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Ayurvedic
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Triphala
This "herb" is actually a mixture of three Ayurvedic fruits in equal
proportion: Amalaki (Emblica officinale),
Bibhitaki (Terminalia
belerica) and Haritaki (Terminalia chebula).
Latin -- none
Sanskrit -- Triphala
Hindi -- Triphal
English -- Three Fruits formula
Parts Used:
These are all fruits. Each plant has a different therapeutic value and
must be prepared in its own way for maximum benefits.
Traditional Ayurvedic Uses:
Triphala is very commonly used for digestion and regularity. It is often
too strong for westerners, and should be used sparingly and with other
herbs to balance its possible heating effects.
Combinations are Best
The experts at Ayurveda do not recommend the use of single herbs
for self-care due to several important reasons:
-
Single herbs often have unwanted effects over time, which can be
canceled by herbs in proper combination.
-
Herbs in combination are much more powerful.
-
Good formulas address all co-factors to a health goal for much
greater effectiveness.
-
Expert combinations include herbs that increase assimilation and
effective potency of the other ingredients.
-
Herbs have different effects according to dose, and when mixed with
other herbs.
The most
popular herbal remedies in the health food industry are those which
promote bowel movement. The reason is quite simple since the most common
problem of so many individuals is constipation and bowel irregularity.
Consider how tremendously valuable a formula is that not only regulates
bowel movement but at the same time does the following:
-
improves
digestion,
-
reduces serum
cholesterol,
-
improves
circulation (potentiates adrenergic function),
-
contains 31%
linoleic acid,
-
exerts a
marked cardio-protective effect,
-
reduces
High blood pressure,
-
improves liver
function,
-
has proven
anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties,
-
expectorant,
hypotensive.
Sound like a
panacea? Well, it is practically just that.
Triphala,
as it is called, is the most popular Ayurvedic herbal formula of India,
since it is an effective laxative which also supports the body's
strength. The constitution of vegetarian Hindus cannot tolerate harsh
laxatives anymore than vegetarians in other countries. Because of its
high nutritional value, Triphala uniquely cleanses and detoxifies at the
deepest organic levels without depleting the body's reserves. This makes
it one of the most valuable herbal preparations in the world.
How is Triphala
different from other kinds of laxatives? There are two primary types of
herbal laxatives. One is called a purgative and includes herbs
such as senna, rhubarb, leptandra, buckthorne and cascara. These often
contain bitter principles in the form of anthroquinones which work by
stimulating the peristaltic action of the intestinal lining, either
directly or by promoting the secretion of bile through the liver and
gall bladder.
The second type
of laxative is a lubricating bulk laxative, including demulcent
herbs such as psyllium and flax seed. This is more nutritional and
usually does not have any significant direct effect on either the liver
or the gall bladder. Rather, these work like a sponge by swelling and
absorbing fluid, thus acting as an intestinal broom.
Triphala
combines both nutritional as well as blood and liver cleansing actions.
It has little function as a demulcent or lubricating laxative, however.
It possesses some anthroquinones which help stimulate bile flow and
peristalsis. The nutritional aspect is more in the form of its high vitamin C content, the presence of linoleic oil and other important
nutrients which it makes more of a tonic.
People who are
in need of purgatives are those whose bowel irregularity is caused by
liver and gall bladder congestion usually accompanied by some degree of
blood toxins. Those in need of demulcent laxatives are those with
intestinal dryness caused by a variety of metabolic factors including a
nutritional deficiency as well as a condition of excess hypermetabolic
energy. Triphala will prove useful for all kinds of constipation except
that caused by a lack of vital energy or chi. Even for the latter type,
it will not further deplete such an individual and can be made to work
well if it is combined with other chi, blood or yang-warming tonic herbs
such as ginseng for chi tonification, tang kuei for blood
tonification and prepared aconite for yang tonification.
Herbal healing
is largely a matter of strategy. One approach may emphasize tonification
while another emphasizes elimination. The problem with overemphasizing
tonification is that it can lead to further stagnation and congestion in
an excess condition. Emphasizing elimination through the overuse of
purgatives in an already deficient individual can further deplete the
body's store of minerals and essential B vitamins as well as imbalance
beneficial intestinal micro-organisms. The result is weakness with a
likely tendency towards chronic fatigue and
anemia. Since the body is
always simultaneously involved with maintaining and gaining strength
through good nutrition as well as eliminating waste, Triphala is unique
in that it is naturally able to support both vital processes
simultaneously.
Because of its
high nutritional content, Ayurvedic doctors generally do not regard
Triphala as a mere laxative. Some of the scientific research and
practical experience of people using it down through the ages has
demonstrated that Triphala is an effective blood purifier that
stimulates bile secretion as it detoxifies the liver, helps digestion
and assimilation, and significantly reduces serum cholesterol and lipid
levels throughout body. As a result, it is regarded as a kind of
universal panacea and is the most commonly prescribed herbal formula.
