Get to know why it’s the latest buzzword in wellness
One of the most used words in today’s times, when it pertains to wellness, is inflammation. Every gathering or meeting or family function I attend, the word inflammation crops up. Is it the reason behind many diseases? I would lean towards “Yes”.
A little bit of inflammation is good for us. It’s the body’s natural response to protect itself against damage. When we get sick or injured, our body activates our immune system. It sends out an army of white blood cells to attack the bacteria and viruses or to heal the injured tissue. For example, when you cut your finger, hurt your ankle or bump your head, there is swelling or redness or heat radiating. This is acute inflammation, and it’s essential so injuries heal on time, and infections don’t become lethal.
According to National Library of Medicine, there are five symptoms that may be signs of an acute inflammation:
Redness
Swelling
Heat
Pain
Loss of function
Inflammation As A Cause Of Disease
Inflammations don’t always help the body. While the death report from the coroner won’t spell it out, inflammation is the main reason both my parents are dead today. This other kind of inflammation, called chronic inflammation, is where the immune system attacks the body’s own cells by mistake.
What does that mean? Chronic inflammation damages tissues over time and can lead to a host of diseases including common cold, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative disorders, asthma, depression, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel diseases, brain fog, rheumatoid arthritis, obesity, diabetes, arthritis, skin rashes, sleep disorders, ulcers, stomach acidity, swollen inflamed joints, herpes, Alzheimer’s, high blood pressure, perimenopausal symptoms, PMS, autoimmune disorders, and certain types of cancers.
Ayurveda And Inflammation
Rather than treating symptoms with drugs and ignoring the underlying problems, Ayurveda aims to look at the root causes of diseases, and how they are related to a person’s thoughts, beliefs, and lifestyle. Ayurveda considers the relationships between the mind-body-consciousness.
This means our emotional state, the company we keep, the foods we eat, the lifestyle we maintain, the exercise routine, sleep hygiene can all create inflammation. Stress and trauma can cause inflammation. Inflammation could be as a result of external factors, toxins, or allergens in the environment. Everything that we do, eat, consume, or choose can either become inflammatory or anti-inflammatory.
Understanding Inflammation From Dosha Perspective
Inflammation can occur in the skin, muscles, joints, or organs, and usually produces symptoms of redness, bleeding, and sharp or hot pain. Ayurveda categorizes inflammatory conditions as imbalances of the pitta dosha, mainly the fire principle.
Pitta dosha is made up of fire and water elements. Its qualities are oily, sharp, hot, light, fleshy smelling, spreading, and liquid. This means that these gunas or qualities express themselves physically, emotionally, and mentally in a person with a pitta-predominant constitution or pitta imbalance. One of the key indicators of pitta presence is burning sensation, redness, fever, and bleeding.
We know that pita has a spreading quality. But don’t forget that vata is responsible for all kinds of movement. Ayurveda explains that pain is synonymous with vata aggravation. Vata dosha made up of air and ether elements, is the “storm” that fans pitta’s flames. You can see how both vata and pitta dosha can be at play when it comes to inflammation.
While the heated inflammation is a sign of pitta imbalance, if there is inflammation accompanied by swelling, water retention and puffiness, it’s more kapha in nature. Kapha is made up of water and earth elements. Researchers believe that stress, anxiety, and inflammation are linked. Ayurveda will tell you that both both stress and anxiety are signs of vata aggravation.
Treating Chronic Inflammation
We should all be trying to reduce chronic inflammation in our bodies. It’s easy to assume that inflammation is undoubtedly a pitta imbalance, so the main remedies will all be designed to reduce pitta or heat in the body. In reality, depending on the location of the inflammation in the body, the cause, and the dosha(s) at play, the diet, lifestyle, and herbal treatment would vary.
Did you know that several diseases and health conditions begin in the gut? The relationship between agni (digestive fire) and ama (toxins) in Ayurveda is key to inflammation. Incompatible food combinations can mess this relationship. Strong agni supports good health while weakened agni tends to accumulate ama, which leads to poor health, vulnerabilities in the mind and body, and ultimately disease. Ama is considered one of the major causes for inflammation.
If chronic inflammation is a problem for you, don’t take it lightly. You’ll want to work with an Ayurvedic expert to identify the root cause of the issue. You want to talk to your health practitioner too.
“As long as we are not living in harmony with nature and our constitution, we cannot expect ourselves to be really healed. Ayurveda gives us the means.” ~ David Frawley
Disclaimer: The content is purely informative and educational in nature and should not be construed as medical advice. The information is not intended for use in the diagnosis, treatment, cure, or prevention of any disease. Please use the content only in consultation with an appropriate certified medical or healthcare professional. If you are looking for advice from a trained yogi and ayurvedic practitioner, contact the author here.
