What Does Ayurveda Has To Do With The Food We Eat ?

by Lance Teo

Traditional system of Indian medicine.

It is attributed to Dhanvantari, the physician to the gods in Hindu mythology, who received it from Brahma. Its earliest concepts were set out in the portion of the Vedas known as the Atharvaveda (c. 2nd millennium BC). The most important Ayurvedic texts are the Caraka samhita and Susruta samhita (1st-4th century AD). These texts analyze the human body in terms of earth, water, fire, air, and ether as well as the three bodily humors (wind, bile, and phlegm). To prevent illness, Ayurvedic medicine emphasizes hygiene, exercise, herbal preparations, and yoga. To cure ailments, it relies on herbal medicines, physiotherapy, and diet. Ayurvedic medicine is still a popular form of health care in India, where it is taught in roughly 100 colleges, and it has gained popularity in the West as a form of alternative medicine.

Ayurvedic foods are often links to it healing power that have medical-health benefits, including prevention and treatment of disease. Yet choosing the right combination of foods has never been easy. Food has a powerful effect on the mind, emotions, physical and immune responses of the body. The effect of a particular food has on a person's depends on many factors, such as body mass, allergy etc.

The ayurvedic food system is base on a variety of rich fruit and vegetables (phytochemical). Other equally important foods are those that contain mineral, carbohydrates, protein and vitamins. Ayurvedic nutrition has always been based on the physiological, psychological and spiritual beliefs that in practice for a couple thousand of years. Using six tastes (sweet/sour/salty/pungent/bitter/astringent) to determine the right food for our body.

Sweet taste

Sweet taste food is considered the most nourishing. They pull valuable vitamins and minerals from the body that are needed to assimilate the sugars. Food that fell under these categories is whole grain cereal, breads, pasta, rice, seeds, nuts, freshwater fish and poultry. Many fruit and vegetable are also sweet as well. Eating something sweet satisfies our immediate hunger, it increase the energy level in our body and also has a calming effect. But excessive use of sweet food unbalances the cycle, and leads to obesity and diabetes.

Sour taste

Sour taste food that fell into these categories is buttermilk, sour cream, yogurt and cottage cheese. Most half ripe fruit are sour. Consumption of sour food increases your appetite, it also increase your saliva flow and digestive juices. Over eating sour food will render our body more prone to aches and cramps.

Salty Taste

Naturally salty food such as kelp, seaweed helps cleanse the body and tone the adrenal glands, kidneys, prostate and thyroid gland. It contains potassium, iodine that helps balance sodium. Process salt, which devoid of it natural balancing elements, it increased retention of fluids in the body, thus affecting the kidneys, and put pressure on the blood vessel and all organ system. Overall it cause toxin to be retain in the body.

Pungent Taste

Most people don't like this taste. Foods that are pungent include onion, brussels sprouts, horseradish, ginger, mustard, chili powder and rosemary. Pungent foods have high healing properties, it have the opposite effect from salty foods. It reduces the fluid content of tissues, improve breathing and improve concentrating power. Over consumption of pungent taste food will cause the body to be heaty, cause insomnia.

Bitter Taste

Bitter foods are normally associate will green leaf vegetable, tea. Bitter taste food aid digestion, increase metabolic rate.

Astringent Taste

Astringent taste is a sensation we no so fond of. Celery, cucumber, eggplant, lettuce, mushroom are astringent food. Fruit like apple, avocados, berries, grapes, pear and pomegranates are also astringent. Astringent Taste fruit are often associate with cleansing of body fluids, blood, lymph and sweat. It also prevent capillary leakage, helps heal skin and mucus membranes.

Foods have specific properties from the molecules they contain and this determines their effect on the body. Our innate wisdom guides us in selecting food and fruit that are best for our type. The best thing about knowing your food is that it will help you to overcome the tendency to grab what's most convenient and instead to stop and consider the impact a particular food will have on you.

What Does Ayurveda Has To Do With The Food We Eat ?

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