences of healing and medicine has numerous benefits. The process of childbirth and pregnancy takes a toll on the female body. Hence, natural healing and home remedies are the best-preferred choices over other medical treatments for the betterment of both mother and child.

(The author is Vikas Chawla, Founder and Director, Vedas Cure)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of India TV)

What does traditional Indian medicine generally treat?

It addresses the psychological aspects of health conditions.

What is the traditional Indian medical system called?

What mental health problems does traditional Indian medicine treat?

This aligns with contemporary preventive medicine.

Title:

Content: Healthy Directions Partners with Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary to Combine the Tradition Of Ayurvedic Practice with Modern-Day Science

Bethesda, Maryland, UNITED STATES

BETHESDA, M.d., March 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In Ayurvedic medicine, the body, mind and spirit are treated using a holistic approach. Part of the practice is the use of essential herbs that have been revered for millennia, and are now supported by a growing body of scientific evidence. This pairing of traditional use with clinical science creates uniquely modern Ayurvedic blends that can serve as a bridge to a new world of health and vitality. This is the motivation for neurologist and Ayurvedic practitioner, Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary’s development of Prajna Ayurveda herbals with Healthy Directions, which she says have a remarkable ability to reset and restore the body and mind.

Integrating traditional Ayurvedic practices and modern-day science has been Chaudhary’s method for decades and has helped her successfully restore thousands of patients back to health, as well as transform her own health. Partnering with Healthy Directions, an established 30-year-old manufacturer and marketer of doctor-formulated nutritional supplements, has empowered Chaudhary to develop herbal formulas made with powder from the whole plant, as it has been used for thousands of years, along with powerful extracts of the plant that have been clinically researched for specific health benefits.

“What impresses me about Healthy Directions is how well developed they are as a company in terms of the mind and the heart, and particularly the heart,” said Chaudhary. “The heart is the source of all healing in Ayurveda, so for me, it was so important to make a decision to partner with people who I know are heart-centered, and who really care about their customers.”

The literal meaning of Prajna (Praw-g-ńa) is “transcendental wisdom,” which in Ayurveda refers to the peace and balance that comes from being fully present in your body and mind. Chaudhary says it is the ultimate expression of wellness. There are four essential herbs that make up the foundation of all the Prajna Ayurveda formulas. These herbs are among Ayurveda's most trusted herbal medicines, that Chaudhary says can bring about transformational shifts in your physical health and overall well-being:

  • Prajna® Triphala is taken at night to cleanse and “sweep” the day away. This lesser-known herb has been traditionally used to support digestion and elimination, while also nourishing both mind and body for the day ahead.
  • Prajna® Ashwagandha is a popular “multi-tasker” herb that brings daily harmony, calm, and positivity by helping balance hormones and reducing levels of cortisol—the body’s primary stress hormone.
  • Prajna® Brahmi has been used by Ayurvedic practitioners for centuries as a tonic for overall mind and memory support as well as for its calming effects on the nervous system.
  • Prajna® Guggul is a purifying Ayurvedic herb traditionally used for its cleansing effects and to support a healthy inflammatory response and cholesterol health.

The Prajna Ayurveda herbs by Healthy Directions are responsibly sourced in India, blended traditionally, produced in vegan capsules, triple-tested to assure quality, purity and potency and contain no hidden allergens such as gluten, dairy, egg or soy. Each affordably priced product is balanced for use by all three Ayurvedic mind-body dosha types, and incorporates Ayurvedic healing practices of sound medicine and sacred geometry. As part of the Prajna Ayurveda product line, Chaudhary has also developed the Veda Wellness products that uses essential Ayurvedic herbs with clinically-studied ingredients for modern-day health concerns, including: Veda Rescue, Veda Lean, Veda Balance Brain and Veda Balance Gut to target specific health concerns. Learn more about Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary’s Prajna Ayurveda herb line and “Om Namo Narayani” (I honor the divine energy that resides in all of us) at: https://www.healthydirections.com/dr-kulreet-chaudhary.

About Healthy Directions: Healthy Directions LLC, a subsidiary of Wellful LLC, is a leading provider of premier doctor-formulated nutritional supplements and skincare products. Celebrating 30 years of providing expert natural health guidance from some of America’s most knowledgeable and highly respected integrative and alternative health doctors, including Dr. Julian Whitaker; Dr. David Williams; Dr. Stephen Sinatra; Dr. Drew Sinatra; Dr. Briana Sinatra; Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary, Dr. Rudrani Banik, Dr. Ken Redcross and Dr. Joseph Pergolizzi, Jr. Learn more at: https://www.healthydirections.com/about-us.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/98eaae2d-7655-49e2-8ebd-2000394a053c

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Video accompanying this announcement is available at

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Contact Data

What mental health problems does traditional Indian medicine treat?

Support the management of symptoms related to mental health.

**Integration & Modernization of Ayurveda:**
   - **Fact Checking & Accessibility:** The emergence of initiatives like THIP Media’s chatbot RAKSHA, in collaboration with the Amrita Centre for Advanced Research in Ayurveda (ĀCĀRA), reflects efforts to provide scientifically validated Ayurvedic information and dispel misinformation.

Title:

Content: THIP Media and ĀCĀRA join hands to Fact Check Ayurveda-based misinformation in India

Under the collaboration, THIP Media’s chatbot RAKSHA will also be answering questions and clearing doubts about Ayurveda. RAKSHA, an acronym for Readily Accessible Knowledge and Support for Health Action (RAKSHA) is a chatbot by The Healthy Indian Project.

THIP Media and Amrita Centre for Advanced Research in Ayurveda on Friday announced their collaboration to check fake claims, myths, misinformation, and dis-information around Ayurveda.

THIP Media, the media arm of The Healthy Indian Project, is a health information and Fact check platform and is a signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN).

“India’s pluralistic medical systems, less penetration of doctors, and regional language barriers create a perfect breeding ground of misinformation and disinformation about health, which often thrives on social media and WhatsApp forwards. Ayurvedic medicine remains one of India’s traditional health care systems and enjoys massive popularity. But, it is necessary to call out common myths and home remedies being claimed as scientifically proven Ayurveda facts. We are proud to be able to collaborate with ĀCĀRA for this initiative. With this alliance, we take a step forward to get support from ĀCĀRA’s knowledgeable and respected Ayurveda medical practitioners and researchers to build THIP Media as verified health information and fact check platform,” Sudipta Sengupta, Founder and CEO of The Healthy Indian Project said in a statement.

Commenting on the collaboration, Dr. P. Rammanohar from Amrita Centre for Advanced Research in Ayurveda says, “Ayurveda has been highly misunderstood concerning its medicines and treatment procedures. Unregulated advertisements, false claims, and prevailing myths on social media tarnish the reputation of this ancient health care system, whereas its positive contributions and potential are being undermined. The Indian Government has shown keen interest in mainstream Ayurveda in recent days. Favourable research policies have been formulated, allocated funds, and done studies even during the COVID-19 pandemic. At ĀCĀRA, we have been focusing on research to understand how Ayurveda can be deployed to better human health. Working with THIP Media, we wish to bring to light the ‘proven facts’ of Ayurveda,” Dr. P. Rammanohar from Amrita Centre for Advanced Research in Ayurveda said in a statement.

Under the collaboration, THIP Media’s chatbot RAKSHA will also be answering questions and clearing doubts about Ayurveda. RAKSHA, an acronym for Readily Accessible Knowledge and Support for Health Action (RAKSHA) is a chatbot by The Healthy Indian Project.

“Right knowledge is the first step of staying healthy. Any Indian citizen can Ask Raksha about any Ayurveda based questions they want answers to or share any health or Ayurveda-related message they want to get Fact Checked. All they have to do is send a message on whatsapp to +91-85078-85079. If RAKSHA knows the answer, she will reply back immediately. If RAKSHA doesn’t know the answer then she will refer the question to the internal editorial team who will then work with members of ĀCĀRA to get an answer as fast as possible. Through our partnership with ĀCĀRA we aim to make scientifically validated, evidence based knowledge about Ayurveda reach to all Indians and save them from misinformation,” Neelam Singh, Editor, THIP Media said in a statement.

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What is the traditional Indian medical system called?

- **Global Standards & WHO:** Steps are underway to integrate Ayurveda into the WHO’s ICD-11 (International Classification of Diseases), supporting standardization and international recognition, while fostering inclusion in global health systems.

Title:

Content: Traditional Indian medicine set to make a global debut, seeking inclusion in WHO’s ICD-11 list

The inclusion of Ayurveda and related systems on the WHO list will provide it with a common language that allows health professionals to share standardised information across the world

October 14, 2023 06:17 pm | Updated 06:17 pm IST - NEW DELHI

A view of the World Health Organisation headquarters.

In a move meant to put the Indian system of medicine on the world map and provide it with a common standardised language, the Union government has sought for Ayurveda and related systems to be included in the 11th revision of the World Health Organisation’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD), as the second module of a supplementary chapter on traditional medicine conditions.

The ICD provides a common language that allows health professionals to share standardised information across the world. The traditional medicine module of the 11th revision provides a list of diagnostics categories to collect and report on traditional medicine conditions in a standardised and internationally comparable manner.

Speaking exclusively to The Hindu about the development, Ministry of Ayush Secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha said: “We are hopeful that the addition of Module-2 for Ayurveda could happen as early as by next January.”

To aid regulation, research

“Ayurveda and related Indian traditional health care systems are formally recognised and widely practised health care systems in India, which is making a strong and valid point for its inclusion,” said Mr. Kotecha, adding that efforts to effectively regulate traditional medicine as an integral part of the health system require standardised and evidence-based information.

Mr. Kotecha further explained that the traditional medicine chapter under ICD-11 is a formative step for the integration of such forms of medicine into a classification standard used in conventional medicine. “It also provides the means for doing research and evaluation to establish its efficacy,” he said.

The Ministry added that this chapter would also help to respond to growing demands for more and better regulation of traditional medicine, and its integration in mainstream health care and health information systems.

ICD-11 covers Chinese medicine

After a decade of repeated consultations, ICD-11 had facilitated the inclusion of Module-1, which covers traditional medicine conditions originating in ancient China, which are now commonly used in China, Japan, Korea, and elsewhere around the world.

The eleventh revision contains around 17,000 unique codes and more than 1,20,000 codable terms, which are now entirely digital. ICD-11 came into effect from January 2022.

The joint use of ICD-11’s chapter on traditional medicine along with other chapters on neoplasm, patient safety, and injuries, can enhance the reporting of adverse events. It will enable the integration of traditional medicine into insurance coverage and reimbursement systems, in line with larger WHO objectives relating to universal health coverage. It will also link traditional medicine practices with global conventional medicine’s norms and standard development.

The development of Module-2 for Ayurveda-related diagnostic systems is being actively supported by the Ministry of Ayush. It extensively banks on the implementation experience gained on the ground by the National Ayush Morbidity and Standardised Terminologies Electronic portal, and the Ayush Health Information Management System, the Ministry said.

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Is traditional Indian medicine Ayurveda certified by the World Health Organization?

What is the traditional Indian medical system called?

**Contemporary Research and Applications:**
   - **COVID-19 Treatment & Recovery:** Recent studies (e.g., from IIT Delhi) suggest that Ayurveda and yoga can aid COVID-19 patients, particularly by addressing anxiety and potentially supporting recovery, complementing conventional medical care.

Title:

Content: Home » News » education-career » Yoga, Ayurveda Could be Effective in Treating High-Risk Covid-19 Cases, Claims IIT-Delhi Research

Yoga, Ayurveda Could be Effective in Treating High-Risk Covid-19 Cases, Claims IIT-Delhi Research

By: Education and Careers Desk

News18.com

Last Updated: September 13, 2022, 16:36 IST

New Delhi, India

The researchers claimed that that high-risk COVID-19 patients undergo severe anxiety, which may further deteriorate their condition (File Photo)

IIT Delhi researchers suggest that in addition to the treatment for COVID-19, Yoga and Ayurveda maybe instrumental in relieving such patients from anxiety and aid in speedy post-treatment recovery

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Yoga and Ayurveda maybe effective in the treatment of high-risk cases of COVID-19, suggests a research study by IIT Delhi on successful treatment of 30 high-risk COVID-19 patients. This study was conducted by a team of researchers at IIT Delhi and Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya, Haridwar.

The researchers claimed that that high-risk COVID-19 patients undergo severe anxiety, which may further deteriorate their condition. They further suggest that in addition to the treatment for COVID-19, Yoga and Ayurveda maybe instrumental in relieving such patients from anxiety and aid in speedy post-treatment recovery.

