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Are you prone to a problem with 'Atherosclerosis'?
Find your imbalances and create a diet for your Blood and Circulation by taking the
free blood and circulation quiz:
Atherosclerosis (athero=paste, sclerosis = hardening) is a chronic condition causing the vessel to harden and narrow. Arteries carry oxygen rich blood throughout the body, and when they become obstructed, it can lead to serious medical complications including a stroke, heart attack, and general lack of blood flow to organs (peripheral vascular insufficiency).
Pathogenesis
Arteries are lined with a thin layer of cells called the endothelium. Under some conditions, the cell lining of arteries becomes damaged. As your body attempts to repair this damage, scar tissue (fibrosis) develops. "Bad" cholesterol (LDL) may start to accumulate and form plaque on the vessel wall. The fibrosis leads to hardening and inelasticity of the arteries. Plaque formation narrows the blood vessel.
Major risk factors include smoking, high blood pressure, and poor diet, especially consumption of trans-fats. Anything that causes buildup of ama can irritate the blood vessel.
Atherosclerosis & Dosha
Athersclerosis is a tridoshic disorder. It is most common in Kapha individuals during Vata time of life, and in those who smoke. Inflammation is Pitta while plaque formation is Kapha in nature. The narrowing and hardening of the vessel is a Vata disorder.
Natural Approach to Atherosclerosis
Reduce Inflammation
To prevent atherosclerosis, stop smoking. Alteratives & antioxidants can help reduce inflammation. Connective tissue tonics help to maintain elasticity of vessels.
Daily, gentle exercise will help prevent stress and high blood pressure that can also contribute to atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is associated with a high degree of bitterness - the residue of chronic inflammation.
Heat Deficiency
Atherosclerosis causes poor circulation, leading to low fire (gani) and cold signs. Consequently, dry conditions may develop.
Kapha Pacifying Diet
Remove foods that contain refined sugar and trans fats, such as doughnuts, cakes, and biscuits, as they increase plaque formation.
Bitter foods, as well as guggulu, can be utilized for their scraping effect (lekhna) as these clear toxic plaque accumulations in the circulatory channels. Scraping herbs also help balance cholesterol levels.
Dilate Blood Vessels
Aromatic herbs, such as cardamom and mint, help to dilate vessels and improve circulation.
Disclaimer: Conditions such as 'Atherosclerosis' that cause tissue changes could be serious and should be checked by a medical doctor.
Augment your diet with these specially chosen ingredients below which may be useful for 'Atherosclerosis'.
Individual results vary depending the cause of your imbalance and by constitution.
Please research the ingredients below to find which are most helpful for you, and check with your doctor before making any changes to your health and wellness routine.
We will use this information to better predict food that helps you.
Vasodilator
VASODILATOR
A vasodilator is an herb that widens the blood vessels by the relaxation of smooth muscle cells within the vessel walls, thereby increasing circulation systemically or to a local area.
Scrapes fats / cleanses blood vessels by 1) purging bile, 2) strengthening the liver's ability to metabolize fats, 3) by increasing uptake of cholesterol in the liver, and 4) by inhibiting fat cells.
Fibrosis of an organ is often a progressive leading to organ failure (i.e lungs, liver, kidney). While vulneraries usually help restore collagen, antifibrotic herbs often clear collagen. Aka fibrinolytic.
An antioxidant is a molecule that inhibits oxidation. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals that lead to a chain reaction causing damage or death to cells. Antioxidants terminate these oxidation reactions.
Restores the proper function of the body by cleansing the blood and balancing blood chemistry. In Ayurveda terms, they pacify Pitta in rakta. They were traditionally used to revitalize and detoxify after a long winter.
Flavonoids are a colorful type of polyphenol. As all polyphenols, they have a strong antioxidant effect. Many flavonoids have an anti-inflammatory, and/or antiallergen effect.
Herbs or spices with volatile essential oils that present strong aromas. Aromatic oils shock, refresh and numb tissue, with the end result of relaxing, opening and clearing stagnant fluids in tissues.
Geriatric conditions typically involve low agni / metabolism, poor circulation, weakness & debility, muscle weakening, poor digestion, a drop in sex hormones, and connective tissue degradation in bones & skin.
Scrapes fats / cleanses blood vessels by 1) purging bile, 2) strengthening the liver's ability to metabolize fats, 3) by increasing uptake of cholesterol in the liver, and 4) by inhibiting fat cells.
Restores the proper function of the body by cleansing the blood and balancing blood chemistry. In Ayurveda terms, they pacify Pitta in rakta. They were traditionally used to revitalize and detoxify after a long winter.
Fibrosis of an organ is often a progressive leading to organ failure (i.e lungs, liver, kidney). While vulneraries usually help restore collagen, antifibrotic herbs often clear collagen. Aka fibrinolytic.
An antioxidant is a molecule that inhibits oxidation. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals that lead to a chain reaction causing damage or death to cells. Antioxidants terminate these oxidation reactions.
A vasodilator is an herb that widens the blood vessels by the relaxation of smooth muscle cells within the vessel walls, thereby increasing circulation systemically or to a local area.
