Category Archives: diet tips

Ayuveda’s Effortless Approach to Weight Loss: The Original Science of “Chrono-Nutrition”

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The holiday season is over and so is the parade of celebrations and get-togethers with their enticing treats. How many New Year’s Resolutions lists have “Weight loss” (or “Improve diet” or “Cut out sugar and carbs”) near the top? Luckily for the diet-inclined, the ancient science of Ayurveda offers some simple tips that can help you lose weight easily and effortlessly.

Foundational to Ayurveda is the understanding of which dosha predominates at different times of the day and night, (and season and time of life) and how to structure activity so that these influences work for us instead of against us. (If you are new to Ayurveda, read our blog Understanding the Doshas.) Apparently modern science is catching up. There is now a whole “new” approach to dieting called “chrono-nutrition”. Basically, the thinking is that controlling eating patterns can have profound effects on weight loss. The “new tips” from chrono-nutrition seem oddly familiar to anyone with any knowledge of Ayurveda.

chrono-nutrition

Tip 1: Eat Less at Night

According to the experts on chrono-nutrition, the energy our body uses to process the food we consume is 50 percent lower during the evening meal. It turns out that about 10 percent of the energy we use every day is directed toward digesting and processing the food we eat. If we eat large amounts of food at night, we use significantly less energy than if we eat the exact same food earlier in the day.

A recent study comparing two groups — both consuming 1400 calories a day — found eating most calories for breakfast rather than at dinner produced greater weight loss and waist circumference reduction.

(In addition, a large carbohydrate load in the evening has been found to create some insulin resistance, which in turn may affect melatonin and cortisol  – and therefore sleep.)

In Ayurvedic terms, Pitta dosha is responsible for transformation, metabolism and digestion. Pitta is at is peak from the hours of 10:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. These are the hours when the most energy is available to transform the food we eat into a form that can be absorbed and utilized by our body. At night, Kapha predominates from 6:00 PM until 10:00 PM. Kapha is slow and heavy and it makes sense that we would be burning less energy while under this influence.

The proper use of the influence of the Kapha time of the day is to prepare us for bed. A light meal at night is recommended so that the body is not working on digestion while it is sleeping. This allows for the ideal use of Pitta dosha at night: to perform self-repair work while we are sleeping so that we can wake up refreshed and renewed.

Tip 2: Maintain a Steady Routine

While chrono-nutritionists admit they do not fully understand the mechanism, they found that maintaining a steady routine also helps with weight loss, even if what you are eating remains exactly the same. They theorize that when your body becomes accustomed to a schedule, your metabolism and hormones work better and digest your food more efficiently at meal times.

According to Ayurveda, maintaining a good routine is a key tool for keeping Vata dosha under control. Vata dosha governs movement throughout the body. It is the first dosha to go out of balance and can wreak havoc with the other doshas. When out of balance, Vata can compromise digestion, much as a strong wind can put out a small fire. Once again (as when we eat late at night) we are left with less energy with which to metabolize our food. When we stop being able to pull the needed nutrients out of our food, a message is sent to our brain that we are starving. This can trigger all kinds of food cravings. These food cravings are often for Kapha-type foods. This is because body automatically seeks balance. Because Kapha has the opposite qualities of Vata, it is natural to want to eat heavier foods to balance the growing instability of Vata.

Tip 3: Go To Bed On Time

The chrono-nutritionists have found that early sleepers have a 25 per cent better response in diets, both psychological and physiological reasons. Again, their understanding of the mechanics behind this fact is limited. They note that studies have found time and again that when we are tired we over-eat and have less control over what we consume. They offer the simple explanation that if you sleep well; you are likely to make better dietary choices the day after, which will result in a more balanced diet. Studies have also shown that if your sleep is disrupted or erratic, the production of cortisol is affected, which in turn affects many bodily functions such as metabolism and the regulation of the immune system.

Ayurveda offers a sophisticated understanding of how living in tune with the laws of nature that structure the world around us results in a healthier, more efficient mind-body system.

Staying on a steady routine, going to bed at 10:00 and getting up, rested and alert, around 6:00 is a way to make sure that you are getting maximum support from all three doshas, Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Our body is filled with biological clocks, not just in our brain but also in our in our organs, our joints and our muscles. When we are in tune with these clocks, the body automatically repairs itself at night, allowing us to wake up in the morning refreshed and energized, all systems go. If we have not eaten a heavy meal late in the evening and if we head to bed on time our evening Pitta will be put to work regenerating our muscles, joints, and cells. Our brain will have been cleared of waste products. The 10-hour fast will have reset our metabolic system. If we prime the system with a light but healthy breakfast (cooked apples, oatmeal) we are in balance and set for the day.

