Ayurveda is India’s 5000 year old holistic medical practice and it has been used to treat and prevent symptoms of Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. Ayurvedic and holistic family doctor, Dr. Bhaswati Bhattacharya, MD, discusses some of Ayurveda’s basic pillars such as alignment with nature, eating based on the body’s needs, and observing the environment (air, land, and water). Understanding the basic principles of Ayurveda will help you establish new habits to support a healthy immune system and a healthier lifestyle.
Many of the practices that Dr. Bhattacharya shares to protect yourself from Covid-19 involves plant-based oil such as sesame oil, coconut oil, and mustard oil. Burning a combination of leaves, seeds, spices, and a few drops of any plant based oil will give a moist smoke that can clean the air. This practice is especially relevant for preventing respiratory diseases like Covid-19 from getting into our bodies. Another way to protect yourself from Covid-19 is to coat your nose and mouth with oil. Since respiratory diseases travel as droplets in the air, coating our mouths and noses in oil will temporarily prevent viruses from getting into our bodies.
Ayurvedic philosophy of rebalancing the entire body to prevent and fight disease has been used for centuries. Ayurveda is used to heal hundreds of internal ailments as well as hair care, skin care, massage treatments. . Tune in with Risa and Dr. Bhattacharya to learn more about the value of Ayurveda.
Shownotes
0:43 What is Ayurveda?
1:42 Introduction to Dr. Bhaswati
2:43 Using Ayurveda to treat flu like covid symptoms
3:00 Applying ayurveda to treat hypertension
4:10 Basic philosophy of Ayurveda
4:18 Moving closer to nature
6:43 The Gunas of Ayurveda
7:45 Feeling ungrounded
9:39 Grounded foods
11:40 Practice based evidence
12:12 Guiding principles
12:31 Assessing your appetite
13:25 How is your health?
14:02 Ayuveda’s treatment to COVID-19
16:40 Looking at the environment and cleaning
17:29 Cleaning the air
20:50 Creating a circle of safety with candles and sage
21:34 Where does air go into the body?
22:00 Protecting your face with oil
22:53 Putting a bitter oil in your nose
24:21 Oil pulling in the mouth
25:16 Hydration
26:31 Herbs that boost your immune system
27:54 Eating foods that are easy to digest
29:00 Regulated clock genes
29:40 The Indian vs. American perspective on life
31:17 Ayurveda’s knowledge about respiratory diseases
34:04 Herbs to take for symptoms of flu or Covid-19
35:58 Ashwagandha Herb for post recovery
36:56 Ashwagandha extract
37:55 Replacing trace metals and needed metals in the body
38:48 The importance of mental health
About Dr. Bhaswati Bhattacharya
For the past 21 years, Dr. Bhaswati Bhattacharya, MPH, MD, PhD, DABHM, FABPM, HHC, CAP*, has been practicing holistic family medicine emphasizing Ayurveda, and teaching best clinical practices and educational techniques for learning Integrative Medicine.
She currently works between her private consultation medical practice in Manhattan and her deeper study of indigenous medicines around the world, when she consults with patients via phone/video conference. She has recently completed a PhD in Ayurveda at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in the ancient city of Varanasi.
As the first US Fulbright Scholar sponsored jointly by the US Dept of State and the Government of India in 2013-2014, to research and teach Ayurvedic medicine in India, Dr. Bhattacharya continued research in the clinical and physicochemical bases of bhasmas–herbometallic compounds that often work quickly and cleanly to rebalance the body from ‘incurable’ diseases. For her PhD thesis 2014-2018, she studied how plants work medicinally, from soil to stomach to cell.
Specializing in The Patient, Dr. Bhattacharya actively incorporates traditional and indigenous medical systems into her clinical practice of holistic family medicine, using modern science only where it actually works for real patients. The goal is not a clinical trial; it is to help each patient improve his/her quality of life, health, and well-being. She defines, refines and practices medicine on a holistic and truly integrative path. She provides holistic medical care for the underserved as well as for insured patients.
Modalities include herbs, nutrition, yoga, breathwork (pranayama), exercise counseling, energy work, mind-body medicine, homeopathy, aromatherapy, a strong underpinning in Ayurveda, as well as biomedical drugs and procedures as needed.
I am a big fan of Dr. Bhattacharya. Thank you for all you do, letting us know that so-called “conventional medicine” is not the only route we can take on our way to health.