Also read| IIT Delhi Launches App to Prevent Bengaluru Floods Like Situation, to Predict Waterlogging

The findings of the study have appeared in the Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge. The research team consists of Dr Sumitra A Bentur, Private practitioner, Greater Noida (West), Uttar Pradesh, Dr Alka Mishra, Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya, Haridwar, Uttarakhand; Dr Yogish Kumar, Advait Clinic, Delhi, Dr Sonika Thakral, IIT Delhi, Sanjiv, IIT Delhi and Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, University of Delhi, Prof Rahul Garg, IIT Delhi.

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As per the institute, the patients were prescribed Ayurvedic medicines through telemedicine, and administered a personalized therapeutic yoga programme using video conferencing. Almost all the patients were classified as high-risk owing to one or more of co-morbidities such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, coronary artery disease (which are known to lead to severe outcomes in cases of COVID-19), and/or age above 60, said IIT Delhi.

“The treatment given to the patients was personalized (in accordance with the classical texts) and took account of each patient’s medical history and the symptoms presented, which made it more effective as compared to a fixed standardized treatment plan," said the IIT.

The treatment included ayurvedic medicines, daily yoga-sessions including deep relaxation techniques, pranayama and basic asanas and some lifestyle modifications. Based on the administered treatment, the cases were categorized into YAS (Yoga-Ayurveda based treatment, with possibly allopathic supplements: 4 patients), YASP (Yoga-Ayurveda based treatment, with possibly allopathic supplements and paracetamol: 6 patients), YAM (Yoga-Ayurveda based treatment, and Modern Western Medicine (MWM), that is, allopathy as adjunct: 6 patients), MYA (first tried MWM, later switched to Yoga-Ayurveda: 14 patients). added the institute.

The patients, most of whom presented with many symptoms prior to the yoga and Ayurveda treatment, were followed-up telephonically regularly until recovery. More than half of symptomatic patients started improving within 5 days (90 per cent within 9 days), more than 60 per cent reported at least 90 per cent recovery within 10 days, added IIT Delhi.

Six patients with oxygen saturation (SpO2) below 95 per cent, benefited through Makarasana and Shithilasana; none progressed to composite endpoints (consisting of admission to Intensive Care Unit, invasive ventilation or death). Considering that approximately 19.3 per cent of the patients with these comorbidities progress to composite end points, the p-value was found to be 7.21 x 10−3.

“The study also demonstrates an urgent need to scientifically examine the Traditional Indian Knowledge systems at the top academic institutions. A timely and suitably designed randomized controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of Ayurveda and Yoga based personalized integrative treatment for COVID-19 would have equipped the people with much more credible and dependable information about their use in managing COVID-19" said Prof Rahul Garg, IIT Delhi, who conceptualized the project.

“Most patients reported that the therapy had a profound impact on their recovery process, with many experiencing improvements with respect to their comorbidities too. By the end of the treatment, several patients had decided to adopt Yoga in their lifestyle, and several turned to the Ayurveda doctors in the team for management/treatment of their comorbidities", said Dr Sonika Thakral who coordinated with the patients for routine follow-up.

“On the whole, the belief of the patients in the efficacy of these traditional systems of medicine was extremely enhanced," said Dr Alka Mishra who administered Ayurveda treatment to some patients. “We are observing an increasing trend towards ancient systems of medicine", said Dr Yogesh Kumar who also administered Ayurveda treatment to some patients.

“The said interventions are believed to have collectively accelerated the recovery process by checking anxiety, instilling peace of mind and enhancing the overall well-being of the patients," said Dr Sumitra A Bentur, private practitioner, who designed the Yoga intervention and conducted Yoga sessions for some of the patients.

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first published: September 13, 2022, 16:30 IST
last updated: September 13, 2022, 16:36 IST

In what areas have the medical uses of traditional Indian medicine been studied?

What does traditional Indian medicine generally treat?

It addresses the psychological aspects of health conditions.

What is the traditional Indian medical system called?

What mental health problems does traditional Indian medicine treat?

Support the management of symptoms related to mental health.

Patient belief in these traditional treatments was found to be strong when integrated with standard therapies.

- **Emerging Recognition:** Ayurveda and its allied practices (Siddha, Unani) are being considered for their roles alongside Western medicine in addressing new and persistent health challenges.

What is the traditional Indian medical system called?

**Evidence-Backed Herbs and Practices:**
   - Herbs long revered in Ayurveda (e.g., ashwagandha, turmeric) are being substantiated by modern research for their roles in immunity, mental health, and chronic disease management, leading to greater acceptance in evidence-based integrative care.

In what areas have the medical uses of traditional Indian medicine been studied?

What is the traditional Indian medical system called?

What mental health problems does traditional Indian medicine treat?

Support the management of symptoms related to mental health.

- Professionals like Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary advocate combining traditional Ayurvedic herbs and practices with the rigor of modern clinical science.

**Institutional & Governmental Support:**
   - The Indian government’s Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy) fosters research, education, and integration with allopathic medicine.

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G20 science advisors to discuss pre-competitive collaboration, traditional knowledge

Once it reaches a certain level of maturity, of course different countries will have their take. But pre-competitive R&D (research and development) space is what we think should be something where we should work:

New Delhi: In a bid to bolster the fight against future pandemics, India's top scientific advisor Prof Ajay Kumar Sood has urged G20 countries to collaborate in developing vaccine platforms by cooperating with each other in the pre-competitive research and development phase.

In a video interview Sood, who will chair the Chief Scientific Advisors' Roundtable (CSAR) of G20 countries next week, said India will also present its traditional systems of medicine and seek to harness the knowledge of indigenous communities of different countries.

Making a strong pitch for collaboration among G20 nations in drug development, Sood, the principal scientific advisor to the government, said there is enormous scope for cooperation in the pre-competitive research and development space.

"Once it reaches a certain level of maturity, of course different countries will have their take. But pre-competitive R&D (research and development) space is what we think should be something where we should work," he said.

Sood identified emerging technologies for environmental surveillance as another area for cooperation.

"This is something which has to be done by all countries. A lot of it is happening but there are many other countries which will need a helping hand. So, we should be ready to take everyone along," he said.

Pre-competitive collaboration involves two or more companies operating within the same industry coming together to address a shared problem or pain point that doesn't impact direct business competition or contribute to unfair advantage.

"When there is a pandemic, you cannot live in isolation. We have seen it in COVID, all countries will have to fight it together and it has to be eradicated or controlled at all places. If it does not, then it will linger on and that is what you are seeing for COVID," Sood said.

He said the CSAR meeting in Uttarakhand's Ramnagar from March 28-30 will also focus on harnessing the benefits of traditional knowledge in healthcare.

"Traditional medicine has a very important role to play but it should be put in scientific context. All that work has to be done. When you have traditional medicines, how can we put it on a platform where it meets the acceptance of science," he said.

Sood said India has a very rich tradition of Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani and all of them have a role to play. It could be to build up immunity or strength or to address the symptoms of a disease, adding " whatever you think, it is possible".

"We should not try to limit ourselves to only what we call modern medicine," he said, making a strong pitch for diversity in various systems of medicine.

Sood also talked about harnessing the knowledge repositories of indigenous communities in G20 countries for the benefit of humankind.

"These are very, very old traditions. The goal should be, what we call traditional knowledge, it is really tested over centuries. It is very important that we take this traditional knowledge along with the other streams," Sood said.

Sood said the Ayush ministry is working on scientific validation of traditional systems of medicine.

"The Ayush ministry is doing that. This word was coined a few years back ayurvedic biology to address the issue of scientific validity. I am sure that in other countries there are parallel efforts. Because these tribal, traditional things are also very important and we need to learn from them," Sood said.

The three-day meeting in Ramnagar will focus on four broad themes Opportunities in One Health for better disease control and pandemic preparedness; Synergising global efforts to expand the access to scholarly scientific knowledge; Diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in science and technology (S&T); and an Institutional mechanism for inclusive, continuous and action-oriented global S&T policy dialogue.

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- Specialized hospitals (e.g., National Institute of Ayurveda, AIIMS-integrated AYUSH departments) and research centers are at the forefront of clinical trials and scientific validation.

**Rising Global Interest & Wellness Tourism:**
   - Global wellness trends increasingly recognize “self-healing” concepts rooted in Ayurveda.

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Content: Wellness tourism to peak in 2024

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Highlights

Wellness is slated to be a 7 trillion-dollar economy globally in 2025

Wellness is slated to be a 7 trillion-dollar economy globally in 2025. The Indian wellness market is estimated to be worth Rs.499 billion, and India is in the top 20 contributors globally. Based on a survey done by CGH Earth Experience Wellness, there is a clear indication of the rise in wellness tourism. Their centres in Kerala and Gokarna have seen a definite shift from a majority of international travellers to having 50 per cent Indians as of year-end data in December 2023.

The survey reveals some exciting trends:

More than just going to the gym- The centres are seeing an increase in the number of men signing up for wellness and detox-related programs. Post-COVID, they realised that achieving ideal health is not just about going to the gym and lifting weights. It requires a complete mindset change that addresses holistic health and lifestyle.

Sleep epidemic- Another reason why people want to rebalance their lives and look at holistic healing is so that their sleep deprivation and sleep patterns can be corrected. Hence, sleep is becoming increasingly important.

Workforce Wellness- Corporates have Chief Wellness Officers, Chief Spiritual Officers and health apps to help colleagues manage work stress.

Curative Wellness – An age-wise analysis also showed statistics of maximum preventive wellness visitors aged 30 to 50 and guests in the age group of 50- 59 specifically visiting for curative wellness. This age group has been defined as the ‘disease manifesting’ age, and this segment is now conscious that they can’t afford to continue to live the way they currently do and are seeking sustainable long-term lifestyle change.

Women’s Health-related retreats and programs are also becoming more sought after to address both postpartum as well as menopause-related issues.

Doctor Cijith Sreedhar, Chief Medical Officer at Prakriti Shakti-Clinic of Natural Medicine by CGH Earth, said the Yoga & Naturopathy medical system of healing has proved that our body has remarkable recuperative power to heal itself with external medical intervention applied where necessary. This concept of the capacity of a body to heal itself has gained global attention and has now become one of the most significant driving forces in the wellness industry the world over. This concept is the cornerstone of the healing practices followed at “Prakriti Shakti”, CGH Earth’s clinic for Natural medicine.

Additional insights from the report show that a new emerging segment is Family Bonding over Wellness. Whilst wellness has mostly been an individual pursuit, families are now involving their children, and one is seeing multi–generational wellness holidays so kids can inculcate a healthier lifestyle from their early years.

SwaSwara’sSwa Wellbeing program offers a family bonding retreat aimed at fostering healthy eating and exercise habits not just for parents and the kids but also for grandparents – which involves healthy cooking classes, guided art and pottery classes, family fitness activities using Yoga alongside spa time for the adults amongst other activities.

The new mantra of 2024 is “Feeling good is as important, if not more, than looking good. In 2024, the buzzword for wellness will be all about Longevity and the concept of living a longer and healthier life, both of which can be addressed very effectively by the Indian holistic sciences Ayurveda and Naturopathy, which have withstood the test of time and proven to be very efficient healers in the long run.

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What is the traditional Indian medical system called?

- Ayurveda’s preventive and lifestyle-based strategies are driving growth in wellness tourism and are becoming integral to holistic healthcare approaches worldwide.

What does traditional Indian medicine generally treat?

**Conclusion:**
Traditional Indian medicine is transitioning from a historical practice to an evidence-backed, globally integrated system, especially regarding herbal treatments for specific conditions.

Ongoing research, technological innovation, and institutional support are key in aligning Ayurveda’s rich knowledge with modern healthcare paradigms.

**Summary Nuggets: Traditional Indian Herbal Medicine – Current Research and Application**

1.

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Content: WHO seeks scientific basis for alternative medicine
Alternative medicine under a magnifying glass.
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In India, under the auspices of the WHO, a summit on alternative medicine has been opened.
They want the best for the health care system.
In India, the summit on traditional medicine, held under the auspices of the WHO, kicked off.
The main purpose of the meeting in Gujarat is to intensify the debate about the need for scientific evidence for alternative therapies.
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Experts recognize that traditional medicine comes to the rescue when there is no access to systemic health care.
According to the WHO, in a survey five years ago, 170 of the 194 countries participating in the organization reported the use of alternative treatment, only 124 confirmed the existence of an appropriate legislative framework for regulating this area.
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What does traditional Indian medicine generally treat?

