Re: triphala

I've never used asafoetida, couldn't get past the smell, and yes, I did stick my nose in the bag..

triphala doesn't contain cascara sagrada...


http://www.planetherbs.com/articles/triphala.html


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 tTriphala 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.

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.

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[1] properties, pronounced expectorant[2], anti-viral[3] and cardiotonic[4] activity.

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, as in the making of the Ayurvedic tonic formula called Chyavanprash, Amla, as 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.

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.

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.