Manging Trigeminal neuralgia with Ayurvedic diet and lifestyle

 Clinical experience series

Considering the inflammatory aspects of Pitta aspect in managing Trigeminal Neuralgia. 

A 39-year-old woman from the middle east who lives a sedentary lifestyle came to see us with terrible headaches that had been bothering her for a week. She had a history of lengthy flights during the previous two weeks, and the doctor prescribed antibiotics to treat her headache as a sinusitis attack. However, the pain persisted after taking the medications, and now it radiates to her neck and face as well as the left side of her head.

We saw her via a video conference, and based on the location and type of discomfort, we believe she has trigeminal neuralgia rather than sinusitis.

What is Trigeminal Neuralgia? 

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN), commonly known as tic douloureux, is a chronic pain illness characterised by intense facial pain that occurs suddenly. It affects the trigeminal nerve, also known as the fifth cranial nerve, which supplies sensation and nerve signals to various areas of the head and face.

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According to Ayurvedic, her body's hotness, or pitha dosha, is enhanced, causing inflammation of the trigeminal nerve, which aggravates the pain after antibiotics. 

Theoretically, antibiotics that reduce upper respiratory tract infection can be considered kapha reducing / infection reducing. This hot potency may increase the heat of the body, and if there is any increase pitha/inflammation, the intake of hot potent antibiotics will worsen the increased pitha/inflammation. The same thing happened in her situation.

The next step was to figure out the underlying reason for the elevated pitha characteristics, so we examined her current food and way of living.

 

The existing diet and way of life were as follows:

She woke up at 10:00 AM. (According to Ayurveda, the morning hours between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM are known as pitha time, during which the body's natural temperature will be high. Since she was up during this period, it may have contributed to her body's elevated pitha or inflammation.)

Breakfast at 11:30 a.m. includes fermented food iddli, spicy poha, toast with eggs, and tea with oat milk.

Lunch is taken around 2:30 PM and consists of roti or rice with ghee, kidney beans, and vegetables. (Kidney beans are not recommended since they stimulate inflammation, and lunch is served at a late hour, which could interfere with digestion and promote inflammation.)

Evening snacks about 6:00 PM are typically coffee, spicy and salty snacks, cheese, occasionally fruits. (All  these foods can cause inflammation.)

8:30 pm to 9:30 pm for dinner 

Chinese-style noodles with spicy sauces, shawarma wraps with hummus, mixed veggie tikki with a turi, broccoli soup, or rice with chicken combined with yogurt.

(Yogurt, sauerkraut, and other inflammatory foods are consumed at night.)

12:30 AM to 1:00 AM: Sleep. (Sleeping late at night might worsen vata and pitta imbalances.) 

Analysis of digestive capacity (Agni) 

Her tongue was red with inflammatory symptoms, she craved semi-solid foods with spicy flavours, was ok with sweet and bitter tastes, and detested salty, sour, and acidic flavours. 

Observations: 

Her preference for spicy food indicates that her digestive fire in her stomach is weak, which is why it disturbs her digestion. As a result, the blood formed in her body becomes inflamed, which is why she has inflammatory signs in her body like rosacea in her face and red patches on her body. To reduce this inflammation, her body prefers sweet and bitter tastes because they reduce the inflammation.

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Spicy food contains a fire element, which may be beneficial for digestion, but raising body temperature causes inflammation.

 The main challenge we encountered in this case was how to increase digestive capacity without increasing inflammation. To address this, we chose a bitter-tasting drug called guluchayadi kashayam, which is based on plant Guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia) and has both digestive fire-increasing and inflammation-reducing properties. Ghee was also included, which has the similar virtue.

The treatment approach: 

We devised a 28-day treatment for her in three phases. 

• The first week, we used ghee and guluchi to try to manage her metabolism and reduce inflammation.
• The second and third weeks are spent attempting to directly address the inflammation of the trigeminal nerve.
• Fourth week - After the nerve inflammation has subsided, we will focus on treatments that will increase the nerve's strength.

The main dietary and lifestyle modifications First week:

The time for waking up has been adjusted to 7:00 a.m. 

Practise cleansing your bowels first thing in the morning.

7:30 - 7:45 a.m. Take rice water with ghee - Soak 1 teaspoon white rice overnight in 500 ml water, then boil this water and reduce it to 50 ml, add 1 /2 teaspoon simple ghee, and drink. Mild loosening exercises, attempting to move all joints in all directions.