What is Triphala in traditional Indian medicine?

What mental health problems does traditional Indian medicine treat?

Support the management of symptoms related to mental health.

**Rising Scientific Interest:** Over the past 70 years, there has been significant growth in scientific research on traditional oriental medicine, with European and global doctors investigating its efficacy and mechanisms.

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Content: People 's medic
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CHINESE HEALTH SECRETS
Traditional Chinese medicine is more than 3,000 years old.
But it was only in the last 70 years that European doctors began to study it in more detail, trying to find a scientific justification for the effectiveness of its methods.
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Content: Myths and truth about Chinese medicine
There is still controversy around Chinese medicine to this day.
But is HYIP a recognition of popularity?
Let ’ s take a look at the 5 most common myths.
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**Rich Plant Resources:** Researchers have documented about 160 actively used medicinal plant species in the region of interest, with 130 species utilized specifically for therapeutic purposes.

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Secrets of traditional medicine: Izmir residents are still treated according to the formulas of the Roman doctor Galen
Asya Nebor-Nikolaichuk
The scientists found that 160 different species of plants are still actively used in the region, with about 130 of them being used for therapeutic purposes.
One of the unexpected discoveries was the use of black bleach seeds to combat the larvae of miasis flies.
Scientists from the University of Ege investigated the traditional use of plants in Bergama, Izmir, where the famous Roman physician Galen (129 AD – 200 AD) once lived.
Galen, known as the father of pharmacy and the first sports doctor of the Roman world, left a lasting influence on medical and philosophical thought for more than fourteen centuries.
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Dr. Shukru Arasan and his team at Ege University conducted a study to examine the impact of Galen ’ s recipes on herbal medicine in the Bergama region.
After visiting local villages and talking to local residents, the researchers discovered the deep roots of the use of plants for medicinal purposes.
The scientists found that 160 different plant species are still actively used in the region, with about 130 of them being used for therapeutic purposes.
One of the unexpected discoveries was the use of seeds of black bleached (Hyoscyamus niger) to combat the larvae of miasis flies.
"Belene seeds are mixed with animal fat or tail fat, and various processes are used to produce smoke.
The face of the patient is exposed to smoke, and the larvae of the flies fall into a bowl of water under the chin, ” said Dr. Arasan.
This discovery demonstrates the ingenuity and practical application of ancient recipes, shedding light on the effectiveness of traditional folk medicine.
Dr Arasan said: "The most important subject of our study was the plants used in traditional folk medicine."
The research team, led by Professor Hassan Yildirim from the Department of Biology at Ege University, emphasized the importance of dosage when using plants in traditional medicine.
Professor Yildirim explained: “We are studying Galen ’ s formulas.
Its peculiarity is hidden in the doses of its formulas. "
While acknowledging the power of herbal remedies, he cautions about the various effects and potential toxicity associated with different doses.
Earlier, Focus wrote that thanks to seeds from the biblical homeland of Goliath, scientists have uncovered hitherto unknown rituals of the Philistines.
We also talked about the secrets of Trafalgar Square.
Archaeologists have unearthed the ancient city center of London.

Indian herbal medicine’s materia medica is extensive.

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Content: Global expansion of FITO PHARMA
Global expansion of FITO PHARMA
Garden of medicinal herbs at the plant FITO PHARMA.
Photo: Archive
With the ambition and vision of being the leading herbal medicine brand in Vietnam that meets international standards, FITO PHARMA (Fito Pharmaceutical Limited Company), established in 1999, has grown into a reputable pharmaceutical company exporting products to many countries around the world.
Leveraging Vietnam ’ s strengths in the field of traditional medicine, over more than two decades of growth, FITO PHARMA has achieved significant success in introducing its brand to the international market.
FITO PHARMA is Vietnam ’ s leading pharmaceutical company specializing in the export of herbal products.
This is evidenced by the company's achievements in the field of exports.
In 2002, FITO PHARMA opened a representative office in Kiev, Ukraine.
In 2003, FITO PHARMA received a certificate of quality management ISO 9001-2000 from the organization BVQI (Great Britain).
In 2005, FITO exports to Eastern Europe reached a record high of 14 containers per year.
In the following years, FITO PHARMA continued to export to France (2007), the United Kingdom (2009), the United States and Canada (2016).
Expanding its presence in the export market, FITO PHARMA has also modernized the infrastructure of pharmaceutical production in accordance with international standards.
In 2011, FITO PHARMA implemented a project for the production of organic products in accordance with the standards of the EU, USDA (USA) and JAS (Japan).
In 2012, FITO PHARMA opened a GMP compliant plant.
In 2014, FITO PHARMA certified production according to the GMP-WHO standard.
Subsequently, in 2022, the company began construction of the Fito N2 plant in Binh Duong Province and the Fito N3 plant in VSIP in Baknin.
According to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of FITO PHARMA Le Haq Tam, Vietnam due to the tropical climate, high humidity and abundant rainfall is favorable for the growth of plants and medicinal herbs.
In addition, Vietnam has a long history of traditional medicine, and the experience of using herbal ingredients for medicinal purposes has been accumulated and tested for many generations.
That is why FITO PHARMA specializes in the production of traditional herbal preparations in cooperation with medical experts and research professors both at home and abroad.
Many of the company ’ s products have been clinically tested in domestic and international institutes and hospitals.
FITO PHARMA products are made on the basis of knowledge and experience of traditional medicine, traditional principles of formulation of medicinal formulations and ingredients of plant origin.
The company combines traditional principles with new scientific achievements, applying modern machines, equipment and technologies to create high-quality products.
Mr. Tam said that the company is working with scientists and research institutes both domestically and abroad to conduct clinical trials of the effectiveness of its products.
Over the years, products under the FITO brand, manufactured by FITO PHARMA, have gained considerable consumer confidence.
Currently, herbal preparations FITO PHARMA are available in three forms: in liquid form, in tablets and for external use.
The drugs are intended for the treatment of 11 groups of diseases in accordance with the provisions of the Ministry of Health on traditional medicine.
FITO PHARMA is also the founder of the Museum of Traditional Medicine (Fito Museum), which has branches in Ho Chi Minh City and Thuanan (Binh Duong Province), where thousands of artifacts and documents related to traditional Vietnamese medicine are exhibited.
These museums have become popular tourist destinations for both domestic and foreign tourists.
Text: Thao Vi - Photo: Thong Hai and FITO Archives - Translation: Dinh Hong
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Content: Myths and truth about Chinese medicine
There is still controversy around Chinese medicine to this day.
But is HYIP a recognition of popularity?
Let ’ s take a look at the 5 most common myths.
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**Specific Traditional Applications:** A striking example includes using black bleach (belene) seeds with animal fat to generate medicinal smoke for combating parasitic fly larvae (miasis).

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Content: Myths and truth about Chinese medicine
There is still controversy around Chinese medicine to this day.
But is HYIP a recognition of popularity?
Let ’ s take a look at the 5 most common myths.
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**Integration with Modern Medicine:** There is a consensus among modern phytotherapists and faculty that medicinal plants should be used with the same rigor as conventional drugs.

