Can Ayurveda really heal?
Granted, I'm skeptical when I'm standing in front of the entrance to the Ayurveda Clinic Habichtswald in Kassel. Pouring oil, enemas, delicious liquid butter - that should help against diseases? At the reception, however, neither incense sticks nor Indian saris, the ambience is more reminiscent of a well-kept hotel of the upper middle class. Service is very important. No wonder, since most of the patients here are regular guests who treat themselves once in a while to a one to three-week Ayurveda treatment for around two to four thousand euros. And pay them out of pocket.
I still have time to move into my room without a TV, but with park view, then there is an information meeting with the head of the clinic, Dr. med. Ananda Chopra, on the program. I'm not sick, I just want to look around here. First impression: soothing pragmatic, how the physician integrates the ayurvedic methods he has learned in India into his knowledge of conventional medicine from Germany. No contradiction, Chopra thinks Ayurveda requires anyway the adaptation of the therapy to the individual circumstances of life of the patient - and here in Kassel this is clearly our western lifestyle.
In the lecture, there are a few basics for the patients: In the traditional Indian healing art of the "knowledge of life", an attempt is made, through nutrition and lifestyle, to balance the mixture of different energies characteristic of each person (the so-called doshas called Pitta , Vata and Kapha). If individual doshas z. For example, if you become too strong or too weak as a result of stress or poor nutrition, the balance is disturbed and the person becomes ill. This not only affects the body, but also mind and soul.
The disturbed equilibrium can, according to the Ayurvedic doctrine, be restored through the targeted selection of food, meditation and yoga and by cleansing the body (panchakarma). Panchakarma includes, for example, drinking ghee (clarified butter), oil massages and oil forehairs, sweating and enemas with herbal oil blends. Depending on the individual Dosha type and disease, very different ayurvedic preparations of herbs, minerals and metals are used.
Everything sounds a bit strange, but z. For example, to high blood pressure, knee problems, chronic inflammatory bowel disease such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease or rheumatism can actually be treated successfully with Ayurveda, Dr. med. Chopra. Meanwhile, even scientific studies prove that.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde Schmidt *, a stately and well-groomed woman in her late fifties from a northern German town, swears by Ayurveda for detoxification and her knee joint arthrosis. In her everyday life, she helps other people as a therapist. But every two years she takes a break in the clinic, not least because she has experienced in a serious illness of her daughter, "how violent the conventional medicine can be." Thanks to Ayurveda, your knee pain has actually improved in the long term. "In addition, I take off much easier and without hunger during and after an Ayurvedic treatment."
Many cancer patients turn to the Kassel Ayurveda Clinic to regain their strength after stressful therapies. Finally, there is a specialist clinic for oncology in the same building. Waltraut Wagner, for example, recovered here more than ten years ago from the consequences of intensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy and ever since then has been enjoying an Ayurveda treatment every two to three years.
In conversation with her, she is struck by her unusual serenity and serenity - a positive attitude that she has developed through a radical change in her lifestyle and against many opposition from family and friends. "I had the feeling that Ayurveda freed me from all poisons of therapy, and here I have activated my self-healing powers again." She is convinced that her cancer metastases have disappeared as a result.
However, reputable Ayurvedic therapists do not promise to cure cancer. Although some Ayurvedic substances may have a tumor-inhibiting effect, Ayurveda has so far been used primarily to relieve the side effects of chemotherapy or radiotherapy or to promote recovery after the end of therapy. Experienced cancer specialists such as Hartmut Henß from the Freiburg Freiburg Tumor Center even advise caution when dealing with ayurvedic healing methods in cancer: "Intensive cleaning procedures such as enemas can be too exhausting for cancer patients."
And Prof.Karsten Münstedt, who advises patients in the complementary ecology counseling center of the Department of Gynecology of the University Hospital in Gießen on the subject of alternative medicine, is convinced that there is potential for the treatment of cancer in some Ayurvedic herbs. Unfortunately, "the search for effective substances is like poking for pieces of gold in a pile of dung".
Scientifically flawless studies would first have to show which drugs really benefit. So much in Ayurveda still remains inexplicable and enigmatic, And so the extremely good experiences of patients and Ayurvedic doctors are not always confirmed by studies. For Dr. med. Chopra is not surprised. "Ayurveda does not treat a symptom with a specific preparation, but uses a whole range of ayurvedic procedures such as herbs, oils, and foods that are tailored to the individual patient, and that's incredibly difficult to standardize."
