Ayurveda is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. It is heavily practiced in India, where around 80% of the population report using ayurveda. The theory and practice of ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda therapies have varied and evolved over more than two millennia. Therapies include herbal medicines, special diets, meditation, yoga, massage, laxatives, enemas, and medical oils. Ayurvedic preparations are typically based on complex herbal compounds, minerals, and metal substances (perhaps under the influence of early Indian alchemy or rasashastra). Ancient ayurveda texts also taught surgical techniques, including rhinoplasty, kidney stone extractions, sutures, and the extraction of foreign objects.