People who take Triphala Rose regularly come out with statements like:
I feel lighter in the stomach, not so bloated after meals. Triphala Rose has helped my digestion –J P, London.
Why do our stomachs sometimes feel heavy and bloated? Why do we sometimes feel lethargic and heavy, especially first thing in the morning or after meals? And how can Triphala benefit you?
The benefits of Triphala Rose comes through it’s gentle cleansing of the digestive tract. It removes toxic waste that builds up in your tissues as a result of incomplete digestion. In this way it helps you absorb nutrients effectively and restores your health, immunity and energy.
Ama – partially ‘cooked’ food
So, what is this toxic waste, why does build up in your body and what problems can it cause?
The ancient health system of India, called Ayurveda, has a simple three-letter word that is central to these questions – Ama. The word may be simple but its implications are far reaching.
One translation of the word Ama is ‘partially cooked’. When Ayurveda talks about the process of digestion it often uses cooking imagery. We put food into our stomachs just as we would place raw ingredients into a pot. The stomach secretes acids and enzymes that ‘cook’ or break down the food to a point were it becomes suitable nourishment for our various tissues.
Agni – the transforming processing in your body
In Ayurvedic terms, Agni or fire, the element of transformation in our body, is responsible for this refining process.
The digestive system is like a slow cooker and needs plenty of time to fully process our food. According to Ayurveda we have six Dhatus or body tissues, each of which has its own Agni. Our food goes through a sequential refining process, with each tissue extracting the nutrients it needs.
If we have a heavy meal with plenty of fats and protein, processing can take five to six hours before it is complete. If we interrupt the process, Ama gets created. Ama, according to Ayurveda, is the soil in which all disease is nourished and cultivated.
Ignoring your body’s intelligence
Say you have a good Sunday lunch and then sit on the couch to read a newspaper. Perhaps after an hour or so you decide to have a cup of tea. While you’re in the kitchen you see a pack of biscuits. You don’t feel hungry, but it’s your habit to drink tea on Sunday afternoons and a few biscuits will go along nicely.
This lack of hunger is your body’s way of telling you that it’s busy digesting and it’s not ready for any more. But that cup of tea and biscuits habit has kicked in and you ignore the quiet voice of wisdom coming from your digestive tract.
How Ama builds up
This mid-afternoon snack interrupts the process of digesting lunch. The Agni, or digestive fire in your stomach, may have been high before lunch, but it has been working away on that meal and by now it is low.
When you throw more fuel onto an already low fire, you can put the fire out altogether. The result of eating those biscuits is ‘half-cooked’ food left hanging around in your digestive tract because there is virtually no Agni to deal with it.
Then comes time for your evening meal. You still have little appetite but there it is, cooked and ready for you, and no one likes wasting food. So you eat it anyway – more fuel thrown on a low fire, and more Ama hanging out in your digestive tract.
Symptoms of Ama
You go to bed and, because there is a sluggish digestive process still going on, you sleep badly. You wake up feeling dull, heavy and lethargic. Your tongue is coated. Your breath doesn’t smell good. You may feel a bit achy.
These are all symptoms of Ama. If it is not eliminated, Ama may start to migrate or be pushed deep into your body tissues. The dis-ease you feel at present may become the source of disease in the future.
According to Ayurveda 90-95% of all diseases have their source in Ama, so its good to nip this disease-creation process in the bud.
Triphala powder versus toxic Ama
Triphala is one of the most famous herbal compounds in Ayurvedic medicine. It is considered to be the remedy of choice for purifying toxic Ama from your body and is often used along with Ayurvedic detox diets.
Triphala removes Ama slowly but effectively. In the process it acts as a mild laxative, yet unlike most laxatives it is safe to take regularly over long periods of time. This is because it acts slowly and gently. It cleanses in a steady way that does not compromise the balance of your body. Gradually, over time, it helps to remove even the most ingrained and persistent toxic Ama.
What are the benefits of Triphala?
