My last post was about the energies in Ayurveda which we call “doshas.” 

Keep going, today we will get to nutrition.

There were three types of energy which were formed with the combination of two different elements; Vata (air and space (ether)), Pitta (fire and water), and Kapha (earth (soil) and water). I have talked about the basic features of these three and talked about what happens in case of imbalance of any of these. Let’s have a look at the suggestions of Ayurveda in general.

Modern Nutrition vs. Ayurvedic Nutrition

Ayurvedic nutritional principles are for everyone interested in increasing overall health by taking advantage of optimum digestion, healthy tissue formation, and general wellbeing. The healthiest ideal diet for all people is the anti-inflammatory diet that prevents possible inflammation in physiology. Ayurvedic nutrition is based upon these principles and provides a solution for every structure and symptom. 

There is a clear distinction between modern nutrition principles and Ayurvedic nutrition. Classic diet and nutrition programs in Western cuisine divide foods into protein, carbohydrate, fat, vitamin, and mineral classes rather than their taste and focus, especially calorie values. On the other hand, Ayurveda prioritizes the nature, preparation, flavor, size, and quality of foods. In addition to these, it also considers the body types of the people, the tendency of the digestive system to work, and the food combinations consumed with each other.

Six Taste Groups in Ayurveda

According to six taste groups in Ayurveda, foods are not classified according to carbohydrate, protein, and fat. One of the most important reasons for this is that every taste can have different effects than the tongue’s taste. It can have other effects after it is perceived in the tongue, then it is in the stomach, during the digestive process, and after metabolism. Each taste has to balance and unbalance effects according to our body type, the season we are in or the current disease, or various symptoms.

The sweet, salty, bitter, and sour flavors in Western cuisine can be seen in a wider range in Ayurvedic cooking because all these flavors are made up of different elements. These taste groups are; sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent tastes. 

Let’s make choices that often imbalance our dominant “dosha” and contain unsuitable flavors. That has a negative impact not only on the way our digestive system works but also on our physical energy capacity, emotions, and thoughts, productivity, and concentration.

What is Ayurveda suggesting? 

Everything we eat and drink has inevitable consequences for us physically, mentally, and spiritually. Our diet determines our behavior, mood, and orientation to violence. For example, when we eat unprocessed foods, grains, legumes, nuts, seasonal vegetables, and fruits, our mind becomes calm, and we feel physically and spiritually happier, more pure and energetic. When we drink or eat tea, coffee, sugar, and spicy foods, anxiety, obsessions, disquiet, and anger tend to increase. Alcohol, high-fat foods, fried foods, frozen, waited, processed foods, red meat, chicken-based diet drives us to fatigue, reluctance, inertia, and depression. Therefore, to find a balance in the diet, Ayurveda recommends a diet that is dominated by unprocessed foods, grains, legumes, nuts, and seasonal vegetables and fruits.

In the next blog post, I will tell you all about the routines that Ayurveda suggests.

Be mindful.. 

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