He also cautioned against constant insulin therapy, saying that it merely controlled blood sugar without permanently ending the patient's suffering. According to him, oral anti-diabetic drugs could lead to more complications.

Prof Shukla, a former professor of ``kayachikatsa,'' and dean of the Integrated Post Graduate Training and Research Centre of the Gujarat Ayurveda University, Jamnagar, said diabetes could be cured through proper diet, exercise, yoga and a suitable regimen of drugs. While nutrition was important in allopathic treatment, various aspects of digestion are important in ayurveda, he said. The body should be ``tuned'' to digest the nutrients in food. Prof Shukla said clinical research on diabetes had suggested many easy solutions through ayurveda.

The lecture was organised by the Jayantilal Chauhan Educational and Research Trust. Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre executive director Naresh Trehan and Human Resources Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi also spoke on the occasion.

In his presidential address earlier, Joshi called upon the experts to take a holistic approach towards medicine, without neglecting the ancient wisdom propounded in ayurveda.