If you drink herbal tea or take herbal supplements, you are practicing Ayurveda.
As more people become aware of the dehydrating effects of caffeine and the potential risks of Western drugs, they are switching to more herbal teas and remedies. Coffee shops around the country now offer a rich selection of herbal teas, such as chamomile or rooibos. Pharmacies similarly boast growing sections of herbal supplements to treat a host of symptoms, from hormonal imbalance to unstable blood sugar levels. People are turning back to nature to cure their imbalances. Ayurveda was the first health system to use herbs for medicinal benefits, and modern Herbology is based on Ayurveda.
Herbal remedies are nothing new to the majority of the world. In fact, the World Health Organization has estimated that 80 percent of the world’s population uses traditional therapies, a major part of which are derived from plants. Ayurveda recommends a wide range of herbs, from ginger to triphala, to heal the body from within.
The use of herbal supplements is steadily increasing in the United States. In
2012, one in five Americans was using herbal, nonvitamin supplements, and that number has continued to increase. Americans spent at least $21 billion on herbs and other dietary supplements in 2015. In fact, according to the National
Institutes of Health, one third of Americans uses alternative medicine, including herbal supplements, meditation, yoga, and chiropractic adjustments.
Herbal supplements are often an attractive alternative to pharmaceuticals because they offer the same benefits with a decreased risk of side effects. For example, there are no risks of adding too much ginger to your food, besides making it too spicy, because ginger is a root vegetable grown naturally. Our bodies are able to recognize plant-based ingredients, allowing them to cooperate more with our systems.
Herbal treatments also are desirable because they are more affordable than pharmaceutical drugs. For example, the arthritis drug Celebrex costs more than
$4 per day, whereas ginger supplements, an Ayurvedic arthritis treatment, cost about 38¢ per day. Even less expensive is adding fresh grated ginger to your meals and teas.
Herbal teas are a large part of the Ayurvedic diet and are actually viewed as medicine. Instead of medicine, as an Ayurvedic practitioner, I often “prescribe”
my clients specific tea recipes with certain spices they need to address their underlying issues.
WISDOM OF THE AGES
Teas are an effective way of consuming herbs because their benefits are enhanced when steeped in hot water. Herbal teas are a great alternative to caffeinated black tea or coffee, which dehydrate the body and put the adrenals on overdrive. Ayurveda recommends countless unique tea recipes, some sweet and others quite bitter, depending on what the individual needs. Common teas include ginger, fennel, and peppermint.
Each herbal tea has a multitude of benefits. Whereas pharmaceutical drugs are intended for only one purpose, most herbs have numerous. Ginger tea is not only medicinal for arthritis, but also a powerful aid for improving digestion and
reducing inflammation. Fennel tea relieves gas, bloating, and constipation while also detoxifying the liver. Similarly, peppermint tea relieves nausea, vomiting, and stomachaches, while also cooling the body. Specific herbs are recommended for each body type, season, and environment.
Ayurveda recommends making your own herbal teas to reap the benefits in the most natural form, without the potential risk of chemicals in conventional tea bags. Grated ginger, fennel seeds, or peppermint is all you need, which is also much more affordable than buying tea. Most of the teas Ayurveda recommends are used in cooking as well, and you don’t need too many staples. For teas where you may not have the original ingredient, you can purchase loose-leaf tea.
Loose-leaf tea is preferable to bagged tea to avoid potential toxins and pesticides.
AYURVEDIC ALERT
Ayurveda recommends making your own tea with common spices or buying loose-leaf tea to avoid potential pesticides and chemicals in bagged tea.
Always avoid plastic tea bags because the plastic leaches into the hot water.
Do your research on the manufacturer, and always opt for organic when buying tea.
Oils
We recently went through a time when people were afraid of oils. We were told that oils in our food would make us fat and should be avoided. Similarly, oils in our skincare products were supposed to cause acne and breakouts.
Today, thankfully, we have learned this isn’t true. All fats don’t make us fat, and not all oil on our skin causes acne—and some can actually heal it. Those same outlets that once advocated the abandonment of oil now have become oil
obsessed. They recommend adding oil to your cooking, putting it on your skin, and making it into masks for your hair—something Ayurveda has advocated about for 5,000 years.
WISDOM OF THE AGES
In Ayurveda, oil is love. In fact, the Sanskrit word for oil, sneha, actually means
“love.” To oil your body is an act of self-love. Abhyanga, self-oil massage, is an integral part of the dinacharya daily practice.
Adding oil to your food makes it easier to digest. The oil allows for the
breakdown of the food and enables your gastrointestinal tract to better process the food. Difficult-to-digest foods like fibrous cauliflower and kale should always be paired with oil.
Oil is also the key to hydration. Your cells cannot absorb water without oil.
That’s why a diet low in oil can leave you dehydrated. Dehydration affects your body inside and out. A lack of oil in your diet causes constipation internally and dry or dull skin, frizzy or split end-prone hair, and cracked lips and nails
externally.
The beauty industry has scared many of us away from using oil on our faces because we’ve been told it clogs pores. That’s true for mineral oils found in lotions and makeup as well as animal oils. These oils form a waterproof film on top of the skin’s debris, locking in bacteria, dead skin cells, sweat, and sebum.
However, plant-based oils are similar to the kinds our skin produces naturally and are easily absorbed by the skin without clogging pores. They’re more moisturizing than creams and lotions because they bind moisture to the skin while strengthening skin cell membranes. Oil can be used both for cleansing the skin as well as moisturizing it, which I explain more in Chapter 11.
Ayurveda recommends specific oils for the individual Doshas, or mind-body types. For those with more dry, rough skin, warming sesame oil is
recommended. For acne-prone, oily skin, cooling coconut oil is recommended.
For moist, combination skin, sesame, almond, or olive oil is recommended, depending on the season.
AYURVEDIC ALERT
Oils can be used topically or internally because according to Ayurveda, you shouldn’t put anything on your skin that you wouldn’t also eat. Your skin is your largest organ, and whatever you rub on your body makes its way into your bloodstream. Be sure it’s free of parabens, alcohols, fragrances, and chemicals.