Although my training is in evidence based medicine (or what other alternative fields refer to as “allopathic medicine”), I am fascinated by other disciplines that operate on a completely different understanding of the human body and disease. There is much mystery surrounding Ayurveda in the US, which is the most ancient form of medicine developed in India and still practiced today. There is an inherent paradox here - how can an ancient Indian system of medicine be used to treat Crohn’s and colitis which are diseases that have only been well described relatively recently? Today I spoke with Vikram Chauhan who is an Ayurvedic doctor who practices in India and also the founder of Planet Ayurveda (planetayurveda.com). He has a particular interest in treating inflammatory bowel disease and claims to have an 80-90% “cure” rate. I obviously was skeptical so we had a detailed conversation about his protocol and experience. I did challenge some of his assertions but overall this was a respectful exchange of ideas. We specifically discuss the cause of inflammatory bowel disease according to Ayurveda and the herbs, diet and lifestyle modifications he recommends to treat it. As a disclaimer, this is not an endorsement or recommendation of Ayurveda for IBD at this time since there is insufficient evidence published to show efficacy and it is not FDA approved. You must discuss any treatments you decide to use with your doctors.