Dr Hiral Bhatt explains Fermentation is the process by which yeast and bacteria break down starches into simpler substances. In fact, this process is the basis of all food preservation, making sure that foods stay fresh for longer.

Fermented foods are widely consumed in the Indian subcontinent. A variety of fermented foods are consumed daily, including buttermilk, curd and paneer. Whilst the majority of Indian food is vegetarian, fermented foods such as tofu, pickles and soured buttermilk can be used to make sour dishes for non-vegetarians or for those with dietary restrictions.

Qualities Of Fermented Food

Some of the well-known qualities of fermented foods are

• Fermented foods act as a probiotic while also giving out rich taste.
• They contain good healthy bacteria that provide the same health benefits as our own gut flora.
• A number of studies have shown that fermented foods are beneficial to our health in a number of ways, including increasing the absorption of nutrients.

Besides the commonly known qualities of fermented foods, there are some more qualities that, which you may not be aware of.

As Ayurveda says Fermented Foods are agni vardhak i.e. digestives. A food that helps to Kindle the digestive fire by enhancing secretions from glands of the GIT is called an Agnivartak. This can include any type of food, particularly those like fermented foods which contain a significant amount of heat. They are more likely to improve digestion but might also have some effect to imbalance heat. They may also have congestive effects leading to blockages and related diseases on some body types and in some seasons.eg a Kaf body type person in spring season.

For Whom Is Fermented Foods Suitable

When it comes to health, fermented food is all the rage. Fermented food can help to gain weight and improve overall health. This is because fermented foods made with urad daal which is high in protein and the fermentation process makes it easier to assimilate. So it helps those wishing to gain some muscle mass. Pickled foods help the body to absorb all essential nutrients and minerals. So they are an excellent dietary supplement for people with weak digestion, or even a little bit of pickle in a meal will help your body absorb the nutrients from the food better and efficiently.

Fermented food can be highly beneficial for health in some conditions. For people having a heat imbalance in their bodies, fermented foods are not recommended. For example, those with skin conditions, ulcers or high blood pressure should completely avoid consumption. People with certain diseases should also avoid consumption of it because it may worsen the condition. However, Dr Hiral Bhatt suggests that during hot climates, the consumption of fermented foods should be kept to a minimum or completely avoided, otherwise we may experience adverse effects on our health.

Conclusion

As per Ayurveda Doctor in Navi Mumbai effects of all things that we come across in our life are determined by our present state of mind, diet and activity. Fermented foods are never a bad thing to eat but when you want to consume ferments it must be at the right time and in the right place. So, one has to be careful about the state of mind or lifestyle, climate, body type and age of the person who wishes to consume the food that is being fermented. We don’t consume fermented food just because it is good for our health or it is a healthy food. It is advisable to weigh the pros and cons before making it a regular part of diet.

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When it comes to satisfying your kid’s sweet tooth, it’s important to make sure you’re choosing sweets that are good for them. But with all the different types of sweets, how do you know which ones are healthy and which aren’t?

So, what should parents do? Is it better to give your child good sweets that are nutritious and won’t harm their health, or should you stick to bad sweets that are unhealthy but taste better?

As parents, we sometimes struggle to manage our children’s sugar intake. In such cases, ayurvedic treatment in Navi Mumbai may be the best decision for our child’s health.

So, this blog post will discuss the different types of sweets and how they can impact your children’s health. We’ll also share tips on what to look for when choosing sweets for children.

Types of Sweets

There’s no denying that kids love sweets. And as a parent, it can be hard to deny them something they so clearly enjoy. But when it comes to their health, it’s important to ensure they’re getting the right kind of sweet.

There are two types of sweet: good and bad.

Good sweet foods typically contain low sugar content and healthy fats and vitamins. This can include things like fruits, Shira (jaggery juice), honey, Jaggery, Kismish, chiki, dates, yogurt, etc.

Bad sweet foods, on the other hand, typically have a higher sugar content and may contain unhealthy fats or added sugars. And while they may taste delicious at first, these types of sweets usually have unpleasant after-effects like stomach aches or cravings for more sugary food.

Examples of bad sweets include chocolate bars, pasteries, ice cream, biscuits, cake, etc. These should be avoided if possible as they can quickly lead to weight gain and other health problems.

It’s important to notice and identify which type of sweet your child is craving so you can satisfy their sweet tooth without compromising their health.

For example, if your child is craving a candy bar or pasteries, they are probably craving bad sweets. However, you can satisfy their craving with a piece of fruit or a healthy snack like chiki (a South Indian dish made from ground chickpeas and Jaggery).

A piece of fruit will deliver natural sugar, fiber, and vitamins to your kids. So next time your child craves something sweet, think about what kind of sweets they desire before giving in to their request.

