Try Ayurveda for hair loss

For thousands of years, men and women of all countries and races have shared the tragedy of pre-mature hair loss.

According to Ayurveda, the hair is derived either as a by-product or produced as a breakdown product of Asthi (bone tissue). Any disturbance in this tissue metabolism, which very much depends on the digestive fire, can affect the health of the hair. To a certain extent, the quality of hair depends on the body constitution.

The reason for hair loss is a subject that no two doctors, seem to agree on and everyone seems to have their own opinion on the subject. The major causes of hairfall are hormonal, nutritional deficiencies and complication to other diseases and medications. Hormone related hair fall may also result from an increased sensitivity of hair follicles to male hormones or due to greater number of male hormone receptors attached to hair follicles. This is the component that is inherited through the genes - termed as Pitta constitution.

According to Ayurveda, excess of Pitta dosha in the body is increased by hot climatic conditions, excessive intake of spicy, salty and sour food, hot and sharp food, tea, coffee, alcohol, meats and excessive smoking. Eating too much fried, oily, greasy, and acidic foods also aggravates Pitta. Pitta balancing herbs (Eg: Shatavari -Asparagus) and vegetables which improves the quality of Asthi dhathu (Eg: bitter vegetables) are effective in treating hair fall.

There are a number of other causes for hair fall like acute illness, high stress, and thyroid imbalance, certain drugs, sudden weight loss and high fever.

The first step is to locate the root cause in your diet or lifestyle that may be increasing the Pitta dosha. Once you locate it, try to give up or at least reduce the diet, habit, or activity responsible for increasing Pitta. Internal use of Ayurvedic medicines like Thikthakam kashayam, Thikthakam ghritham as per medical advice are effective to correct the metabolism. Ayurvedic general tonics like Narasimha rasayanam, Chyavana prasam are effective for improving hair growth. In alopecia, due to systemic diseases, treatment of the same is also required.

General recommendations and tips to maintain the results are some of the following:
- A high protein and an iron rich diet is recommended for hair loss. An adequate intake of raw vegetables, fresh fruits, salads, green leafy vegetables should be included in the diet on a regular basis. - Use a natural shampoo to clean the hair. Amla (embilica officinalis), Shikakai (Acacia concinna) are very good for washing the hair. - Oiling and massaging of scalp is very beneficial for stopping the hair loss. Use coconut oil at least three times in a week. Certain medicated oils like Neelibhringadi oil, Kunthala kanthi oil, Kanjunnyadi oil are very useful. Put oil on the scalp, and massage gently in the roots of the hair.
- The person should maintain a regular bowel movement everyday. In case of constipation, a mild natural laxative can be taken. Triphala is very useful. - Regular physical exercise is very beneficial as it helps in balancing the aggravated doshas. - Rub your scalp after washing the hair. It increases the blood circulation, and activates the sebaceous glands. - A mixture of lettuce and spinach juice is good to drink to induce hair growth. The juice of carrot, and lettuce juice is also good to take. - Applying juice of green coriander leaves on the head is also good. - Washing the hair with a paste of cooked green gram and fenugreek (methi) two to three times a week, is also good. - A paste of licorice made by grinding it in milk can be applied in the bald patches. - The seeds of fenugreek is soaked in coconut oil and kept under direct sunrays for seven days and applied to the scalp, which prevents hair loss. - Traditional therapies like Dhara, Abhyangam, Thala pothichil, Nasya shows excellent effects.

(Inputs by Dr V L Shyam MD, MPhil)

The Times of India 12 Dec 2011

Happy Onam from Kerala.

Good News…..  Ayurveda treatments under mediclaim umbrella

Till some time back, health insurance policies used to cover only allopathy treatment while ayurveda, homeopathy, naturopathy and unani  treatments  were left out of the ambit. Despite having a comprehensive health insurance plan in place, individuals who preferred such systems had to pay out of their own pockets.

These policyholders can now breathe easy as some insurance companies have started including such alternative forms of treatment under their cover, especially ayurveda. "Ayurveda being the most prevalent of the alternate systems, we have designed a product to cover treatments under ayurvedic hospitalization," says S S Gopalarathnam, managing director, Cholamandalam MS General Insurance.

