Importance of Body Care and Diet in Ayurveda

Ayurvedic contains the detail instructions about body care and personal hygiene. Chewing of various spices and nuts is recommended for the clarity of voices, a pleasing taste, and fresh smells in the mouth, gargling with sesame oil be said to enhance the strength of the jaws. Sesames oil also gives depth to the voice and even results in the face becoming plump. Regularly oiling of the hair and the ears, and the periodic oil massages are a part of the normal recommended body care. Massage makes the physique smooth, strong, and charming, and prevents the onslaught of age. Scents and garlands of flowers are said to spread fragrance in the body, and enhance longevity and charm.

An India psychiatrist was surprised to find the following description of a tongue scraper, the like of which he had not seen in use in any other country.

Tongue scrapers which, should be curved and sharp edge, are to be made of metals like gold, silver, copper, tin and brass. The dirt deposited at the root of the tongue obstructs expiration and give rise to a foul smell: so the tongue should be scraped regularly.

Where as the diet is concerned, ayurveda provides the general description of food that promotes health and other, which should be avoided. It say that the food that should be allowed to the patients accordingly to the nature of the malady, and those which should be banned. Some medicines are to be taken with certain specific foods such as buttermilk. Certain drugs and formulations are administered to the patient in conjunction with certain food, falling which; the drugs do not have any curative effect.

Both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food is discussed in ayurveda. Non-vegetarian diets are particularly recommended in diseases like consumption where the wasting of flesh is evident.

The emphasis that ayurveda lays on diet of the patient is apparent from the old dictum: The patient does not require any medicine if he has the wholesome diet and he does not require any medicine either, if he is not on a wholesome diet. If a persons diet is wholesome, he will not need any medicine because he will not fall ill and if the diet is faulty, he will not require a medicine because it will not help him without proper diet. So the conclusion of this is that one must have proper diet.

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What is ayurveda?

An ancient Indian system of preventive health care. (The name means "knowledge of life.") According to this system, bodily health is determined by three biological principles, called doshas: Vata, which regulates movement; Pitta, which regulates metabolism; and Kapha, which regulates structure.
Is from India, and is more than 5,000 years old. "Ayur" means life and "Ved" means knowledge. This holistic science is the knowledge of complete balance of the Body, Mind and spirit, including the emotions and psychology, on all levels. It includes in its consideration, longevity, rejuvenation and self-realization therapies through herbs, diet, exercise, yoga, massage, aromas, tantras, mantras, and meditation. ...
Ayurveda (आयुर्वेद Sanskrit: ayu—life; veda—knowledge of) or ayurvedic medicine is a more than 2,000 year old comprehensive system of medicine based on a holistic approach rooted in Vedic culture. Its conspicuous use of the word veda, or knowledge, reveals its role in early Hinduism and describes its hallowed place in India. Ayurveda also had a tradition of surgery. ...