LEARNING AYURVEDA: DIET

Welcome back to EXHALO FORTIS. Thank you for checking back in, I am grateful for your curiosity. The month of October we are discussing everything Ayurveda. If you do not know what Ayurveda is I encourage you to begin by reading this blog post - AYURVEDA. In this blog post, I cover the Ayurvedic diet. 

DISCLAIMER

Let me start by saying that I am a certified Ayurvedic Nutritionist, I am not an Ayurvedic doctor or a clinical dietitian. My intention behind this post is to provide information regarding the Ayurvedic diet. Always listen to your doctor and consult with them prior to beginning any diet plan. I especially express caution when using herbs, supplements, or plant-based medicines, while they are natural or claimed to come from “natural sources” they are generally unregulated and are potent substances that can affect the body. With that said, as an Ayurvedic nutritionist I do believe that having an Ayurvedic mindset when approaching nutrition and life in general can improve the relationship we have with food and with our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual selves. 

HOW IT WORKS

The goal of an Ayurvedic lifestyle including diet is to find balance. When we are out of balance this is when disease can occur. To maintain balance we first need to determine your Prakriti and Vikriti. From these results we can determine your constitution or Dosha and check to see if there is a disparity between the Dosha type in your Prakriti and the Dosha type in your Vikriti. There are 3 Doshas; Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Everything in the universe has a Dosha including the seasons, the time of day, time periods in life etc. If your Prakriti differs from your Vikriti, this is an indication that you are out of balance. Finding balance and getting back to your Prakriti can be accomplished with diet in addition to lifestyle modifications. 

Each Dosha type has specific qualities. 

• Pitta (elements: fire & water): oily, sharp, hot, light, fluid, salty, sour, pungent

• Kapha (elements: earth & water): cold, wet, heavy, grounded, sweet, salty, sour

• Vata (elements: ether & air): light, dry, rough, cold, mobile, pungent, bitter, astringent

Food also has specific qualities such as:

• Heavy (ex. milk, wheat, brown rice, fish, red meat, seasame oil)

• Light (ex. mung beans, basmati rice, leafy vegetables, chicken, apple, sunflower oil)

• Cooling/Cold (ex. milk, sunflower oil, wheat, cilantro, coconut, ice cream)

• Heating/Hot (ex. fish, onions, eggs, meat, chili)

• Drying (ex. many vegetables, pears, millet)

EXAMPLE

When we are out of balance it is important to choose foods that pacify our Dosha. By remember that “like increases like” you can begin to choose foods that pacify versus aggravate your Dosha. For example if you have a Pitta constitution your elements are fire and water which means you posses qualities such as hot and oily. Therefore, if you are feeling unwell or out of balance consider consuming foods that pacify Pitta by implementing a more Kapha diet - cooling, sweet, wet foods - so maybe skip the spicy, oily fried taco at meal time.

AGNI

Also remember that the qualities of food can be changed by cooking, frying, baking etc. Here is a helpful link to The Ayurvedic Institute which provides an exhaustive list of specific foods each Dosha type should favor. The Ayurvedic rationale behind favoring some foods versus others is that the digestive fire we all have - called Agni - needs to be balanced. Since we have different Dosha’s we require food that has different qualities to maintain balanced Agni. By consuming foods that pacify our Dosha’s we are easing the digestive processes for our body and preventing ama (undigested food/energetic blockages) from building up and causing health problems.

In addition, to keep our Agni balance and prevent digestive problems or disease we should be mindful about the quantities of food we consume. The Ayurvedic diet goal is to be satiated by ⅓ food, ⅓ water, and ⅓ air. 

CONCLUSION

In Ayurveda, food is considered medicine. If you begin to look at your meals as nourishing medicine, this could perhaps begin the shift in your mindset and attitude towards the food you eat. There are many other Ayurvedic guidelines to consider regarding nutrition but in an effort to keep these blog posts easily digestible I think this is enough for now. As you learn more about Ayurveda, I encourage you to see this as a means to be more introspective about the food you choose to nourish your body - consider where it comes from, what qualities the food contains, how you feel when you eat certain foods, does your Agni feel balanced or are you struggling with digestive problems that perhaps are impacting your overall wellness. 

I also want to acknowledge that this is an ancient, respected practice that originated in India and is accepted as a “traditional system of medicine worldwide.” You do not have to accept it, you can certainly implement some and not all of its practices as I have, or you can completely disregard this practice as nonsense- that is your choice. I will ask of you however to be respectful of this practice because many of your fellow human beings sharing this planet follow Ayurveda wholeheartedly. 

Mantra: Remember, it is not all or nothing. Something is better than nothing. Be flexible.