by Sheela Rani Chunkath
Reminiscing about my college days I don't remember anybody among my numerous friends ever suffering from PCOD or Polycystic Ovarian Disease.
Today it seems to have reached epic proportion with even young girls just 17 or 18 years olds complaining that they have been diagnosed with PCOD. The incidence among our young IT professionals is even higher. In ayurveda it is said that the three pillars of good health are Aharam, Nidra and Brahmacharya namely food, sleep and sex. How well you regulate these three aspects of your life will determine your health status.
Untimely meals, processed foods, snacking - eating before the previous meal has digested, cold drinks, all these have contributed to a mandagni or a digestive fire that is hardly active. It has been banked down like a badly lit campfire. The food that is eaten is not digested leading to production of Ama or toxins leading to disruption of the hormonal balance. Once the hormonal balance is disturbed, all sorts of consequences follow. From PCOD to cancers, every ailment can manifest in a person whose food habits are not right. Millions of dollars are being spent on finding the causes of cancer while the answer rests in our ancient texts. If you don't eat right don't expect to be healthy.
Jet-setting managers and night shift professionals wonder why they are plagued by so many illnesses. If you do not respect the circadian rhythms disease will follow.
Since of late I have been meeting many youngsters with PCOD and it is very well treated in ayurveda, I thought a discussion on the cures available is warranted especially as in allopathy the cure is worse than the disease. Of course prevention is better than cure.
PCOD is a disease following hormonal imbalances which could often lead to amenorrhoea, weight gain and abnormal facial and body hair growth.
Two of the commonly used drugs which addresses both PCOD and amenorrhoea are Ashoka vati (of which I have written earlier) and Raja Pravartini Vati. Raja Pravartini Vati needs to be taken under the guidance of ayurvedic vaidyar because it is an extremely ushna veerya drug. It is used in ayurvedic treatment of scanty bleeding and amenorrhoea. Raja Pravartini Vati consists of Aloe vera, purified green vitriol (a kind of Ferrous sulphate), Borax and asafoetida. This is a very effective drug in re-establishing the menstrual cycle.
Yet another drug which was available earlier and has gone out of favour is Lodhra. Lodhra according to the manufacturers is an age-old remedy for common gynaecological problems from menarche to menopause. Lodhra consists of Symplocos racemosa (Lodhra), Saraca indica (Asoka), Glycyrrhiza glabra (Yashtimadhu), Acacia catechu (Khadira), Mangifera indica (Amra), Laccifer lacca (Laksha), Woodfordia floribunda (Dhataki), Bombax malabaricum (Salmali), Rubia cordifolia (Manjishta), Rubia cordifolia (Manjishta), Santalum album (Chandanam), Tribulus terrestris (Gokshura), Curculigo orchioides (Musli), Andropogon muricatus (Usheera), Toona ciliata (Toona), Ficus racemosa (Udumbara), Terminalia arjuna (Arjuna), Holarrhena antidysentrica (Kutaja), Terminalia chebula (Haritaki), Cyperus rotundus (Mushta) in a syrup base. What a galaxy of stars! So many powerful and effective herbs to remedy common gynaecological problems. So simple to take too! 10 ml with equal quantity of water twice daily before food. Before puberty the dosage is 5 ml with equal quantity of water after food. With so many herbal remedies available it is indeed surprising that allopathy prescribes contraceptives and other hormonal drugs which often makes the problem worse. However, as said earlier, prevention of such problems is easy enough by regulating ones' Aaharam and Viharam.
--- The writer is retired Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu. She can be reached at Sheelarani.arogyamantra@gmail. com. Earlier articles can be accessed at http://arogyamantra.blogspot.com/