Maya Ayurveda and Food

Ayurveda connects us with the cosmos by stating that everything is made of the Pañcabhūtās. This means that the food we eat are also made of these five existents. This fundamental understanding is strengthened even further in textbooks like Caraka Saṃhitā. It says that ‘we are made of food and the diseases too are formed from it’. This advice is kept in our minds as a golden mantra and here at MAYA AYURVEDA, our focus is not to give you a temporary feeling of wellness but to actually give you the power to retain your wellness. This is achieved by coupling personalized dietary advice with our unique Ayurveda therapies.

Ayurveda speaks the language of doṣās. Even in the case of food, the knowledge of how our doṣas are affected when a certain food is taken, forms the founding stone of Ayurveda dietetics. It is based on this understanding that our physicians advise a person of Vāta prakṛti to have Kapha increasing food or a Pitta prakṛti person to take less spices and so on..

The Six Tastes in Ayurveda

Ayurveda looks for five active principles in a substance while choosing it as an ingredient in a recipe or in a medicine. The five active principles are taste (rasa), attributes (guṇa), potency (vīrya), effect after digestion (vipāka) and special effect (prabhāva). But the way in which a substance is processed in cooking and in pharmaceutics may be different. In medicine making, the focus is to utilize this ingredient in such a way that the final product has the exact same potency as desired. But in food, the first priority is given to taste above anything else.

There are six tastes in Ayurveda and that too are defined in the terms of the pañcabhūtas and tridoṣas. Here are some details on them:

Sweet

Sweet taste is predominant in Earth and Water bhūtas. It is the most delectable among tastes. It has a tendency to stick to the mouth and give a sensation of coating. It energizes the body and delights the senses. Flies and ants get attracted to sweet taste. We too are acquainted to sweet taste right from birth.

Sweet taste nourishes the tissues and promotes its healing. It relieves trauma and exhaustion. It is life sustaining as well. Sweet taste is the most heavy and unctuous and cooling among tastes. It pacifies Pitta and Vāta. It is also anti-toxic.

Overuse of sweet taste aggravates kapha and fat. This may lead to conditions like obesity, digestive errors, diabetes, tumors etc.

Sour

Earth and Fire bhūtas mostly constitute the Sour taste. It has a cleansing action in the mouth. It tingles the teeth and gums making you flinch your eyes and get goose bumps.

Sour taste kindles digestion and aids in digesting metabolic toxins (āma). Sour taste can improve the appreciation of tastes. It is heating in potency but cold in touch. It is light yet nourishing and unctuous. It tends to increase Kapha and Pitta. It can also help in expelling blocked gases from the gut.

If taken in excess, sour taste may slacken the body and hamper vision. It may also show other complications due to high Pitta and Kapha like giddiness, itching, anemia, edema, skin rashes, excessive thirst and fever.

Salty

The predominant bhūtās in Salty taste are Water and Fire. Salty taste makes your mouth water as it gives a burning feeling to the cheeks and tongue.

Salty taste gives relief from obstructions, inertness and blockades. It increases digestion and perspiration. It is sharp and abrasive in action. Salty taste has also got a piercing nature to it. It is mildly unctuous too. It is also interesting to note that salty taste is more heating than pungent taste.

Excessive consumption may cause inflammatory swellings (rakta vāta). It damages hair and skin. Overuse of salt is directly related with premature graying and baldness. It also causes cellulitis and body weakness. Very high quantities of salt can even be toxic.

Bitter

Air and Space forms the Bitter taste. It cleanses the mouth but hinders the taste sensation.

Though bitter taste itself is not tasty, it improves the overall taste perception of the tongue. It helps to regain appetite and it destroys worms and toxins. It also alleviates thirst, skin diseases and burning sensation. Those who have troubles like fainting, fever or over secretion of mucus benefit from this taste. Bitter taste mitigates pitta and kapha. It dries up excess moisture, fat and wastes. It is the lightest among the six tastes. It is cooling and drying also. It promotes the intellect and makes breast milk pure and clears the throat.