Tip 4: Pay Attention When You Eat

According to the chono-nutrition experts, “If you don’t give yourself enough time to eat, you cannot feel enough satisfaction.” Studies have shown that 21 minutes is the optimal time needed for satiety signals to reach your brain. Eating with one’s full attention on your food is proving to be essential for weight management, and several studies have shown that this approach results in greater satiety, improved food experience and better hormonal response.

The Raj Ayurveda Health Spa has always recommends guests practice Self Referral Eating. This means being aware of what you are doing during each meal. This involves sitting down to eat and putting your full attention on your meal (as opposed to watching TV, doing work or reading while you eat.) Chewing your food well is a part of this process: healthy digestion and nutrient absorption begin with proper chewing, which triggers the release of digestive enzymes.

Ayurveda recommends that you remain at the table for at least 10 minutes after you are finished eating, to allow your digestive process a chance to fully kick in. If you allow the act of eating to support your digestion, you’ll find more satisfaction with set meals, fewer urges to snack, and a more efficient digestive system that tends to quickly burn up what you have taken in.

Because of its ancient heritage, it is easy to miss the sophistication of the Ayurveda approach to health and wholeness. And while staying on a good routine, going to bed on time, eating according to the strength of Pitta dosha, and putting our full attention on what we eat may sound basic and run of the mill, these suggestions are grounded in a deep understanding of how our body works. Forget the new fads: put going back to basics on your list of New Year Resolutions and discover how quickly your physiology responds to living in tune with nature’s cycles.

For more information on The Raj Ayurveda Health Spa programs, including programs for weight loss, visit our website:

www.theraj.com

Getting the Most Out of Our Food—Helpful Tips from Ayurveda and Modern Science

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With the fullness of summer comes bustling farmers’ markets and overflowing shelves in the fruit and vegetable sections of our grocery stores. It is the time of the year when the availability of local produce is at its peak. Indulge! Studies have shown that eating seven or more servings of fruit and vegetables a day can extend life expectancy a staggering 42%.

To cook vegetables or to eat them raw is the question of the season. According to Ayurveda, this decision is best made with an understanding of your body type, your state of balance or imbalance, and the quality of your digestion.

Ayurveda’s main text, the Charak Samhita, recommends primarily cooked foods because cooking increases the element of agni that is essential for the assimilation of nutrients and their transformation into the bodily tissues. The higher proportion of nutrients available in raw food doesn’t count if you can’t digest, absorb and assimilate them. Let’s look first at body types and who can eat what. Then we’ll move on to specific foods and how to best make their nutrients available to us.

In order to choose the best option for your physiology, not only do you need to evaluate your individual physiology, it also helps take into account seasonal influences. In the summer, for instance, our body reacts to the high external heat by turning down our metabolism. This means that for many the ability to digest food is severely diminished.

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Raw Food vs Body Type

In general, those with Pitta, or Pitta/Kapha body types who do not have significant Vata imbalances can handle raw foods in their diet, especially in the late spring and summer seasons. This is because the element of “fire” or “agni” is very lively in their constitutions and they benefit from a cooling diet.

The overly cold, dry, light qualities of raw foods, however, may create problems for anyone with a severe Vata imbalance. They may find an increase in symptoms of abdominal gas, bloating, constipation, worry and anxiety, and dryness. Those wishing to balance or counter Vata imbalances do better with a diet that is warm, moist and easily digestible.

Those with Kapha imbalances may find that the cold nature of raw foods leads to allergies, sinus problems or asthma.

One solution for those who prefer raw foods but lack a strong Pitta component is to enjoy raw juices. Juicing or blending with “super blenders” that basically pulverize foods allows you to break down the cellulose the surrounds the outer layer of fruit and vegetable molecules, thus allowing you to derive optimum nutritional benefits.

Nutrient Availability in Foods 

It turns out that many vegetables only offer their full nutritional value when they have been cooked. Let’s look at how to get the most out of this summer’s fresh, organic vegetables.

