School of Advanced Unani Medicine

07/10/2026

🔰 Obesity

Is it really just “excess weight"?

OR, What happens to the metabolic quality of the body as adipose tissue expands?

Modern research increasingly views obesity as a chronic, relapsing, multifactorial disease, involving adipose-tissue dysfunction, insulin resistance, inflammation, altered appetite regulation, ectopic fat and changes in metabolic adaptation. BMI remains useful, but waist circumference and cardiometabolic assessment add important clinical information.

The discussion also raises several clinical clues:

• BMI is not the whole phenotype. Central adiposity may matter more than weight alone.
• Muscle is metabolic currency. Losing weight without preserving lean mass is not necessarily a successful outcome.
• Sedentary behaviour matters, even in people who exercise periodically.
• Metabolically unhealthy normal-weight individuals exist.
• The gut–liver–adipose–brain axis deserves attention rather than treating obesity as an isolated fat-storage problem.
• Modern pharmacotherapy, including GLP-1–based therapies, can be valuable for appropriately selected patients—but WHO emphasizes that medication should be part of comprehensive, long-term obesity care, not a substitute for diet, physical activity and behavioural intervention.

Where does Classical Unani thinking add another lens?

Classical Unani medicine describes Siman-e-Mufrit within a broader disturbance of Mizaj, metabolism, digestion, activity and accumulation of Shahm. Its therapeutic framework gives importance to Ilaj bil-Ghiza, Riyazat and appropriate Tadbir, rather than reducing treatment to a single weight-lowering medicine.

Importantly, Balgham, Barudat-Ratubat and diminished Hararat-e-Ghariziyah should be understood as classical explanatory constructs—not claimed as direct equivalents of insulin resistance, inflammation or adipose fibrosis.

That distinction is essential for intellectually honest integrative medicine.

The clinical question should therefore change:

Not merely:

“How many kilograms has the patient lost?”

But:

“Has metabolic health improved?”

Assess waist circumference, body composition, muscle mass, blood pressure, glucose/HbA1c, lipids, liver status, physical activity, sleep, dietary pattern and obesity-related complications alongside weight.

Perhaps the most useful convergence is this:

Obesity is not simply a problem of excess kilograms—it is a disorder of the metabolic terrain.

25/09/2026

🔰 ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION: DON’T TREAT THE ERECTION—TREAT THE MAN BEHIND IT.

ED is a multifactorial clinical syndrome involving vascular, metabolic, endocrine, neurological, psychological and lifestyle factors. It may also be an early clinical signal of cardiometabolic disease.

Unani describes sexual debility as Zo‘f-e-Bah. But clinically, ED should not automatically mean “prescribe a Muqawwi-e-Bah.”

The crucial question is:

“Why has Quwwat-e-Bah failed in THIS patient?”

1. TASHKHIS BEFORE TAQWIYAT

Assess libido, er****on initiation/maintenance, morning er****ons, ej*******on, stress/performance anxiety, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, medications, urinary symptoms, sleep, diet and physical activity.

2. IDENTIFY THE DOMINANT PHENOTYPE

A. Zo‘f-e-Bah / Low Sexual Vitality Phenotype
Reduced sexual desire and general sexual vitality with otherwise limited systemic pathology.

Applied direction: Taqwiyat-e-Badan + Taqwiyat-e-Quwwat-e-Bah.
Possible Nuskha: Majoon-e-Piyaz—classically positioned as a Muqawwi-e-Bah formulation.

B. Bah + Reproductive/Mani Weakness Phenotype
Sexual weakness accompanied by perceived weakness of Mani/reproductive vitality.

Applied direction: Taqwiyat-e-Bah + reproductive strengthening.
Possible Nuskha: Majoon-e-Arad Khurma.

C. Meda–Hazm Dominant Phenotype
ED accompanied by poor appetite, dyspepsia, abdominal heaviness, digestive weakness and general debility.

Applied direction: Islah-e-Hazm before or alongside Taqwiyat.
Possible Nuskha: Jawarish Jalinus where clinically appropriate.

These formulations should not be considered interchangeable prescriptions; Mizaj, age, comorbidities, digestive capacity and contraindications must determine selection.