A popular folk
saying in India is, "No mother? do not worry so long as you have
Triphala." The reason is that Indian people believe that triphala is
able to care for the internal organs of the body as a mother cares for
her children. Each of the three herbal fruits of Triphala takes care of
the body by gently promoting internal cleansing of all conditions of
stagnation and excess while at the same time it improves digestion and
assimilation.
We herbalists
believe that the longevity and innate power of herbs such as those of
Triphala are, when ingested, energetically absorbed and imparted to our
reserves. This belief exists with herbs such as wild
ginseng, where
specimens that have "weathered" decades of climatic stress have been
found to contain the highest concentration of ginsenosides. The Ginkgo
tree is another of those long lived plants whose evolution extends back
over millennia to the time of the dinosaurs.
The three
fruits of Triphala (Harada,
Amla and Bihara) each
correspond to the "three humours" or "tridosha" of Indian Ayurvedic
medicine. According to Ayurvedic theory, the body is composed of three
doshas or humours.
Vata is sometimes translated as "wind" which
corresponds to the mind and nervous system. Its nature is dry, cold,
light and activating. The second is pitta which is also translated as
"fire" or "bile." It is responsible for all metabolic transformations
including the digestion and assimilation of food as well as assimilation
and clarity of thought and understanding. The nature of
pitta is
primarily hot, moist and light. Kapha is sometimes translated as the
"water" or "mucus" humour and is responsible for all anabolic or
building functions such as the development of muscle and bone tissue.
Its nature is cool, moist and heavy.
Triphala: Ayurvedic Formula for Internal Purification
-
Triphala,
as it is called, is probably the most popular Ayurvedic herbal
formula in India, since it is an effective laxative & also
strengthens the physiology of the body.
Because of its high nutritional value, Triphala uniquely cleanses
and detoxifies at the deepest organic levels without depleting the
body's reserves. This makes it one of the most valuable herbal
preparations in the world.
-
Triphala combines both nutritional as well as blood
and liver cleansing actions.
It has little function as a demulcent or lubricating laxative,
however. It possesses some anthroquinones, which help stimulate bile
flow and peristalsis. The nutritional aspect is more in the form of
its high vitamin C content, the presence of linoleic oil and other
important nutrients that makes it more than a tonic.
Since the body is always simultaneously involved with maintaining
and gaining strength through good nutrition as well as eliminating
waste,
-
Triphala is unique in that it is naturally able to
support both vital processes simultaneously.
Triphala
is a completely balanced energetic formula, being neither too cold,
nor too hot. When taken regularly over a long period, it gently
effects the elimination and purification of Ama from the tissues of
the entire body. The three fruits have been scientifically studied
and confirm some of its known traditional benefits. These include
the lowering of cholesterol, reducing high blood pressure,
benefiting circulation, improving digestion and regulating
elimination without causing any laxative dependency.
With all the virtues of the three individual herbs, Triphala has
many wide and varied uses as a therapeutic herbal food. Before
considering pathological indications for which Triphala would be
appropriate, we should never ignore the value of taking it on some
regular basis whether once daily or once or twice a week simply for
health maintenance. Triphala, having great nutritional properties,
will help to prevent sickness.
Regardless of any other herbs used, Triphala can be prescribed
singly or adjunctively whenever there are symptoms of inflammation,
heat, infection, obesity and other conditions of excess. Because of
its combined tonic and eliminative properties, it is generally quite
safe to give even for deficiency diseases including anemia,
fatigue,
candida, poor digestion and assimilation.
Unlike other eliminative and cleansing herbs, Triphala is safely
taken for symptoms of wasting heat that frequently accompanies
diseases such as tuberculosis, pneumonia and AIDS.
Triphala is distinctly different from other kinds of laxatives.
There are two primary types of herbal laxatives. One is called a purgative and includes herbs such as sienna, rhubarb, leptandra,
buckthorne and cascara. These often contain bitter principles in the
form of anthroquinones, which work by stimulating the peristaltic
action of the intestinal lining, either directly or by promoting
the secretion of bile through the liver and gall bladder.
The second type of laxative is a lubricating bulk laxative,
including demulcent herbs such as psyllium and flax
seed. This is more nutritional and usually does not have any
significant direct effect on either the liver or the gall bladder.
Rather, these work like a sponge by swelling and absorbing fluid,
thus acting as an intestinal broom.
People who are in need of purgatives are those whose bowel
irregularity is caused by liver and gall bladder congestion usually
accompanied by some degree of blood toxins. Those in need of
demulcent laxatives are those with intestinal dryness caused by a
variety of metabolic factors including a nutritional deficiency as
well as a condition of excess hypermetabolic energy.
