Aahara Parinamakara Bhavas as Functional Units of Digestion: An Ayurvedic Review with Modern Physiological Perspective

Abstract

Ayurveda has always placed a great deal of emphasis on Aahara, Agni, and Prakriti. Acharyas describe the idea of Aahara vidhividhana and Aahara Parinamakara bhavas, which must be adhered to in order to be Swastha. Cooking and burning are caused by external fire. The modification of matter by altering its properties, while the body's internal Agni facilitates food digestion and the conversion of digested food into bodily entities for assimilation. Food that has been consumed is bio transformed into bodily tissues. Food can nourish and replenish bodily entities if it possesses features that facilitate them. Food that has the opposite characteristics keeps these bodily entities undernourished or occasionally has the power to destroy them. Charakacharya has subsequently described the Aahara Parinamakara bhavas, which are multiple steps which convert food from a complex form to one that is absorbable and consumable. The right operation of Vayu, Kleda, Sneha, Kala, Samayoga, and Ushma is crucial for maintaining one's health. One of the main causes of the current rise in the incidence of the majority of lifestyle problems is the disruption of Aahara parinamakara bhavas. Here, using knowledge from modern science, an effort is made to investigate the idea of "Aahara parinamakara bhava" within a physiological framework.