Yava (Barley) – A Dietary Solution In Obesity

The modern era is slowly becoming synonymous with sedentary life style. This life style along with changeddiet habits and environmental changes has rendered man to be a victim of many diseases like obesity.Obesity is defined as an excess of adipose tissue when greater quality of energy enter the body than areexpended, the body weight increases. The good aspect about obesity is that it can be prevented and cured atpersonal level care. Ayurveda has got three fold management of all diseases viz., Ahara (diet), Vihara (exercise) and Aushada(drug). Charaka states that we all are outputs of ahara so are the diseases. Therefore, ahara has got primeimportance in prevention and treatment of all diseases. A properly selected diet and diet plan plays acritical importance in disease management of obesity. Presence of the trace elements and the importantpharmacological actions of yava has now turned out to be an effective mean to avoid as well as to controlthe lipidaemic index. The present paper aims at putting forward the importance of yava in obesity from Ayurvedic andcontemporary perspective.