Thread by @anupampom

Problem is many ayurvedic practitioners/researchers do not think that burden of evidence is on them to show that a drug/medication works, neither does indian govt.

How many BAMS post-grads Are conducting even phase 2 RCTs cf allopathy grads

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by @tapasya_s view original on Twitter

Anybody offended by this comment must read this piece by @PriyankaPulla ,shows state of research in particular in ayurveda..
openthemagazine.com/article/living…

Here is another article investigating state of research and burden of evidence on Ayurveda -shameful.
thehindu.com/sci-tech/healt…

Chinese scientist have done great work in their indigenous system of medicine - a scientist's research led to artemesinin which saves thousands of lives in malaria every year..Meanwhile we continue to bask in old glory.

The 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Professor Youyou Tu ( a Traditional chinese medicine researcher )for her key contributions to the discovery of artemisinin.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…

I am more than sure chinese on other side of himalayas are equally proud of their heritage, but they work hard (of course aided by dedicated govt focus) to bring their research upto exacting western standards.

A great thread on ayurveda by @ARanganathan72

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My other focus on this thread is different-
to show how ayurvedic drugs are being used without quality control,with heavy metal content and leading to serious disorders from Bone marrow depression to delayed recovery from anaesthesia to neurotoxicity.

This is important because somehow we have taught in our culture that Ayurvedic drugs , so no side effects- This is PLAIN WRONG. Ayurvedic drugs can have signifficant good and bad effects irrespective of what ramdev tells you..

The heavy metals contained in impure ayurvedic drugs can cause serious liver and kidney toxicity -as liver and kidney are our body's filters/chief metabolic filtering agents..

There are 68 articles on lead toxicity due to ayurvedic drugs on pubmed - be very careful about quality of ayurvedic drugs you are taking. as most of them dont have adequate quality control

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pubmed/?t…

Arsenic poisoning-
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pubmed/?t…

Acute renal failure-
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pubmed/?t…

A hypercalcemia mystery diagnosis due to ayurvedic drug presented and discussed by nephrologists in this thread

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It is sad that ayurveda is clubbed with pseudo science like homeopathy, but we have to understand that impurities and heavy metal poisoning are spoiling its image. Recently NHS decided to ban both homeopathy and herbal drugs.
dailymail.co.uk/health/article…

Most of the patients self medicate on ayurvedic drugs thinking that they are free of side effects..This is misleading, these drugs are very powerful and can be dangerous if not taken under ayurvedic physician guidance. AVOID.

A good question-

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There have been clinical trials of reserpine in hypertension,recently haldi extract in rheumatoid arthriitis..and some others..successes have been far and few..also allopathy is quick to co-opt active ingredients of ayurveda herbs , and manufacture synthetically if they work

People criticise allopathy pharma companies for extracting active ingredients from herbs and patenting them, but to their credit their minds are open- they pick whatever works, subject the drugs to exacting RCTS all over world and manufacture at scale.

consider this-
A very powerful BP drug muktawati is sold over the counter on amazon by baba ramdev's company. This is criminal. Must be used under physician's guidance. Have seen many patients taking it presenting with low BP,depression,low heart rate
amazon.in/Divya-Mukta-Va…

For the skeptics- let me quote charak for you in charaksamhita -

"A potent poison becomes the best drug on proper administration. On the contrary, even the best drug becomes a potent poison if used badly"

Especially if you are taking ayurvedic/herbal drugs before surgery.
DONT HIDE thinking it would upset the surgeons/anaesthesiologists,it may be crucial and difference between life and death

currently ASA recommends stopping herbal drugs 2 weeks bfore surgery-

Here is a good review-
academic.oup.com/bjaed/article/…

Another review in indian context-
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…

Basically if you are using ginger,ashwagandha(ginseng) or garlic before surgery , stop at least 1-2 weeks prior to it. For rest of supplements no worthwhile data

An important question-Are most of indigenous drugs useless, because it is likely that big companies would have mined useful herbs , leaving useless ones.

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No,
there are many herbs which have not been properly explored..ex.. artesunate which has upto 30% mortality reduction in malaria was introduced as an active ingredient only in 2000-2001,only when a chinese researcher did active research on it and popularized it.

Many medicinal herbs are well known- the trick and challenge is in extracting their active ingredients.

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This critical thread on Ayurveda would have landed me in jail if I were in China..Thank God for small mercies @aparanjape @PriyankaPulla @anupsoans
nature.com/articles/d4158…