How does an Ayurvedic diet affect your body?

 

Key features of the Ayurvedic Diet

According to Ayurveda, “When the diet is wrong, medicine is of no use; when our diet is correct, there is no need for medicine.”

A vital to health is a good diet. It increases Prana (Life Force), Ojas (Vitality), and building Vyadhi Ksmatva (Immunity).

A unique approach to nutrition is taken by Ayurveda. These are some of the differences between Ayurveda and other diets: 

Not only food and liquids but many other aspects are also  classified as Ayurveda:

In Ayurveda breath and sensory perceptions can be managed with yoga, pranayama, and meditation, and lifestyle modifications. It should be noted we are not what we want, we are what we digest. The same salad or kidney beans could be good for one person but can be harmful to the other. In fact, our diet depends on the following factors:

1.      Prakriti /Vikrati: We should be mindful of our Prakriti.  We should eat according to our prominent dosha. Pitta dominant people should not many spicy things in order to avoid hyperacidity. In case of Vata imbalance, we should remain hydrated, consume stews, and soups, and other liquids.

2.      Agni: It is a digestive fire. It is different in people.  Pitta people become angry when hungry. On the other hand, Vata people have variable hunger. Ayurveda follows the gut-brain nexus theory. According to it Ama or toxins causes most of the ailments.

3.      Six Tastes or Rasas: In Ayurveda, there are six tastes. If we are healthy, we should have all six tastes, to avoid any sort of nutritional deficiencies.  People with different doshas should favor certain tastes and avoid others.

Six Tastes or Rasas

Taste	Property	Source
Sweet	Cooling	Wheat, natural sugars, red clove, sweet fruits, licorice or mulethi
Sour	Heating	Sour fruits (amla, lemon), cheeses, green grapes, yoghurt, tamarind
Salty	Heating	Salt, vegetables, spices, rock salt, black olives
Bitter	Cooling	Dandelion root, holy thistle, Osha, yellow dock, turmeric, black tea
Pungent	Heating	Garlic, onions, ginger, hot spices, radish
Astringent	Cooling	Unripe banana, myrrh turnips, green beans, green grapes, pomegranates

 

Doshas and Tastes

Dosha	Favorable Tastes
Vata	Sweet, sour, and salty
Pitta	Sweet, bitter and pungent
Kapha	Pungent, bitter and astringent

 

4.      Classification of foods is based on the impact they have on our bodies – Sattvic (lending balance like most fruits and vegetables), Rajasic (causing restlessness like caffeine or pungent foods), and Tamasic (causing dullness, like pickled food or leftovers).  Some other qualities of foods are like Virya (heating and cooling potencies), Vipaka, or the post-digestive effect.

5.      Anupaan is what liquids to ingest and how. For example, cool drinks like coconut water and pomegranate juice are good for Pitta, warm ginger tea for Vata. Drink 1 -2 glasses of water on an empty stomach upon waking with lemon or honey. You should avoid drinking water meals, warm water, or tea with meals.

Basic Principles of Nutrition

6.      Eat three meals a day. The meal should be limited to a cupped hands measure.

7.      It is good to eat natural foods. That is why an apple is easier to assimilate than a bag of chips. Food should be fresh, seasonal, organic, and local, and with minimal processing.

8.      Cook and eat in a calm state. Eat less and exercise more and eat only when the previously eaten meal is digested.

9.      Only compatible foods should be eaten. Fruits should be eaten separately from one another.

10   Foods that are easier to digest should be eaten. 

11  Wholesome and Unwholesome Foods (Pathya and Apathy): There are many examples in Ayurvedic texts regarding wholesome and unwholesome foods. For example, pomegranate, amla, buttermilk, etc. are mentioned as good Sathya foods. They help in the management of iron deficiency or anemia. Curd is unwholesome in most dosha imbalanced conditions. It should not be consumed during the night. There are many disease-specific or medicine-specific instructions that should be followed for the consumption of food. A patient suffering from cough is advised to consume vegetables, spices like garlic and cardamom, long pepper, ginger, and condiments prepared with puffed paddy. Certain tastes have a direct correlation with the manifestation of disease.

Conclusion

Thus it is very clear that Ayurveda has its own universally applicable principles that are different from the modern system of medicine. 

Following the Ayurvedic system of dietary principles has very positive effects on our mind, body, and soul. Ayurveda is a holistic way and it lays stress more on prevention than cure.