While some insurers only offer it under their group policies, others have started offering the facility to individual health insurance seekers. PSU insurer New India Assurance and standalone health insurance provider Star Health and Allied Insurance are other insurance companies that have started covering ayurvedic treatments under individual policies. ICICI Lombard General Insurance covers it under government scheme and Future Generali Insurance offers it to corporate group insurance buyers from which employees of the covered company can benefit.  Naturopathy treatments are excluded in all policies, while few cover unani and homeopathic. This is because other forms of treatments have no standard treatment protocols and highly varied costs thus making it difficult to actuarially compute the cost to be covered.

Even under ayurveda, select procedures are covered to ensure people do not misuse a policy for a basic rejuvenation procedure.  It is important to note that there is no standalone cover available for covering alternative treatments. You will have to buy a standard health insurance cover from these select insurers and others who start offering the non-allopathic coverage.

Before you head for alternative treatment and make a claim, see whether the treatment is listed in the insurance policy document. Insurers are particular about the specific treatments covered. "Snehan and Swedan are payable only when these procedures are done as a part of pre-panchkarma preparation. Comfort treatments involving steam bath/sauna/oil massages are excluded.

Source: TOI- JULY 25-2011

Not many would take interest in watching a movie that did not arise in Hollywood or Bollywood. But if Ramayana and Mahabharata could be made into movies, something that has existed for centuries now and is still made use of can definitely made into a movie as well. This thought was put into action when Pan Nalin made a movie on Ayurveda featuring five elements in visible and invisible form which is 102 minutes long filmed entirely on locations in India, Greece & USA in the year 2001. But how many of us know about this film?

The film travels nearly 15,000 kilometres through landscapes of exceptional beauty and geographical variety in India, Greece and USA. For several months Pan Nalin and his research team constantly searched out people and places almost all over the world; to do total justice to this exceptional subject, to voice the story of Ayurveda through exceptional Vaidyas (Ayurvedic Doctors), patients and experts.

Some of the Vaidyas have revealed their secrets and open their home and clinics to contribute to the film. Plant searching tribes took them into dark corner of jungle where a rare endangered plant still grows wild. Ancient Palm-leaf manuscripts locked away for 3 to 5 centuries were looked for and made use of. Ancient ‘Mud-Scanning’ method of Diagnosis has been considered extinct and lost but their months long efforts managed to track down the last surviving place. A rarely seen lost science of Marma, vital points, and how it can kill or cure; was demonstrated on a goat for the first time revealing vital points which can paralyze.

During the 3 long years while preparing the film Pan Nalin was himself surprised despite being exposed to the science of Ayurveda in his family, to discover how scientific Ayurveda is. “I personally believe that our world of today, into a new millennium, is going to need natural arts of healing like it never did ever before. Spirituality and natural balances will play a vital role in governing our happiness in near future. No single film can do justice to the vast science of Ayurveda but for me the film is just a sharing, but the sharing that inspires, naturally” quotes Pan Nalin.

Visit http://www.ayurvedafilm.com/ to read more about the film and to get a sneak peek into what’s in store in the movie.

KUALA LUMPUR: With Indian Ayurveda emerging as a popular alternative treatment in Malaysia, experts here are seeking India's support in expanding the reach of the traditional medicine among Malaysians.

The Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and the Indian Ayurveda and Siddha medicine are respectively the most common alternative remedy to conventional medicine for the Chinese and Indian communities.

The president of the Malaysian Society for Complementary Medicine (MSCM) Dr Lee Chee Pheng remarked that no one wants to fall sick and the side effects of conventional drugs were pushing the society towards herbal medicine that is relatively harmless.

"Based on the market demand, TCM is the fastest growing industry in the world," Dr Lee was quoted as saying to Bernama.

In developing alternative medicine here, Dr Lee noted that India is willing to cooperate with Malaysia to explore the potential of our natural herbs.

In this respect Dr Lee invited the National Institute of Unani Medicine (NIUM) in Bangalore, India, to undertake joint research on natural herbs with the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia.

Concurring with Dr Lee, Dr VM Palaniappan a leading practitioner of alternative medicine and author of numerous books on the subject noted that the ancient Ayurveda and Siddha medicine too have been gaining popularity in Malaysia with many Ayurvedic centres cropping up over the last decade.

"I have a strong feeling that Ayurvedic system is fast picking up in Malaysia, and I will not be surprised if more people begin to seek remedies through this method.

"One of the reasons why people opt for alternative medicine appears to be the presence of undesirable side effects of chemical-based drugs used in modern medicine," said this former academician with Universiti Malaya.

Another reason for people seeking treatment using alternative method is the cost factor.

Source: Economic Times 4th Jan 2011

Kolkata, April 25, 2010