Are Ayurvedic medicines helpful in weight loss?

Ayurveda is one of the world’s oldest healing systems. It was developed more than 5,000 years ago in India. Ayurvedic medicine believes that the health and wellness of our body depend on the overall balance between body, mind, and soul. When something disrupts this balance, we get sick.

We are what we eat and reflect our environment and personal choices in our health.

Every person has a different metabolism. Some people may easily digest some food items while others may not. One person may consume a huge meal and gain no weight, while another must carefully count the calories not to gain weight. This depends on your fat metabolism.

Obesity is a challenging health concern today. It means the accumulation of excessive amounts of fat in your body. It is crucial to understand that it is not only a cosmetic concern but a more profound health concern that can negatively impact your daily life. But don't worry ayurvedic treatments and medicines can help you to lose weight. 

You may become obese depending on your eating habits, physical activity, and unique body composition.

The world of Ayurveda offers several ayurvedic medicine and treatments for weight loss. Some Ayurvedic herbs have shown promising results and are effective for weight loss.

You can also consume an Ayurvedic diet and Ayurvedic medicines with no side effects to help you shed some weight. You should eat according to your own combination of dosha to have appropriate weight.

What are Doshas?

As per Ayurvedic sciences, it is believed that every matter in this universe is made up of five elements - fire, earth, water, air, and ether (space).

It is also believed that there are three doshas, namely Vata, Pitta, and Kapha, composed of these five elements. 

These doshas are present in every cell, tissue, and organ of your body. They govern almost all your body processes, from bodily functions to thoughts and emotions.

We, humans, are a unique combination of three doshas. Most people tend to have a dominant dosha, though some amount of each dosha is present in everyone. 

This combination is determined at the time of conception. 

Each of the three doshas fluctuates according to your environment, diet, and several other factors, as you move through life. Any imbalance in your dosha can affect your mental, physical, and emotional health.

Vata dosha

It is made up of wind and ether elements. It is responsible for the movement of your body, circulation of blood, elimination of waste, expression of speech, and regulation of the immune system. 

Pitta dosha

It constitutes fire and water elements. It balances the other two opposing doshas, Vata and Kapha. It is primarily responsible for hormone levels in your body, visual perception, thirst, controls your heartbeat, body temperature, and skin quality. 

Kapha Dosha

It comprises mainly water and earth elements. It moistens the stable structures of your body. It primarily resides in your stomach. It also manages your chest, throat, head, lymph, and pancreas. 

It provides stability to your body by holding the cells together and forming muscles, fats, and bones.

How can Dosha impact your body weight?

Your dosha impacts almost all the body functions and tends to determine your body weight. You should consume food as per your dosha to nourish your body and promote balance. You can also avoid certain food items that may indicate imbalance and cause weight loss or weight gain.

• If you have dominant Vata dosha, you tend to have low body weight. Your physical structure is thin and slender. You often suffer from dry skin, cold limbs, and poor blood circulation.

If your Vata dosha is balanced, you have a consistent appetite, healthy bowel function, and a calm mind. But if it is out of balance, you may lose weight, feel dehydrated, have excessive bloating, have indigestion, and have insomnia. 

• If you have dominant Pitta dosha, you are more likely to have moderate weight and healthy digestion. If your dosha is in balance, you experience a healthy appetite and the proper production of hormones. When Kapha dosha is out of balance, you may feel like skipping meals, heartburn, fever, and rashes.

• People with dominant Kapha dosha tend to have heavier bodies with broad shoulders and hips. They mostly have a stable appetite and regular digestion. If balanced, it provides physical and mental strength, but it causes sluggish digestion when in excess.

Eat as per your dosha

Your diet plays a vital role in every dosha. Some recommended foods, exercises, and routine practices are suitable for every dosha to achieve balance. Diet as per your dosha helps in achieving optimal health and adequate weight.

The recommended diet for Vata dominant people

Vata is cold and dry dosha. Warm foods with moderately heavy textures are suitable for such people. If your Vata is dominant, you should add butter, warm milk, cream, warm soups, stews, hot cereals, and raw nuts to your diet. 

Herbal tea, warm drinks, or hot water are suitable for Vata. All sweet fruits are great for Vata-dominant people. 

• You should avoid salads, raw vegetables, caffeine, and iced drinks as they cause Vata imbalance. Avoid unripe fruits and candies too. 

• Spices like cumin, garlic, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and cloves can be consumed.

