Health & Healing A SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THE SCIENCE OF HEALTH AND HEALING BY DR. DEVANANDA TANDAVAN 2 Healing is an Inside Job The 5000-year-old Ayurvedic tradition is based on human spirituality and a life lived in wisdom. In this system, stress is placed on balanced forces of mind and body and on staying well, more than on how to recover from illness. In this series of over 80 columns, Dr. Tandavan unfolds in simple and effective and totally practiacal ways India’s Science of Life. His knowledge and experience in many dimensions will help anyone to live a healthier, happier, and holier life. Healing Index Dr. Tandavan’s Biography 3 INDEX Health and Healing Topics From the Medical Column of Dr. Devananda Tandavan As Published in the International Magazine, Hinduism Today Dis-Ease: Origin and Treatment [June 88] Successful Weight Loss: Part 1 [Sep. 88] Successful Weight Loss: Part 2 [Oct. 88] Successful Weight Loss: Part 3 [Nov. 88] Vegetarianism: The B-12 Question [Dec. 88] Cholesterol--The Villain? [Jan. 89] Routine Circumcision is Unnecessary [Feb. 89] True Villain--Free Radicals [Mar. 89] Fat--How Much and What? [Apr. 89] Milk--The Perfect Food? [May 89] Baldness--Treating or Coping [June 89] Vegetarian Babies Are Healthy! [July 89] Proper Care for Your Teeth [Aug. 89] Medical Options: Homeopathy [Sep. 89] Some Homeopathic Alternatives [Oct. 89] Biochemic Cell Salt Remedies [Nov. 89] Cigarette Smoking Can Kill You [Dec. 89] How Food Labels Can Deceive [Jan. 90] How to Keep Your Nose Clean [Feb. 90] Healing Emotions with Flowers [Mar. 90] 4 Hazards in Today’s Indian Diet [Apr. 90] Reducing High Blood Pressure [May 90] Natural Control of Hypertension [June 90] Breath Control to Beat Stress [July 90] Physical Results of Stress [Aug. 90] “Energy Medicine” and Prana [Sep. 90] Stop Harming Your Children!!! [Oct. 90] Vegetarian Pregnancy [Nov. 90] Vegetarian Baby and Child [Dec. 90] Health Through Ayurveda: Part 1 [Jan. 91] Ayurveda Part 2: Vata Dosha [Feb. 91] Ayurveda Part 3: Pitta Dosha [Mar. 91] Ayurveda Part 4: Kapha Dosha [May 91] Dangers of Food Irradiation [June 91] Summer Ayurvedic Pitta Diet [July 91] Care for Yourself by Yourself [Aug. 91] Don’t Live with Unhappiness [Sep. 91] Taking Good Care of Our Eyes [Oct. 91] Adjusting to the Fall Season [Nov. 91] The Importance of Skin Care [Dec. 91] Adjusting to Winter [Jan. 92] Soda Pop--Poison by the Can [Feb. 92] Wrist Problems and Computers [Mar. 92] Milk Doesn’t Do a Body Good [Apr. 92] Milk Substitutes [May 92] Milk Curds and Whey [June 92] 5 Salt, the Hidden Killer [July 92] Coping with Pollution [Aug. 92] Avoiding Vitamin B-12 Deficiency [Sep. 92] For Happy Digesting: Part 1 [Oct. 92] For Happy Digesting: Part 2 [Nov. 92] MSG--A Hidden Hazard [Dec. 92] Scrutinizing Sugar [Jan. 93] Sugar: No Good for You [Feb. 93] Don’t Bribe Children with Sugar [Mar. 93] Dangers of Sugar Substitutes [Apr. 93] The Science of Taste: Part 1 [May 93] The Science of Taste: Part 2 [June 93] The Science of Taste: Part 3 [July 93] Doctors and Abortion [Aug. 93] AIDS--A Man-Made Disease?: Part 1 [Sep. 93] AIDS--Easily Transmitted: Part 2 [Oct. 93] AIDS--No Possible Vaccine?: Part 3 [Nov. 93] AIDS--Awareness is Prevention: Part 4 [Dec. 93] AIDS--Develop Healthful Habits: Part 5 [Jan. 94] AIDS--Avoiding Contact: Part 6 [Feb. 94] A Traveler’s Simple First Aid Kit [Apr. 94] Staying Healthy While Traveling [May 94] Genes--A Double-Edged Sword [June 94] Constipation, Source of Toxins [July 94] Chronic Constipation [Aug. 94] Conquering Constipation [Sep. 94] 6 It’s a Girl! Thanks to Dad [Oct. 94] The Nicotine Fit: Fit for No One [Nov. 94] Smoking: Sources of Addiction [Jan. 95] Smoking: Quit “Cold Turkey” [Feb. 95] Smoking: The Fancy of the “Civil” Cigar [Mar. 95] Tobacco [Apr. 95] Smokeless Tobacco’s Bane [May 95] Second-Hand Smoke: How Safe? [June 95] Computer Stress Syndrome: Part 1 [July 95] Computer Stress Syndrome: Part 2 [Aug. 95] Reducing Computer Eye Strain: Part 3 [Sep. 95] Keeping Fit at the Computer [Oct. 95] The End of Computer Stress [Nov. 95] A Contended Cow’s Milk: Part 1 [Dec. 95] A Contended Cow’s Milk: Part 2 [Jan. 96] Antibiotic Insensitivity, Part 1 [Feb. 96] Antibiotic Insensitivity, Part 2 [Apr. 96] Antibiotic Insensitivity, Part 3 [May. 96] How Wine Can Help the Heart [June 96] Mad Cow Disease and CJD [July 96] Menopause and Women: Part 1 [Aug./Sept./Nov. 96] Mitigating Menopause [Dec. 96] Hospital Hopes And Hazards [Jan. 97] Antidotes For Andropause [Feb. 