How I was misdiagnosed/mistreated at the Arya Vidya Chikitsalayam (AVP) Hospital in Coimbatore (this is Ayurveda today, beware)

I am making this post as a warning and to hopefully unveil a little more truth of how things really are in the world of Ayurveda in India as I have written about in the past on this blog. The public has no real depth of knowledge of Ayurveda and in that cannot have any discernment when it comes to going thru treatments blindly trusting that someone is a doctor in India or anywhere actually. How can you know without having the education? This is just the ugly truth of it. Your left in the hands of doctors (or practitioner) who you are giving your trust that they are qualified and have your best interest in mind. It is kind of like taking your automobile into a garage to be fixed. If you have no idea about what is wrong with it, the mechanics are able to do anything they want. How are you to know? We all have heard stories about things like that, right?

The other reason to write this post, and more importantly, is to have the victim heard and validated instead of his experience being turned into his own fabricated story and then just living a trauma that he has to endure.
Unfortunately, I have my own experiences of incredibly mismanaged, misdiagnosed, and incorrectly done treatments (panchakarma) and even have diseases and results that have been created due to them so I myself resonate with this individual’s experience. In the end, Ayurveda is actually very dangerous. In the sections on disease causation in all of the classical texts, in most diseases, one of the causations is incorrect panchakarma treatments. 

Something is very troubling with the world of healing/spirituality/the Indian sciences and their practice today. The education of them in India is poor as well as the superficiality in sales to the ‘certified to practice” in foreign countries today. I am including yoga in this as well. I am speaking to not only the very very obvious (but no one questioning it for a second) idea that you can just show up for a 200 hour yoga teacher certification for thousands of dollars and then you are a yoga teacher without any real experience of the knowledge or the path and then those people are then creating certifications for the even more naive to become teachers all leading to the ‘teacher’ left to their own devices to flounder in a sea of abysmal opinions and information/disinformation to pick what they like to then teach a Western exercise class with self-help vibes and woo-woo poetic non-descript language woven into them. I am also speaking to the trouble in the Ayurveda world where uneducated practitioners create products not having any education as to how products are made and willy nilly throwing together herbs like in Western herbology which is not Ayurveda or creating products that are not even Ayurvedic or the very troubling fact that most medicines in India in Ayurveda are of such low quality and cutting corners to reduce cost is the main way or adding all sorts of fillers and preservatives when in fact none of this is actually Ayurveda. The education even in India for the BAMS which is the first level of doctorate is mainly just allopathy as well as the syllabus has been reduced over the decades which puts the student in the place of not even knowing what ayurveda is when they are an ayurveda doctor…. I have witnessed this all personally over and over in living in India. There is even a full college in Badami, Karnataka that is empty. No one actually attends but the college has full students…. on paper. This is what is called doctor on paper there. This is commonly known and done. EVERY college and University in India has these doctors on paper. Cheating and lying is the way of life there. I can go on with different parts of all of this that are so very troubling but the most severe of it all is the outcome, the results of this. What happens to the individual which puts their trust into a quack doctor? With the deterioration of Ayurveda today, we see things like AVP making huge strides to sell their Ayurveda products (medicines not meant for allopathic symptomatic use) in foreign countries at excessively high costs…. it has become only about making money. This is only one example and it is in no way limited to AVP. 
All of this is very sad and harmful. But no one wants to speak about it… that knows about it. Instead in India, they continue to put garlands around the necks of each other promoting each other or as my teacher put it, “Snakes hide snakes.”

The individual that is victimized in the outcome of any of this is then to remain silent. There are no ears to hear them. The naive foreigners and in the Western ‘spiritual’ world you are blackballed if you raise any attention to this stuff and are deemed “negative”. We can see this as an example in the new film on Bikram Choudary This whole story has taken over a decade to finally come out yet Bikram is free as a bird and still teaching yoga and has supposedly absconded from all responsibility to different countries. Yet, there is still a huge following of teachers of hot yoga that do not even have any clue at all to even correlate that the ‘yoga’ classes they are teaching are actually disease forming due to the very lack of education of asana and what is considered to be a teacher. I could make a list of the fake gurus that have made the headlines as well as the gurus that are still out there that naive people follow. The thing is this, the victim…. they are not heard or seen if they speak up at all. In fact, what is the normal result is that they are blacklisted and outcasted and turned upon by the devotees or the students of the guru. Watch the film on Bikram, it is all said in there but this is not limited to Bikram but in the entirety of the modern spirituality linked movement and modalities out there today. Blind and naive Westerners start to follow someone that others think is a Guru. Sheep. What is going on with Bikram is actually throughout all of Modern Yoga and its cults and teachers. I have witnessed this personally for decades. In Ayurveda, it is the same, the doctor turns words around (blatantly lies to cover their ass) to say that the treatments were correct or that the individual does not know enough to be able to understand and a host of other manipulative mannerisms to only not take responsibility. (That is India) This leaves the individual broken and betrayed and with further complications of their disease if not new diseases created by the improper treatments……if they have the awareness to even realize the correlation of their new found disease being created by inproper treatment. 

I myself, in all honesty, do not have any place to refer people to go for proper Ayurveda treatments. This is just the truth of it. Not with any conscience can I knowing what is really going on with Ayurveda in India, from living behind the scenes for a decade. Yet, everyone and their mother has the ‘authentic’ teacher or ‘my teacher is not that, they are the real thing’ is the normally said phrases in any conversation about this. There are many levels to all of this and I have written several other blog posts mentioning many of them.

So with all of that said as a pretext, the following below is the article written by the individual about their experience at Arya Vidya Chikitsalayam in Coimbatore. I too have been there with a traveling partner for treatments and both of us were also misdiagnosed as well. The treatments, I would say, were superbly done but the knowledge of the doctors was incredibly poor. What is the point of wrong treatments even if they are quality? My friend endured so much joint pain increasing over the period of 5 weeks of treatment. Afterward, when we returned to Bangalore I ran to the Ayurveda pharmacy and got the appropriate Ayurveda medicines for her and her pain was gone within a couple days. 


The thing I find the most troubling with the following is that this individual was not even diagnosed and was put directly into treatments. Then afterward, the president of AVP, who is the son of the man who created AVP, denies that anything was done improperly. This is so very very obvious to even anyone without the knowledge of Ayurveda. You would not go into any regular doctor and they just give you drugs without a proper diagnosis first.


The following is from Erik.

How I was mistreated at the Arya Vidya Chikitsalayam (AVP) Hospital in Coimbatore

Dear readers of this blog,

My name is Erik and I live in the Netherlands. Back in the fall of 2017 I went to Coimbatore, India to “Saranya” which is a overflow hospital of AVP to get 6 weeks of panchakarma. This year (2019) I went back for a second try consisting of 5 weeks in total and I would like to share my story with you.

This is not just a story it is the truth of my own experience. Everything I write here is truthful. I can back all of it up with audio, lots of audio recordings I took in this years time while I was there doing treatments. I also have pictures that I made from all of the medical files that I saw. For certain privacy reasons I’m not going to show them here but I will send them to the institutions that will be mentioned later in the letter that I wrote to the staff at this hospital.

As you hopefully know by now, this blog ( is filled with great knowledge of how the world works and if you have happened to talk to Brad you would also have heard his personal experiences. Today, I have such a story to share with the public. I will not be withholding any names as I intend to fully expose this place for what it is.

The hospital I stayed at is quite famous in India and there are many locations spread throughout the country of which I have been to 2 such locations. For a better understanding I will now give all the different names of this hospital of which it is known under for the past 75 years;

  • AVP
  • Arya Vaidya Pharmacy
  • CBE
  • AVT
  • Arya Vaidya Chikitsalayam
  • Arya Vaidya Chikitsalayam and Research Institute
  • The Ayurvedic Trust

And these are their main websites. They do have lots more:

It is now run by P.R. Krishnakumar who is the son of the founder.

In 2017, I was at the location called Saranya which is in Navakkarai, Coimbatore and in 2019, I was at the main location which is also in Coimbatore.

The address is 136-137, Trichy Road, Ramanathapuram, Coimbatore – 641045.

I was treated by many different doctors at both locations here is a list of those doctors:

  • Priya
  • Keshavan
  • Tanusja
  • K.G. Raveendran (who is one of the senior doctors and quite famous)
  • Jishnu
  • Adhina
  • Sungheeta
  • And many more.

I have spoken about complaints with Mr. Krishnakumar, Mr. Sukumeren (the manager), Mr. A. Raveendran (general manager), Dr. S. Kumar, Ms. Parvatih and a couple of others.

Now follows my very negative experience.

I was diagnosed in my own country with a small parathyroid benign growth and chronic kidney stones for the past 8 years. Besides that, I was diagnosed in Ayurveda as having a very high vata and with these came many other complaints. I was advised to do panchakarma so I went to look for a real authentic ayurvedic hospital in India. I am a man who is 190 cm tall and weight somewhere around 60 kg so I’m tall land very skinny, my bones are sticking out everywhere, this also makes me very weak.

In 2017, I was diagnosed at the Saranya location of the AVP hospital chain by Dr. K.G. Raveendran who is the senior doctor and who has been there famous doctor for a very long time. My 2 diseases are of opposing nature so I was advised to get diagnosed by this senior doctor. He provided me a prescription and treatments and I took it for 6 weeks, then when I went home, I took another 3 months of these medications. While I was going thru treatments there, after 4 weeks of heavy oiling they did purgation and since I am always constipated my entire digestion just froze up after those medicines. It made half of my problems worse and the other problems they said that they were supposed to get rid of also failed at doing this.

After a day they decided to do another purgation which also failed, then they gave me a super dose that failed again. That’s 3 times and they didn’t know what to do next. All of this made me so sick. With every new purgation they did I felt sicker and sicker. Then they decided to give me a basti which cleaned out the last part of my colon, yet not the full 3 purgations so I was stuck with that inside me for a long time. After that they gave me treatments to build up my body, to give me strength and vigor, this was the only thing that worked. However, the main treatment of why I came to do panchakarma failed. The entire time I just accepted everything because I didn’t know better. When I went back home and I continued with the medications and after that was done, I felt so much worse than when I went to India. It took me almost 2 years to get back to a sort of ‘normal’ living. When I was home I could not even walk, my hips and legs were very weak because I lost so much weight. I went back to the hospital in my country and got some CT scans and X-rays and my parathyroid gland was now a little bit bigger and I got more frequent kidney stones and also much bigger ones after treatments there. During my entire 3 months of taking medications at home, I was getting sicker and weaker so I started to email Saranya but nobody ever responded. I think I tried 8 different email addresses. It was only after 1.5 years that somebody responded when I talked about going back to the hospital for a second time. No aftercare was provided and they only responded when I talked about money. This was the time that alarm bells should have been going on in my mind, yet I gave them the benefit of the doubt because I was so hopeless at the time with nowhere to turn.

Two years later (2019), I went back again with the thought that they would now know why it didn’t work during the first visit. I tried to send them all of my new medical information, CT scan, X-ray, blood work, etc. and still I could not get any answer from them. They only replied about booking a room again. So I went along with it.

When I returned to AVP again this time for 5 weeks instead of 6. Here is what happened.

Day 1
I arrived at 2 PM and nobody was there, no water, nothing. 4 PM I found water and suddenly a doctor shows up (if memory serves it was Dr. Priya, although she says she wasn’t there) then the doctors says, “hi, in 15 minutes you have a treatment and here are your medications please take them now” and she walks out. Then after almost throwing up because of the bitter medications, I go for treatments. This went on for 2.5 weeks and then it dawned on me that ‘wait a minute’ I was never diagnosed so how could they know what kind of medications to give me on day 1?

After a lot of thinking I realized I never even got an intake with any doctor, so I tried to ask a bunch of questions to different doctors but nobody could seem to answer any of them. It was as if I was in the twilight zone. At the end of week 3 I started to feel weaker because I lost a lot of weight (every week 1.2 kg, keep in mind I was already very light and weak). I went on my phone and searched for my old medical files from 2 years ago and I noticed that they just gave me the same medications and treatments. So, from day 1 I was given the wrong medicines, the same stuff that made me sicker during my first visit. Then I warned the doctors about how this purgation that they now wanted to do on me would fail and make me sicker as was the case as 2 years ago and all they said is don’t worry, it will be ok. I gave them my trust one more time and you can guess what happened next? Of course, it failed for the fourth time and they just seemed like nothing was wrong. But things where sooooooooo wrong with me then and I lost all hope and trust in them and I said, “NO!!! you are not going to do another purgation on me, as a matter of fact, I am not going to take any medications or treatments!” and they didn’t understand why. They looked at me like I was crazy for standing up for myself. I was so sick, sad, confused, angry, and arrogant. I decided to play doctor for myself, I started to tell them how to do their job. After having a good conversation with Brad, I let them back in again after 2 days and all they did then was trying to clean up the mess that they had made.

What had happened is that they just copied what was done to me 2 years prior without any thought or new diagnosis or intake and they removed 2 medications from the list and gave me that on day 1. As if I am the same person as 2 years ago. In the end, they made me even sicker and now I am still trying to recovering from that. FOR A SECOND TIME!

The above is just a short summary without any detail, there is much more that is messed up with this place. I feel it is my duty to expose all of these things and that is what I am about to do right now. So, sit tight.

If you have read this blog you will undoubtedly have read Brad explaining about the messed-up stuff that is going on with what they call yoga, Ayurveda and what not. These 2 experiences really have confirmed everything for me that Brad has written on this blog.

There might be some people in India who are genuine but I think it is so rare and almost impossible to find.

The second-year, I was not diagnosed on the first day, it took 3 weeks of treatments and me complaining before it a diagnosis was done instead of just copying what was done the previous treatment. I insisted for 3 days to get diagnosed then finally I was diagnosed by the same doctor as the previous visit, Dr. K.G. Raveendran.

I audio recorded everything so I can prove that what I am stating right now is the truth.

Dr. K.G. Raveendran said, “I had not received any email from you in 2 years.” Dr. Priya told me that she had sent all of my CAT scan results, blood work and X-rays to him. He had still not received anything when I went to meet him for the diagnosis. Dr. Priya lied about that. I was given 2 files from my attending Dr. Adina which I was supposed to give to Dr. Raveendran so he could diagnose me based upon them. It should contain my current medical information. They would have had to take it from the medical history of the previous visit 2 years back because there was no intake done before treatments since the first day arriving. They somehow had created this form and it seems to have been falsified by Dr. Tanusja. I never spoke to her ever and somehow, she wrote a fake intake form with information from me which was mostly incorrect. The form says “I have no allergies”, actually I do have allergies, “I am well build”, actually I am skinny, underweight and emaciated. From the looks of it she took parts from an intake of 2 years ago, parts were just made up and parts were later added in from daily visits that the doctors do every day and write it down on a daily progress report. So, she lied and also falsified medical information.

Then the second piece of paper contained my medications which were just a copy of 2 years ago minus 2 medications. When I went to talk to Dr. K.G Raveendran, he said, “You are right. All of these medicines are wrong and I need to give you a different prescription.” All of this was after I explained to him that he cannot read the intake file which I handed to him because it was all lies. He then said “ok, I will not” and he asked me to explain my problems.

I previously wrote 20 questions very detailed and then I recording him so I wanted a confession because I thought that he didn’t know what they were doing because all doctors said it is him who prescribed the same stuff for you this year just as 2 years ago. After a good talk with him, I understood that every doctor at the hospital is just lying and covering his or her own ass. Now more than 1 month of being back home I have noticed that this is in the whole of India, they will lie and cheat you because it is how things work there.

He explained the situation and why I never was diagnosed. He said that he did not work there anymore because he was 2 hours removed from his own clinic now and the doctors at AVP called him and asked for his advice from a far distance only, but how can he give advice to doctors about prescriptions if he has not seen the patient in 2 years nor talked to him and also never was given any medical information and records that I had sent. How can a doctor diagnose a patient in this condition? It is impossible! so they just went along with the same treatment given previously. (medical negligence)

Then when I went back to the hospital, I tried to figure out who was responsible for all of this and you know what, after 5 weeks there I still don’t know. I do know that these doctors obviously don’t care about a patient’s health and only care about themselves and this will become clearer towards the end of this blogpost.

