What Is Diabetes In Ayurveda?

In today’s world, we live a very mechanical lifestyle. Our lives are basically controlled by technology which makes us inactive and lethargic. To compliment the sedentary lifestyle that we lead, we also follow a diet which comprises of packaged food, fast food and drinks that worsen are system.

In our previous post, we spoke about what triggers diseases in Ayurveda. We gave you examples showing how we create an imbalance in our body ourselves that give rise to various ailments and diseases. One such disease is diabetes, which is known as “Prameha” in Ayurveda.

Diabetes, as we already know, is caused due to excessive glucose content in the blood, also known as high blood sugar or hyperglycemia. The increase in blood sugar releases insulin from the pancreas into the blood stream. It is described as a metabolic disease in which the person has high blood glucose (blood sugar), either because the insulin production is inadequate, or because the body's cells do not respond properly to the produced insulin, or in some cases, both!

Diabetes is generally divided into two types:

· Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus - Diabetes is an autoimmune disease where the individual’s body has destroyed the insulin producing cells in the pancreas, giving rise to increase in blood and glucose level in the body. The symptoms are frequent urination, thirst, hunger and drastic weight loss.

· Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus - This generally occurs when we age or turn obese. In this case, even though the body is producing insulin, its sensitivity is reduced to minimal and doesn’t respond as well as it should. The symptoms are similar to Type 1 and also include fatigue, vision impairment, slow healing from cuts and wounds.

Ayurveda & Diabetes

Diabetes or “Prameha” in Ayurveda is divided into 20 types, based on the predominant Doshas in the body. This sums up to 4 types caused due to Vata, 6 types caused due to Pitta and 10 types caused due to Kapha. Prameha when not treated leads to “Madumeha” which is the Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2).

The Kapha type, as we have discussed in our earlier posts, are generally on the heavier side as they are known to be lazy, inactive and follow a unhealthy diet. They often fail to control what they eat and what they shouldn’t be eating. According to Ayurveda, apart from the symptoms mentioned earlier, one also suffers from burning of palms and soles, dryness of mouth and a sweet taste in the mouth.

The three main divisions of Diabetes according to Ayurveda - Kaphaja, Pittaja and Vataja of Prameha and Madhumeha are:

· Kaphaja: This causes indigestion, lack of hunger, flu, running nose, lethargy and vomiting.

· Pittaja: This causes pain in the bladder leading to urinary tract infection, fever, acidity, diarrhea and sleep apneas.

· Vataja: This causes severe cold and cough, breathing problems, constipation, fatigue, sudden tremors or chills and insomnia.

A healthy diet that includes adequate and essential nutrients, along with herbs and food that is low on sugar can be the best way to get this disease under control. Ayurveda believes that one needs to live healthy to feel content, hence, a change from the sedentary lifestyle to a more active one can help in preventing and curing diabetes. In our next post, we talk about the causes of diabetes in detail; till then, keep following us.