Finding Reliable Information About Ayurveda

The problem

Ayurveda information ranges from careful scholarship to product advertising. NCCIH says some online sources on complementary health approaches are useful, but others are inaccurate or misleading. [1] A good source separates three things: what the tradition says, what research has measured, and what a seller claims. This site does the same; see Ayurveda: traditional frameworks vs biomedical evidence.

Questions to ask of any site, video or app

NCCIH suggests asking: who runs or created the site or app? Do its claims seem too good to be true? Is it up to date? Where does the information come from? Why does it exist? Is it selling something? [1]

Additional signs of trouble:

• It promises cures. The FDA says ayurvedic products marketed to prevent, treat, diagnose or cure any disease are illegally marketed in the U.S. [2]
• It treats "natural" as proof of safety. There is no official definition of the term in medicine, and it does not always mean safe. [1]
• It offers a "find your dosha" quiz; see dosha quizzes.

Public health sources to start with

Check the date of any page. NCCIH advises looking at the date of a study to see how it fits into the larger evidence base. [1]

How to read a study or news story

• The strongest evidence about whether a treatment is useful and safe consists of results from several studies by different investigators. [1]
• Larger studies can increase accuracy and reduce the chance that an observed effect was due to chance. [1]
• A story is more likely correct if it comes from an outlet that is not promoting a cause, was written by a trained health reporter, and includes experts not connected to the study. [1]

For practice, see how to read an Ayurveda study, quality of Ayurvedic clinical trials and what Cochrane and other reviews say.

Where this site fits

Start with What is Ayurveda?, the Ayurveda hub, the glossary and the Ayurveda FAQ. For cautions, see the safety quick reference. This site gives information only and is not medical advice.

Official and professional sources

For rules and training, the best sources are the regulators themselves, for example India's Ministry of Ayush and its councils; see WHO reports and guidelines, regulation of Ayurvedic products and Ayurveda in modern India. In the United States, no state requires an Ayurvedic practitioner to have a license, [3] so a "regulator" claim there deserves checking.

When information is not enough

Information cannot examine you. For new, severe or worsening symptoms, seek medical care. Do not use Ayurvedic medicine to postpone seeing a conventional provider. [3] Tell your providers about what you use; see telling your doctor about Ayurveda.