Health Basics of Ayurveda

Today, most people above the age of 35 years are suffering from at least one lifestyle disease. Digestive disorders, sleep problems, and stress are more common than a few decades back.

These primary disorders are the base of severe lifestyle diseases like hypothyroidism, diabetes, hypertension, etc. And this is because of the unhealthy dietary and lifestyle habits that we are following.

The Root of Lifestyle Disorders

We have severe defects in our daily routine that interferes with our healthy metabolism. They lower our immunity and makes us more susceptible to diseases and rapid aging.

Most of the people today have no fixed routine or time for eating. They skip their meals when they are hungry. On the other hand, they eat voluptuously when they are not hungry but have time to eat.

Similarly, most of us skip sleep in the night, the natural time to sleep according to the bio-rhythm of the body. Instead, they sleep till late. They miss the healthiest time of the day – Brahma muhurat and an opportunity to reset their metabolism.

Image par Elias Schäfer de Pixabay

Flow with the Nature

However, if we review and re-tune our bodies to the natural biorhythm, we will ensure 100% prevention from all diseases and have a life full of vigor and vitality. Ayurvedic ritucharya (seasonal health regimen), dinacharya (daily health routine), and sadvritta (moral and social conduct) ensure a healthy body as well as mind.

Ayurveda defines the wrong food and lifestyle as the root cause of all diseases. The aim of Ayurveda underlines the importance of a healthy lifestyle. According to Acharya Charak the objective of Ayurveda is –


Preserve the health of the healthy |
Treat the ones who fall sick||

Compared to Ayurveda, modern preventive medicine depends mainly on health supplements. It is vague and lacks a precise and natural order of prevention. In fact, it has been only a few decades since modern medicine accepted the therapeutic importance of food or meditation.

Ayurveda is one of the oldest sciences to have an elaborate preventive system. Ayurveda defines the ideal food, cooking methods, and food habits. It defines daily lifestyle (Dinacharya), seasonal preventive lifestyle (Ritucharya), and overall prevention of all diseases by maintaining the homeostasis of the body in all kinds of external conditions (Sama Dosha).

Dinacharya

Dinacharya is the ideal daily routine, according to Ayurveda, that should be followed to maintain the health regularly. It constitutes the dos and don’ts for everything, right from brushing the teeth to ideal sleep habits. Dinacharya regimen of Ayurveda specifies even the wood(datun) that should be used for cleaning the teeth by the people of different body constitution or prakrati.

It underlines the importance of having an optimal amount of food at the right time and in the right way. It also mentions various other preventive measures like the use of Kajal (Kohl) for the daily prevention of eye diseases, the use of Ayurvedic nasal drops for the prevention of all the disorders in the head region. It stresses the benefits of the right exercise and sleeps patterns for everyone.

Our bodies are exposed to disease-causing factors every second. And therefore, we must actively prevent diseases 24X7. And Dinacharya makes this daunting task completely effortless! It provides a precise and comprehensive guide to complete health preservation. It is a complete code to prevent diseases daily.

Dinacharya also constitutes “Achar Rasayana,” a comprehensive guide to prevent all mental problems like stress, anxiety, etc. It is the ideal spiritual and social code of conduct that, if followed, can save us from various psychological and social problems.

Image par OpenClipart-Vectors de Pixabay

Ritucharya

Ritucharya is one of the most interesting Ayurvedic preventive systems. It is one of its kind as it deals with a preventive regimen for each season.

Seasons affect the body due to continuous changes in the external temperature and the environment. These seasonal changes disturb the physiological balance of the body and can cause severe disorders in the long run. Most of the problems in the body first reflect as seasonal disorders.

Ritucharya describes in detail the Ayurvedic concept of seasonal changes and their effects on body metabolism. It is the comprehensive ayurvedic preventive system that helps the body to adjust seamlessly to the changing external environment and prevent any metabolic disturbances.

Ritucharya constitutes the food habits, ideal food for each season, lifestyle changes to be incorporated with the seasonal changes, and so on. The most admirable aspect of Ritucharya is it’s a proactive approach. It makes the body immune to seasonal changes, instead of treating seasonal disorders!!!

Here are some interesting links related to ritucharya

Ritucharya

Effect of Ritu (seasons) on Dosha

Seasonal Ritucharya

Ritu Haritaki

Healthy Sleep Patterns for different seasons

Sexual Orientation During The Seasons

Asana for different seasons

Therefore, the one who will follow Ritucharya will never fall sick through the changing seasons and maintain a very high level of immunity. Ritucharya is the fountain of youth. The one who drinks from it will stay in the spring of health and youth always!!!