97] DHEA: Menace or Miracle [Mar. 97] A Toxic Monster In Your Mouth [Apr. 97] 7 Coming of Age, From Lass to Lady [May. 97] Boys Will Be Boys, But Not for Long [June 97] Ayurvedic Principles For Pubescence [July 97] Ways to Soothe That Heartburn [Aug. 97] Stevia Rebaudiana: How Sweet It Is! [Sept. 97] Cures For BHP, the Older Man’s “Curse” [Oct. 97] BSE: The Ruminant Empire Strikes Back [Nov. 97] Better Ways to Help an Overactive Child [Dec. 97] 8 Dis-Ease: Origin and Treatment This month we introduce a new column on health and medicine by Dr. Devananda Tandavan, now retired from his long medical practice in the Chicago, Illinois, area. A highly-trained physician specializing in radiation diagnosis and therapy, Dr. Tandavan is also familiar with Indian Ayurvedic, Japanese Reiki and Hahnemannian homeopathy medical systems, making him uniquely qualified to address the medical problems of modern people with the best of the new and the best of the old. Things are often not as they seem. This is especially true in the health field and in diet and nutrition. This is a new column on the healing arts and the science of good health. We intend to explore many of these areas in order to reveal the truth as much as that is possible. Advertising in this field often borders on falsehood, and “seals of approval” may be totally without merit or meaning. The layman cannot be expected to knowledgeably wade through this jungle of misinformation and half-truths to arrive at sound judgements. Indeed, many professionals in the health-care industry do not have sufficient interest or background to give adequate advice on diet and nutrition. We hope to bring some common sense to this subject, in order that you may be able to make intelligent decisions for your health’s sake. We want this to be a dialogue and welcome any questions that you have. Send all correspondence to the offices of Hinduism Today [107 Kaholalele Road, Kappa, HI, 96746, USA] and they will be sent on to me. If for some reason you would desire a personal reply, be sure to include a self-addressed envelope. There are some time restraints, but we do intend that all correspondence will be answered in due time. Individual diagnostic problems cannot be considered due to legal restraints and various licensing requirements. For the same reasons, no treatment or prescriptions will be furnished. This writer will not be in competition with your own health care professional. He will offer advice and suggestions for alternate therapy if indicated. The etiology of dis-ease is very complex. There are illnesses that are karmic in nature, others may be due to environmental pollution, some are infectious in nature, some are due to life style and inadequate nutrition. There are a great many illnesses that are psychological in nature; that is, they are “self-inflicted” or “self-serving.” This does not necessarily imply any pathological condition of the psyche. These conditions are often produced by an ignored or frightened subconscious. In 9 time, it is our intention to investigate and discuss each of these. We firmly believe that health of the body is a natural birthright and can be attained and maintained by most everyone, if they but follow the natural law. No one system of health care, as we know it, has all of the answers; therefore, the approach will be eclectic. There often are viable alternatives to the conventional allopathic methods [the western “symptom-curing” system]. It is generally accepted that one’s health-care practitioner must be not only scientifically trained but also psychologically attuned to the needs of the patient. In this time, everyone dealing in health care should also be trained in diet and nutrition, which has not been the case in the past. It also behooves each of us to take personal responsibility for our own state of health. Passive submission to another’s care and direction is no longer acceptable. Any disease or illness that is “caused” by the subconscious can also be “cured” by the subconscious which “he” (or “she”) can be directed to do by an act of the will. Since we are in the body to develop our spiritual selves, a healthy and happy body is desirable. There is no need for us to punish the body or mind to expiate some “guilt.” We will learn more about the subconscious and its efforts in subsequent columns. Future columns will discuss stress and its relationship to disease, weight problems and dieting, circumcision and other common, but debatable, medical practices and approaches. 10