3. WHEN THE “APHRODISIAC” IS NOT THE ANSWER

Preserved libido + poor er****on maintenance → investigate Damwi–vascular/metabolic factors.

Diabetes/obesity/HTN + ED → prioritise metabolic and cardiovascular risk correction.

Situational ED/performance anxiety → A‘sab–Nafsani assessment, stress management and appropriate psychological intervention.

Low libido + absent morning er****ons → endocrine evaluation before simply prescribing Muqawwi-e-Bah.

4. THE APPLIED SEQUENCE

TASHKHIS → ISLAH-E-ASBAB → ISLAH-E-MIZAJ → ISLAH-E-HAZM → TADBIR → PHENOTYPE-BASED DAWA → TAQWIYAT → FOLLOW-UP

Modern evidence supports lifestyle intervention; a 2026 meta-analysis of 16 RCTs/1,477 men found diet/exercise interventions improved erectile-function scores.

A 2025 randomized Unani study of 36 men using a polyherbal Majoon + Tila regimen also reported improvement.

The real Applied Unani question is not:
“Which aphrodisiac is strongest?”

It is:

❗“Which phenotype is present, what is driving it, and which therapeutic sequence corrects it?”

That is how Zo‘f-e-Bah moves from formula-based prescribing to diagnosis-driven Applied Unani therapeutics.

25/09/2026

🔰HAS HIJAMA BECOME BIGGER THAN TADBIR?

This is not an argument against Hijama.

❗It is a question about how Unani Medicine represents itself.

‘Ilaj bi’l-Tadbir is a sophisticated therapeutic domain. Hijama is one of its procedures—not its definition, not its hierarchy, and certainly not a substitute for clinical reasoning.

Yet contemporary promotion increasingly risks creating a “Hijama-centric” image of Regimenal Therapy.

That deserves intellectual scrutiny.

If every clinical problem is presented as a Hijama indication, what happens to Mizaj, diagnosis, indication, contraindication, sequencing, and individualized Tadbir?

And if a short commercial course produces a certificate, but not demonstrable competence in patient assessment, anatomy, asepsis, complications, emergency management and referral—have we trained a therapist, or merely taught a procedure?

The evidence also demands intellectual honesty.

Systematic reviews report potential benefits of cupping for pain conditions. Evidence therefore supports continued investigation—not universal therapeutic claims.

This distinction is crucial:

Traditional legitimacy ≠ evidence of every modern claim.

And:

Certification ≠ clinical competency.

WHO's Unani training benchmarks emphasize competency-based education, while its practice benchmarks address safety, quality and appropriate professional practice.

Even CCRUM's development of Hijama SOPs reflects the need for standardization and procedural safety, not merely popularity.

Perhaps the uncomfortable question is:

❗Are we expanding Regimenal Therapy—or shrinking it into Hijama?

The future of Applied Unani Medicine should not be:

“More Hijama.”

It should be:

Better Tadbir.
Better patient selection.
Better training.
Better evidence.
Better outcomes.

Hijama deserves neither dismissal nor glorification.

It deserves its correct place within the intellectual architecture of Tadbir.

That is not a limitation of Hijama.

It is respect for Unani Medicine itself.

24/09/2026

23/09/2026

🔰 UNANI DOESN’T NEED MORE SILENT READERS.
IT NEEDS ACTIVE VOICES.

I regularly share my Applied Unani research, clinical observations, and practical perspectives here on School of Advanced Unani Medicine (SAUM).

Around 97% of my connections are Unanians, and my posts receive roughly 250-300 views on average.

But I keep asking myself:

Are we only reading—or are we discussing?

Because a post should not end when we finish reading it.

It should start a conversation.

I want my fellow Unanians to do something simple:

❤️ Like if the topic adds value.
💬 Comment with your experience—even if you disagree.
📚 Add references, evidence, or classical insights.
💡 Tell me what I should research and write about next.

Let’s discuss the questions that actually matter:

❗What should Applied Unani Medicine look like today?

Which classical concepts deserve scientific exploration?

Which clinical problems need practical Unani protocols?

Where is our evidence strong—and where do we need better research?

Which Mufradat, Murakkabat, diagnostic concepts, or lifestyle interventions deserve deeper investigation?

I don't want to create a page where one person speaks and everyone else simply reads.

