Bapu Nature Cure Hospital & Yogashram

Introduction: Primary dysmenorrhea (PD) is associated with decreased performance and reduced quality of life in young adults. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of implementing Arogya Rakshak Panchatantra (ARP), a naturopathic lifestyle practice, among young female adults with PD. Method: This open-label, parallel-arm, randomized controlled trial included 52 young female adults with PD aged between 16 and 25 years. They were randomly assigned to the ARP group practicing the ARP module for 2 months or the control group maintaining their routine lifestyle. The primary outcome was changes in heart rate variability (HRV), while secondary outcomes included menstrual distress, quality of life, pain, and daytime sleepiness, all evaluated at baseline and during the first three menstrual cycles in both groups. To evaluate the feasibility, the study also monitored self-reported symptoms, emotions, adverse events, calorie intake, and adherence to the intervention. The effectiveness of ARP was evaluated using repeated measures analysis of variance and a generalized linear model. Results: In the intervention group, we observed significant improvements in the high frequency component of HRV (p = 0.007), as well as reductions in weight (p = 0.017), visual analog scale pain (p = 0.000), and retrospective symptom scale score (p < 0.011). There were no significant changes in other HRV metrics, quality of life, or daytime sleepiness. Participants reported mild symptoms such as headaches, colds, body pain, diarrhea, constipation, fever, and weakness, with no serious adverse events. Discussion: This trial is the first to examine the long-term impact of ARP on young females with PD, suggesting it could be an effective and feasible management option. Further research with larger sample sizes is needed to confirm these findings.

Introduction of Phase Transfer Catalysis (PTC) technology, which was developed in the 1970s has revolutionised the dyes and pharmaceutical industries in many ways. PTC is a process that facilitates the organic compounds to move from one phase to another phase, without any change in the chemical qualities. Application of this technology was explored in the 1980s for agriculture, by using different plant extracts as PT catalysts. The objective was to facilitate increased absorption of nutrients by plants, by stimulating plant growth and easy availability of nutrients in the soil. Introduction of nano-carbon materials with nutrients and herbal growth stimulants could further support the crop growth by facilitating increased uptake of nutrients, apart from enabling the plants to develop resilience to harsh environmental conditions, resulting in higher crop yields. Some organic bio-stimulants developed recently by Snehasrusthi Group in India have been very successful in improving the growth, yield and quality of several seasonal and perennial crops in India. These bio-stimulants have excellent potential to boost organic agricultural production and income of farmers in the future.

Objective: There is a need to address the mental health insufficiencies among the home-quarantined COVID-19 patients. Telemedicine is reckoned as a productive means to stay connected with patients during pandemic. This study explores the role of Yoga and Naturopathy Interventions (YNI) as the telemedicine in improving depression, anxiety, stress, quality of life (QoL), and symptom scores among home-quarantined COVID-19 patients. Methods: This was a nonrandomized controlled study that included 112 COVID-19 patients who received either YNI ( n = 56), which includes yoga therapy, naturopathic diet, steam inhalation, self-acupressure delivered across the day or simple sectional breathing ( n = 56) through a telemedicine mode for 14 days, along with standard care. The allocation of the study participants to either YNI or Breathing was done by two of the investigators. At baseline and on the 14th day, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21), World Health Organization (WHO) QoL, and Symptom scores were measured. Results: A generalized linear model was used to evaluate the effects of intervention on stress, anxiety, depression, and WHO-QOL scores. The YNI group had shown significant improvement in DASS-21 scores and the QoL domains as compared with the controls. The severity of cough was significantly reduced in the study group compared with the controls. However, the changes in the severity of other symptoms such as breathlessness, persistent pain, pressure in the chest, fever, headache, and loss of smell remained insignificant between the groups. Conclusion: YNI-based telemedicine was found effective in reducing depression, anxiety, and stress and improving the QoL in COVID-19 patients. However, limitations such as a small sample size and a lack of randomization warrant large-scale studies to strengthen these findings. Trial Registration: Clinical Trial Registry Number: CTRI/2021/05/033816.

We are in midst of a global pandemic due to corona virus disease-19 (COVID-19) that has extensively impacted health and well-being. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies have been extensively used by the general public in various forms to improve their immunity and stay resilient against the infection. Intermittent fasting (IF) is a popular form of CAM therapy reported to accelerate weight loss, alleviate inflammation, upregulate metabolism and reverse immune system dysfunction. This case report describes the impact of a 9-month long IF protocol (18 h water only phase followed by 6 h of feeding phase) in a 36-year-old male patient who was at high risk of acquiring COVID-19 infection owing to his elevated body mass index, fasting blood sugar, cholesterol, impaired lipid profile, and high level of anxiety. At baseline his antibody status against COVID-19 was 0.01 (OD ratio). Nine months of IF has shown to improve all his clinical parameters. The authors have observed the presence of antibody against COVID-19: 6.35 (OD ratio) during the 9th month follow-up and also 6.94 (OD ratio) during the refeeding phase at 12th month. However the patient exhibited no symptoms or complications during the entire 1 year of the study. The patient also reported considerable reduction in anxiety on the visual analog scale whose score was reduced to 1 compared with the baseline score of 9. The results suggest prolonged IF to be a safe and useful prophylactic measure against COVID-19 and its risk factors. However, large scale studies are warranted to substantiate the present findings.

An eight-week Kapalabhati practice was given to a female aged 19 years who was diagnosed with bilateral Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). Kapalabhati is one of the simplest yet important parts of Shatkarmas in Yoga, which is known to improve metabolic fitness. The PCOS is a complex hormonal disorder with metabolic derangements and insulin resistance as an integral part, which also plays a significant role in its aetiology. The condition can be exacerbated by the co-existence of obesity. Hence, improvement in the metabolic profile is the key step in the management of PCOS.

Type 2diabetes is emerging as a serious medical and socioeconomic problem world over. The number of people with type 2diabetes mellitus are increasing due to population growth, ageing, and urbanization and increasing prevalence of obesity and physical inactivity. The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of Naturopathy on the Fasting blood glucose (FBG), postprandial blood glucose (PPBG) levels and Body Mass Index (BMI) in patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. A total of 50 patients were recruited and divided into two Groups. Group I (Intervention group = 32 sittings) were on both naturopathy and allopathic medication with diet control and Group II (control group) were on allopathic medication and diet control. The study parameters were assessed at baseline and after two months intervention. The result suggested significant changes in the levels of FBG and PPBG in both the groups and improvement was seen in Body Mass Index (BMI) only in group 1 patients.