Warm milk before going to
bed is a good idea, but eating very late at night is not—it may help you
fall asleep, but your body will feel worse in the morning. Lassi, a traditional Indian drink, is good for ridding the body of excess
Vata. To make it, whisk together one-half cup plain yogurt and one-half
cup water; flavor with a pinch of powdered ginger , salt, or cumin. Sweet mango lassi, made from equal parts yogurt and mango pulp
(fresh or canned) is particularly delicious and also balances Vata. For a
lighter beverage, either lassi can be diluted with between one-half and
one cup of water . One ef ficient and instant way to settle Vata is to
sprinkle a special spice powder , called a Vata churna, over your plate at
the table. An Internet source for churnas is on page 378. Vata-Pacifying FoodsDairyAll dairy is acceptable, unless you have a known lactase deficiency . Pitta-Pacifying Diet
Favor:
Cool or warm but not steaming-hot foods
Moderately heavy textur es
Bitter , sweet, and astringent tastes
Less butter and added fat
 Pitta types are born with naturally strong, efficient digestion that remains
that way unless disturbed. They come closest to the ideal of being able to eat
a little of everything. Therefor e, they need to be careful to avoid dietary
abuses. The continued use of too much salt, overindulgence in sour and
spicy food, and overeating are the most common aggravating influences. Being the only hot dosha, Pitta appreciates cool foods, particularly in
summer . It is a good idea to be especially scrupulous about having bitter and
astringent tastes in your meals (supplied mainly through  salads and
legumes). These  two rasas curb the appetite, dry up excessive moisture, and
keep the palate sharp. They also counteract the dulling effect of too much
salt and sugar on the taste buds,  making it easier for Pittas to be moderate in
their appetites, as nature intended them to be. Anything that makes dining a
more soothing and orderly experience will also help to pacify this dosha. The Pitta-pacify ing diet given below is the natural choice for Pitta types,
unless a Ayurvedically trained physician has indicated otherwi se. Our Pitta
patients report that they feel more balanced on this diet, still energetic but
with a “softer” energy. Their roaring appetites calm down, too. If you suffer
from mild symptoms of Pitta imbalance, such as heartburn, irritability , or
excessive thirst,  this diet is also good. Try it for a month and see if your
symptoms are alleviated. Some general points to help you implement this diet are as follows. Cool, refreshing food is best for Pitta types in summer , with a decrease
in salt, oil, and spices, all of which are heating to the body . Salads
contain two tastes, bitter and astringent, that balance Pitta and are also
cold and light. Milk and ice cream are good, too. Excessive Pitta makes the body too sour; to counteract this, you should
generally avoid pickles, yogurt, sour cream, and cheese. Fresh lemon
juice is an exception and can be used, sparingly , instead of vinegar in
your salad dressings. Fermented foods and alcoholic beverages are
aggravating to Pitta because of their sourness, as are the acids in cof fee. Learning to drink herb tea, either mint, licorice root, or the specialPitta-pacifying tea you can order (see page 378), will often make a big
difference in smoothing your moods. A breakfast of cold cereal, cinnamon toast, and apple juice is a good
replacement for cof fee, doughnut, and orange juice, all of which disturb
Pitta. The fat in red meat, which also heats the body , is not needed by Pitta
people. Although they like to eat meat, particularly if they are high-
powered movers and shakers, Pittas do better on a vegetarian diet than
any other body type. If you are not vegetarian, make sure that your diet
includes abundant amounts of milk, grains, and vegetables. All of these
make Pittas feel extremely good. Once they become accustomed to
health-food restaurants, Pittas like them better than their old steak
houses because they feel calmer and more satisfied afterward. Fried foods are oily , hot, salty , and heavy , all qualities that Pittas need
to avoid. On the other hand, starchy foods—vegetables, grains, and
beans—are satisfying and cut ravenous Pitta hunger . The steady ener gy
of a high-carbohydrate diet will counteract the tendency to overeat
under stress. Processed and fast foods lean heavily on salt and sour tastes; it is a
good idea for Pitta types to avoid them as much as possible. Since Pittas
are fond of luxury , a subdued, elegant restaurant brings out the best in
them. Japanese and Chinese food, being relatively low in fat and meat,
are good choices for Pittas. When you eat out, order cool, not iced,
water , take salad instead of hot soup, have the bread with a small
amount of butter , and feel free to order dessert. Spicy food is too
