Interview of Dr. Meenakshi Chauhan – BAMS (Gold Medalist), MD (Alternative Medicine)
INTERVIEWER: Hello friends! Welcome to our show “Swasthya Gyan Health Diary”.
DR. MEENAKSHI CHAUHAN: Hello!! Friends, Due to busy and hectic lifestyle we’re unable to take care of our health. Due to which, we invite harmful diseases like heart problem, Diabetes, obesity and many more at very young age, our lifestyle and eating habits are the reasons behind it. Today, we are here to discuss about Fatty Liver. We have amongst us, Dr. Meenakshi Chauhan to discuss the reason and causes for fatty liver.
INTERVIEWER: Dr. Meenakshi Chauhan please tells our viewers what is fatty liver and what is cause for it?
DR. MEENAKSHI CHAUHAN: Since we’re talking about liver today, I’ll tell you what an amazing organ it is. It is a gift from God in a 1.4 kg package. Liver weighs about 1.4kg is even bigger than the brain. It controls more than 500 functions which include formation of blood, enzymes, digestion, stores clotting vitamin K, A, produces Bile and many other functions. As liver is the biggest organ in the same way the functions handled by it are huge. If we want to study it, since it’s a huge organ there’s a different department for it altogether. People even go for specialization in liver. Liver problem or disease is increasing day by day due to the modern and sedentary lifestyle. If we compare the lifestyle of olden times, where people would work a lot which use to digest anything they ate but, now, in the modern age people prefer junk food, sit for hours be it in office or with mobile phone due to which the metabolic rate is extremely slow which leads to increase in fat on the external body along with accumulating too much of fat on the organs like liver which leads to fatty liver also called enlarged liver. When we see the condition of liver through ultrasound we find the size is increased than normal we can say the organ gets inflamed or swollen (inflammation) Due to inflammation, the organ loses its flexibility because of which it’s not able to secrete its enzymes or we can say the function gets disturbed. As liver is a muscular organ which secretes the enzymes for digestion through contraction when it gets swelled it becomes hard and is on the stage of damage and scaring starts. For eg: if we take alcohol, junk food, preserved food being acidic in nature, it burns the organ which leads to scaring and damages the tissues. Liver has its properties which repairs its damaged tissues but the over repairing of tissues spoils the shape of liver and it starts looking like a beehive. Through this picture I will show you the original shape of liver and what it becomes after too much of repairing of cells and when the liver is badly damage it looks like stone enlarged and swelled. This is the picture taken by medical student from a dead body to show the condition and shape of fatty and damaged liver which is kept in museums and health center to tell people how an alcoholic liver looks like.
INTERVIEWER: Dr. Meenakshi please tells our viewers about the types of fatty liver?
DR. MEENAKSHI CHAUHAN: As discussed fatty liver is a disease in which fat gets accumulated and the enzyme system gets disturbed. The other is Jaundice in rural area we call it pilia in which the body gets yellow because of blood cells as it is linked with liver. When the functioning of liver gets disturb in Ayurveda we say level of pitta (heat) in body has increased due to which the blood cells get damaged and body turns yellow. This is diagnosed by the symptoms like fever, yellow eyes even the yellow skin color. Hepatitis B & C are the virus generated diseases of liver and are counted to be a dangerous problem and have an expensive treatment due to which patients suffering with this disease lose the confidence of getting cured. We have cured many patients of Hepatitis B & C through Ayurveda as it has many herbs which help the liver cells to recover very fast which avoids liver failure and transplant.
INTERVIEWER: Dr. Meenakshi please tells our viewers what are its symptoms?
DR. MEENAKSHI CHAUHAN: If we talk about a simple case of jaundice, the symptoms are very clear and can also be noticed by the family. If a youngster has a reduced appetite, fatigue, pain in stomach, fever, headache, vomiting tendency. We relate to all these diseases and advise them to take a liver test because the symptoms declare a fluctuation in the secretion of liver enzymes.
INTERVIEWER: Dr. Meenakshi please tells our viewers how can a liver disease be treated through Ayurveda?
