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Did you know that there is a science to the way you eat? Eating is not just about picking out the easiest thing to prepare or ordering out. Rather, eating is about putting the right combination of food and drink into your stomach in order to stay healthy.
Over thousands of years, people in India have been discovering the wonders of medicinal herbs and the unique characteristics of every type of food. Ayurvedic medicine, which was developed by Indian scientists and yogis, is now a highly refined science. Ayurvedic science and philosophy pervades Indian culture and tradition, and even in the most humble peasant's meal, the influence of Ayurvedic dietetic philosophy is present.
While Ayurveda may be intrinsically connected to Hindu philosophy and religion, it is not necessary for ordinary people to delve deeply into this science, especially if they don't follow the Hindu faith. Nowadays, Ayurvedic medicine and dietetics is practiced the world over, and most specialists claim that it is simply a science based on traditional practices and thought. Anyone who is interested in benefiting from Ayurveda need only learn the basics of the science in terms of herbal remedies and the proper diet.
Just as is the case of yoga, many people, be they Hindu or otherwise, merely practice the physical aspect of the science. Many practitioners of yoga — especially those in the West — benefit in many ways from the movements and exercises of yoga although they are not familiar with its religious and spiritual meanings.
That being said, Ayurveda is over 5,000 years old and is a tried-and-true science that can prove useful in curing many common illnesses and disorders. As the renowned Ayurveda practitioner Vasant Lad wrote, "Ayurveda is the art of daily living in harmony with the laws of nature."
| Although Ayurveda comes from India, it is not based on Indian cuisine. |
The word Ayurveda itself means "the science of life and longevity" in the Sanskrit language (Lad). People need only to implement a few of Ayurveda's dietary rules into their daily cooking in order to see immediate changes in their ease of digestion and energy levels. Eating and drinking according to the Ayurveda way is eating in accordance with the natural laws of the world.
The Fundamentals of Ayurveda Philosophy
Before jumping into an Ayurvedic diet, people must determine their unique constitution that will guide them in their diet and lifestyle. There are three main types of constitutions known as doshas, which ideally should be balanced in each person. According to Adham Hafez, an Egyptian Ayurvedic specialist based in Cairo, Egypt, "Doshas can be translated as body qualities. It is said that we all have different bodies, according to our own individual constitution." The first type is Vata, which is represented by the air and space. The second is Pitta, which is represented by fire and water.The third is Kapha, which is represented by earth and water.
A very healthy and fit person may have a complete balance between the doshas, but most of us usually have a prevalent dosha that governs our body and mind. We must determine our dosha, or combination of doshas, in order to determine which foods, drinks, and lifestyle patterns best fit our constitution. Ayurveda is the science of the individual and prescribes different rules for different people, depending on their unique makeup.
| You can discover your dosha by clicking here. A very detailed self-diagnosis questionnaire, written by the world-renown Ayurvedic physician, Dr. Mukesh Paneri of Ahmedabad, India, can also be found here. |
"This system is based on the belief of the five elements formulating the whole universe, and thus man. Man, being the smaller universe, has these elements in him in certain proportions. And therefore the qualities of these elements tend to rule the body. So a Vata person would be moody and thin, a Pitta person would be intense, and a Kapha person would be of a big build and steady," explained Hafez.
Everyone has a unique constitution, and in a house of five people, there may be five different constitutions. Each constitution has its own qualities. This means that different meals may have to be cooked for each individual, or else certain herbs and spices can be added separately at the dinner table.
According to Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman, a naturopath physician based in the United States, people with a Vata dosha, for example, need to eat mainly "warm, moist, oily, heavy, mostly cooked, and emphasizing the sweet, sour, and salty taste" in order to counter their cool disposition and to heat up their digestive fire. It is beneficial for them to eat spicy food, and they can consume a moderate amount of dairy products. On the other hand, because Vata people often have a weak digestion, they need to avoid heavier foods, such as those from the nightshade family (tomato, eggplant, green pepper) and gaseous foods such as cabbage and broccoli. They should generally minimize their intake of raw vegetables. If heavier foods are eaten, they need to be complemented by heating spices and some ghee to balance their effects.
On the other end of the spectrum is Pitta. Pitta people have strong digestions and can handle many of the heavier foods that Vata people cannot. On the other hand, Reichenberg-Ullman states, because of their naturally hot disposition, Pitta people should only consume small amounts of hot and acidic foods and spices, which, if consumed in large quantities, could aggravate them. It is also best for them to stay away from foods that contain a lot of oil and salt, in addition to alcohol and red meat.
Last, but not least, is Kapha. Kapha people should mainly eat "warm, light, and dry foods, plenty of fresh, raw vegetables and fruits, and foods with a spicy, bitter or astringent taste." They should try their best to keep away from heavy, oily, and creamy foods. Cereals, such as wheat, rice, and oats, may create excess mucus. Fried foods and an excess of nuts and seeds can have negative effects on Kapha people. "Sweets (except for raw honey), salty, and sour foods will aggravate a Kapha person and make them gain weight. Citrus fruits, red meat, and dairy products should also be avoided. Spicy foods are good for Kapha because they stimulate their metabolism," according to Reichenberg-Ullman.
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This system is very different from modern fad diets that prescribe only one system of eating and drinking for everyone. Take the Atkins Diet, for example, which recommends the complete avoidance of carbohydrates and encourages people to consume large amounts of fatty foods, dairy, and red meat. While this diet may benefit those whose constitution fits this prescription, many others experience extreme reactions from the foods and have found themselves becoming heavier and unhealthier than ever before.
