- Kourtney Kardashian told Bustle she gave up sex during an Ayurvedic cleanse.
- Ayurvedic medicine is a traditional Indian practice with roots dated back 3,000 years.
- NFL star Aaron Rodgers recently said he also participated in a Ayurvedic cleanse that involved taking laxatives and abstaining from sex.
Kourtney Kardashian said she gave up sex to practice an Ayurvedic, or traditional Indian medicine, cleanse.
Kardashian said in an interview with Bustle she went on a sex and orgasm fast during an Ayurvedic cleanse. Ayurvedic medicine is a traditional Indian practice that dates back 3,000 years. The practice uses natural therapies and lifestyle habits — like diet, herbs, yoga, and meditation — to treat mental and physical ailments, with a focus on balance.
"Oh my God, it was crazy," Kardashian told Bustle. "But it actually made everything better. Like, if you can't have caffeine, when you have your first matcha, it's so good."
Orgasms have a number of health benefits, including anxiety relief and improved sleep. A lack of physical intimacy can have a negative impact on health and increase depression and anxiety.
Kardashian did not specify what kind of Ayurvedic cleanse she did, but she has previously spoken aboutdoing the Panchakarma cleanse after getting "really into" Ayurveda.
Kardashian isn't the only celebrity to try Panchakarma — last week, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said he recently tried the 12-day cleanse, which involved drinking warm ghee in the morning and taking an herbal laxative at night, as Insider's Gabby Landsverk reported.
It also involves abstaining from sex and other stimulating activities like exercise and watching television, and should be done with a trained practitioner, according to the Ayurvedic Institute.
Registered dietitian Bonnie Taub-Dix told Landsverk there is no published evidence to suggest that the cleanse has health benefits beyond the spiritual.
Kardashian's wellness brand Poosh has sold products inspired by Ayurvedic practices. Poosh sells a tongue scraper based on the Ayurvedic self-care tradition meant to detoxify the body, according to the Kripalu School of Ayurveda in Massachusetts, and an "Ayurveda-inspired" "slimming" body oil.
Ayurvedic practitioner and yoga teacher Leila Johnson told E! News in 2015 she helps Kardashian with her diet and referred to the celebrity as a "ghee goddess" who eats the clarified butter on an empty stomach.