Unrestricted Metabolism


Ayurveda stresses the preservation of natural and unrestricted metabolism. It strictly prohibits artificial control of natural urges.

Animals live in an environment free from social bondage. And probably that’s why they stay free from diseases too. Esp. Wild animals do not have any access to medicines. Still, they usually remain healthy and live out their average lifespan, just because they do not exert unnatural control over their bodies.

However, humans lose a lot in the name of civilization and society. We tend to control our natural urges like thirst, hunger, urination, defecation, etc. very frequently. Due to social influence, we tend to control our natural urges forcefully and hinder the natural metabolic rhythm.

Ayurveda suggests that the body should be allowed the freedom of natural conduct. Most of us today have become insensitive to many of our natural urges like thirst, hunger. We might overlook thirst, hunger, or defecation if we are working or watching TV! This outrageous conduct daily impedes the brisk rate of metabolism and lowers immunity.

All classical Ayurvedic texts have a separate chapter elaborating on disorders resulting from unattended natural urges and their treatment. So, it’s a significant health issue.

Next time you are in an important meeting, don’t be sorry to sneeze or cough!

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Satvavjay


Satva means the mind, and the term satvavjay is the victory over the mind.

According to ancient Vedic wisdom, the body is nothing but a projection of the mind. If you are a “Matrix” fan, you would agree! And, therefore a sensitive, meditative, and balanced mind is the core of a healthy Ayurvedic lifestyle. It is a healthy mind that is unoccupied by external noise or clutter. A soul that listens to the body and let our social obligations, stress, fear, or anxiety take a back-seat, is the very foundation of perennial health.

Each set of human mind and body has its own dharma – swadharma. Hindus whisper “tvama vedosi” in the ears of a new-born child. It means – you are the infinite wisdom. You see, your soul, your body knows what’s best for you. And a meditative mind can help you to discover a distinct and utterly personalized approach to health. Therefore, connecting with the body through meditation is the ultimate cure to all worldly diseases.

Photo by Nandhu Kumar on Pexels.com

Jivem Shardah Shatam

The key of Ayurveda is balance! and with this key, Ayurvedic lifestyle can enable us to have a long, healthy, and fruitful life. Vedic Sutra “Jivem shardah shatam” means – let us live a hundred years(autumns). Ayurvedic preventive lifestyle, armed with healthy daily routine( Dinacharya), healthy seasonal routine (Ritucharya), ideal mental and social conduct ( Achar Rasayana), and other health habits, is the most comprehensive preventive system in the world.

Besides, these rules are simple and easy to follow. They can be readily observed by the sick and the healthy, the rich, and the poor alike. Ayurveda makes no distinction for imparting health to all. Let’s follow these age-old and time-tested tenets of Ayurveda and live a prosperous and healthful life.

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Concept of Nutrition In Ayurveda

According to modern science, nutrition of a food substance depends on its chemical composition. But according to Ayurveda, the way body responds to a particular food decides the nutrition that the food can provide to the body.

There are few factors that determine the nutrition of a food –

Bio-availability of the nutrition

In order to understand the concept of bio-availability in the light of Ayurveda, consider this example – If you have a rod of iron and a capsule of ferrous sulphate, the rod of iron will indisputably have more content of iron then the capsule. However, the body will not be able to absorb anything from the rod of iron or even the plain iron powder. The chemical presence of nutritious elements does not determine their bio-availability for the body. Therefore, even if there is lots of minerals and vitamins in a food substance, the body might never be able to absorb more than 50% of them. Let us take a baseline of a very popular health supplement – turmeric. Raw Turmeric is today available in in powder and capsulated form. Most of the people in Western countries are buying it as a health supplement. However, according to Ayurveda, raw turmeric should never be consumed as the body is not able to absorb its nutrition. Besides, it might produce toxins and derange dosha if not digested properly.  

