The National Institute of Ayurvedic Medicine, based in Brewster, New York (USA) and founded by Scott Gerson, M.D., is reflective of the movement of alternative health care into the embracement of cross-cultural healing systems that work. Even though we are still grappling to fully understand how ayurvedic medicine (or "ayurveda") works - particularly in light an underlying philosophy that lies outside the rigidity of Western empirical thinking, the increasing open-mindedness of physicians towards ayurveda, TCM (traditional Chinese medicine), Jamu (Indonesian herbal tradition), etc. is a good sign. Certainly, such a shift emphasizes the desire at the clinician's level, to align health care with "performance based" systems and products, as opposed to strictly profit-based ones.
Alpha Omega's initial offering of ayurvedic products begins with eight "traditionals," branded as follows:
- Cansgon - (cancerolytic - promotes faster rate of remission.
- Galactogogue - (naturally promotes milk secretion for nursing mothers)
- Proliv - (hepatoprotective, general liver support)
- Prorest - (insomnia, agitation, anxiety conditions)
- Prosex - (herbal aphrodisiac)
- Prosulin - (anti-diabetic insulinotropic)
- Sirimoov - (rheumatoid arthritis, spondyiosis, gout sciatica, other inflammatory conditions of joints)
Ayurvedic Medicine
"Because of the potential of ayurvedic therapies for treating conditions for which modern medicine has few, if any, effective treatments, this area is a fertile one for research opportunities." WebMD
{xtypo_dropcap}T{/xtypo_dropcap}he ayurvedic system of holistic healing is thousands of years old and has a place in health care in India which is, as a popularly accepted modality, comparable to orthodox medicine in the West. ("Ayurveda" literally means "the science (veda) of longevity (ayur).)
Rather than recompose introductory materials here that are quite well manifest elsewhere on the internet, we provide here a series of links that will provide good explanations of ayurveda, its originals, its philosophy and underlying "concepts," including important health concepts. Also made available are ayurvedic sub-disciplines which cover important health concepts which have been almost entirely overlooked by modern medicine: panchakarma (detoxification), rasayana (rejuvenation), and samyoga (food combinations).
Basic Principles of Ayurveda -- Includes a thorough definition of ayurveda, the ayurvedic view of a human being, the five element theory and the tridosha (vata, pitta, and kapha), and other basic concepts that form the underpinnings of the overall discipline. (Source: NIAM).- Ayurvedic Medicine (Overview) - Article by WebMD Health
- What is Ayurveda? - (ayur.com)
- Medicinal Plants (from Ayurvedic Materia Medica)
Partial list of medicinal herbs with the field of dravyaguna (ayurvedic pharmacology) taken from the Ayurvedic Materia Medica (comparable to the position held by the "Homeopathic Materia Medica" in that field, or the U.S. (or British) Pharmacoepia, and to a lesser extent the PDR (Physician's Desk Reference), in Western orthodox medicine. - Ayurmedic Medicine - Introductory article by Yahoo Health
- Ayurveda Resources (Kris Morgan).
- History of Traditional Indian Medicine - Only a couple of links are devoted to ayurveda, but other links add to any interdisciplinary study of the history and culture that surround it.
- Ayurvedic Links< | Web Resources
{xtypo_dropcap}J{/xtypo_dropcap}ust so our position is clear, we wish to point out that our involvement with ayurveda is quite restrictive when taking into account the entire breadth of the system itself. Our interest is fairly confined to dravyaguna - and even then, the botanical portions therein -- or what in North America we would refer to as "plant medicine." It is our belief (and as you can see in the quote at the top of the page, even a conservative and orthodox a source as WebMD agrees) that there is untold medical riches to be gleened from further exploration and research into the 5,000 year old medical tradition that is ayurveda.
The company we work with in India is committed to following proven, traditional formulas. We received inquiries from some concerned AO clinicians, asking if we were tied into the TM movement - to which we replied "no." (The traditional phytopharmacists we work with in India are not at all keen as to what the Maharishi has done to the formulations).
The ayurvedic formulations we offer are traditional, widespread in use in Asia, revered, and in regular use by physicians there. In keeping with drug laws in the U.S., Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere, we make no claims ot any therapeutic nature. These products have not been evaluated by any food and/or drug agency and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. They are provide for educational and research purposes only.