Ayurveda FAQ hub

Ayurveda is a traditional system of medicine from the Indian subcontinent, documented for well over two thousand years. It treats health as a balance between digestion, daily routine, sleep, season and constitution, and uses food, lifestyle, oils and plant medicines to keep that balance rather than targeting a single symptom.

It joins two Sanskrit words: ayus (life, lifespan) and veda (knowledge). So it reads as 'the knowledge of life' — a system concerned with how to live, not only with how to treat illness.

The three great texts (Brihat Trayi) are the Charaka Samhita on internal medicine, the Sushruta Samhita on surgery, and the Ashtanga Hridayam, a later synthesis of both. Most modern Ayurvedic practice traces its formulas and dosage traditions back to these.

Modern medicine identifies a disease and targets it. Ayurveda describes the individual — constitution, digestion, season, habits — and adjusts inputs to restore balance. They answer different questions and are best used together, not as substitutes: acute, infectious and surgical problems belong to modern medicine.

Parts of it are. Individual herbs such as ashwagandha, turmeric and triphala have modern clinical research behind specific uses, and that research is cited on each herb page here. The whole system has not been tested as a unit, and traditional use alone is not proof of effect or safety.

Vata (movement, air and space), Pitta (transformation, fire and water) and Kapha (structure, earth and water). They are functional categories, not substances: Vata governs circulation and nerve activity, Pitta digestion and metabolism, Kapha lubrication and stability.

Your prakriti is read from long-standing patterns — build, skin, appetite, sleep, temperature preference, temperament — not from how you feel this week. Our dosha quiz gives a working indication in a few minutes; a practitioner assessment (including pulse) is more precise.

Yes, and most people do. Dual constitutions such as Vata-Pitta or Pitta-Kapha are common, and a small number of people are close to even across all three (tridoshic). What matters is which one goes out of balance first when you are stressed.

Your prakriti (birth constitution) is considered fixed. Your vikriti — the current imbalance — changes constantly with season, age, work, food and sleep. Ayurvedic advice targets the vikriti while respecting the prakriti.

Broadly: aggravated Vata shows as dryness, restlessness, light sleep, bloating and cold hands; aggravated Pitta as heat, acidity, irritability, rashes and loose stools; aggravated Kapha as heaviness, congestion, sluggish mornings and weight gain.

Carminative and calming preparations (ginger, fennel, warm milk decoctions) act within hours. Rasayana and adaptogenic herbs such as ashwagandha, shatavari and brahmi are traditionally judged after four to eight weeks of daily use.

Only with your prescriber's knowledge. Real interactions exist — for example with blood thinners, thyroid medication, sedatives, immunosuppressants and diabetes drugs. Bring the actual product label to the appointment, not just the herb name.

As a rule: digestive and appetite herbs just before or with food; energising and rasayana herbs in the morning; calming herbs and triphala in the evening, well after eating. Each herb page here lists its traditional timing.

Many are not. Ashwagandha, guggul, kutki, daruharidra, aloe latex and medicinal-dose sage are among those traditionally avoided. Treat pregnancy as a clear stop: use nothing beyond ordinary culinary amounts without obstetric advice.

Gentle kitchen herbs in food amounts — ginger, cardamom, fennel, turmeric, tulsi — are traditional for children. Concentrated extracts, bitters and metal-containing (bhasma) preparations are not; those need a qualified practitioner and paediatric dosing.

Look for the botanical name, the plant part used, batch number, manufacture and expiry dates, and third-party testing for heavy metals and pesticides. Avoid unlabelled loose powders and any product promising to cure a named disease.

Yes — testing has repeatedly found lead, mercury and arsenic in a minority of imported products, mostly rasa shastra (mineral) preparations. Stick to single-plant products from manufacturers that publish heavy-metal test results, and avoid bhasma preparations unless prescribed by a qualified practitioner.

Yes. Anything strong enough to help is strong enough to cause trouble: bitters can cause nausea and cramping, heating herbs can worsen reflux, and long courses without a break are discouraged in the tradition itself. Stop and seek advice if a new symptom appears.

Agni is digestive and metabolic fire — the capacity to break down food, absorb what is useful and discard the rest. Ayurveda treats strong, regular agni as the single best predictor of health, and most advice is aimed at protecting it.

Ama is the sticky, undigested residue left when agni is too weak for what was eaten. Classical signs are a coated tongue, heaviness after meals, dull morning energy, bad breath and aching joints. The response is lighter food and warming spices, not more supplements.

Agni is held to follow the sun and peak around midday, so the heaviest meal is placed there and dinner kept light and early. This also leaves digestion finished before sleep, which the tradition links directly to sleep quality.

Cold is said to dampen agni exactly when it is needed. Warm or room-temperature water with food, and sipping rather than gulping, is the standard instruction — a small change that many people notice within days.

Sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent. A meal containing all six is considered satisfying and balancing; a diet missing bitter and astringent (common in modern eating) is linked to cravings and sluggish digestion.

Dinacharya is the Ayurvedic daily routine: waking before sunrise, tongue scraping, warm water, elimination, oil massage, movement, meals at fixed times and an early night. Practitioners consider it more powerful than any single herb.

Abhyanga is self-massage with warm oil — sesame for Vata, coconut for Pitta, mustard or sesame for Kapha — before bathing. Daily is classical; two or three times a week is realistic and still useful, particularly for dryness and poor sleep.

The overnight coating on the tongue is read as a daily report on digestion — thick and white suggests ama, yellow suggests heat. Scraping removes it, freshens the mouth and is meant to be done before drinking anything.

Ritucharya matches inputs to the season: warm, oily, grounding food in cold and windy weather (Vata); cooling, less spiced food in summer (Pitta); light, dry, warming food in damp late winter and spring (Kapha).

The evening from roughly 6 to 10pm is considered Kapha time — heavy and easy to fall asleep in. After 10pm Pitta time begins, which brings a second wind and appetite. Sleeping before that window closes is said to make sleep deeper and mornings lighter.

Classically, to half your capacity — until the first sweat on the forehead and breath through the mouth begins. Daily moderate movement is favoured over occasional exhaustion, and heavy exertion is discouraged in illness, pregnancy and high Pitta states.

Panchakarma is a supervised cleansing programme of five procedures, preceded by oleation and sweating. It is a clinical treatment, not a spa package, and should only be done under a qualified practitioner after an assessment — it is not appropriate for everyone.

No. The classical texts describe meat preparations, particularly soups for recovery and weakness. The consistent instruction is about quality, quantity and digestibility — freshly cooked, warm, appropriate to your state — rather than a fixed diet.

For anything ongoing, worsening or diagnosed; before panchakarma; when you take regular medication; and in pregnancy, childhood and old age. Look for a BAMS degree or an equivalent recognised national registration, and keep your regular doctor informed.

The core of it is not. Routine, sleep, warm food, ginger, turmeric, cumin, fennel and tulsi cost very little. Expense comes from branded extracts and retreats, which are optional additions rather than the system itself.

Start with the dosha quiz for a working sense of your constitution, browse by concern rather than by herb, read the full precautions on any herb page before use, and treat the recipes as everyday food and drink. Nothing here diagnoses or treats a medical condition.

No. Use it alongside medical care, never instead of it. Chest pain, breathlessness, sudden severe pain, high fever, bleeding, unexplained weight loss and any symptom that is getting worse need medical assessment first.