Skin is considered the surface area and is the largest organ in the human body. It acts as a physical barrier and protective covering for the body. Skin is also a good indicator of health, as a healthy person will have clear and lustrous skin. Even in the ancient science of Ayurveda, a clear complexion and shiny skin are signs of good health. Ayurveda is not merely medical science but also a way of life that gives importance to the ailment of the sick. Ayurveda has unique concepts when skin health is concerned. Let us see five exciting facts shared by Dr Lakshmi Varma K [BAMS, MD(Ayu)], Specialist Medical officer, Ayushgramam Project, Kottayam, one of the expert panel of doctors for LYEF.
Daily Routine (Dinacharyas) For Skin
For the maintenance of health, there are daily routines prescribed by the acharyas; obtaining healthy skin is among the many benefits of most of these routines.
For example, Abhyanga (oil massage), Udvartana (massage with medicated powder), Mukha Prakshalana (washing face with medicated waters), Nasya (nasal oil drops), Snana (bathing), Anulepana (herbal paste application), wearing clean clothes and good sleep are all daily routines mentioned in Ayurveda that directly have the benefit of good skin.
These help skin health by removing the dead cells, dirt, sweat and other secretions from the skin surface, moisturising the skin and maintaining its elasticity and improving the blood supply to the skin. These are also good hygiene practices.
Doshas And Skin
According to the basic principles of Ayurveda, body functions are controlled by three functional entities of the human body, namely Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Hence, they are called the three doshas. The equilibrium of these results in health, and the imbalance causes diseases. This fact holds good for even the health of the skin.
An increase in Vata dosha makes the skin rough, dry, and fragile and causes skin ailments with predominantly flaky skin lesions.
Pitta dosha causes skin infections with pus-filled boils, reddish discolourations, burning sensations, secretions, acne etc.
At the same time, Kapha dosha causes itching, watery discharges, acne, etc. Moreover, among the doshas, the increase of Vata and pitta causes more problems to the skin.
Simple oil massage can help in dryness and roughness due increase of Vata, whereas in the case of Pitta and Kapha, internal medications are also essential.
Pitta increase is the leading cause of many skin diseases as it affects the blood. Pitta dosha controls the metabolism, and if it is deranged, the metabolism gets affected.
The health of the skin and blood are connected. Skin health is easily affected when impurities are circulating in the blood. Therefore, most internal medications for skin ailments aim to purify the blood.
Purifying blood also means correcting the level of pitta since pitta is the dosha closely related to blood. Blood impurities can lead to skin problems like acne, boils, blackish or reddish discolourations etc.
Bloodletting is also practised in conditions, along with internal medications to purify the blood. It is the process where a small amount of blood is removed from the site of skin problems through either tiny pricks, vacuum cups or leeches to suck the blood. These methods have been proven beneficial through many studies in suitable conditions.
The internal medications involve formulations that use herbs like Turmeric, Neem, Giloy, Amla, Manjishta etc., which are ideal for the skin and good blood purifiers.
Purificatory Procedure For Skin Care
Besides blood purification, regular cleansing of the whole body helps keep the skin healthy.
These are eliminating processes that are recommended to be performed systematically to remove the accumulated morbid matter from the body and maintain health. They are five in number and are thus called the Pancha Karma.
They are namely Vamana (purification through vomiting), Virechana (purification through purgation), Nasya (instilling medication through the nose), Anuvasana Basti (oil enema) and Niruha Basti (enema with decoction).
These detoxification processes are also used as therapeutic procedures according to the disease condition. For example, it has been seen that in many chronic skin disorders like psoriasis and eczema, such detox procedures give much better results than those with just medication.
Food And Skin
Food is the source of both health and disease in our bodies. Even though most conditions have their roots in our diet, it is to be noted that skin is affected more easily by problems with diet.
In Ayurveda, there is a concept called Viruddha Ahara which refers to the intake of incompatible foods. When a person eats foods that are not to be eaten together, like fish and milk, milk and sour fruits or foods not according to the season or foods that are not congenial to the person etc., it is considered incompatible. These are considered to be like slow poisoning.
Skin diseases are said to be a common ailment that results due to the consumption of such foods. In the present times, these can be considered to be similar to the consumption of adulterated food, food with chemical additives, processed foods, food that a person is allergic to etc. It is also seen that in many skin diseases, the symptoms flare up with the slightest change in diet.
Patients with skin conditions are thus mostly told to avoid foods like curds, seafood, oil-fried items, bakery products, spicy foods, food items that use additives and artificial colouring, processed meats, and canned foods. In addition, they are encouraged to take more leafy vegetables and fruits like amla, pomegranate, and bitter vegetables, drink ample water, and use more turmeric in their dishes.
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