Breakfast - Points considered at 8:00 a.m. 

Avoid fermented and spicy foods, and limit your intake of animal protein. 

If your appetite is strong, go for toast with white bread and butter. Avoid whole wheat and millet bread.

If you have a regular appetite, eat white rice porridge with coconut milk, ghee, and sugar candy.

Skip breakfast or take a poached apple if your appetite is low.

10:30 am. - No juice time; she may have sweet berries if necessary. Avoid eating sour fruits.

Lunch - 1:00 PM  

Can continue the balanced meal as needed by the body for the day: White rice rice/gluten-free roti and millets should be avoided. 

 

Plant protein – green or yellow lentils (avoid brown lentils and kidney beans).

Protein derived from animals:

Whitefish, lamb, and duck eggs can be used.  

Chicken, chicken egg, and

Avoid eating turkey, pork, beef, and redfish. 

Milk protein - Avoid fermented milk products, Panner. 

 

Vegetables:

Gourds, bitter-tasting veggies, broccoli, carrots, etc. 

Reduce the amount of green vegetables, tomatoes, and small onions. 

Avoid eating cabbage, cauliflower, garlic, and chili peppers.

 

Use butter, ghee, coconut oil, or olive oil for fat. Sunflower and pumpkin seed oils should be reduced. Mustard oil should be avoided. 

Spices: Turmeric, black pepper, coriander seed, cardamon, fennel, dry ginger, yellow pepper

Reduce the use of clove, bay leaf, and fenugreek.

4:00 PM - Eat fresh fruits, steamed veggies, cucumber, and coconut water. 

Reduce your intake of spicy foods. 

7:00 p.m. - Her instinct told her to favor protein with veggies or carbs with vegetables. 

For dinner, I avoided soup, salads, seafood, cheese, and fermented foods.

9:00 p.m.- 5 soaked almonds (skinless) & 5 soaked resins 

11:00 p.m. - Time for bed.

First week's medication: 

Tab. Guluchyadi kashayam 2 pills should be taken after breakfast and dinner.

Made a paste of coriander leaves without any water and applied it to the painful area in the daytime before 10 am or after 3 pm. Once it has dried, wipe it off with a soft tissue.

continued with the same routine and food for the second week. 

Second week of medication: 

1. Tab. Guluchyadi kashayam 

Two pills should be taken after breakfast and dinner.

2. Take a half-teaspoon of thikthakam gritham with 50 ml of rice water on an empty stomach.

Continued using the coriander paste on alternate days for external use.

Making a paste of jadamayadi choornam with boiling water on alternate days, applying it to the affected regions once it has cooled, and wiping it off with a soft cloth once it has dried.

Third week:  maintained the same routine and diet.

Guluchyadi kashayam, tab 

2 pills after lunch; 

2 teaspoons of thikthakam gritham mixed with 50 ml of rice water when taken on an empty stomach.

3. A half-teaspoon of avipathi choornam before bedtime on alternate days is recommended. 

Continue using jadamayadi on alternate days for external treatment 

Nasyam: After cleaning your teeth in the morning, put one drop of Anuthailam in each nostril.

Fourth week - Followed the same schedule and diet as the previous week Medication during the second week - 

1.Thikthakam gritham half teaspoon with 50 ml rice water on alternate days on an empty stomach 

Stop taking Guluchyadi kasahayam and avipathi choornam. 

External therapy - Nasyam - After brushing, put 2 drops of Ksheerabala in each nostril.

We stopped the medicine and advised her to follow the eating pattern for another two weeks when the discomfort had fully vanished after four weeks of treatment.

Key Notes: 

• To minimise inflammation, we must avoid pro-inflammatory foods and lifestyle patterns. 
• We must include more bitter-tasting foods.
• Avoid hot powerful foods such as red meat, millet, and seeds. 
• While using antibiotics, be mindful of the inflammatory triggering points displayed by the body and modify the drug and antibiotic dosages accordingly.

 

Managing anorexia nervosa, maintaining optimum body weight without getting overweight through Ayurvedic medication, diet and life style.

 

Clinical experiences 

Anorexia nervosa in a teenage Girl

In February 2023, we got a message from early teen girl’s parent as follows 

 

“Good evening. From last couple of months my daughter is not eating properly and lost 18 kg weight (her weight was around 52 kg earlier and now 34 to 35 kg). She is 14 years 10 months old and her height is 5'4". 

