Ayurvedic Plant-Based Health: Harnessing the Hugely Healing Power of Nature
As an Ayurvedic physician with extensive background in both Western and Eastern medicine, I'm often asked about the benefits of a plant-based diet. In this special post, I share my thoughts on how Ayurveda and plant-based living can work together in constructing a powerful, personalized approach to health and wellness.
Up-front, I'll share that I am not in the business or practice of pressuring or forcing anyone to go fully plant-based, as I have written elsewhere. Instead, my practice involves choosing very particular foods (and reducing others) for very specific medicinal goals and treatment purposes, with a strong emphasis on plants. I am personally plant-based, but would never force that upon someone else.
An Ayurvedic Perspective on Plant-Based Living
Ayurveda, an ancient, time-tested whole Indian system of medicine, has a long and rich history of utilizing plant-based remedies and diets. While Ayurveda recognizes that everything in nature has potential medicinal value - including the meats of wild (that is, non-farmed) animals and dairy (also non-farmed) - it generally favors plant-based medicines and foods for their many unique healing properties and uses.
And in particular, in Ayurveda the quality of "sattva" is considered highly wholesome - sattva being a quality of harmony and awareness. From an Ayurvedic standpoint, plant-based foods are almost always inherently more sattvic than animal products. In fact, virtually all animal products, especially meats and eggs (no matter how they might be caught, hunted, or harvested) are distinctly non-sattvic. There are a multitude of reasons for this, including the native qualities of individual plants and animals themselves, but also the means by which they are taken as food. This distinction is but one key reason that plant-based foods are considered more beneficial for physical health, and also supportive of emotional and spiritual well-being.
Tailoring Plant-Based Diets to Your Constitution
One of the unique aspects of Ayurvedic medicine is its recognition that each person has a unique constitution, or baseline proportion of the doshas (vata, pitta, and kapha), or prakrti. When it comes to plant-based eating, an individualized approach is of the highest importance. Here's why:
Digestive Fire (Agni): The unique doshic ratio each person has at their baseline will have a similarly unique digestive capacity; no one person's agni, or digestive fire, is the same as another's. A plant-based diet can and should be adjusted to support your unique digestive fire, ensuring optimal nutrient absorption and overall health. This may mean increasing or decreasing soluble fiber volume, it could mean reducing lectin content, it could mean focusing on particular micronutrients, and/or it could involve honing in on other key aspects of plant-based eating.
Balancing Properties: Plant foods can be chosen or discarded based on their gunas - their qualities and energetics - to bring doshic balance to your life. For example, a Pitta-dominant individual might benefit from cooling and naturally sweet plant-based foods with a small smattering of bitters and astringents, while a strongly Vata-type person might need more warming, grounding options and some more sour and pungent tastes in their life.
Seasonal Adaptations: Ayurveda emphasizes eating with the seasons. A personalized plant-based approach allows for seasonal adjustments that keep you in balance year-round.
The Health Benefits of an Ayurvedic Plant-Based Lifestyle
From my experience in both an Ayurvedic medicine and Western medicine, I've seen numerous benefits of a well-planned, individualized plant-based diet. Here are just a few:
Chronic Disease Prevention and Treatment: A remarkable number of studies have shown that plant-based diets can help prevent and treat chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, and certain cancers. In fact, the only dietary intervention shown in studies to actually help reverse coronary artery/heart disease (the number one killer in our modern world) is a minimally-processed plant-based diet. No other approaches have shown this potential. To take another example, studies also demonstrate remarkable control of a majority of cases of rheumatoid arthritis using plant-based nutrition, even when medications are ineffective.
Improved Digestion: By aligning your diet with your constitution and present condition while focusing on select plant-based foods, many digestive issues can be resolved or improved.
Enhanced Energy and Vitality: A balanced plant-based diet often leads to improved energy levels and overall vitality, partly by improving vitamin and mineral stores, partly by increasing antioxidant access, partly by enhancing gut health, and also via other means.
Environmental Impact: Choosing a plant-based diet is one of the most impactful ways an individual can reduce their environmental footprint.
My Approach to Plant-Based Ayurvedic Medicine
At The Buddha's Medicine, we practice plant-based medicine with a fully individualized approach. This means:
Ensuring adequate nutrition, including careful attention to select nutrients that may need supplementing, such as vitamin B12 and vitamin D.
Tailoring dietary recommendations to our patients’ unique constitution, health needs, and personal preferences.
Utilizing a wide range of plant-based Ayurvedic remedies and treatments.
Supporting patients in their transition to and maintenance of a plant-based lifestyle if that is something they want, without pushing this choice on those who aren't interested.
The union of Ayurvedic medicine and modern plant-based living offers a powerful path to holistic healing. By honoring your individual constitution and the healing power of plants, we can create a personalized approach to your care health that nourishes body, mind, and spirit.
Whether you're already plant-based, considering the transition, or simply curious about incorporating more plant foods into your diet, Ayurvedic medicine can help you optimize your health and well-being. The goal is not perfection, but finding a sustainable, enjoyable, healthful way of eating that supports your unique needs and values.
If you're interested in exploring how an Ayurvedic plant-based approach might benefit you, I invite you to book a cost-free, 15 minute Consultation to see if we’re a good fit. Together, we can create a personalized plan that aligns with your health goals and honors the wisdom of both modern nutrition science and the long-living legacy of Ayurvedic medicine.
If you have questions about how we can help care for any health concerns and/or conditions not found on this list, please contact us.
Professional disclaimer: please do not initiate any herbal or other medicinal interventions without the guidance of a knowledgeable provider.
Dr. Matt Van Auken, MD, MPH
Dr. Matt is an Ayurveda-trained, triple board-certified physician.