Flavonoids are a colorful type of polyphenol. As all polyphenols, they have a strong antioxidant effect. Many flavonoids have an anti-inflammatory, and/or antiallergen effect.
In Ayurveda, oily refers to anything moistening. More specifically, oily refers to building substances that increases fat, or are themselves fatty. For example, sugar is Oily.
Herbs or spices with volatile essential oils that present strong aromas. Aromatic oils shock, refresh and numb tissue, with the end result of relaxing, opening and clearing stagnant fluids in tissues.
Bland means doesn't have much taste. In Chinese medicine, bland taste refers to afood without little macronutrients, such as cabbage, radish or bok choy.
Geriatric conditions typically involve low agni / metabolism, poor circulation, weakness & debility, muscle weakening, poor digestion, a drop in sex hormones, and connective tissue degradation in bones & skin.
DISCLAIMER: The pathogenesis of each person's condition is unique, and so the diet must be fit to the individual and the unique root causes of the condition in your body.
The information on this page is for educational purposes only and should not be used to treat a medical condition. It is not a substitute for medical care.
Please check with your doctor before making any changes to your health and wellness routine.
Balance Your Body with Diet, Herbs, & Lifestyles Having These Biocharacteristics
Everything you eat has an effect on your body, which Ayurveda categorizes in a simple and easy way, using biocharacteristics (gunas).
Biocharacteristics are qualities (like cold and hot) that describe the effect a food or herb has on your body.
Cooling foods like cucumber, decrease metabolism.
Heating foods like chili pepper, stimulate your body and increase metabolism.
For 'Atherosclerosis', you should select foods with the following biocharacteristics.
Individual results will vary, based on your body type and the root cause of your imbalance.
FOODS TO FAVOR
MATCH WITH YOUR WELLNESS PROFILE
CLEAR
ABOUT CLEAR BIOCHARACTERISTIC
Clear refers to anything that cleanses or flushes out wastes, or that digests ama.
Fibrosis of an organ is often a progressive leading to organ failure (i.e lungs, liver, kidney). While vulneraries usually help restore collagen, antifibrotic herbs often clear collagen. Aka fibrinolytic.
Restores the proper function of the body by cleansing the blood and balancing blood chemistry. In Ayurveda terms, they pacify Pitta in rakta. They were traditionally used to revitalize and detoxify after a long winter.
An antioxidant is a molecule that inhibits oxidation. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals that lead to a chain reaction causing damage or death to cells. Antioxidants terminate these oxidation reactions.
A vasodilator is an herb that widens the blood vessels by the relaxation of smooth muscle cells within the vessel walls, thereby increasing circulation systemically or to a local area.
Scrapes fats / cleanses blood vessels by 1) purging bile, 2) strengthening the liver's ability to metabolize fats, 3) by increasing uptake of cholesterol in the liver, and 4) by inhibiting fat cells.
Geriatric conditions typically involve low agni / metabolism, poor circulation, weakness & debility, muscle weakening, poor digestion, a drop in sex hormones, and connective tissue degradation in bones & skin.
Flavonoids are a colorful type of polyphenol. As all polyphenols, they have a strong antioxidant effect. Many flavonoids have an anti-inflammatory, and/or antiallergen effect.
ATHEROSCLEROSIS IS IN STAGE OF DISEASE #4 - TISSUE DISEASE
If you have symptoms in this category it means your imbalances have overwhelmed your body's resistance causing a full-fledged disease.
Once imbalance reaches this stage it is more likely to cause acute or chronic conditions.
You might be tempted to focus your attention on fighting symptoms in this category, but dismiss earlier warning signs of imbalance - i.e. symptoms in the stage 1 category.
It is ideal to find and address the root causes weakening your system and remove them first.
This ensures you are not adding fuel to the fire of disease.
Once the root causes are removed, you can work on addressing the disease head on along with strengthening your body.
This typically yields a quicker recovery and prevents recurrence.
Ayurveda's preventative approach suggests you pay careful attention to every stage of disease development.
(See all disease stages on JB)
AVOID DIETS, LIFESTYLES & HERBS THAT AGGRAVATE THESE EFFECTS
According to Ayurveda, one or more of the following
doshas
and biocharacteristics may aggravate 'Atherosclerosis'.
If you have an excess of one of these doshas or biocharacteristics below, Ayurveda recommends reducing foods and lifestyle habits that aggravate them.
Click on the biocharacteristic to learn what foods and
lifestyle habits should be reduced.
Symptoms Tell A Story
The first step to healing is learning patterns from your symptoms.
Symptoms are clues that reveal underlying imbalances.
Symptoms show you where your body is weakened.
Ultimately, all disease has a root in tissues too weak to defend itself.
Ayurveda describes these patterns of weakness using doshas & biocharacteristics.
If you notice a biocharacteristic or dosha appears next to many of your symptoms,
it helps you establish a pattern that may be systemic.
BIOCHARACTERISTIC
FOODS TO AVOID
DO YOU HAVE THIS IMBALANCE?