Dr. Priya who lied before, she told me in the first week that my kidney stones will be removed 100% guaranteed somewhere between treatments, after a few weeks all of the other doctors told me that it is impossible. They have to come out on their own.

I asked Dr. Adina to give me my old patient records because I wanted to know what went wrong. She said ok, I will give them to you. As of today, I have never received anything.

I asked her why this has happened all over again and who is my head doctor. After many days of just walking out of the room, playing with their phones, changing the conversation (basically acting like little children) I asked to speak to a supervisor, a head doctor. After a week of hearing different stories of who that person was they finally agreed that it was Dr. Sangheeta and Dr. Tanusja, who falsified my intake form. I asked to meet with them. She said that is fine I will ask them to come. As of today, I have never spoken to any of them. Dr. Adina and Dr. Jishnoe were lying constantly.

These doctors have no feeling of responsibility and are playing with the health of their patients.

The new prescription from Dr. K.G. Raveendran said to do this treatment for 3 days and get back to me and I will adjust it if it doesn’t produce good results for you in 3 days. After 4 days I emailed him. After a week his assistant responded by saying I have given all of your emails to the doctor and he will let the other doctors know what to do next and that was that. As of today, more than 1.5 months later, I have never received an email from him regarding the adjustments for my medications, nor did any doctor change it. He just ignored me the entire time and even when these new medications were making my memory problems worse.

During my last week at the hospital, I said “I quit with everything I just want food and sleep and then I’m going home.” They didn’t understand. But after all of the trouble that I was giving them after they gave me improper food to eat, they just let me be.

These medications that I was getting where so heavy on my digestion, I mean giving me ghee right before bedtime. For me, that was like eating right before going to bed and telling me that it will be good for me. When I woke up my tongue was coated, like completely covert in a white layer and it smelled very bad.
These doctors have destroyed my health!


The ghee:


This is me after 2 weeks of panchakarma and their diet and all of the wrong medications:2.jpg


The next 4 days I was constipated right before the purgation. On day 1 I let the doctors know and then 3 days later finally a doctor showed up I had not seen a doctor previous to this. In that time, I was just getting constipated and nobody knew. Yes! Right before the important purgation day. On 1st October, the purgation was given and as I told you already it was a big mess. The picture below shows 5 PM on the day of the purgation which is half a day of just feeling sick:

After this, I started to go against all doctorly advice and went on a fast for 1.5 days and I broke the fast with half a bowl of rice kanji and then the picture below is the day after purgation.

2 October 2019 6AM:

Just look at the difference! How much aama has been building up. Instead of the purgation removing all of the aama and getting a clear tongue.


This one is from the same day but then 1PM after I have fasted 1.5 days and after this picture below, I broke the fast and ate 1 meal, the first meal.


Now compare this with ALL of the above pictures. It seems that without the wrong medications, without food, without treatments, without any doctor around and just fasting on my own I can remove the aama.


I lost the picture of day 3 after the purgation but I have this one from the fourth day:




On day 3 I let the doctors back in to do their job and followed their advice as best as I still could.

And this is 5 October, 6AM:


You can clearly see that they are back in my treatments because aama is growing again.

Below is the same day but just 4 hours later in the morning, 10PM after earlier having breakfast and treatments.









6 October, 6AM on the left and on the same day at 9PM on the right. More aama then before.


7 October, 6AM left, same day 6PM right:


And then 8 October 6AM. This is now 7 days after the purgation:



Clearly, if you watch all of the pictures one after the other you can see that I had more and more aama in 2 weeks and then a whole lot more with the purgation. After 2 days I had digested like 90% and then with every day after their medicines and treatment I had more and more aama. Based upon this I decided to quit with everything. This was the fourth week of my 5 weeks of staying there. Now all I wanted was food, sleep AND TO GO BACK HOME!


The reason I stayed there for as long as I did was that I already booked a plane ticket home in advance which I will never do again.

During that week of counting down the days I wanted to get my own medications for home use and not what they gave me in the hospital. In the end, I finally had my medications and then I needed to have my papers ready for customs and after 5 days of waiting they told me you will get your medical discharge certificate but not a paper for your own medications. I was asking for this for 2 weeks and on the very last day, I still had no papers. Every day Dr. Adina and Dr. Jishnoe said yes tomorrow you will get them and they kept saying this, then the last day they both went home and I had nothing. I called every number I could call and all I got was it will come don’t worry.

I was planning on going to bed early because the next day I needed to wake up early to go to the airport so a week ago I asked for 3 sleeping pills which worked great during my first 2 weeks. On the last day I still hadn’t received them. It was now 10 PM and my last day being there, I knew that Dr. Jishnoe secretly went home and the evening doctor who was impossible to reach (go figure) kept telling me he was still somewhere around but didn’t know where he has been telling me this since 4 o clock. At 8 o clock, everything was dark and nobody was there only the reception staff and guards.

I kept calling every 15 minutes but his phone was off so I called the reception and they said no he has gone home. Then I got a call from the evening doctor and he said I can’t call him because his phone is off but I talked to him and he will give you the papers, so I confronted them because he just lied about the entire thing, the doctor was not here and he did not talk to him yet he now was telling me he was there and did talk to him yet his phone was off and he did not see him, does any of that make any sense? They constantly lie and don’t even have a good cover story to cover their own lies up nor to cover up other people’s lies. Somehow, they all lie about everything and they even are covering it up for others.

Then around 22:15, the evening doctor showed up which was even a different doctor who called me the entire time and he gave me freshly printed papers that were still hot. After reading the papers I now know why it took so long.

These people don’t care about you as a patient, they just went home and ignored me. They then got a call that they needed to give me the papers so Dr. Jishnoe instead of telling the truth tried to call different doctors to collect all of my information and after hours he finally could make those papers on his computer at home and fax them to the evening doctor so that he could give them to me. What was on that paper was the same bullshit as was on the intake forms which they falsified. They took parts of my previous discharge certificate, parts of the intake form and parts from the daily progress reports and just made the whole thing up with medications that I never bought from them.

Finally, I could go to bed and with all of the stress and a high vata because of it, I could get a couple of hours of sleep before a 30-hour flight back home.

When I was at the airport, I showed the papers which were all wrong and based on wrong falsified data and luckily no problems at customs but man what a ride was that.

On the next day in the morning 1 hour before I left the hospital, I had sent out a letter to every person of importance at this hospital and also to the director at the other hospital where I was 2 years ago. You can find this letter here.

This letter explained all of the above but in much further detail, I also asked for my money back because they cheated me and if they failed to do so I would make this entire story public and I would file official complaints to a whole bunch of Indian Institutions who may or may not do anything about it. Then 30 mins before my taxi would arrive, I was in my room trying to remain cool and then Ms. Parvathi wanted to talk to me. She was from management and worked there for 12 years and said I am shocked to hear this story I have never heard anything like this, she apologized to me and asked if there was anything she could do. To let you know, she was the only one in 5 weeks who showed any apathy towards me or responsibility, I answered no because in 20 minutes I am gone from this place, all I want is a full refund as I have written in the email. She asked a bunch of more times are you sure I can’t do anything which I replied no you can’t but I thank you for being here and saying sorry and asking me if you can do anything. All you can do is try to do some detective work and figure out why nobody notified you about this because I already talked to the manager and vice manager and they didn’t follow up on anything so something must be wrong, and then she left the room and I went into my taxi. She said she would figure out why she never was notified about any of this during the 2 weeks of me complaining there. As of today, I have not heard anything from here about this so I decided after a few weeks to contact her. When I spoke to her and she then started to act like all the others (not caring anymore), she also did not respond to my questions and tried to end the conversation which in the end she did.

I already paid most of the money to them when I was there but not all of it and then I needed to pay the remainder and then when I was there she said we will refund that amount back to you once we have received it because I said I had transferred it already. Later in that email, she said she still would refund it when she received it but I also said I want a full refund because my entire stay there was all for nothing, you messed up the first 3 weeks and the last week(s) you used to correct the mess you made so actually nothing was done so I shouldn’t pay anything. She said nothing about it. Actually, nobody did.

I don’t really know what position she had but she said she got a message from the president who I mailed the letter to. He was unable to come by while I was there because he was attending other problems at a very remote location which was not close by. So the conclusion is that she must have been higher up yet even when it was received there nobody that followed up on it. She seemed to care but, in the end, when you leave there, they will forget about you because really, they really don’t care about anything.

Remember the alarm bells that should have sounded at the beginning of my story? When I started writing this article in a word file, I asked for Ms. Parvaty’s email which I got a pretty fast reply and I emailed her the following:


I am writing to you today because you were so kind as to show up in my room 1 hour before I left the hospital and you seemed the most reasonable of all of the staff there.

However, it has been 2.5 weeks almost and I have not received my full refund (of 400.000 Rs) nor have I had any person contacting me.

You said that in your 12 years of working there you have never had this complication and was wondering why it hadn’t come to your attention sooner, I can think of 1 reason why that is. This is because nobody cares, nobody knows what dharma is anymore and it looks like you do not either and I find it very rude.

Why nobody brought it to your attention is the exact same reason why you are doing nothing with it right now, laziness, not giving one bit about any patient or person.

I could be wrong but I do not think so, India is just filled with this mental attitude which is very different from the west.

I would like to give you personally a second chance to make up for the lack of following through and I ask you to write me a letter about your supposed investigation in the matter and an answer to my full refund, which as of today I have not received nor have had any contact regarding this.

If for some reason this email will be ignored just like all of my others over a period of 2 years, I am proceeding with my plan of taking legal action and also posting pictures, video recordings, audio and more about the hospital and its staff and how Ayurveda is not being practiced there.

If the full refund that I asked for in my letters is deposited to my PayPal account or deposited back to my bank account of which your administration has a record of I will cancel my legal counseling and procedures. You have until 18th of November 2019.”

Basically, she said nothing about it and later broke off all contact, just like the rest of them have done.

Now this last week I tried one more thing and that was contacting the managing director again who also owns the entire corporation and asked him directly if anyone has taken a look at these problems and what the results were from this and also if he could give me answers to my questions because I wanted to see heads rolling plus I asked about the full refund. Who knows maybe the uppermost higherup would care and be able to help me out? Finally, after a long time, I spoke to him. Read it here which is his email to me.

After you have read this you can clearly see that he did nothing for himself he just said to his staff go figure this out for me and the staff who is the problem itself reports back no problem boss and then he closed the case. Then he does not address any issue I have raised, not even that they gave me for 3 weeks the wrong medications and that this is just a small detail and that I am complaining about it which I shouldn’t do. Basically, he doesn’t care and dismisses the entire thing. ‘So on with business… Let’s see how much money I made today.’

And this is the guy that runs that place. His father must have been proud.

People are corrupt on the inside and they destroy everything that is outside.


Let’s dive into a bit more detail about something which I call medical fraud.

I shall now explain to you what they did with the daily progress reports that they are supposed to write down daily.

It contains columns where they should ‘diagnose’ you every day, like; how is your digestion, show me your tongue, show me your iris, how is your urine and stool etc.

What they do is almost every day there is a different doctor doing rounds so it’s not like you have 1 or 2 doctors who come and visit you it is like an entire football team of doctors and every time you need to tell them the same story again and again because nobody knows what’s going on with you as they see 100 patients every day and those patients see 2 doctors a day and every day is a new day with different doctors. They come and ask you 2 or maybe 4 things out of 7 and then they leave the others blank, next day or even in the evening a new doctor comes and he or she fills in the remaining things without asking you anything. So, the next day a doctor comes and doesn’t know what is up with you for 3 days and looks back at those days on those forms and then gets a picture from those days and based upon that information they decide medical things, like giving new medications or stopping some treatments. But almost all of that information is falsified and made up by these doctors. All of this is medical negligence and fraud but to them it is normal.

Don’t even try to explain this to them because they won’t understand it, probably because they are too busy playing with their phones right in front of you.

I emailed my letter which I mentioned above to all of these email address and they never responded to any of my emails, I emailed them many times even:

– (Saranya location)






– (Ms. Parvathy)

– (Senior doctor K.G. Raveendran) (manager at Saranya location) (managing director P.R.Krishnakumar) (Dr. Jishnoe)

Humanity, in general, has become so corrupted in spirit and this hospital is the same, there is no Ayurveda here.

Thus, ends my story.



I hope that you have enjoyed reading this but most importantly I hope you have learned something from my suffering at this place.

I would like to ask you for one thing, please spread this blogpost out on every social media you have let this kind of information spread out on the internet instead of them selling themselves in the positive light for which they are not.

And if you like email them using the above email addresses and let them know what you think or ask them questions. I ask this because I want to make them feel responsible for what they did and still are doing to others in the hope they will see the light and change their ways, by getting messages from different people all over the world maybe they will see the or question their own behavior. Let’s give these people the credit that is due.

Thank you for letting me share this story with you.



  • In 2018 all prices went up with 50% and nobody notified me so I was billed double of what I expected this second year.
  • There is absolutely no effective communication and yet they all seem to talk to each other every day by phone multiple times.
  • For over 2 years I have been wondering why the treatments failed and as of today nobody has given me an answer
  • They will tell you that this or that disease is totally curable in the beginning, yet at the end, you will get a note on your discharge certificate that says it is incurable because of its complicated nature. While they obviously did not even try to cure my illness this second time because they gave me the same medications and treatment as 2 years ago in the first hospital (Saranya) I went to….. so that it is incurable is just a coverup name for we messed up
  • Don’t expect them to know what the entire treatment plan is for you because they will wing it
  • If you warn them about adverse reactions to certain things expect them to do it anyway and then cover it up
  • If you are in pain, they have absolutely no way of dealing with it, the best is to take strong pain medications with you when you visit them
  • Don’t send them any medical information, papers, files, pictures or results because they will just ignore it but the final report I was given was just copying the western diagnosis reports I had sent them but written in sanskrit words.
  • If you go for panchakarma here expect to lose a lot of weight, even if you are already emaciated. It is normal yes, but they will say 2 to 3 kg is normal and when you have reached that they will say 4 is normal when you have reached that they will go as far as 6. In their eyes, it’s all normal. If you die, they will probably say its normal. For example, from day 1 told the dietician that I absolutely don’t want any chili or pepper in my food because of allergies, she will tell the kitchen yet the kitchen who say ok to everything yet do not follow. Expect to get pepper in everything. Don’t complain about it or else you will get more pepper next time. Some days it was so bad that I ended up eating some dry chapati with cold water.
  • The hospital used a menu which is filled with like 20 items, from simple kanji and khichari to a heavy thali and sour buttermilk or raw carrots. If you ask for only khichari you will get khichari which is very watery and lots of half-raw cold vegetables for taste and texture with lots of liquid dal but you can’t order this for breakfast for some reason.



Post Script:

I have already spoken to the following persons or institutions:

– National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
– Department of Consumer Affairs
– Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (Administrative Reforms and PG, External Affairs, Consumer Affairs, Ayush, Health & Family Welfare, Justice, Legal Affairs, Pharmaceutical, Science and Technology, Tourism)
– Medical Council of India
– Commissioner and Superintendent of Police Coimbatore, Commissioner Corporation of Coimbatore
– Tamil Nuda Police
– Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
– Tamil Nadu Medical Council
– Medical Council of India
– Ministry of Ayush
– Chief Minister of Tamil Nuda
– Central Council of Indian Medicine
– Tamil Nadu State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
– Coimbatore District Consumer Court and Consumer Forum
– Coimbatore District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum
– Coimbatore District Forum: National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
– Netherlands embassy in New Delhi
– Newspapers: The Hindu, Times of India, Dainik Bhaskar, Live Hindustan, Dinamalar, Maalaimalar, Dinakaran, Dinamani, Thinaboomi
I will keep you all updated if anything new happens.
Doubt it will.
I forgot to write about that after a few weeks they gave me some forms with questions about how everything is going and what I thought about it all and some open space for improvements, I ended up writing 4 pages full for them to improve and they wanted my email address so I was hoping that when they would read it they would contact me about all of that but it has been months now and nobody has emailed me and I just know that they will never do that because they don’t really care.
Welcome to India!