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Content: “The patient should be observed by a specialist doctor ”: a phytotherapist about the medicinal use of plants
Phytotherapist told about the scope of application of medicinal plants
Recipes of traditional medicine often find scientific confirmation - for example, recently a group of scientists discovered in ginseng compounds that can potentially slow down the development of osteoporosis.
Phytotherapy, based on both ancient traditions and modern scientific research, can complement the basic drug therapy and support the patient ’ s body during the recovery period.
At the same time, herbs are not used for the treatment, their main purpose is prevention.
About it in an interview with RT said candidate of medical Sciences, head of the Department of herbal medicine Institute of Oriental medicine RUDN Elena Korsun.
However, phytopreparations and even dietary supplements should be prescribed by a phytotherapist, since medicinal herbs have a number of contraindications.
The specialist also told whether phytoestrogens can replace synthetic hormones.
• Gettyimages.ru
• © ChamilleWhite
- Phytotherapy has ancient roots - the first collections of medicinal herbs appeared in China, according to legend, several thousand years ago.
Now some recipes of traditional medicine find scientific confirmation - for example, scientists have recently discovered in ginseng compounds that can inhibit the development of osteoporosis.
In general, Eastern folk medicine is famous all over the world.
What are the traditions of herbal medicine in Russia?
— Treatment with various medicinal herbs in Russia has been practiced for many centuries.
In the 12th-18th centuries, the so-called monastic phytotherapy developed.
At the same time, there was a continuous accumulation and preservation of knowledge about trauma within the framework of traditional medicine.
In the 18th century, professional educational institutions for doctors began to appear in Russia.
Herbal medicines accounted for the lion ’ s share of medicines, this can be seen in the example of the first Russian national pharmacopoeias – lists of officially recognized medicines and requirements for their quality.
This is no longer traditional, but rather official medicine.
For example, in the XIX century came out "Russian medical herbalist, or Description of domestic medicinal plants", its author was a famous doctor - surgeon Ivan Kashinsky.
The XIX century is the century of the birth of scientific phytotherapy, phytopharmacology, clinical research of the properties of medicinal plants.
• Gettyimages.ru
• © DarioGaona
About the second half of the XVII century recipes of traditional medicine, primarily herbal medicine, began to collect naturalist scientists.
Scientists went on expeditions to remote villages across the country and recorded herbalist recipes that had been passed down from generation to generation.
In each region, in each geographical zone grow their own plants, so the traditions of herbal medicine are different.
It has not yet been possible to fully accumulate this knowledge, since each village had its own herbalists with their own traditions of treating ailments.
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Tell us, please, why are there so often biologically active substances in plants?
Is it true that they often serve plants to protect against herbivores?
Biologically active substances in plants are very diverse and perform a huge number of functions.
In general, all living organisms are characterized by reactions of primary metabolism associated with energy metabolism - the synthesis of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, etc.
Secondary metabolism, or synthesis, is inherent mainly in plants and fungi - these reactions lead to the formation of a number of biologically active compounds.
These are organic acids, glycosides, phenolic compounds, alkaloids, antibiotics and phytoncides, terpenes and terpenoids, essential oils.
In addition, plants are able to produce hormone-like compounds: phytoestrogens, phytoecdysteroids.
They play an important role for the physiology of plants, regulating their growth and reproduction, protection from insects.
• Gettyimages.ru
• © Cavan Images
Biologically active substances, in addition to protecting against herbivores, protect plants from adverse environmental factors.
Strikingly, but in different parts of plants throughout the growing season, the chemical composition changes, there is an accumulation of various substances during budding, flowering, fruiting, which depends, among other things, on the conditions of the external environment.
Throughout this time, the plant is a unique living chemical factory.
For the study of these processes, there is even a separate scientific field - comparative phytochemistry.
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In its pure form, medicinal plants are biologically active additives, not drugs.
What place do they find in clinical practice today?
Medicinal plants are, in essence, raw materials, the starting material from which the drug can be produced - crushed collection of herbs, extract, individual components.
Of course, herbal supplements on the market are represented by much more than herbal medicines.
The fact is that dietary supplements are much faster and cheaper to register and bring to the market than drugs.
In order for the drug to be registered, it must undergo serious clinical trials that will prove the effectiveness of the drug.
And for dietary supplements, there are basically the same requirements as for food products.
Now doctors in Russia do not have the right to prescribe dietary supplements in clinical practice.
In October 2023, a legislative initiative was put forward, according to which such a practice may appear, but so far this law has not been adopted.
Allow doctors to prescribe dietary supplements is proposed to reduce their use as part of self-medication.
Because there are cases when patients with oncology, endocrine diseases try to cure themselves with dietary supplements.
It could end badly.
• Gettyimages.ru
• © ChiCasting
As a rule, people without medical education, taking herbal remedies without a systematic approach, a deep understanding of the pathogenesis of diseases, do not know about the possible side effects of such supplements.
Therefore, it will be right if the BAA will still be doctors.
At the same time, we are aware that future doctors need to teach the basics of herbal medicine for this.
The reverse, dangerous side of this phenomenon is when some experts promise to cure herbs such serious ailments as cancer, for example.
In this case, dietary supplements often have very aggressive marketing.
What can you say about this phenomenon?
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Such cases and unscrupulous marketing of dietary supplements, of course, cast a shadow on scientific herbal medicine.
The consumer should not be misled about the real effectiveness of dietary supplements.
As for cancer, the entire medical community has an absolutely clear position: such a patient should be observed by an oncologist, receive treatment in accordance with the diagnosis.
In the case of such serious ailments, experiments cannot be carried out, cancer is very dangerous and is able to progress quickly.
Phytotherapy in this case can not replace chemotherapy, radiation therapy and other methods from the arsenal of oncologists.
Phytopreparations can help reduce intoxication, have a restorative, stress-protective effect only in addition to the main therapy.
For example, to support the gastrointestinal tract, you can prescribe herbal preparations with anti-inflammatory, regenerating effect or herbal hepatoprotectors to facilitate the work of the liver.
But no more, it is impossible to replace antitumor therapy with herbs in any case.
• Gettyimages.ru
• © fcafotodigital
In what cases can herbal medicine act independently, and not as an addition to the main treatment?
The main purpose of herbal medicine is primary and secondary prevention, as well as rehabilitation.
Primary prevention is aimed at preventing diseases in the presence of risk factors - for example, with genetic conditioning, in adverse climatic conditions.
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Secondary prevention is used already in the presence of a chronic disease in order to prevent its recurrence.
It complements therapy and is designed to improve the condition of the organs and systems of the patient.
For example, herbal medicine can help to recover from a course of antibiotics - many antifungal, gastroprotective, hepatoprotective, nephroprotective plants are known.
But without basic treatment, we do not use phytotherapy.
The patient should still be seen by a specialist doctor.
What can you say about the phytoestrogens that are now being offered by dietary supplement manufacturers as a safer replacement for synthesized human hormones in endocrinology?
It is impossible to replace human hormones with plant hormones.
However, to reduce individual manifestations of the menopausal period by such means is real.
For example, the leaves of sage are effective against vegetative manifestations in this period, improve memory and cognitive functions, support the formation of estradiol in the adrenal glands.
By the age when a person is prescribed synthetic estrogens, he usually accumulates a lot of concomitant diseases, while herbal remedies can be used to correct the side effects of such problems.
So, with increased irritability, herbal preparations will help stabilize the nervous system.
And some herbal remedies help prevent the development of osteoporosis.
• Gettyimages.ru
• © Olena Kurashova
Often the attitude to herbs is quite easy, it is believed that they can not harm the body.
Are there really contraindications in this case, and is an overdose of herbal tinctures and decoctions possible?
- Of course it's possible.
At the Department of Phytotherapy, we teach to treat medicinal plants as seriously as medicines.
Be sure to take into account the effect of phytopreparations on the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract, there are a number of phytopreparations containing bitterness, which have a sokogonny and (with inflammation of the gastric mucosa) irritating effect.
Also, individual intolerance to some components of the phytopreparation, for example, individual plants in the composition of grass collections, is not excluded.
And all this, of course, is taken into account when prescribing phytotherapists who assess the effectiveness of plants and eliminate possible risks from their use.
Safety in herbal medicine is no less important than effectiveness.
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Why do doctors, at least in Russia, not prescribe herbal medicines so often?
Maybe it makes sense to expand the use of such tools in the framework of complex therapy?
— So far, there are very few doctors in Russia who use the method of herbal medicine in their work.
At the course of clinical phytotherapy at RUDN University, we, as part of postgraduate education, improve the qualifications of doctors in the field of clinical phytotherapy.
However, we believe that herbal medicine should be taught to medical students, future doctors.
Moreover, there should be a system of state support for the development of herbal medicines, their production and implementation.
For the development of this area there is all the necessary scientific base.
In research organizations, scientists select plants and study their properties, determine and study the optimal dosage form, develop the technology for the production of the drug and conduct preclinical studies on experimental animals.
Unfortunately, only a few phytopreparations pass the stage of clinical trials, as this is a very complex and expensive procedure.
As a result, new science-based herbal products do not reach production, pharmacy shelves, and ultimately patients.
• Gettyimages.ru
• © gzorgz
Today, medicinal phyto-raw materials are mainly taken from the population, people collect wild plants in the forest or they are grown on plots.
Is it possible to simplify the process of production of phytopreparations by establishing the production of chemical analogues of substances that are responsible for the medicinal effect of plants?
— In recent years, against the background of growing demand for high-quality vegetable raw materials, industrial medicinal plant growing has been revived.
As for chemical analogues, the effectiveness of herbal medicine is largely associated with a comprehensive, systematic approach to the appointment of medicinal plants.
As a rule, a phytotherapist forms a certain complex of individual plants and / or ready-made phytopreparations.
For example, to maintain the work of the gastrointestinal tract in chronic gastritis, enveloping, anti-inflammatory, vitamin, in some cases sokogonnyh plants should be used.
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And also plants that support the functions of the liver and pancreas, blood supply and regeneration of the mucous membrane.
If we use a phytopreparation based on an isolated substance of plant origin, then it may not be effective in solving a complex problem.
To sum it up...
What are the main pros and cons of herbal medicine, how can a person approach it competently?
- As for the advantages - this is the availability and, as a rule, the cheapness of such drugs.
Medicinal plants have a huge potential, a large, especially preclinical, scientific base, the mechanisms of action of plants are well studied.
But there remain questions to the individual approach in the appointment of phytopreparations, the choice of dose, to the quality of plants in the case of medicinal phytocollection.
Unfortunately, medicinal herbs are most often used as part of self-medication.
This is a big risk, especially when it comes to serious diseases.
In general, in order to properly apply herbal medicine, it is necessary to learn this and, of course, have a basic medical education.
In this case, herbal medicine can benefit patients.
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Institutions emphasize that medical education should include the basics of herbal medicine.

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Content: Myths and truth about Chinese medicine
There is still controversy around Chinese medicine to this day.
But is HYIP a recognition of popularity?
Let ’ s take a look at the 5 most common myths.
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**Research & Development:** Russian scientists have synthesized curcumin-fluorine compounds with notable anticancer effects, showcasing innovation inspired by curcumin, a key Indian herb (from turmeric).

Such plant-derived compounds are often used as adjunct therapies to support organ systems during conventional treatments (e.g., cancer therapy).

Title:

Content: Myths and truth about Chinese medicine
There is still controversy around Chinese medicine to this day.
But is HYIP a recognition of popularity?
Let ’ s take a look at the 5 most common myths.
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**Evidence and Skepticism:** While there is popular enthusiasm, medical professionals generally stress that serious diseases (such as cancer) cannot be treated by herbs alone and warn against substituting modern therapies with unproven remedies.

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Content: The Day of the national healer is celebrated in Russia annually on January 14.
Who are they and how can they benefit people in the 21st century?
The concept remains blurred.
Healers call themselves practitioners of traditional medicine (their activities are legal), as well as magicians, sorcerers and adherents of esoteric practices.
Doctors of official medicine are skeptical of both the first and the second.
Consumers are happy to use such services.
Moreover, wealthy citizens belonging to the conditional middle class are twice as likely as those who are more victorious.
NEWS.ru found out who in Russia provides “healing ” services, and most importantly, who uses them.
Doctors or magicians: who are healers really?
Turochak is a picturesque village in the Altai Republic, surrounded by mountains, lakes, ice rivers.
In the autumn of last year, there were more residents there.
A 30-year-old man came from a neighboring region and settled in the house of a certain Anna.
She positioned herself as a healer.
The man suffered from prolonged depression, Anna volunteered to help him.
The visitor was not confused by the strange method used by the woman.
Instead of psychotherapy - microdoses of dried mushroom fly.
For several weeks, the man took the “medicine ”.
In the end, the liver of the tourist could not stand, poisonous mushrooms provoked severe poisoning.
A man lying unconscious was discovered by one of the local residents.
She called an ambulance.
Photo by Marcus Siebert / imagebroker.com / Global Look Press
According to the press service of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Altai, doctors fought for the life of the patient for several hours.
After prolonged infusion therapy, the patient regained consciousness.
Due to chronic poisoning, his liver was seriously damaged.
They will live, the doctors said.
At the end of December 2022, the Novosibirsk city website (ngs.ru) conducted a survey among readers “Do you believe in the power of healers? ”.
More than 5 thousand people took part in it.
Of these, 76% answered in the affirmative, 21% - in the negative, the rest found it difficult to give an accurate answer.
About 2% of patients who do not seek help in medical institutions go to healers, magicians, psychics, healers, this was reported to NEWS.ru in the press service of Rosstat (data collected in 2020).
Among men, such 1.7%, among women - 2.2%.
Most often, managers of different levels resort to the help of healers (2.3%) and highly qualified specialists (2.3%).
For comparison, 1.8% of unskilled workers turn to such services.
Less often, people come to magicians whose working conditions are dangerous.
More often - employees whose work can be described as safe (there is no impact on the employee of harmful and (or) dangerous production factors).
That is, a fireman is less likely to be at the door of a healer than a mid-level manager.
Photo: shutterstock
Over the past five years, the demand for the services of healers has increased by 30%, this trend was voiced in an interview with NEWS.ru by the President of the National Association of Traditional Medicine Vladimir Egorov.
He linked it to the coronavirus pandemic and its aftermath.
The expert stressed that we are talking about specialists in folk methods of treatment, who practice legally.
For example, herbalists, bone cutters.
The various occultists have nothing to do with them.
People turn to folk medicine when traditional does not give the desired result.
For example, in the case of chronic diseases that do not go away for years.
Egorov reports that in such cases, people are looking for other ways to “help the body more quickly. ”
The most common ailments that come to healers are diseases of the spine and joints.
These are arthritis, arthrosis, osteochondrosis, rheumatoid arthritis.
There are currently no 100% effective methods that can cure rheumatoid arthritis, for example.
It's an autoimmune disease.
Existing medications have serious side effects.
Many of them are simply not suitable due to their other diseases.
Popular methods can help.
Vladimir Egorov President of the National Association of Folk Medicine
There were many cases when doctors sent a person to die, and traditional medicine helped him, the patient was cured, reports Egorov.
The body is a self-healing structure that is capable of incorporating the resources of self-regulation.
The task of the healer is to help him in this.
Photo: Sergey Lantyukhov / NEWS.ru
According to Article 50 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, folk medicine is the methods of healing, established in the national experience, which is based on the use of knowledge, skills and practical skills to assess and restore health.
Folk medicine does not include the provision of services of an occult-magical nature, as well as the performance of religious rites.
In practice, it is different.
Healers are people who use completely different methods.
Maryam Makhmudova, a “specialist in psychogenetics ” from Uzbekistan.
In her opinion, a healer is the person who heals people, guided by Divine laws.
She added that healers learn spiritual laws in the divine books.
Maryam Makhmudova said in a conversation with NEWS.ru that she is also a healer and knows how to treat cancer, diabetes, hepatitis, infertility, allergies.
It even provides its services via video link.
She gave a recent example: she was approached by a woman with elevated tumor markers.
After treatment, the indicator returned to normal.
This was achieved through awareness and repentance.
She realized that she always denied the woman, took care of men.
I repented to God for these destructive thoughts.
She promised herself that she would not return to ignorance, ” Maryam said.
Valentina Pyankova on first education resuscitation nurse.
She also calls herself a healer and a shaman.
In an interview with NEWS.ru, she said that she uses different methods to heal people.
First of all, work with the psyche.
Most diseases occur from dislike of oneself, Piankova is sure.
In her sessions, Valentina corrects this.
Esoteric methods are also used by women at work.
She said that she was connected to the Divine structures.
But folk methods are also present in the arsenal of the healer.
How many years ago in the state Duma was announced statistics: about 95% of folk healers do not have medical education, and over 40% of them allegedly even need the treatment of mental disorders.
At the same time, many of these activities are carried out without obtaining special permission.
What laws regulate the activities of healers and psychics
In Russia, healers are trained by 12 specialized colleges teaching acupuncture, herbal medicine and other methods of diagnosis and treatment with traditional folk methods.
Photo: shutterstock
The activities of healers are regulated by the Federal Law of 21.11.2011 No. 323-FZ (as amended on 28.12.2022) “On the Basics of Public Health Protection in the Russian Federation ”.
According to the document, the right to engage in folk medicine has a citizen who has received a permit issued by the executive authority of the subject of the Russian Federation in the field of health care.
Occultists cannot be included in this number.
Their activities in Russia today are not regulated by anyone.
As the lawyer Lyudmila Alexandrova told NEWS.ru, the official state position - this does not exist, therefore, there is no sphere and subject of regulation.
At the moment, there are no laws that would regulate the activities of magicians and psychics.
This is something from the category of fairy tales, as if the activities of Santa Claus were regulated by law, ” she said.
Officially, such concepts as “magician ”,“ psychic ” are not fixed at the legislative level.
There are no standards to regulate this activity.
The maximum that fits here is entrepreneurial activity to provide services to the population.
Or Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Fraud ”.
It is not easy to prove, but it is possible.
Fraud is the theft of money by deception or abuse of trust.
Here it is necessary to understand the plot of the case - what exactly the fortuneteller promised, whether she took the money and what results.
If the fortune-teller took the money, for example, to guess on tarot cards, then there will be no fraud, because she took the money and repaid - that is, she rendered a service.
And if she says, for example, that I will now perform a ritual and you will win in court, guaranteed to marry a millionaire, then yes - you can prove it, because she obviously could not influence it.
That is, had a mercenary intent aimed at stealing money by deception, ” the lawyer said.
There are precedents for fraud, as well as lawsuits for the return of funds from “workers ” of occult services, the expert added.
She gave some examples.
Photo: shutterstock
The man applied for treatment of the disease in the International Academy of clairvoyance.
Psychics could not cure the man, he turned to the police, who opened a criminal case against a group of people.
The man himself was recognized as a victim.
As a result, a criminal group that provided parapsychological and extrasensory services is serving time in prison, and the man through the court achieved the return of his money.
The state needs to introduce criminal punishment for magicians and pseudo-healers who deceive people and harm the health of citizens.
Such an initiative was made in early December last year by State Duma deputy from the Communist Party faction Nina Ostanina.
In an interview with NEWS.ru, she noted that this bill has already been “sent to the government for conclusion. ”
Then she will submit it to the Council of the State Duma, taking into account all comments.
Nina Ostapenko noted that due to the special operation in society, tension is growing and more than 60% of citizens today “experience a state of fear, depression and need psychological help. ”
There are many who try to fish in muddy water and pretend to be those who can provide psychological help - these are magicians, healers.
They take advantage of the fact that a person was one on one with trouble.
Okay, if it's harmless.
But if it damages the mental health of a person, if it leads to the fact that they deceive people, then it is a crime.
Nina Ostanina State Duma deputy from the CPRF faction
In January 2022, plans to develop a bill on the introduction of criminal liability for engaging in occult-mystical activities for the sake of health told the Deputy of the state Duma Vitaly Milonov (“United Russia ”).
Back in 2017, he said that he was submitting to the State Duma a bill on criminal liability for illegal occupations of folk medicine and magic.
For unclear reasons, it didn ’ t go any further.
Why do people go to healers, especially successful and educated ones?
If a person loses control over the situation, then he begins to turn to any tools that will help return this control, clinical psychologist Olesya Inevskaya said in an interview with NEWS.ru.
In a state of despair (for example, in the third stage of actively progressing cancer), a person becomes more suggestible.
In principle, any long-term, serious disease increases suggestibility and reduces the level of critical thinking even in the most educated people.
Therefore, no patient is immune from the fact that one day he will knock on the door to the conditional “fortune-teller Juna ”.
Photo: Vladimir Yatsin / TASSEvgenia Davitashvili (Dzhuna)
But certain categories of people are more likely to do so than others.
Olesya Inevskaya has identified two correlates.
The first is high self-confidence, the second is low intelligence and level of education.
If a person falls under these characteristics, he is a potential consumer of magical services.
Wealthy and successful people really often turn to otherworldly forces and alternative methods, confirms Inevskaya.
The initiators of the trip to the healers are usually their wives or mothers.
Rich men often trust their health to loved ones due to lack of time.
And those, in turn, act on the principle “in the fight for health, all means are good. ”
What do the doctors say?
Maybe there are cases of miraculous healing.
About 1% of patients, having learned about cancer, turn to methods of alternative medicine, according to the doctor-oncologist, candidate of medical sciences Andrei Pylev.
Different methods are used - compresses of kerosene, vodka and oil, soda, hemlock, celandine, prayers, trips to monasteries.
There are also completely ecological ones.
For example, coffee enemas are a fashionable technique.
I have heard many such cases over the decades of my work, but I have never heard of at least a minimal success of these enterprises.
Traditional cancer treatments do not work.
It is better to immediately contact the oncologist.
Andrey Pylyov chief doctor of the clinic, oncologist
If you treat an inflamed throat with traditional medicine methods, this can be effective.
But with angina, it is better to take antibiotics.
Otherwise, the consequences can be deplorable, said in an interview with NEWS.ru surgeon, oncologist Dmitry Shabanov.
Folk methods work in cases where the disease is not serious and passes on its own.
Serious diseases can not be cured with the help of alternative medicine.
Traditional medicine can only help in psychological terms.
A person against the background of the rest of chemotherapy drinks some kind of grass and believes that he was cured by her, the grass.
In fact, of course, modern methods are much more effective than any folk remedy.
Dmitry Shabanov surgeon, oncologist
Photo: Maxim Zakharov / RIA Novosti
Many drugs and treatment regimens of traditional medicine have been worked out for a long time, but they have no evidence base, infectious disease doctor Yevgeny Timakov told NEWS.ru.
Moreover, some drugs from traditional medicine have switched to traditional after they have proven their effectiveness in clinical trials.
The most high-quality and safe treatment is carried out according to those protocols that have evidence-based effectiveness, Timakov notes.
A big disadvantage of traditional medicine is that it does not take into account the individual characteristics of people, individual reactions of the body and side effects.

