Vivek Krishna, CEO, Sukham and Ravinder Kaushik, Chief Ayurveda Officer, Sukham talking about the stigmatised issue of sexual wellness highlights that there are a lot of Ayurvedic products in the market but a tested holistic treatment plan is the need of the hour. They also explain that with incorporation of technology into one of the oldest medicine systems of India, this is the best time to switch to Ayurveda
The health and pharma industry has gone through a major transition after the pandemic.
We have globally seen many individuals shifting to Ayurveda as a choice of treatment and adopting a holistic way of living. This has tremendously increased the demand for the traditional medicine system of India and Post-COVID, the economy of Ayurveda, which is Rs 30,000 crore with a growth of 15 to 20 per cent, has gone up to 50 to 90 per cent.
As per the national center for drug abuse statistics data drug overdose deaths are up by 30 per cent year after year. People have realised now that prescription drugs are more of an SOS and are relying on lifestyle changes and Ayurveda for treating the root cause of their lifestyle disorders. Since Ayurveda starts from dincharya i.e lifestyle, it gives lots of emphasis on diet, Yoga, pranayama. Ayurveda treatment starts with changing the diet pattern and choices according to Vikruti (imbalances) and type of weather. Ayurveda along with Yoga and pranayama as a daily practice that helps in balancing the vikrutis (imbalances), improving digestion, flexibility, blood circulation, neural responses etc.
Ayurveda also inculcates Abhyanga, a form of massage therapy on their body parts in a systematic way as a part of treatment. There are also practices like panchakarma, a mixture of 5 Karmas, that are done on the body to purify the body at a cellular level.
Most people think of herbs when they hear the word Ayurveda. Medicine is only 10 per cent of Ayurveda. There are books like India Materia Medica that clearly define the herbs used for multiple treatments in Ayurveda. Due to its preventive nature, Ayurvedic medicines are very commonly consumed by the general masses for prevention and nutrition, in turn making the human body defensive against all disorders whether chronic or acute.
With the advances in technology and continuous innovation in the pharma industry, many patrons of Ayurveda are incorporating technology in Ayurveda and making the integrated approach of medicine the new thing. For example, Mardana is a process in Ayurveda used to increase the potency of any herb or formulation. This includes pounding and titrating the herbs with liquid extracts of herbs for a few days. Earlier it was very laborious work but now with the help of technology, this process has become much more easy and efficient. Herbs and formulations are being tested for heavy metals, microbiology, nutrient levels, particle size, etc in NABL-accredited labs like pharmaceutical medicines. With this incorporation of technology into one of the oldest medicine systems of India this is the best time to switch to Ayurveda. Such steps will maintain the quality, eliminate toxicity and help people combat the side effects of improperly formulated medicines. Ayurveda now has qualitative measures to claim both the safety and efficacy of its medicines. We have seen many start-ups in Ayurveda domain doing patient tracking at a detailed level using technology. This helps to understand the efficacy of the treatment plans and any formulations. This is something Ayurveda has learned from modern technology. This helps in the standardisation of the most personal forms of treatment to an extent.
Let’s take the stigmatised issue of sexual wellness for example. There are a lot of Ayurvedic products in the market but a tested holistic treatment plan is the need of the hour. Ayurveda has a dedicated branch of treatment called Vajikarana for this issue. The study of Vajikaran is more than 2100 years old. The pillars of treatment like any other ayurvedic system of treatment are Nidaan or consultation, Aushadhi or Herbs and Formulation and Paramarsh or counselling. The 3 processes help in diagnosing the right issue and providing holistic treatment to men. Nidaan, Aushadhi and Paramarsh together help to optimise the effectiveness of the treatment and also focus on curing the root cause to avoid relapse.
We at Sukham make sure that we are using all these measures to provide holistic sexual wellness to men using methods based on Ayurveda but consistent with modern medical science.