The other dangerous concept creeps in along with the one above. Since the bio-availability of the nutrients is low , therefore more and more concentrated doses of nutrients should be consumed to ensure that we receive the optimal amount of all nutrition. However, consumption of such concentrated doses have a harsh and deteriorating effect on the body. Let us bring in turmeric in this context. Turmeric with higher curcumin(main bio-active ingredient in Turmeric) is available in the market. But it is not the natural form of turmeric. Ayurveda suggests that the food with unnatural qualities is dangerous for the body. Now, if the turmeric you are consuming is Genetically modified, then you must have a look at this video, otherwise you are on your road to cancer and a hoard of autoimmune disorders, because of a health supplement!  –

https://amzn.to/2SxaVl1

For more information on effects of genetically modified food, please refer to

Preparation of the Food

Another important factor in terms of bio-availability of nutrition is the processing of the food. For example, cooked tomato provides more nutrition than a raw tomato. In fact, raw tomato is more acidic in nature as compared to a cooked one. According to Ayurveda, cooking makes most of the foods’ nutrients more bio-available. Ayurveda considers that soups, teas and broths are far better than juices as juices are harder to digest as compared to the cooked preparations. Ayurveda advices a sick person to eat khichadi( rice lentil soup) rather than fresh fruits or anything raw. Therefore, we need to relook at our tradition of breaking a fast with a glass of orange juice!

Now in case of turmeric, raw turmeric is not good, roasted turmeric is better. But the best preparation that is good for all body types and can be consumed in larger quantities is Turmeric roasted in Ghee(Indian Butter). According to Ayurveda, turmeric is dry in nature. Therefore, when fried in ghee, it becomes unctuous, gets absorbed without any erosive effects on the intestines and spreads throughout the body. Ghee is supposed to be a “Yogavahi” or the carrier of the medicinal properties. It absorbs and preserves the medicinal properties of the herbs and helps to spread them across the body.  

Requirement of the body

One man’s food is another man’s poison. According to Ayurveda, each human body is different. There can be no general rule for all people regarding nutrition. Nutrition is a personal dharma of each body! Ayurveda classifies human body in to 3 primary types – vata, pitta and kapha. Each type has different requirements and reacts differently to external stimuli. (Ayurvedic Body Types) Now let us consider the example of alcohol. A glass of wine will not alter its composition according to its consumer. Yet different people have different physiological responses on alcohol consumption. According to Ayurveda, alcohol is very good for Kapha prakriti person as it warms up the body and stimulates the sluggish metabolism of the kapha body. But the amount of alcohol that can be good for a kapha person might cause a pitta prakriti person to pass out or cause inflammation or acidity. (Now we are not considering habitual drinkers in any of the examples!). Similarly, same amount of alcohol might cause bloating in a vata prakriti person. 

Extending the example of turmeric in this case, few mg of turmeric are good for consumption everyday. Indian dishes, esp. the curries are replete with the use of small quantities of turmeric. Turmeric adds taste, color and aroma to the dishes and also ensure consumption of optimal quantity of turmeric. A normal Indian meal with few tsps of turmeric provides the required amount for a normal healthy body. 

Turmeric is hot in temperament. Therefore a larger amount can be consumed in the winter season. This helps to prevent the seasonal cold and cough, esp in the children. Haridrakhand (Haridra- Turmeric) is the classical Ayurvedic health supplement, highly recommended in winter. It contains various other herbs along with turmeric. 1-2 tsp with warm milk before bed is a good dose for a great immunity. 

So again, nutrition is directly proportional to the requirements of an individual body. 

How much you need to eat!

Nutritious Amount

According to Ayurveda, “Ati sarvatra varjayeta”, meaning excess is prohibited everywhere. Here quality and quantity, both are important in terms of nutrition. Now turmeric is very nutritious for the body. But there is an optimal amount in which it bestows its natural benefits to the body.

However, if one were to consume huge amount of raw turmeric, it is sure to cause indigestion and bloating in the body. Generally small amount of roasted turmeric should be consumed as a health supplement.  

One of the modern myths regarding nutrition is regarding the protein intake.

Past few decades were full of promotion for protein intake.The markets are full of products that promise huge volumes of protein. But such huge amount of protein is not required at all by the human body. Looking at the nature, we find that the animals that consume a solely protein based diet normally have a shorter life-span as compared to the vegetarian animals.

Recent studies suggest that excess intake of protein can promote carcinogenic metabolism in the body.  The China Study is one. of the most extensive study of human nutrition that concludes vegetarian diet to be far superior to heavy protein based diet, in terms of cancer prevention.