It is important to note that when I refer to cooking vegetables, I am usually referring to steaming for 4 or 5 minutes or baking in the oven with a slight drizzle of oil. Obviously, mushy, over-cooked vegetables are not going to provide many healthful nutrients. Boiling vegetables removes many important minerals and nutrients.

Cooking vegetables reduces the mass of the vegetable, concentrating more nutrients with less bulk. Bitter greens like spinach and kale are generally more edible when cooked because cooking also eliminates the oxalic acid, which interferes with calcium absorption.

Cooking significantly improves the digestibility and bioavailability of starchy foods such as potatoes and yams, squashes. This is also true with grains and legumes.

(One note about whole grains: the phosphorus in bran is tied up in a substance called phytic acid. According to the book, Nourishing Traditions, phytic acid combines with iron, calcium, magnesium, copper and zinc in the intestinal tract, blocking their absorption. This is why many traditional ways of cooking grains include presoaking or fermenting grains before eating them. These processes neutralize the phytates, essentially predigesting the food so that their nutrients are more available. Phytic acid is also present in nuts, which also should be soaked before eating.)

Green beans always need to be cooked until soft otherwise, they are actually toxic. Raw beans are poisonous because they contain prussic acid, which is deactivated only by cooking.

Cooked carrots, spinach, asparagus, cabbage, and peppers supply more antioxidants such as carotenoids and ferulic acid to the body than they do when raw,

Mild heating, such as steaming, appears to improve the extractability of beta-carotene from vegetables, along with increasing betacarotene’s bioavailability. Beta-carotene absorption can be as low as 1-2% from raw vegetables such as carrots.

Lycopene in tomatoes is thought to be responsible for reducing the risk of some cancers and heart disease. Studies have shown that the absorption of lycopene is greater from cooked tomatoes. However cooking tomatoes can destroy other vitamins, so it is good to include raw tomatoes in one’s diet as well as cooked tomatoes.

Steaming asparagus ignites its cancer-fighting potential.

If you have any questions about which form of vegetables is best for you, check with an Ayurveda expert in your area. Ayurveda pulse assessment will reveal what kinds and forms of vegetables will be most helpful in creating a healthy balance for your mind/body system. Ayurveda recognizes the unique differences of each individual. In order to correctly determine your optimal requirements, it is important to understand your level of balance and imbalance. For information on Ayurvedic consultations, visit The Raj Ayurveda Health Spa website:

http://www.theraj.com

Ayurveda Tips for Holiday Eating

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images-2Here are a few guidelines for everyone during the holidays, whether you have a tendency to overeat or just want to maintain a healthy digestion.

  1. Sit at a table when you eat or drink.
  2. Don’t do anything else while you eat. This includes watching TV, listening to music, reading or discussing business. Eating mindlessly does not allow you to properly taste and digest your food. You are more apt to feel unsatisfied and want to eat more, even though you are full.
  3. Avoid eating heavy meals in the evening when our digestion is naturally weaker. Try to schedule heavy holiday meals at lunchtime and favor light nutritious foods such as vegetable soups or steamed vegetables and couscous in the evening.
  4. Include all six tastes in each meal—sweet, salty, sour, pungent, bitter and astringent. Each taste satisfies a different need. Missing one or more can result in cravings.
  5. Perk up your digestion with a slice of fresh ginger sprinkled with a bit of salt and lemon before your meal. This helps get the digestive fires stimulated and ready for the job of breaking down your food to their essential nutrients in a form that can be easily absorbed and utilized by the body.
  6. Do not overeat. According to Ayurveda, ideal digestion takes place when your stomach is no more than three-fourths full, which for most people measures about two cupped handfuls of food. If you still feel hungry, eat a little more. You should feel refreshed and energized after eating, not dull. Remember that overeating impairs digestion. When you eat more than you need, your body actually assimilates less. This can result in nutritional cravings and a habit of overeating. This can also result in being more susceptible to colds and flues. This is because a weak digestion results in the accumulation of undigested food or ama in the physiology. This can weaken the immune system, making it easier for viruses and bacteria to attack. If we can put attention on keeping our digestion strong, we can reduce or avoid the accumulation of toxins, and thereby throw off any bugs more easily. If you are interested in weight loss, maintaining strong digestion is essential.
  7. Avoid cold drinks and beverages. Avoid cold, raw or frozen foods.
  8. Sip warm water throughout the day to help cleanse the body. As soon as you arrive at a holiday festivity, ask for a cup of hot water or herbal tea. This will help you to avoid snacking.