 

“Regular allopathic family doctor suspected this as a case of anorexia nervosa and asked us to consult both psychologist and psychiatrist. We consulted both and she is currently under medication, last week she improved a bit but this week she again went back to not eating properly. Kindly advise and give your appointment at the earliest, thank you”

 

“We forgot to inform one more point sir. Most of the time she is in standing position or walking here and there but not sitting in one place”

 

When we asked about any particular reason behind this change, they mentioned the following three points as the possible reasons - 

 

1. Six months back, she got braces to align her teeth, she become more conscious about physical looks. 

2. She also mentioned that she feels bad when someone comments her as chubby 

3. Her sister moved out of the house for higher studies hence she felt disturbed. 

 

We had the first consultation through video call, the teen girl was not at all corporative in the initial consultation. In fact she was more irritated. From the parents, we came to know currently she is under the medications like antidepressant, laxative, supplements like Vitamin B-complex, Vitamin D and calcium.   She was eating very little foods, mostly some fruits. juice and salads. As she’s concerned of gaining weight. 

 

Our ayurvedic perspective on her condition.  

            Her digestive capacity, Agni, is disturbed due to emotional disturbance. Due to this, her gut brain axis wasn’t working properly. The intake of laxative and anti-depressant, again reduce the natural intestinal serotonin production. Due to low digestive capacity, her body was unable to absorb the nutrient supplements which worsened the case. 

 

Our line of approach – 

 First, we needed to win the confidence of the teen girl and make her believe eating right will not lead to overweight, as she is very particular not to gain any weight. 

 

We did not start any medication, just asked her to eat as per her wish and drink Coriander and dry ginger water whenever she feel thirsty. Also asked her to stop the supplements and laxative. These steps will help her to stabilize the metabolism.

 

Preparation of herbal water: Take 1 teaspoon coriander seed , 1/4 teaspoon of dry ginger powder, put it in 1 lit of water and boil for 15 minutes,

 

To stabilize her emotions and nature being all around and hyper, which is considered as the increase Vata  dosha,  we asked her to apply Lakshadi kerathailam on head crown, ear lobes, palm and feet  for 5 minutes every day  between evening   4:00 PM to 5:00 pm.

 

In the second consultation after 2 weeks –

This time, she was much calmer and was ready to listen. Here we explained her how the body is working as per Ayurveda and give some information about sapthadhatu concept - 7 tissue functional units of body which are transformed or nourished in sequential manner. 

 

Saptha dhatu  concept: - 

 

 

We were able to convince her that the Ayurvedic medication which we are providing will help to correct her metabolism and form healthy blood tissue which is very essential to maintain healthy life. As per the dhathu concept, if raktha or blood is not formed properly she cannot sustain her life, and these medications will not make her obese. As per ayurvedic concept if all the seven dhathus are working efficiently there won’t be any over accumulation of any particular tissue in the body. So theoretically even the fat will also won’t be there. 

 

Once she understood the concept, she agreed to take medications which are listed below.  

I. Indukantham Grutham

Dosage: 1/4 teaspoon with warm rice starch water, morning, in empty stomach.

( Which will helps to increase metabolism, digestive capacity)

 

2. Dasamoolarishtam + Abhayarishtam

Dosage: take 5 ml from each, mix, 10ml at bedtime.

(Which will helps to regulate gut brain axis)

 

External applications: Continue the Lakshadi kera thailam  application.

 

Diet: Continue coriander dry ginger water, Eat as she likes, avoid raw salads. 

In the 3^rd Consultation  after 2 weeks

 

She was responding positively to the corrections. So continue the same medication and asked her to  slowly increase the amount  of food she is eating, as she was willing to took rice , roti and vegetable etc .

 

But after 1 week she develop fever  and stomach pain , as she ate heavy foods and  ice cream, so we stopped the above medications (Gritham and arishtam for 5 days) and oil application.

 

Asked her to take 1 Danwantharam guika tablet after lunch ( to enhance digestive movements and reduce stomach pain), Indukantham kwatham tablet after dinner (to reduce fever due to indigestion).

 

After 5 days, we restarted the  above mentioned  internal medications. We changed oil massage with podikizhi (Pouch/bundle massage with pulses) on alternate days to ‘open-up’ the channels of her body which will help her to correct her metabolism.

