How far is Ayurveda relevant to modern lifestyle?

Not all people in India repose faith on Ayurvedic system of medicines. A section of advocates of Allopathy (or the modern system of medicine) consider Ayurveda and some of its sisters like Unani medicines and Homoeopathy as a pseudo-science and a system best followed by quacks and the illiterates.

True, Allopathy is the single uniformly followed system of medicine across the world due to its accuracy and speed. But an exceedingly great number of people are now looking for alternative form of medicines like Ayurveda and the like for their obvious “only-effects-no-side-effects” advantage. And for over 5,000 years now, Ayurveda too has evolved and become more organised.

At least in India, love it or hate it, knowingly or unknowingly, generations have been subscribing to Ayurvedic products or procedures some way or the other. To put it simply, Ayurveda can not be detached from the Indian household.

Even doctors have been prescribing such Ayurvedic preparations as Liv.52 for healing liver damage (cirrhosis,) Neeri for preventing and curing kidney stones, Janma Ghunti for helping digestion in babies or Boro Plus for curing cracked lips and nipples. We have heard our grandfathers pushing us to eat Neem leaves for eliminating worms in our stomachs. All these testify the role Ayurveda has in our lifestyle.

While allopathic treatment requires you to visit a registered medical practitioner even for common ailments like fever, cold, headache, etc., Ayurveda, on the other hand, teaches you to be your own doctor. Any thing that is easily available in or around your home such as herbs, vegetables, fruits, spices, grains or oils, can be used as a home remedy, unlike in the case of Allopathy. Simple home remedies can be very effective in relieving symptoms, and preventing further development of a disorder. More importantly, these home remedies may also support treatments prescribed by a physician.

Since, Ayurveda is so ingrained in our daily life; it is foolish to ignore the benefits of Ayurveda. We can, of course, choose a two pronged approach: for common ailments we can follow Ayurveda and save ourselves from a thousand of side effects; and for diseases which demand elaborate procedures like invasive techniques or surgery we can accept the boon from modern medicines.