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Fight Obesity with….Broccoli? (Spinach and carrots and broccoli, oh my!)

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Broccoli666A new study from the universities of Texas and Southern California revealed that spinach, broccoli and carrots seem to have a super power: merely eating 2 fist-full portions of leafy greens and certain vegetables with beta-carotene (like carrots) per day helped reduce body fat, lower the risk of liver disease, type 2 diabetes and other diseases.

The study targeted childhood obesity and its related health concerns. Even though the children in the study failed to eat the entire recommended daily allowance of nutritious vegetables, as stipulated by the US Department of Agriculture, the improvements to their health were still significant. This highlighted the fact that it was not the quantity of vegetables that provided the benefits as much as the kind of vegetable that was eaten.

The study found that even adding small amounts of green leafy vegetables and carrots—about quarter of a cup per day— led to improved insulin levels and a reduction in bad fats in the body.

“Bad fat’ refers to visceral fat, body fat that is stored within the abdominal cavity and is therefore stored around a number of important internal organs such as the liver, pancreas and intestines.

Visceral fat is also referred to as “active fat” because it can negatively affect how our hormones function. Bad fat can send the wrong signals to our brain about when and how much to eat. Storing higher amounts of visceral fat is associated with increased risks of a number of health problems including type 2 diabetes. For this reason, weight loss is an important health consideration.

Researchers in the study concluded that it is the type of vegetable that matters, noting that starchier vegetables, such as corn and potatoes, did not give the same positive effects.

Health-promoting cruciferous vegetables:

Arugula, bok choy, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, daikon radish, horseradish, kale, kohlrabi, mustard greens, radish, rutabaga, turnip, watercress.

Health-promoting vegetables with beta-carotene:

Carrots, dark green leafy vegetables, cos or romaine lettuce, broccoli

It is important (especially at this time of year for those in colder climates) to point out that Ayurveda recommends cooking vegetables rather than eating vegetables raw. Eating raw vegetables can aggravate vata. While many worry that cooking vegetables will eliminate many vitamins and minerals, cooking helps us digest our food without expanding huge amounts of energy. Unless you have super digestive powers, you will actually end up getting more nutrients out of your food if you steam your vegetables until they are fork friendly.

In fact, cooked carrots, spinach, asparagus, cabbage, peppers, brussels sprouts and many other vegetables actually supply more antioxidants, such as carotenoids and ferulic acid, to the body than they do when raw. Another study, published in 2002 showed that cooking carrots increases their level of beta-carotene.

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Three Ayurveda Tips to Detox Environmental Toxins

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images-2As we observed last week, whatever we take in through our five senses gets transformed into our own physiology—in essence, we metabolize our environment. Even if we buy only organic food and prepare it freshly each day, it is almost impossible to completely escape toxic exposure from plastics, pesticides and additives to our water and household products. The air we breathe, the rains that falls, often even the furniture we sit on, are all full of harmful chemicals.

Dangerous compounds like insecticides, PCB’s, heavy metals, benzene, dioxin, phthalates, pesticides, DDT metabolites, flame retardants, styrene, xylene and dichlorobenzene have routinely been found in blood and stool samples, not just in the US, but around the world.

Back in 2005, the American Red Cross took samples of fetal cord blood from 10 newborns and found a shocking 287 chemicals inside the samples, including dioxins, phthalates, pesticides, Teflon byproducts, mercury, lead, flame retardants, DDT (a pesticide that was banned in the us over 25 years ago, and many others.

This toxic burden has a high cost in terms of our health: these chemicals can lead to cancer, infertility, weight gain, severe inflammation, accelerated aging, liver damage, and more.

What can we do?

Yearly Panchakarma treatments

A study on the traditional Ayurveda detoxification treatments (Panchakarma) given at The Raj Ayurveda Health Center was published in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine in its September/October 2002. It showed that a 5-day program greatly reduced the levels of 14 important lipophilic (fat-soluble) toxic and carcinogenic chemicals in the body, chemicals which would otherwise remain in the body for a very long time.

This study represents a great breakthrough, being the first ever to find significant reductions in these harmful toxins in a short period of time. Lipophilic toxicants can cause hormone disruption, immune system suppression, reproductive disorders, and several types of cancer. While other methods of detoxification can target water-soluble toxicants, no other method of detox offers a timely and viable solution to the removal of these pervasive, disease-causing chemicals.