Capacity to absorb the nutrition

This is actually the single governing rule for nutrition in a body. Nutrition is basically the useful substances that your body can actually extract from the food and not exactly the amount present inside the food. Let us consider the following example – what is the single most important factor in education of a child? We can say that good books, stationary, learning toys, good teachers, good learning environment etc. are important. But the single most important factor for learning in anyone is the willingness to learn. If a child is not willing to learn, then no one and nothing can teach him. Same goes for the nutrition in our bodies. 

Ayurvedic Lifestyle for Excellent Digestion

Food Combinations 

Good and bad food combinations are very important factor in Ayurvedic nutrition. You must have read about the drug to drug interactions. Drug to drug interaction means the way one drug reacts with another drug. This is an important factor as some drugs might get converted to toxins, decrease the absorption of the other drugs or interfere with their mode of action when present together. Ayurveda goes beyond drugs and talks about food to food interaction.

Viruddhaara or the contradictory/incompatible food combinations are elaborately mentioned in Ayurveda. For example – milk and curd, fish and milk etc. are some bad food combinations. Also, food to time interaction, for example – eating curd at night and food and incompatible health status combination like consumption of red meat by a weak person with weak digestion; are prohibited. Above are just a small example of the long list of incompatible and unhealthy combinations including various dimensions like food, growing method, cooking method, time of meal, eating process and so on.  

Here are some useful links for elaborate information –

Good Food and Bad Food According to Ayurveda – Food that should be consumed rarely I

Good Food and Bad Food According to Ayurveda – Food that should be consumed rarely II

Good Food and Bad Food According to Ayurveda – I : Food that should not be consumed

Keeping in mind that food cannot be cooked separately for all persons in a house, Acharya Charak describes the food quality that should be taken regularly for all seasons and all prakrati, along with food that should be used very rarely by all prakrati individuals. However, it is particularly important to refrain from the bad food even if you have to stay hungry, as it is said that one should not eat poison even if he has nothing left to eat!

chili lot
Photo by Artem Bali on Pexels.com

Food that should not be eaten regularly (occasionally, once or twice a year or for the medicinal purpose)

  • Dried Meat
  • Dried Vegetables
  • Lotus roots
  • Non-vegetarian diet for the weak

Dried Meat and Vegetables

It is very convenient and sometimes cheap to store dried meat or vegetables for easy use later. Many times people store dried vegetables to be used during the offseason. Dried or dehydrated meat/vegetables are now being frequently used in “Ready to cook” food. But such products should not be used every day.

The food should be consumed in its fresh or natural form as much as possible. According to my personal hypothesis, food that is naturally juicy, like most of the meat and vegetables, when consumed in dried form,  tends to absorb extra water from the intestines for getting into its original digestible form. It might swell in the intestines. If the adequate amount of moisture is not available, it might not be digested properly. Such food might create toxins due to incomplete digestion.

Dried Vegetables

Most of the vegetables that grow above the ground like cabbage, cauliflower, brinjal, beans, peas, bottle gourds,  etc. are dry in nature and they cause Vata imbalance(dryness in the body) when consumed without hot spices/oil etc. Also, most of the green leafy vegetables are heavy, dry and have a tendency to cause bloating (esp during the rains) if not cooked along with proper spices. When these vegetables are used in the dried form, the dryness produced in the body is multifold. Besides, it can seriously derail the digestive system. This is true for almost all the vegetables.

Therefore, if you have the option of using dried red chilies for the fresh green ones, please choose the fresh green chillis. Dried methi leaves, normally used as a flavor enhancing agent in Indian cooking, also should be used once in a while.

close up cooking cuisine delicious
Photo by Oscar Mikols on Pexels.com

Meat, esp pork is supposed to be extremely heavy in nature and can cause severe digestive problems (Vata derangement) if consumed in the dried form. Beef is recommended only in diseased conditions, not otherwise. Most of the meat is heavy to digest. Dehydrated meat is harder to digest and can cause severe Vata vitiation in the body.

It is said that such food takes a long time to get digested and after digestion does not fuel the digestive fire, instead leaves it weakened. Therefore such food is classified as Dhatupradushak or contaminator of the metabolism/tissue systems. In order to understand this concept, let us take the example of throwing sand on the fire. The sand does not get burnt but brings down the intensity of the fire. It might even extinguish a weak fire!

Ideally, we should stop using the packaged ready to cook masalas which contain dried vegetables like onion, garlic, or dried chicken pieces.

dosakaya-pickle-recipe.jpgInstead, meat or vegetables stored in pickled form are oiled, tender and better option for easy cooking than the dried ones.