Today, the Atkins Diet has lost its force and popularity. The company filed for bankruptcy in August 2005 (CNN), and the trend that started only a few years ago as a billion-dollar profit-maker has been disgraced and the fad has died down. Just like the Atkins Diet, other new diets will come and go, promising slim bodies and low fat levels, but they will never stay for long.
With this in mind, consider the Ayurvedic diet and the fact that it has been practiced by people (mainly in India and surrounding regions until recently) for over 5,000 years. This is certainly no short-lived trend, although people in the West may have made it into one. It is a complete philosophy and an age-old science.
Fight Weight Gain and Illness With a Proper Diet
Ayurveda isn't just a recipe for weight loss. It's an entire worldview that is strikingly different from that of the Western one, although it makes a lot of sense to someone who contemplates it in depth. In Western medicine, when people have headaches, they take an aspirin to ease the pain. While people may think that an aspirin helps them, it really does nothing but help them forget their pain, which is most often the body's call for help. A headache doesn't usually appear by itself; it usually comes because of some imbalance in the body. Thus, a headache can be seen as a sign from the body that something is wrong, be it physical, psychological, or spiritual.
Most traditional medicines around the world share the fundamental basics, and all hold, as the great Arab philosopher and scientist Ibn Sina (Avicenna) once wrote, that "most illnesses arise solely from long-continued errors of diet and regime" (Chishti 41). Thus, while Western medicine mainly seeks to fool the brain into believing a problem has been eradicated by sending messages to the brain, traditional medicine, including Ayurveda, focuses on eating a correct diet and following a healthy lifestyle before anything else.
It's very important to note that although Ayurveda comes from India, it does not need to be based on Indian cuisine. Hafez argues that "Ayurveda stresses the fact that each person should be living through his own environment. Therefore, Ayurvedic cuisine for an Egyptian in Egypt would be based on local cuisine." Non-Indians can adapt their cooking to Ayurveda philosophy, but there is no need to replace their kitchen pantry with exotic, hard-to-pronounce ingredients from their local Indian grocery store. Hafez believes it is very important for people to use local food products instead of imported ones.
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In Ayurvedic medicine, it is known that "illness does not suddenly appear. There is a direct causal link between the factors that influence us and the effects they produce. The cause is the concealed effect, and the effect is the revealed cause" (Lad 32). Diseases and illnesses don't just pop up out of nowhere, and in Ayurveda, specialists believe there are many factors that can affect a person's health and illness, such as the following:
Unbalanced diet — Doshas are increased by things of the same quality. Thus, if someone with a particular dosha eats food of the same dosha, they will have a bad reaction because of a lack of balance in their diet. They need to eat food of different doshas in order to balance their body.
- An unhealthy diet — Eating suitable foods for one's constitution contributes to one's health, while eating unsuitable foods may cause illness. In addition, eating a meal with unbalanced food combinations, or food of poor quality (such as processed food packed with preservatives) or at an inappropriate time (such as late at night) can lead to both minor and serious health problems.
- Time of year and day — Each season and time of day has a specific dosha, and thus people must be careful in seasons and times of their doshas since they will be more aggravated. For example, Pitta tends to be very hot and quick to become angry. In the summer, people who are Pitta often get angry and agitated quickly. People who are Vata tend to be cool, and are always cold in the winter.
- Exercise — Exercise can help balance a person's dosha, but most importantly, it ensures that one's body is kept fit and in good shape (Lad 34).
Leading a healthy life means taking risks and trying new foods and daily patterns. Hafez recommends the following tips, according to Ayurvedic medicine, as ways to keep healthy and in balance:
- Avoid canned, processed, and artificial ingredients.
- Try not to mix hot with cold while eating or drinking.
- Think of the qualities of food and drink you consume.
- Cook for yourself and others, and avoid precooked food and fast food.
- Fast from time to time to help the body clean itself and regenerate its energy.
- Fasting can be done on only water, on fruit and water, or without any food at all, if even only for a few hours.
- Have faith in your body as a self-healing integral whole and in the universe as a being a capable physician.
The following books are great beginners' resources to learn how to incorporate Ayurveda into your diet and lifestyle:
- Lad, Vasant. The Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies. Three Rivers Press: New York, 1998.
A must-have for anyone interested in Ayurveda, it includes simple remedies that can be made with household ingredients for common illnesses, in addition to a mini introduction to Ayurveda and dosha-specific lifestyle guidelines and diet.
- Lad, Vasant. Ayurvedic Cooking for Self Healing. Ayurvedic Press. 1997
A thorough recipe book that caters for specific doshas, written by a husband and wife Ayurvedic experts.
- Morningstar, Amadea. The Ayurvedic Cookbook. Lotus Press. 1990.
Excellent recipe book based on many years of writer's experience. Includes detailed table of suitable and unsuitable foods for each dosha.
Sources:
- Chishti, Hakim G.M. The Traditional Healer. Healing Arts Press: Rochester, Vermont, 1988.
- Hafez, Adham. Based on an e-mail interview.
- Lad, Vasant. The Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies. Three Rivers Press: New York, 1998.
- Reichenberg-Ullman, Judyth. "Ayurveda, Food and You." Health World Online. Accessed 25 May 2006.
- CNN Online. 1 Aug. 2005. Accessed 21 Dec. 2005.
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