 

4^th consultation: after 2 weeks 

She was responding positively with  internal and external medication, so continued the same for 1 more week.

 

5th  consultation – After 1 week,

For Internal medication , - 

Continue the indukantham grutham 

 Instead of abayarishta we prescribe Dasamoolarishta and Balarishta, 10 ml after dinner  

External Treatment -

Instead of pouch massage, we asked her to do full body massage with Narayana thalian which helps her to stabilize her Vata in to proper direction.

 

Continued the Lakshadi  kera thailam Application

Along with internal and external medication we asked her to start some loosening exercise,  breathing exercise and classical dance practise .

 

By the end of the May her condition improved, she was feeling better. We didn’t encouraged her to check weight as it an trigger stress in her. 

 

Her parents sent the following message on  May 2023

“She has improved sir, she is listening to us and also her irritation instances have come down. She is going to the school regularly and also improved on studies” 

Key observations

-        It. Is very critical to manage the teenage brains during the their pre-frontal development phase. We need to be careful on what to feed, and how to handle the situations. 

-        When you treat symptomatically , it may not resolve what body is trying to solve. 

-        By appropriate day routine and  simple dietary pattern, we can build normalcy in our body without going to complicated procedures. No need to medicalise life.

-        Understanding once’s digestive capacity and what are the right nutrients s more important than taking or not taking nutrients by comparing what others need. 

-Dr. Poornima Sreelal

(BAMS, M.Sc. CND) 

Ayurvedic Physician & Clinical Nutritionist. 

The author can be contacted over  mail infoayurdiet.in@gmail.com or +91-9447762555. 

 

Improving sperm quality and weight reduction through Ayurveda diet and lifestyle correction

 Clinical experience:

Asthenozoospermia to normospermia, 20 kg weight loss, all just by correcting lifestyle and diet in 30 days. 

 

45-year-old gentleman with sedentary life style from Europe approaches us to reduce the weight and increase the quality of sperm. His BMI 34.2 (Hight 188 cm, weight 121 kg ) and sperm count  showed.

Asthenozoospermie: otal sperm count – 272, sperm concentration 68 mil/ml. motility 40% - report on 22.3.2021.

Along with these issues his energy level was very low, snoring and mentally exhausted 

Diet & life style was as follows:

Waking up time – 9:00 – 10:00 

• Exercise – Nil 
• Early morning water practice – 500 ml warm water 
• Breakfast at 10:00 AM, takes two slices bread with marmalade, Croissant, 1 cup of tea with milk and honey
• Lunch 3:00 PM - Soup, Salad, Sandwich -Sometime he skips his lunch due to work schedule Evening Snacks – 6:00PM, mostly a Tea and Cake,
• Dinner – Late night heavy dinner most of the time between 8:30 PM to midnight
• He takes meat, chicken, Pork, beef, potato, desserts etc. 
• Sleep – 12:30 – 1:00 AM. 

Digestive capacity Analysis (Agni) 

His tongue was coated and always feel bloated and heaviness, after food and crave for dry food with spicy, sour salty taste 

Observations and Ayurvedic view:

As per ayurvedic view point his jadaragni whch is the digestive capacity of his body is weak. That is why he is craving for the spicy, sour and salty foods. As per Ayurveda these tastes have higher content of fire element, which enhances the digestion of the foods, that’s why we add spices and salt n foods. The other observation is that his medodhatu (fat metabolism) is malfunctioning that is why he is got excess fat accumulation and is on the obese side. As per Ayurveda physiology the gametes are ‘nourished’ after ‘fat tissues’ are nourished (you may refer to the Ayurveda physiology for details) the disturbed fat metabolism / medodhatu agni impairs the quality of his sperm.  

Remedial plan as per Ayurveda: 

    We planned 21 days treatment for him with 3 stages of 1 week.

First week we tried to open the srothas (metabolic channels) of his body through some rearrangement in diet and daily routine. In the second phase, we focused on fat metabolism and in third week, give diet to improve sperm quality.

Dietary and rouitne changes 

The key changes made in diet and life style 1^st week. 