Addition from Erik, Mar 8,  2020:

I want to let everyone see how corrupt the Indian government is (which are its own citizens, ie. Indians)

It has been 1 month since I have sent out the emails.
Other people have contacted the hospital and its staff members for me, i even reached out a couple of times, this article has been shared on Facebook, review sites and what not and so far zero responses from them. (thank you for those who have spread it)
That is except for one which is a fake review from one of the staff that they posted in the article itself under the comment section.
I filed 7 public grievances to different departments, for 5 of them I got the status of: Case closed, below follows an overview of them.
– Department of Health & Family Welfare >> Hospitals = Your grievance does not come under the purview of the Dept of Health and FW. Your grievance may pertain to Ministry of Ayush
– Department of Health & Family Welfare >> Medicines >> Allegation of Malpractice = The complaint does not pertain to D/o Health and FW. May be taken up with the Ministry of Ayush.
– Department of Health & Family Welfare >> Medical Education >> Allegation of Corruption/ Malpractice = The grievance does not pertain to D/o Health and FW. May be taken up with the Government of Tamil Nadu.
– Department of Health & Family Welfare >> Other = The grievance does not pertain to D/o Health and FW. May be taken up with the Ministry of Ayush.
– Department of Health & Family Welfare >> Public Health >> Other = The grievance does not pertain to D/o Health and FW. May be taken up with the Government of Tamil Nadu.
Then some of them tell you to go to the Ministry of Ayush which is specifically created for Ayurveda and they close the case also.
Ayush = Not related to this Ministry (CASE CLOSED)
I now have one open with a status that i don’t understand.
– External Affairs >> Others = Under process by Coimbatore (PA TO COP)
Wanna bet that this case will be closed pretty soon and that they will not do anything because i also reported this to the local and state police which it is being sent to right authority now (so i think)
I even emailed the person from Ayush who closed the case and I have not received any message from them.
I also send out lots and lots of emails to different people including personal emails to the staff of Ayush way before and nobody responded.
Just to be clear from all of the people I have emailed which are like 50 people, even newspapers, only 1 replied back and fast also, guess who that was.. it was the Dutch Embassy and they said that they couldn’t do anything and that I should contact Ayush and the above departments (1 of them) which I already did.
As you can see, it is even futile, a waste of your time and effort and for some HOPE, don’t even bother by reporting it, just see what has happened, see what it has done to your mind, accept that it happened, how it happened, fully and completely and move on.

This is the harsh reality of Ayurveda in India today.




What are you being taught???? And what is the actual knowledge of your expert teachers???

First read this…

7 Poses to Soothe Sciatica


From the article….

“As far back as the 5th century BCE, doctors and sufferers alike have tried a host of imaginative remedies, from leeches and hot coals”

Yes, it’s imaginative….. yet it is actually still practiced and actually deals with the root cause from the fundamental basis looked at through a lens that is of ayurveda and yoga knowledge instead of a western science lens looking only at symptoms. What is really imaginative is to take something out of its context (yoga) without its foundation and then apply it to the conceptional world that it is not from.

The simple question remains, where was Western science back in the days of yoga? What was known back then because the entirety of yoga as well as the basis and paradigm of Indian knowledge was not Western/Modern knowledge? Simply put, the Western paradigm of knowledge did not even exist. Why do we believe that we are far advanced in our knowledge today comparatively? Or that we can just apply our own conceptual knowledge onto something without actually knowing it as it is? Maybe that should be looked at and that a thorough study of something should be done to understand it properly? Maybe this is the limit to the writers knowledge or maybe this is because it is being written to the general public as an audience which cannot comprehend this without the actual study of it. Maybe the second thing one should question is why would you not educate and create a growing awareness of the real fundamentals rather than sell magazines to the naive masses of the same old same old Western science concepts? Or is the purpose to destroy completely what has already been very much destroyed? And what is the reason why?

Role of Agnikarma in Gridhrasi (Sciatica) -A Conceptual Study


A Case Study of Agnikarma Therapy in the Management of Sciatica




Leech therapy in Ayurveda, a review



Role of Raktamokshana by Ghati Yantra in treatment of Gridhrasi (sciatica): A pilot study


And here is an entire journal with articles mainly about bloodletting in different diseases

Here is a whole thesis on the use of leeches on arthritis of the knee


There is a host of other research studies on the effects of “imaginative remedies”  still practiced in Ayurveda and works in its own scientific paradigm and hardly understood or even worse when it is invalidated by Western (noneducated in the paradigm) science. This is also the paradigm in which Yoga is in and from. Not Western science.




Please try to understand that most of the above links are also an attempt to do Western-based research in Ayurveda to try to make it validated to the Western/Modern scientific world thru their own lens which is not really possible as it is an entirely different paradigm and does not work in the paradigm of the West as explained in other posts I have written on this blog. It is even how thesi in Ayurveda are written today. Easiest is to try to write articles of what is the basis of the concepts of Ayurveda being used in different diseases and giving the basis of the disease and how to be treated or doing a case study like some of the ones above.


But first, for the point of this blog post, we would have to understand sciatica from the foundational knowledge of what yoga comes from, this is the same knowledge that Ayurveda is from. It is not different in any way or form.

You are not going to find this in Yoga International or anything being taught by “experts” in the West because everything in that article linked at the beginning of Yoga Journal is solely a Western exercise and Western science view put onto ‘yoga’ which asana actually has no basis in and also completely falls apart if we do that much like I just explained about researching Ayurveda thru the lens of Western research templates. If one was to have the actual knowledge it would also show the massive limitations of Western thought and that causes a lot of other problems which is the conversation to have in a different post.


From a Yoga and Ayurveda basis:

The differential diagnosis of sciatic is important with its treatment. Sciatica falls under the disease catagory that is called a vata vyadhi or a disease of vata. Categorically there are 20 of these vata vyadhis. There is no “sciatica’ in this paradigm. Vata Vyadhi is an umbrella of 20 different kinds of diseases of vata. One of which is gridhasi. The modern concept of sciatica would then fit into gridhasi but grdhasi is a larger container and it does not fit into the container of sciatica. This is another understanding that has to be had with this and points out a major flaw which maybe written about in a following article about the differences of the paradigms and the limitations of trying to understand one thru the others lens without ever trying to actually know that other paradigm. Within Gridhasi then there is different types.

There are two types, vata/kapha and purely vata.

There is also the deeper differential in the diagnosis that would be possible with the addition of ama or the addition of pitta.

Each of these are treated differently.

If ama is there it needs to be dealt with first before anything can be done. Like in every disease. Do anything with oil and you are going to create more disease.

In Gridhasi, Vyana and Apana Vata are especially vitiated out of five types of Vata. Gait, extension, flexion, lifting etc. are part of the functions of vyana vata. The hampered movements indicates Vyana imbalance. Causes and site of sciatica show apana imbalance. Though Vata is a prominent dosha, sometimes Kapha is the primary dosha imbalanced, but independently cannot produce sciatica without vata involvement. Pitta is the least involved dosha. Sometime when burning sensation is present pitta may be involved as the primary dosha. More-so, tendons are the secondary tissues of the blood tissue. Ligaments are also the mulasthana of muscle tissue and the secondary tissue of fat. Blood, muscle, and fat can be seen as imbalanced in sciatica as well. Agnikarma or that burning by coals is actually one of the treatments that is done in imbalances of ligaments which is further to show why agnikarma is used in sciatica and does work… as per actual knowledge of Ayurveda and proper details in the actual treatment, not just burning yourself with hot coals (ha ha ha ha how absurd those old ancient people were). And yes, this same knowledge is in the basic knowledge of Yoga because it is all based in understanding of Prana and the imbalance of it. Not at all impingement of the sciatic nerve which will be cured by opening the hip joint in stretching postures that we are calling yoga.
Agnikarma has been mentioned for disorders of Snayu (ligaments and tendons), Asthi (bone), Sandhi (joints).

Yoga knows of 10 pranas, ayurveda uses 5 of them. And this is the very fundamental basis in all asana. It is not Western science based, there is nothing in Western science that understands prana and no context for it. None. We try to make a correlation but it is once again taking something from its context and applying a different lens to it that has no context for it. Where is this taught in modern Yoga? It is not.

If modern yoga wants to use texts to validate itself, we would have to look at Hatha Yoga Pradeepika. In it, throughout it, there is mention of the doshas. There are the shatkarmas also which are dealing with those same doshas within that same context that it shares with Ayurveda. Kunjal Kriya is nothing less than the very lightest Vamana treatment done in Ayurveda, and explained in Ayurveda texts. There is no difference in the knowledge base. Only naive and uneducated Western ideas have created such things.

The pathogenesis of sciatic is first and foremost low or variable digestive fire and vata aggravation and/or kapha aggravation with a weakness of the seat of apana. Vitiated dosha(s) with the weakness of blood, muscle, fat tissues, nerve, tendons, ligaments, veins, they are all involved.

Since the agni (both jathara and bhutaagni) are disturbed. This also can have ama involved.

For vata type, first the stage of the disease needs to be diagnosed. Without knowing this one might create a deeper complication of the disease. The first line of treatment is langhana or fasting but it must be light because of vata being the main cause. Fasting does not mean to go without food, that also is a Western interpretation. Langhana actually means to lighten. So just eating less quantity or lightening up the qualities of the food is done based upon the individual (as everything is). Oiling, steaming/sweating, light purgation, basti (which does not correlate to enema but it is all we can translate it to), agni karma, and bloodletting are the following treatments depending upon the diagnosis of the INDIVIDUAL.

But first the aggravating factors must be taken out of the picture for if this is not done no treatment will work. If there is ama present then oiling is totally contraindicated as ama and oil have the same qualities and oiling when there is ama will create a deeper complication of the disease as stated earlier. The causative factors, besides what is the pathogenesis written above, is the excessive intake of vata provoking substances (also in the season like eating a whole bunch of kale excessively in the summer time when vata is aggravated because it is popular and sold as a superfood), excessive exertion (can even be too long of walks or hikes and not just exercise, too much sex) to one’s capacity (which is different for each individual), improperly sitting or lying in weird positions (or even your modern asana practice can be the very cause of your sciatica), vega dharana or the suppression of the natural urges (which I have written a post on here but the science behind this needs to be understood), and lastly….. improper treatment of Ayurveda practices like telling everyone to do sesame oil enema without any sort of knowledge of the details as to when it is contraindicated or doing that sesame oil enema when there is ama present, or improper purgation in the same manner and a host of other things in improper treatments…. yes, they will cause disease when done without the proper knowledge).

For kapha type added onto the vata signs of problems with gait, pain, stiffness, and the pulsations in the hip, back and leg there is also lethargy, indigestion, nausea, indifference to food, paralysis, and heaviness.

So I ask you, what is doing a bunch of postures going to actually do if someone has improper digestion and possible ama with aggravation of vata without proper look and attention to diet that is not further aggravating to vata and lifestyle of the same, which excessive focus on asanas to open the hip can also aggravate vata even more? No knowledge of the foundations of seeing the disease thru the lens of Yoga or the “concepts” of ancient Indian knowledge, just one applied idea of opening the hips and trying to relieve the nerve being pinched through Western anatomy and exercise science.

What is being taught? What is being spread? And what happens to the real knowledge when this happens? And what is a “mindfully targeted yoga practice” when there is no real knowledge behind it? Just using foo foo spiritual flowery language.

In addition, in my 30 years of education and working with people with their bodies I know for a fact that a long hold stretches aggravate nerves and causing much more pain and problems rather than any solutions. Nerve impingement and adhesions and all sorts of other problems can be at the basis from a western standpoint but pushing into a joint that does not have the range of motion will cause more damage than anything else. Vata is aggravated with movement because one of the qualities of vata is mobile. Much like water, the body will find the range of motion in a path of least resistance or in English that means you will stretch where the weakness is (the chain breaks at the weakest link) and not what is causing the weakness or pain without having detailed kinesthetic ability and then the knowledge of it all to guide you.

Another way of explaining this by using western biomechanical example is that the right median nerve shortens when you move your right ear toward your right shoulder and bend your right elbow; it gets longer when you tip your head toward the left shoulder and straighten your elbow. What would be the cause of that nerve being in a shortened position with all the tissues surrounding being tight as well might actually not have anything to do with a focus on that median nerve but rather the position of the rib cage being posteriorly tilted (upper cross syndrome) and the shoulder due to the weight of the arm and its position to the ribcage in gravity and the effects that this has on movement of the upper part of the body. This is solely from a Western lens. Past the Western lens actually because just from the link for upper cross syndrome and anything you can see on the web you will find that there is nothing out there that would see the position you stand on your feet, and how you sit is going to create that upper cross syndrome… just exercises to try to fix it via neck exercises and such.

But to see this deeper, one with sciatica is going to have the results in their posture of imbalanced apana.


But let us review for a second to make it super super clear…..
1. Sciatic is first and foremost due to improper digestion to create it in the first place. If one is eating the prescribed diet as per yoga (whats that??? Paleo? Vegan? Look on the web about what a yoga diet is, see what you find in the disinformation for yourself), then this is not likely to occur.
Secondarily, the laws of exertion/capacity in yoga are not known in modern yoga because it is all based in Western exercise theory only, over exertion is key to most modern yoga. In Yogasana, when you break a sweat, your done. Opposite to Western exercise theory where you wanna sweat because that is what is healthy and after you break a sweat you are warmed up and now ready to really go for it. This has been explained in tedium here in other posts so I am not going to repeat it in greater detail than this. Except to say, to go past this point of breaking a sweat imbalances prana (vata) which will vitiate the agni as well.
2. The food intake and lifestyle that is vata provoking such as dry foods and rough foods as well as staying up late and other vata provoking things are at the cause as well.
A modern yoga practice with in most cases is over exertion constantly and especially in the summertime it is contraindicated, in general to health. Just saying. More so on this point… asana is not yoga and never will be.
3. The causative factors MUST be corrected or no herbs or treatment or stretching your butt as much as you want will actually help.
4. You can see the two types of sciatica generally as 1. vata type which is just a frazzled and fried dried out system and the second would be 2. kapha blocking vata type. Each needs to be treated appropriately as per this.

And lastly, for clarity, all the asanas that would be given for sciatica would be based on treatment to balance vata with a focus on apana and not a Western Physical therapy, opening up the hip to relieve a nerve. A focus on restoring agni would have to be part of it as well. If there is ama, what is stretching your hips and back going to do? Nothing. This shows the fundamental knowledge base that yoga is being taught as today. Even yoga therapy is only based in Western exercise theory.


So here is the thing…. to share the truth, the likelihood of retaliation is high. One becomes the hunted and will not come out unscathed.


One truth.


A place I went to school in my earlier years of trying to get an education in Ayurveda, the person who opened the school, which will remain nameless here because of that risk of retaliation, I recently and randomly saw a link to the school on the net and followed it then to the bio of this teacher.


There is a whole new persons bio there. Literally now a whole new made up story has and this person is now basically being shown as next to saintly and fully selected handpicked as a child and trained vedic scholar from a full lineage and so much more….. when none of that existed when I went to school there when the school was just being started.

I thought it was funny, pathetic, and sad, because this is actually the truth of India too. I then shared it with one of the students from back then that I still have contact with every once a year maybe.

They replied in the text message to the bio….

Screen Shot 2019-09-13 at 12.48.59 PM.png

Westerners are prime targets for this as they do not know what they do not know. I was also sucked in in the beginning of my time at that school as was everyone else.

But the truth, the truth is something else.

Westerners also fall prey to this so easily, then they also do not want their beliefs to be broken as I asked in the text message to the the past student who was at the school with me, “What do you think one of the students there today would respond with if you were to say anything about the fraud?”

This is why there is so much darkness in the spiritual world.

Lots of victims. Many do not even know they are a victim and are trying to spiritualize it. The biggest problem with the entire scenario is that there is no place for the victim to heal. In our modern world pseudo spiritual movement that is going on, the victim remains with no ears to hear them and no eyes to see them which is where the healing would come from. And the truth is buried, deeply.

Where is there a place for truth?
Are their ears to hear it or just vicious talons and sharp teeth ready to annihilate anyone that would shine light?

I share this because it is pertinent to todays world as well as this has been my experience with many Indian teachers (of ayurveda and indian astrology) and their cults (of foreigners and Indians) over my years of study, experience and travels.

Where is the light?

