Alongside Traditional Chinese Medicine, Indian Ayurveda is one of the world's oldest medical systems still widely accepted and practiced today. It has managed to thrive and flourish for at least three millennia and has built up an enormous body of diagnostic methods and treatments for a wide variety of mild to life-threatening illnesses and diseases. Evidence-based medicine has yet to fully explore its riches. Unlike modern conventional medicine that dominates our healthcare, Ayurveda is a "whole" medical system that goes beyond standard disease management, but also incorporates sophisticated ways to sustain health, prevent physical disorders as well as balance the body and mind to promote wellness.  Approximately 500 million Indians rely upon Ayurveda for their healthcare. In 1971, the Indian government established standards for Ayurveda education while recognizing the invaluable contributions this ancient medical system has made to prevent and treat a wide variety of diseases. According to statistics recorded by the Association of Ayurvedic Physicians in India, the nation's largest Ayurveda organization, India is now home to about 250 Ayurvedia colleges and teaching institutions and graduate approximately 12,000 doctors annually. The Association is affiliated with the medical school at Hindu Benares University in Varanasi, often regarded as India's equivalent to Oxford. It is estimated that across the country, there are nearly 450,000 registered Ayurvedic practitioners.  Western pharmaceutical-based medicine and their media propagandists such as Wikipedia, however, refers to Ayurveda as "fringe medicine and science" and "conspiracy theories."

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