Daily home oil massage with warm sesame oil or olive oil (depending on your body type) can help modify the build up of chemicals in the system.

Add Turmeric to Your Diet

Turmeric used predominantly in Indian cuisine, has dozens of health benefits, including acting as a powerful, all-natural anti-inflammatory agent. Your liver acts as a natural detoxifier. Turmeric can assist your liver’s enzymes in flushing out toxins from your body.

A poor functioning liver can make your feel lethargic as it is responsible for the elimination of drugs, pesticides, and environmental chemicals from your body.

In addition to helping you maintain a healthy functioning liver, research indicates curcumin, a chemical found in turmeric may help  inflammation. Turmeric has been shown to help relieve pain in those who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis and who have painful swelling in the knees. Many diseases, such as colon cancer and other types of cancer, are now being traced to inflammation.

Curcumin is fat-soluble. Taking the essential ingredients of turmeric in pill-form does not allow for the full absorbtion of turmeric’s healing properties. The best way to use turmeric is to use it in cooking. Once you heat oil and add turmeric to it, it becomes completely bio-available to you.

Eat Cruciferous Vegetables

Cruciferous vegetables contain a naturally occurring ingredient called 3,3′-Diindolylmethane or DIM for short. DIM is strongly anti-estrogenic, so it helps block xenoestrogens. Xenoestrogens are environmental toxins that mimic the effect of estrogen in cells, altering hormonal activity and creating estrogen dominant symptoms.

Xenoestrogens can lead to uterine fibroid tumors and fibrocystic breasts, glandular dysfunction, weight gain, inability to shed fat, hair loss and depression, lowered libido and impotency, to name just a few.

DIM not only wards of off bad estrogen, it also acts as an immunostimulant, naturally “boosting” your immune system —and research now indicates it had various potent cancer-fighting properties.GT0309_Grilled-Bok-Choy-Salad_s4x3

Make sure your daily diet includes broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, and cabbage, brussels sprouts, swiss chard, arugula, collard greens, bok choy, kale, or watercress.

DIM is also fat-soluble.  You can enhance the absorption of these health-promoting vegetables by eating them with olive oil, ghee or organic butter.

For more information on Panchakarma treatments, visit The Raj Ayurveda Health Spa website:

www.theraj.com

 

 

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Healthy Foods for Life: Ayurveda and Prana

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images-1Recently I read an article about a man who lived on meal substitutes for a week. Since the packaging on many shakes and bars say the products are full of vitamins and provide all the benefits of a balanced diet, he wanted to see if he could swap them for real food. The results were startling. He felt weak after the first day. By the week’s end, he was miserable and felt shaky, weak, and headachy. His “good” cholesterol had reduced by 15%. While his physician explained his symptoms in terms of lowered phosphate levels and depleted glycogen stores, Ayurveda would note that he had taken in nothing to restore prana to his body. His entire weekly diet was “dead” and inert—completely lacking in life force.

According to Ayurveda, prana is the principle of energy responsible for giving life to and maintaining the body. Prana is the vital energy present in fresh vegetables and fruits and pure air that we breathe. Because one of the reasons for eating is to take in prana, we always want to choose foods that are high in this lively energy.

Whatever we take in through our five senses gets transformed into our own physiology. In essence, we metabolize our environment. Ayurveda emphasizes that along with fresh food,  pure water and clean air are vital for giving proper nutrition to the body.

Ideally the food we eat should be organic and should be eaten the same day that it is prepared. Processed food, overly refined flours and sugars, and frozen and canned foods (which are prepared long before the time of consumption) contain less vital qualities to nourish the body. They are also harder to digest.

Incorporating more fresh vegetables and fruits in your diet will give you an immediate energy boost. It is also important to cut your vegetables fresh at every meal. Buying pre-cut vegetables or cutting up vegetables days beforehand means that you will lose some of the food’s essential vitality.

Organic foods contain more prana than foods that have been polluted with chemical pesticides and fertilizers. If your body has to work hard to purify the chemicals every time you eat, you’ll feel fatigued. Plus, despite your body’s best efforts, toxins will build up in your system. (We’ll look into that more next week, along with tips for foods that can help you detox.)

Locally grown foods are higher in prana because they don’t have to be shipped or stored and can be bought tree-ripened. Locate the local farmers market near to your home and indentify the sellers there who grow organically. Obviously many climates prohibit buying fresh, local foods all year round, but during the months when they are available, these foods will provide optimal nourishment and energy. The ideal, of course, is to create your own organic garden in your backyard.

