Could Ayurveda cure Covid-19?

The short answer is no. But in a world united in the hunt for a cure against Covid-19, shouldn’t every known form of medicine be evaluated? When the leader of the modern world propagates a potentially harmful malarial drug, injecting bleach, and even sun-bathing, is it not prudent to consider a 5000-year-old treatment form practiced by a third of the world’s population?

There could be potent arguments made in the favor of Ayurveda, but it helps to understand the principles of the world’s oldest healing system a little better to know what it can and cannot do.

Allopathy, or ‘western medicine’, is the most common form of medical treatment we are aware of, which is proven by the principles of modern science and endorsed by agencies such as WHO, FDA and CDC. However, there are numerous alternate forms of medicine such as Ayurveda and Homeopathy that continue to have loyal followers.

Homeopathy originated in Germany, and practiced by many people around the world, and even has an educational stream in India. Increasingly though, and especially now, a lot of countries are labelling homeopathy a placebo. Some countries like Australia and Spain have even banned this in order to deny a false sense of hope for its citizens.

Ayurveda on the other hand is not a simplistic medical solution, but rather a holistic healing treatment. This is from John Hopkins:

The concepts of universal interconnectedness, the body's constitution (prakriti), and life forces (doshas) are the primary basis of ayurvedic medicine. Goals of treatment aid the person by eliminating impurities, reducing symptoms, increasing resistance to disease, reducing worry, and increasing harmony in life.

Ayurveda is therefore a form of palliative care and not curative care. Through a combination of natural herbs and oils and the right physical exercise like Yoga, Ayurveda is aimed at a healthier lifestyle. Ayurveda cannot cure an ailment, or at least it hasn’t been scientifically proven to do so. What it can do though is to improve our resistance to ailments.

Therefore, in the context of Covid-19, Ayurvedic practices can improve the chances of our body fighting back the coronavirus if we contract it, but it will not by itself cure us.

For Covid-19, and any other serious illness, we should rely on allopathic medicines. That's the only well-known treatment with playbooks that are common across the world. They are a proven form under the tenets of modern science and therefore your best option in the fight against this pandemic.

What the future may hold for Ayurveda

Ayurveda may see an increased rate of adoption, driven by the need to live healthier lifestyles. There are facets of Ayurveda that are already very popular, like Turmeric which the developed world has made edible by making it a Tea additive, and Yoga thanks to the likes of Bikram.

But there are many other parts of Ayurveda that are not very popular yet, simply because big pharma and CPG companies cannot easily make money out of naturally occurring ingredients like Turmeric and Tulsi. It’s a lot like Intermittent Fasting, which is a form of diet management that is far better than Vegan, Keto, Paleo and their ilk, but is unfortunately free. None of the big corporations stand to gain from Intermittent Fasting. Ayurveda also operates in a similar domain.

However, if a naturally occurring ingredient like Tea could be packaged and sold with premium prices, then so can various other ingredients of Ayurveda, very much like the start Turmeric has already had. A lot of popular tea brands don’t even blend their tea, they are simply a single estate tea leaf put in a box. Just about anyone can do this, but you will still buy a box of Lipton than any other brand, and that’s just the power of marketing.

Therefore, it’s only a matter of time before Ayurveda becomes seriously popular. In a world trying to keep themselves healthy while waiting for a Covid-19 vaccine, Ayurveda stands to gain if some of the big CPG firms can market it right.