A Critical Appraisal of Malnutrition in Ayurveda

Abstract

Ayurveda the science of life, focus on various modalities of health and wellness through proper diet, digestion and nutrition. Acharya Kashyap says Ahara is Mahabhaisajya. If the Ahara is proper and full of nutrition then it brings arogya (health) and if it is improper and lack of nutrients then it causes disease in healthy individual. That’s a good diet is always required that not only maintain all three doshas in equilibrium but also provide complete nourishment to whole body and brain for different activities. Food is made up of essential, natural complex chemical substances called nutrients. There are six major classes of nutrients viz carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, vitamins and water. These nutrients are classified into macro and micronutrients. The Macronutrients are the building blocks of the body. The micronutrients are crucial for their role in metabolic pathways and in enhancing immunity. Balanced diet provides all nutrients in required amounts and proper proportion. According to Acharya Kashyap, proper ahara helps to improve kanti, bala, smriti, medha, satwasthiti (stability) and angavriddhi. Abnormal nutrition causes over nutrition or under nutrition both. Malnutrition i.e. impaired nutrition leads to growth retardation, low resistance to infections and many other health problems. Malnutrition leads to a variety of disorders like Karshya, Sthaulya, Phakka, Balashosha, Parigarbhika etc. The Ayurvedic explanation of Ahara according to Gunas, Satmya, Dosha, Kala etc. seems to be more logical & scientific as compared to the modern aspect. All factor described in Ahara Vidhi Vidhana has a functional logic and is responsible for maintaining health. In this manuscript author, make an effort to explore various aspects in reference of malnutrition mentioned in ancient Ayurvedic literature.