Unani Medicines - Can It Help Prevent Diseases?

It is very vital to prevent the onset of disease before it can turn your life upside down. One of the most popular forms of alternative medicine, Unani stresses on the importance of prevention of diseases. Here are the six essential prerequisites that have been laid down by the Unani system for the promotion of good health and overall well-being:

1. Air: Good and clean air is vital in order to maintain good health. Today, many people are affected by several diseases due to excessive levels of pollution in our environment. A famous Arab physician named Avicenna once stated that a change in environment relieves the patients of many diseases. Unani medicine emphasizes the need for open and airy houses with a proper system of ventilation to keep diseases at bay.
2. Food and drinks: You are what you eat and drink. So, make healthy choices in your diet to stay disease-free. The Unani system recommends intake of freshly prepared food, free from putrefaction. It specializes in prescribing diets according to the health condition of the individual.
3. Bodily movement and repose: Physical movement and staying active is also very important to maintain good health. Unani medicine continuously stresses on the importance of exercise that helps the growth of muscles, increases blood supply, and maintains proper functioning of the excretory system.
4. Psychic movement and repose: The Unani system has extensively documented the impact of psychological factors on our well-being. Happiness, sorrow, anger and stress play a key role in the treatment and prevention of disease. In fact, there is a separate branch of psychological treatment in Unani medicine that helps to deal with it.
5. Sleep and wakefulness: Sleep provides rest, both physically and mentally. Lack of it can cause fatigue, digestive disturbances and mental weakness. Normal sleep time and active time of wakefulness are advocated for good health.
6. Evacuation and retention: The waste products of the body must be properly excreted and all the essential nutrients should be retained in the blood flow. Without proper functioning of the excretory system, toxins build up in the body, leading to sickness and disease.

These essential prerequisites, referred to as Asbab-e-Sitta Zarooriya, are given utmost importance in Unani medicine. This system employs these basic principles in their therapy, which constitutes of the following:

• Diet therapy – Regulation of quantity or quality of food
• Regimental therapy – Takes care of evacuation of waste material from the body using various means
• Pharmacotherapy – Use of natural drugs and combinations in their formulations with minimal side effects