Title:

Content: Myths and truth about Chinese medicine
There is still controversy around Chinese medicine to this day.
But is HYIP a recognition of popularity?
Let ’ s take a look at the 5 most common myths.
Back to article
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**Regulatory Landscape:** The application of herbal medicine as part of regulated clinical practice is being debated and developed; legislation is advancing to empower doctors—not laypersons—to prescribe herbal supplements, to ensure patient safety and evidence-based use.

Title:

Content: Myths and truth about Chinese medicine
There is still controversy around Chinese medicine to this day.
But is HYIP a recognition of popularity?
Let ’ s take a look at the 5 most common myths.
Back to article
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**Affordability and Accessibility:** Herbal preparations are noted for their accessibility and lower cost, making them popular options, especially in chronic, non-severe conditions (e.g., spine and joint ailments).

Title:

Content: Myths and truth about Chinese medicine
There is still controversy around Chinese medicine to this day.
But is HYIP a recognition of popularity?
Let ’ s take a look at the 5 most common myths.
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**Health System Integration:** India, as the origin of Ayurveda and Siddha medicine, hosts numerous research and clinical institutes, often collaborating with the World Health Organization (WHO) to promote best practices and integrate herbal medicine into broader health care.

What is the traditional Indian medical system called?

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Content: Myths and truth about Chinese medicine
There is still controversy around Chinese medicine to this day.
But is HYIP a recognition of popularity?
Let ’ s take a look at the 5 most common myths.
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**Institutions & Initiatives:** Institutions like FITO PHARMA (in Russia) and various Indian government-supported research centers promote the cultivation, study, and clinical evaluation of medicinal plants.

Regular international summits (e.g., those held in India and under WHO auspices) foster global exchange on advancements, standardization, and evidence-based integration.

What is the World Health Organization doing to promote traditional medicine, including Ayurveda?

Gathering evidence and data to guide policies

Title:

Content: Myths and truth about Chinese medicine
There is still controversy around Chinese medicine to this day.
But is HYIP a recognition of popularity?
Let ’ s take a look at the 5 most common myths.
Back to article
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**Case Studies & Treatment Areas:** Most common uses for herbal medicine are in long-standing, non-acute conditions.

Successful integration is typically in combination therapy (e.g., herbal adjuncts with chemotherapy), with some reports of symptom improvement but little evidence for cure in severe diseases.

What mental health problems does traditional Indian medicine treat?

Support the management of symptoms related to mental health.

Title:

Content: Myths and truth about Chinese medicine
There is still controversy around Chinese medicine to this day.
But is HYIP a recognition of popularity?
Let ’ s take a look at the 5 most common myths.
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**Caution Advised:** Both for practitioners and consumers, the report stresses the need for regulation, evidence-based prescribing, and protection against fraud or occult practices, which are not part of legitimate traditional medicine.

What is the World Health Organization doing to promote traditional medicine, including Ayurveda?

Establishing rules for the safe, fair, and effective use of traditional medicine

**Takeaway:** Traditional Indian herbal medicine is gaining scientific validation and integration, particularly as supportive or adjunct therapy for chronic and non-acute illnesses.

What mental health problems does traditional Indian medicine treat?

Support the management of symptoms related to mental health.

Regulatory reforms and research collaborations are underway to ensure its safe, effective, and evidence-based incorporation into modern healthcare.

What is the World Health Organization doing to promote traditional medicine, including Ayurveda?

Establishing rules for the safe, fair, and effective use of traditional medicine

Gathering evidence and data to guide policies

**Summary of Key Points about Traditional Indian Medicine (Indian Herbal Medicine) in Modern Context**

1.

Title:

Content: Archive / Lifestyle
The World Health Organization is interested in alternative medicine.
Mohamed Ismail - Cairo - DPA -
Many people use traditional medicine – but what do these methods really do?
A new WHO centre intends to explore this.
The center is based in India, a country where alternative medicine is so important that it even has its own ministry – which specializes in Ayurveda, Yoga, Physiotherapy, Greek Medicine, Master and Homeopathy.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the opening of the centre in Jamnagar in mid-April, saying: “India ’ s traditional medicine system is not just a cure.
It ’ s a comprehensive science of life. ”
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Indian government is supporting the centre with US $250 million (230 million euros).
WHO President Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “The center aims to be an engine of innovation, moving towards an agenda of evidence, data and sustainability in traditional medicine, ” adding that the center would connect traditional medicine practitioners around the world and help set standards for research.
Traditional medicine is a broad field.
According to the World Health Organization ’ s statement for the center, 80% of the world ’ s population uses traditional medicine, which includes among other things acupuncture, Ayurvedic medicine and herbal blends.
Traditional medicine is also represented in modern science.
According to the World Health Organization, about 40% of all drugs approved today are derived from natural substances.
The discovery of aspirin, for example, is based on ancient recipes made from the bark of the willow tree.
The research for artemisinin for use in the fight against malaria, for which the Nobel Prize was awarded in 2015, began with the study of ancient texts of Chinese medicine.
George Rochmeyer of Cochrane, an international network that provides the scientific basis for decisions in the health field, said it makes sense at least to take a closer look at treatment methods that have been developed over centuries, to verify the reasonableness of these methods, and to conduct clinical studies on them in case of doubt.
Cochrane reviews are systematic reviews that collect all scientific evidence on a specific issue from medicine or other health sciences.
However, Rochmeyer also stressed that besides the examples of traditional methods cited by the WHO, which form the basis of currently developed treatments, there are likely many other examples where traditional methods of careful review have proven ineffective or even dangerous, such as phlebotomy, noting that spending too much money on studies to review a therapeutic practice is always a matter of discretion.
Rochmeyer stated that there are many Cochrane reviews about the use of traditional methods such as acupuncture in certain cases, but: “From my personal experience at Cochrane, I would say that I have not come across many reviews that have shown really compelling evidence for traditional therapeutic practice. ”
This is often due to the fact that when searching for these treatments we find only a few often-poorly conducted studies that cannot prove or disprove any benefit from them – which brings us back to the question of whether the already limited research funds should be invested in a scientifically unreasonable procedure – for example, homeopathy.
Professor Emeritus Edzard Ernst, a longtime professor of alternative medicine at the University of Exeter, noted that while it was necessary to wait and see who would lead the center and what it would do, the WHO press release was full of exaggerations.
The World Health Organization says it also wants to use new technologies at the new center for the study of traditional medicine — via artificial intelligence and big data, for example.
The center is expected to focus on providing a reliable evidence base for policy and standards of traditional medicine practices and products.
In addition, the center is supposed to help countries integrate these practices into their health systems.
You may also read.

What does traditional Indian medicine generally treat?

**Principles and Scope**:
   Traditional Indian medicine, notably Ayurveda, is rooted in the belief that health and disease result from a balance or imbalance in the body's vital energy, or prana.