Rava Coconut Upma

Here is a good breakfast item for Autumn when pitta is aggravated


tbsp ghee
1tbsp urad dahl
1tbsp chana dahl
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds

1 Onion Minced
1 Carrot ground
1 small piece fresh ginger
1 pinnate curry leave (Murraya koenigii)
Salt to taste (less salt)

3 Tbsp fresh ground coconut (from a brown coconut, I know the young coconut it popular but it is not that. Dried shredded coconut also works but is not as good. In my experience the fresh coconut flesh does not really work for this recipe)

2 1/2 cups water
Salt to taste
1 cup semolina
1/4 cup coriander leaves minced


Heat pan and after warm put ghee in.
When warm and melted put in mustard seeds, chana and urad dahls to cook until brownish in color.
When browned add the onion and saute for a little while to cook the onion thoroughly
Then add the rest of the veggies and up to the curry leaves.
Saute for a 4 minutes
Add the coconut, and the water and cook for several minutes
Here is the trick, stir while adding the rava/semolina to keep it from clumping
Cover pan with lid
Wait for a minute then turn the heat all the way to its lowest setting to simmer about 5 minutes then shut off.
Wait 3 more minutes and its done.
Add the corianderleaves and mix

Indian Astrology

When an individual is born, the universe is lined up in its position to the location and time of that birth. This is the natal chart or rasi chart in indian astrology. The planets are in the placement in each sign as they are in reality out there or up there. There are only 9 planets (navagraha, Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, including Rahu/Ketu as well which are the shadow planets or points of eclipse of the Sun and Moon) used due to the light from these planets are seen by the naked eye from earth up to Saturn. Planets further distanced are not visible. Indian astrology is based in the sidereal zodiac but also uses tropical zodiac in situations that apply to the karma of the planet like predicting weather and earthquakes ect but not seeing a human birth. Tropical is based in the seasons which only really further makes logical sense to the previous statement.

The placement of the planets are individual to that birth and there are further smaller amounts of time that are unfolded into charts mathematically to show further details into different areas of that individuals life. Kinda of a smaller more focused sight into the details of that larger natal chart. These charts are smaller amounts of time which change more rapidly, especially when we get into higher levels of the beings birth. In the natal chart the ascendant is the focus of the chart. The ascendent changes every two hours basically. The ascendant is the sign that is rising on the eastern horizon at the time of the birth. A person will be born into a certain degree of that sign that has risen already on that horizon. You can see how this then is just a map of what is said to be the heavens at the time of the birth. When two people are born, the higher charts (the lesser amounts of time) show the difference between these individuals as well as there are many other details in the natal chart that change besides the planets and signs which also give the individual-ness of one persons karma although the main natal charts might look the same.

There are then what are called dashas, which are time cycles, that show the impending karma that the person is experiencing during their life. The main dasha that is used is based on the moon. The moon is manas or s we translate to english, the mind, and it shows the perception of what the person is experiencing during these cycles. This is all the impending karma as said above.

There is then the transiting planets as to what is the heavens alignment at whatever time is seen, like for example what is the transits of the planets at this very moment. This transit with each planet is overlaid on the persons natal chart and is the activation of the karmas that are seen based in then the dasha that is happening in that persons life.

Just for clarity’s sake, this brings into view what is done in the general masses as horoscopes, what is said about mercury retrograde for example. When the people out there (like people making astrological forecast videos on Youtube) creating the monthly horoscopes on the net for the entertainment of individuals, when they make there statements like your forecast for the month of ________, it is based solely on a blank chart with no identification as to your own individual chart. If we all did not have any planets or any chart of our own, these ‘readings’ would be true but the simple fact is that you have your own chart and the planets in your chart are interactive with the transits. Infact, what is in your chart can completely counteract and even be completely opposite to what is said in those readings. What is even more to this is that when reading the transits they are read from a persons moon and then secondarily taken from their ascendant. This further invalidates what is made to be a ‘reading’ of these transits in a general way and alone.

Everyone is looking out of their face thru their own lens, their own filter of everything that is mentioned above and actually much much more that I am not getting into in this superficial explanation. This is what causes the individual being. Simply put into a perspective, if there were only 12 signs and your taking everyone and putting them into these 12 signs, everything would be only in twelve possibility of ways and this is hardly individual or truth.

It all is even more complicated and vast than what I have mentioned. What bring the beauty of life is the individual-ness. Nature is diversity, obviously. We make statements about how no two snowflakes are the same. It is the same in human beings. We may all be generally made up of the same substances and the general make up of what is a human being vs the many yoni that are possible but we are at the very same time completely different in so many many many ways. The knowledge of this diversity allows one to see the play and liberation from many of its pitfalls while the simplification of it brings bondage and affliction.

Just an example of the above, when a Youtube astrologer talks about the mercury retrograde happening (or anything actually), this actually has very little to do with you individually. That transiting mercury in retrogression is going to be happening in some sign, say it is cancer as it just was, and this transit of mercury is based from your moon and then your ascendant as well. Your moon can be in 12 different signs as well as your ascendant can be one of those 12 signs. You can get the variations of this. It also has many other factors such as if your natal mercury is retrograde, the effect is greater or what the dasha is that your are in as the transit is also going to be looked at from that dasha lording planet.

When reading charts, one will also read the chart from the sun being the lagna or first house in the chart (solar chart), as well as the moon (lunar chart) is also read.

You can easily see some of the depth of Indian astrology from this and some of the details that make you and individual as well as how what is out there in the masses is purely mind fodder.

Vegetable paratha

1/4 cup wheat flour
1.5 Tbsp bell pepper
2 tsp coriander leaves
1.5 Tbsp carrots
2 tsp beans
1.5 Tbsp Mung dahl
2 tsp onions
2 tsp cabbage
1/2 tsp ghee

Make the dough with the flour by adding the flour to a bowl and then slowly drizzling in water as you mix it with your fingers to make a just slightly sticky dough then set it aside for ½ hour
Cook the mung dahl and blend it is a mixer
Grate the vegetables saute in ghee for 5 minutes
Mix the dahl and veggies
Roll out 2 very thin chapattis
Stuff the chapatti with some vegetables
Cover this layer with the second thin chapatti
Cook on a pre-heated pan on both sides till golden brown

2nd option
make dough and set aside as above
cook mung and saute the veggies
put dahl and veggies in mixer and mix for a moment
pour into dough and mix well, might need to add a tiny bit more flour
roll into chapattis and cook on each side until golden
If agni is strong you can add a touch of ghee on the chapatti after cooking on both sides


Your Bowel Movements as a sign of health

I just finished speaking to someone about their Bowel Movements. This is ordinary in my work as well as speaking about many other intimate and unsightly discussed things. there seems to be a lot of controversy out there or lack of comprehension.

Should your BM float or sink?
I am not going to take the time to post links to all the contrived ideas but if you were to search you will find them and that there is no consensus of what anything should be. This is health in today’s modern world. Some say it should sink. Other say it should float. To many, this is a totally new concept to even be thinking about what your BM’s should do or even notice.

In the modern world, we do not really understand health at much depth. A normal healthy person is said to have 3 bowel movements a day to 3 bowel movements per week. This states a lot on that lack of knowledge in Western science. Here is the depth to our modern knowledge.

Health is not just that you feel good. That’s nonsense and shows how someone can be feeling perfectly fine and then they are diagnosed with stage 4 cancer the next day (personal experience of this). Health is seen from many vantage points. Even if you eat well (whatever that is believed today at this moment and subject to change), it does not mean you are going to be healthy. First, there is a multitude of posts here on how to eat. It is not a simple thing. I could write volumes just on that. It is not even in its infancy of being understood at all in the Western world, yet even with that lack of knowledge and all the nonsense diets that are followed that come and go (like Paleo is now on its way out (debunked) and the next will be coming soon) humans still are living. Notice that no diet coming out in the West has any comprehension of looking at the stool as an indicator much of anything. Additionally, Western medicine’s comprehension can simply be seen with what is given to a patient to eat in hospitals. Anyone that has experienced this knows what I am talking about. Packaged jello and pudding is normal to be given to a patient right after surgery or whenever and is not even in the view of being questioned.

You can eat clean fresh food but yet how it is prepared and how it is combined as well as the seasonal effect is taken in all has an effect on its results.

The stool diagnosis will give the status of Agni (digestive fire), the symptoms of abnormal Doshas (body humour), the prognosis of diseases, and the presence of parasites.
With Ayurveda, the stool is diagnosed in several ways.
Firstly, there is a diagnosis by physical methods and then there is also an examination by dropping it in water. The dropping it in water is only to see if there is Ama (toxicity). Ama is an important cause for gastrointestinal disorders and also the cause of many systemic diseases. Bottom line, if stool sinks, it indicates the presence of Ama. If it floats, then Ama is absent in stool. There is controversy here with it meaning that there is fat in the stool if it floats and it is supposed to sink and all sorts of other ideas. If food is proper and the digestion is functioning properly then the bowel movement floats because it is processed well. It sinks when it is not because of it being heavy.
The physical examination is done by color, consistency, odour, quantity and frequency, and touch. There is also observations of froth and pain on elimination. 
The colour of the BM:
Pitta is primarily responsible for the production of colours. Tridosha also affects the colour of the stool. Vitiation of doshas causes changes in a different colour.
The consistency of the BM:
In general, the consistency of a BM can be loosely translated to dosha as dense is mainly due to Kapha Dosha. Solid and dry is due to Vata Dosha. Watery and loose is due to the predominance of Pitta Dosha.
The odour of the BM:
The odour of the bm gives a diagnosis to the altered pathological state of the agni.
The quantity and frequency of the BM:
This gives a lot of information of the person and the condition
The touch of the BM:
The touch sense of the BM gives the diagnosis of Cold, Hot, Unctuous.
This is just a brief glimpse at diagnosis from Ayurveda and any abnormal characters are used to diagnose various types of diseases or pathological conditions.

Laja Peya and Laja Kshira

Easy Breakfasts
Laja Peya
2 cups Laja (can blend it to powder)
4 cups Water

Cook puffed rice in boiling water for 6 minutes. 
Add buttermilk and salt
Serve warm 
Laja Ksheera
1 glass whole organic milk
Add 2 tbsp of laja (can blend it to powder)
Add sugar
Cook and stir as it cooks until milk boils
Turn off
Let cool enough to drink

Contraindications for Shirodhara 

Go to any Ayurvedic Spa, they will lead you into a room and give you shirodhara. Regardless.

During Shirodhara there is a lifestyle to follow as well or complications will develop:

Laghu ahara – Following a light and easily digestible intake. A diet of light mostly liquid like diet of easy digested and properly spiced food for deepana and pachana.
One is to refrain from eating too hot or too cold foods or drink, refrain from sex, exercise***, long walking, being in the sun, excessive sleeping, staying up late at night, taking of alchohol or drugs, being in wind or draft, excessive speaking, being emotional, being in stress, not working while taking treatments, withholding natural urges of the body


These are the contraindications to giving Shirodhara:

Having just eaten or full stomach
Aversion to oil
Fever in ama stage
Beginning stages of fever
Common cold
Low blood pressure
Excess Kapha
Excessive Vata
People with severe anxiety and combined control issues.
Morbid obesity
Drug use
Toxic conditions like sepsis (blood poisoning)
Open wounds / cuts / abrasions on head
Severe weakness
Spontaneous sweating
Not cooperative individuals like children
Alzheimer’s Disease
Brain tumor
Recent neck injury

*** yes, this means yoga classes as well for all those Ashtangis that are undergoing improper panchakarma in Mysore at the same time as doing practice with their ‘Guru’ because the doctors there would rather be making money and taking advantage of naive foreigners than caring about your health. This is very dangerous.

Channa Roti

2 cups  Besan/Chana/Chickpea flour
2 pinches Pink Himalayan salt
Warm water

Roast the chana flour for few minutes in a pan
Put it in a bowl
Add warm water slowly to the flour and knead it
Keep it aside for ½ an hour
Divide the dough into smaller than golf ball size balls and roll them out individually into thin roti with a roller placing some flour down to not have it stick to the table or roller
Roast the rotion a heated pan or tava and make sure to flip it and cook both sides till it is cooked completely.
Dab on a little ghee.

Wheat Chapati

Wheat flour – 2 cups
Rock salt – 1 pinch
Warm water – Sufficient quantity to make a dough that is just barely sticky


Grab a bowl and add the wheat flour. Add a pinch of salt and mix with fingers.
Gradually add warm water in a trickle to the flour and continue to mix with finger until it turns to a dough. The dough should be just a tiny bit sticky when done.
Knead the dough.
Keep it aside for ½ an hour to 2 hours

Divide the dough into small balls smaller than a golf ball
Use dry flour to dust the chapatti while rolling, to prevent the dough from sticking on the surface
Pat them in some extra flour to make a disc or flattened to make a circle
Then roll them out individually to make thin chapattis

Roast the chapatti on a heated pan (Tava is best but pretty much any pan can work)
After it starts to bubble on the first side flip it to the other side till it is completely cooked through. It should separate and blow up like a balloon. It can take some experience to make this happen. Chapatis are thin, not thick and gummi. Naan is not healthy (what you get in normal Western Indian restaurants. They are made from Maida or processed white flour and are much of the time fermented. Chapati is thin and cooked thoroughly.

Smear a little ghee on it

Have with a chutney or have with a meal of veg and and dahl then rice and sambar, or have in many other fashions.


Diet for Late Summer

Late summer regime

The late summer is the most challenging season due to: 1. the solstice and it is the longest day of the year indicating that the digestion is at its lowest strength of the entire year. 2. Vata is now going into aggravation from the early summer of accumulation. #. Pitta is now accumulating (not aggravated because summer is hot). The whole surroundings become green due to the development of grass and trees. The flowers are blooming. In the atmosphere, it is cold and damp. There are no thundering clouds, but the rain is more. Some places experience the monsoon. As we move forward, the whole sky is cloudy and there is a gloomy atmosphere. Due to Adana Kala (summer solstice), the strength of the body and power is diminished. The digestive capacity is at its lowest. The damp and cloudy atmosphere, make the appetite and digestion power poor. The cloudy weather is responsible for the increase in Vata due to Shita guna that is increasing from the hottest and dryest time of the year and the change in the direction of the winds.

The new rainwater is fresh, cold and the rivers flow so it is muddy and dirty and so is Amla Vipaki which is the reason for the accumulation of Pitta dosha (Sanchay). During this season the chances of diseases are more so one must keep his Agni as strong as possible.


The Diet

Cereals: Old Wheat cooked well like in flat bread/chapatis, rice, millet, Barley.

Pulses: Red lentil, Mung

Oils: Coconut or Peanut oil.

Milk Products: Fresh Buttermilk, Butter Ghee and milk (Goat milk).

Vegetables: Karela bitter melon, White onion, Methi fenugreek, snake gourd, broad beans, Sweet Potato, Cucumber etc.

Non-vegetarian: Meat of goat, deer, and rabbit.

Fruits: Mango, Pomegranate, Amalaki Gooseberry, Sweet Grapes.

Drinks: Well water, Lemonade, soups made up from meat broth.

Honey. Honey water is very good in this season.
One should try to avoid being in the sun for longer period.
Exercise is once every 15 days. Very moderate. Low effort.
Sex is a minimum. One in every 15 days. This also means masturbation.
Bath in warm water baths. Massage is good. Perfume with essential oils or scented powders with the cloth after a bath.
Flower garlands are worn.
Stay in a dry place, not in a humid environment. With good ventilation. Day time sleep as well as sleeping outside the house or open air is avoided.

Shelf life of herbs and Ayurveda

Shelf life of different types of drug forms

Drug form Shelf Life
Unprocessed dried plant material One year
Powder Two months
Tablet, Pills, Syrups One year
Medicated oil and ghee Sixteen months
Low potency drugs One year
Alcoholic preparations, Mineral and
Metallic drugs
More than a year

As per the Ayurveda text Saarangadhara Samhitaa. Prathama Khanda. Third edition. Vol. 1. Varanasi (India): Choukhambha Orientalia; 1983. pp. 51–52.


All plant material should be utilized within one year of its collection except coriander, ghee, honey, jaggery, pippali, and vidanga because these plants and substances are to be used only after one year after their collection, since till that time they are not ready for therapeutic use.


With abilities of packaging today, these times have been expanded.