Next week I’ll look at other aspects of our environment that we “metabolize”, and at some of the simple steps we can take to ensure that we are nourishing ourselves to the very best of our ability. Remember we ingest all of life through our five senses: touch, taste, sight, sound, and smell. Good health is dependent on our ability to fully metabolize all aspects of life, assimilating what is nourishing and expelling or eliminating that which is not. Through bad choices or through environmental factors that are beyond our control, we can easily end up metabolizing impurities can create imbalances or ama (toxins)—which can then lead to the formation of chronic disorders.

Ayurveda offers the gift of wisdom of how to live in harmony with nature. Ayurveda also offers healing modalities and regular seasonal routines to help restore balance and vitality when it has become lost. For more information on the healing treatments of Ayurveda, visit The Raj, Ayurveda Health Spa:

www.theraj.com

 

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Foods That Protect You From The Sun

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For the US and other mid-latitude countries north of the equator, the sun’s rays in the summer months hit the Earth at a steeper angle than in the winter. Because the light is not as spread out (so it hits the earth more directly) the earth —and it’s inhabitants—absorb more of the sun’s energy. As we absorb the increased heat from the sun, the quality of Pitta or heat increases in our own physiology.
The sun gives off three kinds of ultraviolet waves throughout the year: UVA, UVB and UVC. Only the UVA and UVB rays actually hit the earth. While UVA rays are fairly consistent in intensity all year round, the greatest amount of UVB rays hit between 10 AM and 4 PM from April to October. As a result, we are getting a double dose of light rays during the summer. This can contribute to conditions such as premature skin aging, eye damage and skin cancers. UVB rays can also suppress the immune system, reducing our ability to fight off maladies.
Luckily, the perfect organizing power of nature provides summer fruits and vegetables that have a wonderful capacity to protect our skin from UV rays. A medium-size red bell pepper, for example, provides more than 200 percent of the daily value of vitamin C. Researchers have suggested that vitamin C can promote the repair of DNA that has been damaged by UV rays.
HEALING SUMMER FOODS
Red and Orange Vegetables and Fruits
Red fruits and vegetable are rich in lycopene. a natural pigment and carotinoid (antioxidant) responsible for the red color. It turns out that consuming more lycopene can protect your skin from sunburn. A study showed that intake of 2.5 tablespoons of tomato paste daily can reduce the UV rays damage up to 50%. Lycopene also helps rid the body of free radicals.
Beta-carotene — another type of carotenoid found in red and orange produce (like carrots) — has been linked to reduced reactions to sunburns.
Orange and pink citrus fruits contain lavanoid, which has been shown to improve the skin’s ability to protect against UV rays.
Additional healing food
Spinach contains lutein, a carotenoid that protects your skin from UV damage.spinach
Staying out of the mid-day sun, eating meals on time, choosing Pitta-reducing foods, avoiding strenuous activity, keeping well hydrated with room temperature water and other drinks, and eating lots of fresh produce are simple steps you can take to help keep your Pitta pacified during the hot summer months.
Signs of an aggravated Pitta include excess stomach acid, heartburn, skin eruptions, insomnia and irritability. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, a visit with an Ayurveda expert can help to identify foods or habits that are aggravating Pitta and give recommendations to avoid more serious imbalances.
For more information on consultations with Ayurveda experts, visit The Raj Ayurveda Health Spa:

http://www.theraj.com

 

 

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Ayurvedic Summer Recipes

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One of the delights of summer is the joyful abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables tumbling off the grocery shelves. According to Ayurveda, sweet fruits and bitter greens help pacify Pitta dosha.  According to the scientific community (and our own common sense) they also protect us from falling ill. A recent international research study conducted by the University of Adelaide found that people who consumed a diet high in fruit, vegetables and certain grains had a lower risk of developing not just one but multiple chronic conditions including anemia, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, arthritis, hepatitis, coronary heart disease, asthma, stroke, fracture and cancer. The study found that people who eat a higher amount of fruit are less likely to develop any chronic disease, while a high intake of vegetables helps prevent people with one chronic disease from developing a second.

So pile your plate high with these health-creating foods! Here are a few fun summer recipes to try out:

Asparagus and /or carrots with lemon-herb sauce

Steam your chosen amounts of asparagus and/or carrots to the point where they are asparagus-and-carrots“fork-friendly”. This means a bit more than al dente but not soft or mushy. Then pour the following lemon-herb sauce over the vegetables.

