Month: February 2022

Indica Fellowship

Indic Academy Elects the 2022 Fellows in Ayurvedic Nutrition

Ayuve Leave a comment

Indic Academy (Indica) is pleased to announce the 2022 Fellows in Ayurvedic Nutrition. During the six-month training, 5 Fellows will be honing their skills to translate authentic ayurvedic knowledge and share their clinical experience for readers through practical, accessible published pieces for http://www.ayuve.in/, an Indica plant forward media initiative.

Rajeshwari Kalyanam, Chief Editor, Ayuve shares, ""Even as the entire world is moving towards healthy food, India with its rich ancient knowledge of Ayurveda, and the good food practices has so much to give. Be it the knowledge of food, the ingredients, or the way they must be consumed; the principles of Ayurvedic Nutrition are imbibed into the rituals and traditions since centuries. 'Ayuve' the plant forward media initiative of Indic Academy, strives to make this knowledge easily accessible to the consumers, practitioners, advocates, entrepreneurs and curious vegetarians. We are excited to source the authentic wisdom of nutrition and its sources through articulate ayurvedic physicians, who expertly bridge the ancient shastras with modern and practical instructions. The 2022 Indica Fellows in Ayurvedic Nutrition are all BAMS graduates, Dr. Aditi Jain, Dr Ankita Ankush, Dr Mamta Tiwari, Dr. Sumit Sur, Dr. Vyshna Ravindran.

Dr. Aditi Jain is a junior Ayurveda physician at ArogyaLaxmi Ayurvedic Health Care Centre in Jaipur, in the gurukula of Vd. ShriKrishna Khandel. Counseling patients with a range of clinical conditions and treatments, she details individualized ahara-vihara (food and lifestyle) guidelines while connecting each to authentic ancient prescriptions. With a BAMS* from Jayoti Vidyapeeth Women's University in Jaipur and a Diploma in Naturopathy & Diploma in Yoga, she is interested in the mental and emotional underpinnings of disease using a strong logic from the foundations of ayurvedic sciences. She loves history and the philosophy of science and medicine and loves to cook and experiment with Rajasthani & Gujarati cuisine.

Dr. Ankita Ankush is an Ayurveda Medical Officer in Sonipat at the Dept of Ayush, Government of Haryana, in the National Capital Region. She earned a BAMS* from Kurukshetra University, Haryana, then completed a one-year certificate course in Kayachikitsa (Internal Medicine) from Rashtriya Ayurveda Vidyapeeth, New Delhi. She then worked for 7 years at a Panchkarma Center and subsequently completed an MD (Ayu) in Rasashastra & Bhaishjya Kalpana (medicine-making) from the SJG Ayurvedic Medical College in Koppal, Karnataka. She is an avid daily cook for 6 people including her 2 kids, has a daily yoga practice, and loves to travel and explore nature and heritage sites.

Dr. Mamta Tiwari is an assistant professor in the Department of Swasthavritta and Yoga in the Faculty of Ayurveda at the Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, in Varanasi. She completed a BAMS* at Lucknow University, an MD (Ayu) at the National Institute of Ayurveda in Jaipur where she researched Ashwagandha, and a PhD at BHU. She is an active Ayurvedic health and Yoga consultant in clinical practice dedicated to Ayurvedic Lifestyle Medicine. She enjoys exploring the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda in context of contemporary sciences and uses her findings to assist in her patient care, research work, and over 40 publications. She is also an inspired cook for her two children.

Dr. Sumit Sur is an Ayurveda Medical Officer in Bankura at the Patrasayer Primary Health Care centre of the Government of West Bengal. Before he earned his BAMS* from Rajib Gandhi Memorial Ayurvedic College and Hospital, West Bengal University of Health Sciences, he developed medicinal plant gardens throughout West Bengal and provided technical support to farmers interested in the local medicinal flora and fauna. He is a regular Bengali newspaper columnist at AnandaBajar Patrika, Bartaman Patrika, and Sangbad Pratidin.