By understanding what kind of sweets your kids love and providing them with good sweet options instead of bad sweet ones, you’ll be helping to ensure that they stay healthy while indulging in their favourite desserts.

Why do Kids need Sweets in their Diet?

Kids are in their growing phase, so they need sweets in their diet. Sweet taste contains earth and water element, which are essential for the growth and development of children. Sweet is also crucial for nourishing them; sweet taste contains sugar, a carbohydrate that provides energy to the body.

The Health Effects of Sweets on Kids

There’s no denying that sweets are a big part of most kids’ diets. But what effect do they have on our children’s health? As parents, it’s important to be aware of the health effects of sweets on kids.

Generally, good sweets are okay for kids to consume regularly as long as they’re not eating too many at once or binge eating them later. Some studies even suggest that good sweets may promote healthy weight gain.

However, bad sweets are another story altogether. For example, bad sweets are thought to increase tooth decay risk and contribute to obesity.

So, it’s important to be mindful of what your child is eating and ensure they’re getting the right amount of good sweet foods while avoiding bad ones altogether.

What Should Parents do to Avoid Bad Sweet in their Kid’s Diet?

Kids today are going crazy for sugary foods and drinks. To satisfy their sweet tooth without compromising health, try some traditional homemade dishes that use jaggery, rock candy (mishri), and honey as the primary sweetener. Dishes like Kheer, Shira, and Halwa will be delicious and help your child get more nutrients and antioxidants in their diet.

Try to stick to foods that are naturally sweetened or made with healthy ingredients like fruit and jaggery. Avoid processed foods and artificial sweeteners, as these will only mess up your kid’s stomach over time.

Finally, ensure you provide a variety of healthy sweets, so they don’t get too accustomed to one type of food. This way, they’ll be more likely to enjoy nutritiously-balanced sweets in the future.

In extreme cases, if you cannot manage your child’s sweet diet, ayurvedic treatment in Navi Mumbai may be a good option. This treatment can help your child better regulate their sugar intake and maintain a healthy diet.

At the end of the day, moderation is key when feeding sweets to your children. A little bit here, and it is unlikely to do any harm – but too much sugar can have severe consequences for your child’s health.

The post Good Sweet vs Bad Sweet: How to Satisfy your Kid’s Sweet Tooth Without Compromising their Health? appeared first on AYURVEDIC ANSWERS.

Today our question is on a very tasty thing, curd. Many people like curd very much. In Ayurveda, we will find information about many food article and their properties like good things and bad things about food article. So when we know about food article properties we can understand where they can use and cannot be used. That means there is an explanation for everything so you can understand this is the quality of things and we can use it in a better way. Let’s know the quality of curd.

• Curd is sour in taste, it is sourness that creates interest in food and also helps to boost digestive juices in our body. So you must have seen that children who are very choosy in food, if given a little curd in the vegetable or given a little curd in rice, they start eating well because of sourness , it creates an interest in eating.
• The second is its quality, it is warm. Yes, curd is not cold; it is warm by nature, that’s why it should not be consumed during summer season.
• Curd helps to make our body strong like it works better for muscle gain, fat gain etc. It removes the dryness inside the body, it is very smooth in nature, so where there is dryness, it works very well, but where there is a problem of cold, there is a lot of Kaf, therefore curd should not be consumed. Secondly, which we have seen in many Hindi films that curd is auspicious, is considered mangal or shubh. Curd is consumed before doing any good work. Curd is also suitable for reproductive tissues and fertility.

Some rules of consuming Curd

In Ayurveda, there are certain rules of consuming curd to get maximum health benefits out of it. Ayurveda expert Dr Hiral Bhatt shared the curd mistakes one should avoid.

1. Do not eat curd every day – curd is very heavy to digest and not suitable for eating every day. if we eat curd every day there is a chance of blocking small channels in our body. Therefore curd should not be eaten every day.
2. Curd should not be eaten at night – Curd can be taken in the morning or in lunch, but curd should not be taken with dinner. Back to the same thing, curd is heavy to digest; our digestion power is less at night, so curd should not be consumed at night.
3. Do not eat curd in summer – do not add curd to your diet in warm season and in October heat season. Also, avoid intake of curd in the spring season of Feb, March. Back to the same thing, it will block small channels in our body, it is heavy to digest, so do not consume curd during that time.
4. It is also advisable to do not to eat curd for those who have blood disorders or bleeding tendency, impure blood, or heavy Kaf. If someone has skin problems, then they have to stay away from curd especially.
5. Curd, which is properly thickened, is good for eating. The curd which is not properly done is very harmful to the body.
6. We can add some ingredients to curd to neutralize its harmful properties. As curd is warm, we add sugar, ghee to curd, so it could not cause acidity in the body. Honey can be mixed with curd so that children do not get Kaf from curd. What we eat Dahivada, it should actually be a Vada of Mung Dal. Consuming curd with Mung Dal Vada is a very good combination. Sometimes amla powder can be added to it.
7. One more important thing is not to heat the curd. Many people have the habit of mixing curd with hot rice, with some hot vegetables, so it is a very bad habit, do not to heat curd. Along with this, there is some such cooking method in which curd is cooked, and then it is also not right according to Ayurveda.

