In August 2020, I fell off my bike by hitting a high curb on a bridge in Prenzlauer Berg and injured myself badly. A young Indian student was passing by and went to get lengths to help me. When I insisted on carrying on my journey to visit my daughter, he gave me his cell phone number and asked me to contact him in the next few days in order to let him know that I was alright. When I wrote to him a few days later, he invited me to visit his research centre in Berlin where he is writing his doctorate on the subject of DNA sequencing. It turned out to be a very impressive, central location and even the main staircase of the building was designed in the shape of the double helix (see the above photo).

Our conversation on the roof-top café led on to health in general, and it was on that warm, late summer evening that I first encountered Ayurveda. I subsequently read a few books on the subject and was particularly interested in the overlap with plant-based nutrition and veganism.

If you would like to know more, I can definitely recommend the following two introductions: “Ayurveda” by Sahara Rose Ketabi and, for German-speaking readers, “Wie neu geboren durch modernes Ayurveda” by Kulreet Chaudhary.

Since the beginning of February this year, I have tried to follow the 4 – stage detoxification process recommended in Chaudhary book and these have been the results so far:

• I have lost 7 kg in weight (I wanted to anyways)
• My previoulsy off-course LDL cholesterol has decreased to an acceptable level
• My pre-diabetic level of glucose has receded to a non-diabetic level
• My blood pressure has normalised and I have stopped taking my medication for high blood pressure (under my doctor’s scrutiny)
• I feel fitter and healthier and my VO2 level has increased to 47.8 (apparently very high for my age)
• I have generally gone off foods and drinks that are not good for me
• I feel calmer and more at peace with the world.

The down sides were a phase of unpleasant body odour, skin rashes, a boil on my leg and a nasty bout of gout in my right foot. I can’t prove that these were a result of detoxification, but I think so.

In spite of enthusiastic affirmations to the contrary from fans of Ayurveda, the scientific proof that it works is almost non-existent. Nonetheless, I can without a doubt say that it has worked for me, albeit in tandem with a fairly strict sports regime. Therefore, in the next few blog articles, I’d like to share some tips and experiences from Ayurveda that I have found especially helpful, even, or perhaps especially, during the restrictions caused by Covid-19. Maybe you’d like to give it a try?

“There’s only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.” Aldous Huxley