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Overview
Ayurvedic Medicine is also
called Ayurveda. It is a system of medicine that originated
in India several thousand years ago. The term Ayurveda
combines two Sanskrit words: ayur, which means
life, and veda, which means science or
knowledge. Ayurveda means "the science of life."
Ayurveda is a whole medical
system which integrates and balances the body, mind, and spirit (thus,
it is considered "holistic"). This balance is necessary for
contentment and good health. Ayurveda also proposes
treatments for specific health problems. A primary aim of
Ayurvedic medicine is to cleanse the body of substances that can cause
disease. This helps re-establish the harmony and balance
necessary for optimal health.
Ayurveda has long been the
main system of health care in India. About 70 percent of
India's population lives in rural areas; about two-thirds of rural
people use Ayurveda and medicinal plants to meet their primary health
care needs. In addition, most major cities have an Ayurvedic
college and hospital. There are 587,536 registered
traditional medical practitioners, 2,860 hospitals providing Ayurvedic
treatment, and 22,100 dispensaries for traditional medicine in
India. This allows over 500 million people in India to rely
solely on Ayurveda today.
Ayurveda and variations of it
have also been practiced for centuries in Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh,
Sri Lanka, and Tibet. The professional practice of Ayurveda
in the United States began to grow and became more visible in the late
20th century.
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