Ayurveda, Indian system of medicine aims to revitalize and preserve the health of the healthy and alleviate the disease of the sick. Proper lifestyle and diet play a major role in the prevention and curative aspect of ailments. Diet in its simplest form can be described as the food consumed. A diet can be compatible or incompatible to the human body depending on the various factors such as time, weather, topography, domicile, digestive power of an individual. In ayurveda this compatible diet is termed as pathya ahara and incompatible diet is termed as apathya ahara. In the present scenario, current life style and food habits such as incompatible diet and irregular timings contribute to various ailments. Skin is the most exposed organ and thereby more prone to pathological changes. Present research works and published papers are observed to be focused on diseases and medications and their curative effects. There is lackadaisical approach on the part to control and alleviate diseased conditions through a strict pathya apathya (wholesome and unwholesome) rather than outright administration of medicine. The present review highlights the same. In Ayurveda, skin disease occurs mostly due to the kapha pitta (humors) and rasa- rakta dushti (vitiated rasa, rakta body constituents). This review enlists certain diets that cause rakta prasadana (nourishing rakta) and pacify kapha pitta dosha. Unlike other diseases, skin disease is anushangi (long term) and recidivistic in nature. Treatment along with life style modifications with pathya and apathya can only completely target the skin disease. Therefore, present review aims to focus on the importance of diet in dermal health. In this study, Ayurveda classics were reviewed in terms of various aspects of pathya and apathya in major skin diseases like kushta, visarpa shwitra etc. The electronic databases Google Scholar and PubMed were searched for relevant contemporary literature. In this article mostly mentioned food articles are richest source of vitamin C. Vitamin C is the most important vitamin for upkeep of a healthy skin, as it helps to prevent skin pigmentation and damage caused by UV light exposure, it also helps to reduce visible signs of aging such as wrinkling of skin. Also most compatible food mentioned in the article are sheeta veerya(cold in potency), which reduces deranged pitta and having madhura rasa (sweet )which can pacify pitta dosha. Some specific types of viruddha (incompatible) mentioned here plays an key role in imparting tissue level damage. Thus, this review covers various aspects of dermal health in terms of diet. In fact there are effective dietary modifications in Ayurveda through which fast recovery and prevention can be ensured in the spectrum of skin manifestations.
Key words: ayurveda; skin; traditional foods, Pathya, Apathya
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