This practice of holistic medicine from India is the oldest of all lifestyles. It is about the knowledge of life. It originated as a preventive approach. There are 20 universal principles of Ayurveda that are used to evaluate all symptoms. Deficiencies and excesses are determined from the pulses and examing the tongue. Western medicine looks at the symptoms and Ayurveda looks at how the body got out of balance and fixing the cause.