Ayurveda considers Triphala to be a Rasayana, a category of herbal compounds that restore and rejuvenate the body to promote vitality and long life. Triphala has a powerful anti-ageing effect and is particularly effective in cleansing, balancing and revitalising the digestive system.
It detoxifies the blood, muscle and fat tissues and thereby prevents skin problems. It removes Ama from the fat tissue and has been shown to help balance cholesterol. Triphala also purifies the urine and prevents urinary tract disease. It enhances all thirteen Agnis or digestive fires. It especially restores the main digestive fire in the stomach, thereby restoring appetite.
Since it cleanses the numerous Shrotas (body channels) and Dhatus (tissues), Triphala also helps the body to absorb more nutrients from the food we eat.
Triphala is nutritious and supports the formation of Ojas, which Ayurveda considers the finest product of good digestion. Ojas is said to promote long life, strength, and attractiveness.
What does Triphala Rose consist of?
The word Triphala means ‘three fruits’ and these fruits are Haritaki, Amalaki and Bibhitaki. Maharishi Ayur-Veda Products adds Cabbage Rose to support and enhance the other three ingredients.
Haritaki
Charaka Samhita, the ancient Indian textbook on Ayurveda, tells us that Haritaki is as nourishing and useful for everyone as mother’s milk. Charaka mentions that it is a Rasayana or restorative for the eyes and good for the digestive system. It enhances the body’s absorption of nutrients from food. Haritaki cleanses the channels (Shrotas) and is absorbed quickly by the body. Charaka also says that Haritaki balances all the Doshas, the three basic elements that govern our body.
Amalaki (Amla)
Ayurveda reveres Amalaki, or Amla, as a divine plant. Like Haritaki, Amalaki is considered a Rasayana, and is said to promote a long and disease-free life. Charaka Samhita says, “Amalaki is the best among rejuvenative herbs.”
Amalaki balances all the Dosha. It helps purify toxins from the body and thereby enhances food absorption. One of Amalaki’s unique properties is that, while it strengthens digestion, it is not over-heating. It is considered one of the best herbs for balancing stomach acid. It strengthens and stimulates the liver. Amalaki also helps elimination and relieves constipation.
Amalaki is an excellent source of Vitamin C, and is the most concentrated and absorbable source of the vitamin in the plant kingdom. The vitamin C found in Amalaki is in such a stable form that even when Amalaki is processed and heated, little vitamin C is lost.
Sushruta Samhita, one of the other major textbooks of Ayurveda, points out that this fruit has a Bhedana effect. This means that it clears the clogged channels almost as if it drills them clean.
Bibhitaki
Bibhitaki is reputed to be “one who keeps you away from disease”. It is a Rasayana, or restorative, for Kapha Dosha, the structuring element of the body. It cleanses and restores parts of the body where excess Kapha tends to accumulate, such as the throat, the lungs, the eyes, the mucus membrane and the upper body in general.
Bibhitaki cleanses the body of toxins through heating, yet it does not cause imbalances in Pitta Dosha, or fire element in the body. It is considered to be particularly good at removing mucus from the digestive tract so that we can better absorb nutrients.
Cabbage Rose
Often purgatives, even mild ones like Triphala, can have a heating effect. Cabbage Rose is added to the other three ingredients to cool down any possible heat that may be generated. This allows the body to remain in complete balance during the cleansing process. Cabbage Rose also supports the synergy of the other ingredients and promotes their effectiveness.
The holistic effect of Triphala Rose
When all these powerful herbs are added together, the holistic or synergistic effect they create is more than the sum of the individual ingredients. And this is why Triphala is Ayurveda’s herbal preparation of choice when it comes to internal cleansing.
In preparing Triphala Rose, Maharishi Ayurveda Products uses only the rarest and highest grade ingredients, as described in the traditional texts. So that only the purest ingredients reach your cells, we use fruits grown without pesticides or chemicals, in remote areas that are far from polluting industries. To ensure that you receive the full value of this wonderful Rasayana, our fruits are harvested only when they are ripe on the tree.
How to get Triphala Rose for yourself
Visit our “For Internal Cleansing” page in our shop and try Triphala Rose for yourself.
