As per Unani Medicine, there are Six Essential Factors – Air, Food and Drink, Bodily Movement and Repose, Psychic Movement and Repose, Sleep and Wakefulness, and Evacuation and Retention. Their appropriate deployment in the life of a person ensures health. The ‘Six Essential Factors’ are used not only for maintaining health and preventing diseases, but also for treating diseases. For instance, pure and profuse air is essential for health, therefore supply of good quality air and measures to minimize the effect of polluted air is adopted. Similarly, moderately cool water is the best for balanced temperaments. Hot water taken occasionally helps to clean the stomach and relax the bowels. Adopting certain good habits and avoiding harmful ones help in maintaining good health. The most important of these good habits is cleanliness -cleanliness of body, clothes and house.

Cleanliness of Body

Bathing keeps the body clean. Young persons can bath in fresh (cold) water but children and old people should use lukewarm water. Bathing is not advisable immediately after or before exercise, tiresome work or sexual intercourse. Pregnant women should not stay in bathroom for a long time as it causes weakness and saps the energy. The body should be dried thoroughly after bath with soft clean towel. Lukewarm water bath is useful for persons of all ages and temperaments and in all seasons. The bathing process should take 5-15 minutes. Use of soap helps in removing dirt and microbes from the skin.

Cleanliness of Clothes

Clothes worn next to the body (undergarments) must be changed and washed every day. Dirty clothes are harmful for health. Clothes should be changed and washed every three to four days in all seasons. Bed sheets, pillow covers and towels used by individual must be washed once every week.

Personal Cleanliness

Personal cleanliness involves cleanliness of the skin, mouth, nails, hair and other parts of the body. Cleanliness of the body can be ensured by bathing. Cleanliness of the mouth and teeth requires special attention. Unani Medicine recommends daily use of therapeutic procedures like chewing sticks for brushing of teeth in the morning and after every meal for the prevention and management of oral health. The best way of cleaning the teeth is to brush them with a Miswak made from soft, fresh branch of Neem, Pilu or Babul. The Miswak not only removes the food particles stuck into the teeth but also keeps the gums strong. The tongue should also be cleaned every morning. Tongue cleaning keeps the mouth fresh for all the day long. Preservation of healthy status of the tongue can be done through various measures including its repeated washing and rinsing with lukewarm water. Intake of diets having sweet and fatty taste and intake of distasteful foods, e.g., bitter, salty, spicy and sour items should be avoided. Cleanliness of the nails and hair is equally important. The nails should be trimmed regularly. Unnecessary hair in the armpits and on the public region should be removed at least once in a month. Hair on the head should also be kept clean and combed. Likewise, the hair on the chin (beard) and the moustaches should also be kept properly clean and in good trim.

Cleanliness of Home

The windows, doors and ventilation of residential houses must be kept open to allow free flow of air in and out of the rooms and also to let the sunlight to enter. Floors should be kept properly clean. Rooms should not be allowed to become damp. Special care should be taken to keep bathrooms and lavatories clean.

Diet

A regular habit with regard to eating and drinking is essential. Food should be selected in accordance with one’s age, nutritional requirements and according to season.

Diet for Children

It should be liquid, semi-liquid, easily digestible, rich in protein such as milk, cream, eggs, meat and vegetable soup, fruits and easily digestible pulses.

Diet for Young Persons

Heavy meals of mutton, dry fruit, butter, vegetables, bread, rice and almost all types of food are easily digested at this age.

Diet for Old Persons

Light and easily digestible food should be taken and fats, mutton and rich food should be avoided.

General Instructions about Diet

Food should be changed with the change of seasons. Foods containing mutton and eggs are good during winter while curd, milk and vegetable foods are good during summer. Food having large fluid contents such as milk, curd, watermelon and vegetables are not fit for use during rainy season. Overeating must always be avoided. One should eat only as much as one’s appetite demands. Moderation in eating is of great importance. There should be an interval of at least three hours between two meals. Hot spicy and rich food should be avoided as it does more harm than good to our health.

How and when to eat

1. Food should not be taken unless one feels really hungry.
2. Eat only as much as the appetite demands. Avoid overeating. This will not only prevent upsetting of digestion but will also keep off other diseases.
3. The food one eats should be well-cooked and should be eaten while still hot. Taking stale or half-cooked food spoils the health. Special attention should be paid to this fact during the rainy season.
4. Food should be appetizing, clean and delicious.
5. It should be masticated thoroughly and should not be swallowed hastily as it will not be digested easily.
6. When taking food, keep your mind calm and free from anxieties. Serious reading should also be avoided during meals. Food taken under the influence of grief or sorrow, anxiety or care, anger or passion upsets the stomach.
7. Taking food while it is too hot is not advisable at all.
8. As far as possible, water should not be taken during meals. It is better to drink water after half an hour but in summer a small quantity of water can be taken immediately after meals. People with hot temperament can have a little water prior to meals. Drinking of cold water immediately after eating hot food is also harmful. Iced water should be taken at least half an hour after meals.
9. Some fruits and green vegetables should also be taken with meals every day.
10. Changes should be introduced from time to time in the pattern of our food. It is not good to take the same type of food always. For example, eating rice continuously produces an excess of fluids in the body which results in loss of appetite and fatigue.

Clothes

The most important function of our clothes is to protect our body against heat and cold. Our dress should therefore be adapted to the conditions of the weather. Light cotton clothing is best suited in summers while woolen dress is required in winters. When hot winds blow during summers, light dress is to be avoided. All tight clothes should be avoided as they interfere with circulations, respiration, digestion and action of muscles. While selecting synthetic cloth for our dress, we must ensure that it is of such a quality as would not be harmful to our skin. Special care should be taken with the clothes of children and aged people as they are more susceptible to changes of temperature. Loose-fitting garments are better both in summer and in winter.

Sleep

Sleep is as necessary for health as is activity. It is the only form of periodical rest for the mind and the body. It brings relaxation and relief to our tried muscles and nerves and restores the energy lost during work and wakefulness. To have a sound sleep, it is necessary that the food in the stomach is fully digested. It is advisable not to sleep with an empty stomach. Sleep should be moderate in quantity. The best time to sleep is at night. It is good for health to go to sleep early in the night and get up early in the morning. Food should be taken at least two hours before going to bed. The amount of sleep required varies with age.

Exercise

Exercise plays an important role not only in maintaining good health and preventing diseases but also in curing certain ailments. Exercise makes the body active and agile. It speeds up the circulation of blood. To derive full benefit from exercise, it should be systematic and regular. Walking is the easiest form of exercise. The duration and speed of the walk should be determined by the age and physique of the person concerned. Generally 45 to 50 minutes walk is enough. Swimming and riding are considered best forms of exercise. Care should be taken to protect the weak organs from strenuous exercise. In old age, only light exercise should be done.