Taking too much of bitter taste can lead to high Vāta increase leading to several diseases due to this humour. Too much of bitter can cause tissue depletion as well.

Pungent

Pungent taste is sometimes referred to as acrid or heating. It irritates and pricks the tongue. It will cause eyes and nose to water and insides of the cheeks to burn.

Pungent taste beats urticaria, skin diseases, diseases of the throat and edema. It dries up excess fat and mucus in the body. Pungent taste is appetizing and digestive. It cleanses the metabolic channels of the body and keeps it patent. Pungent taste brings down Kapha.

Excess of pungent taste can cause thirst, weakness and loss of libido and virility. In very high quantities, it may cause fainting, cramps, tremors and body aches.

Astringent

This taste can numb the tongue and constrict the throat.

Astringent taste purifies blood, breaks abscesses, and heals wounds. It arrests the formation of metabolic toxins (āma). It pacifies Pitta and Kapha. It is heavy, cooling and constipating. Being the most drying taste, it desiccates the moisture and fat and thereby causes dryness. However, it is a good cleanser of the skin.

Having too much of an astringent taste can cause stomach distress and pain in the heart. It may increase thirst, obstruct channels and cause constipation. Excess use of astringent taste may also diminish sexual strength.

The Ayurvedic Concept of Digestion

Ayurveda has this novel concept that food basically is a foreign body. The entire process of digestion is the attempt of our body to try to identify what it has received and take what is acceptable as nutrients and eliminate what is unacceptable or in excess as wastes.

As said earlier, Pitta represents the energy of transformation. Food too is transformed into nutrients and wastes by Pitta. That faction of Pitta which digests and transforms the food in the gut is called the jaṭharaagni or literally, the ‘Fire in the Stomach’. But digestion doesn’t stop there. There are five ‘bhūtāgnis’ of fires to transform the foreign bhūta into a form that can be identified in the body. There are seven ‘dhātvagnīs’ or ‘Tissue fires’ that utilize these nutrients to build and maintain the seven tissues of the body. It is a team work of these 13 fires within us that keeps us ticking.

As the ‘jaṭharāgni’ is the most important of them, all efforts in Ayurveda, both in treatment as well as in diet planning is to keep it healthy and strong. Because if this fire is improper, metabolic toxins produced (āma) will increase. Ayurveda considers this āma as the root of all metabolic illnesses. Even though we can manage āma by medicines and pañcakarma, the first principle in Ayurveda is to protect the health of the healthy, in which, protecting the bio-fire and prevention of āma from forming, are the core objectives.

At every point of our care, preservation of this ‘fire’ within you is our top priority, you will find our physicians enquiring about your appetite, bowel movements, hunger patterns and so on, even for seemingly unrelated conditions. This is part of assessing your bio-fire to ensure that it is kept optimal in all stages of treatment. Evaluating your prakṛti will also help in finding out your digestive trend. Based on this your gut may be

• harsh, disagreeable, or
• unpredictable (trends of Vāta) or
• very sensitive so much so that even taking milk may give you loose stools (as seen in Pitta nature) or
• it may be optimal (usually seen in kapha and balanced types)

The food regimen in Ayurveda is crafted keeping this in mind.

The Ayurvedic Dining Etiquette

Time

Time enjoys the status of ‘God’ in Ayurveda. Even when thinking of having food, the first factor to be considered is time. Our body tells us that it is time to have food by expressing hunger. So it is important to double check if you are really hungry to have food. Without hunger food may still get digested, but the chances of over-nourishment and formation of metabolic toxins (āmā) are more.

Time also implies the consideration of health status and external aspects. For example, having food while there is indigestion alone is a highway to disaster. External conditions too have a major play in our appetite. Even though these expressions are subtle, we need to be observant of them to make adjustments in our dining time and types of food to be had in each time of the day or each season.

