We all know that our diet needs to be balanced enough to keep us healthy, but in a ‘health-conscious’ world where a new miracle eating plan seems to pop up every week (or every day after Christmas and the new year!), how do we know what we should really be eating? Following ayurvedic principles may be a good place to start.
The basic ayurvedic belief is that everything in the universe is made up of five elements called panchamahabhatas: akash (space), vayu (air), agni (fire), jala (water) and prithvi (earth). These five combine into three doshas or the tridoshas of vata, pitta and kapha. The theory of the three doshas is unique to ayurveda and helps us to understand the human body, its structure and its function.
Vata dosha is a combination of space and air and governs our movement. Thus, vata dosha regulates processes such as conduction of nerve impulses, circulation, respiration and elimination. Pitta dosha is a composition of fire and water, and is responsible for the process of transformation. Transformation, or metabolism, is the conversion of the food we eat into nutrients for our body’s use. The elements of water and earth combine to form kapha dosha, the third and last dosha. Kapha dosha governs growth and provides protection.
Each person has a certain combination of tridoshas, known as his or her prakruti, and this uniqueness of each individual is a concept which is fundamental in ayurveda. If you went to see an ayurvedic healer, they would probably draw up a specialised eating plan based on the various factors such as age and gender, the doshic tendencies that need to be balanced at a given time, the strength of the body tissues and the digestive fibres, and the level of ama (toxins) in the body. The place where a person lives and the season are also factors that affect dietary dos and don’ts. However, there are some universally applicable principles that are important to follow:
1. Include the six tastes at every main meal
Ayurveda classifies food into six tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent. It is recommended that each of the six are included at every meal, as each one has a balancing effect and including some of each will help to minimise cravings.
2. Choose foods by balancing physical attributes
In ayurveda, foods are also categorised as heavy or light, dry or liquid and warm or cool, and different qualities balance different doshas. A balanced meal should contain some foods of each physical type, although you can vary the proportions of each type based on your constitution, needs for balance, and the season of the year. In winter, when vata dosha tends to increase in most people’s constitutions, almost everyone can benefit from including warm soups and nourishing dhals, fresh paneer cheese and whole milk in the diet. In the summer, plan on eating more cool, soothing foods to help keep the pitta dosha in balance.
3. Choose foods that are sattvic
Another ayurvedic classification of food is by the effect that it has on the mind and senses Sattvic foods are believed to have an uplifting yet stabilising influence and so are better than those which are rajsic (stimulating and aggravating) or tamsic (indue lethargy). Almonds, rice, honey, fresh sweet fruits, mung beans and easy-to-digest, fresh seasonal vegetables and leafy greens are examples of sattvic foods. To get the full benefit, prepare and eat them whole and fresh.
4. Opt for whole, fresh, in-season, local foods
From the ayurvedic perspective, the most healthful diet consists of whole foods, eaten in as natural a state as possible. Processed foods are lacking in chetana (living intelligence) and prana (vital energy) and will do more harm than good in the physiology.
5. Rotate menus and experiment with a variety of foods
The sages that wrote the ancient ayurvedic texts would be horrified by our current fascination with the low-carb diet or the no-fat diet or the juice diet; from the ayurvedic perspective, any diet that is exclusive in nature is by definition incomplete in its nutritive value and ability to balance all aspects of the physiology. Eat a wide variety or foods for balanced nutrition, and because according to ayurveda, each meal should be a feast for all of your senses.
6. Include spices and herbs in your daily diet
Spices and herbs are seen as concentrated forms of Nature’s healing intelligence. They are particularly revered in ayurveda for their ability to enhance digestion and assimilation, and they help cleanse ama (toxins) from the body. Eating dishes cooked with a variety of spices and herbs helps the process of digestion; chewing fennel seeds after a meal also helps digestion and freshens the breath naturally too.
Follow the rules and good health will surely come your way not quite. In ayurveda, the way in which you eat is just as important as what. The theories are complex, but here are five introductory guidelines to aid good digestion:
1. Eat sitting down in a settled environment, and maintain a good posture.
The process of eating, according to ayurveda, is something reverent and important for the development of consciousness as well as our physical health. When we sit down to eat our stomach is in a relaxed posture and our awareness is on the taste, texture, and smell of the food. This will greatly improve the digestion.
2. Stimulate digestion before the meal
Weak digestive fire (agni) may lead to fatigue after eating, so before a full meal try eating a one-inch piece of fresh ginger with a few drops of lemon juice and a pinch of salt. This stimulates the saliva and the digestive enzymes, helping efficient digestion.
3. Avoid cold drinks at meals.
If you find yourself bloated or suffering from cramps after a meal, stop drinking cold drinks when you eat. Cold drinks extinguish the digestive agni, which slows down the whole process. Drink beverages at room temperature and you will see an improvement.
4. Make lunch the largest meal of the day.
As digestion is controlled by agni, its strength follows the sun. The sun is at its brightest between 12 and 2p.m. which means that it is also the time that the digestive agni is working at its maximum efficiency. Therefore eat a larger meal at lunchtime than any other time during the day.
5. Do not eat after 10p.m.
Late night meals interfere with sleep, and after 10p.m. the body is working to burn off toxins and to continue digesting food from the day. If you eat after 10p.m. the food may cause toxins to accumulate in the system, and as a result the next day you wake up tired.
From the information above you may have realised that maintaining health can be viewed in a very different way when considering it from an ‘eastern’ perspective. Whilst practices such as yoga have become fashionable in the west, some adherence to the principles of ayurveda can help us to make some very beneficial changes in our everyday lives.