ACIDITY - Yogika Chikitsa

Symptoms:

Physical weakness, acidic or watery belching, dizziness, burning stomach, heartburn, etc.

Causes:

Oxygen inhaled in breathing enters the body and eventually turns into carbon dioxide. Through the influence of this carbon dioxide, the digestive fluid‑secreting glands are activated. If food is taken irregularly and excessively day after day, or if food is forced down with little or no appetite, or if eating rich food becomes a steady habit, it becomes impossible for the digestive fluid to digest the food properly. then, just as one the one hand the undigested or partially‑ digested food turns into poisonous gas, so on the other hand the secreted digestive fluid gradually turns into harmful acid.

The digestive fluids are themselves acidic, but under normal conditions when they digest food they themselves are digested. When, however, as a result of the aforesaid irregularities, they are unable to digest the food, the fluids themselves also remain undigested.

The cause of acidity, therefore, is the poisonous gas being produced by the decomposed food, together with the putrid acid produced by the deterioration of the undigested fluids.

The putrid acidic gas and fluids cause a burning sensation in the stomach. When they rise up to the chest they cause heartburn; when they reach the throat, burning is felt in the throat; when they rise further they cause dizziness.

Due to this excessive acidity, the blood becomes acid‑ dominated. Being overworked, the blood‑purifying organs of the body also become weak, and the patient feels weak.

This over‑acidity of the blood also causes swelling and consequent pain in different parts of the body, especially the joints. The name of this condition is 'rheumatism.'

When a strong and continuous effort is being made by the body's organs to purify the over‑acid blood, this condition is called 'colic' or 'shooting pain.'

Treatment:

Morning -- Utks’epa Mudra, Mayurasana, Padahastasana, Uddayana Mudra, Agnisara Mudra and Agneyii Pranayama.

Evening -- Agnisara Mudra, Utkata Pashimottanasana Sarvaungasana and Agneyii Mudra or Agneyii Pranayama.

Diet:

In acidity boiled old rice (grains a few years old), soup of green vegetables (no vegetables fried, parched, or taken in large quantity), juicy sweet or sour fruits, and curd‑water are especially useful. Curd (yogurt) alone is not particularly beneficial for acidity patients.

Do’s and Don’ts:

For patients of acidity it is particularly important to walk in the open air, to eat less food than the appetite demands, and to drink plenty of water, in small amounts, at intervals throughout the day. Coconut and coconut foods and medicines are especially useful in this disease. Patients should refrain from eating breakfast and snacks. If the hunger is unbearable, the patient may eat a little bit of juicy fruit. A frequent symptom of this disease is that, due to old habits, the digestive glands discharge an excessive quantity of fluids, as a result of which the patient suddenly feels an extreme hunger at odd times, which is called 'demon hunger.' That is why we find that a patient who is often in a depressed mood about his/her disease or goes around talking about the disease to everyone, when he/she sits down to eat, eats excessively. This symptom is the result of the secretion of digestive fluids at a particular time in accordance with the old habits of the patient. It is therefore desirable to be cautious about this 'demon,' detrimental hunger. An acidity patient should never violate these do's and don'ts.

If due to the over‑secretion of digestive fluids the patient suffers from 'demon hunger,' it can be relieved by drinking a large glass of water. When the acidity patient feels pain, it is advisable to drink orange or tangerine juice mixed in tepid water. After the pain has subsided, lemon juice in cold water should be taken. As with dyspepsia, during mealtime and for an hour thereafter breath should be flowing through the patient's right nostril.

At the time of severe colic pain, the dominant flow of breath should be changed from the nostril through which it was flowing at the time the pain started to the other nostril. allowing the bile to accumulate by not taking something when one is hungry should never be permitted, because in that even the undigested bile itself will become the cause of acidity.

Some remedies:

1. Eat some shredded dry coconut along with a prepared betel (Piper betle Linn.) leaf, or some flesh of mature coconut along with aniseed.

2. To get immediate relief from a distressing colic pain, equal quantities of chalk and atapa rice powder should be ground together, and 1/2 tola of the mixture should be taken.

3. Take with cold water 1/16 of the white portion of the ashes of the tamarind (Tamarindus indica Linn) pod.

4. Take 1/16 tola of the ashes of white akanda leaf and rock salt after burning them together in equal quantities in an enclosed earthen pot.

5. As with dyspepsia, it is desirable for acidity patients to observe fasting on Ekadashii days and regulation of diet on Purnima and Amavasya.

DIABETES (Yogika Chikitsa)

Symptoms:

Incessant desire for urination, burning sensation in the urinary tract, continuous thirst and sweet taste in the mouth, attraction of flies and ants towards the urine, headache, dizziness, pale and dry skin, becoming old in appearance at a young age, discomfort all over the body, etc., taken together, are the indications of diabetes. It is often found that diabetic persons suffer from cataracts.

