Diets and Ayurveda

FOOD AND AYURVEDA

Everything absorbed by five senses like Mouth (food, water), Nose (Breath), Ear (Chanting, sweet music), Skin (Sunlight), Eyes (Nature) is food. <

When we consume food in adequate amount, it gives us long life and youthfulness. When consumed in inadequate amounts, it increases production of toxins, which is harmful for life. Having right food is the initial step towards achieving healthy life. But just having right food is not enough. Right combination and proportion of food is also important for an individual.

According to Ayurveda, every food has its own taste (Rasa), a heating or cooling energy (Virya) and post-digestive effect (Vipaka). When two or three different food substances of different taste, energy and post-digestive effect are combined together, Agni (digestive fire) can become overloaded inhibiting the enzyme system and resulting in production of toxins in the system. While it is true that an individual's Agni largely determines how well or poorly food is digested, food combinations are also of great importance.

The dieticians & nutritionist should give consideration to these types of agni when making suggestions concerning diet.
There are five types of nutritional disorders:

• Quantitative dietary deficiency. This includes under-nutrition due to insufficient food, and even starvation.
• Qualitative dietary deficiency. This includes wrong food combination, which results in malnutrition, toxic condition and lack of essential nutrients.
• Qualitative and quantitative over-nutrition. This includes emotional overeating, which can result in obesity, and/or high cholesterol, which can lead to hypertension, heart attacks or paralysis.
• Toxins in food. Certain foods and food combinations lead to toxaemia and to certain digestive disorders.
• Foods not suitable to one's constitution may affect natural resistance and cause disease.