alternative medicine

I had the privilage of being treated by Dr. Lad as well as going to several clases he gives at the Ayurvedic institute in Albuquerque NM. The book is a wonderful aid in trying to understand and identify health and disease. You have to be able to understand that "western" medicine is not the answer for everything and that in many cases it will eventually make you even sicker. What do you prefer, Prozac or a cup of some herbal tea that will eventually help you with depression?. What do you prefer, a cup of chamomile tea along with jatamansi or Pepto Bismol?. Ayurveda is something very real, helpful and extremely cheap. Hmmmm..... just wondering why allopacy wants to destroy alternative methods. Even better, is Ayurveda really an alternative treatment? 3,000 years before Jesus Ayurveda was being practiced...so, just wondering who's really alternative. Give it a try, Vasant Lad is a great humble and loving person.

This was my first introduction to Ayurveda despite studying yoga for several years. I cannot judge how faithful the instructions in this book are to true Ayurvedic medicine; regardless of that, this book makes some strange and potentially hazardous medical recommendations. Pages 143-144 recommend taking the heavy metal mercury to "enkindle the enzyme system...and regenerate the tissues." Page 143 recommends lead as a cure for several disorders including skin diseases and venereal disease. Neither of these recommendations are accompanied by a warning that modern medicine has clearly identified these two metals as being toxic to humans. While these metals are promoted without warnings about their toxicity, the author warns readers about the dangers of vitamin intake. On page 87, the author claims that overpresciption of vitamins to patients by Western physicians may cause them to suffer from "hypervitaminosis." Page 140 makes great claims about the curative powers of onions. It claims that when used as a nasal inhalant or as eye drops they will relieve acute epileptic seizures, reduce cholesterol, and serve as a heart tonic. Ouch...that stings even just thinking about it. If the preceeding prescriptions haven't deterred you from subscribing to this book's recommendations, then the following might. Pages 42-44 suggest drinking a cup of your own urine each morning in order to cleanse and detoxify your large colon.

I would recomend it to people with very little knowlegde of Ayurvedic pratices, Lad could have elaborated on the concept of Prakruti (basic constitution) and Vikruti (current condition)a bit more. Especially taking into consideration diet and it's effect on the combination of the constitutions.