Please first refer to the Pakriti Section, found under the Ayurvedic Medicine Page, before reading this page.
Food is extraordinarily important for us. Ayurvedic Medicine has a particular food regimen designed for specific pakriti. In Ayurvedic Medicine, it is believed that we are made by the Food that we eat daily, and we should should eat food by giving full concentration to it. We should find the taste and the flavor of each food we are eating, chew it properly and to enjoy it. Also, the final refined product of food inside the body is called as Sara tatva, which makes our body. The waste product during the process is excreted out from our body as urine, stool and other excreta and is known as KITTA.
Reduce raw foods.
Experience all six tastes at every meal.
Drink milk separately from meals. Either alone or with other sweet foods.
Leave one-fourth of your stomach empty to aid digestion.
In Ayurvedic medicine, there is a name for all the enzymes and functions that help us eat and digest.
Firstly, there is agni. Agni is found in our body in the form of pacak agni (digestive enzyme) which helps in the digestion of food we eat. When our agnis are strong, food that we take are digested into their fundamental elements, these elements are absorbed into the mind-body physiology, where they eventually becomes our cells and tissues. Portion of the digested material that is not useful in our body is eliminated from the body in healthy condition, which will be accumulated if there is blockage in any system of our body.
Secondly, there is ama. When Agni is not functioning efficiently, toxins and impurities can accumulate. Ayurveda refers to these incompletely metabolised materials as ama. The presence of Ama in the body’s cells and channels of circulation disrupts the free flow of nourishment. Ama is described as heavy, thick, cold and foul, while Agni is light, clear, hot and pure. Diseases are the final result of toxic (ama) accumulation in the mind body physiology. If ama has accumulated over time, our mental and physical functioning will diminish because significant energy is required to overcome the obstructive effects of the toxicity. People with significant ama accumulation are often mentally fatigued and they may experience generalized physical pain as well. Since the condition of tongue reflects the presence of ama in the system, there is frequently an unpleasant white coating on the tongues of people with significant ama accumulations, which is particularly noticeable in the morning.
Eat foods that are freshly prepared, nutritious, and appetizing; minimize canned foods and leftovers.
Take foods that are lighter and easier to digest, such as rice, soups and lentils.
Fasting for few days with freshly steamed or lightly sautuped vegetables and fruit juices.
Temporarily reduce your intake of dairy products.
Minimize fermented foods and drinks, including vinegar, pickled condiments, cheeses and alcohol.
Favor the lighter grains such as barley or basmati rice.
Reduce highly refined carbohydrates such as white flour and sugar.
Reduce oily, heavy or salty nuts, sunflower, pumpkin or sesame seed or may be taken in small amounts.
Reduce intake of animal products. Chicken meat is okay in small amounts.
Agni and ama is important to understand how our body is functioning – if it is healthy or not. In order to help maintain the balances of the dosha in the body, it is also important to watch what you eat – according to your constitution.
– Avoid taking milk with sour or citrus fruits. The action of hydrochloric acid in the stomach causes the milk to curdle. For this reason Ayurveda advises against taking milk with sour fruits, yogurt, sour cream, cheese, and fish.
We should use all the taste (rasa) in our every day meal. But we should know our constitution and which taste is responsible for increasing or decreasing the particular dosha. The main concern is the amount of the taste we are using. Also, there should be appropriate selection of food from each group in our meal. All the six taste should be included in our food in the proper amount.
Note: “-” is decreasing the dosha; “+” is increasing the dosha. For example bitter taste is decreasing the kapha dosha so people with dominating kapha can take bitter taste as a part of their daily food, where as sweet taste is increasing kapha dosha so people with dominating kapha should take less amount of sweet taste food.