intoxicating to Pitta; if you like Mexican food, minimize the cheese and
sour cream, and have a cool guacamole salad to counteract the heavy
aggravation of Pitta caused by chilies. Pittas respond well to low-salt diets, but if forced to eat tasteless food,
they will quickly rebel. Keeping salt of f the table and adding it only in
the kitchen while you cook is a good compromise. Cocktail hour with
salty snacks is worse for Pitta types than anyone else. The dry , saltyfood and the alcohol combine to inflame their appetites and stomach
linings. To bring down aggravated Pitta, a standard recommendation is to take
two teaspoons of ghee (clarified butter) in a glass of warm milk. This
also acts as a laxative, which helps flush excess Pitta from the system. Have your ghee and milk in place of dinner or two hours after a light
dinner . You can also have it in place of breakfast. (Do not take ghee,
however , if you have a problem with elevated cholesterol.) One ef ficient and instant way to settle Pitta is to sprinkle a special spice
powder , called a Pitta churna, over your plate at the table. An Internet
source for churnas is on page 378. Pitta-Pacifying Foods
SweetenersAll sweeteners are acceptable, except honey and molasses. Plus small amounts of cumin and black pepperKapha is a slow dosha to be affected by food, but over time, Kapha types
become imbalan ced as a result of eating too many sweet, rich foods. Other
problems can develop, but in Western society , where sugar and fat account
for more than half of the calories consumed by the average person, Kaphas
have to be on guard against this influence. Salt also needs to be watched,
since it too is greatly overused and promotes fluid retention in many Kaphas. Anything that increases lightness should be favored—a small, light meal
at breakfast and dinner , lightly cooked foods (no deep-frying), raw fruits and
vegetables. Eating spicy food will promote better digestion and warm your
body; bitter and astringent foods will help to curb your appetite. In general,
anything that makes eating stimulating will help balance Kapha and avert the
danger , ever -present with most Kapha types, of overindulging at the table. The Kapha-pacifying diet given below is the natural choice for Kapha
body types, unless contrary advice has been given by a Ayurvedically trained
physician. Switc hing to this diet helps many of our Kapha patients feel more
balanced, energetic, lighter , and happier about themselves. If you suffer from
mild symptoms of Kapha imbalance, such as a stuffed or runny nose, being
slow to start in the morning, or oversleeping, this diet is also good. Try it for
six weeks and see if your symptoms are alleviated. The following suggestions will help people implement a Kapha-pacifying
diet. Given a choice, pick hot food over cold at every meal—a hot luncheon
entree instead of a sandwich, hot apple pie instead of ice cream, grilledfish instead of tuna salad. Warming up cold Kapha digestion is always
good for balance. Dry cooking methods (baking, broiling, grilling,
sautéing) are better for Kaphas than moist ones (steaming, boiling,
poaching). Before you eat, stimulate your appetite with bitter or pungent tastes
instead of salty or sour . The bitterness of romaine lettuce, endive, or
tonic water will wake up your taste buds without encouraging you to
overeat. Ginger tea or even a pinch of fresh gingerroot is also highly
recommended. In general, you want to be sure that bitter and astringent
tastes are present in every meal. To get them, it is not necessary to seek
out bitter food in quantity . A little bitterness in a salad or the
astringency of herbs supplies enough. Among the household spices,
cumin, fenugreek, sesame seed, and turmeric are both bitter and
astringent. Adding pungent tastes to your diet with spices is one of the best ways to
balance Kapha. Anything spicy is good, including very hot Mexican or
Indian food that makes your eyes water . This action flushes out all the
mucous membranes. Contrary to what we tend to think, hot, spicy food
is best not in the summer but in the winter; it of fsets the cold, damp
quality that Kapha resents. Kaphas need to eat breakfast mainly to get them started in the morning,
not for solid nourishment. Rather than relying on a jolt of caf feine from
coffee, wake your body up with light, Kapha-reducing foods, such as
hot spiced cider , buckwheat pancakes with apple butter , corn muf fins,
and bitter cocoa made with skim milk and a touch of honey . In general,
anything hot and light is good, while anything cold, heavy , or sweet is
not so good. Cold cereals, cold juice or milk, and sugary pastries tend to
create congestion, particularly in damp winter weather . Bacon and
sausage are Kapha-aggravating because of their salt and oil. If you
don’t feel hungry in the morning, it is all right to skip breakfast, which
