Ayurvedic nutrition let your food be your medicine
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It is ironic how something as obvious as nutrition has become overlooked in the modern health
care system, and how in the name of convenience our fast paced society has given way to fast
foods, microwaves, quick fix medicines, and eating on the run. Fortunately, there is a growing
focus in the important role that nutrition plays in maintaining good health. In Ayurveda, India's
ancient science of life, health and longevity, food plays a prominent role in promoting health and is
therefore considered medicine.
Dating back over five thousand years, Ayurveda is still a highly respected form of health care in
India today. According to this holistic system, everyone has a unique constitution or prakruti--an
individual combination of physical, mental and emotional characteristics determined by many
factors surrounding the time of conception and birth. Disturbance of this balance due to emotional
and physical stress, trauma, improper food combination and choices, as well as seasonal and
weather changes may lead to imbalance and eventually to disease. If we understand how such
factors affect us we can take appropriate actions to minimize their effect and eliminate the causes
of imbalance. In this sense, the path toward health is always individual. There is no single
approach that is right for everyone, whether it relates to diet, lifestyle, exercise or the use of
medicinal herbs.
According to Samkhya, the philosophical foundation of Ayurveda, creation expresses itself through
the five elements--ether or space, air, fire, water and earth. These elements manifest in the body
as the three governing principles or humors called doshas: vata, pitta and kapha. Everyone has all
three of these doshas to varying degrees, although one and sometimes two tend to be
predominant and the other(s) secondary. In balance, the doshas promote the normal functions of
the body and maintain overall health. Out of balance, they create mental, emotional and physical
ailments.
Vata is the subtle energy associated with movement and is made up of the air and ether. By
nature it has dry, light, mobile and cold qualities. When aggravated, it can cause flatulence,
constipation, tremors, spasms, asthma, rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, as well many neurological
problems.
Pitta represents the fire and water elements of the body. It has mainly hot sharp and oily qualities.
Pitta disorders include hyperacidity, ulcers, skin eruptions, chronic fatigue, Crohn's disease, colitis,
gout and numerous inflammatory disorders.
Kapha is made up of earth and water, and is associated with heavy, cold, damp and static
qualities. Out of balance, kapha can cause obesity, high cholesterol, diabetes, edema, asthma,
tumors and a variety of congestive problems.
2. Aggravation of the doshas can affect the digestion and can create toxins, or ama from poorly
digested food. As ama accumulates in the tissues and channels of the body it slowly but surely
affects the flow of prana (vital energy), immunity (ojas) and the cellular metabolism (tejas),
eventually resulting in disease.
From an Ayurvedic perspective, one of the main keys to maintaining optimal health as well as to
support the healing process is to help the body eliminate toxins and to reestablish constitutional
balance. To achieve this, Ayurveda emphasizes the importance of proper nutrition through proper
food choices, food combining and cooking methods, as well as herbal nutrition, all based on the
specific needs of the individual and any current imbalance of the doshas.
Ayurvedic nutrition is a vast topic that takes into account the individual constitution, the medicinal
value of culinary spices, the theory of shad rasa (or six tastes, which should all be present for a
meal to be balanced), and more. As I mentioned before, in Ayurveda food is considered medicine.
Likewise, herbs are also used for their nutritional and nourishing qualities, or to counteract any
doshic imbalance and toxin formation as a result of poor digestion.
For optimum nutrition, care should be taken to insure that food be organic, fresh and whenever
possible locally grown. In Ayurveda food, drinks, and spices are categorized according to their
taste (sweet, salty, sour, bitter, pungent and astringent), the energetic effect they have on the
doshas, as well as their post-digestive effect on the tissues. This is why when choosing foods it is
important to understand our original constitution so as to eat foods that have the opposite qualities
to those that are already predominant in the constitution. Furthermore, understanding the current
state of the doshas is also crucial for making the right food choices.
Vata types tend to more deficient by nature and have light body frames, variable digestion and
often have a tendency towards gas and constipation. Therefore, they do best eating warm,
nourishing, unctuous and primarily cooked foods, and should avoid dried, cold, frozen and excess
intake of raw foods. Also, they should avoid pinto, garbanzo or black beans, which are hard to
digest and tend to increase intestinal gas. Vata is balanced by sweet, sour and salty tasting foods.