Title:

Content: The Ayurveda
by Denise Millstine, MD, Mayo Clinic
It has been reviewed in 1445.
Ayurveda is the traditional medical system in India, which originated more than 4,000 years ago.
It is based on a theory that the disease is caused by an imbalance in the body's life force, or prana.
This life-force balance is determined by the balance between the three physical traits called doshas: vata, pitta, and kapha. Most people have a dominant doshas, and the specific balance between the three doshas is unique to each person. (See also Overview of Integrative, Complementary, and Alternative Medicine.)).
Practitioners evaluate people through
• Interrogate them about symptoms, behavior and lifestyle
• Monitor their overall appearance, including eyes, tongue, and skin
• Taking a heartbeat and checking urine and feces
After determining the balance between douches, practitioners design a treatment specific to each person.
Ayurveda uses diet, herbs, massage, meditation, yoga, and internal cleaning (therapeutic cleansing). Cleansing usually involves injecting fluid into the rectum to induce bowel movement or defecation (enema), or washing the nose with water (nasal washing) to restore balance within the body and with nature.
Medical Uses of Ayurveda
Ayurveda has been studied, including in allergic rhinitis, mental health disorders, neurological conditions, pain, arthritis, and diabetes.
As in other studies of entire medical systems, high-quality research is difficult.
Possible side effects of Ayurveda
Some of the plant combinations used in Ayurveda are contaminated with heavy metals (especially lead, mercury and arsenic) so that they can cause heavy metal poisoning.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
The following source in English can be helpful.
Please note that the MSD Guide is not responsible for the content of this source.
1.
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH): Ayurvedic Medicine
Test your KnowledgeTake a Quiz!

What does traditional Indian medicine generally treat?

What is the traditional Indian medical system called?

It emphasizes maintaining inner balance, integrating mental, spiritual, and bodily health, often through the use of herbal remedies.

Title:

Content: Alternative Medicine - An Appropriate Approach to Improving Health
Medical Dawn
Alternative medicine forms an important part of the healthcare field, offering a holistic approach to improving health and wellness using natural methods and traditional practices.
This topic addresses the understanding of alternative medicine, its different types, and the benefits and challenges associated with it.
Definition of Alternative Medicine:
1) Complementary Medicine:
Complementary medicine involves the use of traditional medical treatments and techniques alongside traditional medical treatments.
Alternative Medicine:
It relies on non-traditional methods and techniques, such as herbal therapy, touch therapy, and traditional Chinese medicine.
Types of alternative medicine:
1.Herbal treatment:
It is based on the use of medicinal herbs to improve health and cure diseases.
2. Massage therapy:
It is based on the stimulation of certain points in the body to improve vital flow and relieve stress.
Meditation Therapy:
It focuses on mental and spiritual relaxation, and enables inner balance.
Benefits of alternative medicine:
1- Comprehensive approach:
Alternative medicine is a holistic approach that takes care of the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of an individual.
Reduce side effects:
Many alternative therapies have the advantage of reducing side effects compared to traditional pharmacological treatments.
3.Promotion of prevention:
Alternative medicine focuses on promoting disease prevention by improving lifestyle and nutrition.
Challenges and Directions:
1.
Lack of scientific research:
Alternative medicine faces challenges in the lack of scientific studies proving the effectiveness of certain treatments.
Adherence to medical guidelines:
Patients should consult with traditional doctors before starting any alternative treatment, especially if they have serious health conditions.
Future and Balance:
Integration with traditional medicine:
The current trend refers to the integration of alternative medicine and traditional medicine to achieve the best health outcomes.
2) Focusing on prevention:
Attention to disease prevention and health maintenance is expected to increase the importance of alternative medicine.
Read also.
Sinus treatment.. Top tips from doctors for the treatment of sinuses
Read also.
Natural ways to treat a hot pill in the tongue.. Prevention and treatment
Also Read: Causes and Treatment of Dry Eye
Medical Methods for Treatment of Dry Eye at Home
Conclusion:
In conclusion, it shows that alternative medicine can be an effective option for individuals seeking to improve their health in natural ways.
However, individuals should take professional medical advice and check that alternative treatments are appropriate for their overall health condition.

In what areas have the medical uses of traditional Indian medicine been studied?

What does traditional Indian medicine generally treat?

What mental health problems does traditional Indian medicine treat?

Support the management of symptoms related to mental health.

What treatment did Former Kenyan President's daughter Rosemary Odinga get that helped her regain eyesight?

Traditional Indian medicine Ayurvedic treatment.

**Distinct from Western Medicine**:
   Unlike modern Western medicine, which often utilizes scientifically developed combination drugs targeting specific diseases, traditional Indian medicine relies on simple natural products—mainly plant-based, sometimes animal-derived—with treatments based on centuries of empirical observation and cultural practice.

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Folk Medicine
Unlike modern medicine, folk medicine does not rely on combination drugs, but on simple plant and animal products to treat diseases based on hundreds of years of experience.
Folk medicine is widespread in the Arab world, where many believe in its efficacy.
Traditional medicine dating back thousands of years is recovering in various countries in light of its success in treating many symptoms and diseases without side effects on the patient.
The most prominent types of herbal therapy and acupuncture therapy or yoga.

Title:

Content: Anthropology or Anthropology: 10 / Anthropology of Religion
Translated by Ahmed Mogheer
Anthropology of Religion
Anthropology of religion is a specialized field of study within social / cultural anthropology.
From the beginning, one of the major areas of anthropology has been religious beliefs, practices, and institutions in the non-Western world.
Religion, like kinship, is a very dominant organizing principle of human society.
It is closely related and influences economics, politics, kinship, family, marriage, language, medicine, etc.
Anthropology of religion can be defined as a specialized field of study concerned with the relationship between the sacred and society.
The term sacred means what is marked or seen with great respect, fear and reverence.
The main focus of the anthropology of religion is to understand, analyze, and explain the relationship between man and supernatural power and the beliefs, practices, and institutions associated with it.
What matters to a religious anthropologist is therefore not a question of the ultimate truth of religion and its affirmation, but a question of why a particular group of people adheres to religious beliefs; the relationship between religious beliefs, social and cultural processes, and historical and ecological factors.
Religious anthropologists are interested in ethnographic, ethnographic, scientific and systematic analysis of religious beliefs, practices, institutions, and other aspects associated with them such as witchcraft, religiosity, faith-based healing, soul possession, cults, states of altered consciousness, etc.
In general, anthropologists who study religion investigate, among other things, the following:
The social origins of religion.
The role of religion in the development of humanity and society.
The function of religion in the daily lives of individuals and communities.
The relationship between religion and other aspects of society and culture such as economics, politics, medicine, magic and other aspects of culture and social life.
Contents of religious beliefs and practices.
Interfaith issues.
Definition of religion
Anthropologists and social scientists have tried to define religion in different ways.
In general, religion is defined as that aspect of culture that connects man to the sacred and the supernatural.
Religion is also concerned with the relationship of man to the profane or secular, identifies the sacred from the profane, and determines how and why a particular object becomes sacred or profane.
He developed traditions or conventions on how humans should behave in dealing with the sacred.
More specifically, religion can be defined as a system of philosophical beliefs, practices, and values concerned with defining the sacred, understanding life, and salvation from the problem of human existence.
Religion is a system of beliefs involving supernatural forces or beings that provide form and meaning to the universe.
According to Howard and Denev-Hatis, religion "seeks to provide a comprehensive view of how the universe works and why.
It addresses the ultimate questions of our existence: where did we come from?
Why are we the same?
Why do we have to die?
“Religion, like language, lies at the foundation of culture.
In non-industrial societies it is a hypothetical binding force and the dominant norm of everyday life.
Types and functions of debt
Anthropologists generally classify religion into two categories: world religions and religions of pre-literate or traditional societies.
The classification is based, inter alia, on:
- Number of followers.
Existence or absence of sacred texts
– Structured structure and rigorous teaching of theology
Attempting to spread the faith to others, whether in the form of evangelism or other mechanisms
The positive and negative impact of religions on history, economics, politics, art, science and technology, including medicine; in short, the global effects of religion.
Thus, world religions are those concerned with interpreting sacred texts and spreading the faith to others.
These include: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Confucianism, Shinto and others.
The religions of traditional societies are mainly concerned with the practical benefits that can be gained from the proper performance of rituals or observance of proper taboos.
They are less interested in the finer points of theology or personal salvation.
Religion plays a major role in the daily lives of individuals and communities.
It is related to other aspects of culture and social life.
Some of the main functions of religion include the following:
Religion offers an explanation about our world and the universe:
Religious beliefs help explain some of the puzzling questions and events in human life and the natural world.
The system of religious beliefs in society seeks to provide a comprehensive explanation of how the universe appeared, and how and why it functions the way it does.
Religion tries to face directly the final questions that concern everyone: Where did humans come from?
What are humans doing here?
What is the basic nature of humans and other non-humans?
What is death and why should people die?
and so on.
Religion is an expression of collective life:
Religious beliefs and practices unite people into one moral society.
Religion helps to foster a spirit of brotherhood among followers of the same religious faith.
The participation of various religious rituals such as mass worship, prayer, religious feasts, etc., often creates a sense of unity, belonging and unity among practitioners.
Religious beliefs and practices are therefore very important organizing principles for community life.
Religion serves as a means of validating society and its standards:
Religious beliefs and practices can help make adherence to community values and norms among its members.
It helps to preserve and sustain social systems and culture.
Helps people adhere to community norms and values by helping them adhere to social / ethical values.
However, it also supports social oppression by maintaining the status quo and in its documented role acts as an instrument of exploitation and discrimination.
Religion can be a force for mobilizing people in search of change or protesting against the prevailing exploitative and oppressive social, political and economic order.
Religion may play an important role in revolutionary movements.
World religions or organization have had strong positive and negative effects on society.
In terms of their positive contributions, organized religion, particularly the Judeo-Christian tradition, has been a major force, among others, in improving social ills; supporting and protecting the poor; promoting arts, such as music, painting, literature and architecture; educating the disadvantaged; and popularizing and promoting scientific medicine.
On the other hand, organized religion has had negative effects, among other things, thwarting scientific work; encouraging the persecution of dissidents and non-adherents; supporting colonialism, slavery and exploitation; sentencing women and children to an inferior position in society; bitterly dividing people.
Religion and Medicine
The importance of religion to medicine is clear, especially when we look at developing traditional societies.
The religious ideology behind healthy practices not only codifies the way people should behave, but also gives an added sense of security to those who adhere to the principles of religion.
People ’ s understanding of life, death, health, disease and all other calamities is linked to their complex religious system.
The psychological and social functions of religion have important therapeutic effects.
Religious adherence and adherence to religious rules and teachings are related to the health status of individuals, families and communities.
Some research findings suggest that people with strong religious affiliation and commitment have found that they have relatively better mental and physical health than those with low or no religious commitment.
Suicide rates are also higher among individuals with a lower religious commitment.
Religious beliefs, practices, and institutions have been important parts of the healthcare sector over the centuries.
As part of alternative medicine and traditional medicine, religion continues to play a very important role in the provision of health care.
Many organized religious denominations witness faith-based treatment and healing for some serious health problems such as mental illness and various other physical and psychosomatic illnesses.
In fact, in regions and people where access to modern medical treatments is limited, religion, beliefs, practices and traditional medical centers are the alternatives available.
Even in areas where there are no problems with access to modern medicine, many people may prefer traditional treatments for various diseases.
In short, in almost all societies, religious beliefs and practices form important parts of health and health care.
In traditional societies, religion and traditional medicine are closely related.
In such societies, traditional religious medical beliefs and practices play important roles in explaining the causes of illness, in caring for the sick, and in treating illnesses — both physical and psychological — and other calamities (bad events).
Religious rituals and prayers accompany all the preparation and management of traditional medicines on patients.
As healers, religious professionals are at the forefront of dealing with health and disease problems in many societies, especially in traditional societies.
Food habits and beliefs vary across cultures.
People in all cultures besides showing a preference for certain types of food and certain ways of preparing them; and showing traditional prejudices against other foods.
“In every society, people designate certain elements as ‘ food ’ from a range of edible plant and animal substances ” (Howard and Denev-Hatisse).
Although the causes of these conditions may in some cases be lost in the past, a key factor in this disparity is the form of religious beliefs and practices across societies.
Thus, a group of people who profess a certain form of religion may avoid certain types of foods and prefer others.
It can have both positive and negative effects on the health and well-being of individuals, groups and communities.
Food taboos based on religious prohibitions may also affect health.
People ’ s behavior in seeking health care is largely determined by the taboo in their religion and thus, individuals with a strong sense of religiosity may avoid, for example, the use of certain medical treatments or health care.
Thus, family planning and contraceptive use, for example, depend on these factors among followers of certain religions.
Religious values therefore largely determine fertility trends worldwide.
Some religious denominations even prohibit their members from using modern medical treatments, urging them to rely solely on religious mechanisms such as faith healing.
Religion may also play a very important role in shaping the nature and content of the ethics of medical professionals.
Medical professionals who adhere to different forms of religion may share different ethical standards regarding the way patients should be treated, the interaction between doctor and nurse, and so on.
Translated by Dr. Ahmed Al-Mughayir, Specialist Physician and Researcher
Source:
INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOCULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
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**Challenges in Research**:
   High-quality, systematic studies on the efficacy and safety of Indian herbal medicines are still limited, mainly because these are complex, holistic systems that do not always align with the reductionist approach of Western clinical trials.

