‘Research in ayurveda must be scaled up’

Thiruvananthapuram: The research in ayurveda must be scaled up from its present stage to harness the benefits of the traditional medicinal system considering its wide popularity and relevance in modern age, said Dr Rajmohan V, associate professor of the department of Rasashastra and Bhaishajya Kalpana, Government Ayurveda College, Thiruvananthapuram.
Dr Rajmohan was delivering a lecture on “Ayurveda for Healthy Living” at Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) here on Tuesday, which was organized in connection with Ayurveda Day.
“We have an abundance of medicinal plants in the Western Ghats. But only 10% of them have been explored and studied for ayurveda treatment. Our food patterns have changed significantly. The ayurveda believes that proper food and lifestyle, sleep and sex are important for leading a healthy life,’’ he said.
The ‘prakriti’ (nature of the body) of a person is the individual's constitution based on differences in physical, psychological and physiological characteristics. It is largely independent of racial, ethnic or geographical considerations. The age and mental status of the patient is important in his response to the medicine.
He said warm and freshly prepared food with optimal quantity is ideal for a healthy individual.
RGCB director Prof Chandrabhas Narayana, in his welcome address, said the real values of ayurveda have to be adapted to our life.
RGCB dean T R Santhosh Kumar was also present on the occasion.