Ayurveda pronounced i-yer-vay-da is an ancient Indian system of holistic healthcare that is over 5000 years old. ‘Ayur’, means life, and ‘veda’, means knowledge, in Sanskrit. Ayurvedic practices focus on all aspects of health, including diet, lifestyle, detoxification, exercise, sleep and the mind.1 Ayurvedic foods are based on six tastes, hot and cold energy, and post-digestive effect at the cellular level.
Ayurveda originates from Hinduism/Buddhism and is coupled with yoga for a balanced way of life – though many of their beliefs conflict with that of Islam, there is some beneficial knowledge from their medicine that cannot be dismissed. Their belief is that we are created from five elements: earth, water, air, fire and space and these elements our part of our body, our health. These elements create three body constitutions (doshas): Vata (wind), Pitta (fire) and Kapha (water).
The dosha is the ayurvedic term that describes our inherited traits, individual characteristics, and tendencies. This refers to such things as body frame (bone structure), eye colour, digestive capacity, emotional balance as well as disease tendencies. We often refer to these things as genetics but some are acquired from our diet, climate and living conditions. The body’s constitution is determined at birth but can become imbalanced through the accumulation of toxins in the body that it has not rid itself of through stool, urine and sweat. The ayurvedic belief is that this is the cause of most disease.2
Foods are categorized into six tastes: sweet, salty, sour, astringent, pungent and bitter. All six foods should be part of each meal to achieve optimal balance.
- Sweet – Grains, bread, rice, starchy vegetables, dairy, meat, fish, sugar, honey, etc. (essentially, all proteins, carbs and fats)
- Salty – Table salt, himalayan salt, soy sauce, etc. (mineral salts)
- Sour – Citrus fruits, salad dressings, vinegar, tomatoes, berries, pickles (ascorbic acid, citric acid, acetic acid)
- Astringent – Green apples, tea, lentils, dried beans etc (tannins)
- Pungent – Peppers, chilies, onions, garlic, ginger, cloves, mustard (essential oils)
- Bitter – Green leafy vegetables, celery, broccoli, beets (alkaloids or glycosides)3
A secondary category for food is the distinction between hot and cold thermal energies and its effect on our metabolism. Hot foods (not hot as in temperature, but hot as in its thermogenic effect on the body) warm the body, and cold foods cool it. Pungent, sour and salty foods are all hot whereas astringent, bitter and sweet foods are cooling.
Our metabolism is known as our digestive fire (agni in Ayurveda) and this fire needs to be balanced in order to properly process food and eliminate waste. If the digestive fire is weak, due to too much cold food, then Ama (toxic accumulation) builds up in the body. If the digestive fire is too hot, then food quickly passes through the system without enough nutrient absorption. If the digestive fire is imbalanced, it leads to an imbalance of the function of the organs, blood and lymph system etc, which is the root cause of most illnesses and diseases.
Basic things to remember:
- There are three body constitutions
- Six tastes and hot/cold thermal energies of foods..
- Digestive fire (metabolism) is crucial for vital health.
- Toxic accumulation/improper absorption due to imbalance leads to disease.
Ayurveda is still practiced today and it’s making an entry into North American wellness culture.
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1 Eat, Taste, Heal – An Ayurvedic Guidebook and Cookbook for Modern Living, Yarema-Rhoda-Brannigan
2 Ayurvedic Medicine – Sebastian Pole
3 http://www.chopra.com/the-six-tastes