Ayurveda, the "science of life" or longevity, is the holistic alternative science from India, more than 5000 years old.
It is believed to be the oldest health science.

The uniqueness of Ayurveda is that it personalizes the healing process.
The human body is composed of dosha, dhatu, mala and agni(file-dosha dhatu mala intro) which are the fundamentals of Ayurveda.
The three doshas(file-dosha introduction) i.e. vata, pitta and kapha together are responsible for catabolic and anabolic metabolism. The purpose of the three doshas is to move the byproduct of digested foods throughout the body, which nourishes and builds the body tissues. Any imbalance in these doshas causes disease.

There are seven tissue systems (dhatus -file: definition in folder dhatu) in the body. Each dhatu is developed or transformed out of the previous tissue layer, starting with the first dhatu i.e. plasma (rasa). If plasma is not healthy, it will affect the other dhatus also.

Most of the diseases occur due to poor digestion. Agni{file-introduction in folder agni} (enzyme of digestive fire) is found in the alimentary canal and digests food. Digestive activity is governed by the three doshas, which produce three agnis. Any imbalance in the doshas creates imbalance in the agni or digestive fire, thus causing illness.

Another important factor in health is the proper elimination of waste i.e. faeces, urine, sweat etc. Malas {file-introduction in folder agni}(body wastes) help in maintaining the functioning of body organs. Again, any imbalance in the elimination of body wastes causes disease.

Apart from these, there are some other important factors also e.g. rasa{file-introduction in folder rasa} (taste), koshtas{file-koshtas} (alimentary canal), srotas{file-introduction in folder srotas} (body channels), mansik gunas (doshas of mind) etc. which are considered in Ayurveda.