Dosha & Constitution
Using both: how to combine Ayurveda with conventional care
Most people who use Ayurveda also use conventional medicine. Doing both well requires a few specific habits and a clear sense of what each is for.
Topic
safety
Every Ayurveda Town article tagged safety — 20 pieces across 6 sections.
Herbs & Formulations
Diuretic herbs and the kidney
Punarnava and several other traditional preparations are used for fluid retention and urinary conditions. The kidney is an organ where herbal preparations have caused substantial documented harm.
Yoga & Breath
Yoga injuries and how to practise without acquiring one
Yoga is generally safe and injury rates are not zero. The pattern of injuries is well enough documented that most of them are avoidable.
Daily Routine
Children: traditional practices and what to be careful about
Ayurveda has a branch dealing with children, and several traditional practices for infants carry documented risks that are worth knowing precisely.
Evidence Watch
Choosing a practitioner: what to look for and what to ask
Regulation of Ayurvedic practice varies enormously between countries, and in many places anyone may use the title. Here is how to assess someone.
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.
Daily Routine
Pregnancy and postnatal traditions: what is helpful and what is not
Ayurveda has detailed prescriptions for pregnancy and the postnatal period. Some are sensible, some conflict with obstetric guidance, and several specific practices carry real risk.
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
Shilajit: what it is, and the contamination question
A mineral-rich substance collected from rock faces, with a small research literature and a quality control problem that follows directly from what it is.
Diet & Digestion
Honey: the classical instructions and the evidence
Classical texts treat honey with unusual specificity, including a prohibition on heating it that corresponds to a real chemical change, and one absolute safety rule.
Herbs & Formulations
Licorice: effective for some things, and genuinely risky
Yashtimadhu is used widely in Ayurvedic formulations and it has a well-documented mechanism for causing high blood pressure and low potassium. This one warrants real caution.
Evidence Watch
Natural does not mean safe: how herbs interact with medicines
Herb-drug interactions are real, some are serious, and the mechanisms are the same ones that produce interactions between pharmaceuticals.
Yoga & Breath
The cleansing practices: which are reasonable and which are not
Hatha yoga texts describe six categories of cleansing practice. They range from ordinary nasal irrigation to procedures that carry real risk and should not be attempted from a book.
Daily Routine
Eye practices in classical routine, and what is actually good for eyes
The daily routine includes several practices directed at the eyes. Some are harmless, one requires real caution, and the interventions with the best evidence are elsewhere.
Herbs & Formulations
Neem: a genuinely useful plant with a genuinely serious caution
Neem has reasonable evidence for some topical and dental applications, and neem oil taken internally has caused deaths in children. Both facts belong in the same article.
Daily Routine
Copper vessels, warm water and the practices around drinking
Storing water in copper is a widespread traditional practice with a genuine antimicrobial basis and a set of safety limits that popular coverage usually omits.
Evidence Watch
Ayurveda for diabetes: what the trials actually show
A substantial number of trials have examined Ayurvedic preparations in type 2 diabetes. The findings are worth knowing, and so is the reason none of them should change your treatment.
Daily Routine
Abhyanga and panchakarma: what these procedures involve
Ayurvedic therapies range from a gentle oil massage anyone can do at home to medical procedures that require supervision and are not appropriate for everyone.
Evidence Watch
Heavy metals in traditional medicines: the thing you should read first
A documented and repeatedly confirmed contamination problem affecting a meaningful proportion of Ayurvedic products on the market. This is the safety issue that matters most.
Herbs & Formulations
Ashwagandha: the evidence, and the reasons for care
One of the better-studied Ayurvedic botanicals, with a reasonable body of trial evidence for stress and sleep, and a specific set of safety issues worth knowing before starting.