Invaluable Insights of Guna-Based Prakriti in Deciding Diet, Lifestyle and Medication

Abstract

Prakriti is an important basic concept of Ayurveda which consists of three Doshas. Prakriti-specific treatment including medicine, diet and lifestyle is a distinctive feature of Ayurveda. Prakriti also determines the retort of an individual to environmental factors, drugs and susceptibility to diseases making it one of the earliest-known concepts of preventive and personalized or genomic medicine.1 Opposite to Prakriti is Vikriti which means diseased state of an individual. Until the normal is not known, abnormality cannot be found, so Prakriti plays an important role in determining Vikriti. Acharya Charaka has mentioned Dashavidha Pariksha in which Prakriti assessment is done first and Vikriti analysis next to understand the nature and severity of disease, reaction of body to the drugs (pharmacogenomics), selection of drugs and their doses, prognosis of the disease and preventive measures such as diet, diurnal and seasonal regimes. So Prakriti emphasizes on the individuality and plays an important role in diagnosis, preventive medicine, and therapeutics. it still needs more extensive research and evidence based analysis. Increased side effects, lack of curative treatment for several chronic diseases, high cost of new drugs, microbial resistance and emerging, diseases are some reasons for renewed public interest in complementary and alternative medicines.