Dr. Vyshna Ravindran earned a BAMS* degree from The Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University and is currently pursuing an MD(Ayu) at Vaidyaratnam P.S. Varier Ayurveda College in Kottakkal, Kerala, where she is focused on the study of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. She is committed to the integration of modern and ancient sciences preserving the profundity of science in Ayurveda. She speaks Malayalam, English, Tamil, Hindi, and reads Sanskrt.

Indica Fellowship
Indica Fellowship Director Dr Bhaswati Bhattacharya

Indica Fellowship Director Dr Bhaswati Bhattacharya will utilize her experience as a columnist and best-selling Penguin author of 'Everyday Ayurveda', to help Fellows learn how to write for a global audience eager to understand plant-based diets, ancient regional Indian cuisine, and Ayurvedic nutrition. She is a Fulbright Specialist in Public Health, a family physician in the Dept of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, and an appointed member of research literature review committees at the USA-NIH (National Institutes of Health). She holds doctorates in medicine, pharmacology and Ayurveda, and teaches ayurvedic nutrition on global platforms such as Indica Courses.

Through ayuve, Indica aims to foster a global community for plant-based ayurvedic nutrition, for foodies, by foodies, about foodies, providing valuable information bridging ancient wisdom with modern food trends.

 

Gut-Brain

Gut-Brain Connection in Ayurveda and Your Gut Instinct are Real 

Dr. Bhaswati Bhattacharya Leave a comment

On Gut-Brain connection - Neuroscientists David Levingthal and Peter Strick proposed that nerve cells in the deep brain influence the stomach. They studied the pathways that modulate gut function and found that the rostal insula and medial prefrontal cortex, regions associated with interoception and emotional control, actually had nerves feeding from the stomach and back to it, creating a loop of communication between brain and gut. 

Even now, there are physicians that tell patients that their thoughts are not important when eating. They will encourage multi-tasking and eating on the go.  The holistic adage, You Are What You Eat is considered pseudoscience, and the idea that your negative words or watching a lecture while eating can affect digestion is considered ludicrous.

Then an article appears in PNAS! As one of the world's most prestigious journals, which earns respect for each person who publishes in it, PNAS, the Proceedings of the National (USA) Academy of Sciences, published a study by neuroscientists David Levingthal and Peter Strick at the University of Pittsburgh. They proposed that nerve cells in the deep brain influence the stomach. They studied the pathways that modulate gut function and found that the rostal insula and medial prefrontal cortex, regions associated with interoception and emotional control, actually had nerves feeding from the stomach and back to it, creating a loop of communication between Gut-Brain.

Interoception is the body's awareness of sensations in the internal state of the body that we normally cannot control.  This type of internal perception allows us to experience many body sensations such as a growling stomach, racing heart, a dry mouth, or tense muscles, that may signal something that the person needs to address such as eating a meal, or relaxing or eating some grapes to lower thirst and lubricate the mouth.

Ayurveda has been teaching this concept of the Gut-Brain connection for 5000 years, and integrative physicians talk about The Second Brain, and Gut Instinct. Ayurveda says that 80% of all diseases begin in the Gut-Brain.

"In general, parasympathetic output [“rest and digest,” involving internal, vegetative processes] to the stomach tends to increase secretions and enhances the patterns of smooth muscle contractility that are required for processing a meal. In contrast, sympathetic output  [“fight or flight,” involving action] to the stomach tends to decrease secretions and inhibit these patterns of smooth muscle contractility. Both sets of outputs alter the microenvironment of the stomach, and thus its microbiome, by controlling the exposure of ingested bacteria to acid, proteolytic enzymes, mucin, and immune factors."

The rostral insula is linked to the stomach by a series of three synapses, or intersections in the heavy congestion highways from brain to the stomach. The rostral insula gathers information coming from the non-voluntary parts of the body, including signals from the stomach and has been viewed as a sensory processing unit for those parts of the body to connect all thinking inputs with the sense of the internal state of the body, a function critical for interoception.

