Right combination of foods according to Ayurveda has great importance for metabolism, digestion and health in general.
The World Health Organization recognized the efficacy of Ayurveda in 1977th, and West has opened its door to this discipline. There are clinics and universities in Germany, UK, Switzerland, Finland, the US, Canada, Brazil, Russia and China. It is the oldest science of life and health, which includes the use of herbs, massage and detoxification. It is also the science about nutrition.
How to use food to preserve health, prevent many diseases and strengthen the body’s resistance? The answer to this question, which now ask more people, is to choose healthy foods. But that’s not all! It is not enough just to choose healthy foods, but combine them properly. However, Ayurveda has a completely different approach to combining groceries. Consideration is given to originally taste of foods and taste of foods after digestion.
COMBINATIONS THAT YOU SHOULD AVOID
Milk is the worst combined with bananas and eggs. Not recommended with fish, meat, watermelon, cantaloupe, and cherries. Heat-treated honey is considered toxic by Ayurveda.
Eggs in combination with fruit, cheese, fish, meat, yogurt.
Lemon does not combine with milk and cucumbers.
Legumes with fruit, cheese, milk, meat, and yogurt.
In Ayurveda, food plays a major role in maintaining good health; therefore is considered as a medicine. Diet is based on creating a balance of taste, aroma, color, texture and temperature. The ideal structure of the organism you can achieve with diet in which is established harmony of the main flavors. Each of flavors have a different therapeutic effect.
Sweet: The sweet taste stimulates the secretion of body fluids, improves digestion, strengthens immunity, and nourishes cells, skin, hair and joints.
Sour: Sour taste stimulates the digestive process, purifies the body and improves heart function. However, excessive consumption of acid affects the occurrence of gastritis and ulcers and can encourage different types of skin diseases, hemorrhoids and visual disturbances.
Salty: Salty cleans the body, stimulates the removal of toxins, improves appetite, improves digestion and stimulates the metabolism. Excess salt can cause skin problems, inflammation, and cardiovascular diseases.
Bitter: The bitter taste stimulates weight loss and cleanses the blood.
Hot: hot taste stimulates appetite, improves digestion, helps weight loss; cleanses the blood and acts against parasites. Too hot can cause nausea, fatigue, dizziness, thirst and inflammation of the stomach mucosa.
RIGHT ORDER OF FOODS DURING THE MEAL
Ayurveda considers very important the right sequence of foods during meal. Although it may seem unusual to us, the meal should start with sweet taste, for example, fresh fruit and pastries. The sweet taste stimulates secretion of saliva in our mouth and digestive juices in the stomach, which improves digestion. In addition, the sweet is difficult digestible, so the body responds immediately by activating the ‘Agni’, fire of digestion.
If you eat the soup first, then a heavier foods, you send to the body information that food is easily digestible. So Agni is insufficiently activated. With roasted meat and heavier dishes that usually get their turn later, Agni is overstrained and act like choking. The body cannot fully digest the food and creates the ‘Ama’ – mucus. Direct effects include fatigue, swollen stomach or nausea after meals.
For right sequence Ayurveda recommends to start from the hard digestible foods towards easier to digest.
GOLDEN RULES OF AYURVEDA NUTRITION
- Water helps in digestion.
- Teaspoon of well chopped pickle daily stimulates appetite and digestion.
- Cold water should not be drunk during and after meals as it slows digestion.
- Small sips of lukewarm water during a meal helps digestion.
- Possibly eat with your fingers, because digestion starts with touching.
- Eat slowly and chew for a long time.
- A break between meals should be four hours.
- Eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables.
- Preferably avoid reheated food.
- Dinner should be light, for example, a glass of warm milk.
- Do not eat while you are under stress.
- Exercise improves digestion.
- Between meals you can drink fruit juices.
- Eat only when you’re hungry.
- Lunch should be the main meal because the digestion is strongest at that time.
- Breakfast and dinner should be light.
- Eat with your face to the east, north and west, not toward the south.
Very good Western theory of non-combining of carbohydrates and protein, protein and fats, fruits and other foods, sour fruits, is also justified in Ayurveda. Let food be your medicine!