Food is for living, for relishing, and for healing....just don't consider one dimension of it and feel either depressed or euphoric about it.
What we eat?
Eat Fresh - Local fruits and vegetables, i.e. anything that grows within 50 km, are suitable for our bodies. Nature decides what is good for our bodies based on the climate and the same is grown in that climate. For example, wheat is grown in Northern India, which is relatively colder than Central or Southern India, where Jawar is popular. Wheat keeps the body warm while Jawar keeps the body cool.
Or anything your family is used to for years. For example, an Indian eating Indian food/spices in North America is perfectly fine, as their genes are used to digesting the food. But local food must be used as a part of the diet to balance the body with the local climate.
Only fresh fruits (after cleaning and removing the pesticide residues, if any) are suitable for consumption.
Vegetables must be consumed in semi-cooked or fully cooked form. Raw vegetable are difficult to digest. However, vegetable juice is good enough to consume during mid-morning or late evening. But avoid fruits juice, as it is loaded with calories.
Body Constitution - Eat what suits your body, depending on your body frame (small, medium, or large) and the genes that you carry. If you are from Kerala, you can eat coconut oil, as your body is carrying a gene that is used to it for generations. That should be fine. Individuals may have different body types (vata, kapha, pitta) and they can select food depending on what suits the body.
Profession: Eat food based on your profession, as every profession needs different calories, depending on the physical or mental activities involved in their daily professional life. Foods such as okra and ghee are suitable for intellectual work and foods such as chana, lentils, and other form of protein are more for manual jobs. However, all the food grown locally must be consumed in moderate form as everybody needs proteins and other nutrition in a moderate quantity that will help to cover the deficiency.
Combination of Foods - Every food has unique properties and Ph value. Eat what is compatible with other food; for example, avoid milk and sour food or fruits.
When you should eat?
Quality and quantity are both important in deciding what to eat. Decide how much quantity you need depending on your lifestyle and body.
The right quantity of food is considered what keeps you full for 3-4 hours. If you are hungry within 3 hours, you have eaten less than required. If you are NOT hungry after 4 hours of eating your meal, you have overeaten. Light food such as juice, fruits, or snacks may make you feel hungry faster in comparison to dal/lentils or meat with rice/chapatti. This will tell you exactly how much your body needs, as everybody has different needs.
However, ensure you are hungry and that is a sign that your previous meal has been digested. Do not mistake thirst for hunger. Therefore, take a glass of water 30 minutes before your meal to activate your digestive juices and to determine if you are hungry.
Set a Routine - Create a schedule for your meal, so that your body gets used to expecting food at that time. It is healthy and healing when you eat at fixed timings. Lunch could be an exception once in a while, but breakfast and dinner must have fixed times. It should become a natural cycle. You can start with 8 a.m. and end with 8 p.m. If you feel hungry after 8 p.m., you may take a light snack, such as yogurt or milk or fruits after 8 p.m.
Food Type: Every food, such as oil, sweetness, spice, carbohydrate, and savory is necessary for the body in moderate quantity. Everybody must eat all these tastes - it makes you feel satisfied and content.
After sunset, avoid solid food except fruits.
If possible, office-going people can try to take a light dinner at 5 before leaving the office and eat light snacks or fruits or milk after 7 anytime.
How to eat food?
Follow the 5 Ps rule.
Positive: Prayers are a good way to start the meal, as they generate positive thoughts and environment for the meal. They also convey the gratitude of having food and good life.
Peace: Eat peacefully, otherwise the negative thoughts will impact on digestion and absorption of the food.
Pace: Eat slow and steady. The average meal should take 20-30 minutes. The brain take 15-20 minutes to register the food in the stomach in terms of quantity - full or not full.
Prepare your 5 senses: When you spend a few seconds around your food, you will enjoy the aroma and sight that activates your hunger pangs. Spend those precious seconds before you eat your food. Eat with your hand (touching the food) and it also tells you the temperature of the food, connects your mind and body to present a state for coordination, and gives you a sense of positive feeling before you consume it.
Position: Please sit down in comfortable position without TV, phone, or any other form of distractions.
At the end, the most important factor is to avoid drinking water during the meal. You can take water 30 minutes before the meal or it will either wash away your gastric juices that are required for digestion or 30 minutes after the meal or else it will reduce the digestive power.
#ayurveda, #meal, #food, #breakfast, #dinner, #lunch, #happiness, #healing, #living, #howtoeat, #whentoeatfood #whattoeat #hinduism, #sandhyajane,
What we eat?