❗I want to create a space where Unanians think, question, challenge, contribute, and learn together.

If enough of us participate, these posts can become more than content.

They can become a living Unani knowledge platform.

So, my fellow Unanians:

Don't just read this post.
🔸Tell me what you think.
🔸And tell me what I should write about next.

Let’s make Unani a conversation—not just a publication. 🌿

19/09/2026

🔰 DOCTOR, MY ALLERGY GOES AWAY WITH MEDICINE… THEN COMES BACK AGAIN.”

https://lnkd.in/p/dBgjxjhy

This is one of the most familiar complaints in Unani OPD.

A patient presents with:

Morning sneezing + nasal itching + watery discharge + post-nasal drip + throat clearing

Then you discover something else:

Bloating. Dyspepsia. Reflux. Food-related aggravation. Sometimes itching or urticaria.

Is this only a nose problem?

Or are we looking at a recurrent pathological pattern?

🌱 THIS IS WHERE BALGHAM-E-SHOR BECOMES INTERESTING

Unani medicine does not regard every Balghami state as identical.

Normal Balgham → cold + moist

Whereas Balgham-e-Shor (Balgham Malih) is classically described as an abnormal phlegmatic state with a saline/alkaline character and inclination toward heat and dryness.

So the clinical question changes:

Is there simply MORE Balgham—or has its QUALITY changed?

🔬 NOW LOOK THROUGH THE LENS OF MODERN ALLERGY

Allergen exposure can initiate:

IgE sensitisation → mast-cell activation → histamine/other mediators → itching + sneezing + rhinorrhoea + mucus secretion

Persistent allergic inflammation may also involve eosinophils and Th2-associated pathways.

In other words:

Allergy is not merely “excess mucus.”

It involves immune activation + mediator release + mucosal hyper-reactivity + altered secretion.

🔗 THE INTERESTING CORRELATION

UNANI MODEL

Normal Balgham
↓
Qualitative alteration
↓
Balgham-e-Shor
↓
Irritative tendency
↓
Mucosal manifestations

MODERN MODEL

Allergen
↓
IgE / mast cells
↓
Histamine + inflammatory mediators
↓
Mucosal hyper-reactivity
↓
Clinical symptoms

⚠️ This is a functional correlation—not biochemical equivalence.

Balgham-e-Shor is not histamine, IgE, or allergic rhinitis.

🌿 THE APPLIED UNANI PHYSICIAN MAY THEREFORE ASK:

Why does this patient's allergy keep recurring?

Is there:

Meda dysfunction?
Su-e-Hazm?
Food-related aggravation?
Altered Balgham quality?
Kabid involvement?
Dam-related manifestations?

The clinical map may then be explored as:

Meda → Hazm → Akhlat → Balgham → Tissue Response

♻️ THE BIGGER IDEA

Modern immunology helps explain HOW allergy occurs.

Unani pathology offers another framework for asking WHY a particular pathological pattern manifests in this patient.

The goal is not to replace one system with the other.

It is to make clinical observation more precise.

Because sometimes the patient is not simply saying:

“I have an allergy.”

They are showing you a pattern.

And the physician's job is to read it.

19/09/2026

🔰 HOW DO WE SCIENTIFICALLY VALIDATE UNANI MEDICINE?

https://lnkd.in/p/djgwVwGG

Not by translating every Unani concept into a modern biomedical term.

Not by replacing Mizaj, Tabi‘at, Akhlat or Quwwat-e-Hazima with fashionable terminology.

And certainly not by conducting research that ignores how Unani is actually practised.

The starting point should be the Unani clinic itself.

🌿 A PRACTICAL APPLIED UNANI MODEL

1. DEFINE THE PATIENT PHENOTYPE

Instead of recording only “gastritis” or “urticaria”, document:

Mizaj → symptoms → triggers → dietary pattern → digestion → sleep → bowel habit → lifestyle → examination → investigations.

This converts a traditional clinical assessment into a structured dataset.

2. DOCUMENT THE UNANI DIAGNOSIS

Record the physician's reasoning:

Su-e-Mizaj?
Fasad-e-Meda?
Fasad-e-Dam?
Weak Quwwat-e-Hazima?
Imbalance in Daf‘?

The objective is to make the clinical reasoning visible and reproducible.

