Ama

Ama is the toxic residue of incomplete digestion. When agni (digestive fire) is weak or food is inappropriate, digestion is incomplete, and ama forms. This sticky, heavy substance accumulates in the digestive tract and can spread throughout the body, clogging channels and disrupting function.

Signs of ama include: coated tongue, foul breath, sluggish digestion, heaviness after eating, fatigue, foggy mind, and body aches.

In Ayurveda, ama is considered the root cause of most diseases. Treatment focuses on first kindling agni to burn ama and prevent new accumulation, then using cleansing therapies to remove accumulated ama from the tissues.

Ama can combine with imbalanced doshas to create more complex pathology. Sama conditions (with ama) are treated differently than nirama conditions (without ama).