In any case, it has become clear to me in the discussions with patients in the Kassel clinic: If conventional medicine leads people with chronic complaints to a dead end, Ayurveda can offer an additional opportunity. And I would take that too if I felt bad.
* Name changed by the editor
Ayurveda on your own
Generally, yes. With a corresponding questionnaire, one can determine quite accurately one's own Dosha type and then deliberately change the diet or lubricate daily with the appropriate oils. With Ayurvedic herbal mixtures for diseases should be handled with caution, because in the application can go a lot wrong. Cancer patients sometimes rely on the herbal preparation Liv.52, which is actually intended to detoxify the liver. But components of this mixture like senna can also damage the liver and heart. And black nightshade can even cause esophageal cancer in the worst case.
Can Ayurveda also hurt?
The ayurvedic herbal pharmacy - that is several thousand products. Only a few of them are, for. For example, they have been systematically tested for safety and tolerability by Indian authorities. And there are even more problems: Is it really in the product, what's on it? How high are the active substances concentrated? And how strong are the herbs possibly contaminated with heavy metals from pesticides?
A recent American study came to a conclusion that every fifth ayurvedic preparation contained harmful amounts of lead, mercury or arsenic, Serious traders have their herbs regularly tested by independent institutes for foreign and harmful substances, the analysis can be seen.
Where do you find reputable therapists?
Ayurveda is not a protected term. Everyone can call themselves Ayurveda therapist. It is worthwhile to first take a listen and to critically ask what qualifications a therapist has acquired. A medical background (medical studies, nursing, physiotherapy) should be there in any case.
A few weeks course in India is not necessarily a proof of quality, because there are often so many linguistic and cultural misunderstandings that it is not possible to train Europeans properly. Beware too, if strong ideological pressure is exerted. Ayurveda is ideologically completely neutral in its pure form.
What effects have been proven by studies?
Ayurvedic therapies have only been systematically studied for several years. Clinical studies according to scientific quality standards and with sufficient numbers of patients are scarce. Nevertheless, there are some promising results:
turmeric For example, not only is a popular spice in Ayurvedic cooking, it is also a cure. Studies have shown that the plant may be anti-cancer. It could even be precursors of cancer of the oral mucosa made to disappear.
incense (Boswellia serrata) has been around for a long time as an anti-inflammatory plant and effective medicine against intestinal diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Study results of the Tübingen professor Herman Ammon suggest that the plant could be an alternative to synthetic drugs for chronic inflammation.
For the Ayurvedic herbal preparations MAK-4 and MAK 5 (Maharishi Amrit Kalash), there are amazing results in animal testing. Italian researchers recently found that they can inhibit the growth of liver cancer in mice. Whether these results can be transmitted to humans has not yet been sufficiently investigated.
Also against knee problems help an Ayurvedic herbs according to an Indian study. Drug RA-11 (with ginseng, frankincense, turmeric, ginger) can alleviate chronic knee pain when cartilage is used.
Particularly surprising was a recent British study: Juckbohnenpulver (Mucuna pruriens) had performed very well here in patients with Parkinson's in direct comparison with anti-Parkinson's drugs. However, so far only a few patients have been tested, larger studies are still pending.
Even more information - important addresses around Ayurveda
On site: Inpatient treatment is available at the Habichtswald Clinic in Kassel, Tel. 05 61/31 08 99, www.ayurveda-klinik.de. Phone call hour: Monday 11.30am to 12pm and Friday 2.00pm to 2.30pm, phone 05 61/31 08-829
Abroad: A new "portal clinic" for Ayurvedic medicine in Castrop-Rauxel offers preparation, advice and mediation of Ayurvedic cures for the chronically ill in three Indian clinics. The cost: about 2000 euros for three weeks including flight. Contact: Medical Park Ruhr Europaplatz 3-11, 44575 Castrop-Rauxel, Telephone: 023 05/445 54 00
Good therapists: A reputable address for the training of therapists is the European Academy of Ayurveda (www.ayurveda-akademie.org, Tel. 060 54/91 31-0). The website also contains references to providers of cures.
To buy: For example, Euroved GmbH, Tel. 026 52/52 77 56, or www.euroved.com and Ayurveda International, Tel. 089/790 46 80, www.ayurveda-seva.de, sell products tested for harmful substances.