The texts of Ayurveda also explain the seasons, location, and collection of herbs influence on the qualities of the herb.
Paarijaata (Nyctanthes arbor-tristis Linn) leaves collected in different seasons (six samples) were subjected to pharmacological evaluation. Samples collected during September produced better antiinflammatory activity in comparison to samples collected during other seasons. Leaves collected during November and July was almost inactive.
Silajatu (a rock exudate) samples obtained from five different places were evaluated for different types of pharmacological activities. Differences in the activity profile were observed. Anti-depressant activity evaluation employing behavioural ‘despair’ test showed that among the five samples studied, only Nepal and Gopeshwar samples showed significant activity while in other samples the activity was not significant.
*Saxena S. 1995. Silajatu Viniscaya. Ph.D. Thesis submitted to Gujarat Ayurved University, Jamnagar
*Joshi Sudhir V. 1997. A Comparative Pharmacoclinical study of Churna, Ghrita and Sharkara of Yashti-madhu in Parinama-shool with special reference to duodenal ulcer. M.D. Dissertation submitted to Gujarat Ayurved University, Jamnagar.


The formulation type being used is also another differentiation.
Yastimadhu (Glycyrrhiza glabra Linn) was administered in three formulation forms and subjected to comparative evaluation. Yasti corona, Yasti ghrita and Yasti Sarkara – each containing same quantity of the Yasti were evaluated for anti-ulcer activity against forced swimming induced stress ulcers. Significant decrease in ulcer index was observed in Yasti ghrita administered group; in other two groups only moderate and statistically non-significant decrease was observed.
*Joshi Sudhir V. 1997. A Comparative Pharmaco-clinical study of Churna, Ghrita and Sharkara of Yashti-madhu in Parinama-shool with special reference to duodenal ulcer. M.D. Dissertation submitted to Gujarat Ayurved University, Jamnagar. 


Truth is hard to swallow. Its easier to not know the truth at all and even pretend it does not exist.
Truth is that most products on the market today sold as Ayurveda are not classical preparations and most do not have the results that the classical preparations do. This is researched and proven. Sorry if this is hard for you to believe. Problems lie in the lack of availability of the real herbs, fakes are sold in the name of the real herb, some herbs are rare so in place of them other fillers are added in replacement of them. An example is dashamula. Truth is that you are not getting all ten roots in Dashamula, guaranteed. But, one would have to have some sort of deeper knowledge/awareness of Ayurveda to even know or have a view of this. Costly herbs are also not even added to many formulations that state they are in the ingredients. Sitopaladi churna is one of these. The bamboo mana in most preparations is actually chemically produced, not collected from bamboo. It does not give the results as the real herb. Avipatikkar also does not give proper results. Trvrit which is supposed to be in it is a threatened plant and Murva is being used instead which does not give satisfactory results and it is not mentioned on any labels by the manufacturer, the labels still just say Trvrit. Same is with Shilijit. think what your buying is what is actually what is on the label?
Another problem is the classical preparation is not being followed. If they are not followed (for whatever reasons) they do not give the proper results. This has also been researched as well.
In Sharandhara Samhita, a Ksheerpaka is a certain quantity of drugs to milk to water, when this is not followed the results are not had.
*Professor Siddhi nandan Mishra. Bhaishjya Ratnavali: Prameha rog adhikar. Varanasi: Chaukhambha Surbharti Prakashan; 2015. P. 329, 705-706

Excipients have been added to most formulations in the modern world, just inert substances, to increase stability, for preservation and storage, to maintain the bioavailability, for compounding and all of this is for the gross sales of these products. Tablets have magnesium searate, talcum powder, and binding agents. These make the tablets harder and stable for handling and shipping. Coatings like sugar and film coating make the tablets more palatable for consumers and also protect them from oxidation for longer shelf life. Syrups have colouring agents, ph regulators like citric acid and others, dilutants like a glucose solution, preservatives like neprazine, nepasole, sodium benzoate, and flavouring agents. All of this is also just to increase sales. Creams and ointments have stearic acid, cetyl alcohol, bees wax, soft, hard, liquid paraffin, water, coconut oil, triethyllomine, colourant, flavouring agents, and preservatives. Avalehas, the jams and jellies, they too have flavouring agents and preservatives added. This is modern ayurveda in India.

This is not even to mention the outright fraud when jaggary is mixed with other substances and then sold on the market as honey. Labels then say that the honey is contraindicated for diabetic patients when Madhu is one of the main substances for the treatment of diabetes in Ayurveda. Formulations like Nishaamalakadi Churna and Triphaladi churna are taken with honey in line of treatment of diabetes. Guduchi swarasa (Tinospora cordifolia) or Amalaki Curna (Phyllanthus emblica) are also prescribed to be taken with honey for diabetes. Compound T. Vasant Kusumakara Ras is also prescribed to be taken with Honey as an anupan.
* Astanga Hrydaya Ut. 40/48
*Charaka Samhita, Chikitsa Sthana Chapter 6, Chapter on the Management of Prameha (Obstinate Urinary Disorders) [37-40]

When jaggery is taken in diabetes, yeah, your gonna have trouble.



Question what you read on bottles and packaging of what is being sold in the mass market as ‘Ayurveda’ today. Not only in India, but especially in the West.


Classic Ayurvedic texts consider a herb/drug a very important patient management tool in the hands of a physician and also states that needs to be handled very judiciously, if not it is likely to be harmful and even sometimes fatal to the life of who is receiving it. In the West, there is a general idea that everything natural is harmless. This is the furthest thing from the truth. The information related to drugs and formulations along with diagnosis and management of disease accompanied by techniques of health maintenance through the observance of proper daily and seasonal routines are found in the classical texts.
Caraka Samhita – Sutra Sthana 1/126 discusses different aspects of herbs and states ‘even poison is an effective drug if used judiciously, whereas injudicious use of even the best medicine can prove harmful. Similarly, the use of an unknown drug may also prove injurious to the health of the patient.’ In Sutra Sthaana 1/124 it issues a caution in this regard with following words “An unknown drug is just like a poison or a weapon or a fire or the Vajra, the famous weapon of Indra (the king of Gods as per Hindu mythology)”. Drugs usually are known to possess a destructive potential and hence need to be used carefully. Charaka further elaborates the concept by saying that not a single substance in the universe is devoid of the therapeutic potential and hence is a potential source, provided it is used judiciously at appropriate indications. Substances can be hardly used as a drug in their natural form and almost every substance has to undergo specific processing to acquire a form of the palatable healing substance.



Diet for Early Summer

During early summer due to the northern course of the sun and the longer days of heat, the sun draws up the moisture of nature and due to the drying up roughness is produced. Sweet, cool, liquid, fatty food and drinks are beneficial. Day sleep is mostly indicated. Wine is indicated in small quantity with plenty of water or should be avoided completely. Excessive salt, sour, pungent, hot things, physical activity and sexual intercourse is nonbeneficial and to be avoided. The food prescribed during early summer thru late summer should be had in the midday when the digestion is the strongest.



Diet in the early half of summer season:

Cereals: Wheat, Millet, Shashtishali or sixty day harvested rice

Pulses: Mung, Red lentil, and Pigeon Peas

Vegetables: Cucumber, Bitter melon, Sorrel, Fenugreek, White onions, Ivy Gourd, and Snake gourd

Meats: Desert animals broth without spices, goat, deer and rabbits. Soups are to be very much preferred

Milk: Curds, Ghee, and Milk,

Fruits: Watermelons, Cantaloupe, Mangos, Grapes, Gambhool, Sweet Bananas, Amalaki, Pomegranate, Lemon

Drinks: All cool drinks prepared from fruit juices added with sugar and lemon, Sugarcane juice. Alcoholic drinks are contraindicated and are to be massively diluted with water if taken at all.

Miscellaneous: Honey, Cow’s urine, Sweet and cold liquids, Oily, light quality of food is prepared with the absence of salt, sour and pungent tastes.


Lifestyle in early summer

Bathing with cold water and swimming, after bath application of the paste of Sandalwood, Agarwood or Eaglewood, Vetiver etc.

Clothing: Thin, soft, cotton clothes, also wear the garlands of scented flowers, pearls and quartz crystal as jewellery.

Exercise: Minimum exercise

Sex: Undertaken rarely

House: It should be cool, apply curtains of Mango leaves and Vetiver. Artificial ventilation and/or light air conditioning can be tried

Sleep: Naps in the gardens or where there is a thick dense forest where the sun’s rays are blocked. Sleep outdoors maybe on the terrace in the cool moonlight. On a bed which is very soft, smooth, and light and with flowers.

Miscellaneous: Hand fans can be used that are made of peacock feathers or leaves of vetiver

Homemade natural shaving cream recipe



Very very simple…


Prepare shaving cream from soapnuts is as follows:

Pit and remove the shells of a few soapnuts and grind the flesh in a mixer or if you wanna do it old style
If you have dry soap nuts, they can be soaked overnight, then used



After making a paste of the flesh, add 1 tbsp of olive oil and 3 tsp of soapnut liquid.

Use this paste as a shaving cream immediately after preparing





Take coconut oil and Castile soap
add some gel from Aloe, fresh
Add some vetiver powder or sandalwood powder

Blend it in a small blender


There are all sorts of recipes dependent upon what is someone’s individual skin


If you want to make a bar of shaving soap…

Grate a bar of natural soap
put it in a pot and heat it
add a tablespoon of oil (coconut, almond)
Can add some aloe vera jelly
add 1 or 2 tablespoons of kaolin (a clay)
if you want you can add a little vetiver or sandalwood powder

melt and mix
pour into a mold (cupcake molds work great)

Let cool and dry



D-I-E-T, the four letter word

Diet or dieting is a misnomer that says a lot about our culture of the West. We think a diet is something we go on or like the detox diets that are so popular today, it is something we do because the rest of our life is created where we are which then we need to go on a diet or ‘detox’. Says loads doesn’t it? A diet is not this. A diet is the food you intake ‘all the time’. It is not something to ‘go on’ but rather what establishes what you are.

Below, this is a brief history of diet ‘ideas’ of the West. Seriously, this is just some. There are many many more but I got tired of typing. This is the longest list on the net yet it is really only about 2/3rds of the number of diets that have been created.

This list really does not include any sort of real religious diets that have been followed for religious reasons. It doesn’t really have the listings of the categories of diets like vegan, ovo lacto pesca and birds that have flown over 300 miles in jungle environment vegetarian and the like because it gets exhaustive with the insanity of what people have created today with their identification of self with diet.

And to start this all out, the very first one pretty much sets the stage for the following on the list.

Avoiding Swamps Diet
Writer Thomas Short observed that overweight people lived near swamps, so moving away from swamps was the diet he recommended

Vinegar and Water Diet
Made popular by Lord Byron

Low Carbohydrate Diet
First appeared in The Physiology of Taste by Jean Brillat-Savarin, a French lawyer and politician, and gained fame as an epicure and gastronome

Graham’s Diet
A vegetarian eating plan created by Reverend Sylvester Graham (July 5, 1794 – September 11, 1851) was an American Presbyterian minister and dietary reformer known for his emphasis on vegetarianism, the temperance movement, and eating whole-grain bread. The diet strictly avoids alcohol and white bread. As part of his dietary plan, he invented Graham Bread, a kind of additive-free and whole-grain bread that was coarse in texture that has later become known as the modern-day graham cracker.

Banting’s Low Carbohydrate Diet
“Banting” becomes a popular term for dieting

Horace Fletcher promotes “Fletcherizing”  Chew food 32 times

Calorie Counting
Introduced by Lulu Hunt Peters, an American doctor, in her book Diet and Health, With Key to the Calories

1920’s – 1930’s
Ketogenic diet
The classic therapeutic ketogenic diet was developed for the treatment of paediatric epilepsy. It contains a 4:1 ratio by weight of fat to combined protein and carbohydrate. Known to be dangerous because of acidosis.

Hay diet
Divides foods into separate groups, and suggests that proteins and carbohydrates should not be consumed in the same meal created by William Hay, an American physician.

Cigarette Diet
“Reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet”

Inuit Meat-and-Fat Diet
Caribou, raw fish and whale blubber

Dr. Stoll’s Diet Aid
First of the liquid diet drinks

Bananas and Skim Milk Diet
Backed by the United Fruit Company

Master Cleanse or Lemonade Diet
Created by alternative health enthusiast Stanley Burroughs

Cabbage Soup Diet
Flatulence is listed as a main side effect

Grapefruit Diet
Also known as the Hollywood Diet

Apple Cider Vinegar Diet reemerged from the 1950s Lord Byrons Diet

Food combining (or trophology)
An approach that advocates specific combinations (or advises against certain combinations) of foods

Zen Macrobiotic Diet
Created by Japanese philosopher George Ohsawa

The Drinking Man’s Diet
Consisted of “manly” foods like steak and fish, along with as much alcohol as desired.

Calories Don’t Count Diet
Dr. Taller’s diet permits the patient an essentially unlimited intake of fat and protein but drastically restricts intake of carbohydrates. Dr. Taller lost 65 pounds in eight months while consuming 5,000 calories per day. Which goes against all Western science (but is true) FDA filed charges regarding diet’s claims.

Weight Watchers
A “science” driven approach to help participants lose weight by forming healthy habits, eating smarter, getting more exercise, and receiving support. In October 2015, Oprah Winfrey partnered with Weight Watchers after buying 10% stock of the company then promoted the company with her celebrity.

Stillman Diet
A high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet created by physician Irwin Maxwell Stillman

Sleeping Beauty Diet
Individuals heavily sedated with pills for several days (Elvis and reemerged in 2017)

Liquid Protein Diets
Liquid protein drinks were low in vitamins and minerals

A commercial provider of weight loss products and services

Last Chance diet
Low-calorie liquid consumed throughout the day that consisted of a blend of predigested animal byproducts – think hide, horns and tendons which it killed a few people and was then taken off the market

Scarsdale diet
Based on the idea of eating a specific ratio of proteins, carbohydrates and fats to lose 20 pounds in 2 weeks

Pritikin Program for Diet and Exercise
Based on the consumption of unprocessed food and eating low-fat, high-fiber foods and getting regular exercise

Monotrophic diet
involves eating only one food item (such as potatoes or apples) or one type of food (such as fruits or meats)

Slow food

Beverly Hills Diet
An extreme diet which has only fruits in the first days, gradually increasing the selection of foods up to the sixth week.

Inedia or Breatharianism
This diet, which was accounted in historical texts of saints and hermits has only been debunked by science in the modern world and those claiming to be Breatharians have been found to be frauds

Fit for Life
Dietary principles including eating only fruit in the morning, eating predominantly “live” and “high-water-content” food, and if eating animal then avoid combining protein and carbohydrate foods. Stemming from the principles of orthopathy and food combining by Herbert Shelton.

Caveman Diet
Foods from the Paleolithic Era

Cookie diet

Rotation Diet
Rotating number of calories taken in from week to week. Eat certain foods in a 24-hour day, and then you wouldn’t eat those foods until 4 days later.

Scarsdale Diet
Low-carbohydrate, low-calorie diet plan

Cabbage Soup Diet
Diet from 1950s resurfaces on the Web

Stop the Insanity diet
Susan Powter was an Australian-born American motivational speaker, nutritionist, personal trainer, and author, who rose to fame in the 1990s with her catchphrase “Stop the Insanity!”, the centerpiece of her weight-loss infomercial. She hosted her own talk show The Susan Powter Show in the 1990s.

Incorporates a vegetarian diet with the inclusion of fish and/or shellfish, while abstaining from the consumption of red meat, poultry, and the flesh of any other animal.

High Protein, Low Carb Diet
Dr. Atkin’s version

Zone diet
A diet in which a person attempts to split calorie intake from carbohydrates, proteins and fats in a 40:30:30 ratio. The ideas behind the diet are not supported by scientific evidence

Sugar Busters
Cut Sugar to Trim Fat , Eliminates refined carbohydrates

Mediterranean diet
The principal aspects of this diet include proportionally high consumption of olive oil, legumes, unrefined cereals, fruits, and vegetables, moderate to high consumption of fish, moderate consumption of dairy products (mostly as cheese and yoghurt), moderate wine consumption, and low consumption of non-fish meat products.

Alkaline diet
Based on the misconception that different types of food can have an effect on the pH balance of the body

Eat Right for Your Type
Diet based on blood type, created by Peter J. D’Adamo. Later on down the line he has created the Geno Type Diet….. Because the blood type diet was correct.