Enough time has to be given for the process of eating as well. We should not take food in a hurry. Conversely, dining should not be prolonged as well.

Familiarity

Habit is what that makes us. From a very tender age, we are taught what is good for us and what is bad. With age and routine, these habits become part of our normal functioning. This is applicable to food too. We all have our habits when it comes to dining as well; the specific types of food especially. We may call it the staple food. But this concept of food ‘habit’ is relevant from an evolutionary point of view as well. Owing to all these factors we are accustomed to certain types of food. There are instances where people throw up the moment they keep a new and different kind of food in their mouths. It may not be because it is not edible. They may simply be not accustomed to its smell, taste or even colour. Like said earlier, the entire digestion is a process of converting a foreign body to something that our body can identify and assimilate. So, the more acceptable and friendly these foreign bodies are, the better is our digestion. Unfamiliar foods may put additional load in our digestive capacity and nourishment.

Cleanliness

Yes. Cleanliness is next to Godliness. But when it comes to food, cleanliness is nothing less of Godliness itself. Ayurveda gives utmost importance to keeping clean. This is considered as a ‘satva’ trait. There are plenty of physical factors that we need to ensure to make clean food. Selecting the ingredients is pivotal. Using clean and safe materials for cooking matters too. Even if the food is most clean, serving it in an unclean plate kills the very purpose. Clean hands and body adds to this cleanliness mantra. There are specific instructions to be bathed or wash hands, feet and mouth every time before a meal. Besides, Ayurveda considers food that is polluted, reheated, made with inferior quality ingredients, too spicy or hot and without salt added as something to be avoided.

Mindful Eating

The mind is crucial in all our actions. Ayurveda emphasises the importance of mindful eating. Always keep in mind that cleanliness starts in our consciousness. It is most essential to keep a clear mind and pure heart not just while preparing but also while having food. This is why cooking or dining is preceded with a prayer. Ayurveda suggests some duties before having food. This starts by offering prayers to Gods and forefathers. Guests, young ones and dependants are served first. Special attention is given to whether the cattle, livestock and pets are fed before one has a meal for oneself. It is said that you should dine with friends or people whom you like to avoid any ill thoughts in the mind.

While seated for the meal, one should focus only on the food and its goodness. Do not hate the food that you are taking. Appreciating the nutrition and health brought by a good food itself is a good digestive. Since the focus has to be on food Ayurveda advises not to converse while having food. Additionally, it also helps in proper chewing and eliminates any chance of accidental gagging.

The Nature of Food

The nature of food should also comply with the nature of the person having it. In a general note, one should take food to balance our doṣas. As our prakṛti has this tendency to express the nature of the predominant doṣa, the diet must be planned in such a way that it should nullify or reduce the ill effects on predominant doṣa in oneself. For example, a person with predominant Vāta nature may be expressing traits like dry skin or lean body. Taking foods that aggravate Vāta, like dried, cold and bitter and pungent tasting items, will only make the skin more dry and the person leaner. So it is ideal for that person to include foods that are more unctuous, nourishing, warm and tasting more sweet and sour, in the diet.

In general, the main meals must be unctuous, warm, easy to digest and hydrating. All the six tastes should be present in the food. This is the Ayurvedic concept of a balanced meal or nutritionally optimised meal. However, it is said that the predominant taste should be sweet. This also is in concurrence with the modern dietary concept of keeping the main meal rich in carbohydrates.

Putting the concept of Ayurvedic diet and etiquette into practice needs expert guidance and practice. But first, it has to be conceptualized and customized based on the individual status of health and illness MAYA AYURVEDA is very diligent in mapping this. We give utmost importance to the proper diet plan as this alone can uplift your wellbeing by a great deal. We have dedicated experts who are well versed in Ayurvedic as well as modern dietetics so that we can combine the best of both worlds and offer the most accurate diet plan exclusive to you.