Lemon-Herb Sauce

Juice one lemon. Add a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of honey (use only unheated honey). Mix together in a blender with a few leaves of fresh basil and mint. Puree until smooth.

Cucumber Raita

This side dish goes well with dal, rice, curries and other Indian dishes.

Combine in a mixing bowl:

1 cup fresh yogurt

1/4 cup cucumber (peel and dice finely_

1 tablespoon ginger root, peeled and grated

1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro (the leaves of the coriander plant)

1/8 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

salt to taste

Cooling Mint Tea

mata-peprna-pouziti1 cup fresh peppermint leaves

1 quart boiling water

1 quart room temperature water

2 teaspoons sweetener

Pour the quart of boiling water over the mint leaves. Cover and let steep for 20 minutes. Strain the tea into a pitcher or glass jar. Add cool water sweeteners. If you are adding honey, make sure the water has cooled down first. This is a great drink for aiding digestion. Drink at room temperature for maximum assimilation. Remember that iced and chilled drinks dampen our digestive fires, making it difficult to properly digest our food.

Dandelion Salad

If your lawn is full of dandelions, stop complaining and start picking. Dandelions are one of the most nutrient-dense plants you can eat. Their leaves, when young and tender, have a slightly bitter taste like arugula. The older the pant, the more bitter the greens. Before you start picking, be sure that the yard in which the dandelions are growing has not been treated with chemicals.

1 cup dandelion greens, washed and dried

8 large leaves of butter lettuce, washed and dried

1/2 cup feta cheese or goat cheese, chopped or crumbled.

Dressing

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/8 cup olive oil

sweetener to taste (just a bit is needed)

1 tomato chopped

fresh basil

fresh ground black pepper to taste

Boiling the dandelion greens is better for older, larger leaves as it removes their bitterness. Some even recommend boiling the older greens twice: once for 2 minutes, drain and boil again for 2 minutes.

For information on consultations with Ayurveda experts or to take a dosha quiz and discover your individual mind/body type, visit The Raj, Ayurveda Health Spa:

www.theraj.com

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Soothing Summer Foods

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Pomegranate_close_upAccording to Ayurveda, as the temperatures rise, the qualities of Pitta dosha (sharp, hot, penetrating) increase in our physiology. One might assume that that our digestive fire (or “agni”) would also become stronger. But in fact, in an attempt to regulate body temperature, our phyiology does its best to dispense heat and lower its own internal heating mechanisms. As a result, our ability to digest food actually diminishes. This is why we often feel less hungry and want to eat less during the summer months. It is important at this time to follow the body’s impulse to eat lighter and smaller meals.

Summer Food Tips

Increase sweet, bitter, and astringent tasting foods that are light in nature.  Eat plenty of bitter salad greens. Lettuce, arugula, radicchio, basil, and endive are particularly Pitta balancing. Include cool drinks and raw foods in the diet, including cucumber, mango and coconut water. Natural fruit juices without added sugar, mint teas, and raw berries are good choices.

Reduce sour, salty, and pungent tastes

Favor:  coconut water, watermelon, cilantro, leafy greens, okra, zucchini, asparagus, olive oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil, ghee, cucumber, soaked/peeled almonds, kale, broccoli, pomegranate, apples, cranberry, mint, dill, fennel, cardamom, coriander, saffron.

Avoid: tomatoes, eggplant, chili peppers, garlic, dry ginger, black pepper, fermented foods, spicy foods, sour fruits, heavy protein, mustard oil, molasses, coffee, alcohol.

Drink up!

Be sure to drink plenty of water to offset the drying and heating nature of Pitta. Add fresh mint or lime to your water. Cooling herbal teas such as peppermint, licorice, fennel or rose, taken at room temperature, can be extremely refreshing.

Avoid iced drinks. While it is important to keep cool in the summer it is more important to keep our digestion strong. Room temperature liquids will be assimilated into your body more quickly and they will not extinguish your digestive fire.

Remember that incompletely digested foods create toxins and impurities that are eventually absorbed, travel throughout the body, localize in the tissues and disrupt their functioning. This process can play a major role in wide variety of chronic conditions, including insomnia, chronic fatigue, arthritis and heart disease.

