Vedic India alert: Beating swine flu by ayurveda is not a bad idea

One would have expected the upholders of Vedic India to harness ayurveda to the service of the nation against swine flu. 

“There is no time to go in for experiments.” That’s what Union health minister JP Nadda said when asked by an MP in Rajya Sabha if the government was considering alternative medicine to cope with the rising wave of swine flu across the country. 

On February 20, minister of state for health Shripad Yesso Naik, who is also in charge of the newly-created ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy), claimed that ayurveda has special medicine that can help fight the flu and that already those are being sent to all states, especially Rajasthan where swine flu has taken the highest toll, with more than 4,000 people infected and more than 200 dead. If ayurveda has anything to recommend — medicines or food — to help beat the flu, isn’t it the government’s duty to inform people about it, via press release or newspaper ads? 

“This is our system and it has not received enough prominence. We will take it to the masses,” Naik had said when he stepped in as minister of AYUSH in November 2014. Yet, the website of the new ministry has no news, reports, updates or advice on swine flu. Put in a search for swine flu and it returns “No record found.”

One can ask: How can ayurveda, the 5,000-year-old system of natural healing, have something for a flu that was born as recently as 2009? No. Not for swine flu. But ayurveda does have something to bolster our immunity in the flu season. And it’s only healthy immune system that can stop you from catching any flu, including H1N1. 

According to vaidya Balendu Prakash of Dehradun, you have to guard against the weather. “We are at the cusp of shishir ritu (winter) and vasant (spring.) Through winter we accumulate phlegm (kapha) in the energy and fluid systems of the body.” Kapha is one of the three elements our systems are made of and controls the moist tissues of the body. Hence, an imbalance of kapha usually shows up in the mucous membranes, especially those lining the cavities and canals of our respiratory system. “When the warm weather comes with vasant, the sun and heat aggravates the kapha in our system. That imbalance weakens our immunity and makes us vulnerable to flu virus.”  

The rule of thumb is, according to him, go for foods that neutralise and negate the kapha elements: “Choose foods that taste pungent, bitter, hot and astringent. But try to have them naturally or in lightly-prepared items.”

The following list of foods comes from vaidya Prakash. They will protect you from cough, cold and flu. 

Green chilli

Pepper (Kali mirch)

Turmeric (Haldi)

Fenugreek (Methi): a rich reservoir of vitamin C, potassium and iron.

Ginger

Cloves

Tulsi

Lemon juice

Onions

Mustard oil (especially, inside the nostrils before shower or at night).