Ayurveda is an ancient system of health care that has been practiced on the Indian subcontinent for at least 5,000 years. Its practices can also be applied to food.
This article is merely an introduction to a way of life, which many Indians have practiced, that I can only introduce you to.
Ayurveda literally translates to "science of life" – healthy practices for living. Ayurveda is about every part of your life.
First of all, Ayurveda centres on a person's constitution, their "dosha," which is split into three types of energies: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. The tri-dosha are the basis for the kind of foods or diet we should be following.
By the way, each dosha contains two elements: Vata has ether and air, Pitta has fire and water while Kapha has water and earth. We all have three doshas within us but one or two may be more prominent.
Depending on which doshas are dominant in us, we can be hot or cold, dry or wet, heavy or light. For instance, if one is deemed heavy, one would need to limit intake of dairy and if one is hot, then certain spices should be used with care.
How you prepare food is also key, e.g. you fry, the food is "heavy," and also what time you have the food.
Balance is at stake here (just as it is in the Hindu tradition of Vastu). It's believed the aggravation of all three doshas results in disease. Maintaining your digestive system and eating the right foods for your constitution is thought to elongate one's life as well as contribute to overall health.
In Ayurveda, every food has its own taste (rasa), a heating or cooling energy (virya) and a digestive consequence (vipaka). You can cause upset in your system if you combine different foods of different taste, energy or digestive effect. For instance, never combine tea with fruit or lemon with cucumber.
Foods are classified into six tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent. Ayurvedic practitioners recommend you include all six tastes at each main meal you have.
HEALTHY TIPS:
Here are a few Ayurvedic eating tips I garnered from the Yoga-Yoga website:
- Eat seasonal food
- Fresh food rather than irradiated/processed/preserved
- Prepare food lovingly
- Consider the place and atmosphere
- Don't eat when you are upset
- Always sit down to eat
- Eat only when you are hungry
- Don't talk while you are chewing food
- Don't talk about business/decisions etc.
- Wait until one meal has digested prior to eating next
- Don't 'stuff' yourself, leave third to one quarter empty to aid digestion
- Sit quietly for a few minutes after your meal
For more on Ayurveda and food, check out Niam's Basic Principals of Ayurveda and the Ayurveda-ForYou.com food plan.
Next article: Ayurvedic Do's and Don'ts.
