Ayurvedic Weight Management: A Natural & Holistic Approach To Fat Loss

When it comes to choosing treatment modalities for our body, we are always inclined to move towards the options that are more holistic and natural. That is why in the most advanced modern world, Ayurveda is gaining popularity globally and is widely accepted for its efficacy, safety, and no downtime. For weight management too, the Ayurvedic way is a great form of treatment and can address not just the fat and treat fat bulges but can also help in balancing the entire body and works on the root cause. We all know weight is not just associated with a number; there is a lot happening inside the body in terms of hormonal derangement. With our ancient wisdom, we can work on all of that for a sustained result.

Curb Obesity With Ancient Science

Medorog or sauthalya, yes, that's what obesity is named in Ayurveda. A disease caused by overnourishment imposes a high risk of stimulating the changes towards lifestyle disorders. The condition of obesity is now classified as a disease by the World Health Organization, and surprisingly, India ranks in the top 10 countries boasting its prevalence. The science of life with roots dates more than 5000 years back and works in two ways.

• Preventive: This focuses more on diet and lifestyle modification along with external therapies.
• Curative: Focuses on diet, lifestyle modification, external therapies, and working on the deranged aspects too.

Abhyangam, the love for the body; udwarthanam, the dry powder therapy; and poultice therapy are the most effective and powerful gems derived from ancient wisdom that help in managing weight. The massage therapy not just aids in improving BMR but also balances vata, pitta, and kapha along with working on the energy levels. Blood circulation improves, and the lymphatic drainage is facilitated to allow this procedure to act as a fat burner. The strokes of massage also relieve stress and rejuvenate and detoxify. The potli massage tones the body and helps in cellulite reduction. So along with calorie deficit, these therapies improve results and accelerate the process of weight management.

Why Obesity Is Becoming So Widespread

In the modern era, a sedentary lifestyle has become a part of every individual with technology advancements to facilitate comfort in our daily chores. To top it off, a constant drive to multitask is the need of the hour, and from a student to an adult and from a working professional to a homemaker, all are expected to multitask, increasing stress and further leading to medical concerns owing to it, and obesity is one of them.

• With stress comes an increase in the cortisol levels that causes hunger pangs and insulin resistance owing to an increase in the waist-hip ratio.
• Worldwide the consumption of processed food has increased. Trans fat, palm oil, and other unsafe ingredients are found in edibles, commonly risking the increase in bad lipids.
• Physical activity has become a luxury rather than a necessity. With less to stroll and more options for transport, a simple activity like walking is also not commonly opted for.
• According to old medical texts like Charak Samhita, the causative factor behind the atisthaulya condition is meda dhatu or kaph. These act as a cause for excessive adipose accumulation in the body.
• Another factor is weak digestion or poor gut health owing to improper digestion. Nutrition absorption limits and fat deposition exceed the normal range.
• Also, dietetic factors and psychological factors have been among the most common etiological factors for obesity.

What Exactly Is This Obesity?

It is defined as a condition exhibiting excessive growth of adipocytes or adipose tissue leading to a protruding belly, pendulous buttocks, or heavy breasts. In an obese person, excess energy is stored in the body as fat. There is a limitation of the skeletal muscles to store fat, beyond which it causes concerns because the body mass index rises beyond the permissible range.

• With the onset of obesity, there occurs hypertrophy of adipose tissue along with minimal hyperplasia of fat cells.
• The subcutaneous tissue, omentum, epicardium, and adipose tissue extend to the tissues where they were absent earlier.
• Along with lipid deposition, there are two other important events that happen: a) the lipid mobilization decreases and b) lipid utilization also becomes less.