Pitta types tend to have strong appetites and good digestion, but have a tendency toward
hyperacidity and inflammatory disorders. So they should avoid eating greasy, hot spicy, salty and
fermented foods, as well as sour and acidic fruits. Pitta is balanced by bitter, sweet and astringent
tastes.
Kapha types are large framed with a tendency toward weight gain, obesity, sluggish digestion,
lethargy and congestive disorders. They do best on a light, reducing diet low in carbohydrates and
avoiding dairy, cold food and drinks, poor quality oils and sweet treats. Kapha is decreased with
pungent, bitter and astringent tastes.
Before talking about the use of spices in Ayurvedic cooking I should point out that although
Ayurvedic food is traditionally Indian cuisine, it is not by any means limited to it. Also, by the same
token, not all Indian food is Ayurvedic. In fact, Indian restaurant food is often overly spicy and
drenched in poor quality cooking oils. What makes food truly Ayurvedic is the fact that it is
selected and cooked according to the specific needs of the individual, or that it is balanced for all
doshas.
3. Many of the spices used in Ayurvedic cooking such as turmeric, ginger, cumin, fenugreek,
coriander and cardamom, amongst others, are also medicinal herbs used in Ayurvedic herbology.
Cooking daily with those spices can greatly enhance digestion, absorption and assimilation of
food, improve one's appetite and elimination, nourish the internal organs and prevent doshic
imbalance. Spices also provide a harmonious blend of the six tastes. Taste is medicinal and is the
first form of nourishment. A meal containing a balanced blend of the six tastes, aside from being
more appealing to the tongue, is also more digestible at a deep cellular level.
Modern research is now validating the benefits of many of the herbs and spices used in Ayurvedic
cooking. Turmeric for instance, is highly effective in the treatment of type two diabetes, skin
diseases, infections and hepatic and inflammatory disorders. Cumin, coriander, fennel, nutmeg
and cardamom are extremely helpful in the treatment of a wide variety of digestive complaints, as
is ginger for the treatment of respiratory congestion, fevers and colds. There are literally
thousands of medicinal uses to such spices. Even today in much of rural India the wisest doctors
are often the mothers and grandmothers who know the uses of their "kitchen pharmacies."
Another vital aspect of Ayurvedic nutrition is proper food combining. In Ayurveda not all foods are
compatible. Certain foods when eaten of cooked together can disturb the normal function of the
digestive fire and promote the accumulation of ama (toxins) in the body. Various factors, such as
the tastes, qualities, and energies of certain foods, as well as how long they take to digest, affect
how well certain foods will combine. Heavy foods such whole grains, dairy, meats and starches
don't combine well with light foods such as fruit, which digest quicker. Another example, when
sour and acidic fruits are combined with milk, which is sweet and cooling, this causes the milk to
curdle and become heavy in the intestines. Ayurveda places great emphasis on the art of food
combining.
Ayurveda encourages us to take responsibility for our health as much as possible by making
appropriate changes in diet and lifestyle. What we eat and how we live on a daily basis can be our
strongest allies in restoring and maintaining health. All other therapeutic measures will be strongly
supported by this daily effort.
Along with a balanced diet, incorporating other healthy habits into a daily routine can prevent
imbalance at its very root. A lifestyle that integrates regular eating and sleeping habits will bring
discipline and help maintain the harmony of the doshas, thus promoting overall good health. An
Ayurvedic clinician can provide dietary and lifestyle guidelines, as well as herbal nutrition, more
specific to the individual constitution, doshic imbalance and situation of each person.
Vishnu Dass, NTS, LMT, CAyu, is an Ayurvedic practitioner and educator and the Director of Blue
Lotus Ayurveda - Natural Health & Rejuvenation - an Ayurvedic clinic in Asheville, NC, that offers
holistic health care, panchakarma (for deep detox and rejuvenation), rejuvenating therapies, diet
and lifestyle counseling, yoga and yoga therapy, therapeutic massage & bodywork, workshops,
and more. For more information, articles and products, visit: http://www.bluelotusayurveda.com
and http://ayurvedayogashop.com