In addition, this study implicates the rostral insula as the part of the brain that connects our so-called gut feelings up to the brain and back down to the gut to implement what our instinct told us. This can sometimes be a signal to stop eating, or to eat faster.

An additional source of control connects the medial prefrontal cortex of the brain, which regulates numerous cognitive functions, including attention, habit formation, inhibitory control, and types of memory such as working, spatial or long-term memory, to the gut.  This connection implies that non-pharmaceutic therapies have positive and long-lasting therapeutic benefits, such as mental and psychological therapies of yoga, shirodhara (oil massage on the head), pranayama (breathwork) and positive habits.

In summary, the study provides a concrete neural basis for the concept that specific areas of the cerebral cortex differentially control stomach function.

Based on the Scientific Review of

Levinthal DJ and Peter L. Stricl PL. Multiple areas of the cerebral cortex influence the stomach, PNAS, June 9, 2020;117(23):13078–13083.
www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.2002737117 

Picture: Food photo created by wayhomestudio - www.freepik.com

 

 

Sun

Sun, Sea Dragons, and Sesame

Dr. Bhaswati Bhattacharya Leave a comment

Several aspects of Hindu festivals coincide with ayurvedic wisdom. For example, Makara Sankranti festival, when Sun begins to move northwards, reminds all to replenish their oils, and improve digestion, and hence the cold baths and using sesame

Makara Sankranti, the astronomical event of the Sun entering the zodiac sign of Capricorn (makara, sea crocodile or sea dragon) is observed on 14 January of the Gregorian calendar and follows the solar calendar, thus falling on the same day each year. It is one of the few solar calendar holidays in the many Hindu calendars that exist throughout India.

This date of January 14 marks the start of uttarayana for another hundred years. It is the time when the sun starts to move northwards after the winter solstice. It is still marked as December 21st in the western calendar, but the solstice moves by 50 seconds each year due to the astronomical movement of the solar system, and the Hindu calendar follows the observation of the actual movement of the sun in the sky. Incidentally, the ancient age of Makara Sanskranti festival two thousand years ago was on December 31st.

The event of uttarayana is marked in the ayurvedic medical texts as an important milestone for human physiology. As the sun starts to move northward in the sky and gets slightly closer to the people living in the northern hemisphere, the days lengthen. The sun is considered to have started the aadaana kaala, the period of the year in which no more giving (daana) is done by the atmosphere, but rather there is taking by the sun (aadaana) of our moisture and healthy unctuousness of our tissues. During aadaana kaala, we must replenish our moisture and be mindful of things that can deplete our muscles and tissues, such as too much exercise and too-dry foods. Sesame seed-filled snacks, sesame chutney, and sesame balls are served throughout the month, especially on all winter holidays.

In modern language, our clock genes are reset to the growing sunlight, giving our circadian rhythm-setter the feedback, it needs to start calculating that the days will now get longer and sleep should occur a little later. Slightly reduced moisture in the tissues begins, and indicates the need to increase the cellular digestive fire, known as dhatu-agni.

The Makara Sankranti festival reminds all to replenish their oils. Sesame laddus are homemade and fed to everyone, the family participates in kite flying and especially kite flying competitions. Ayurveda whispers that this gets people out into the sun where they can make Vitamin D and utilize the healing powers of the sun for the last few days before the depleting nature of its heat manifests.

As the crocodile or sea-dragon Makara moves as the vahana (vehicle) under Varuna, the god of wind and the great Ganges River, kites take to the wind and help us to enjoy and remember Varuna. In Varanasi, at night kites with paper lamps known as akashdeeps fill the sky with light. Vata in the body also begins to pacify naturally as we enter late winter and sesame with its immense vata-pacifying properties helps people with vata diseases jump one step faster towards health.