GOOEY
ABOUT GOOEY BIOCHARACTERISTIC
Gooey is identified by anything gelatinous (such as oatmeal), or by mucus congestion.
Are you prone to a problem with 'Atherosclerosis'?
Find your imbalances and create a diet for your Blood and Circulation by taking the
free blood and circulation quiz:
The following symptoms & habits may be related to 'Atherosclerosis'.
See your quiz results for a computerized assessment of your body type.
Please click on the symptoms below to learn more about them.
Risk Factor: 130% more often Complication: +2.1 times as often
Please login or create a free account to see research statistics filtered on Atherosclerosis and Post Menopausal.
Biocharacteristics of 189 People Reporting Atherosclerosis
On average the biocharacteristics
of people reporting Atherosclerosis were more aggravated than 72% of other symptoms.
From the 189 people who reported Atherosclerosis in this research study of 74,671 individuals,
average deviation in biocharacteristic levels were the following:
Please login or create a free account to see research statistics filtered on Atherosclerosis and Sour.
0.0% avg client level
9.5% (18) of cases
7,528 have Sour constitution
Risk Factors of Atherosclerosis
Below you will see general risk factors as well as the greatest risk factors, i.e. those who were also more likely to report Atherosclerosis.
Overall, 0.57% of people surveyed in this research study reported Atherosclerosis.
Please login or create a free account to see research statistics filtered on Atherosclerosis and Unable to exercise due to Injury, disease, breathlessness, etc.
Please login or create a free account to see research statistics filtered on Atherosclerosis and Nasal Polyps.
10 cases with both
+2.1 times more likely
5% of cases
2.43% (787 cases)
DISCOVER YOUR BODY WITH YOUR FREE INDIVIDUALIZED BODY MAP
Find ideal foods, herbs and lifestyle tips.
See your imbalances, and locate intervention points.
Your body map contains a complete analysis of your Ayurvedic imbalances, organ by organ.
Give your chart to your functional medical doctor or any alternative health practitioner.
Ayurveda strengthens the body while opposing disorders. It takes a holistic,
systemic approach that looks at the whole body. Ayurveda
shows how to interpret signs and symptoms of imbalance, and how to address them
using diet, lifestyle adjustments, and herbs. It shows a person how to optimize their health on a continual basis. You can't
take the doctor home with you, but you can take Ayurveda home with you.
Ayurveda is the most advanced and easy to use home system for self healing.
HOW DOES AYURVEDA WORK?
Ayurveda starts by identifying your body type,
which identifies certain tendencies in your body to get sick (as well as identifying your strengths).
It uses body type to determine the likely root causes of your disorders.
Next, Ayurveda analyzes the nature of your disorder.
It fits all your signs and symptoms into a pattern, expressed as a combination of biocharacteristics (gunas).
For example, you may have a heat disorder, a cold disorder, or an oily disorder, etc.
This simple categorical approach shows you how to correct systemic imbalances and strengthen your body as a whole.
On Joyful Belly, we've created an extensive categorization of food so you can easily match food to your imbalanced biocharacteristics.
By eating an optimal diet that balances your biocharacteristics, your whole body is strengthened
and the conditions that created the disorder are removed. Once the root causes of the disease
are removed, the disease lessens in strength or disappears altogether. Additional remedies -
such as herbs and lifestyle practices - focused on the specific disorder, can greatly enhance
your healing.
GET STARTED
To get started on your Ayurvedic journey, we first recommend that your find your body
type by taking our free quiz. In Ayurveda, every solution is based on your unique body type, so
by taking this quiz, you’ll get the best results.
5 WAYS TO HEAL YOUR BODY WITH AYURVEDA - FREE REPORT!
New to Ayurveda? Not sure how Ayurveda can help you?
This free report shows you 5 simple ways you can heal your body with Ayurveda.
It shows you simple, practical ways manage your health.
John Immel, the founder of Joyful Belly, teaches people how to have a
healthy diet and lifestyle with Ayurveda.
His approach to Ayurveda is clinical, yet exudes an ease which many find enjoyable and insightful.
John also directs the Joyful Belly College of Ayurveda,
offering professional clinical training in Ayurveda for over 15 years.
John's hobbies & specialties include advanced digestive disorders, medieval Catholic philosophy,
& botany. He holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Harvard University.
His wife and family of 7 kids live in Asheville, NC.
Founder of Joyful Belly Ayurveda, John Immel, answers the question ‘What is Ayurveda?’
Comments & Personal Experiences
How does 'atherosclerosis' affect your quality of life?
What aggravates it? What has helped you? Is there something else you'd like to know about 'atherosclerosis'?
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* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
The information and products on this website are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any
disease.
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Ayurvedic Perspective on Atherosclerosis
Stage of Imbalance (Samprapti)
Diet Remedies by Dosha, Biocharacteristics (Guna), Action, etc.
Herb Remedies by Dosha, Guna, Action, etc.
Biocharacteristics & Herb Actions to Favor
Biocharacteristics to Avoid
Related Symptoms
Live Report: Biocharacteristics
Live Report: Risk Factors
Live Report: Complications
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