LET’S PEEK IN OUR MEDICINE CABINETS

It is a common sight to see a medicine cabinet filled with prescriptions from conventional doctors and pharmacists and herbal supplements from grocery stores or practitioners who fall under the complementary and alternative (CAM) realm within healthcare such as Ayurvedic practitioners and doctors, Naturopaths, and traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, etc.

Many households in the United States spend hundreds of dollars per month on supplements, many of which the body doesn’t require, aren’t stored properly, and even more that don’t get used before their expiration date. Proper storage of conventional and herbal medicines can be a common issue in many households. Sometimes, medicines are found in a kitchen along with other food items, or even mixed with other household cleaning supplies, making confusion with other products even more possible and access to young children a safety issue. Temperature of the storage areas can also fluctuate in these spots in a home. Specifically, exposure to sunlight and increased heat from cooking in a kitchen, especially during the warmer months, has the potential to destroy medicinal properties at a much more rapid rate. Most medicine cabinets are filled with various colorful bottles and tubes, often close to empty or expired, with few tablets, powders or ointment left in them. Sometimes the cork or lid is so tight that no matter how much we try, we cannot open it. Most of the time these medicine cabinets don’t have locks so everyone can have access to them. Many times, the labels become so old that they aren’t legible anymore, even with using a magnifying glass! 

We know that every medicine must go through the GI tract and liver. In Ayurveda, Hin Virya (less potency) medicines or herbs are the ones which are outdated and have lost its proper medicinal potential will not give us the desired effect and, in fact, may prove to be harmful. We also know that every individual has their own Prakruti or Constitution so, while one prescription or herbal protocol may be appropriate for one person, it can be harmful to another. It is best not to share medications or protocols. Keeping and taking so many multi-vitamins and tonics can create more harm and toxins in the body rather than help to repair the body and mind as they may not get absorbed by the digestive track to the full capacity. In the same way that people are getting sick from eating too much food and too many unhealthy foods, people are also getting sick and suffering from excess supplements and medications. Not only are excess vitamins excreted from the body rather than being absorbed, but they can also cause severe problems by sticking to the walls of the GI. 

Just as clutter can block the proper flow of energy in a home, as per Vastu, clutter of supplements and medications can block the flow of our life force in the body. We often just require basic medicines. For example, soda bicarb or ginger juice for hyperacidity, alum or turmeric as a natural antibiotic, Mahasudarshan tablets for fever, Vidanga seed water as a wormicidal treatment for children, Castor oil and ginger for toxin removal and in arthritis, and Triphala tablets for GI support, etc.

Healthy food and fruits are the medicine; laughing is the medicine; prayers and meditation is the medicine; community service is the medicine; yoga and breathing exercise is the medicine; sunbathing is the medicine. But we forget such a basic concepts and find healing in the bottles of medicines and supplements. Let us remember these basic herbal supports, and life concepts steeped in the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda. 

Ref: Ayurved Sadhana Vidyalaya- Colorado- U.S.A. 

Om Shanti, Om Shanti, Om Shanti!!! Prayers for Mother Earth and Mother Nature!

Please connect with us if you have any questions about this blog at info@ayurvedsadhana.com