Ayurveda Diet

Ayurveda is an Indian traditional medical treatment that has been used for thousands of years. Its part of the treatment to follow a Ayurveda diet which is believed that through self checks of body types can help re-build the body balance. The Ayurvedic diet takes into consideration a person's age, gender, constitution, called doshas. Ayurvedic diet aims to balance each person¡¯s dosha by emphasizing foods that complements every dosha quality. There are three doshas namely, vata, pitta and kapha.

Here are the descriptions of each doshas.

Vata is describes as energy that controls bodily functions associated with motion, including blood circulation, breathing, blinking, and heartbeat. When vata energy is balanced, there is creativity and vitality. In the contrary, when out of balance, vata produces fear and anxiety. This dosha is classifies as cold, dry, light, hard and rough.

Vata diet foods should be moist, heavy, soft and oily. They should also be sweet, sour and salty. Some of the examples are ghee, dairy products, wheat, rice, bananas, etc. Vegetables should include beetroot, carrot, green beans, okra, onions, garlic, etc. Fruits that should be had are bananas, coconut, mangoes, etc. Grains include wheat, rice and oats. The foods that should be avoided are raw vegetables, frozen food, alcohol, sugar, tea, cabbage, potatoes, etc.

Pitta is the energy that controls the body's metabolic systems, including digestion, absorption, nutrition, and temperature. When pitta is in balance it leads to contentment and intelligence. Otherwise, pitta can cause ulcers and arouse anger. Its qualities are hot, sharp, oily and light. The balancing foods are those that are cool, dry, heavy and mildly sweet. Milk, rice, beans, cooked vegetables and fruits are included in Pitta diet. Vegetables of almost all varieties can be had and so are fruits. Rice, wheat, oats and barley are good grains. The food that should be avoided is spicy and oiled foods like curries. Garlic, ginger, onion, etc should be kept at be taken moderately. Alcohol, pickles, coffee, fried foods, curd, mustard oil will aggravate the dosha. The vegetables which should not be included are eggplant, carrot, beets, tomatoes, etc and fruits like bananas, grapes, apricot, etc are best avoided.

Kapha is the energy that controls growth in the body. It supplies water to all body parts, moisturizes the skin, and maintains the immune system. When in balance, kapha is expressed as love and forgiveness. When out of balance, kapha leads to insecurity and envy.

Anyone can be a mix of all three characteristics but if any one or two are dominant this will cause the body to lose its balance. This imbalance can be caused by things such as stress, the weather and diet. Kapha diet contains honey-sweetened foods, dry fruits such as apples and cranberries, buckwheat, barley, rye, reduced-fat milk, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, beans, and most herbs and spices. This kapha diet limits consumption of oily, high-fat foods, cultured dairy products, excess salt and soybeans.

According to Ayurveda, there are five elements of space which includes: air, earth, fire, water and those things that make up everything in the universe including the human body which are related to the human¡¯s life. If air and space were the predominant energies present during your birth then you are Vata in nature, if water and earth were predominant, you are Kapha and if fire and water were predominant then you are Pitta. The qualities are cold, heavy, liquid and unctuous.

Person observing Ayurveda diet is advised to intake food in smaller amounts. Warm light food should be had which is cooked without using much water. Butter, oil sugar should not be used. Spices like ginger, turmeric and chili are good for such people. Almost all vegetables can be had and if you are suffering from diseases such as congestion, asthma, obesity, etc, all sweet and juicy vegetables should not be had. Consuming dairy products and sweet and juicy fruits can aggravate the problem.

If you can identify your dosha, you can then follow the Ayurveda diet and lifestyle most suitable for you.

Ayurveda Treatment