Ketogenic diet resurfaces from the 1920s (Keto Diet)

Juice, Fasting and Detoxification
Perennial dieting favourites reappear in combination

Body for Life
A calorie-control diet as part of a 12-week program

Raw Foods Diet
Focuses on uncooked, unprocessed organic foods

Subway diet
A crash diet in which a person consumes Subway sandwiches in place of higher calorie fast foods. Made famous by former obese student Jared Fogle, who lost 245 pounds after replacing his meals with Subway sandwiches as part of an effort to lose weight.

High Protein, Low Carb Diet
1994 diet updated

Gerson therapy
Low salt, low fat and vegetarian, and also involves taking specific supplements. It was developed by Max Gerson, who claimed the therapy could cure cancer and chronic, degenerative diseases. These claims have not been scientifically proven and it can cause serious illness and death.

McDougall Program
A starch diet is a high calorie, high fibre, low-fat diet that is based on starches such as potatoes, rice, and beans which excludes all animal foods and added vegetable oils. John A. McDougall draws on historical observation of how many civilizations around the world throughout time have thrived on starchy foods.

Metabolic Typing Diet
The premise is that there are a set of homeostatic mechanisms which serve to regulate how nutrient intake is used for basic body functioning. And for each one of those mechanisms, each person is somewhere along a spectrum in terms of how their body works. After stating that each individual is different and after doing the questionnaire there are three basic metabolic type categories: The Protein Type, The Carbo Type, and The Mixed Type and you follow a diet based on each.

The Seven Day Color Diet
Suggested eating foods of only one colour each day

South Beach Diet
Eating food with a low glycemic index

Atkins diet
low-carbohydrate fad diet devised by Robert Atkins.[1] The diet is marketed with questionable claims that carbohydrate restriction is critical to weight loss. There is no good evidence of the diet’s effectiveness in achieving durable weight loss and it may increase the risk of heart disease and coincidentally Atkin’s died of a heart attack.

Western Pattern Diet (WPD) or Standard American Diet (SAD)

Dr. Kushner’s Personality Type Diet
Helps you find the right eating plan based on your “personality”. Robert Kushner, MD says this plan is more than just what to eat. He says most diets fail because they do not pay attention to the life patterns that can make us gain weight.

Coconut Diet
Fats replaced with coconut oil

Cheater’s Diet
Cheating on the weekend is required

The China Study
Examines the effect of animal protein intake on cancer risk and suggests improving your health by focusing on a plant-based diet

Sonoma Diet
A knock-off of the Mediterranean diet consists of managing portion sizes and eating approved foods centred on 10 items known as the “power foods”. The power foods are whole grains, almonds, bell peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, grapes, spinach, blueberries, strawberries and olive oil.

Maple Syrup Diet Features a special syrup-lemon drink
Beyoncé made the Master Cleanse Diet popular again from 1941
Then Dr. Oz made his adjustments to it to coin his own detox

Shangri-La Diet
Beat hunger by drinking olive oil about an hour before each meal, created by a psychologist

Best Life Diet
Made famous by Oprah, a talk show star, eat a Best Life-approved breakfast every day, eliminate alcohol, drink six glasses of water per day, and stop eating 2 hours before bedtime. During phase 2, eliminate six unhealthy foods (refined grains, fatty and sugary foods) and monitor your hunger and activity level. Finally, focus on “adding nutrition” by eating more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Calorie counts vary depending on your current weight and activity level.

Juice Fast/Detox and Master Cleanse reemerges
Premises is a “detox” … claiming to eliminate toxins, no actual scientific proof

The Eat-Clean Diet
Focusses on eating foods without preservatives, and on mixing lean proteins with complex carbohydrates.

The GenoType Diet
Classifies people into six distinct genetic body types based on how certain genes and physical characteristics are known to occur in combination. Created by the Blood type diet guy, Peter J. D’Adamo,  after he realized there is more to it all than his Blood typing diet and jumped on the genome fad.

Online diet program focusing on a low-carbohydrate diet created by Heidi Diaz under the pseudonym ‘Kimmer’ that became famous in 2007 in the magazine Woman’s World. Turn’s out she had created a fake online facade and that she was really an obese woman and not the face or person that she had created online.

100 Mile Diet
Restricting diet to include only foods grown within 100 miles of residence.

French Women Don’t Get Fat
A self-proclaimed “non-diet book,” French Women Don’t Get Fat is a popular eating plan designed by Mireille Guiliano, a French woman who gained weight after visiting America as an exchange student. Abandon the guilt and deprivation that many dieting Americans feel and instead eat smaller portion sizes with more awareness and appreciation of what you are putting into your body. As an example, if you overindulge at a meal early in the day, you would lighten up on what you eat at later meals

Dr. Siegel’s Cookie Diet
Meal replacement cookies packed with fibre

The Hacker’s Diet
Diet created by the founder of Autodesk, John Walker, a programmer. The diet accurately modelling how calories consumed and calories expended actually impact weight.

The Flexitarian Diet
By eating more plants and less meat, it’s suggested that adherents to the diet will not only lose weight but can improve their overall health

Tongue Patch Diet
Stitching a Marlex plastic patch to the tongue to make eating painful

Brown Fat diet
Created by James R. Lyons, MD, a plastic surgeon says that yellow fat makes you look soft, flabby, and old before your time, while brown fat is the good, healthy fat that keeps your body firm and youthful.. The 4-week diet and exercise program focuses on women and efforts to help develop lean muscle, boost metabolism, and build brown fat.

Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat
Jumping on the “Mindfulness” fad it teaches to be an “instinctive” eater rather than an “overeater” or “restrictive” eater. If you are in charge of what you are eating, you eat what you want rather than follow the rules defined by others and you become the expert on meeting your own needs. When you are hungry, you give yourself permission to eat. If you’re not hungry, then it’s not time to eat regardless of what the clock says. It coaches eaters to become more in sync with their bodies, to trust what it is telling them and respond to what it needs. Dr. Michelle May, M.D also reminds us that we were born knowing how much to eat.

A vegetarian diet which excludes meat except for kangaroo

Dr. Oz’s Ultimate Diet
Allows for low-fat dairy, low-fat animal protein, and fish. It also packs in plenty of fibre from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. States that fibre will help keep your cholesterol level down, and it’s good for your digestive system. Also includes about 30 minutes of aerobic activity on most days.

The Baby Food Diet
Originally an Internet phenomenon started by celebrity trainer Tracy Anderson, is a gimmick for cutting calories and controlling portions. It involves replacing one or two meals or snacks a day with baby food, jars of which range in calories from about 20 to 100

KE diet or the breathing tube diet
The individual feeds a proprietary mixture through a feeding tube for a specific number of days. KE diet powder – an infusion of proteins, fats and micronutrients with no carbohydrates – mixed with water through the feeding tube

Dukan Diet
Pierre Dukan is a former French nutritionist that created a low-carbohydrate protein-based fad diet

Nordic Diet
A way of eating that focuses on locally sourced foods in the Nordic countries — Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. … Compared to an average Western diet, it contains less sugar and fat but twice the fibre and seafood.

Mayo Clinic Diet

Eat This, Not That Diet
Recommends food choices with the aim of improving health. Criteria for unhealthy dishes center on high levels of calories, fat, saturated fat, trans fat, sodium and/or sugar content. Healthier alternatives often include higher levels of fibre and/or protein. Created by David Zinczenko who is an American author and businessman also who is known as a leading voice in health and has many books on diets to his name…. his first book was Zero Sugar Diet.

Intermittent fasting
two methods of intermittent fasting: whole-day fasting and time-restricted feeding

5:2 diet
An intermittent fasting diet popularized

Cotton Ball Diet
The cotton ball diet is a fad diet that involves consuming up to 5 cotton balls dipped in liquids such as juices or smoothies. The cotton is intended to make a person’s stomach feel full without them gaining weight.

Gluten-Free Diet
At this point, I think everyone knows this diet and I do not have to explain. In my experience, the amount of emotional attachment to peoples beliefs around concepts of this diet is a massive trigger with people today. Fact is that in 1856 celiac disease was named. There is a long history to it. The guy who created the BOOM of the gluten sensitivity which turned into the gluten-free diet went back and with three separate research projects debunked his prior findings in the following years but this does not stop the masses from following a belief and a fad and creating a billion dollar industry around it. There has been much research discovering that people that go on a gluten-free diet create other diseases and we will see more here in the future, mark my words. There is also research showing that placebo vs gluten-free diet had no difference in control groups of celiac patients. Roughly 1/3 of the US reportedly are following this diet fad.

Ideal Protein Diet
Another ketogenic diet, a regimen that typically involves replacing carb intake with fat to put your body in a state called ketosis.

Low-fat, raw vegan diet

Volumetrics Diet
Trade high-density foods for low-density foods and choose foods that fight hunger

TLC (Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes) diet
a three-part program that uses diet, physical activity, and weight management and sometimes, drug treatment also.

Ornish Diet
low in fat, refined carbohydrates and animal protein and exercise, stress management and relationships

Dr. Phil’s Ultimate Weight Loss Solution
“Seven keys to weight loss freedom” Among these seven steps are reasonable and solid recommendations such as breaking the cycle of emotional eating, choosing better foods, and establishing a regular exercise routine. Dr. Phil is a psychologist, with a very sorted past, that Oprah made famous on her show.

The Fast Diet
Referred to as the 5:2 diet: you eat normally for five days of the week and cut your calories to about 25 per cent of normal intake on two nonconsecutive days of the week. Created by Michael Mosley is a British television journalist, producer and presenter who has worked for the BBC since 1985 and Mimi Spencer who is a journalist and author. A feature-writer and columnist for such titles as the Daily Mail, the Evening Standard, the Guardian, The Spectator, Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar.

The Chemical Diet, Chemical Breakdown Diet, Chemical Reaction Diet and Three-Day Chemical Diet
A principle of pairing foods that work together to cause a chemical reaction to increase metabolism and create a fat burning effect. Created by Dr. Paul Dawson.

The Bulletproof Diet
Emphasizes foods high in fat, moderate in protein and low in carbs, while also incorporating intermittent fasting. Created by Dave Asprey who was in the IT and Web company business and the director of product management for a Silicon Valley startup called NetScaler until 2013 when he started the Bullet proof thing.

The Hormone Reset Diet
An elimination diet claims in seven three-day bursts, how to make specific dietary changes, eliminate metabolism-wrecking foods (meat and alcohol, sugar, fruit, caffeine, grain, dairy, and toxins), repair your body and reset your hormones. By Sara Gottfried MD

Anti-inflammatory diet
Includes nutrient-dense plant foods, and avoids processed foods and meats. An antiinflammatory diet consists of foods that reduce inflammatory responses, supposedly. Created by DOROTHY CALIMERIS, a food writer and blogger and SONDI BRUNER is a holistic nutritionist, writer, food blogger.

A restrictive dietary program that promises to “change your life” in 30 days through some tough-love nutritional changes. These include no dairy, no grains, no added sugar, no alcohol, and no legumes. … Think: Paleo meets an elimination diet—but just for 30 days. Created by Melissa Hartwig and Dallas Hartwig in 2009. They both became certified sports nutritionists; he worked as a physical therapist, and she was working at an insurance company during the day and doing nutritional consulting in her spare time. She quit her job to run the Whole30 business in 2010.

Military Diet
The 3-Day Military Diet is a low-calorie chemically compatible foods diet plan requires that you eat things like tuna, grapefruit, and saltines for three days. The diet is 3 days on and 4 days off. There is really no knowledge as to who is behind the “Military Diet”. No creator and claims of it being from the US military but a web site with no connection to any person.

Taco Cleanse
A vegan diet based on recipes for people who love tacos and want to experiment with a vegan lifestyle. All of the benefits stated in the book are based on anecdotal evidence of the personal experiences of the four authors who are Vegans.

Wild Man Diet
Abel James, the ABC star and creator of the #1 Fat-Burning Man Show who is educated in Psychological and Brain Sciences then worked as a consultant to the consumer food and beverage industry, shares his revolutionary weight-loss program similar to the Paleo diet but allows for a greater range of foods and more flexibility in your eating style than the caveman program. He experiments on himself then uses that as the basis of his diet. His claim with photos is that he was overweight and living the normal Western life of work then changed and as it is very popular to market ones own triumph over their story.

Monotrophic diet (mono diet)
Makes a come back from the 80’s because of a YouTube star nicknamed “Freelee the Banana Girl” (real name: Leanne Ratcliffe) boasted about her weight loss in 2014. She is a fitness trainer turned Vegan from Australia.
Sweet Potato Diet, same thing, touting how the spud can help you lose 12 pounds in just two weeks. Meanwhile, the hashtag #monomeal on Instagram, which highlights pictures of people’s meals containing a single food, has more than 38,000 posts, and the diet was one of the most searched in 2016, according to Google. Comedian and magician Penn Jillette even wrote a book last year about how he lost 100 pounds by eating nothing but potatoes for two weeks to kick off his diet. Matt Damon revealed he ate only chicken breasts to drop weight for his role in “Courage Under Fire.”

Dissociated Diet (A.K.A. Hay Diet from the 1920’s)
Eat just one type of food each day. Example: one day only poultry; the next day only vegetables without oil or spices; the next day any type of dairy product; etc. Supposedly eating a variety of food groups at each meal taxes the body’s digestive system. He reasoned that the digestive organs have to create and release enough digestive fluids and enzymes to simultaneously break down animal proteins and dairy which are digested in an acidic environment and starches which are digested in an alkaline environment.

Elemental diet
An elemental diet is a diet that proposes the ingestion, or in more severe cases use of a gastric feeding tube or intravenous feeding, of liquid nutrients in an easily assimilated form. It is usually composed of amino acids, fats, sugars, vitamins, and minerals. It touts that it is good for Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO)

The Economists’ Diet
Limiting carbs and eating more fruits and vegetables written by two professional economists

Eat to Live Diet
The 6-week plan shows that if you eat foods that are high in nutrients and low in calories, you can eat more and feel fuller for longer. Cut down on some carbs (bread, pasta), sugar, and oil. You also quit meat and dairy for at least 6 weeks, and eat more whole fruits, vegetables, beans and other legumes, and whole grains.

The Dubrow Diet
Intermittent fasting with a lower-carb eating approach that emphasizes whole, minimally processed foods, vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats

Lectin-Free Diet
Avoidance of specialized proteins (lectins), the root of modern illnesses, ranging from obesity and gastrointestinal issues to autoimmune disorders and allergies. Lectins, according to Gundry, bind to sugar molecules in cells throughout the body, altering their function. Made famous by singer Kelly Clarkson.



Okay!!!! Enough!

As you can see by these, health and diet has become a religion and is belief only at this point. You get to believe whatever you want because that is where all this has come down to. Like religion, it becomes something that you don’t dare talk about because everyone has their ideas. They are not even dogmas because they are not even coming from authority. Diet is either that or a four-lettered-word that means something you go on to lose weight which only means the rest of the time one has no consciousness to what they eat. Diets do not need any science or knowledge behind them. Most of the diets on this list have been already been debunked by Western science itself but that does not stop the masses in what they believe. You can research them if you have that extra week of your life to spend doing so.

We are so lost. Anyone can create a diet, just make it sound good and people will follow it. Literally anyone. If your a celebrity, wow is it easy. This is our level of humanity, our culture. Our awareness goes as deep as “if it worked for them, it will work for me.” How many times was I asked when I was a bodybuilder what I do to stay in such shape?

Back 30+ years ago or so, Western medicine/Allopathy was the only game in town and anything else was seen to be written by a crackpot or snake oils salesman. This is because of the power that Western medicine had over people and what the paradigm of our society is, we do not take responsibility or want to. The paradigm is to take a substance or a pill for the relief of a symptom with no deeper knowledge. It is the basis of Western medicine. The doctor was supposed to be all-knowing. The all-powerful healer. Turns out they were not and Western Medicine has been falling out of favour since. The problem lies in the ‘then what?’ that is left after one departs the Western Medicine paradigm. ‘Then what?’ is what one is left with when there is nowhere to turn. Left in the world of ideas and concepts, all sorts of stuff written by all sorts of people… not knowledge. In the timeline, you can see this as well with the number of diets being created in time as the culture starts to step out of the spell of Western Medicine but then the chaos breaks loose. Just think of this for a moment…. how do you think this is going to be in another 25 years from now? Are we really getting any closer to anything? Nope. Not in my 30 years of experience. The very foundational template that we create everything from is limited and greatly flawed. I know, big claims I make right?

