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Ayurveda to Fight Coronavirus

As the world struggles to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers around the globe are racing against time to find a cure and vaccine for the coronavirus. One of the therapies under investigation is the ancient Indian healing science, Ayurveda. It turns out Harvard and MIT scientists recently investigated the potential of Ayurvedic science to cure coronavirus and found promising results. They are not the only ones to look at Ayurveda- Indian researchers have been investigating it for the last several months and some doctors are already prescribing medicines based on Ayurvedic herbs. A doctor in India conducted clinical trial with a small number of patients with mild to moderate symptoms and found 100% recovery rate in 9 days or less. There is also an example of an Indian man who made a full recovery from COVID-19 in a short time after taking only Ayurvedic medicines. Interestingly, I read that Ayurvedic medicine was used extensively during the Spanish flu pandemic a century ago.

Ayurveda is an ancient medical science practiced primarily in India. It traces its origin all the back to 5000 BCE and was used during the Indus Valley civilization. Although it is a very old science, Ayurvedic therapies have become traditions that have continued to this day in most Indian households, including my family’s. Mention any health condition to an Indian grandmother, and she will immediately tell you to drink the juice of this plant or take a teaspoon of that powder (unfortunately, none of which taste good!) So naturally when COVID hit earlier this year, many Indians went into overdrive; my mom's WhatsApp was flooded with messages about home remedies to prevent and cure the disease. I used to laugh it off earlier, and certainly never agreed to put any of it in my mouth, but over time I have come to have some respect for many of the home remedies. Turns out most of these home remedies have their roots in Ayurveda. Ayurvedic medicine consists of natural herbs, plants and metals used as therapeutics for different ailments.
Ayurvedic herbs. Source: Deccan Herald

Now, researchers from MIT, Harvard, and UC San Diego have published a paper suggesting that Ayurveda, along with yoga and meditation might be an effective treatment to be used alongside conventional treatment for COVID-19. Although these remedies might not offer a full cure, they help reduce the severity of the disease. The primary mechanism of these therapies is boosting the body’s natural immune system, which in turn improves lung condition and helps fight the virus. It is also known that yoga and meditation stimulate melatonin, which has been found to offer protection against ventilator caused lung injury.

While this has been known as common truths in India, researchers of the study found evidence of stress and inflammation modulation by these practices. With no known cure for COVID-19 yet, it certainly makes sense to explore the teachings of traditional remedies rooted in ancient medicine.



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