eating the correct food
By strengthening the digestive system so that it absorbs the nutrients from what we eat
By regular elimination to rid the body of toxins
Each of us is said to have one or more of the three constitutions, called doshas:
Vata: Governed by air. If your constitution is Vata, you are lean, restless, and have dry skin.
Pitta: Governed by fire. If your constitution is Pitta, you anger easily, are frequently thirsty, and can suffer from acidity or heartburn.
Kapha: Governed by water. If your constitution is Kapha, you suffer from nasal or chest congestion, you’re heavily built, and you have a sluggish digestive system.
Ayurveda encourages people to eat the foods that suit their constitution and that keep their bodies and minds well and healthy. You’re probably aware of how you react to certain foods already. For example, I know that very spicy foods don’t agree with me — I get heartburn, so I’ve learned to steer clear of them.
Following eight easy rules of an Ayurvedic diet
Choose a combination of heavy and light foods. Processed and fried foods are examples of heavy foods. Vegetables and fruit are light. Ayurveda says that if you choose all heavy ingredients in a single meal, you may feel bloated and the food may take longer to digest.FINDING MORE INFORMATION ON YOGA AND MEDITATIONIf you’d like to incorporate more of Ayurveda into your lifestyle, beyond just diet, you’ll enjoy trying yoga and meditation. Never tried either before and not sure where to start? Here are some tips:Yoga: Yoga For Dummies, 3rd Edition, by Larry Payne and Georg Feuerstein (Wiley), is a great place to start. You can find yoga studios in big cities and small towns and everywhere in between, but if you’d like to try yoga from the comfort of your own home, one popular place to turn is Yoga with Adrienne on YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene. Adriene Mishler has yoga routines for all levels of yoga practitioners, and she has a gentle and encouraging tone.Meditation: Meditation For Dummies, 4th Edition, by Stephan Bodian (Wiley), explains how you can put meditation to practice in your life. If you’re looking for someone to guide you through meditation practices, a popular choice is Headspace (www.headspace.com), which you can use from the web or as an app on your smartphone.These are just a few resources — many more are out there. Find what works for you, and set aside what doesn’t.
Choose more cooked foods than raw. Raw foods are harder for the body to digest. In Indian cooking, raw salads are never the main meal; instead, they’re included in a meal to add a bit of flavor, texture, and color. Also, stir-frying foods keeps them lighter than deep-frying.
Pay attention to effect that various foods have on your body. Certain foods or food combinations can give you gas or constipation or cause improper digestion. Ayurveda suggests antidotes such as adding herbs and spices or limiting your portions.
Control the quantity of food you eat. Ayurveda says that eating large meals could put pressure on the digestive system. Eat smaller meals more frequently.
Eat seasonal and local. Foods are their best when they’re in season and fresh. They also taste better.
Eat when you’re hungry. Let a meal be properly digested before you eat again. This practice helps your body do its job properly. Boredom snacking, eating just because it’s lunchtime, or nibbling on something because everyone else is eating may cause you to overeat.
Don’t be distracted while eating. No eating in front of the TV or reading while you’re eating! According to Ayurveda, being distracted from eating means that we chew less and gulp our food more.
Go with your instinct. Don’t force yourself to eat what you don’t feel like eating. Your body and its needs are unique, so there’s no rule that you have to love a certain food just because everyone else around you does. As a chef, I’m surrounded by other chefs who love garlic is all its forms, but I don’t really love whole garlic. Indian cooking uses garlic in almost all savory dishes, but I prefer it pureed so that I don’t have to bite into it — that’s why all my recipes call for garlic paste rather than chunks of garlic!
Identifying the six tastes and sensations
Ayurveda recognizes six tastes and sensations, called rasa in Sanskrit:
Sweet: Sweet taste is also called neutral taste. It includes grains, dairy, some fruits, vegetables, and lentils. Sweet is not simply the taste of sugar or desserts — it’s said to make us feel good, and you’ll probably find that your favorite comfort food falls into the sweet category.
Sour: Sour taste includes all foods that are aged, ripened, fermented, or naturally acidic, such as citrus fruit, yogurt, and wine. Sour foods are said to help stimulate the appetite (thinking of something sour often makes the mouth water) and can be digestive aids. Eating too much sour food can lead to heartburn or acidity.
Salty: Salty taste, found in salt and sea plants, stimulates the flow of saliva and, thus, helps digestion. Too much salt can lead to inflammation or fluid retention and overwhelms all the other senses. If you accidentally put too much salt in your food, you’ll most likely notice just the salt. However, it’s also what brings a rounded, solid completeness to your food, like in the saying, “salt of the earth.”
Pungent: Pungent taste includes foods and spices that are spicy, hot, and sharp, such as chilies, garlic, ginger, black pepper, and cloves. Their warming quality stimulates the digestion, but too much of this taste could lead to heartburn, acidity, and irritability. The pungent flavor is experienced as an irritation of the tissues and nerve endings rather than receptors on the tongue. Pungency can help to dry excess moisture, so these ingredients often find their way into home remedies for cold (such as ginger tea).
Bitter: You’ve heard of “bitter medicine.” Bitter is considered a healing taste and is found in spices such as turmeric, in leafy vegetables, and in eggplant. Many cuisines try to get rid of bitterness in foods by salting them, but this taste is considered valuable in Indian cooking for its ability to cleanse the body. Eating too much of this taste is thought to bring feelings of anxiety, so be careful how much you eat!
Astringent: Astringent is the dry taste left in the mouth after a sip of black tea or dry white wine, when the inside of your mouth feels like it’s contracting. Just try biting into an unripe banana or pomegranate! According to Ayurveda, the astringent taste does have benefits and helps when there is excess fluid or swelling in the body.
An Indian meal should have a balance of the tastes so that it not only tastes good but also contributes to physical and
