Hanuveda

It is reasonable for many people and it is a classical Rasayana with some low-quality supportive evidence. Two things worth knowing that the advertising does not say: most of the evidence is small, open-label and manufacturer-linked, and Chyawanprash is substantially sugar and jaggery by weight. If you have diabetes, prediabetes, or you are trying to lose weight, this matters — talk to us before starting it. A sugar-free version is a different preparation and should not be assumed to do the same thing.

That feeling is real and worth investigating, but "toxins" are almost certainly not the cause. Sluggishness of that kind is usually poor sleep, late heavy meals, alcohol, inactivity, iron or thyroid problems, or undiagnosed diabetes — and all of those can be identified. No detox product has ever been shown to remove any specific named toxin from the body, and your liver and kidneys do that job continuously without help. What we can offer is a proper assessment and, where it is clinically indicated, Panchakarma — which is a therapeutic procedure with specific indications, not a cleanse.

Classically, it is a set of five procedures for purification of the doshas, each with defined indications, preparation and contraindications. Practically, a well-run 14–21 day admission gives you regulated sleep, no alcohol or tobacco, simple freshly cooked food, no screens, daily oil therapy, daily movement and genuine rest, under observation. Most people feel considerably better afterwards. We think that is real and worth paying for. We do not think it is because toxins left your body, and we will not tell you it was.

As a therapeutic Panchakarma, no — there is not enough time for proper preparation, the procedure and the graded dietary return, and the last of those largely determines how you feel afterwards. As a few days of massage, simple food and rest, it can be pleasant and restorative, and we are happy to offer it under that description. We just will not call it detox.

Because a meaningful number of people who come to us feeling "just tired" turn out to have iron deficiency, thyroid disease, prediabetes, B12 deficiency or sleep apnoea — and a few have something more serious. If we give you a programme without looking, and you have one of those, we have delayed your diagnosis by the length of the programme. The tests are also the most valuable thing many patients get from the visit, because most Indian adults have never had them.

Something is going on, and "tests normal" does not mean "nothing wrong." We would look at sleep timing and quality including snoring and breathing pauses, meal timing, caffeine and alcohol, activity, mood, and medication. We would check whether the right tests were done — ferritin, not just haemoglobin; TSH; B12; HbA1c; vitamin D. Ayurveda has a vocabulary for depleted states that conventional medicine lacks, and a graded way of working on them. We would also keep an open mind: if you are not improving in about twelve weeks, we re-investigate rather than add more treatment.

It depends entirely on why your hair is falling, which is why we test first. If it is iron deficiency or thyroid disease, treating that works and oil alone will not. If it is shedding after a fever, illness or childbirth, it will recover on its own within three to six months — and anything you start now will appear to have worked. If it is genetic pattern hair loss, oil will not regrow it, and minoxidil and finasteride are the treatments with real evidence; we will tell you that rather than sell you an oil instead. Where Ayurvedic management fits is as support alongside the right diagnosis.

No. Panchakarma is used selectively in this department and many patients do well without it. It is not the entry point, it is not done during an acute episode, and it is not done at all if your medication regimen has changed in the last month. Anyone presenting Panchakarma as the necessary treatment for depression is overselling it.

We do not claim to treat either, and claims that Ayurveda cures them are not supportable. We will not treat a child for a mental health condition without a qualified child and adolescent specialist involved. If you have been promised a cure for these conditions, we would ask you to be very careful.

Rasayana is the classical branch concerned with longevity and preservation of faculties, and it is a genuine part of the tradition. But no Rasayana drug has been shown in human trials to extend lifespan, prevent age-related disease, or reverse ageing, and we will not claim it does. What does have evidence for healthy ageing is unglamorous and available to you now: physical activity, strength training, sleep, not smoking, controlling blood pressure and glucose, social connection, and managing hearing and vision. Ayurvedic care can support the depleted state and give you a structure for that regimen. It is not a longevity treatment.

You have heard correctly, and it is worth taking seriously. Published analyses of Ayurvedic products sold in the United States found detectable lead, mercury or arsenic in roughly one in five products tested, and Indian hepatology units have published series of liver injury — including deaths — following herbal and Ayurvedic preparations, with metals found in the products involved. Some classical Rasashastra formulations contain mercury and arsenic by design. We do not use any of them in wellness or preventive care. We also give every patient a written list of exactly what they are taking, we check liver function where a herb warrants it, and we would rather you bought nothing over the counter.

Bring all of them, including anything bought online or sent by relatives abroad, and we will go through them. Most people in this position are taking several things with no indication, at least one thing that duplicates another, and occasionally something that interacts with their prescription medication. Reducing the list is a legitimate and often the most useful intervention we make. It is also the only one nobody advertises.

No. Panchakarma is prescribed by indication in an assessed patient, and a healthy person does not require an annual course. The classical seasonal Shodhana framework is more specific and more cautious than the annual-package model suggests. If you feel well and your screening is normal, what we would recommend is a seasonal review visit and a regimen you actually keep — which is cheaper and does more.

Fix your sleep timing and get daylight in the morning, then move every day. In our experience those two outrank everything we can prescribe, and together they are free.