• Best cooked vegetables to consume are carrots, onions, sweet potatoes, turnips, radish, green beans, cucumber, cabbage, mushrooms, peas, eggplant, cauliflower, sprouts, potatoes, green vegetables, and tomatoes.

• All well-ripened fruits like banana, apricot, berries, coconut, fresh figs, grapefruit, lemons, grapes, mangoes, sweet melons, papaya, oranges, peaches, plums, cherries, and stewed fruits are best to consume.

Fruits to take in moderation are pears, cranberries, and pomegranates. Avoid all the unripe and dried fruits.

• Grains to consume are cooked oats and cooked rice. In moderation, take wheat, corn, dry oat, millet, barley, and buckwheat.

• All dairy items can be added to the diet. Meat to take in diet are chicken, turkey, and seafood, though eat red meat in moderation.

• All sweeteners, nuts, and seeds are acceptable. Almonds are best to consume. Avoid bitter and astringent herbs and spices like parsley, thyme, coriander seeds, and fenugreek. Use saffron and turmeric in moderation. 

The recommended diet for Pitta dominant people

Pitta is mainly the fire component. They have better appetite and digestion. They can withstand cold food items. Because they have efficient and robust digestion, they can generally consume anything.

Though, Pitta dominant people experience problems with continued use of too much salt, overeating, and overuse of sour and spicy food. 

People with Pitta dosha can eat warm or cold foods with moderately heavy textures. They can consume bitter, astringent, and sweet food items. They should eat a good amount of milk, vegetables, and grains.

• Vegetarian foods, in general, are suitable for Pittas. Eating red meat generates heat in the body from the fat. They can also consume extraordinary, refreshing food in hot weather like salads, ice creams, and milk. Herbal tea is soothing to Pittas.

• Pittas should consume less fatty foods like cheese and creams. They should also avoid sour items like pickles vinegar in the salad; instead, lemon can be used. They should skip alcoholic and fermented drinks. Avoid eating oily, heavy, salty, and fried foods. 

• Suitable vegetables for Pittas are mushrooms, okra, peas, lettuce, green leafy vegetables, green beans, carrots, spinach, sweet potatoes, parsley,  cucumber, asparagus, broccoli,  and sprouts. Eat vegetables like eggplant, onion, tomatoes, chilies, beets, and hot peppers in moderation. 

• The best fruits to consume are bananas, figs, melons, oranges, plums, prunes, pears, mangoes, coconut, cherries, raisins, and avocado. In moderation, the fruits to eat are apricots,  apples, dark grapes, berries, grapefruit,  peaches, and raw papaya.

Avoid eating green grapes, pineapples, and oranges unless they are sweet and ripe.

• Grains favorable to consumption are wheat, white rice, oats, and barley. Grains to consume in moderation are millet, rye, brown rice, and corn.

• The best dairy products to take are egg whites, ghee, sweet fruit sorbets, milk, and butter. In moderation, take cheese, sour yogurt, egg yolk, sour cream, and sour buttermilk. 

• Suitable meat items for Pittas are chicken, shrimp, turkey, and river fish.

           Avoid eating red meat and seafood in general. 

• Olive, soy, grapeseed, and sunflower oil are the best oils to consume. 

        Eat seeds like pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, coconut, and flaxseeds.

• All sweeteners except honey can be consumed. Also, all spices should be consumed in small amounts as they are too heating.

The recommended diet for Kapha dominant people

People with Kapha dosha tend to have heavier, bulkier bodies than others. They tend to store watery substances like fluids and fats more readily and easily. Kaphas do best with lightly cooked food, raw fruits, and vegetables. Dry cooking methods like broiling,  grilling, baking, and soldering are preferable for Kaphas over moist cooking techniques like steaming, boiling, or poaching. 

• Warm, light, and dry food is favorable for Kapha dominant people. Any spicy food is suitable for Kapha dosha people. 

• Kaphas need to be careful when consuming too many sweet, fatty, and salty foods as it can cause fluid retention. They should also avoid deep-fried foods. 

• Kaphas tend to overeat. Therefore, they should eat their main meal in the middle of the day.

• The vegetable ideal for Kaphas is cauliflower, eggplant, garlic, green leafy vegetables, lettuce, mushrooms, okra, onions, peas, peppers, potatoes, radishes, spinach, cabbage, celery, and sprouts. Vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet potatoes should be consumed in moderation.

• Fruits like papaya, pears, apples, apricots, berries, grapefruit, cranberries, pomegranate, cherries, and prunes. Especially dried foods like figs, apricots, and raisins are good for Kaphas.

In moderation, fruits to eat are bananas, coconuts, fresh figs, dates, and mangoes.

