Ayurveda To Fight Obesity
Ayurveda is known to deliver a holistic approach to disease treatment and health care. Hence, it also offers a solution for obesity or the presence of excess fat in the body.
Body Fat Explained
Overweight persons are those that have excess weight in your bones, fat, muscles, and water. In the case of obesity, it specifically refers to the excessive amount of fat in the body. Fat is important to the body though as it performs basic functions like absorption of shock for your vital organs and bones, storage of energy that is used by the body to perform basic physical activities, and heat insulation (in cases of extremely low temperatures to help regulate the body's natural temperature level).
Causes of Obesity
Although there are several risk factors, obesity happens as a result of a combination of different factors. The most basic cause for obesity though is due to any excess in calories that a person consumes as compared to calories that are burnt off. A significant percentage of obesity is caused by genetic factors. Fat or obese parents are more likely to produce fat offspring. This if further worsen when a family has diet and lifestyle patterns that contribute to developing obesity.
Various environmental factors could also lead to obesity, such as the tendency for an individual to adapt a sedentary lifestyle. Without enough physical activities, one loses the ability to burn off excess fat and calories. Other factors that might cause obesity include psychological disturbances such as depression that make one more prone to binge eating disorder. Meanwhile, certain medications like antidepressants and steroids could result to weight gain as a side effect.
Health Risks of Obesity
Why is it important to address the problem of obesity? Health experts believe that there are several risks or complications that might arise when an individual has obesity. Ayurvedic experts that those with obesity are more prone to acquire the following diseases:
- Type-2 diabetes.
- High blood pressure.
- Gall stones.
- Stroke.
- Liver disease.
- Osteoarthritis.
- Gout.
- Kidney-related diseases.
- Infertility.
- Irregular menstruation (for women).
- Various types of cancers.
Ayurvedic Perspective on Obesity
According to Ayurveda, body fat is important to maintain regular body function such as moisturization, sweating, bone nourishment, and energy through fat that serves as stored energy. But given the health risks brought about by obesity, it is important to maintain amount of body fat to a healthy state.
As explained by the concepts of Ayurveda, obesity is simply an increase in fat deposit in the body. There are 4 reasons to obesity based on ayurvedic principles: (1) avyayama or lack of physical exertion, (2) divaswapna or sleeping or napping in the afternoon, (3) shleshmala ahara vihara or lifestyle patterns that increase kapha, and (4) madhura annaha or eating too much sweets.
Ayurvedic Treatment for Obesity
Given the causes of obesity, according to Ayurveda, the next essential tip is to reduce obesity and maintain holistic health. Here are some tips that ayurvedic experts recommend:
- You need to perform regular exercise. Simple exercises such as walking, jogging, or engaging in outdoor and physical activities can help to reduce or maintain weight.
- Aside from physical exertion, mental exertion is also believed to contribute to a natural ayurvedic approach against obesity. Performing other activities that combine physical and mental exertion though are believed to be most effective in treating obesity since it often leads to appetite loss or restriction in your food consumption, thereby limiting your intake of calories.
- Frequent sexual activity could also contribute to reduced body fat.
- Avoid foods recognized to increase kapha and medha in your body. This includes the following: sweetened drinks, oily foods, and carbohydrate-rich foods.
- Eating wheat products is recommended against obesity.
- Honey is one of those natural substances recognized in Ayurveda as rich in therapeutic properties. You can add a couple spoons of honey to a glass of herbal tea, which is ideal for weight reduction as it dissolves Kapha and body fat (or medha).