http://nccam.nih.gov/news/newsletter...erspective.htm

Bala V. Manyam, M.D., is a member of NCCAM's National Advisory Council for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Dr. Manyam is retired director of the Plummer Movement Disorders Center, Scott & White Clinic, Temple, Texas, and professor emeritus at Texas A&M University System Health Science Center College of Medicine. He received his medical degree from Bangalore Medical College, in India, and did his neurology residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia (where he also held a pharmacology fellowship). Currently, Dr. Manyam is researching Ayurvedic herbal medicines, especially for degenerative neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. In a recent interview, Dr. Manyam offered his personal perspective on Ayurveda.

Q: What are some reasons that people in the United States become interested in Ayurveda?

A: Many patients with chronic diseases find that conventional drugs can have significant side effects. Also, some patients are seeking preventive and health-promotion benefits (two things that Ayurveda focuses upon).

Q: What is your philosophy about using Ayurveda versus conventional medicine?

A: I have an open mind. I believe that all health/healing systems have merits and demerits. I look at the good things in each system that I think could do the best for my patients or me. I also believe that just because a particular therapy was stated as effective in an ancient text and has been continuously used, does not mean it is effective. We should not blindly accept it. It should be tested and retested over the years.