Weakened digestive enzymes in your digestive tract will create a situation where you may not be able to digest completely what you have eaten. This leaves behind a semi-digested material in the gastrointestinal tract that is considered a toxin in Ayurveda. Sticky, odourous and pasty, this substance is known as Ama in Ayurveda. Besides creating symptoms in the gut, ama can be absorbed into the deeper tissue where it can set up the disease process.
Numerous symptoms are related to ama. You can determine your toxicity level by the number of symptoms you experience. The symptoms include:
1 - 4 of these symptoms indicate mild toxicity; 5 - 9 moderate toxicity; 10 - 16 severe toxicity.
Mild toxicity can be managed at home by a change of diet and an appropriate detoxification routine that can be developed by an Ayurvedic doctor. A home-based detoxification programme is recommended that contains Ayurvedic herbs that are well-known for their detoxification effects.
If you have moderate toxicity, I recommend a consultation before you engage in a detoxification programme. This must be guided by a competent Ayurvedic doctor. Severe toxicity will require a specific process known as panchakarma. Panchakarma requires a competent Ayurvedic doctor to take you through the cleansing of your tissues in a systematic way to reverse the disease process.
If you suspect that you may have symptoms of moderate or severe toxicity, it is vital that you seek help from an Ayurvedic centre that specialises in detoxification. Self-help may do more harm if you do not approach the problem in the right way.
TIPS FOR HELPING WITH MILD TOXICITY
Here are some guidelines to help reverse mild toxicity.
1. Cut out animal proteins from your diet for about a month.
2. Sip hot water three times daily after meals.
3. Sip ginger tea twice a day after meals. Use ½ teaspoon of ginger powder in a cup of hot water.
4. Brush your tongue after meals to remove the coating that will often appear.
5. Do a monthly bowel purge with Epsom Salts. Adults should use 2-3 teaspoons dissolved in warm water and drink this early in the morning.
6. Drink ¼ cup of good quality aloe juice every night. Good quality aloe will have a seal from the international Aloe Council on the bottle. If aloe does not have this seal, it is probably inactive and has not been stabilised and is therefore of no medicinal value.
Removing ama from the body requires daily, monthly and seasonal effort of you want to maintain your healt.
Ayurvedic practitioner Dr Rajen Cooppan (MBChB. MD) is the Medical Director of the SanAquam Ayurvedic Centre in Durban North. For more information email: info@sanaquam.com. Phone: 0861 999 181. Or visit http://www.sanaquam.com/