There is an urban myth I have often heard that when you look around any health food store, you’ll find it’s full of sick-looking, pasty-faced people. Sometimes this ‘truism’ is reinforced with the observation that when you look around a building site, full of fit looking healthy men, their diet usually consists of an unhealthy mixture of take-aways, strong sweet tea and biscuits.
Probably the moral we are meant to drawn is that those who are obsessed with health fads do themselves more harm than good and we should just relax and eat the foods we enjoy. While there is some truth in this, from Ayurveda we can draw some deeper conclusions.
Does your food have life-force?
Ayurveda lays great emphasis on the quality of the food we eat. Having fresh ingredients and freshly prepared meals is strongly emphasised. Old food, leftovers, re-heated foods and frozen meals are considered to easily create toxins or Ama in our body. They are considered to be low in life-force or Prana and to clog our body channels or Shrotas. They also weaken our digestive fire or Agni.
Are you what you eat or how you digest?
Yet we probably all know someone who eats only the best foods, takes plenty of supplements, are into all the latest health fads, but still look unhealthy. Conversely, we probably know someone else who has an appalling diet but always seem to be in the best of health.
While what you eat is important, how you digest what you eat is more important according to Ayurveda, and the power of digestion is called Agni.
Take note of the Fire deity
According to the ancient Veda, Agni is the law of nature that controls fire and transformation. The power of Agni takes that which is crude and refines it.
Just as we take gold ore and heat it to remove the impurities, and extract the pure gold, Agni refines the food we eat. This refining process allows our body cells, tissues and organs to extract the nutrients they need. Agni also has the role of eliminating toxic waste that can accumulate in our cells.
Good digestion is the best nutrition
If your digestive fire or Agni is weak, you could be taking in the most nutritionally rich food that is high in Prana, but get little advantage from it. A weak digestion does not have the strength to extract those all of those nutrients and all that Prana.
A strong Agni will have the power to extract the maximum nutrients and Prana even from poor quality food.
Take those workmen on a building site. There is nothing more strengthening to Agni that physical exercise, especially if it is done outdoors (and especially if its done on a cold day). When they are ready for their take-aways, strong sweet tea and biscuits their digestive fire will be at its maximum and they’ll get the most out of whatever nutrients are available.
Improving a weak Agni
Here are some key points for improving your digestive fire:
Daily exercise
Exercise every day. Exercise that makes you perspire a little, that gets your heart moving and that gets your lungs working will really improve your digestion. It will also help you quickly metabolise any undigested food from previous meals, which has the potential to become toxic Ama.
But don’t overdo exercise – exercise to only half your capacity.
Don’t perform heavy exercise straight after eating, but a short walk immediately after a meal is highly recommended.
Daily yoga to clear those channels
Yoga exercises are particularly good at helping clear the body channels of toxic Ama. Ama tends to clog the channels that supply nutrition to our cells and tissues. It also clogs the channels that are used to eliminate metabolic waste.
Exercise in general, and yoga in particular, helps improve both our assimilation of nutrients and our elimination of waste. The effect is to help repair a poor digestion and improve our health.
Noon is the best time for your main meal
Eat your main meal at noon, when the sun is strongest and the digestive fire reflects that strength. If you eat too much at night, or eat heavy foods such as meat or cheese then, the food will sit in your stomach and create Ama. Eat light in the evening (6 pm–7 pm) and your food will be easily digested before you go to sleep.
Eat six tastes
Each meal should include all six tastes – sweet, sour, salty, bitter pungent and astringent. The specific balance of these six tastes will vary according to your Doshic balance and the season of the year.
Cooked is better than raw
The body finds it easier to assimilate nutrients from cooked food. No more than 25% of your meal should be raw food.
Sit quietly after a meal
Sit quietly for 5–10 minutes after eating before returning to activity. Don’t divide your mind while eating by watching television or reading a paper. Pay attention to your food.
Food should be warm and cooked
Food should always be fresh and of the best possible quality, delicious, warm, and cooked. Eat unprocessed whole fresh foods. Look at your plate and ask yourself how close your food is to nature!
Regular meals
Eat all three meals at the same time every day. If your body gets used to a regular routine, the digestive juices will prepare themselves before the meal, and will be more efficient in digesting. If you eat at different times, your digestion will be thrown off.
Drinking with meals
Water or juice is good to sip during meals, but not in large quantities. Hot water is ideal. Avoid drinking for 30 minutes before a meal and about 90 minutes after a meal.
Avoid milk with your food
Milk should not be taken with meals having mixed tastes (i.e. vegetables, meats etc.) Milk may be taken with cereals, toast or sweet tasting foods, or separated from a meal by at least 20 minutes.
Cut down on these foods
Cut down or eliminate sugar, margarine, refined oils, fried foods, caffeine, alcohol and cola/carbonated drinks and excess salt.
Evening foods to avoid
Yoghurt, cheese, cottage cheese and buttermilk should be reduced, or still better avoided, in the evening.
Avoid heated honey
Do not heat or cook honey as it forms a type of Ama which is hard to remove. Honey should never be heated above body temperature. Cold Pressed Honey is the best.
Herbal preparations to improve digestion:
The following Maharishi Ayurveda herbal preparations will help your digestion:
Digest Plus regulates your digestive fire or Agni. It balances your appetite and supports your digestion. It also helps balance stomach acid, reduces gas and supports the liver and the pancreas. Digest Plus removes Ama from the body tissues. Particularly suitable after a heavy meal.
Trikatu with Clove is a stronger digestive than Digest plus and especially suitable after a heavy meal. Trikatu is three strongly pungent spices – ginger, black pepper and Indian long pepper and is one of Ayurveda’s most popular digestive aids.
If you have problems assimilating fats the Livercare supplements are recommended. Liver imbalances can lead to skin and digestive problems, fatigue, and many other ailments. LiverCare helps cleanse the liver and its microchannels to flush out undigested impurities. This clears the path for vital nutrients to reach the liver. It promotes the first step of digestion – breaking down food in the stomach and small intestine. By keeping your liver healthy, you can enjoy mental and physical energy, clear skin, and natural immunity.
Poor digestion is usually the result or a build-up of Ama as a result of poor digestion of previous meals. Triphala consists of three fruits, which work synergistically to detoxify your entire digestive tract. Cabbage Rose is added to support and enhance the other ingredients. Besides helping you detox, Triphala Rose helps in absorbing nutrients effectively and in restoring your health, immunity and energy.