What does traditional Indian medicine generally treat?

However, interest is growing, both in India and internationally.

Title:

Content: Anthropology or Anthropology: Anthropology and its Relation to Medicine and Health / 11
Anthropology or Anthropology: Anthropology and its Relation to Medicine and Health / 11
Translated by Ahmed Mogheer
Medical Anthropology: Definition, History and Concerns
Medical anthropology is a specialized branch of anthropology whose main interest is in the relationship between cultural factors, perceptions and beliefs on the one hand and health disorders on the other.
Medical anthropology is a branch of applied anthropology, which studies diseases, the health care system, theories of disease and treatment from a pluralistic, sociocultural perspective.
Medical anthropology, in general, has grown very rapidly as a specialized field of study in anthropology, especially since the 1950s and 1960s.
The growth of this field is mainly due to: (1) the growing interest of social scientists in general and anthropologists in particular in health and disease, and (2) the increased awareness of medical professionals and health policy makers about the role of social sciences in the health issue.
Arguably, when anthropology arose in the 19th century, investigating health and disease issues seemed not to be among the dominant concerns of cultural anthropologists.
However, sociologists in general and anthropologists in particular have begun to develop academic and practical interests in the study of health and disease in social and cultural contexts.
At the root of the emergence and development of medical anthropology also lies the need to study the world of health and disease from evolutionary and ecological perspectives.
Medical anthropologists attempt to address fundamental questions such as:
What is the evolutionary basis for the difference in how different populations deal with the disease?
What are the main factors that affect children ’ s growth and development?
What is the impact of modernization on the local population?
Medical anthropologists are also interested in:
Investigate the interrelationship between human health, nutrition, cultural beliefs and practices; and how people ’ s dietary behavior and sexual habits affect the spread of pathogenic organisms;
Multicultural aspects of nursing care;
the social and cultural contexts of disease; health-related behavior of people, and the social and cultural associations of such behavior;
The social, behavioral, demographic and biological characteristics of people who develop the disease.
Some of the main theories of health, culture and society
A brief overview of key perspectives in the anthropology of health and disease may be appropriate at this juncture.
Medicine as an institution and the question of health and disease have been explained through different perspectives.
The following are crucial theories:
Functional Perspective: This perspective views medicine and healthcare systems as important social institutions; it focuses on the functions and roles that the institution plays in maintaining stability in society.
Medical institutions, whether scientific or traditional, and various practitioners exist to meet the needs of individuals and society.
Medical Ecological Perspective: This perspective focuses on human biological and behavioral adaptations to diseases in different ecological and environmental contexts.
Thus, diseases evolve in line with specific ecological niches, and people ’ s responses to health problems have evolved in the context of their specific local ecosystems.
Cultural Interpretative Perspective: This is also called the “symbolic interaction ” approach.
This approach focuses on the social and cultural constructs of health, disease and illness.
According to this theory, diseases and health are not just things that exist “out there ”; they are a product of complex social interactions; and health and disease are largely shaped by the way people as representatives give meaning to them and how actors respond to them in social and cultural ways.
Critical perspective: This theory is also called “radical political economy. ”
It is an approach that emphasizes social and economic inequality in power and wealth, which in turn has a significant impact on health status and access to health-care facilities.
Individuals, groups, communities and even nations thus tend to have an unbalanced share of health resources; this often results in an unequal distribution of morbidity and mortality patterns among a given society; those in power and dominance enjoy better health, and marginalized groups suffer the burden of disease.
The roles of anthropologists and contributions of anthropology to health
Applied medical anthropology is strongly interdisciplinary in its nature and approach.
Medical anthropologists often work with academics in the field of sociology, medicine, psychology, and demography.
Applied medical anthropology brings with it the comparative framework of anthropology that helps medically trained people avoid one limited cultural perspective, to see how social and environmental factors affect health, and to be familiar with alternative ways of understanding and treating disease.
In general, medical anthropologists play the following two important roles:
work in collaboration with health professionals, researchers and other professionals, as consultants, consultants and researchers;
They work in the field of health and disease and participate in their own independent research, in order to advance anthropological knowledge.
Some specific applications or contributions of medical anthropology in health and disease include:
-They help hospitals and health agencies to deliver health care more effectively to people.
They assist national and international health organizations by providing anthropological data on the cultures of the peoples of the world.
They work with epidemiologists in identifying the effects of cultural practices and beliefs on disease transmission.
-They help health professionals in disease prevention and control.
They are involved in the fields of international health, promoting mental health in different cultures.
They assist in the areas of public health education efforts related to family planning, maternal and child health, improving community sanitation and nutritional counseling.
They help promote community involvement in disease prevention.
-They help people understand the psychosocial factors that affect prevention, and participate in the identification of cases and treatment.
They help health workers overcome restrictions on large-scale drug administration or vaccination as well as in overcoming cultural constraints on health education programs and dealing with them.
Anthropologists work with epidemiologists and psychiatrists in the areas of cardiovascular problems and mental disorders.
Disease, society and economic activity
Understanding social and cultural behaviors as important factors in the causal relationship, spread, and distribution of many diseases is critical.
Anthropologists argue that how people live, how they behave, what and how they eat, what they believe and practice, what they value and what technology they possess, etc., are important determinants of their individual and collective health.
Different societies have different concepts of health and disease.
The standards that people set for health vary from culture to culture.
Behaviors and lifestyles that are considered healthy vary from one community to another, and from time to time.
People ’ s understanding of health and perceptions of the nature of diseases also vary from culture to culture.
Anthropologists argue that, on the basis of cross-cultural research (i.e. research conducted relatively in different cultures) perceptions of good and bad health are constructed, along with culturally significant health threats and problems.
Thus, the production and distribution of health and disease are strongly influenced by sociocultural and political-economic factors.
Different ethnic groups and cultures recognize different diseases, symptoms and causes and have developed different health care systems and treatment strategies.
Anthropologists also argue that diseases vary between cultures and types of economic activity.
Systems of economic activity prevalent in a given society greatly influence the characteristics of morbidity and mortality.
For example, some infectious diseases such as malaria, typhoid, cholera, etc., are more common in settled communities (peasants and urban communities).
Diseases such as schistosomiasis are associated with certain economic activities.
They are widespread in communities that practice irrigation systems.
Other infectious diseases, particularly sexually transmitted diseases, including the HIV / AIDS pandemic, are more common in urban cultures than in rural areas and along highways.
There are also what anthropologists call development diseases which are those health problems that arise in a given society after the introduction of development projects, or when indigenous people are integrated into global political and economic systems, certain types of diseases can be introduced to people.
These diseases may include bacterial or parasitic diseases that occur in an area due to changes in the environment following development-related activities and other categories of development diseases may include “diseases caused by poverty, undernutrition and poor sanitation, reflecting the failure of development programs to integrate people into large-scale communities in a satisfactory manner. ”
Causality theories of disease
The biomedical theory of the causality of disease is just one of the different theories of diseases that people carry.
The methods by which people try to treat the perceived disease are based on their beliefs about the cause of the disease.
People from different cultures have developed for themselves different ways of interpreting how diseases and misfortunes (bad luck or disaster) occur.
It seems that such theories for centuries have worked for them very efficiently.
In fact, the peoples of the world relied on such kinds of explanations (and still not a few societies continue to do so) until the modern scientific theory of medicine emerged a few centuries ago.
Anthropologists have classified the various causal theories of diseases that exist between different cultures in the world into: 1) theories of personal diseases, 2) theories of natural diseases, and 3) theories of emotional diseases.
The causation theory of personal illness attributes disease to causative agents that are considered intelligent beings.
This theory is particularly common among most non-Western societies.
Even if a person knows that a mosquito bite causes malaria, it is often believed and believed that the cause of the disease is due to the force and evil action of such factors as evil spirits, witches and witches, ancestral spirits, curses made by elders, the wrath of supernatural beings, etc.
The causal theory of natural diseases is also referred to as Western or scientific medicine.
This attributes diseases to such non-personal and scientifically proven factors as viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites, etc. and toxic substances.
This theory explains the causes of diseases from a natural point of view.
That is, diseases are natural events, not supernatural things.
Non-Western cultures also use natural disease theories.
For example, some people believe that eating or drinking hot or cold substances may create a health problem.
For example, a menstruating woman is not supposed to eat pineapple in some cultures.
Because they think pineapple is a “cold ” thing and menstruation is a“ hot ” thing, the two will collide and cause illness.
The causal theory of emotional illness states that illnesses are caused by some severe negative emotional experience.
A number of ethnographic studies have found that there are, for example, mental illnesses that are unique to certain cultural environments.
Such diseases caused by certain cultural environments and traditions are described as syndromes associated with culture.
In some cultures, emotional experiences such as anxiety and fear may cause a disease called susto, or what is also called "soul loss" in anthropological literature.
A person who thinks they have this mental illness may develop symptoms such as lethargy (fatigue or weakness), loss of activity, wandering, distraction (or thinking disorder), etc.
In Africa, which is predominantly a traditional society, traditional, non-scientific explanations of disease are very important in the diagnosis, treatment and management of diseases.
Belief in the power of various intelligent agents such as Djinn, Mitch, Devil, Ganel, etc. to cause various mental and physical illnesses is very common in most African cultures.
People in some cultures do not go to a modern health care center to seek help for certain types of diseases.
Treatment of diseases is also closely related to the type of causal relationship of diseases that people carry.
In psychosomatic illnesses such as Soto and other culture-specific illnesses, people prefer to go for treatment to a traditional medical professional, rather than a modern health facility.
Perspectives on the causality of disease carried by people are therefore very important in determining people's health care seeking behavior and the type of diagnosis and treatment.
This is why it is critical that healthcare professionals be culturally sensitive and have some basic understanding of social and cultural anthropological knowledge when dealing with the care of patients from different cultural and religious backgrounds.
Health Care Systems
Health systems vary across time and space.
Since time immemorial, people have developed different health care systems.
The modern system of health care and its provision as practiced in the contemporary modern world is a modern phenomenon.
People have treated the sick and developed means of caring for the sick and disabled in various traditional ways, and these means of providing health care are still prevalent in almost all non-Western societies. In short, all societies have some form of health care system.
A health care system can be defined as beliefs, habits, specialists and techniques aimed at promoting health and preventing, diagnosing and treating diseases.
Traditional societies have their own medical practices and specialists who often rely on what is suggested by a specific causal theory.
Traditional healers play important roles in treating patients with various health problems.
Magical rituals and prayers are often used in the production of medicines and their use on patients.
They are highly respected in their communities.
Patients believe in their knowledge and skills (often much more than they believe in the expertise of modern doctors) and their consultation.
Traditional Medicine
Traditional medicine can be referred to as a system of medicine in particular societies with a range of causal views of diseases, mechanisms of diagnosis and treatment, and roles of specialists, where the prevailing model of disease and health differs significantly from scientific medicine.
It may commonly be seen as medical beliefs and practices that were used from time immemorial by human societies before the advent of modern medicine, and are still used by most non-Western societies.
Traditional medicine embodies a system of medical care that is based on ideas about pathogens and treatment of diseases that have evolved over a longer period of time and that is shaped by people's own experience in terms of their environment, and their pattern of beliefs about human, environmental, and supernatural relationships.
A broader term such as alternative medicine can also be used to describe this type of medicine.
In this sense, all medical opinions and practices outside of traditional scientific medicine, such as acupuncture, healing by faith, healing through prayer, etc., fall into this category.
Traditional medical practitioners acquire and employ a wide range of medical knowledge that includes astrology, healing by faith, massage, folk psychotherapy and folk psychiatry, exorcism, herbal medicine, various magical acts and amulets to treat the sick.
Traditional disease care systems represent experimental attempts by indigenous people to control associated diseases and calamities and to maintain health and well-being in a given environment.
These systems express deep-rooted attitudes towards health and disease, popular drug concepts, the activities of indigenous healers, the role of kinship groups in maintaining health, and so on.
Biomedicine
This medicine is referred to interchangeably as “scientific ”,“ Western ” and “modern ” medicine.
It is based on the model of disease and health as concepts, explainable and subject to natural assumptions.
Biomedicine aims to link disease to scientifically proven factors that do not carry any personal malice towards their victims, as seen by people who hold a personal causal theory of disease.
Comparison and contrast between traditional and scientific medicine
It may be appropriate to say that medicine has always been recognized as a social biological science.
When we look at the history of medicine, prominent thinkers from Hippocrates to Sigmund Freud tend to view human health as being strongly influenced by social, cultural, environmental and other non-biological factors.
Health and disease have been understood to be inextricably linked to the way humans live and their social and cultural environment.
However, the contributions of sociocultural factors to pathogens and their roles in healing processes have been greatly undermined until recently and have not received systematic analyze.However, starting in the 1950s, social sciences and medicine began to show increased interest in cooperation.
The place of traditional medicine in the health care sector, which has so far been neglected, is now being appreciated.
There now seems to be a growing acceptance of the contributions of traditional medicine by modern medical and health planners.
Modern health care professionals rejected traditional or alternative medical systems as useless until recently but now this position is being changed.
Anthropologists argue that the two systems can complement each other.
In many African societies, modern health-care professionals recognize traditional medical practitioners, and collaborative efforts are being made in research and practice in areas such as HIV / AIDS, and in the identification of various plants of medicinal value.
Traditional medical practitioners may be more effective in treating diseases that have psychological causes, such as mental problems.
People often consult them and get treatment that may not be possible by modern psychiatrists.
Patients often receive more psychological / emotional comfort and social support when treated by traditional healers.
But in modern medicine, the context of treatment is often one of isolation, alienation (separation), and separation from the group.
Western medicine may learn a lot from traditional medicine in which the “relationship between therapist, patient and community ” is important.
In such cases, the patient is not an expatriate and has the necessary emotional and social support.
Unlike Western medicine, traditional medicine sees the patient as not just a biological person, and pays attention to social and spiritual aspects as well.
Traditional medical practitioners effectively treat patients as whole beings, using any combination of methods that prove useful.
This is not usually the case in modern medicine.
There is no doubt that Western medicine is better than traditional medicine in many respects, as many of its achievements are based on scientific facts.
As such, traditional medicine has a lot to learn from it.
It is true that traditional medicine may not be as effective against bacteria as antibiotics.
Advances in scientific medicine have made it possible to combat many permanent (persistent and recurring) health problems.
Countless drugs have been made and are effective in the treatment of various diseases.
However, anthropologists still draw our attention to some problems in Western medicine.
They argue that the growth in medical science and diagnostic and treatment techniques has occurred at an alarming rate.
But many of the procedures and practices of modern medicine lack convincing justification and logic.
They report instances of bias, lack of a personal relationship between patient and doctor, and interactions between doctor and nurse.
Despite the dominance of modern scientific medicine, and in some cases its apparent superiority in quality and utility, it is better to consider the two systems of medicine as complementary to each other, rather than competing and undermining one another.
The reality on the ground is that even in industrialized societies people often consult with both modern and traditional systems of medicine.
Medical pluralism is still an ever-present phenomenon.
Medical anthropological research suggests that even in urban settings where there are Western scientific medical facilities, people often consult traditional medical practitioners.
Both cosmic and supernatural scientific perspectives regarding health and disease continue to play important roles in influencing people ’ s health-seeking behavior.
Many countries are now developing policies whereby their national health-care system integrates both scientific and traditional medical care systems.
It is appropriate to describe briefly the social and cultural implications of medical pluralism, particularly in the context of developing countries. One such developing trend is that the health-care system in developing countries is largely dominated and biased by the biomedical model, despite the multiplicity of natures.
This is usually manifested in the fact that biomedical dominance and the medical care system enjoys a higher status and the traditional medical system is often not recognized as a viable alternative, although some steps have been taken in this regard.
Other issues associated with this medical pluralism also include:
Although it has a higher status, the Western medical system, on the other hand, is criticized for its bias towards curative rather than preventive and promotive medicine.
Its heavy reliance on Western countries for institutional, professional and technical support is also another point of criticism.
Most importantly, hierarchical medical pluralism in the Third World represents the basic social stratification.
The few elites with the greatest privileges often benefit from the dominant scientific medicine, while the majority of the population benefit from the popular medical services.
Another prevalent fact worth noting is that there is often a dual use of medical care; the elite rely primarily on the biomedical system and may resort to popular medical assistance as a last resort; on the other hand, the masses generally rely on the popular medical system and may also benefit from the biomedical sector at its lower end.
Translated by Dr. Ahmed Al Mughayir / Specialist and Researcher
Source:
INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOCULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
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**Global Recognition and Regulation**:
   The World Health Organization (WHO) is taking notable steps to study and integrate traditional medicine into global health strategies.