However, dried meat and vegetables, even when used rarely, should be cooked in water/moisture/oil in order to make them soft and easily digestible. They should be served hot in order to stimulate the digestion. Digestive herbs like ginger, black pepper, asafoetida, cumin etc. should be used to make them easy to digest and absorb.

ginger-1191945_960_720That reminds me about dried ginger powder! There are some exceptions to everything. Dried root vegetables like potato chips can be kept for long duration and consumed after frying. The use of water or oil for proper cooking is indispensable. Still, a fresh potato is a 1000 times better than the dried potato. The dried ginger powder is an Ayurvedic medicine, easy to digest and produces heat in the body and therefore is not a bad food choice. Pumpkin in dried form is not damaging to health, therefore Vadi(a dried Indian curry material) made by sun-drying the chunks of pumpkin paste and spices, are not harmful.

Also, this concept is not applicable to the medicinal herbs(aushadhi) like Ashwagandha to coriander seeds. They can be stored in the dried powdered form of at least one year. However, their other preparations like jam (chavanprash), tablets, alcohols are more useful and have a longer shelf life.

Dried meat and vegetables are not great everyday food, but they might be used for medicinal purposes, as according to Ayurveda, everything in the universe can be used as a medicine. For example, dried radish soup is used to relieve severe bronchitis.

Considering all the health dimensions of dried vegetables and meat, it is best to avoid most of the dried vegetables and meat, unless prescribed by a trained physician.

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Lotus Roots

Lotus roots are considered to be very heavy and not digestible in the human system. Therefore they should not be consumed at all.

chicken close up dish food
Photo by Public Domain Pictures on Pexels.com

Non-vegetarian diet for the weak

Normally a person who is weak and thin is advised to consume a non-vegetarian diet, as according to Ayurveda also, flesh is the best diet to increase flesh. However, a weak person with a bad digestion should never consume non-vegetarian diet, as it can seriously hamper his digestion capacity. Ideally, according to the Ayurvedic procedure of weight gain, a very weak person should improve his digestion and health primarily on a vegetarian diet and digestive medicines. After that, he should gradually move to a non-vegetarian diet. A non-vegetarian diet for a weak person with retarded digestion is like a college assignment for a school kid. The chances of successful completion are almost nil. Besides, such a diet will cause further retardation of the already weak digestion.

The central idea of the above guidelines is to preserve the digestion. Digestion is the fuels the life-force in the body and anything that hampers digestion should be avoided at all cost.

 

Know thy food – Basic Ayurvedic Classification of Food

According to Ayurveda, the one who eats healthy food will never need any medicine; and the one who eats unhealthy food will never benefit from any medicine. Therefore it is important to know thy food!

According to Ayurveda, every edible substance on earth has 3 properties –

Doshashamak (Pacifier of Dosha)- It balances the dosha (physiological systems of the body). Herbs like turmeric, ginger, black pepper can be classified as Doshashamak. Turmeric balances Kapha and Pitta, ginger and black pepper balances Vata and Kapha.

assorted spices near white ceramic bowls
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Dhatupradushak( Contaminator of Dhatu)- It contaminates the vital tissue systems. Ayurveda believes that the diseases can occur only when there is a suitable environment for their incubation inside the body system. A contaminated dhatu is the ignorant king who unsuspectingly allows the trojan horse of diseases inside the body. It is like the traitor of Sparta who gave away the strategic secrets and led to the defeat of his kingdom. Therefore, all diseases have roots inside the body and these roots are formed by the Dhatupradushak food and lifestyle habits we practice.

Onion can be considered as an example of Dhatupradushak, as it is Guru (heavy to digest). Anything that is heavy to digest is taxing for the digestive system to absorb. It has a hot temperament and helps to balance Vata. However, it is heavy, sweet in taste, and unctuous. Therefore, onion has a tendency to vitiate Kapha Dosha. Onion is also sharp in action and has bitter as its secondary taste. Therefore, it can vitiate pitta dosha by disturbing the physiological processes.

red brown white and purple onions and garlic displayed
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Swasthyahitkarak(Beneficial for Health) – It is the substance that is indisputably good for health. It is important to note that all Ayurvedic guidelines should be considered in a context. Sutra is the system that provides a comprehensive context for all rules. Ghee, Honey, rice, moong dal are some of the swasthyahitkarak foods, that cause almost no harm to the body in the widest range of situations.

spoon honey jar glass
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Now, there is no physical substance that when taken in any quantity, any time and in any manner will be incontestably good for health. For example, rice is considered good for health and according to Ayurveda, one should have it every day. But uncooked rice is disastrous if consumed, an excessive amount of cooked rice is not good, polished rice is unhealthy etc. Therefore, there is a context where a substance is doshashamak, dhatupradoshak or Swasthyahitkarak. This is the broad view.