• Waking up is changed to 7:00 am. 
• Practice clearing the bowels as the first thing to do after waking up.
• Early morning water – Instead of his regular warm water, we recommended him to drink 200 ml herbal water prepared by adding ½ teaspoon coriander seed, fenugreek, cumin seed 3 cardamoms, 3 cloves, a small piece of cinnamon in to 500 ml water, boil it in to 200 ml and drink in lukewarm temperature.
• 7:30 -to 7:45 – Mild loosening exercises, try to move all the joints in all possible direction. 
• 8:30 AM– Breakfast – Included more protein rich breakfast like omelet with vegetables, grilled chicken with vegetables, instead of carbohydrate
• 10:30 AM – Juice time – Vitamin C rich juice like lime /orange/ berries etc.
• 1:00 PM – Lunch – 
• Avoided salads and soup as his digestive power is week. Soup, salads makes digestion weaker, that is why we avoided soup and salads in the first week.
• Recommended a balanced meal with carbohydrate, protein, fat and vitamins like pasta/ noodle/ rice/ bread with meat and vegetables.
• 4:00 PM - Evening snack with nuts/ fruits/ twice in a week.
• 7:00 pm – Based on his instinct, prefer either protein with vegetables or carbs with vegetables was recommended. Avoided soup, salads, fish, cheese and fermented food for dinner.
• 9:00 PM–  Five soaked almonds & two soaked walnuts.
• 11:00 pm – Bed time. 

In the second week:

• Continued the same schedule.  Made him to get up and go to be 1 hour earlier whenever possible.  
• Physical exercise  - Increased the morning exercise time from 15 minutes to 30 to 45 minutes in morning. Added 15 minutes walking at 4:30 PM after evening snacks.
• Diet: Salads were included twice a week with steamed sprouted green lentil, cabbage, onion, tomato, green chili, cumin powder and lime juice.
• Prefer more millets instead of rice or grains. 

Third week –

• Continued the same time tables 
• Exercise – Included more aerobics in morning and sports or games in evening time.
• Diet – continue the second week diet.
• For sperm quality - Include caviar, shell fishes, drumstick, Lamb for lunch time.

Result

Before

After  

• He lost 20 Kg 
• Asthenozoospermia become normal. 
• Sperm count concentration increased from 68 million/ml to 90 million/ml
•  
• Sperm count 272 million to 315 million
• Sperm motility increased from 40% to 52%

 

His wife’s mail on 2th May 2021

“..his weight dropped now by 20kg. He feels good, he does not snore.” 

Notes: 

-       We need to consider the Agni or digestion capacity for all cases be it losing weight or gaining weight

-       Regulating fat metabolism reduces the weight and can improve sperm qualities. 

Prepared by 

Dr. Poornima Sreelal 

The author can be contacted through info.ayurdiet.in@gmail.com or +91-9447762555

 

 

 

 

 

 

Medicated Butter Milk

Health benefits

• This act as a probiotic and helps to improve healthy gut flora.
• Improves the digestive capacity of stomach by increasing gastric enzymes secretion.
• Helps in reducing cholesterol and diabetes mellitus.
• Good for hemorrhoids

Ingredients

•     Plain butter milk -2cup (1: 5; yogurt: water)
•     Mustard   seed -1 pinch
•     Fenugreek -1 pinch
•     Turmeric powder - ¼ teaspoon
•     Salt - to taste
•     Chopped ginger - ½ teaspoon
•     Cumin seeds - 1 pinch
•     Coconut Oil - 1 teaspoon
•     Curry leaf - few
•     Water   - ¼ cup

Method of preparation:

• 
  
• Heat a vessel with coconut oil. 
• When the oil gets heated add mustard, fenugreek and Cumin.
• When mustard is crackled add ginger, turmeric, add some warm water to boil for few seconds.
• Remove the pan from the flame, add buttermilk, and curry leaf and salt.
• Stir well cool it and serve.  

​

Caution: Avoid if you feel acidity, when too hungry and also if there are bleeding issues. 

For more diet related queries, contact the author Dr. Poornima Sreelal (BAMS, M. Sc. CND), Ayurvedic physician and clinical nutritionist. 

info.ayurdiet.in@gmail.com

+91-9447762555

Ayurveda Health tips about Green Gram

Green gram is one of those ingredients in Ayurveda which can be taken everyday without health issues. Some ingredients like yogurt, certain meat, certain combinations are not recommended to be taken regularly. 

The green gram is regarded as the best in pulses as per Ayurvedic texts.