So hope so you understand the basic things of curd. The right way to have a curd and where to avoid.

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Nature never stays constant. In fact the only thing constant about nature is its changing feature! The seasons follow one another and keep changing. We never have one season throughout the year. While this is mostly good for us, it does require adjusting on our part to prevent seasonal illnesses. 

The best prevention is modifying our food and routines as per the demand of the present season.

So lets learn about what the monsoon demands from us.

I will talk in terms of qualities that we all can relate to, rather than traditional textual terms that may seem alien!

The monsoon is –

WET and COLD

It was preceded by – 

an EXHAUSTING summer.

Good health always means a good, efficient digestion. 

Disease always means an impaired digestive function.

So our aim right now, should be to balance these qualities along with keeping the digestion optimum.

When I say ‘digestion’ think of food cooking over your stove.

Now, wet and cold are not exactly qualities that help with cooking up. So we must balance these with WARM, FIRE STIMULANTS and avoid exposing it to too much WIND.

We also need to have food that is LIGHT or not too heavy. Just as we avoid washing thick heavy clothes during the rains in fear of them not drying up, we must avoid food that is too heavy to digest. A nice tempering (tadka) with ghee or oil and spices like mustard, cumin, asofeotida is an easy Fire Stimulant. Dried ginger powder, pepper powder are also advised.

Regular use of a small amount of honey is beneficial.

To summarize,

We need-

Light (easy) to digest food

Warm food in terms of temperature and qualities 

Fire stimulants like oil, ghee and spices

Actual things to eat

1. Old rice
2. Wheat flour mixed with barley flour for chapatis or
3. Wheat flour mixed with jowar/ bajra (sorghum/ pearl millet)
4. Green gram, well cooked
5. Oil/ghee, spices 
6. Honey
7. Sour and salty taste
8. Good quality traditionally made pickles

We must stay away from-

1. Heavy to digest food – fried food, sweets, bakery food
2. Cold food in temperature and properties – milkshakes, ice cream, fermented food
3. Dampness creating food and places
4. Exertion of all kinds should be avoided. Exercise, physical labour, too much traveling and sexual excess all are harmful as the body is already weak even though you may not feel so.
5. Sleeping during the day is to be cancelled. On those wet, dark cloudy days of heavy rainfall, engage in reading, or catching up on t.v, meeting up friends,  indoor family games etc. But do not spend them sleeping.

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Among all our relationships, I feel, our relationship with our food is the most superficial. We don’t care enough to know our food well before we consume it. We have no idea of its inherent qualities and characteristics.

Having some basic knowledge about the properties of the food we eat, will help us eat them correctly and thus gain the life energy it has to offer. If we consume them in a wrong way, we may end up with problems that the food had never really intended to give us. it is similar to how a good mother or teacher knows the qualities of the child they assist and bringing them up in line with those strengths is what makes them a success in their own way.

We don’t even need extensive study or professional training for this. Simple attention to the food and avoiding unconscious compulsive behavior can suffice.

In the last post we talked about, Dals and Pulses. Today, we move on to the King of Fruits…the delicious Mango.

What are the qualities of a ripe mango?

Once we have a nice ripe mango, our stomach feels full. We feel satisfied for quite a stretch of time. This indicates that it has the HEAVY quality. 

It is also COOLING to the body.

Predominantly SWEET in taste. Sweet taste in itself indicates cooling and heavy qualities too.

It is UNCTOUS meaning oily or lubricating.

It is also a pacifier for all the doshas. A TRIDOSH SHAMAK fruit.

How and when should we have the mango?

Now knowing its properties, how and when to have a mango is very easy to understand.

Ripe

A mango should be allowed to ripen well. An unripe mango has properties quite opposite from a ripe one. It aggravates the Pitt dosh and may lead to skin problems, acidity etc.

All by itself 

Being Heavy, the King better be treated like a King. We cannot mix it up with commoners. Better not to combine it with other food for lunch or dinner. Yes, the aam ras puri plans must be cancelled. If you must have it, chapati and aam ras occasionally may be alright if you do not over eat. Gas, indigestion, bloating and burps that keep reminding of the mango happen when it is not able to digest well due to the other food had along with it.

