AYURVEDA FOR BONE HEALTH

When we think of our bones, we tend to think of these hard rock-type things in our bodies. But the bones are living, active tissue that depend on the health of the rest of our bodies in order to thrive.

From an Ayurvedic perspective, the physiology is formed sequentially. The first product of our digestion is RASA, or the nutritive fluid. The quality of the nutritive fluid informs the quality of RAKTA, our blood. The blood then informs the quality of MAMSA, or muscle tissue, which includes fascia, ligaments, and tendons. The mamsa informs MEDA, or fat which is an essential element for protecting our bodies. The meda informs ASTHI, bones.

We’ll stop here to look at what this means. Each of these tissues has their own AGNI. For the purpose of this discussion, we will translate agni to the digestive/metabolic process. Therefore, we need to protect the digestive power of each of these tissues. The best way to begin is to ensure that we are getting proper nutrition and eating at the right times so that our digestive power is strongest. It is advised that we eat in the middle of the day, when the sun is highest in the sky. This time is dominated by pitta, which is closely related to agni as the digestive fire. If we are eating large meals late at night or early in the morning, we are not optimizing our digestive power (including metabolism in each cell).

There are some specific nutrients that support asthi. As you can see, bones are nourished by fat. Taking in a balanced amount of good, healthy fats is of utmost importance. According to classical ayurvedic texts, the following foods are helpful at increasing asthi:

Wheat, ghee, garlic, plant resin (called laksha), milk, soup with plant fibers, honey, sandalwood, and bone broths.

This is not a comprehensive list, but will give you an idea of some foods to eat that will support your bones. Additionally, the seat of asthi is in the pelvic region, so yoga poses to support the hips are advised.

There are some Ayurvedic clinical treatments that support bone health, so visiting an Ayurvedic practitioner is a great idea if you’re looking to maintain or support bone health!