Ayurveda and Fibroids
| September 28, 2009 | Posted by monica under Ayurveda, Body Constitution and Lifestyle, Diet, Weight Loss |
By Monica Bhatia, PhD (San Diego College of Ayurveda)
Sonal (name changed) gained 60 pounds during her pregnancy and reached 225 pounds the day she gave birth. Even with breast feeding, frequent trips to the gymnasium and healthy eating – she was only able to drop 20 pounds in 2 years!! She had developed a benign fibroid in her breast during pregnancy.
This is a classical case of Kapha increasing and traveling to Rasa Dhatu…and causing increase in Rasa dhatu. Remember….Kapha will cause fibroids. It will also cause imbalance in Upadhatu or sub dhatu of Rasa Dhatu (Menstrual periods as well as ‘lactation’ srotas). Sure enough, this mothers milk was very very kapha like. Thick and heavy. Baby slept for hours after her feeding.
So, our protocol was decrease rasa dhatu by reducing and avoiding the Sweet and Salty tastes completely. (Since, milk, wheat and meat are also considered sweet — person was put on practically a vegan ayurvedic diet). Second thing was to increase the Agni. We did so by Trikatu. We gave ‘Ashoka’ to help regularize the periods. We suggested Neem, and, Regular turmeric as well.
So, at the end she was taking — trikatu, kanchanar guggulu, punarnava guggulu and triphala along with Ashoka, smooth cycle by MAPI for her deep rooted kapha issues along with a Kapha Diet plan and an astrological ‘colored’ gem for her planetary affliction. (Jupiter was retrograde, so, we suggested a yellow topaz worn on the index finger on thursday, powered by a homa).
She also suffered from sinus issues and had developed fibroids during pregnancy. Sonal’s blood pressure and cholesterol numbers were not great.
(This is common for predominant Kapha moms during pregnancy. Jupiter is the cause for fibroids and weight gain– when there is a drishti(aspect) from other malefics.)
Sure enough, the size of fibroids went down –but the weight loss was pretty dramatic. It was like a before and after on tv!! 
Pittas and Vatas will be more prone to — uterine fibroids. There are common western herbs available also that allegedly claim to reduce the size of common harmless fibroids developed during pregnancy, you can get them at Henry’s, Whole foods or any health food store. However, just like Ayurveda…there are no clinical trials really. Whatever you do, buy organic. Banyan Botanicals has the BEST range at an affordable price. Himalaya usa are also good, but not organic. I suggest Punarnavadi Guggulu or regularizing your periods first Remember organic herbs are far more potent!)
Following a dinacharya routine, of meditation, surya namaskar and yoga in the morning with all the herbs and eating at Pitta times – a kapha pacifying diet, Sonal lost a whopping 90 pounds within 10 months. She was even eating small amounts of ghee in her diet. Her fibroids reduced, blood pressure normalized and cholesterol level went down.
Ayurveda has a very holistic view on weight loss. Here are some views from Ayurvedic texts.
Causes of Weight Gain
Causes for obesity and weight gain finds mention in Ayurvedic texts. It can be classified as food and life style related, and other factors that generate the unwanted fat to accumulate. Tabular form is given below to differentiate the causes
According to Ayurveda, Obesity is caused by over intake of food, intake of heavy (guru), sweet, cold, and unctuous food, lack of exercise, abstinence from sexual intercourse, day sleeping, uninterrupted cheerfulness, lack of mental exercise, and heredity.
Whatever the causes may be, all above causes leads to increase in kapha content of body, which is prime factor for the body tissue formation, it is the responsible dosha – like Kapha or Vata – which increases the ‘fat tissue’ Trend of consuming chocolates, pizza, eating junk on the run, late nights, alchohal drinking and bad sleeping habits all contribute towards increase of lipids. Especially when combined with lack of proper exercise.
Another cause given in Ayurveda is beeja swabhavat i.e. hereditary origin. It is an important factor which should be considered by the physician at the time of assuring the patient about the weight reduction.
Some other reasons which are not directly mentioned in ancient texts but carry a great deal of importance are constitution (prakritti), place of origin (desha) etc. kapha individuals are born stout, while kapha predominance is common in anupa desha. Such obesity is a bit difficult to deal with.
Ayurveda recommends Trikatu, Guggulu, Triphala amongst other herbs and a bitter, astringent pacifying diet for Kapha predominant people to reduce obesity. All these herbs combined with following a dinacharya (Daily routine of eating, exercising and ingesting herbs at the same time depending on the position of the sun) help in weight loss.
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