Eat Fresh - Local fruits and vegetables, i.e. anything that grows within 50 km, are suitable for our bodies. Nature decides what is good for our bodies based on the climate and the same is grown in that climate. For example, wheat is grown in Northern India, which is relatively colder than Central or Southern India, where Jawar is popular. Wheat keeps the body warm while Jawar keeps the body cool.
 |
| Eat Local - Bali Lunch during Bali trip |
Only fresh fruits (after cleaning and removing the pesticide residues, if any) are suitable for consumption.
Vegetables must be consumed in semi-cooked or fully cooked form. Raw vegetable are difficult to digest. However, vegetable juice is good enough to consume during mid-morning or late evening. But avoid fruits juice, as it is loaded with calories.
Body Constitution - Eat what suits your body, depending on your body frame (small, medium, or large) and the genes that you carry. If you are from Kerala, you can eat coconut oil, as your body is carrying a gene that is used to it for generations. That should be fine. Individuals may have different body types (vata, kapha, pitta) and they can select food depending on what suits the body.
Profession: Eat food based on your profession, as every profession needs different calories, depending on the physical or mental activities involved in their daily professional life. Foods such as okra and ghee are suitable for intellectual work and foods such as chana, lentils, and other form of protein are more for manual jobs. However, all the food grown locally must be consumed in moderate form as everybody needs proteins and other nutrition in a moderate quantity that will help to cover the deficiency.
 |
| Eating light |
Combination of Foods - Every food has unique properties and Ph value. Eat what is compatible with other food; for example, avoid milk and sour food or fruits.
When you should eat?
Quality and quantity are both important in deciding what to eat. Decide how much quantity you need depending on your lifestyle and body.
The right quantity of food is considered what keeps you full for 3-4 hours. If you are hungry within 3 hours, you have eaten less than required. If you are NOT hungry after 4 hours of eating your meal, you have overeaten. Light food such as juice, fruits, or snacks may make you feel hungry faster in comparison to dal/lentils or meat with rice/chapatti. This will tell you exactly how much your body needs, as everybody has different needs.
However, ensure you are hungry and that is a sign that your previous meal has been digested. Do not mistake thirst for hunger. Therefore, take a glass of water 30 minutes before your meal to activate your digestive juices and to determine if you are hungry.
 |
| Light Dinner at Wild Fire, Hong Kong |
Set a Routine - Create a schedule for your meal, so that your body gets used to expecting food at that time. It is healthy and healing when you eat at fixed timings. Lunch could be an exception once in a while, but breakfast and dinner must have fixed times. It should become a natural cycle. You can start with 8 a.m. and end with 8 p.m. If you feel hungry after 8 p.m., you may take a light snack, such as yogurt or milk or fruits after 8 p.m.
Food Type: Every food, such as oil, sweetness, spice, carbohydrate, and savory is necessary for the body in moderate quantity. Everybody must eat all these tastes - it makes you feel satisfied and content.
 |
| Chakali - Homemade snack in moderate quantity |
After sunset, avoid solid food except fruits.
If possible, office-going people can try to take a light dinner at 5 before leaving the office and eat light snacks or fruits or milk after 7 anytime.
How to eat food?
Follow the 5 Ps rule.
 |
| Food with nature at Taipei |
Positive: Prayers are a good way to start the meal, as they generate positive thoughts and environment for the meal. They also convey the gratitude of having food and good life.
Peace: Eat peacefully, otherwise the negative thoughts will impact on digestion and absorption of the food.
Pace: Eat slow and steady. The average meal should take 20-30 minutes. The brain take 15-20 minutes to register the food in the stomach in terms of quantity - full or not full.
Prepare your 5 senses: When you spend a few seconds around your food, you will enjoy the aroma and sight that activates your hunger pangs. Spend those precious seconds before you eat your food. Eat with your hand (touching the food) and it also tells you the temperature of the food, connects your mind and body to present a state for coordination, and gives you a sense of positive feeling before you consume it.
Position: Please sit down in comfortable position without TV, phone, or any other form of distractions.
At the end, the most important factor is to avoid drinking water during the meal. You can take water 30 minutes before the meal or it will either wash away your gastric juices that are required for digestion or 30 minutes after the meal or else it will reduce the digestive power.
#ayurveda, #meal, #food, #breakfast, #dinner, #lunch, #happiness, #healing, #living, #howtoeat, #whentoeatfood #whattoeat #hinduism, #sandhyajane,
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