On Makar Sankranti, people often greet the sun with a bath in the Ganges also to honour Varuna. Ayurveda says that cold baths will light up the digestive fire in the gut and improve digestion. The fire will burn away the phlegm that is forming in the body, and help to digest all the heavy food that people crave in the winter. Festivals demand social time with neighbours, family and friends and counter the depression and seasonal affect disorder that increases when we sit alone huddling in a cold room. This period also signals the end of the cycle of full exercise, as we soon move into the longer hot days in which 100% capacity of exercise destroys the lubrication and moisture balance in the body.

The astronomical solstice invites us to get into the sun before the equinox occurs in March. Each aspect of Hindu festivals coincides with ayurvedic wisdom.

 

Sesame Seeds

The Benefits of Sesame Seeds

Dr. Mamta Tiwari Leave a comment

Sesame seeds, known as til in Indian languages, are small, flat oval, oil-rich seeds derived from the pods of the Sesamum indicum plant. Sesame is used widely in Indian culture on auspicious occasions, rituals, and religious sacrificial fires due to its spiritual and energetic importance. In the Indian traditional medicine of Ayurveda, it is considered to be an extremely beneficial medicine, especially when used externally. When processed with appropriate herbs that alter its extreme properties of sharpness and heating, it is one of the most excellent therapeutic elements for vata diseases.

The sesame seed is one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world. The historical records of the Indus Valley site at Harappa (2600 BCE) suggest that the sesame plant was domesticated elsewhere in the ancient Indian culture, then spread to Mesopotamia, Egypt and China. Today we see sesame seeds in most Mediterranean cuisines and in far Asia in Chinese and Japanese food. It is also very popular throughout India but seasonally.

The sesame seed is associated with Lord Vishnu, and its derivative sesame oil (gingelly oil) is associated with his consort MahaLakshmi (known as the goddess of wealth). Hindus consider the sesame plant as a password for heaven.

Shatila ekadasi is among the most significant religious days for devout Hindus, in which the use of sesame seeds (til) is celebrated in six (shat) different ways:

• oil bathing

• oil massaging

• food containing tila

• charity (donation) of tila

• putting tila in fire known as havan or homam, and

• oblations to departed souls.

Another holiday for eating sesame-based sweets is Makara Sankranti which coincides with the Pongal festival in Tamilnadu, festivals associated with the solar calendar. The cultural importance of tila in Indian tradition has strong associations with the medicinal properties known to our ancestors.

Ayurveda acharyas describe tila as first in the rank of oils of vegetable origin, due to its wide medicinal role compared to other oils from plants such as coconut, castor, mustard or flax. They detail three varieties of sesame based on colour of seeds: raktha (red), krishna (black) and  shweta (white). Krishna tila - black sesame seeds - are considered to have excellent medicinal properties and are preferred if available for in ayurvedic treatments and ayurvedic preparations.

Sesame seeds are a rich source of minerals, especially copper, manganese, calcium, and magnesium; vitamins and high amounts of mono-unsaturated fats.  This rich nutritional profile of sesame earned its reputaiton as best among vegetable oils for improving strength of the body.

Sesame seeds are heavy to digest and create increasing moisture in the tissues. They taste sweet and have hot potency (ushna virya).  Hence sesame is used in diseases arising from vitiation of vata. It has very specific quality of being “yogavahi,” a substance with the quality of penetrating the deepest tissues.

The ushna (hot) guna of sesame is useful for correcting digestive fire, reducing the aama in the body, which can be beneficial for excess weight gain, diabetes and high cholesterol levels. The snigdha (unctuousness) nature of sesame seeds is explained by a high presence of MUFA (mono-unsaturated fatty  acids). Sesame seeds are also beneficial for correction of skin dryness; they promote new hair growth; they promote functions of the brain; and they relieves vata disorders  including premature aging.

When used properly, sesame seeds are one of the healthiest food available today. The numerous nutritional and cultural benefits associated with sesame seeds are enough to recommend that everyone should include them in their daily diet in winter in the form of tila ladoo, tila khichari,  or just use them as a garnish over dal, vegetables, or rice.