Neuroadaptability and Habit: Modern Medicine and Ayurveda.

In our increasingly stressed world, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic, the activation of the threat network in everyday situations can adversely affect our mental and physical health. Neurophysiological response to these threats/challenges depends on the type of challenge and the individual's neuroadaptability. Neuroadaptability is defined as the ability of the nervous system to alter responsiveness over time to reoccurring stimuli. Neuroadaptability differs from neuroplasticity, which is more inclusive and refers to the ability of the nervous system to change and learn from any experience. We examine neuroadaptability and how it affects health from the perspective of modern medicine and Ayurveda.

Webpalestra COVID-19 (Coronavírus): PIC’s: como a Ayurveda (medic. tradicional indiana) pode ajudar em tempos de pandemia?

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Utilization, preference, perception and characteristics of people adopting traditional and AYUSH systems of medicine in India: a systematic review.

Background Albeit Indian system of medicine has been practised since long however it has got recent prominence after some policy decisions made to make it more accessible to the people of India. Methods A two fold search strategy was adopted to obtain the literature; search through PUBMED and hand search through cross references. Of the 58 articles obtained through both the search approaches 13 articles were finally included in the review. Results The studies reviewed assessed the utilization, preference, perception and characteristics of people adopting traditional and AYUSH systems of medicine in India. Utilization was observed in a particular geographical area (states) and by a specific group of people such as tribal and general population, medical practitioners and religious groups. Perception about AYUSH system was mixed with different segments of the society. Preference among the general population revolved around distrust or frustration with allopathic medicine, cost effectiveness, accessibility, non-availability of other options and less side effects of AYUSH medicines. Moreover people primarily adopted AYUSH systems of medicine based on their personal experiences and recommended the same to other people as well. Conclusions A mixed response was observed through this systematic review with regard to utilization, preference, perception and characteristics of people adopting traditional and AYUSH systems of medicine in India. A higher level of awareness and governmental patronization is required to make it available to the common man at the last corner of the society for the benefit of the former and the system as well.

Awareness, practice and views about integrating AYUSH in allopathic curriculum of allopathic doctors and interns in a tertiary care teaching hospital in New Delhi, India.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge, attitude, perception and practice of Ayurveda, yoga, Unani, Siddha, homeopathy and naturopathy (AYUSH) among allopathic doctors and interns and determine their opinion regarding integration of AYUSH education within the allopathic curriculum. METHODS: This prospective, cross sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care teaching Hospital, New Delhi, India, from March 2016 to March 2017. A survey of 500 allopathic doctors and 150 interns was performed using a structured questionnaire. RESULTS: A majority of doctors (95.2%) were aware of the term AYUSH and had knowledge of yoga (70.6%), homeopathy (55.6%), Ayurveda (50.3%), Siddha (47.8%), naturopathy (32.9%) and Unani (28.9%). Most of the participants (63.0%) felt that therapies under AYUSH are effective. A majority (84.0%) of the doctors were of the view that more research is required in the field of AYUSH. While homeopathy (44.0%) was the most common system used by doctors for themselves, yoga was the therapy most commonly (60.0%) recommended to patients. Nearly half of the doctors (46.7%) recommended AYUSH to their patients, mainly for chronic illness (74.0%). A majority (77.5%) of the respondents agreed that students of allopathic medicine should be familiarized with AYUSH. The modes of incorporation of AYUSH into the medical curriculum most commonly suggested by respondents were optional courses (54.5%) and introductory lectures (42.3%). CONCLUSION: Doctors and interns of allopathic medicine are aware of AYUSH systems. They use it for themselves and recommend it to patients. They believe that familiarization of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery students with AYUSH therapies and their integration with allopathic medicine may help in improving patient care.

Spread of Traditional Medicines in India: Results of National Sample Survey Organization's Perception Survey on Use of AYUSH.

For the first time, we have a comprehensive database on usage of AYUSH (acronym for Ayurveda, naturopathy and Yoga, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy) in India at the household level. This article aims at exploring the spread of the traditional medical systems in India and the perceptions of people on the access and effectiveness of these medical systems using this database. The article uses the unit level data purchased from the National Sample Survey Organization, New Delhi. Household is the basic unit of survey and the data are the collective opinion of the household. This survey shows that less than 30% of Indian households use the traditional medical systems. There is also a regional pattern in the usage of particular type of traditional medicine, reflecting the regional aspects of the development of such medical systems. The strong faith in AYUSH is the main reason for its usage; lack of need for AYUSH and lack of awareness about AYUSH are the main reasons for not using it. With regard to source of medicines in the traditional medical systems, home is the main source in the Indian medical system and private sector is the main source in Homeopathy. This shows that there is need for creating awareness and improving access to traditional medical systems in India. By and large, the users of AYUSH are also convinced about the effectiveness of these traditional medicines.

"Getting the water-carrier to light the lamps": Discrepant role perceptions of traditional, complementary, and alternative medical practitioners in government health facilities in India.

The government of India has, over the past decade, implemented the "integration" of traditional, complementary and alternative medical (TCAM) practitioners, specifically practitioners of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-rigpa, and Homoeopathy (collectively known by the acronym AYUSH), in government health services. A range of operational and ethical challenges has manifested during this process of large health system reform. We explored the practices and perceptions of health system actors, in relation to AYUSH providers' roles in government health services in three Indian states - Kerala, Meghalaya, and Delhi. Research methods included 196 in-depth interviews with a range of health policy and system actors and beneficiaries, between February and October 2012, and review of national, state, and district-level policy documents relating to AYUSH integration. The thematic 'framework' approach was applied to analyze data from the interviews, and systematic content analysis performed on policy documents. We found that the roles of AYUSH providers are frequently ambiguously stated and variably interpreted, in relation to various aspects of their practice, such as outpatient care, prescribing rights, emergency duties, obstetric services, night duties, and referrals across systems of medicine. Work sharing is variously interpreted by different health system actors as complementing allopathic practice with AYUSH practice, or allopathic practice, by AYUSH providers to supplement the work of allopathic practitioners. Interactions among AYUSH practitioners and their health system colleagues frequently take place in a context of partial information, preconceived notions, power imbalances, and mistrust. In some notable instances, collegial relationships and apt divisions of responsibilities are observed. Widespread normative ambivalence around the roles of AYUSH providers, complicated by the logistical constraints prevalent in poorly resourced systems, has the potential to undermine the therapeutic practices and motivation of AYUSH providers, as well as the overall efficiency and performance of integrated health services.

Desiring foods: Cultivating non-attachment to nourishment in Buddhist Sri Lanka.

Food and desire are intimately entangled whereby food becomes a core tool to manage desire in fashioning oneself as a morally virtuous person. This paper looks at the ways in which Buddhist texts conceptualize human interactions with food and formulate prescriptions on how to handle food as a means of developing an attitude of non-attachment that aids in achieving nirvana-the extinguishing of desire to get released from the cycle of death and rebirth. The particular texts-the Agañña Sutta, the Ahara Patikulasañña, and the Vinaya Pitaka- discussed here exhibit an attitude of deep ambiguity towards food in its capacity to incite desire. On the one hand nutrition is required to maintain life, but on the other, food can potentially be the cause of a degenerate state of mankind and a source of moral degradation. Hence, the Buddhist development of a dispassionate attitude towards food seeks to enable both nourishment and the pursuit of the extinction of the flame of desire in nirvana. Even though the texts formulate practical prescriptions for monks on how to relate to food to aid them in their pursuit, they also serve as moral standards for lay Sinhalese Buddhists who seek to model their everyday behaviour accordingly.