Triphala will prove useful for all kinds of constipation
except that
caused by a lack of vital energy or chi. Even for the latter type,
it will not further deplete such an individual and can be made to
work well if it is combined with other chi, blood or yang-warming
tonic herbs such as ginseng for chi tonification, tang kuei for
blood tonification and prepared aconite for yang tonification.
Because of its high nutritional content, Ayurvedic doctors generally
do not regard Triphala as a mere laxative. Some of the scientific
research and practical experience of people using it down through
the ages has demonstrated that Triphala is an effective blood
purifier that stimulates bile secretion as it detoxifies the liver,
helps digestion and assimilation, and significantly reduces serum
cholesterol and lipid levels throughout body. As a result, it is
regarded as a kind of universal panacea and is the most commonly
prescribed herbal formula. Indian people believe that triphala is
able to care for the internal organs of the body as a mother cares
for her children.
The three fruits of
Triphala (Harada,
Amla and Bihara) each correspond to the "three
humours" or "tridosha" of Indian Ayurvedic medicine. According to
Ayurvedic theory, the body is composed of three doshas or humours.
-
The first Vata:
is sometimes translated as "wind" which corresponds to the mind and
nervous system. Its nature is dry, cold, light and activating.
-
The second is pitta,
which is also
translated as "fire" or "bile." It is responsible for all metabolic
transformations including the digestion and assimilation of food as
well as assimilation and clarity of thought and understanding. The
nature of pitta is primarily hot, moist and light.
-
The Third :
Kapha is sometimes translated as the "water" or "mucus" humour and
is responsible for all anabolic or building functions such as the
development of muscle and bone tissue. Its nature is cool, moist and
heavy.
Each of these three herbal fruits of
Triphala takes care of the body by gently promoting internal
cleansing of all conditions of stagnation and excess while at the
same time it improves digestion and assimilation.
-
Harada,
having a bitter
flavor, is associated with the vata humour as well as the air and
space elements. It treats imbalances and diseases of the vata humour. Harada possesses laxative, astringent, lubricant,
antiparasitical, alterative, antispasmodic and nervine properties.
It is therefore used to treat acute and chronic constipation,
nervousness, anxiety and feelings of physical heaviness. One of
numerous studies of Harada demonstrated its anti-vata or
anti-spasmodic properties by the reduction of abnormal blood
pressure as well as intestinal spasms. This confirms its traditional
usefulness for heart conditions, spastic colon and other intestinal
disorders.
-
Among Tibetans, Harada is so highly revered for its purifying
attributes that it is the small fruit that is depicted in the hands
of the "medicine Buddha" in their sacred paintings or tankas. Of the
three fruits, Harada is the most laxative and contains
anthroquinones similar to those found in rhubarb and cascara.
-
Amla
has a sour flavor and corresponds to the pitta humour and the fire
element in Ayurvedic medicine. It is a
cooling tonic, astringent, mildly laxative, alterative,
antipyretic. It is used to treat fire imbalances that include
ulcers, inflammation of the stomach, intestines, constipation,
diarrhea, liver congestion, eruptions, infections and burning
feelings throughout the body. In various studies,
Amla
has been
shown to have mild anti-bacterial properties, pronounced
expectorant, anti-viral and cardiotonic activity. In another study,
extracts of
Amla
fruit were found to decrease serum free fatty acids
and increase cardiac glycogen. This helps to prevent heart attacks
by providing significantly greater protection and nourishment to the
heart muscle.
Amla is the highest natural known source of
vitamin C. Having 20
times the vitamin C content of an orange,
Amla is also uniquely heat
stable. Even when subjected to prolonged high heat, the primary herb
comprising 50% of the formula, hardly loses any of the
vitamin C
that is present when it is freshly harvested off the tree. The same
is true of
Amla that has been dried and kept for up to a year. This
age and heat stable form of
vitamin C in
Amla is due to the presence
of certain tannins that bind and inhibit its dissipation. One Indian
study reported by C.P. Thakur, demonstrated the enormous value and
effectiveness of
Amla, reducing serum, aortic and hepatic
cholesterol in rabbits.
-
Bihara is astringent, tonic, digestive and
anti-spasmodic.
Its primary flavor is astringent and the secondary is sweet, bitter
and pungent. It targets imbalances associated with the kapha or
mucus humour, corresponding to the earth and water elements in
Ayurvedic medicine. Specifically Bihara purifies and balances
excess mucus, treats asthma, bronchiole conditions, allergies and
hiccoughs. Studies of the fruit of Bihara found that it contains
up to 35% oil and 40% protein. The oil is used in soap making and by
the poorer classes as a substitute cooking oil for ghee. The sweet
smelling oil is 35% palmitic, 24% oleic and 31% linoleic. Linoleic
oil is an essential fatty acid important for increasing HDL
cholesterol, associated with a healthy state and reducing LDL
cholesterol, considered to indicate a higher-than-average risk for
developing coronary-heart disease.
