Ayurveda & Science

Can the great divide between traditional and allopathic medicines ever be bridged? We talk with Annamma Spudich, a cell and molecular biologist who has also studied Indian medical systems for years. This blend informs her unique perspectives, from the efficacy of black pepper at the molecular level to a folk practitioner whose prescription includes a medicinal plant collected by a naked man.

Time Markers (mins: sec)

• 0:24 Benefits of daily spices decoction
  1:28 Annamma’s unique background
  2:37 Childhood surrounded by traditional practices
  3:22 “Pepper water” for a minor cold
  4:26 Black pepper at the molecular level
  5:15 Oil bath for aches and pains
  6:19 50 medicines derived from plants
  6:44 Outcome-based studies of natural remedies
  7:05 Traditional remedies for chronic conditions
  7:56 Factions of medical systems
  9:28 Outcome is wellness
  10:15 Molecular methods of measuring wellness
  11:07 Plant extract has many compounds
  12:02 Traditional medicine very different from classical methods
  13:24 Visiting Kerala ashtavaidya
  15:14 Visiting folk medical practitioner
  16:08 The plant to be collected by a naked man