AYURVEDIC MEDICINE: DO PLANTS HAVE THE ULTIMATE

POWER OVER CHEMICALS?

Aashi VermaFaculty Adviser: Mrs. Charlotte HagermanOn-site Mentor: Dr. Arun K. Pandey

AYURVEDA Plant medicine

RESEARCH QUESTIONAre Ayurvedic treatments more effective than proton pump inhibitors for treating ulcers and acidity related problems in the gastrointestinal tract?

MY INTEREST

SIDE EFFECTSOf Ayurvedic Medicine…

oNone

SIDE EFFECTSOf proton pump inhibitors…

oHeadacheoDiarrheaoAbdominal painoFlatulenceoNauseaoRashes

BACKGROUND 5 elements 3 Doshas

Water & Fire

Pitta

Air & Space

Vata

Water & Earth

Kapha

PLACEMENT OF ELEMENTS Annavaha Srota

PATANJALI YOGPEETH The internshipHaridwar, India

PATANJALI

DAY TO DAY ACTIVITIESoExaminationsoOPD vs. IPDoConsultation Process oMany patients were there for follow up

appointments or because allopathic medicines did not help

METHODOLOGY Questionnaire

oName oAgeoGenderoLifestyle (Yoga etc.)oHow long they’ve had the

problemoSymptomsoHistory of treatment

Sample Patient

Questionnaire Answerso J o37oFoSpicy foods, depressed lifestyle,

stressedo3-4 yearsoAcidity, burning urine, gasoChange of routine immediate

effect

PADHARTHA (SUBSTANCE) FOOD PARK

oLargest in the entire worldoAll biodegradable packagingoAll 100% natural materialsoCurrent ongoing inventions Awla with LycheeoMedicines to juices to cosmetic itemsoVillage workers and transportation

FOOD PARK 200+ acres

RESULTSoReceived all age ranges and timelinesoMany patients claimed that allopathic medicines (ex.

Omeprazole) only provided temporary relief

oPPIs (proton pump inhibitors) mechanism makes patients reliant

oAllopathic medicines were necessary to feel normaloSought treatment because of prolonged pain oReturning patients: majority of them (around 90%)

claimed that Ayurveda helped

oDoctor prescribed lifestyle changes to reduce stress and Ayurvedic medicines for the annavaha srota

AGE SPECTRUM

SURVEY RESULTS

UNEXPECTED DIFFICULTIESoMany patients did not remember how many

medicines they have takenoThe hospital did not have many patients in IPD,

which was my original plan

CONCLUSIONSoIt is a beneficial branch of medicine however… not

sustainable on its ownoThere are no guaranteed results for everyone since

everyone's lifestyle is different

oNeeds to work in conjunction with modern medicineoExample already exits with the cancer patients and nay that

need testing

oIn the end, it is not possible to say an absolute answer. To cure ulcers and combat acidity, a patient should seek natural medicines if the problem is minor. However, if it is severe, the patient should use both types of medicines (no reactions will occur) to ensure the body is in its best state.

MY TAKEAWAYoWhen I first presented this idea, no one even knew what it wasoLack of exposureoI am more open to trying natural methods because of this experienceoIt highly impacted my future plans since I aspire to become a doctoroJCL doctoroFurther analysis: I would conduct an experiment in which I would

conduct clinical trials (this is the reason it has not entered the US yet) to gather more accurate data points

THANK YOU Special thanks to Dr. Arun K. Pandey for helping me conduct my research and to Mrs. Hagerman and Mrs. Estes for helping me organize my project

Also, thank you to everyone who attended my presentation~