Modern scientific research, which has the aim of creating a personalized approach to diet, is mainly focused on studying genetic markers of liability to diseases, as well as the influence of different products on epigenetic regulation mechanisms. There is also a completely different approach to personalized diet – constitutional. It does not contradict the genetic one, but successfully compliments it. Unlike the genetic approach which is focused more on details, the constitutional one allows evaluating the situation in general – says Dr. Oleg Sorokin.
About the author:
Dr. Oleg Sorokin, PhD, researcher has combined methods of academic medicine and Ayurveda – the traditional medicine of India. Dr. Sorokin is the creator of a method of constitutional evaluation by utilising Heart Rate Variability in developing an expert system for naturopaths – VedaPulse.
In his day Hans Selye created a revolution in medicine, when he refused to study specific symptoms of diseases and started looking for general, non-specific symptoms instead. As a result, he formulated General Adaptation Syndrome (1961) which identifies the common stages in development of a disease. An understanding of these general principles gave doctors an opportunity to evaluate the risk of disease development and react in a timely manner upon first markers showing a breach in the adaptation process.
A constitutional approach to diet gives the naturopathic doctor the same general principles that can be used both for evaluation of disease probability, for the creation of a personalized diet that will minimize the risk of a disease and at the stage of disease will provide the necessary conditions for rehabilitation. During the last fifty years the theory of Hans Selye received further development by Russian scientists. In particular, they offered cybernetic models of heart rate regulation (HRV) as a response to the adaptation of the body (V.V. Parin, R. M Baevsky, 1966) and the theory of functional systems (P. K. Anohin, 1975). Scientific and medical communities in USA and Europe (American Heart Association, 1996) now recognize the HRV method.
However, when studying stress mechanisms, Hans Selye drew on studies which were done seventy years prior to his findings, of the constitutional approach utilised for several thousands of years by Ayurveda and TCM. Ayurveda – the traditional Indian medicine – is based on a constitutional approach. In Ayurveda a person’s constitution is determined by the balance of three forces which regulate the correlation of primary elements in the body (Vata, Pitta, Kapha). Any disease is seen as an imbalance of these three forces, and the rehabilitation process is aimed at using naturopathic methods that regulate this balance. Practical value of ayurvedic medicine is recognized by the World Health Organization. However, the challenge of using Ayurveda is that it uses different disease classifications than western medicine (there are no analogues to the terms accepted in ICD-10).
Now this problem has been solved. A series of studies done by Dr. Sorokin and his research group, showed a high correlation between symptoms of diseases described in Ayurveda and functional disturbances, which can be explained in terms of modern clinical electrophysiology with the use of the HRV method.
The main ayurvedic method of evaluating the constitutional balance (Vata-PittaKapha) is pulse diagnosis, the roots of which go back thousands of years. It is important to understand that traditional pulse diagnosis through palpation is very difficult to master, especially for western specialists. Besides which, it is impossible to use with medical insurance due to subjective results which depend on the doctor’s competency.
This is why Dr. Sorokin and his group, using the results of their own research and ayurvedic knowledge, created the hardware and software kit for computer pulse analysis – VedaPulse. The creation of this device has allowed a wide range of specialists to use the principles of a constitutional approach to prevention and treatment of disease. It is important that the results of computer analysis do not depend on subjective factors and can be standardized.
The kit consists of an expert system intended for the creation of personalized recommendations for naturopathic methods (diet, herbs, essential oils, etc.). VedaPulse received a high rating from different world experts in the field of
traditional medicine (more at www.vedapulseUK.com). You can see Vedapulse, this unique system combining the principles of academic science and several thousand years of experience of ayurvedic medicine, in action at
the course on clinical pharmacology – DravyaGuna where you will get detailed information about principles of constitutional diet and herbal therapy in Ayurveda.
Course information:
Ayurvedic pharmacology and therapeutic uses of Western and Indian medicinal plants.
10 day, 5 weekend course starts on May 30-31
Expert – Sarah Williams – Ayurvedic consultant, Medical Herbalist
Lecturer in Herbal Medicine – College of Naturopathic Medicine
VENUE: Jamyang Buddhist Centre, The Old Courthouse, 43 Renfrew Road London
SE11 4NA
To sign up or get more information about the course, please contact:
Paul Ravenscroft, Tel: 07717847784
Email: mellowcroft@outlook.com
Website: www.vedapulseuk.com