Is Ayurveda magical?

Ayurveda is far from being as "miraculous" as it is said on the Internet and can cure all diseases. However, as a traditional Indian medical system that has been passed down for more than 5,000 years, its role in regulating lifestyles and improving chronic diseases often surprises people beyond expectations.

Last month, a girl who works in Internet operations came to me. She stayed up late all year long to catch up on projects. Her spleen and stomach were so weak that she had diarrhea after just two mouthfuls of cold drinks. Her belly was so bloated that she dared not wear a tight-fitting T-shirt. She took probiotics and digestive enzymes for even half a year, but she didn't see any improvement. I identified her constitution. She is the Kapha type among the three types of native constitution in Ayurveda. She is born with a slow metabolism and is prone to water accumulation, so I didn’t prescribe anything complicated for her. I only asked her to stop iced coffee and iced milk tea, drink a cup of warm milk with a small amount of turmeric and black pepper on an empty stomach every morning, take two sips of warm ginger water 10 minutes before meals, and avoid sweet snacks before going to bed. It only took about twenty days. She specifically sent a message saying that the flatulence was basically gone and she weighed three pounds lighter. She said that this method was "amazing."

But this kind of "miraculous effect" is actually limited to the scene it is suitable for. I have seen too many cases where Ayurveda is promoted as a panacea and eventually falls into trap. Last year, an aunt came to my door and said that she had found grade 3 breast nodules. I heard the seller in the live broadcast room said that Ayurvedic detoxification powder can "melt away" the nodules. She spent more than 20,000 yuan to buy half a year's supply. After taking it for two months, she went for a review. The nodules became larger. She was so scared that she stopped and asked me. At that time, I could only quickly persuade her to go to a regular hospital for follow-up, and not to gamble with her body - Ayurveda is ultimately empirical medicine, and it is somewhat similar to the underlying logic of our traditional Chinese medicine. It emphasizes long-term conditioning of individual adaptation, and there is never any "radical cure" or "instant elimination".

I have been practicing Ayurveda for almost five years, and I usually use this method to treat my minor ailments. A few years ago, I suffered from severe allergic rhinitis in the spring, and it was common to sneeze more than a dozen times. I followed this method by rubbing my nose and behind my ears with warm sesame oil every day for less than half a year. This spring, I basically didn’t have any trouble during the pollen season, and I even skipped the usual anti-allergic drugs. These effective experiences are actually being slowly verified by modern medicine. For example, the anti-inflammatory effect of curcumin in turmeric, which we often add to conditioners, has long been scientifically proven, and it is not a metaphysics at all.

The World Health Organization now lists Ayurveda as a legal traditional complementary medicine, recognizing its role in chronic metabolic diseases, mood regulation, and sub-health intervention. However, it also clearly requires that it cannot replace the formal treatment of modern medicine, especially for acute, severe and malignant diseases. You must not believe the "miraculous curative effects" promoted by merchants.

To put it bluntly, there is no inherently magical therapy. It is just the life experience accumulated by our ancestors for thousands of years, and they just happened to follow the laws of the human body. If used correctly, it can be a good helper to help you adjust your state. If it is promoted as a magic medicine by over-marketing, it will only become a guise to deceive people.