How to treat Rheumatoid arthritis
Our body has a natural defense mechanism to produce an immune response to any foreign invaders such as bacteria and viruses. The cells produce antibodies to fight these invaders. However in the auto-immune diseases, this intelligence of the body gets confused and identifies certain tissues or organs of our own body as an enemy and produces antibodies, which start fighting against the various tissues and organs of the body creating an auto immune response. These manifest as autoimmune diseases.
There are more than 80 auto immune diseases. These diseases are one of the ten leading causes of death in the women of all ages up to 65 years.
Modern medical approach to treat these diseases is to suppress this immune response through steroids, chemotherapies, radiation and treating symptoms. Most of these treatments have severe side effects and patients suffer too much and the quality of life starts deteriorating.
Ayurvedic understanding of autoimmune response of the body is based on the Agni (digestive fire) and Ama (toxins)
There are several forms of Agnis, called Dhatu Agni, which are specific to different body tissues such as Plasma, blood, muscle, adipose tissue, bone, nerves and male and female reproductive tissues. These specific Agnis, digest the food from one tissue to other form in that successive order. Whenever there is an undigested food it remains there and starts accumulating at that tissue level and is called AMA or Toxin. This in turn causes imbalance in the Agni, which is specific to the Dhatu and reduces the Ojas, the final essence responsible for immunity. When the level of Ojas is low the antigen-antibody reaction becomes such, that body’s defense mechanism starts fighting against the body itself. This sets in motion an auto immune response from the body. These are in the form of type 2, 3 and 4 T-cell responses.
The main causes for these types of toxins to accumulate in the body causing autoimmune response are:
- Improper eating habits
- Eating modified and processed food with preservatives
- Eating stale food
- Eating junk food
- Eating cold and refrigerated food without proper cooking
- Repeatedly reheating cooked food and refrigerating
- Eating processed meat of various kinds with preservatives
- Low digestive power (low Agni)
The auto-immune disorder package includes the treatments for –
- Systemic Lupus Erythromatosis (SLE)
- Ankylosing spondylitis
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Chron’s Disease
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Atopic Dermatitis
- Psoriasis
- Ulcerative Colitis
- Vitiligo
- Sarcoidosis
- Restless leg syndrome
- Polymyalgia rheumatic
- Alopecia
- Multiple sclerosis
- Fibromyalgia
The focus of treatment:
- Remove the toxin (Ama) from the system at the particular Dhatu level
- Correct and strengthen the Agni of the particular Dhatu
- Speedy recovery and lengthening the relapse time by Rasayana therapies
- Disease specific symptoms
Ayurvedic pulse reading allows the doctor to clearly pin point the affected Agni and identify where the Ama has accumulated and has been causing this auto immune response. In Ayurveda there are specific ways to delicately remove these toxins and reset the Agni of the Dhatu. This gives lasting result if the patients follow the doctor’s advice and change the lifestyle. In some chronic situations the treatments have to be done very carefully and may last up to a month and a second course after a period of rest. Patients should not expect quick and magical results for these diseases. However most of them give good results and some only partial results. Plenty of patience is required.
Rasayana: Ayurveda has a unique approach in treating the auto immune disorders through Rasayana Therapies. Rasayana is defined as any herb / medicine / food / activity, which confer youthfulness and cures diseases. Rasayana meaning “quantitative increase of rasa-”, the vital fluid Ojas produced by the digestion of food. Ojas enhances the immunity and helps to reverse the antigen-antibody reaction, which is the basis of the auto-immune diseases.
Rasayana is the method of treatment through which the specific Dhatu Agni function gets balanced, which in turn increases Ojas level in the body.
This can be achieved through:
- Integrated approach
- Internal herbal medicines
- Panchakarma, External therapies
- Appropriate life style corrections – including diet, activity or exercise, sleeping habits, stress management.
- Yoga
- Physiotherapy
- Aqua Therapies
