I have not been writing a lot about weight loss medications in ayurveda because indiscriminate weight loss can lead to serious health issues. A friend’s son who lost 40 kg and went for a marathon has wrecked his health by not realising that a diet, which lacks unctuous food and is predominantly made up of dry salads and sugar-free drinks or the like, is not healthy.
I dislike marathons as they increase vayu and could be a potential source of cardiac events, weak muscles and a long-term pain. Many people participating in marathons feel that they are helping a social cause and are doing something to improve their health. They couldn’t be more wrong. Too much physical exercise increases vayu. So, if you are obese and want to trim, do some moderate steady exercise, yoga or walking.
Ayurveda has two popular remedies for controlling weight, consumed under directions of a supervising ayurvedic vaidyar. Both are effective and helps to lose weight without endangering the health of tissues or dhatus. The dhatus are rasa (chyle), rakta (blood), mamsa (muscle), medho (fat), asthi (bone), majja (bone marrow) and shukra (reproductive tissue). We have a concept in ayurveda called shudasthu, which says a treatment procedure is not proper or pure if, while attempting to cure a disease, it ends up promoting some other disease. Proper treatment pacifies a disease without promoting another.
The two kashayams used among other things for weight loss are called varadi kashayam and varanadi kashayam. Varadi kashayam consists of triphala, chitraka (plumbago zeylanica), loha patra and haridra. It is a safe remedy, but weight loss should be supervised lest it will provoke more dreadful diseases. However, this kashayam is far safer than many of the highly commercialised products.
Varanadi kashayam needs a vaidyar’s supervision. It is not well tolerated by people with pitta prakriti. Varanadi kashayam consists of the following herbs: crataeva religiosa (varana), strobilanthes ciliatus (sairyaka), asparagus racemosus (shatavari), plumbago zeylanica (dahana), chenomorpha fragrans (morata), aegle marmelos (bilva), aristolochia bracteolata (vishanika), solanum melongena (brihati), aerva lanata (bhadra), pongamia glabra (karanja), holoptelia integrifolia (pootikaranja), premna corymbosa (jaya), terminalia chebula (pathya), moringa oleifera (drumstick), desmostachya bipinnata (darbha) and semicarpus anacardium (rujakara). This kashayam corrects fatty liver problems, controls obesity and lowers lipids and cholesterol. Mentioned in Ashtanga Hrdya, this kashayam also tackles internal abscesses. Many vaidyars prescribe this for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, common in many young girls, but was practically unheard when I was growing up. As Charaka would say, use yukti and see what could be the cause.
My belief is that it is a combination of terrible food habits, lack of sleep and an unhealthy lifestyle. Eating late and eating without gaps, too much or too little physical exercise and a lifestyle that does not know the concept of ‘moderation’. That said being healthy is quite easy—eat light, sleep right and exercise moderately. Take it easy.
The writer is retired Additional Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu. She can be reached at sheelarani.arogyamantra@gmail. com/arogyamantra.blogspot.com