Swarna Praashana – A Prescription to Disaster

Swarna praashana - Keep your baby away from it

A few days before, I observed a notice inserted along with the morning newspaper, about a nearby Ayurveda clinic offering Swarna Praashana, an age old remedy which has the potential to develop medha (intellect), agni (digestive power), bala (strength), aayu vardhana (long life) and so on. Briefly, it is effective for everything short of waking up the dead. It was touted as Ayurvedic vaccination and is offered to a wide range of clientele – from newborn babies to adolescents till the age of 16. Referred to in Kashyapa Samhita, the concoction is said to contain swarna (gold), vacha, shankh pushpi, brahmi, ashwagandha, madhu (honey) and cow’s ghee etc. And one more curious point was observed. There should be a minimum of thirty monthly doses to be given on pushya nakshatra. On no other day the medicine will be effective because according to the Theory of Radiation, ‘the medicinal potency is more in gold formulations on the day of pushya nakshatra – a snake-oil formulation hitchhiking on astrological quackery, what else?

But, before dismissing the concept of swarna praashana as another Ayurvedic gimmick at self-aggrandizement, I wanted to check the veracity of the arguments. The most frequently raised concern cited by Ayurvedics is that its potions have no side effects, as if each and every drug offered by modern medicine is riddled with life-threatening side effects! However, in the case of swarna praashana, I became suspicious as it involved eating gold which is a heavy metal. Besides, some websites on Ayurveda claimed that ‘gold has ability to interfere with genetics’! Yes, interfere with genetics! What an ignoramus this person must be, to ask others with impunity to consume a substance that can interfere with genetics? But on researching further, it was found that gold is mostly inert and one of the least reactive chemical elements that won’t provide any calories. Gold was administered as medicine from ancient times by shamanic practitioners. Only salts and radio isotopes of gold are of pharmacological value, as metallic gold is inert to all chemicals it encounters inside the body. Also, some people are allergic to gold. Otherwise, the precious metal you consume through the mouth simply goes out at the other end of the digestive tract. So much for its ability to interfere with genetics! But there is a serious side effect overlooked by Ayurvedics. Most of the gold we come across is not pure, or 100 per cent or 24 carats. Usually it contains additional elements like silver, copper or cadmium. Though pure gold and silver is harmless, that is not the case with copper or cadmium, which are highly toxic. Adults should consume no more than 10 mg of copper per day and copper toxicity is the reason for Indian childhood cirrhosis of the lever. I hope the quacks do take this fact into account.

What surprised me most was that honey is not so innocuous as it seemed at first! Do you know that honey is not at all recommended for infants below 12 months of age due to the risk of botulism poisoning? Botulism is a rare but sometimes fatal paralytic illness caused by food contaminated with botulinum toxin. In infants, it takes up to 12 months after birth for protective intestinal bacteria to develop, which will fight the botulinum infection. However, the Ayurvedic practitioners don’t seem to be concerned at all with administering swarna praashana of which honey is a prominent ingredient to newborn babies.

We should not feel ill against or assign malicious intent on Ayurvedics. Their knowledge is very limited and every field of study goes forward with the collected wisdom over the ages. Modern medicine, or for that matter, any branch of science is continuously updated, even on a daily or hourly basis, with new facts and data which helps to keep them always one step ahead of new diseases which also have spread in its range and lethality. But Ayurveda maintains its false pride on samhitas and sutras compiled thousands of years ago and jealously kept unchanged like sacred texts. In this aspect, it bears the hallmarks of religion than a branch of science. Absence of clinical trials of any kind and the freedom which the term ‘herbal’ confers on it, has resulted in extravagant claims by charlatans wanting to make a quick buck. Ayurveda claims to cure modern diseases (again, without side effects – the magical word!). But take a backward look at history. India was long afflicted with four deadly diseases – malaria, leprosy, small pox and polio – against which Ayurveda miserably failed. All four of them were eradicated when modern medicine came along. Even a hundred years back, Ayurvedic practitioners were ascribing divine displeasure to the emergence of small pox in a person. The concept of microbes and pathogens simply do not exist there!

So, this is a humble request to Ayurvedics. If you can’t do good to a sick person, at least don’t harm him. Delaying or denying proper medicine is also hurting your patient. Your concoctions also have side effects, as any chemical does. Any object we consume is toxic to a certain extent, the dosage being the clincher. And finally, remember what St. Matthew said, “You hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of your own eye, and then shall you see clearly to cast out the mote out of your brother’s eye” (Matt 7:5).