Triphala In Ayurveda

Triphala, found in MAPI's Organic Digest Tone, is one of the most famous herbal compounds in ayurvedic medicine. Triphala literally means "three fruits." The three fruits contained in Triphala are Haritaki, Amalaki and Bibhitaki.

Traditionally, Triphala comes in many different forms, including the Triphala tablets available from Maharishi Ayurveda Products International.

Triphala can also be mixed with other herbs in compound formulations. Triphala Guggulu, for instance, is much more powerful than Guggulu alone.

A powerful rasayana

There is a saying in India that if a vaidya (ayurvedic expert) knows how to use Triphala properly, he can heal any disease. It is a highly revered rasayana in Maharishi Ayurveda.

A rasayana is the most highly refined and powerful herbal and fruit combination in ayurveda, and is known to promote long life and vitality. A rasayana promotes ojas, the finest product of digestion that prevents disease, creates luster in the skin and rejuvenates the whole body.

Besides nourishing the mind and body and promoting longevity, Triphala has many specific effects. It is particularly rejuvenating for the digestive tract, and is a rasayana for the eyes and the skin.

Triphala, found in MAPI's Organic Digest Tone, balances Apana Vata, the subdosha of Vata that governs the colon, lower abdomen, menstrual flow and elimination. For most people Triphala is a mild laxative, and for that reason it is excellent for clearing toxins from the digestive system. In very rare cases it has a stronger laxative effect, but usually it is an ideal bowel cleanser precisely because of its mildness. In moderate doses it is gentle, and detoxifies the body slowly.

Because it is slow, you can take Organic Digest Tone for longer periods of time, and then it has a deeply purifying effect. It goes deep into the physiology and releases the toxins at a much deeper level. Because it detoxifies the blood, muscle and fat tissues, it is excellent for preventing skin disease. And because it removes ama from the fat tissue, Organic Digest Tone also helps balance cholesterol.

Triphala, found in MAPI's Organic Digest Tone, also purifies the urine and prevents urinary tract disease. It enhances all thirteen agnis (digestive fires), especially the main digestive fire in the stomach. It pacifies Kapha and Pitta, and if taken regularly, is a powerful anti-aging rasayana.

The ingredients

The first ingredient is Haritaki. This fruit is mentioned in almost all ayurvedic textbooks. Charaka goes so far as to say that Haritaki is as nourishing and useful for everyone as mother's milk. He mentions that it's a rasayana for the eyes and good for the digestive system. It helps enhance the absorption of nutrients in food. Haritaki is a yogavahini, which means that it cleanses the channels and is absorbed quickly by the body. In addition, the Charaka Samhita says that Haritaki is all-dosha balancing. Very few fruits and herbs have this designation.

Amalaki, the second ingredient, is known as a divine plant in the ayurvedic materia medica. Amalaki is also a rasayana, which means that it has longevity-enhancing and disease-defying qualities. The Charaka Samhita says, "Amalaki is the best among rejuvenative herbs."

Amalaki fruit contains the sweet, sour, bitter, astringent and pungent tastes. The only taste missing is salty. Because it contains five out of the six tastes, it is balancing to all three doshas.

There are many excellent qualities in Amalaki. Amalaki helps purify toxins from the body, by enhancing food absorption. When your digestion becomes stronger, the food you eat is converted to nutrition rather than staying undigested and producing impurities. The unique thing about Amalaki is that it heightens digestion, yet is not heating. That's why it's traditionally considered one of the best herbs for balancing stomach acid. By enhancing digestion, it helps eliminate toxins from the body. It also does this by strengthening and stimulating the liver. Amalaki also helps elimination and helps relieve constipation, so you can see why Triphala also has that quality.

• Amalaki is an excellent source of Vitamin C, and is the most concentrated and absorbable source of the vitamin in the plant kingdom. It also contains other absorbable minerals that nourish the skin, the blood and the whole body. Because of its high content of Vitamin C, Amalaki is a powerful antioxidant.
• Bibhitaki, the final ingredient in Triphala, is also famous in the classical ayurvedic texts for its many good qualities.
• Charaka reports that it is ideal for pacifying both Pitta and Kapha, and that it cleanses the nutritive fluid (Rasa Dhatu), the blood, the muscle and the fat tissue.
• Sushruta points out the bhedana effect of this fruit, which means that because of its heating quality it clears the clogged channels almost as if drilling them clear.

So now you can see why Triphala is so powerful: it's because the three fruits that make up the formula have remarkable abilities to cleanse impurities, tone the digestive tract, nurture the body and restore health.

Quality Matters

There are many brands of Triphala available in the market. The Council of Maharishi Ayurveda Physicians recommends that you look for top quality Triphala, found in MAPI's Organic Digest Tone. Settling for second-best can mean you do not derive the full range of benefits this amazing formula has to offer.

At Maharishi Ayurveda, we are committed to only using the highest quality ingredients, and to upholding the authenticity of the ayurvedic tradition no matter what the cost.One example of this: the Haritaki fruit comes in seven different varieties. While all are beneficial, the Vijaya variety is mentioned by all the great ayurvedic seers as best variety to use, which in itself is rare, as not many fruits and herbs are universally acclaimed by all the seers.

Vijaya is the only variety that is used in Maharishi Ayurveda's Triphala, because it is, quite simply, the best. But while it is the best, Vijaya is also the most rare. This scarcity makes it more expensive; in fact it is ten times the price of other varieties of Haritaki.

We use fruits that are grown without pesticides, chemical fertilizers or exposure to environmental pollutants, and harvest the fruits only at their peak, when they are ripe on the tree.