Food and Ayurveda

Food is life! By eating food, each of the five elements of nature affects our minds and bodies.

Ayurveda understands food to be made up of le five elements, and the unique combination of elements in food leads to the different properties of food and the concept of the six tastes.

The understanding of foods in Ayurveda is based on the six tastes, rather than carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, etc., as in modern nutrition. The body and mind remain improperly nourished without the six tastes in a daily diet. This can lead to an imbalance of doshas and improper functioning of Agni (the digestive fire), leading to toxins and disease. The larger proportion (there may be some exceptions) of our diet needs to be made up of sweet foods.

This doesn't mean foods such as sugar and chocolate, but rather foods like whole grains or what is known in Western nutrition as carbohydrates. The other tastes are to be consumed in roughly equal proportions.

At PurnaVeda, most patients are prescribed a similar diet despite differences in their vikriti (current dosha levels). It is a diet that has been carefully planned by Ayurveda physicians to balance most health conditions.

Some patients, however, are prescribed a special diet, which is determined by our Ayurveda practitioner, Annapurna..

During different seasons and in different geographical localities, different doshas are predominant, and nature, therefore, grows appropriate foods to create balanced health.

This is why Ayurveda recommends following a local and seasonal diet

Ayurveda recommends that we vary the types of food we incorporate into our diet based on season and locality. For example, during the hot season, Pitta is aggravated, so we are advised to reduce the sour, salty, and spicy foods. During the cold and dry season, Vata can become aggravated, so we are advised to reduce the amount of bitter, pungent, and astringent foods in our diet. In the wet season, Kapha can become aggravated, so we are advised to reduce the amount of sweet and sour foods in our diets.