Have it on an empty stomach in the morning for breakfast or in the evening between major meals when the stomach is light. Treat it as a small meal by itself so summer breakfasts can easily be a mango.

Not too many

Avoid having too many at a time. One mango at a time should be good.

Not in the cold

Mangoes being unctous and cooling, are a treat from nature for beating the summer heat. While they act as a tonic in summer, nourishing the tissues, we should stop having them as the monsoon sets in. Similarly, anyone suffering from a cold, fever or low appetite should avoid it till they recover.

What can be had with a mango?

Mango milkshakes are a right combination provided the mango is ripe and all the above is followed too.

Those who may still have difficulty digesting a mango, can add a pinch of sunth or dried ginger powder to it while having.

So, lets know our mango, understand it and then enjoy it with gratitude in our hearts for this wonderful gift from mother nature.

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We are all aware of pulses and they are found in most Indian homes. In this post I will talk about the Ayurvedic point of view of this staple food item. Since we are eating them, lets know the right way to eat them.

Why should we have dals or pulses?

Ayurved recommends maintaining balance in all sphere of life. Balance in food is of prime importance. It also explains concepts in a way that all of us can easily connect to and understand. Only then can they become a part of our daily life.

When we look at our plate served with food, immediately we should be able to see balance. Among the six tastes, among the colours, among the heating or cooling properties of food, among the form of food preparation etc. To know more Ayurvedic information on food read http://ayurvedicanswers.com/preventive-ayurved/food/

Fluid balance

Food should have the dry and wet or fluid part in balance. A dry meal of just roti sabzi on a regular basis requires much more effort from the digestive system to be digested and then from the other systems too as it tries to compensate for the dryness. Cooked dals or pulses provide the much needed fluid component in a meal. This helps to balance the roti and rice. When a balanced meal goes into the stomach daily the system functions smoothly. It has the water it needs and thus does not borrow it from other systems. The blood composition stays in balance and so do all other tissues.

The hormones, the enzymes, the fluid in joints, the urinary system all require fluid for its normal working.

Weight check (Kaf balance)

Most dals help keep weight in check. Wheat chapati and rice that we have almost for all meals are kaf promoting food. This is the dosh responsible for weight gain. Dals on the other hand are vat and pitt promoters predominantly. So together they keep the kaf in balance. To understand about kaf better, read http://ayurvedicanswers.com/ayurvedic-principles/tridosh/

Nutrition

Yes, pulses provide us with proteins (note- non dairy protein) and fiber and other nutrients as well. They have low fat and a low glycemic index too. This is the language that most of us are used to hearing. We may not be able to see the protein etc, but we can surely see how the bowl of dal balances our thali. Understanding is more important than complicated details.

How should dals be cooked?

To gain the benefits dals carry and to prevent the problems commonly associated with eating dals it is important to know the correct way of cooking dals. Dals will not cause too much gas, acidity, abdominal discomfort when cooked as below.

• Use unpolished dals.
• Soaking

Wash and soak dals in water for at least one hour prior to cooking. Discard the water used for soaking. Whole pulses need to be soaked even longer, around 8 to 10 hours. This helps in re hydrating the dals and pulses. Cooking them after soaking becomes easier.

• No pressure cooker 

Do not use a pressure cooker to cook the dals. That is not cooking at all. As the name suggests it is the use of pressure. The dals are pressurized and they break. It takes much less time compared to cooking without a cooker. So the dals don’t really get the heat they should be getting to cook up well. They just end up breaking and we think it is all mushy, so must be cooked.

Cooking without a cooker, in a pan covered with a lid, on a medium flame is the ideal way to cook. Let it stay the time it needs to become soft and cooked. 

If we pressurize the dal, it will surely create pressure (gas) on our intestines too

• Spices

During cooking add easily available  spices like ginger, green chilli, asafoetida (hing), curry leaves and turmeric. At the end add coriander leaves.

• Oil/Ghee

Once cooked well, temper with oil or ghee (Tadka)

Add mustard seeds, cumin, a bit of clove and cinnamon.

• Consistency

The final dal should not be too thick. Keep it a thin, fluid type consistency that can be sipped between bites of food.

Which dals and how much?

*Moong as whole pulse, dal with chilka and the yellow moong dal all are easy on the stomach, can be had regularly by everyone.

*Masoor dal too is light to digest.

*Tur dal comes next after moong and masoor. When cooked well it is well digested by most and is nutritious too.

*Urad dal is heavy to digest and should not be had often. It is good for those trying to gain weight.

*Moth beans are better when sprouted. Using garlic is important when cooking sprouts.

*Whole pulses like rajma, chole, black eyed peas, white peas are quite heavy to digest, should be had during the winter months and lesser in quantity. Also they are best avoided for dinner. Use good amount of ginger and garlic along with other spices.

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