What is the World Health Organization doing to promote traditional medicine, including Ayurveda?

Establishing rules for the safe, fair, and effective use of traditional medicine

Gathering evidence and data to guide policies

It aims to establish credible evidence, policies, and standards for these practices, recognizing their widespread use and cultural significance.

What is the World Health Organization doing to promote traditional medicine, including Ayurveda?

Establishing rules for the safe, fair, and effective use of traditional medicine

Gathering evidence and data to guide policies

**Complementarity with Modern Medicine**:
   Anthropologists and health professionals are increasingly exploring how traditional and modern medical systems can complement each other.

For instance, Indian herbal medicine is often sought for mental health issues or chronic conditions where Western medicine may be less effective or carry side effects.

In what areas have the medical uses of traditional Indian medicine been studied?

What does traditional Indian medicine generally treat?

It addresses the psychological aspects of health conditions.

What mental health problems does traditional Indian medicine treat?

Support the management of symptoms related to mental health.

**Cultural, Religious, and Social Aspects**:
   The choice between traditional and modern therapies is often influenced by cultural beliefs, religious practices, and trust in healthcare providers.

Many individuals prefer traditional medicine for its holistic approach, lower cost, or alignment with personal beliefs, even when modern options are accessible.

What does traditional Indian medicine generally treat?

**Clinical Applications and Examples**:
   - **Fig (Ficus carica)**: Cited as an example, figs are used in both Chinese and Indian systems for a variety of health conditions, illustrating the crossover and historical depth of certain herbal remedies.

Title:

Content: Benefits of figs.. How is it used in traditional medicine practices?
Science and Health
Publish
Two minutes read.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (CNN) -- With a rich 6,000-year history, figs are one of the oldest plants known to humanity and serve as a symbol of longevity, according to the official website of the National Library of Medicine.
What are its main benefits?
Fig has a long history of widespread use in traditional medical practices, such as Chinese and Indian medicine systems.
It has been appreciated for centuries for its remarkable healing properties, which include the following:
• Gastrointestinal and Respiratory disorders
• Infections
• Cardiovascular disorders
Figs are an excellent source of bioactive ingredients, such as vitamins, minerals, organic acids, amino acids, dietary fiber, and a range of phytochemical ingredients, such as carotenoids and polyphenols.
It also has many benefits including:
• Eliminates hunger, ideal for people who are looking for agility
• Includes a high content of potassium that provides support to the muscles, adding to the function of the heart
• Contains fiber that helps slow down digestion, as well as reduce the risk of chronic diseases
The figs are a "floral nura," a bulky, onion-shaped mass that contains many flowers and seeds in its core.
Its colors range from greenish yellow, copper, bronze, and dark purple.
It usually matures between August and October.
It grows best in moderately humid areas, areas that allow exposure to sunlight for more than eight hours a day.
The figs have many uses, as they can be eaten fresh or dried, in addition to the possibility of being used in various foods and alcoholic beverages, and their leaves are used as food for livestock.

How is traditional Indian medicine compared with traditional Chiese medicine?

- **Dry Eye**: Some Ayurvedic herbs have been investigated for eye conditions, showcasing efforts to treat specific modern ailments.

What does traditional Indian medicine generally treat?

It addresses the physical aspects of health conditions.

**Healthcare Structures and Institutions**:
   India hosts numerous hospitals and research centers dedicated to Ayurveda and herbal medicine, such as the All India Institute of Ayurveda and the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences, providing both treatment and research into efficacy and safety.

What is the traditional Indian medical system called?

**Cautions and Side Effects**:
   While many experience benefits, side effects and risks exist, underscoring the need for ongoing research, regulation, and informed integration with modern healthcare.

Animal-based broths (e.g., chicken) combined with herbs are cited as nutritional interventions.

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04 / 02 / 2022
It is Hitachi Spring! It is advisable to keep cheerful and blood flowing smoothly!
Drink "Huai-shan Cow" to replenish the liver, kidney and spleen
• Add Favorite Column
• Collection of articles
• Chen Pei-si
Chen Pei-si
Registered Chinese Medicine Practitioner, Bachelor of Chinese Medicine and Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Biomedical Sciences from Hong Kong Baptist University and Master of Science (MPhil) from the University of Hong Kong.
Now the mother of two daughters, she encourages breastfeeding, advocates nature, and is happy to share with others the ways of Chinese medicine and health care, and live a healthy life together.
Updated every Wednesday.
New meaning of food therapy.
“Happy New Year! ” said Joyce.
“I wish you good health at the beginning of the new year, ” I said.
“Yeah, I hope we don ’ t see each other often at the clinic, ” Joyce grinned bitterly.
"In addition to medical treatment, health care is the strength of traditional Chinese medicine.
You don ’ t have to get sick when you meet at the clinic. For example, three or nine days of moxibustion, you can come to the clinic and prescribe medicine. ”
"Yes, too.
It's raining these days and the weather is getting cold.
Joyce said.
“It was spring 4 earlier this year.
Spring is the beginning, spring has the meaning of spring, foolishness, spring is the first of the twenty-four solar terms of the year, representing the arrival of spring, everything sprang up, began to have anger.
Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter.
From spring to summer, when the energy rises out of the ground, the water follows.
At this time, the warmth of spring has not yet arrived, and the cold of winter is still there, so it still feels cold. "I said.
“So what ’ s the point of eating and drinking? ” asked Joyce.
"In five lines, the wood is straight.
"Straight" refers to the growth form of the tree, which is curved and stretched upward to the periphery.
Derived from the meaning of growth, hair growth, and smooth stripe. Liver master drainage, we must maintain a cheerful mood, so that qi and blood run smoothly.
In terms of diet, the first choice is to adjust the liver. It can be eaten when the qi is warm, taste sweet, asarum, into the liver, heart, spleen meridian, has the effect of replenishing blood, activating blood, regulating menstruation, relieving pain, moistening the intestine and relaxing the bowel.
Don ’ t think that spring is not enough.
If excessive ascension and dispersion, the lower body blood is easy to empty.
You can eat some foods that supplement the liver and kidney, such as Chinese yam, wolfberry and round meat.
Huaishan, that is, yam, spleen, lung, kidney meridian, beneficial qi nourishing yin, tonifying spleen, lung and kidney, and strengthening the vital organs.
Chinese wolfberry fruit, officially known as wolfberry fruit, sexual Ping, Wei Gan, into the liver, kidney meridian, can nourish the liver, improve eyesight, tonify kidney essence. Round meat, that is, longan meat, temperate, sweet, into the heart, spleen, has the effect of tonifying the heart and spleen, nourishing blood and calming the nerves.
The weather is warm and cold, and the spleen and stomach function are good to adapt to the weather changes.
This is because the spleen is not necessary.
Red dates and ginger are good for the spleen.
Red date, the traditional Chinese medicine name is big date, temperate, taste, into the spleen, stomach meridian, has the effect of tonifying qi, nourishing blood, calming nerves, and alleviating medicinal properties.
Ginger is warm, tasty, enters the lungs, spleen, stomach meridian, can relieve the appearance of sweat, heat stop the vomiting, warm the lungs to stop cough.
Chinese New Year everyone likes to eat chicken. Chicken is flat, taste sweet, into the liver, kidney, lung meridian, can warm the spleen, tonify qi, nourish blood, tonify kidney, tonify essence, clear away heat.
Old hen tonic and blood, tonic effect is better, remember to order early. "I said.
“Fresh chicken comes out, and the soup is especially sweet, ” Joyce said.
“We used to wear masks for the past two years and it was hard to see a smile.
I hope that in the new year everyone will laugh and be happy.
"I sincerely wish.
Next page Let 's see "Huai Shan Cow Old Hen"
The content of the signed and / or unsigned articles published by Economic Times is the author's personal opinion and does not represent the position of Economic Times, and the role of Economic Times is to provide a free speech platform.
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