• Grains that are favorable are buckwheat, corn, millet, oats, rye, barley, and rice. Kapha people should avoid hot cereals and steamed grains. Wheat to be consumed in moderation.

• The dairy products like warm skim milk, whole milk in small quantities, egg whites, soy milk, camel milk, and goat’s milk can be consumed. Avoid eating egg yolks if you are Kapha dominant,

• Kaphas should avoid shrimp and red meat. Chicken, lean fish, and turkey can be added to the diet.

• Eat sweets in minimal quantities. Seeds like pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and flax seeds are good for Kaphas.

• Spices like cumin, sesame, ginger, and fenugreek are suitable for the digestion of Kapha dominant people.

Is Ayurvedic treatment beneficial for weight loss?

Ayurvedic medicine believes that the root cause of most problems is indigestion. According to Ayurveda, obesity begins with an imbalance in doshas and Agni (digestive fire) and blocked minute circulatory channels because of poor lifestyle and diet choices. This leads to the accumulation of toxins and faulty metabolism that affects adipose tissue.

Ayurvedic treatment, therefore, helps reduce the toxins from your body, helps strengthen the digestive system, and helps the proper formation of adipose tissue. There is no complete reliance on one method, but different methods help you in weight management. Some of the approaches recommended by Ayurveda are:

• One should drink hot water early in the morning and before meals to help improve digestion.
• Eat as per your dosha as mentioned above. Your diet should ensure the body gets the nutrients needed, and it should help in the smooth functioning of the digestive system.
• Ama Pachana or the flushing of toxins from the body can be helped by taking Ayurvedic herbs like Guggulu, Triphala, and Trikatu.
• Ayurvedic herbal supplements help improve metabolism and help in weight loss.
• Good sleep is essential for helping to ensure body metabolism works in the right way.
• Ayurveda focuses on various yogasanas to help in weight loss.
• Panchakarma treatment for weight loss is a popular therapy that helps in weight management. 

Panchakarma involves the use of therapies like:

• Swedana or sweating to help release toxins from your body.
• Basti or enema is used to help release toxins from your body.

Are ayurvedic medicines safe and reliable for weight loss?

The techniques and methods of weight loss ayurvedic medicine have been in use for a long time. An Ayurvedic diet is balanced and rich in vitamins and minerals, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and healthy proteins.

Ayurvedic diets emphasize eating in moderate quantities and eating mindfully. In addition, an Ayurvedic approach to healing and health focuses on prevention, physical activity, stress reduction, and overall balanced living. All these principles and practices are safe and healthy.

Although Ayurvedic medication shows no or minor side effects, you may need to be careful. Research is being done to know more about the effectiveness of Ayurvedic medicines.

You can talk to your doctor about any recommendations you take to ensure they’re appropriate given your overall health.

Best Ayurvedic medicines for weight loss

You will see several options in the market once you explore Ayurvedic medicine for weight loss. But you need the best one as you cannot rely on just any medication. Gud Healthy provides an excellent choice with solid results and no side effects.

Kachanar Guggul Tablets

 

This is a herbal product, 100% natural weight loss ayurvedic medicine. It helps manage weight loss and proper secretion of thyroid hormones. It cleanses your blood and expels toxins out of your body. 

Weight loss capsules by Arogyam

 

Expert M.D. Ayurveda formulates these tablets. It contains herbs like green tea extracts, fenugreek, and Garcinia Cambogia, which detoxify the body and increase metabolism. It is effective in managing fatty liver and excessive weight gain.

LIPIDEX Capsules 

 

These capsules contain green tea extracts that are super antioxidants and free radical scavengers. They aid in the growth of healthy cells in your body. They also help in weight loss.

La nutra’s Garcinia Cambogia tablets

It is made with Garcinia Cambogia extracts that boost your metabolism and make you energetic. It increases your satiety and thus helps in weight management. It also limits fat accumulation. 

There are several other products by Gud Healthy to help you lose weight.

Summary

Ayurveda uses a holistic approach to heal your body from the core. Ayurvedic diets help you achieve optimal health in each of the three doshas - Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. 

There are some foods recommended as per Ayurveda for each dosha. Several  medicines are available for weight loss in ayurveda, like Gud Healthy products, effectively managing weight. 

Ayurveda also emphasizes the importance of physical exercise, stress reduction, a healthy diet, and good sleep. 

Ayurvedic lifestyle improves your health and makes you more active and fit.

Reducing extra calories, increasing physical movement, and finding support for your weight loss goals are excellent ways to lose weight.