3. PRESERVE INDIVIDUALIZATION

If two patients have the same biomedical diagnosis but different Mizaj, digestive capacity and symptom patterns, they need not receive identical Unani prescriptions.

That is not inconsistency.

That is individualized therapeutics.

4. MEASURE OUTCOMES

Do not stop at “patient feels better.”

Track:

symptom score + recurrence + quality of life + functional improvement + relevant biomarkers + adverse events + treatment adherence.

5. TEST THE COMPLETE UNANI INTERVENTION

Study Ghiza + Tadbeer + Dawa + lifestyle correction + therapeutic sequence, rather than reducing Unani to a single herbal capsule.

WHO's current research agenda specifically recognizes that traditional medicine requires research approaches capable of addressing its complex and individualized nature.

6. BUILD REAL-WORLD EVIDENCE

A well-designed database of thousands of systematically documented Unani OPD cases could reveal:

Which phenotype responds?
To which formulation?
At what dose?
For how long?
With what recurrence rate?

❗That is where Applied Unani Medicine can become powerful.

WHO has already published specific benchmarks for Unani practice covering quality, safety, regulation, clinical practice and health-data management.

THE FUTURE

Classical principles → structured clinical assessment → standardized documentation → measurable outcomes → prospective research → clinical guidelines.

We should not make Unani look like another medical system.

❗We should make Unani's own clinical intelligence scientifically visible.

🔸That is how Mizaj becomes clinically investigable,
🔸Tabi‘at becomes clinically observable,
and
🔸Unani therapeutics becomes evidence-generating.

From inherited knowledge → documented clinical intelligence → validated clinical practice.

That is the real pathway for Applied Unani Medicine.

15/09/2026

🔰 School of Advanced Unani Medicine (SAUM)

Founder’s Vision | From Classical Wisdom to Applied Unani Medicine

After 25 years of clinical experience in Unani Medicine, I have increasingly felt that one of the greatest needs of our profession is not merely more information—but better clinical application of the knowledge we already possess.

This realization became the foundation of the School of Advanced Unani Medicine (SAUM).

SAUM is my ongoing effort to build a digital knowledge ecosystem dedicated to Critical, Analytical, Applicable & Applied Unani Medicine—connecting classical Unani principles with clinical reasoning, contemporary scientific understanding and research.

My objective is simple:

To make the path of Unani practice clearer for practitioners, and to make Unani knowledge more clinically relevant and research-worthy for scholars and researchers.

Through SAUM, I continuously develop and share:

🔸OPD-oriented clinical approaches
🔸Applied diagnostic reasoning
🔸Practical therapeutic principles & protocols
🔸Critical analysis of classical concepts
🔸Contemporary research on Unani drugs and concepts
🔸Integrative perspectives connecting Unani with modern medicine
🔸Research-oriented articles for Unani scholars

📚 43 Applied Unani Books have also been developed as part of this journey and are exclusively available through my Telegram channel—created specifically to support the growing community of Unani practitioners and learners.

🌐 Connect with SAUM

1. Applied Unani Blogging: SAUM
https://ali-unani.blogspot.com/

2. page: SAUM
https://www.facebook.com/share/1E37JdDVzc/

3. Telegram Group: SAUM
Unani Books & Resources
https://t.me/+6D_nJdwDgAFhNjVl

4. WhatsApp Group: School of Advanced Unani Medicine

5. Linkedin Post:
DR. ALI - School of Advanced Unani Medicine

♻️ My Vision

Classical Wisdom → Critical Analysis → Clinical Application → Research → Contemporary Relevance

SAUM is not simply another online platform.

It is a continuing professional and scholarly movement to make Unani Medicine more applicable, more analytical, more research-oriented—and more relevant to the clinical needs of the present generation.

🌿 From preserving our heritage to advancing its application.

15/09/2026

🔰 UNANI MEDICAL EDUCATION NEEDS A PARADIGM SHIFT: FROM “KNOWING” TO “DOING”

A student may pass examinations, reproduce classical definitions and remember hundreds of formulations.

❗But can that student confidently manage a real patient?

That is the uncomfortable question we must ask.

The future of Unani medical education should not be measured only by:

“How much does the student know?”

It must also ask:

❗“What can the student safely demonstrate in clinical practice?”