Now for practical purposes, how can we classify day to day objects in these 3 categories? Well, we can do that in the same way as we classify the solid, liquid and gas. Everything that exists on this earth can acquire any of the 3 states of physical existence, in specific conditions. For example, oxygen is a gas in normal circumstances. However, it can be transformed to liquid when compressed, or even solid. But still, for all practical purposes, it is classified as a gas, because that is its natural form of existence. In the same way, even arsenic can be good for the body. It is actually used in many of the Rasa Shastra medicines. But, for all practical purposes, it is classified as a toxin. Because it has a natural toxic effect on the body. Similarly, haritaki (Terminelia chebula) is extolled to be as benevolent as a mother towards the stomach but it is not supposed to be consumed more than a specific period of time. Still, for all practical purposes, it is a swasthyahitkarak herb.

food-dessert-sweet-color.jpg
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Besides, it is important to note that each human body is different. What is good for one person might not be good for the other. For example, eating curd might be good for a person with good digestion, but buttermilk is better for a person with weak digestion. But this classification is still applicable for everyone. For example, as swasthyahitkarak substance, Ghee is invariably good for all humans, (pure and natural) milk is nourishing for all children. Similarly, too much acid like vinegar is dhatupradushak for all people. And Amla is pitta doshashamak for everyone.

Therefore, irrespective of the body type, this classification is the basis on which we can choose the food that we should eat or the food that we should avoid, in general.

  • Swasthyahitkarak food items should be consumed every day.
  • Doshashamak food items should be consumed according to requirement.
  • Dhatupradushak food items should be consumed rarely or not at all.

If we follow these plain and simple rules of eating, we will never fall sick.

The most interesting thing about substance(dravya) as described in Ayurveda is Kal (time), Disha(dimension), Mana(mind) and Atma (soul) are classified as substances. Therefore the above 3 classifications are applicable to the lifestyle and the thought process also.

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Healthy recipes you must have this rainy season! : Part 1

During summer, body is in cooling mode. Suddenly, with the start of rains the external environment becomes cooler. But the body systems have their own intertia of momentum. They take their time to change and adjust to the external environment. The time taken to adjust to the new conditions is a ripe time for seasonal disorders. This causes Vata Dosha to becomes vitiated in Rainy season. For more details on effect of seasonal changes on dosha, please follow the below link :

Vata Dosha in rainy season

The physiological shock that body receives cause seasonal joint pain, flu, body ache and a hoard of other diseases. Change in food habits and lifestyle can help prevent seasonal physiological shock to the body. This systematic change in food and lifestyle is called Ritucharya.

Ritucharya

Sandhikal

Brief Ritucharya for 6 seasons

 
The food in rainy season should be vatahar or contrary to vata Dosha. I this post, I have covered two great vata reducing ingredients – Ajwain (Ajowan caraway, bishop’s weed or carom) and Methi dana (fenugreek seeds).

Ajwain

Ajwain balances vata and kapha. It increases pitta. It is an excellent spice to ease digestion, eliminate gastric trouble and bloating . It has anti spam, germicidal, antiseptic and antipyretic properties. It is a good body cleanser and helps detoxification of blood and liver.

Methi dana

Methi dana or fenugreek seed is kapha and vata balancing spice. It is known for its blood purifying effect. It also has excellent effect on heart, lower blood cholesterol and blood sugar. It is a great digestive and prevents acid reflux (heart burn) or gas trouble. It has antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti diabetic and anticancer effects. It helps relieve body pain, muscular cramps and menstrual problems.
 
Find below links of delicious based on these 2 ingredients.

Proscribed

Following vata enhancing food should be avoided during rains.

  • Cauliflower
  • Cabbage
  • Brinjal
  • Green vegetables
  • Green peas
One should use good amount of asafoetida, ginger, garlic, methi, ajwain, mustard oil, ghee, garam masala ingredients ( tejpatta, tejphol, etc.) if using the above vegetables.
 
Following acidic food items should be minimized in diet to avoid joint pain, body pain etc.
  • Tamarind
  • Vinegar
  • Acidic items
  • Chinese food