Herbalists believe that longevity and innate power of herbs such as
those of Triphala are, when ingested, energetically absorbed and
imparted to our reserves. This belief exists with herbs such as wild
ginseng, where specimens that have "weathered" decades of climatic
stress have been found to contain the highest concentration of
ginsenosides. The Ginkgo tree is another of those long-lived plants
whose evolution extends back over millennia to the time of the
dinosaurs.
-
The most popular herbal remedies
in the health food industry are those that promote bowel movement.
The reason is quite simple since the most common problem of many
individuals is constipation and bowel irregularity.
Consider how tremendously valuable a formula Triphala is, it not
only regulates bowel movement but at the same time does the
following:
-
Improves digestion,
-
Reduces serum cholesterol,
-
Improves circulation (potentiates adrenergic
function),
-
Contains 31%
linoleic acid,
-
Exerts a marked cardio-protective effect.
-
Reduces
High blood pressure,
-
Improves liver function,
-
Has proven anti-inflammatory and anti-viral
properties,
-
Expectorant, hypotensive.
-
Ama in Ayurveda:
Internal stress and the resultant buildup of Ama / Cholesterol can
be caused by the abuse of stimulants, spicy, hot foods such as
garlic and cayenne, excessive aerobic exercise and repression of the
emotions. It is interesting that an excess of some of those very
substances and activities that lower cholesterol in some, when not
utilized in a holistic, balanced manner, can act as a stimulant and
add further stress that would precipitate the further accumulation
of cholesterol.
Ama is a term denoting a substance associated in Ayurveda
with chronic disease patterns and symptoms of aging. It is described
as a kind of sticky buildup of material that clogs the
circulatory channels.
In many ways it is nearly identical to the accumulation of excess
cholesterol and blood lipids described in the West. Both conditions
seem to contribute to a wide variety of circulatory disorders
ranging from senility, rheumatic conditions, cancer and heart
disease.
It is interesting that in Traditional Chinese Medicine there is also
a pathological condition associated with the heart called "invisible
mucus" that is similar to the descriptions of both excess
cholesterol and Ama in Ayurveda.
One of the body's reactions to coping with stress is to increase the
production of corticosteroids. The accumulation of these stress
hormones can also contribute to the formation of cholesterol.
Triphala is one of two Ayurvedic formulations that
are specific for eliminating Ama and cholesterol from the body.
-
Method of Consumption:
There are two ways
to take Triphala, as a powder or tablet. Generally the dose is from
two to six tablets taken one to three times daily. Children may only
require one or two tablets in the evening.
-
The herb is traditionally taken and works best when
taken as a churna or powder.
One would stir in two or three grams of the powder with warm water
and consume the entire amount in divided doses throughout the day.
Since for most it does not possess a flavor that one would look
forward to experiencing, it is convenient that Triphala is available
in tablet or capsule form.
-
Dosage(s):
The average dose is from one to two teaspoons of the powder in a
little water once in the evening or three times daily for blood and
general body purification. It can also be taken regularly once a
week with great benefit since it promotes balanced cleansing and
detoxification.
A larger dose is more laxative while the smaller dose tends to be
more gradually blood purifying. A smaller dose might be one
or two tablets three times daily. One should increase or decrease
the dose according to one's bowel movements. Since there are no
problems in using Triphala, the dose can be adjusted upwards from
the suggested amount.
-
Side Effects:
As stated, there
can be different reactions to the same dose of triphala. For some it
causes too loose bowels while in others it may have little or no
effect. As a result, it may take two or three days to regulate the
dose that is best. After the constipative tendencies are removed,
usually within 15 days of daily application, it will no longer cause
loose bowels.
-
Triphala has also been found to give excellent
results for ;
-
Very effective in controlling weight gain
-
Promotes balanced cleansing and detoxification of
physiology
-
For blood and general body purification
-
Chronic constipation
-
As an adjunctive treatment for many chronic
degenerative conditions Pyorrhea.
-
In stagnation of both the liver and intestines
Eye
diseases including the treatment of conjunctivitis, progressive myopia,
the early stages of glaucoma and cancer.
Related Site:
Ayurvedic Basics:
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Disclaimer
This information is
provided for general medical education purposes only and
is not meant to substitute for the independent medical
judgment of a physician relative to diagnostic and
treatment options of a specific patient's medical
condition.
In no event will The DrEddyClinic.com be liable for any
decision made or action taken in reliance upon the
information provided through this web site.
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