My own experience in the health field has been seeing one diet fad come along. Everyone then jumps on the bandwagon. Then it is debunked in 6 or 7 years. The next one comes along and the same thing happens. The next one comes along and the same thing happens. And again. And again. The research changes and changes and we are not in any different place really except that the masses are more and more confused and this only creates a ripe situation for marketing just another ‘diet’. Back 30 years ago there was not the militant ego behind someone doing a diet like it is today, nor was there the trying to push it on others…. like trying to have a conversation with a Vegan about diet. or someone that is on the Gluten Free diet. It isn’t just me that experiences this. Really, the entire health field has become like this now. Everyone is an expert. But are they? Expert in what? back 30 years ago the fitness world was just developing. The bandwagon back then was to become or have a personal trainer just as today it is being a yoga teacher or ‘doing’ yoga.

Truth is that if you change your diet, the body will react. No matter what you do. Is it going to be a healthy change? How do we judge that? ‘Because I feel better?’ Really? That is the level of the judgment that happens when someone has no knowledge, no way to diagnose. It leads to problems down the road. No doubt that every single one of the diets listed above has its cheerleaders and victories that support them. What you do not hear are the voices of the people that had a disaster happen because of them. That’s not to acceptable in the forum today.

Truth is that if you start to do a walk every morning, you are going to get healthier and feel healthier. Truth is if you start a boot camp extreme exercise program, it may whip you into ‘shape’ if you do not get injured in the process but then long term what is it doing to the body? Do we have any awareness or knowledge that even starts to look at this? Not when everything is driven by desires backed by low self-esteem, self-absorption, and ego. Truth is that we really do not know what is healthy and it is all chaos with the commercialism that is our modern world. Try this and try that. Follow this new thing and that new celebrity. Pretty sad when you start to see it from this perspective.

Is it really that difficult to comprehend health? No, it is not… But yes, there are many factors and they cannot be simplified and it takes more than just following a chore list. Living is a 24 hour a day thing, you actually do not get a break. The details that go into life are vast and needs to be understood like a dance. Once you understand the fundamentals you can dance and then in time you get better and better. A human being is complex, Why would we try to simplify our beautiful complexity except only to sell something (one size fits all, or a three template fits all, or etc.) and keep the level of humanity low in awareness? Why not take the time to explore and learn and experience depth? Not enough time? Really? What else is there?

All of those diets in that list above are missing fundamental understanding of life as well as the universe we live in. Notice how many of them even have an idea that you and I are not alike. Not many. Credit to those that created diets seeing this. But those diets fail because they do not have any way to see the factors of diversity that is behind individuality, they just aren’t realized. Then there is another major failing in all of the diets listed that none of them recognizes the environment that has an enormous effect on the being. Nothing we know in the West even comes close to even seeing this yet. Someone living in North Dakota should not be eating the same as someone living in Florida, even if we are speaking about twin siblings.


I will take the Bullet Proof fashionable fad that is going on as an example and not picking on it. Think of this, “after a trek in Tibet in 2004. At 18,000 above sea level and -10°F, his energy was plummeting – until he staggered into a guest house and a local handed him a creamy cup of yak butter tea”, ………From his experience of how revitalized he was………… therefore it is good for everyone no matter where they are and who they are and to boot, he has done the Western science that he has found to back up his international success. his success will be as long as Tony Little’s was because fundamentally it is all just the same. Truth is much deeper in what our Western science and health ideas have no clue to at all….. Everything is based on variables. Lots of them. As I said above, life is 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. No day is the same. No year is the same. You are not the same as you age. So why would your breakfast be the same every day? Another difference is where you are on this planet (the environment). There is a science of understanding all of this that is complete, it just isn’t the Western science as of Protein, Carbohydrates, Fats and Calories as what is the popular comprehension in the modern world. This article starts to give the idea of the break down in the thought that I am speaking of with the Bullet Proof fad. Now, what about all the massive health issues in people that are being created the entire Bullet Proof fad? They cannot correlate anything they will experience because frankly, it does not exist in our paradigm. Just as a whole lot of people that follow the chemical diet will have heat related (and possibly liver, skin, digestive, blood, BP) diseases in the future (possibly near future) but this is unknown because it has no lens to be seen from or why it would be. What happens to someone when they are taking in Yak Butter or Coconut oil because it is the latest fad without the slightest idea that for where they live this is not beneficial and they will suffer the consequence with no way to comprehend it was actually because of that? What about consuming it during the summer? There is no comprehension of the seasons or the effect on our digestive capacity or health. Anything ‘bad’ that does come from it cannot be correlated in the paradigm that we comprehend everything from. This is only examples and it applies across the board with all of these diets.

Maybe there is something else. Just maybe.


Illness and disease are of your own making, it is your responsibility. It falls into the category of not knowing (ignorance, which is a four letter word in the Western culture) what is beneficial or nonbeneficial and how to live life with the environment (and nature) or it is caused due to one’s not following what they do know (whether that knowing is correct or not is another thing). There is a third reason, which is karmic, but that is the topic for a different post. Even when it is karmic it is still your responsibility ultimately. Everything is poison and everything is medicine but really it all depends upon knowledge because the greatest medicine is a poison in the hands of a fool and the greatest poison is a medicine in the hands of the wise. This whole ‘everything is created by you’ is a very hard to swallow pill for most people, especially those of which that have a deeply debilitating disease at an incurable level or those who have lost loved ones to diseases. This also does not go by the Western paradigm of living life oblivious and taking a pill for a symptom. I think that just the existence of the term ‘Standard American Diet (SAD)’ says enough to prove, its the standard.

The fundamentals below are all just the category in which there are subdivisions of the knowledge of what these contain that has to be understood as well to put the whole picture together. Life is an ongoing movement of cycles and cycles within cycles. Birth-Life- Death is the simplest of this.

The fundamentals:
There is you, you are an individual. That has a lot to comprehend under that umbrella.
You have your own digestive capacity that changes throughout the day and the year as well as as you age. This has to be understood and followed as it is the very root to your health.

You have your own intrinsic individual balance and also the imbalance in which your experience of life has created and you are living in. This needs to be understood and balanced. The human body has its basic functions that are the same in all of us as to how the system works so there is a basis of your own individuality within those parameters. What is good for you is not necessarily good for your brother or sister much less your friend although they also have a body that also is human (most likely). (so stop sharing the latest fad your following) Easily explained that if your brother is insulin resistance you are not going to share your dessert with them. Same sort of idea.

Every substance has its own same intrinsic individual balance and its qualities in the same way as above. One substance will be heavy to digest and another one will be light as well as there are other qualities other than these two. Every quality of the substance will affect and become you when digested properly. Ex. If you only eat kale, it will dry you out because kale is very dry/drying. They also have actions that they will create in your system like a green banana will make you constipated while a yellow ripe banana will be a laxative to your system. (just for fun look out on the internet to see how much controversy over bananas being good for constipation there is and you will see how little we generally know. In this example, a green banana is astringent which has actions of drying and constricting as well as harder for digestion which is constipating whereas a yellow banana is sweet and will help in constipation due to its different qualities. See that even the difference in how ripe a substance also creates a difference in the actions and qualities that it will then have in the body. This is just one of the many reasons why the Western view of calories do not work.)
Some substances do not work being mixed and eaten together. They will not digest and become poison for the system. Just similar to what happens to milk when you put it in a copper vessel?

A meal has the qualities and quantity that will be beneficial or not to you individually. There is method to how a meal is eaten that makes it digest well or hinder your digestion.

The seasons change in the same birth-life-death cycle and within this. The seasons have their effect on the human being as they have on the nature around you. If it is a rainy day this also affects the human being. The different times of day also have their effect on the human being.

Everything in your life has an effect on you. The time you go to sleep as well as the time you wake. How you sleep when you do sleep. It all matters. If you are sedentary, the body responds to it in the same. If you are hyper-active, this is also not beneficial to health.

Psychological health is had simply through detachment. Attachment and meaning-making cause all mental ill health and suffering. The state of the mind is also the state of the body as they are inseparable. Vice versa as well.

All of the above is basically easy to comprehend as general foundation and is simple logic. That is the basics. Then the comprehension of what all of these fundamentals are in detail comes next and how to dance in life rather than be a zombie sheep following in the darkness. There is no magic pill that will make you healthy. Disaster awaits that path. There is no special diet…. as you see from the list above. There is only learning a deep knowledge of what you are, and what is outside of you, and then how all of that fits together to make health. It also makes an experience of life that is a totally different world than being that zombie sheep. All of this and more is Ayurveda. It is complete and timeless. It is the knowledge of life. (and you can find the details of those fundamentals on this blog)

A unique feature of Ayurveda is emphasis on promotion of positive health, physical, mental and social and spiritual. “The wise man should control the impulses of greed, grief, fear, anger, vanity, impudence, jealousy, malice and excessive attachment”. “He alone can remain healthy, who regulates his diet, exercise and recreation, who controls his sensual pleasures, who is just, generous, truthful and forgiving and who can get along with his kins.



Food in relation to Matra, Desha, Kala and their effect on Health





What is health? It is already out there and has been for a very long time and has not changed with time. It is just not found in the Western paradigm ideas of health.

Sama dosha sama agnischa sama dhatu mala kriyaaha|
Prasanna atma indriya manaha swastha iti abhidheeyate ||



BMI has been used in the West to give an idea about whether people are overweight or underweight for over 100 years. It divides a person’s weight by their height squared. A BMI of between 18.5 and 24.99 is considered healthy, but some people are healthy with other BMIs. And it is a completely flawed tool to use as a diagnosis, but we still do today.

A brief history of the USDA food guides, and it is still just going to change and will still be a broken template to use

Now today, they are realizing that it is not about calories and what they have been believing is false

The new scam of blood testing for food intolerance 

The Western ideas are a hamster wheel no matter how you look at it. New research that creates a fad and the creation of a whole which becomes the old debunked research later down the road as the newest research takes its place on the same conveyor belt. Same old song and dance. The basic foundation of what our science works from is broken. Maybe there is something more than doing the same thing and expecting the result to be different?

Details matter. They create depth, and depth creates authenticity. Rules of Nasya.

There is no real way to share the depth and vastness of knowledge that is within Ayurveda to an average general person. People/western practitioners really do not like it when I say things like… that knowledge is nowhere to be found in Western Ayurveda, but it is true. It is hard to be found in India as well, that’s the truth of it.

To share just a tiny piece of the detail that makes real Ayurveda the wonderous and daily humbling experience that it is, as well as the very reasons why it has no context in the modern world, here is just an example.

In Western Ayurveda, Nasya is a part of the daily regime that is given to everyone. It is considered to be putting a few drops of oil (mainly sesame oil but there is even Western Ayurveda Vata oils, Pitta oils, and Kapha oils to use based on your prakriti for nasya) in each nostril in the AM after cleaning your mouth. In Ayurveda this is actually a langhana  (treatment.


The truth is that Nasya does not mean nasal drops. It means ‘having to do with the nose’ and the treatment of the nose is vast. It is the entryway to the head and diseases of the head, brain, and senses (as well as anything above the collarbones) are treated in this way. It can be liquid, oil, smoke, or powder. Depending upon the details of the diagnosis of why it is being done. That means that there are obvious indications for it to be done which means that there is a list of contraindicated conditions where it is not to be done because it will either complicate a disease into a deeper and more serious disease.

It is never done:
after a meal, this will lead to diseases of the head
when one has indigestion causes diseases of the head like cough, asthma, vomiting
after taking snehapan
after drinking alcohol
after drinking water or when there is a desire to drink water
after bath, that means after shower too (for those daily regime teachers/follower)
when hungry, will cause vata vitiation
when thirsty, will cause emaciation of the mouth
when tired, will cause pain
when semi conscious or unconscious, will cause complete unconsciousness
when there is Injury, will cause severe pain
after sex, will cause pain in chest, head and eyes
if one is weak, will cause   ”
after exercise, will cause pain in the limbs
in fever, will cause pain
when there is fear, will cause fever
after virrechana, will cause vata vitiation and trauma to the senses
after basti, will cause kapha vitiation, anemia, heaviness, and worms or parasites
when pregnant, will cause harm to fetus
after pregnancy, will cause depletion of tissues
when head congestion/head cold, will cause complications of head cold
when one has a weak personality, will cause depletion of the tissues
in children, will cause depletion
in aged, will cause depletion
in shwassa, kasa, raktapitta, will cause debility and depletion
when there is Suppression of natural urges
(there are some specific nasya that can be given in certain contraindications as a specific treatment like raktapitta above)

There are various kinds of Nasya. It is generally classified into two categories that one of those categories has 5 different types (one of the 5 types is the daily use) and the other category has 2 types. Then Charaka Samhita also has another classification of Nasya by what the part of the herb that is being used such as the leaves, the roots, the bark, etc.

Nasya is used for elimination of the doshas in the head. It is also used in various vata diseases.

There are different dosages given in the different types of nasya. There are different times of day that it is given for the dosha treatment. There are different times of the day it is also given in the different seasons.

When herbal extracts and juices are used for nasya it is known as Avpedana Nasya, when instilling milk, oils are used it is known as Navana nasya, when smoke of various herbs is used it is Dhuma nasya. Dhuma Nasya is given for mental diseases, epilepsy, parasites in the head, and in poisoning cases. When medicinal powder which are strong and applied with special apparatus they are known as Virechana nasya. Also there are two types of nasya depending upon the quantity of medicines or dose that is used when only 2 drops of medicines are used in each nostril for nasya it is known as pratimarsha nasya which is slow to act and less potent and when 8-32 drops are used it is known as marsha nasya which has its age, seasonal restrictions as well as has possible complication possibly vitiating doshas and is used in high vitiated cases.

Pratimashana or the daily use that is popularized in Western Ayurveda has its own timings that it is done for various reasons, like doing it in the AM is to reduce the kapha that is accumulated at night. Hmmm.
After waking reduces kapha accumulated in the night, after brushing teeth strengthens the teeth and cleanses the mouth, while leaving the house prevents dust and allergy, after exercise sex and being tired after waking removes debility and tiredness, after doing the treatment of holding herbs or oil in the mouth and after applying anjana to the eyes improves the vision, after meals cleanses the channels, after vamana cleanses kapha and improves taste, during the day time it rids heaviness and tiredness and promotes mental peace, in the evening gives good sleep, after urination or defecation it improves the vision, and other timings as well.

This is not a list for you to see what you want and then start to do nasya at this time irrespective of having the proper knowledge. Please do not do that. No self diagnosis and treatment okay?
There are details of age limits, times of it to be done in the different seasons, the strength of the individual is to be gauged for the dosage, the strength of the disease will indicate the preparation being used. There are even things that are to be followed as to what not to be done like being exposed to cold, dust and smoke, heat, drinking alcohol, anger, sleeping, travelling and other usage of oils.

There are signs of when the treatment is done correctly as well as when it is done incorrectly that then need to be corrected. If excessive is given, like in the amount of dosage or even the strength of what is being given, at the least it will give a headache, worse is that it will cause disease that they can be very difficult to treat. Just think of it, we are dealing with the head and the senses. Delerium and fainting would not be unusual in excessive treatment. This is why the dosage and the substance being used is very important.

The beautiful details require that beautiful knowledge and make up all of why it is so deep and why it works. All of this needs to be known. ‘Do no harm’ or ‘primum non nocere’ is the first part of the Hippocratic Oath. Everyone should take this verse to heart. Not just any practitioner of a modality. One should keep this in mind always, even for the idea of treating themselves or sharing ‘information’. Superficial information is the vast majority of what we live with today. Consumerism thrives on it.

There is also, in popular sales of Western Ayurveda detoxing under a very popular name in Western Ayurveda and the top selling herb company, a detox package to buy that has you do jala neti (neti pot) then do drops of oil in the nostrils. Oiliness + coldness is not useful in many conditions. In nasya, we are making the nasal passage oily.  Along with it, if jalaneti is done, it will make the area cold. This can lead to worsening of cold, cough, sinusitis etc. anyone that has done the neti pot knows how the water left in the sinuses will drip out hours later if not dried properly. Again, when the details are not followed properly, harm can be done. This is only a warning and proof that you can create disease by not knowing those details of proper treatment.