Try this easy, Pitta-pacifying dessert:

Poached Peaches with Raspberry Coulee

Blanch peaches in boiling water. Remove skins. Blend raspberries and strawberries together with sugar or honey to taste. Spoon the berry mix over the poached peaches. Serve with a garnish of mint leaf.

(Be sure to always use unheated honey. When honey is heated beyond comfortable “sipping” temperature, it creates a sticky toxin that adheres to the body tissues and is difficult to cleanse. Adding honey to hot tea is fine, as long as the tea has cooled enough to sip comfortable. Never use honey for baking.)

 

 http://theraj.com/ayurveda/ayurvedic-diet.php

 

 

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Ayurveda and Milk

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golden-milk-recipe-secret-of-the-ancient-indian-medicineTo drink milk or not to drink milk? Advocates on either side of the milk debate are adamant in their arguments. Funnily enough, Ayurveda agrees with both sides. According to the ancient Ayurveda text book, the Charika Samhita, the misuse of milk turns the nature of milk from sattvic to tamasic. Sattva is a state of lightness, balance and clarity, and, in terms of food, strengthening and nourishing. Tamas, on the other hand, reflects dullness and confusion. By compromising the essential qualities of milk we can turn a health-supporting food into one that can lead to ill health, congestion and allergies.

Ayurveda experts recommend cows milk, taken in the correct manner, as a satvic and nourishing food. Accordingly, milk provides special and unique nutrition that cannot be derived from any other type of food. When digested properly, milk is able to nourish all the tissues within 24 hours. It also helps to balance the doshas, especially Vata and Pitta. It is also one of the most important foods to promote ojas.

Ojas is said to be the refined substance that the body produces at the most subtle level of proper digestion. Ojas brings strength, strong immunity and contentment to the whole mind/body system.

Ayurveda experts point out that many of the problems associated with digesting milk are in fact linked to the way in which milk is consumed and how it is processed. Cold milk, ice cream and cheese are indeed very heavy and difficult to digest. Following a few simple guidelines will help address many of the problems associated with drinking milk.

If you boil milk before drinking it (even if the milk has already been pasteurized) the milk will not only be lighter and easier to digest but it will also create less congestion. Boiling milk is a must, even if you do not have difficulty digesting milk.

In addition, you can add heating spices (such as ginger, turmeric, clove, cinnamon and cardamom) to milk before boiling it. These spices help to enhance our digestive fires and also help reduce Kapha dosha, lessening the tendency toward congestion. An added benefit is that the milk will act as a carrier for the spices, thus allowing the physiology to gain more benefits from the health-promoting herbs.

Milk should never be mixed or eaten with sour, bitter, salty, astringent, or pungent tastes. This means the traditional American lunch consisting of a glass of cold milk with a sandwich should be avoided. Milk should either be taken separately from meals by at least one half hour or taken only with other sweet tastes (such as breakfast cereal, toast, rice, dates, mangos and almonds.) Be careful not to add sour fruits to your breakfast cereal or to drink fruit juices with your cereal. When combined with incompatible tastes, milk becomes indigestible and causes the build-up of harmful toxins in the body.

Dishes made from cooking milk with fish or meat should also be avoided (such as clam chowder).

Milk (or yogurt or cottage cheese) combined with bananas can be extremely difficult to digest and can lead to congestion and head colds.

Ideally any milk that we drink should be organic, whole and non-homogenized. Non-homogenized because homogenized milk is very difficult to digest and can easily clog the finer channels of circulation. Whole milk because the fats in whole milk build and balance the nervous system and act as carriers to deliver the calcium and fat soluble Vitamins A, D3, E and K directly into the cells.

If you are not able to purchase organic milk, however, it is better to drink skim milk, as many hormones and chemicals are fat-soluble and will be transferred into your physiology via the fat.

Even if you do not notice ill effects of drinking milk, if you have a long habit of drinking cold milk or drinking milk along with foods of other tastes, it is probable that you have a build-up of ama, or toxins, in your tissues. This can lead to joint pain, constipation, dullness, lowered immunity, frequent colds and  imbalances that can lead to chronic disorders.

An ayurvedic expert can determine which type of toxin is in the body and where it is located. This is very important, because any treatment plan will be different depending on the type of toxin and where it has settled. For more information on consultations or for information on the detox therapies of Panchakarma, visit website for The Raj Ayurveda Health Spa and Treatment Center:

www.theraj.com

 

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