Diet

In the last two blogs we have seen about roti, daal, sabji & rice. Moving on to other components of Indian platters in this blog we will discuss lentils, food timing, and Pathya, or the right way of consuming water.

Beans or lentils:

All lentils like Rajma, Chana, Chole, Matki, and Watana are advised to be eaten in lesser quantities or avoided if have bloating or gas issues. If you have been advised  to consume then  first roast it on the pan medium flame for a few minutes, then add asafoetida (hing), curry leaves, garlic, ginger, and coconut paste and pressure cook it and give simple tadka without having much masala.

Sprouts are advised to avoid totally as they are responsible for creating the imbalance in all three doshas. (Details will be seen in another blog or post on Instagram @ayurvidhi_clinic).

Timing for meal:

Ayurveda suggests eating your meal whenever you feel hungry it’s the right time to eat. But still for the sake of understanding as per the Ayurveda biological clock lunch should be done between 10.00 AM to 1.00 PM & dinner should be between 5 PM to 7 PM is the best time for your meal.

Instruction while eating food: Chew foods properly, have small bites, avoid discussion or talking, and use a mobile or TV while eating food.

These are some small changes that can improve your gut health and digestion.

Water:

Always try to consume water after boiling and cooling it. Consume water only whenever you feel thirsty, and try always to drink water while sitting by taking sip by sip.

Avoid drinking water immediately before and after meals. One can have a little amount of water while having a meal for good digestion of food.

Avoid drinking water directly from the fridge, to avoid gastric issues. One can have lukewarm water in the cold season. In the summer season one can cool water stored in earthen-wear pot.

In the next blog will see other components in diet. To be continued…

In the last blog, we have seen about what choice you have to make while having roti, daal & rice. In this blog, we will discuss what veggies to eat, as per the normal diet plan according to Ayurveda. Having the right sabzi is equally important in Indian meal as much as other ingredients.

Vegetables

The Vegetables which are in the form of fruits are mostly acceptable to eat regularly.  Vegetables like bottle gourd (lauki), pointed gourd or (parwal), ladyfinger, Ridge gourd (turai), Sponge gourd or Lauffa, Green pumpkin (tinda), white brinjal, cabbage, cauliflower, Red-pumpkin (kaddu); French beans are some vegetable widely accepted by the ayurvedic physician.

All vegetables are advised to make simple sabzi without a heavy load of masala and puree. The recipe is simple sauté the vegetables by adding ghee or cold-pressed oil, mustard, and cumin, add some ginger garlic paste, and washed chopped vegetables to it; then at last add some coriander seed powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder & some salt to taste & cook on low flame until it’s cooked well.

Vegetables like beans, drumsticks, broad beans, cluster beans, banana flowers, and bitter gourd are also appreciated in moderate proportion.

Leafy vegetables:

Amaranthus (both green and red) and chaulai, are preferred in the Ayurvedic diet. Palak, Methi & Dil (Shepu) are advised in proportion.

They are advised to make it simple. Just add freshly chopped any of the above veggies in a simple tadka of ghee/ oil, with mustard, cumin seeds, garlic cloves, and salt in it.

Especially people having any symptoms of acidity like burning in the stomach, acid refluxes, or other digestive issues are advised to avoid the above vegetables or consult your ayurvedic physician.

All the above-mentioned vegetables and greens are advised to eat on a regular basis. One can have them in various combinations and shuffle them to avoid the boredom of the same diet.

In the next blog, we will see other components of the diet. To be continued…

Ayurveda is a science of life. It has its own theory of treating diseases with basic herbal recommendations and diet, based on thousands of years of research. Ayurveda has a strong belief that diseases can be formed by eating an unhealthy diet or food and treated excellently with healthy wholesome food. As an ayurvedic practitioner, it’s my duty to aware patient about good healthy food them and rule out unhealthy food habits. In this blog series, we going to have a look at some basic rules that one can follow in their daily routine to keep their health on track.

Whenever we say one should focus on their diet people get curious about what to eat? What to not? What changes to make? Does it need any fancy veggies for it? And so on the list goes. In this blog, we are going to find out what a simple Ayurvedic diet will be generally prescribed by an Ayurvedic physician.

Chapati or Indian bread:

So let’s start with it. The first thing most important in every Indian house is chapatti or roti. A normal wheat roti or chapatti is preferred in a regular day-to-day diet.  But eating a fulka can help you get digesting it much easier.  If you are on the radar of diabetes then go for Jawar or Bajara roti (Bhakari in Marathi). These two grains are high in fiber and low in glycemic index. As per Ayurveda, they all are regular dietary foods to have; because they are good for your bone health, good for overall health, etc.

Rice:

On number two we have rice. There is too much debate on whether to eat or not to eat rice. But as per Ayurveda, rice is one of the important food items in the diet. But it has some ground rules while cooking and consuming. First thing first rice means local white rice it might be your coloum, jeera colum, basmati, HMT, kaali mooch, etc. whatever you like. It has to be unpolished rice, the second basic rule. It should be eaten at lunchtime and avoid eating at dinner. These basic rules can help you to get the rice benefits.

Daal & Pulses:

Number three Daal or Pulses or lentils. One can have Mong daal, Tur or Arhar daal in day to day lunch or dinner. The daal should be simply well-cocked and served with a good amount of ghee with it. The consistency of daal is to be liquid not to be thick. Avoid heavy tadka to daal to keep its nutrition. One can have a little tadka of ghee, mustard, cumin, or jeera; curry leaves, chopped garlic for taste. Avoid garam masala and other spices to avoid the acidity issues.

In the next blog, we will see another component of diet. To be continued…