Tired of being tired?

Sometimes the root cause of exhaustion can be anaemia. We’ve all heard to take iron pills or B12 as the shorthand remedy to anaemia when the blood lacks enough healthy red blood cells or hemoglobin and the oxygen carrying capacity is reduced.

Somehow, though, this doesn’t seem to solve the problem for most people.

Ayurveda offers a complete solution. In Ayurveda texts, anaemia is called Pandu. The root cause is high Pitta in the heart, which is forced to spread around the body by aggravated Vata. Carried by the Vata, the high Pitta destroys the protective tissues, skin, blood, and muscles, and even destroys the person’s Ojas (vital strength & immunity principle). So the blood and protective fats lose their quantity and quality, causing the weakness, fatigue, ringing in the ears, low Agni, palpitations, and strain on the heart associated with anaemia.

According to Ayurveda, there are 5 different types of causes of anaemia. Overcoming Vata-type anemia will need a different action plan than Pitta type of anaemia.

So how to distinguish each type?

Vata-type anaemia is signaled by body aches, piercing pain, tremors, losing the luster of the eyes, veins, nails, urine & feces. Often there is swelling, flatulence, dry or astringent taste in the mouth, and pain on the side of the head or ribs.

Symptoms of Pitta-type anaemia include green or yellowish veins, strong thirst, excess perspiration, body odor, bitter or sour taste, loose bowels, acidity or burning sensation. There can be fever or a tendency toward fainting.

Kapha-type anaemia is distinguished by pale veins, lack of concentration as if in a fog, salty taste, loss of voice or a cough among other signs.

More rarely is the very difficult Pandu caused by all 3 doshas and showing a mixture of the above symptoms.

And finally, the texts describe the 5th type of Pandu which can result from regularly eating mud (for example, children), which dries the rasa and blocks the channels.

This information can be found in the Ashtanga Hrdayam Nidan Asthana Ch 13.