Kindly click the link below to access the PDF file

Green gram facts

Dr. Poornima Sreelal

Ayurvedic Dietary Concepts – an overview.

Ayurveda is wisdom that has stood the test of time and its principles have only reinforced by the passage of time. It is a science through its sheer emphasis on observation and its methodical validation of hypothesis. It has also seen the problems through the centuries. In the course of its evolution, it has covered diversities in our food, culture, society, mindsets and so on. It has adapted for an individual based on the individual’s lifestyle, seasonal and geographical requirements. It’s not magic.

 

Ayurveda emphasises preventative and healing therapies along with various methods of purification and rejuvenation. Ayurveda is a science and an art of appropriate living that helps to achieve longevity and improving the quality of life. It can guide every individual in the proper choice of diet, living habits and exercise to restore balance in the body, mind and consciousness, thus preventing disease from gaining a foothold in the system.

 

A small intro to the principle of Ayurveda: Every human being is a unique phenomenon of cosmic consciousness manifested through the five basic elements—Space, Air, Fire, Water and Earth. These five elements are classified based on the unique properties of each element exhibits known as Gunasin Sanskrit.  For example, flowing air increases dryness property, whereas water moistens, binds. Fire heats and convert matter to different products and so on. In short each element shows its own unique set of qualities that total to forty-one Gunas. These qualities are taken in different permutation combination and made into three groups for a concept called Dosha. These doshas are first Vata- a combination of space and air, second, Pitta- a combination of fire and water, and third Kapha-a combination of water and earth. These are the three humors or the three organizations of the body, which are also derived from consciousness. 

Each individual constitution or psychosomatic temperament is determined by the relative proportions of these three doshas at the time of fertilization and influenced by development. 

 

Every individual constitution has its own unique balance of Doshas according to its own nature. This original balance of is the natural order. When this doshic balance is disturbed, it creates an imbalance, which is disorder. Health is order; disease is disorder. Within the body there is a constant interaction between order and disorder, thus once one understands the nature and structure of disorder, one can re-establish order. Ayurveda believes that order lies within disorder. When the balance of these systems is disturbed, the disease (disorder) process begins.

 

The wrong diet, habits, lifestyle, incompatible food combinations (e.g., milk and fish, melons and grain, yogurt and meat or eating cooked honey, etc.), seasonal changes and stress factors can all act either together or separately to change the balance of Doshas This in turn affects the agni (metabolic fire) and produces Ama (toxins), which is the beginning of disease. 

 

To stop the further production of toxins, Ayurvedic literature suggests putting the person on a corrective diet with appropriate lifestyle, habits and exercise, and administering a proper cleansing program such as cleansing through Panchakarma that is a set of five therapies belonging to a class of cleansing procedures called shodana. There is also a group of milder techniques called Shamana for those not strong enough or not fit for shodana.)

 

The deliverance of Shamana or alleviating treatments can be classified into three. They are medication, food and activities. Here, we shall discuss a little more about interesting subject –The food, which is our primary necessity and unfortunately at times it is the least cared-for and misunderstood necessity 

 

If someone asks a question, when will you eat food? The answers vary, some will say, “when I get time”, “when my work is over”, “when I see food” or “when hungry”. Apart from the “When”, there are also more pertinent questions like “what”, “how”, “how much”, etc. Generally we overlook these questions. Moreover, these questions are not easy to answer. Most of us do not get enough time to understand the necessity, relevance, and implications of food (Aahara in Sanskrit) due to our fast paced life or ignorance. 

 

When you should eat?

The simplest answer will be when hungry, but it is not the answer, since it is under the influence of various factors like mood, food, environment, upbringing, etc. As per Ayurvedic daily routine, it is said the first thing you need to check soon after you get up is whether the food you ate yesterday has digested or not. Depending on the individual, the first thought of food should come after proper evacuation of bowels, exercise, and shower.

If one had a late night or a heavy dinner, the next day morning mostly will feel heaviness and tiredness in our body and our appetite is also very less. It is suggested to avoid breakfast then and drink some ginger water to improve the digestion. If there’s burping or acidity, it is indication from the food is not digested properly. Then, it is best to give some time to our stomach to digest the food properly.

