Integrated management of type 2 diabetes mellitus: Therapeutic potential of Ayurvedic mode of management

A 71-year-old patient, an Ayurvedic physician, attended the Endocrine Outpatient Department of Nair Hospital,Mumbai. He was interviewed for Drug Utilisation for the project of Ayurvedic Pharmacoepidemiology of Diabetes. The patient had type 2 diabetes mellitus for 10 years and was hypertensive since 20 years. He was on a conventional treatment for diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidaemia and angina pectoris. In addition, he integrated Ayurvedic management for his Madhumeha. His self-medication was with Marketed Ayurvedic Antidiabetic Formulations classically indicated for diabetes viz Chandraprabha and Arogyavardhini . He also took once daily the juice of the following ingredients - Aloe vera, Triticum aestivum, Momordica charantia, Lagernira siceraria and Allium sativum . He underwent a weekly whole body massage ( Abhyangam ) and a daily foot massage with Narayan Tail . Since past 10 years he practised pranayama and suryanamaskar for an hour daily. His glycaemic control has remained very good with the glycosylated haemoglobin value of 5.9%. The serum chemistry showed normal values for creatinine, blood urea nitrogen and triglycerides. The serum cholesterol value was 233 mg/dl. The laboratory data and physical health of the patient suggested that the integrative care achieved good glycaemic control. In India, many patients resort to multi-system