Causes:
It is not always the case that sugar is present in the urine of diabetes patients. Diabetes with sugar in the urine is called 'somaroga' or 'madhumeha'. Diabetes without sugar is called 'muratisara' or 'udakameha'.

The debility of the Manipura Cakra (Psychic-energy center located at the navel) is the main cause of diabetes. Amongst the pancreatic juices, one secretion helps in the digestion of food, and another separates the sugar content from non-vegetarian and starchy types of food. The sugar is then stored in a particular section of the liver and according to body requirements it is dissolved to generate heat and vital power to run the body mechanism. Chronic indigestion, constipation (here also the stool usually turns into pellets), and excessive seminal waste-- all weaken the vitality of the liver. When such weakening takes place, the sugar contents of the food, failing to find a storage place in the liver, are assimilated into the blood and gradually accumulate. As a result, the blood gets polluted and loses its immune properties to a great extent. The natural reaction of the body in such a situation is to try to purify the blood by separating out its sugar content and expelling it with the urine. To dissolve the sugar, the human body needs plenty of water, and that is why diabetes patients suffer from a continuous thirst. Sugar emitted with the urine in a large quantity gradually reduces the vital energy of diabetes patients.
 

Treatment:

Morning: Utks’epa Mudra, Karmasana, Agnisara Mudra, Upavista Uddayana Mudra, Janushirasana and Agneyii Mudra or Agneyii Pranayama.

Evening: Yogamudra, Diirgha Pranama, Bhujaungasana, Pashcimottanasana, Bhastrikasana and Agnisara Mudra.
 

Diet:
As diabetes is basically a disease of liver and pancreas, care has to be taken to keep these organs in a healthy state, and to do so patients must select food that will keep their bowels clear, yet which is nutritious and easily digestible. All types of fruits are good for this disease, especially ripe bananas. Non-vegetarian food must never be eaten. Vegetable proteins are also acidic, hence they are to eaten as sparingly as possible. It is therefore advisable to reduce the intake of rice and ruti (made of wheat flour) and instead to use more foods such as vegetable soup, plantain soup, patol, okra, dhundula, palta, squash (Lagenaria vulgaris Seringe), plantain spathes and flowers, figs, etc., which contain alkaline properties.

Do’s and Don’ts:
Diabetes is the disease of intellectuals. Those who do physical labor seldom suffer from this disease. Undergoing mental exertion, remaining indoors for a long period, physical laziness, constipation, intemperance, etc., are reasons for the contraction of diabetes. As has already been said, diabetes is basically connected with the liver and the pancreas, hence only those foods should be selected which do not over-stimulate those vital organs. Similarly, work and exercise which will help to bring these organs into their normal state of health must be pursued more and more. For those who are adverse to physical labor, a cure from diabetes is next to impossible.

The human body also needs the nutrients offered by starchy and non-vegetarian types of food; therefore foods which are not acidic but rather alkaline, yet contain those nutrients, should be taken in greater quantity to meet those needs. This will include coconut, peanuts, curd (yogurt), bananas, etc. A drink of peanut extract and water without sugar and with little or no honey is ideal as both food and medicine for this disease.

Remember that insulin may increase the vitality of a patient but can never cure the disease.

Generally diabetes patients are a bit greedy, and sometimes they eat too much sweetened food, which brings on the disease. Diabetes patients must keep control over such temptations and should practice fasting.

In the severe state of the disease a continuous fast for two or three days taking nothing but a little juice of lemon or other fruit will definitely reduce the sugar content of the urine.

Sometimes sugar is completely absent in the urine. In this respect one has to remember that sugar may be found temporarily in the urine if the urinary bladder, kidney or some other internal organ is subjected to a blow. If in such cases insulin is given, it will actually harm the patient. Under such circumstances the best thing to do would be to treat the injury of the concerned organ appropriately, and then the urine of the patient will automatically become sugar-free.
 

Some remedies:

1. Boil myrobalan, mutha, lodha and banyan fruits in equal quantities and drink 2 tolas of the extract early in the morning for a few days regularly. This will bring a good result.
2. Crush about 1/8 seer of guava leaves in water at night. The next morning strain the leaves out and drink the water. This will bring good results during the severe state of diabetes.
3. (a) 1 tola of yajina dumura juice with honey; or (b) 1 tola of telakuca leaf extract taken with honey early in the morning by licking it; will relieve diabetes.
4. (a) 1/16 tola of the inside of jam seeds with honey; or (b) Dry shimula root crushed with powder, to be licked with honey in a quantity of 1/16 tola; will yield excellent results with diabetes.
5. When the disease is worsening, 5 tolas of bansha leaves in half a seer of water, boiled down to 1/8 seer, and the leaves strained out, should be drunk for immediate results.
6. Boil gente durba (see durba in glossary), vahina dumura, emblic myrobalan (emblica offinalis Gaetrn.), myrobalan, coriander seeds and gandha-mutha in equal quantities in half a seer of water. When boiled down to 1/8 seer, drink it. Do this every day for a week at break of dawn. This will bring beautiful results.