Monday, February 11, 2019

A healthy diet is not only about food

Our diet and eating habits have changed dramatically over the last century. We can see the difference for ourselves by comparing the food that is commonly available today and what our grandparents generally used to consume.
When we go back to basics of why we eat, essentially, it is for nourishment. Based on  Ayurvedic medicine, the purpose is deeper – to enhance and promote the healthy flow of life force within the body, which in turn promotes good health and helps us keep illnesses at bay.
The problem is a lot of our go-to foods today contain very little vital nutrients. Meanwhile, the rise the pollution and stress actually calls for more vital nutrients to mitigate the side effects of our environment and lifestyle.
Still, it is not all about what we eat. It is also about how we eat, when, where and why?
It is not the food you eat but how well you digest it that’s important. According to ancient Indian doctrine, good digestion determines our health and the strength of our inner life force. When our digestive system is afflicted, so is our system of nourishment and and removal of waste including toxins. With a healthy digestive system, whatever food we consume would be completely digested with anything harmful, effectively removed from our body. Thus, top priority in promoting good digestion. But how?
-- Do not eat when you are not hungry
It is a tell-tale sign that there is still food in the stomach that is not digested.
-- Skip a meal
Only eat when you’re really hungry. There is a big difference between artificial hunger, which is psychological and real hunger. If you’re not sure which it is, it’s best to go without a meal.
-- Cut down number of meals
As we lead more sedentary lives today, we don’t really need as much food to sustain our daily activities. Many of us could do with just two meals a day. This will ensure that whatever we consume is digested.
-- Get active
If it is too difficult to cut down on meal times, make sure to get active. Daily exercise helps regulate our digestive system. Whether our digestion is erratic, high or weak, regular exercise will lead to healthy digestion. A long walk after a meal, also helps with digestion.
-- Eat less
Always eat just half of your stomach capacity. You should feel slightly hungry even after eating, instead of feeling stuffed, which doesn’t allow movement in the stomach and slows down digestion.

Read more abour Ayurvedic views on Diet - https://ayurveda-foryou.com/treat/diet.html

2 comments:

Vinay Sharma said...

Thanks for your amazing writing and way to make it super simple to understand your blog
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Eilidh Isobel said...

This is so true. At this day and age we eat more than we need to. Skipping a meal here and there won’t hurt and eating when you are really hungry is recommended by Ayurveda.