Food
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That which, when digested by the body, becomes the body, is food. It is the source of nutrition, that lets life continue. Without food, we would not survive.
According to Ayurved, eating food is a holy process, same as offering samidha to a sacred yagya fire. Just as we offer the best and purest of samidha in a state of total awareness and surrender, the same should be our attitude and action towards our sacred digestive fire or Agni. This necessitates knowledge of the right kind of food, the right way to eat, and so on.
Why should we eat food?
We should eat for the simple reason that it is essential for survival, and it is the fuel that will let us achieve the aims of human birth. We should not be eating for any other reason.
When should we eat food?
We should eat when we are hungry. We should first learn to recognize real hunger. The following are signs of having digested our previous meal well. When hunger sensation is accompanied by these signs, that is the right time to eat.
- Clear burp – When you burp, it is clean. It does not taste like your last food. It is not sour or pungent and does not cause any discomfort.
- Enthusiasm – You basically feel good, not lethargic, or irritable. You are happy and willing to do something.
- Easy elimination – You can pass air, motions, and urine with ease, not too much, not too little of any. Ease is when you are not required to pay any attention to these normal body processes.
- Lightness, hunger, and thirst – You feel lightness in the body along with a sensation of hunger and thirst.
What should we eat, or what are healthy food choices?
The answer to this is not an easy one as it varies a lot from person to person. As a rule, healthy food choices depend on:
- Your body constitution
- The present state of your digestive capacity
- The current climatic condition
So, ideally, one should consult an Ayurvedic doctor and learn about these.
Universal characteristics of food that can be classified as healthy are:
1. Hot Fresh Food
This means our food should be freshly prepared. From the stove, straight to your plate and then into your mouth without much time in between, is how food is meant to be eaten!
- Food that is eaten fresh is easy for the body to digest. As it is warm, it supports the fire element of agni.
- Fresh food best retains its nutritional value.
- Plays a significant role in creating interest in eating. Who enjoys a cold meal, anyways?
This also means that packaged food and snacks that flood our markets today are not in line with these rules of healthy eating. It is nothing but stale food. Would you eat something prepared a month ago in your home? Then, how can one explain the stack of stale food on your kitchen shelves? Also, reheating food constantly is not the way out as it further degrades its quality.
2. Snigdh
The food needs to have a certain amount of fat like ghee and oil in it. Totally fat-free or oil-free foods are not healthy as optimum digestion requires these. Cow ghee is one of the best stimulants to digestion.
3. Matravat
Healthy eating means food which is had in the correct quantity. Related Reading – How much should you eat?
4. Avoiding Incorrect Combinations (Viruddh Aahar)
Completely healthy foods can become unhealthy if mixed together or eaten together. Most common incorrect combinations are:
- Milkshakes. Fruits should never be mixed with milk, with the exception of fully ripe and sweet mangoes.
- Sour food and milk
- Fish and milk
- Any spices with milk other than turmeric
- Heating curd or honey or adding these to anything hot
- Ghee and honey in equal proportions
- Extremely hot and cold food. Example: Having ice cream after hot meals or sipping cold drinks with hot food.
How much should you eat?
Ideally, it should depend on just one factor; how much can you really digest? How much you eat at present is dependent on old habits. Some people are not even aware of how much they eat. These habits are based on what you have heard, seen and learned all these years.
According to Ayurved, every person has a fixed body constitution decided at the time he/she was in their mother’s womb. It stays with you throughout life. Your body constitution or your prakruti affects a lot of things in your life. Your digestion is one of the important things it affects.
Depending on your prakruti, your digestive fire has a particular tendency. Some things are easy to digest for you, some are not so easy. Some people may easily stay hungry, some may not be able to stand the slightest delay. Some need to eat frequently, some need full meals twice a day. It all varies and depends on your current body condition as well as your body constitution.
What we can easily understand and practically apply is this:
- While eating, eat with your focus only on the food.
- Stop when hunger subsides, and a sense of wellbeing is felt.
- Your stomach feels full but not too full. Do not eat to the point where you cannot eat anymore. Stop before that stage.
- Another way to decide your ideal quantity is to check how you feel after the meal? Are you able to move around effortlessly, or are you so full that it is hard even to bend? Do you feel very lazy or drowsy after meals? Food does slow down your pace of activity, but it should not make you downright lethargic.
- The right quantity of food digests without any trouble and allows clear bowel movement the next morning. Feeling bloated, passing a lot of gas, experiencing sour or pungent burps, getting nauseous, excessively thirsty, or feeling uneasy are all indications of over-eating.
What you eat:
There is no fixed amount you can eat at every meal. Your sense of fullness and ability to digest also varies with what you are eating. So, while you may be able to have 4 phulkas, you may have to stop at just 2 stuffed parathas!
Time of the year:
It also varies with seasons. During winters, you may be able to eat more as compared to the summers.
Age, sex, body constitution, season, food type, and mental state are some of the factors that cause variations in the amount of food you can digest.
So, Ayurved recommends that you be your own judge. Just be conscious and decide when you must stop. The body has its own intelligence. Let it work. Do not eat as much as you can. Eat as much as you can digest.
How should food be eaten?
The one-word answer to this would be – Awareness
Food should be had with complete awareness. Then, you naturally eat the right things and in the right quantity.
Environment
A comfortable and good environment where your mind can be at peace is ideal. Being mindful while eating is all that is needed. Eat with a pure feeling as if offering food to the fire element within.
- Few Tips:
- No television while eating! No serious discussions too.
- Do not eat in HASTE. Giving proper time to a meal is the least you can do for your health.
- Do not eat very slowly either. That way, you are not satisfied and ultimately end up eating more than necessary.
- Do not eat when anxious, agitated, or unhappy.
If you are looking for an ayurvedic doctor in Navi Mumbai or you need an ayurvedic expert in Mumbai, you can contact us.