This is not a rejection of our classical heritage.
It is the next stage of protecting and strengthening it.

Interestingly, has already moved in this direction. The current Unani undergraduate framework emphasises a competency-based dynamic curriculum, formative assessment, early clinical exposure, practical/skill-oriented teaching and integration of modern scientific advances.

Now comes the harder part:

♻️ HOW DO WE MAKE IT REAL?

Imagine assessing a BUMS student not merely on “Dyspepsia” as a theory topic, but on whether the student can:

History → Mizaj assessment → Asbab → A'raad → Tashkhis → Differential diagnosis → Red flags → Investigations → Unani management → Diet/Tadbeer → Follow-up

That is Applied Unani Clinical Competence.

A practical system could combine:

🔸Mini-CEX – direct observation of real patient encounters
🔸CBD – assessment of clinical reasoning
🔸DOPS – observed procedural skills
🔸OSCE/OSPE – structured clinical/practical assessment
🔸Case portfolio – longitudinal evidence of competence
🔸Feedback → Remediation → Reassessment

Evidence from medical education supports workplace-based assessment, formative feedback and tools such as Mini-CEX, DOPS and OSCE/OSPE for developing clinical competence.

And this does not necessarily require an expensive new system.

Start small:

1 department → 1 batch → 10 priority competencies → common assessment rubrics → monthly observation → feedback → remediation → reassessment.

Then scale.

The real transformation will occur when the Unani graduate is not simply able to recite the principles of Tibb, but can demonstrate how those principles guide decisions at the bedside.

Our goal should not be “exam-ready Unani graduates.”

It should be:

CLINICALLY READY UNANI PHYSICIANS.

Because ultimately, the credibility of any medical system is tested not in the classroom—

but in front of the patient.

14/09/2026

🔰 BADAM SHIRIN Vs BADAM TALKH — LET'S END THE BOTANICAL CONFUSION

A common question in Unani Medicine is:

Are Sweet Almond and Bitter Almond two different botanical species?

❗No.

According to the current Kew Plants of the World Online (POWO), the accepted botanical species is:

🌱 Prunus amygdalus Batsch
Family: Rosaceae

Both Sweet and Bitter Almond are placed under this same species.

🔬 BOTANICAL IDENTITY ≠ VARIETAL IDENTITY

Species-level identity:
Prunus amygdalus Batsch

Traditional Unani varietal/form distinction:
🔹 Badam Shirin (Sweet Almond) → P. amygdalus var. dulcis
🔹 Badam Talkh (Bitter Almond) → P. amygdalus var. amara

Kew currently treats both varietal names as synonyms under Prunus amygdalus.

❗THEN WHAT IS PRUNUS DULCIS?

This is the major source of confusion.

Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A.Webb is a widely used name for almond in scientific literature.

However, Kew currently treats Prunus dulcis as a synonym of Prunus amygdalus Batsch—not as a separate almond species.

Therefore, the simplest way to remember it is:

ONE ACCEPTED SPECIES:
🌱 Prunus amygdalus Batsch

TWO TRADITIONAL MEDICINAL FORMS:
🟢 Shirin → var. dulcis
🟤 Talkh → var. amara

🌿 WHY DOES THIS MATTER IN UNANI MEDICINE?

Although botanically they belong to the same species, Badam Shirin and Badam Talkh have different traditional medicinal identities and should not be casually substituted for one another.

Sweet Almond is readily available in the market.

Badam Talkh is comparatively less readily available and may be more costly, making authentic identification especially important.

So, when a Unani formulation specifically requires Badam Talkh, simply purchasing any product labelled “Badam” or “Kadwa Badam” is not sufficient.

🌿 THE APPLIED UNANI RULE

Botanical identity: Prunus amygdalus Batsch
↓
Traditional varietal/form identity: dulcis / amara
↓
Pharmacognostic authentication
↓
Correct medicinal use

And finally:

❌ Prunus amygdalus and Prunus dulcis are not two different almond species according to current Kew taxonomy.

❗Prunus amygdalus is the accepted species name, while Prunus dulcis is currently treated by Kew as a synonym.

In Applied Unani Medicine, knowing “Badam” is not enough. We must know exactly WHICH Badam—and authenticate it accordingly.