Ayurvedic diet – 7 Facts You Should Know About It

“Ojas keeps all living beings nourished and refreshed. There can be no life without Ojas” Charaka sutra sthana, Chapter 30, verse 9

When food is properly metabolized, and the digestion is good, you have good and proper health. And Ayurveda is very clear about this. Hence, what we can do every day is to eat wisely and to eat right, say ayurvedic experts. Food is considered to be just as great and powerful as medicine is. One of the ancient texts of Ayurveda claims that when food is consumed properly, it is medicine for the body. Ayurveda retreats India experts say when we eat foods that are suited to our system and follow life supporting a sattvic ayurvedic diet.

The ayurvedic diet helps the digestive system, and the body reaps the benefits. This makes us happier and healthier, and at any age, you would be filled with vitality. Without much ado, here are the top seven facts of the ayurvedic diet, which you must follow and Why You Should Shift Your Diet to Ayurvedic Diet. Please read on and be well-informed.

Eat foods that are naturally intelligent

In this day and age, our grocery stores hold a lot of GMO foods or genetically modified foods. Most of the pesticides and chemicals used in the production of these foods have been the cause of numerous health issues. Such foods are processed and genetically modified, and they no longer are alive with natural intelligence. Ayurveda says, our bodies are a reflection of the universal laws. The more our bodies are in tune with nature, the livelier, and the healthier we would be. This is why our bodies can process foods that are very close to nature better than processed or GMO foods. What one must consume are fresh veggies and fruits that have been grown organically, whole grains, and more.

We must shun food fads

Every year there are new fads that come up about what we should eat and the diet plans thereof. Keeping up with the same can pose to be a challenge. After all, what may work for a million people may or may not work for us? This is because each of us is as unique as beings, and this is what Ayurveda recognizes. Ayurveda recognizes individualism and gives us perspective and knowledge that empowers and allows us to manage our health in a customized way. This system of Ayurveda has been around for centuries, and it is time tested. Thus personalized health means Ayurveda, period.

You must have a lot of fruits and veggies

Plenty of fresh fruits and veggies must be consumed since they are good internal cleansers, and they have high nutritional value as well. There are specific food guidelines for each dosha type, and this can help us pick from a variety of fresh fruits and veggies, which suits our body systems and are in tune with the season as well. Bio-available foods are best preferred by Ayurveda, say, experts. You must cook your veggies well rather than eat them raw since the body’s metabolic system cannot work well with raw veggies. For those who have Kapha as their predominant dosha type, other individuals would not respond well to uncooked veggies. If you love having salads, try having it at lunch-time, which gives the body more time to digest the food. This is because when the sun is high during noon-time, the Agni in our body is working at its highest. Hence, to burn the largest meal of the day, we must consume it in the noon, which adds to the strong agni.

Be wise with your spices

They add a lot of aroma and flavor to the foods we eat and also bring a lot of therapeutic value to the meals as well. Spices also help boost our immunity, and they can help power up the digestive system too. This helps in the long run since it makes the body absorb and eliminate the foods we choose to eat. Ayurveda says that there should be six types of flavors in each meal, salty, sweet, sour, astringent, bitter, and even pungent. It is all about the dominant dosha that you would choose the type of flavors in your meal. For example, if you have a strong Vata, you would prefer meals that have a sour and salty texture. For those with Kapha as a dominant dosha, I would prefer more pungent meals. And for those with a Pitta dominance would prefer more sweet flavors.

Clean from the inside out

Ama is the build-up of digestive toxins in the body, and according to Ayurveda, this is one of the reasons as to why we fall ill. This is the root cause of all diseases. There are a few habits that are bad and which lead to improper digestion, for example, when we eat very late in the evenings. This is a time when the body needs to rest and is not ready for heavy digestion work. Meals should be well-cooked and light and eaten at least three hours before you go to sleep. And one must try to be in bed by 10 pm or earlier. Even having raw veggies or meals that are heavy are harder to digest. Stress can cause indigestion, so does poor hydration, which is when the body is unable to remove toxins and impurities from the lymph system. This is when blood production and circulation is negatively affected and doesn’t allow the body to carry oxygen and the nutrients to various parts properly. When you complete a cleansing program during every season change, this helps detox the body from ama and brings optimal health. It is in early spring when detoxification of the body is best done. This is when nature starts the annual process of refreshing and rejuvenating. We must have light foods that are nourishing to the body during this time. Foods such as mung bean soup, khichari, detox teas, etc should be consumed.

You must drink to your health

As much as possible, one should avoid carbonated drinks, alcohol, caffeine, and processed beverages. A switch to the life-giving and vitality-boosting energy drinks must be made. Drink lots of water, which should be warm. It helps keep the body hydrated and flushes the toxins out of the system as well. You should not have ice-cold water, before, during, and after meals. If your dominant dosha is Pitta, you can have cool water or room temperature water. Drinking cold water makes the blood flow in the stomach region slow, and this makes the digestive enzymes work slower. Both of which are very responsible for revving up the digestive system. Hence warm water or liquids should be drunk throughout the day.

You must cultivate and practice good eating habits

In this day and age, the rat raced lives make us eat on the go. Some of us even eat while we work, or we may skip our meals and eat junk foods. But, Ayurveda says this is bad. We can add more years to our lives by eating right and by cultivating good eating habits. A healthy ayurvedic routine would include having three regular meals at the same time every day. The main meal of the day should be lunch, say experts. This is because a heavy dinner can make digestion tough and not allow you to have a good sleep. You must always try and cook foods that are fresh and organic. Leftover foods are less sattvic by nature, in comparison to fresh foods, and hence they are to be best avoided. Additionally, one should offer gratitude to the foods we consume. We must sit quietly during and after the meal for the same, say Ayurveda experts.

In a nutshell

Here were the seven facts about Why You Should Shift Your Diet to Ayurvedic. If you have more tips and facts to share or are already on a sattvic ayurvedic diet and would like to share your experience, do write in.

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