Article written on Nasya from proper sanskrit texts


Diet for Spring

The Drava guna (liquid) of Kapha increases in this period which results into loss of appetite and poor digestion (Agnimandya). This season is aggravation of Kapha dosha only, which should be controlled by Ritu charya (seasonal lifestyle).

The Diet:

Cereals: Barley, Millet, Old Wheat

Pulses: Masoora (red lentils), Chana (chickpeas), Mung, (mung beans), Dew beans

Oils: Mustard oil, Safflower oil, Sesame oil

Milk Products: Takra (Buttermilk)

Vegetables: Karela (bitter melon), Brinjal, Raddish, Pumpkin, Moringa (Drum Stick) and dry vegetables, Elephant Foot Yam etc.

Non-vegetarian: Roasted Goat and Chicken.

Fruits: Lemon, Betel nut, Pomegranate, Jambul

Drinks: Oil, wine and Hot drinks, Asava and Arista.

Miscellaneous: Plenty of honey (never heated, even in tea)- the Katu Tikta and Kashaya rasas (pungent, bitter, astringent) should be accepted freely.


Smoking: After meals smoking is advised. (dhuma, medicated smoke inhalation, an ayurvedic treatment which has nothing to do with or even like smoking cigarettes or marijuana)

Exercises: Gymnastics, Sun Salutations and hard work as per ones capacity

Massage: Before bath massage the body with dry powder of Chandan (sandalwood), Ushira (Vetiveria zinzanioides) etc.

Hot bath: Hot water bath followed by application of scented plaster (Lepa) to the skin. Hot water is never poured above the collarbones, but the feet are always washed with hot water. The rest of the body warm water is used.

In the afternoon one must/should spend the time with his relations in the gardens surrounded by flowers.

The day time sleep is strictly prohibited.

Miscellaneous: To control the Kapha dosha, Shodhana Karma like Vamana (vomiting) is advised only under the supervision of a properly educated specialist, especially for Kapha dominant Prakriti.

Nasya (nasal drops) and Dhuma (smoking) also help for melting the Kapha, Anjana Kawal (colyrium on eyes) etc. should be practised during this ritu kala (season).

The cause of all miseries

tasya mUlaM sarvopaplavAnAM ca pravRuttiH, nivRuttiruparamaH| pravRuttirduHkhaM, nivRuttiH sukhamiti yajj~jAnamutpadyate tat satyam| tasya hetuH sarvalokasAmAnyaj~jAnam| etatprayojanaM sAmAnyopadeshasyeti||8||


The root cause of universe and all upaplava (advent of miseries) is pravritti (action/attachment/excess). Nivritti (inaction/detachment from worldly affairs/abstinence) leads to its destruction (of all miseries). Attachment leads to miseries and detachment to bliss.
Realization of this fact is truth (pure knowledge).


[excess is a sign of illness, abstinence is control and thus health]



“What is cause of pravritti (attachment) and methods of nivritti (detachment) ?”.[9]

tajjA hyaha~gkArasa~ggasaMshayAbhisamplavAbhyavapAtavipratyayAvisheShAnupAyAstaruNamiva drumamativipulashAkhAstaravo~abhibhUyapuruShamavatatyaivottiShThante; yairabhibhUto na sattAmativartate| tatraiva~jjAtirUpavittavRuttabuddhishIlavidyAbhijanavayovIryaprabhAvasampanno~ahamityaha~gkAraH, yanmanovAkkAyakarma nApavargAya sa sa~ggaH,karmaphalamokShapuruShapretyabhAvAdayaH santi vA neti saMshayaH, sarvAvasthAsvananyo~ahamahaM sraShTA svabhAvasaMsiddho~ahamahaMsharIrendriyabuddhismRutivisheSharAshiriti grahaNamabhisamplavaH, mama mAtRupitRubhrAtRudArApatyabandhumitrabhRutyagaNo gaNasyacAhamityabhyavapAtaH, kAryAkAryahitAhitashubhAshubheShu viparItAbhinivesho vipratyayaH, j~jAj~jayoH prakRutivikArayoH pravRuttinivRuttyoshcasAmAnyadarshanamavisheShaH, prokShaNAnashanAgnihotratriShavaNAbhyukShaNAvAhanayAjanayajanayAcanasalilahutAshanapraveshAdayaH samArambhAHprocyante hyanupAyAH| evamayamadhIdhRutismRutiraha~gkArAbhiniviShTaH saktaH sasaMshayo~abhisamplutabuddhirabhyavapatito~anyathAdRuShTiravisheShagrAhIvimArgagatirnivAsavRukShaH sattvasharIradoShamUlAnAM sarvaduHkhAnAM bhavati| evamaha~gkArAdibhirdoShairbhrAmyamANo nAtivartate pravRuttiM, sA ca mUlamaghasya||10||

“The source of attachment are ignorance, desire, hatred and purposeful action. This in turns give rise to ahamkara (ego), sanga (attachment), samshaya (skepticism),  abhisamplava (mistaken self-identity), abhyavapata (false sense of ownership),  vipratyaya (sensing opposite of reality), avishesha (inability to distinguish between consciousness/unconsciousness) and anupaya (believing in inefficient traditions) that engulf an individual just like the very long branches of a big tree smother a sapling. A person overwhelmed by these emotions stays trapped in the affairs of the world.

Ahamkara means egoism. E.g., “I belong to a high descent and possess beauty, wealth, conduct, intelligence, character, modesty, learning, fame, age, power and influence.”

Sanga, or attachment, includes the mental, vocal, or physical deeds associated with attachment that are not conducive to the attainment of emancipation or salvation.

Samshaya, or skepticism regarding the existence of the result of the past action, salvation, soul, life after death, etc.

Abhisamplava is the mistaken perception of identifying one’s atman with one’s body, such as “I am second to none in any situation; I am the creator; I am an accomplished person by nature and I am the aggregate of body, sense organs, intelligence and memory.”

Abhyavapata is the sense of ownership, such as ” mother, father, brother, wife, progeny, keen, friend and servants belong to me and I am theirs.”

Vipratyaya, or considering a desirable act as undesirable, a beneficial thing as harmful and an auspicious act/thing as inauspicious (and vice versa).

Avishesha, or the lack of distinction between a consciousness and unconsciousness, nature and its modifications, attachment and detachment.

Anupaya, or inefficient religious rituals such as prokshana (consecration),  anashana (fasting), agnihotra (oblation to the fire), trishavana (worship with soma thrice a day while performing sacrifice), abhyukshana (wetting), aavahana (invocation), yajana (leading or guiding sacrificial rituals), yajna (sacrificial rituals), yachana (begging) and entering into water and fire.

Thus, if a person is devoid of intellect, restraint and memory, but is egoistic, skeptic, self-centered, is attached (to objects or actions), and is unable to discern between good or bad, self and the physical body, etc. he is an abode of all miseries. Such feelings are the root cause of vitiation of doshas relating to the mind and body. Such a person is trapped in the cycle of life and death and cannot attain salvation (from miseries). 


[Human thinking is dominated by Tisraishaniya (three desires):
(desire for long life), Dhanaisanya (Desire for wealth), and Paralokashana (Desire for other world).

The mind is the substratum of diseases, along with the material body. Diseases are classified as those occuring only in the body, like skin disorders; only in the mind, like anger, lust, hatred, fear, etc.; and those of both body and mind, such as Apasmara (epilepsy) and Unmada (insanity). Diseases that are purely physical or purely psychic are rarely found; most diseases are all psychosomatic. ]


A person with a normal share of strength and combativeness, who is of sound mind and concern for things here and hereafter, is moved by three desires. These are the desire for life, for wealth and for life hereafter. The desire for life comes first, because the loss of life amounts to the loss of everything. To ensure good life and health, the observance of a code of conduct is necessary, just as careful attention needs to be paid for the proper care of illness. The pursuit of wealth comes next, because wealth takes second place only to life. There is scarcely anything more miserable than a long life without the means to live. One should therefore work hard to make a living by engaging in farming, animal care, trade, service and similar occupations. The third desire concerns life in another world after death, which does indeed raise many doubts. (Charaka Samhita Sutra 11:3–8)

The code prescribed by him for a long and healthy life was a far-cry from asceticism. It laid great stress on personal hygiene, nutrition and diet, elegant attire and ornaments, warm social relations, physical activity, pleasant walks in agreeable company, sexual enjoyment and all other aspects of a joyous and happy living. While he upheld the virtues of truthfulness, fearlessness, diligence, modesty, courage, forgiveness, and kinship toward all living beings, he placed no bar on the celebration of life and the use of rejuvenating drugs to enable one to live for a hundred years. Indeed, separate chapters were devoted in Ayurvedic texts to rejuvenating therapies (rasayana) and enhancement of sexual prowess (vajikarana). Vagbhata had a section on the erotic to embellish his chapter on vajikarana! (Ashtanga Hrdaya Uttara 40:35–47)

The detailed account of food and drinks, protocol for dining, lifestyle suited to different seasons, enjoyment of wines and a wine party which are found in Ayurvedic classics give the reader a flavour of the average Indian’s social life in ancient India. In seeking to live for a hundred years in good health and affluence, they were harking back to the Indian sages whose fervent prayer was to live ‘sound in limb and body to enjoy the divinely ordained term of life’. While Ayurvedic sages displayed unalloyed zest for a good and happy life, they never failed to emphasise the pre-eminence of ethics in all forms of human conduct. According to them, a good and happy life was inconceivable in the absence of righteous conduct (Ashtanga Hrdaya Uttara 40:35–47). Therein lies the secret of the uninterrupted practice of Ayurveda for over 25 centuries until its resurgence in recent times.

Importance of tranquillity of the mind and lack of emotions

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“23. The Self cannot be known through study of the scriptures, nor through the intellect, nor through hearing learned discourses. The Self can be attained only by those whom the Self chooses. Verily unto them does the Self reveal himself.

24. The Self cannot be known by anyone who desists not from unrighteous ways,
controls not his senses, stills not his mind, and practices not meditation.”

Without controlling the senses there is nothing. This is the first step on the path. This is why Yoga has the yama and niyama as the first step. “Highly ethical in behavior” The mind must be controlled before meditation can even commence or there will be all sorts of fantasy and delusion.

Concepts are nothing, mind filling only. Everything needs to be realized or embodied. Knowledge is only information if it is not actually comprehended and embodied thru ones living or life. Reading a book and gathering thoughts and ideas does not give one advancement or capacity. Taking a training course and then parroting what one has learned is information is not teaching. One cannot teach what one does not have an embodiment of. The vessel teaching others can only teach to a level of which it is.

Gathering information does not give one experience. Neither does knowledge that is not lived. Knowledge is had by experiencing it then that knowledge becomes wisdom. This wisdom is then lived as it would be pragnaaparadha to not and has even more serious karma as a debt of it being not lived in accordance.


More Kali (buttermilk upma)

This is an easy breakfast for most of the year
2 cups Rice flour
2 cups Buttermilk
2 cups Water
1/4 tsp Mustard seed
1/4 tsp Cumin seeds
1/4 tsp Crushed Ginger
1 pinch Hing
1/4 tsp Bengal gram
2 tsp sunflower oil
Mix the buttermilk, rice flour, and water together well

Then in a speparate small pot, place the oil, and heat it
Then add mustard and cumin seeds and cook for a minute
Add crushed ginger and the very small pinch of hing and and salt to taste
Mix for 5 minutes

Pour the rice/buttermilk batter in and stir without stopping
When it becomes more solid turn off and cover

Wait 5 or so minutes

Eat and smile



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Pearl millet/Kambu Koozhu

This is an easy recipe for springtime.
1 cup Bajra/Millet Flour
2 cups Buttermilk (see the post on how to make takra)
4 cups Water
3/4 tsp Salt
3 Shallots chopped thinly
3 tbsp Chopped Cilantro

Take the bajra/millet flour and put it in water in a pot
By hand mix it to make sure there are no clumps
Put it on a medium heat and stir for about 15 minutes
Then turn off the heat and let it cool
Then add buttermilk, salt, and water and mix it well
Add the chopped shallots and cilantro. (you can also use an onion instead of shallot)



A second recipe to throw in here is that you can instead let the porridge cool and then roll the millet into balls. You can put these into any curry to enjoy them.


Sabhudana/Sago Kitchari

This dish is used in fasting and also is a great springtime breakfast or meal. It is made with potato most of the time but here we are dropping the potato due to the fact that potatoes are not healthy as per Ayurveda and is an unwholesome food. this is due to the fact of the qualities of the potato. It is very dry and heavy. It is hard for digestion. It aggravates kapha and vata both. Since they are opposites this is not a good combination to have.


1 cup sabudana
1 tsp cumin seed
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
A few curry leaves
2 tbsp roasted peanuts crushed
Some shredded coconut
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp sunflower oil


Preroast the peanuts in a toaster over or in a dry fry pan then let them cool and crush them. you can simply put them in a sheet of paper and fold it over. Use something hard to break them up.
Put the1 cup sabudana in 1.5 cups water over night to soak
In the AM break up the sabudana as it will be stuck together

Heat the sunflower oil in a pan and add the red chili powder, cumin, curry leaves, and then throw in the peanuts

Then throw in a little shredded coconut, stir, and let cook for a minute

Mix the sabudhana into the mixture and stir

then and turmeric

add pinch of salt and mix well

Cook on medium-high flame for only about 2-3 minutes


Need to eat this right away, won’t be a problem once you try your first bite


Puffed rice breakfast – Ugadi/Murmur


This recipe is perfect for springtime breakfast

4 cups Puffed rice/murmur
Ghee or mustard oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder
1 big Onion
Some curry leaves
1/4 cup shredded coconut
6 Roasted cashews chopped
2 tablespoons Bengal gram Roasted
Coriander leaves chopped

Pre-toast the cashews in a toaster oven
Take the 4 cups of murmur and put it into a bowl of water for only about 2 minutes then strain it.

Take a little ghee or mustard oil and heat it in a pan

Add the mustard seeds and wait until they start to pop then add the curry leaves and onions. Cook until the onions are clear

Add the roasted cashews and shredded coconut and stir. Cook it for about a minute more then add the turmeric and gram flour. Mix and let cook again for a couple minutes.

Add the salt to your taste.

Add chopped coriander leaves over the top and mix

Add this to the bowl of soaked puffed rice and mix well.

Can squeeze some lime over the top as well.




Simple recipe that takes only moments to make



Here are some pics i took of a man making puffed rice on the street in Kolkata today.

It is made in the heated sand.  The middle picture, the puffed rice is the two furthest  or in the last picture the furthest right


Village knowledge

Throughout India common folk/village knowledge exists that is about Ayurveda. People have grown up in the past reciting and learning simple verses and lines that convey wisdom of the past.

This is one of those….

चैते गुड़ बैसाखे तेल |
जेठ क पंथ असाढ़ क बेल ||
सावन साग न भादों दही |
कार करेला कातिक माहि ||
अगहन जीरा पूसे धना |
माघे मिसरी फागुन चना ||

It is a line about the months that explains what foods to stay away from during that time.

Chaitra – gur (jaggary)
Vaishakha – oil
Jyeshtha – journey (traveling)
Ashadha – bilwa
Shravana – shaaka (leafy vegetables)
Bhadrapada – curd
Ashvina – bitter gourd
Kartika – buttermilk
Agrahayana – cumin
Pausha – coriander
Magha – mishri
Phalguna – chickpeas


Those months are…

  1. Chaitra (30 / 31* Days) Begins March 22 / 21*
  2. Vaisakha (31 Days) Begins April 21
  3. Jyaistha (31 Days) Begins May 22
  4. Asadha (31 Days) Begins June 22
  5. Shravana (31 Days) Begins July 23
  6. Bhadra (31 Days) Begins August 23
  7. Asvina (30 Days) Begins September 23
  8. Kartika (30 Days) Begins October 23
  9. Agrahayana (30 Days) Begins November 22
  10. Pausa (30 Days) Begins December 22
  11. Magha (30 Days) Begins January 21
  12. Phalguna (30 Days) Begins February 20
    * Leap years
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