Evidence Watch
The placebo question, taken seriously
Dismissing a treatment as merely placebo is both a serious criticism and an under-examined one. What placebo effects are, and are not, matters for how traditional medicine should be assessed.
Topic
evidence
Every Ayurveda Town article tagged evidence — 17 pieces across 4 sections.
Yoga & Breath
Breath practice for anxiety: the specific thing to do
Of everything discussed on this site, slow breathing has the best combination of evidence, accessibility and safety. Here is the practical version.
Herbs & Formulations
Arjuna and the heart claims
Terminalia arjuna is used classically for cardiac conditions and has a small research literature. Cardiology is the field where substituting an unproven treatment is least advisable.
Evidence Watch
Cancer claims: the most important thing on this site to get right
Alternative cancer treatment is an area where the stakes are absolute and the evidence is clear. This article states the position plainly.
Evidence Watch
What traditional use establishes, and what it does not
Long history of use is offered as evidence for herbal preparations constantly. It genuinely is evidence, of a specific and limited kind, and understanding which kind is useful.
Herbs & Formulations
Amla: vitamin C, and what that does and does not mean
Indian gooseberry is genuinely one of the richest natural sources of vitamin C, which has produced a set of claims that go well beyond what vitamin C actually does.
Herbs & Formulations
Guggul: the resin that reached a pharmaceutical trial and did not survive it
Guggul is a useful case study: promising early results, widespread adoption, and then a properly conducted trial that produced an unexpected answer.
Herbs & Formulations
Shatavari and the claims made about women’s health
A widely used classical preparation marketed for a broad range of women’s health indications, with a research base that does not support most of them.
Herbs & Formulations
Ginger: the traditional remedy with the best nausea evidence
Among all the botanicals used across traditional medicine systems, ginger has some of the most consistent clinical trial support — for one particular indication.
Diet & Digestion
Fasting in classical practice, and what modern research adds
Upavasa appears in classical texts as a therapeutic measure with specified indications and contraindications, which is a more careful framing than most contemporary fasting advice.
Herbs & Formulations
Tulsi: the household plant with a modest research file
Holy basil is grown in courtyards across India and used domestically for coughs and colds. The clinical evidence is thinner than its cultural presence suggests.
Diet & Digestion
Ghee and the fat question
Ghee occupies a central place in Ayurvedic dietetics and it is nearly pure saturated fat, which puts traditional recommendation and cardiovascular guidance in tension.
Yoga & Breath
Meditation: the evidence, sorted by how well it holds up
A large research literature with real findings, substantial methodological problems, and a set of claims that range from well supported to entirely unsupported.
Herbs & Formulations
Triphala: three fruits, and a reasonable amount of research
One of the most widely used classical formulations, taken principally for digestion and elimination, with a body of evidence that is better than most and thinner than the marketing.
Diet & Digestion
Incompatible foods: what viruddha ahara claims and what nutrition says
Classical Ayurveda lists combinations of foods considered harmful together. Some correspond to recognisable issues, most have no support, and one common example is worth examining closely.
Yoga & Breath
Pranayama: what the breathing practices do, as far as anyone can tell
Controlled breathing has measurable physiological effects, a reasonable body of trial evidence for some outcomes, and a set of specific safety considerations that are rarely mentioned.
Evidence Watch
How to read a trial of a traditional medicine
Studies of Ayurvedic and other traditional interventions have some recurring methodological features, and knowing what to look for makes most headlines easy to assess.