DR. MEENAKSHI CHAUHAN: If we talk about liver, it is such a unique organ even if we keep consuming alcohol every day, it will damage the liver. But if we consume coconut water for 10 days it will repair that damage and we’ll notice that the liver will start recovering itself which feels like a magical effect. Ayurveda says as Lord Shiva is considered great, who has taken poison on him to save the creation and we offer water, Aegle marmelos, and butter milk to Lord Shiva for the cooling effect. Liver is also considered as great as Lord Shiva for human body which takes all the poisonous effects on itself which comes through drugs, alcohol, and chemical diet and purifies the blood and detoxifies the system. It is such an organ which maintains the smooth functioning of body like blood purification, working of brain and eyes etc.by taking all the problem on itself. Liver can be cured and recovered even when it is just 25% functional by prescribing ayurvedic medicine. Here I will tell you about Yakrit Plihantak Churna. (Yakrit) is the Sanskrit name for Liver spleen is (pliha) work together and the swelling in it is cured by Yakritplihantak churna. It has very basic herbs which are well known to the gardener also even they are usually grown in the kitchen garden. Bhumi Amla is the herb which grows like weed which is eaten by animals, kakmachi, Makoy, Punarnarva itself means rebirth which rejuvenates even the minutest cell. The churna is made of proper ingredients whose effects can be felt after the dose of one-two days. Patients having the Yakrit Plihantak Churna can feel the magical and satisfactory results of it. They find recovery in all the problems they were facing like swelling on the body, bloating due to disturbed enzyme reduces, weight gets constant and also start feeling hungry. Liver Detox Formula is one which by name and function explains that it has to detox the liver. The other herbs are Phyllanthus Niruri which is Bhumi Amla and Echinacea Capsules is the combination that we give to our liver patients. Within a month we find good changes in there viral load which were constant since long. We have a lot of patients from south India & southern belt where the climate is hot and the liver is related to pitta. We find many cases of liver failure, hepatitis B and liver damage in these belts because the climate is hot and the diet that they take like fish, even the fruit they eat all has a hot potency. If we move towards African countries we have number of patients from that belt like Nigeria, Ghana and Uganda there are numerous patients suffering with liver diseases. As earth is divided into Northern (cold temperature) and southern (hot) zone and the climate and temperature is all different in both zones. Effect of vata, Pitta and kapha dosh also depends on the climate. Liver is the organ which has too much of pitta in it and to balance that God has planted a lot of coconut trees because the more coconut water we consume that more our liver improves. My patients tell me that they had no idea about how much damage can alcohol do to our liver and they would compete with their friends in drinking alcohol. Now, we tell them to consume ample amounts of coconut water and see the miracle.
INTERVIEWER: Dr. Meenakshi please tells our viewers the diet for Fatty liver?
DR. MEENAKSHI CHAUHAN: Liver is the organ which cures and repairs very fast. Even if you don’t take any medicines and just consume coconut water, pomegranate, sugarcane juice and all seasonal fruits like cucumbers, apples, and guavas. Consume natural foods and avoid man-made foods like gravies, other spicy and oily foods. Men usually praise their wives for making delicious dishes but a good lady is one who uses bare minimum amount of ghee/oil and feeds her husband with boiled vegetables and healthy food for him to live a long life. Avoid using artificial spices to keep our system healthy.
INTERVIEWER: Dr. Meenakshi our viewers want to know can the Allopathic and ayurvedic medicines taken together?
DR. MEENAKSHI CHAUHAN: Yes, both the medicines can be taken together. In case of chronic disease where the condition of patient is stable we don’t disturb nor interfere in the allopathic medication we ask them to start the ayurvedic medicine along with it. As days pass and the condition of the patient keeps improving, we gradually reduce the dose of allopathic medicines. It all depends on how the herbal formulations are being absorbed by the patient’s body and there is a possibility that we completely get the patient off allopathic medicines.
INTERVIEWER: Dr. Meenakshi what message will you like to give people with Fatty liver?
DR. MEENAKSHI CHAUHAN: I would suggest them try to understand the importance and function of liver and consider it as a holy figure. Just like you offer buttermilk, rose water and other cooling things in the temple, consume these cooling things to soothe your body and keep your liver healthy as it was at the time birth made by god and you’ll lead a healthy life.