The answer for when to eat mainly focus on your appetite and feeling hunger, but it should be taken care to sync with biological rhythm, so as to set our body’s hunger clock. That is, if feel hungry for brunch, then eat light enough so that you feel hunger by lunch. It is equally important to differentiate psychological and physiological hunger.

 

What to eat?

 “What to eat?” is in fact a difficult question as there are multiple considerations to be taken care of. Here we are not considering the ingredients we are looking at the principles in choosing the ingredients. Most of us are eating food according to our convenience like availability. Our one time meal just satisfies our hunger for that time being. It is here; we need to find out the short term and long term effects of food. We need to look globally and locally as to one’s physiological condition then, for the day, for the season, for the age and what’s available. The healthy food is that food which complies with the above requirement. 

For example, if a Pitta predominant person catches common cold, he cannot take anything sweet and cold as it aggravate the imbalance of his Kapha which is manifested as common cold. Then he/she must eat something warm or hot potency till the excess of Kapha is balanced. Once his common cold is over, it may not be recommended to take the same hot food as it aggravates the inherent Pitta qualities. Ayurveda believes in individual medicine, individual food, individual lifestyles also as per his / her health and environment. What is healthy for one person, need not be healthy for another person 

Food requirement varies according to our digestion status, age, disease, climate, season, dosha, physique and psyche, individual preferences, ethnicity and most importantly Agni, the digestive capacity of an individual, so based on one’s digestive capacity, we select the ingredients, method of preparation and the quantity of ingredients. 

Generally digestive capacity or Agni will be changing on a diurnal basis. It is on prime by midday and it weakens again by evening. If a person is having high Agni, that person should take food that needs more time to digest and in fairly large quantity. If the digestive capacity of the person is less, then he/she should select easily digestible food in smaller quantities. Some people have a good appetite but their physical output is less, in such cases the person need more filling type and low calories foods. 

One also needs to change food as per age, seasons and geographic locations. You observe this choice when you notice most of the people in the tropics prefer comparatively lighter food and those in the cold countries prefer rich food. In Ayurvedic seasonal regime, one needs to avoid alcohol in summer and one can have some alcohol in winter with restrictions. This geographical and climatic selection can be demonstrated in the cultural differences of the people from cold countries, for cold countries alcohol is a social drink and in the tropics, mostly alcohol is a taboo. 

 

How to eat?

While you are eating; your entire concentration should be on eating.

Prior to taking food, wash your feet, mouth, and hands prior to having food. Have it in a pleasant and relaxed mood. We should avoid unnecessary talk and avoid distractions like electronic devices while eating. The food is to be prepared by a trustworthy person in a clean and private space. Use your hands for eating. This is possibly because the senses of sight and touch signal the brain that in turn signals to the stomach what we are about to eat. The fingers relay the message that you are about to eat, including the temperature of the food, texture, consistency that helps the body to prepare for proper digestion by releasing digestive juices and enzymes in a timely manner. Chew properly and eat food at a moderate pace.  Pay attention to the movements inside abdomen.

 

How much?

Then the next question is how much quantity you should eat. As per the modern dietetics, we have a generalized calorie value for a person according to their height, weight, age, and work. However, Ayurveda calculates the person’s capacity to digest the food and other parameters mentioned earlier, and then decide the food. One need to fill half the capacity of stomach filled with solids, one fourth with liquids and rest kept empty for the free movement of body doshas. If you listen to the eructation while eating, this signals the time to stop eating. By observing the gas movements you can assume that you are leaving a quarter of stomach with air.

 

Drinking water before food makes a person leaner and drinking after food helps the person to gain weight. One who drinks water in the middle or along with food will neither be too thin not too fat. Drinking too much water is not good for those affected with weakness in digestion. Generally, drinking warm water is recommended as in this condition. There are times when room temperature water is preferred as it pacifies fainting, vomiting, heat, burning sensation, bleeding etc.

 

Method of cooking

Ayurvedic texts describe various methods of cooking like steaming, frying, roasting, baking, clay oven preparation etc. and in different contexts.  Food Quality and bioavailability change with different methods of preparations. It also changes with the type of vessel and fire. 

The Ayurvedic dietary guidelines consider human beings as a part of nature. Its guidelines are with an intention to have a balanced input in the appropriate method and time to achieve an optimum balance inside the body in accordance to the external environment. 

 

 

Prepared by

Dr. Poornima Sreelal 

BAMS, M.Sc. Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics.

www.ayurdiet.in