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Our total physical, mental, and emotional health depend on a functioning digestive system. However, many people today experience bloating, gas, indigestion, and other gastrointestinal disorders and diseases.
According to Ayurveda, a compromised digestive system is the primary contributor to these complications. Science’s approach to aahar (diet) can be especially beneficial since it places a strong emphasis on preserving a healthy agni (digestive fire), which boosts immunity and rids the body of waste. This is accomplished by following an ideal diet that balances all three doshas (vata, pitta, and kafa) according to the individual’s constitution.
The three doshas are thought to be perfectly balanced in good health.
What exactly does “food combination” mean?
Experts in Ayurveda claim that a healthy agni governs how effectively you digest meals. The way we combine foods, though, is no less significant.
Each food is assigned a flavour (rasa), a heating or cooling energy (virya), and a post-digestive effect (vipaka) according to Ayurveda.
Combining two or three items with contrasting qualities in a single meal strains our digestive systems and may result in:
Bloating, gas production, emotional instability, ama (toxins) development, and buildup. Virudh aahar are these incompatible combos.
While others with comparable qualities are digested more quickly and ultimately strengthen the digestive system. Understanding what food pairings work together and what don’t is crucial.
Food and dosha
One of the three guiding principles of Ayurveda is food, or ahara. The effects of nutrition on health and wellbeing were extensively covered in the writings on Ayurveda written between 300 BC and 700 AD.
The Charaka Samhita, which is regarded as the most important work on the subject, provides descriptions of how foods are categorised according to their flavour, therapeutic effects, and other factors. In addition, there are a number of incompatibilities depending on tastes, processing, dose, time, site, etc., as well as food safety.
Doshas, according to Ayurveda, dictate what foods you should eat to keep your inner balance:
Foods that are warming, moist, and grounding are advised for Vata dosha; cooling, energising foods with less spices are preferred for Pitta dosha; and fruits, vegetables, and legumes are unquestionably best for Kapha dosha.
Before starting a diet, ayurvedic nutritionists suggest that you clarify a few issues pertaining to your unique constitution:
Knowing how much spice you can tolerate based on your dosha
Choose the right meal consistency for you.
Which vegetables are the ones that cause the imbalance?
Response to citrus fruit eating
protein ratio in terms of quantity
response to caffeine
Seasonal eating is essential to preserving equilibrium because the body’s dosha changes with the seasons. Depending on the season of the year, the same dietary item may have distinct effects on you. Therefore, it is advised to eat primarily foods that are in season. You will receive the proper nutrition balance based on your dosha through this practise.
Eating “seasonally” may be in vogue, but I don’t think it is in vogue for Ayurveda. We need cooling foods in the summer since the heat aggravates the pitta dosha. Following that, foods like rice, milk, ghee, sugar, grapes, and coconut water are advised.
Because of the dip in temperature during the colder months, people enjoy sweet, sour, and salty foods and beverages. Food should be oily, dry, spicy, and simple to digest. Rice, wheat, barley, and hot soups in cans are advised. In the winter, when the weather is chilly and dry, it is advised to eat more pie, which is a hot, sour, sweet, and salty cuisine.
Here are some further wise words from Ayurveda:
Food must be palatable, hot, of high quality, and simple to digest.
Eat slowly but not too quickly.
After the previous meal has been digested, only eat when you are truly hungry.
Every taste—sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and spicy—should be present in the diet every day.
Consume food that is suitable for your individual physical, mental, and emotional makeup.
Eat with your attention on the meal.
Eat while sitting down comfortably.
Eat in a comfortable setting with the proper utensils and food prepared to your preferences.
Given that they vary for each person, it is impossible to determine which dietary combinations in Ayurveda are the healthiest.
Therefore, it is imperative that you consume wholesome food combinations in a sufficient amount, at the proper time, precisely in the prescribed sequence, neither too quickly nor too slowly, and while taking into account your prakriti (individual characteristics) and digestive capacity. It will result in increased digestive fire and a healthy body and mind if you comprehend this correctly.
However, there are some Ayurvedic guidelines for food pairing that should be followed:
1. Avoid milk or cottage cheese with banana since it can cause toxins to accumulate. This combination can also produce colds and coughs, as well as exacerbate an asthma attack.
2. Both milk and melons have cooling properties, but milk is a laxative while melon is a diuretic. The combination of these two foods will upset your tummy.
3. Fruits should be taken as a snack, not blended with other fruits, because they produce acidic and indigestible liquids un the body when combined.
4. Milk, crystal sugar, and a little ghee are thought to be the most revitalising agents for people of all ages. However, diabetics, obese people, and people with high cholesterol should avoid this combination.
5. Avoiding the combination of milk and eggs, as well as too much sugar with saturated fat, can lead to a variety of immunological diseases.
6. Deep frying Toxic chemicals such as acrylamide, which has carcinogenic properties, can form in potatoes.
7. Consume honey fresh, never cooked, as it can become exceedingly harmful. When heated, its molecules transform into an inhomogeneous glue that emits poisons. At room temperature, honey should be incorporated into foods and beverages.
8. Never mix meat with milk since the former is hot and the latter is cold. This disturbs the digestive fire and causes poisons to be produced.
9. Do not combine lemon with cucumber, milk, tomatoes, or cottage cheese.
10. Instead of eating legumes with fruit, cheese, eggs, salmon, or milk, combine them with starchy foods such as rice to make the ultimate protein.
Reducing Virud Aahar’s impact
Although it is best to avoid virudh aahar and incompatible food combinations, it is natural to deviate from the rules at times. That is why experts recommend maintaining a strong digestive tract or working on it on a regular basis so that it can readily absorb random culinary experiments and incorrect meal pairings.
But how can this be accomplished?
Of course, with regular physical activity paired with a healthy lifestyle!
To aid digestion, make a homemade decoction of water, dried ginger, and coriander seeds, warm lemon water with a few drops of ginger juice, and a pinch of black pepper powder.
Alternatively, at the start of a meal, chew a small slice of ginger with salt.
Finally, Ayurveda recommends eating a diverse range of foods to maintain a balanced diet.
And don’t forget to sip warm water during the meal to aid digestion. This will not only aid in full absorption of the food, but will also provide complete pleasure to your body, mind, soul, and spirit!
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