Ayurveda considers optional, especially for Kapha types. If you wake up feeling congested in the morning, a sign of excess
Kapha, the best things to take are honey , hot water , lemon juice, andginger . Hot ginger tea (page 301) is excellent for Kapha types in
general, since it stimulates the system and flushes out excess Kapha. If
you occasionally skip a meal—a good idea for many Kaphas—a
spoonful of honey in hot water will tide you over . Cutting back on sweets is dif ficult for many Kaphas, but a trial week on
a low-sugar diet generally does result in feeling lighter and more
energetic. Honey is extensively recommended for Kapha types, but you
should not take more than a tablespoon or so per day; honey is not
suitable to cook with, either , since heating honey makes it
unwholesome, according to Ayurveda. Out-of-balance Kapha types overindulge in dairy products, but butter ,
ice cream, and cheese are among the worst for you, since they make
your system colder and more congested. Low-fat milk is best,
preferably pre-boiled to aid digestion, with only a minimum of other
dairy products. Sesame seeds on rolls and bread help to counteract the
sweet, heavy quality of the wheat, which is not the best for Kapha,
either . Because they combine too much heavy sweetness, a hambur ger
and milkshake, or even a sandwich with milk, should be eaten only
infrequently . Raw fruits, vegetables, and salads are extremely good, since their fiber
tones the intestinal tract, in addition to the benefits of their astringent
tastes. Generally speaking, Ayurveda prefers all food cooked, but we
find that this is an exception that helps most Kapha types. Deep-fried foods of any kind will aggravate Kapha; they are among the
few things you should try to eliminate from your diet. There is no need
to banish all fats, but make an ef fort to use less butter and oil in your
cooking. Corn oil is heating to the body; it is a good choice for you in
small quantities, along with almond and sunflower oils. Crisp-steamed
vegetables with a little ghee (clarified butter) drizzled over them is
good for a light supper; anything crisp, fresh, and stimulating balances
Kapha.Restaurant food has to be carefully chosen by Kapha people. Fast food
is far too oily , salty , and sweet—head for the salad bar and use a
minimum of salad dressing. If you are eating out in better restaurants,
Oriental cooking is the lightest, particularly if you concentrate on more
vegetables than meat. Wherever you go, order a glass of hot water
instead of iced, take salad instead of hot soup (except in cold weather),
avoid the rolls and butter , and make dessert small and not too rich—hot
fruit pies are probably the best choice. One ef ficient and instant way to settle Kapha is to sprinkle a special
spice powder , called a Kapha churna, over your plate at the table. An
Internet source for churnas is on page 378. Kapha-Pacifying Foods
THE SIX TASTES
Each of the six tastes speaks directly to the quantum mechanical body , and
each carries a different message. Our tongues know this instinctively . The
voluptuous sweetness of vanilla custard is diametrically opposed to the bitterbite of lemon peel; one is soothing, the other is a shock. Your whole body
reacts to the difference, which begins on your tongue but continues
throughout your body . Taste leaves a trail of reactions from your mouth to
the food’ s final destination, your cells. Without knowing about nutritional balance in terms of fats, carbohydrates,
and proteins, native cultures around the world have realized that their diets
had to be dynamic. They had to have tastes that wake up the body , like bitter
and astringent, and others that soothe it, primarily sweet. Digestion
sometimes need ed to be increa sed with “hot” tastes—pungen t, sour, and
salty—and at other times decreased with “cold” tastes—bitter , astringent,
and sweet. All of this was understood instinctively . In Mexico, the limited fare of
corn and beans could not by itself have supported a healt hy, balanced
existence, but with the addition of red chilies, it has served the native people
for many centu ries. Red chili adds vitamin C to a diet, but the more
important additi on it brings are the sweet and pungent tastes that round out
the six rasas. Curry spices serve the same purpose in India, where the staples
of rice, lentils, and wheat bread would be dramatically limited without them. MESSAGES FROM NA TURE
Every food has its own profile of tastes. Simple foods, such as white sugar
or vineg ar, have  only one taste, but most others have at least two: lemon is
sour, but also sweet and bitter; carrots are sweet, bitter , and astringent;
cheese is sweet  and sour. Milk  is considered a complete food, having the
subtle presence of all six rasas besides its obvious sweetness; for this reason,
Ayurveda recommends drinking milk alone rather than combin ing it with a
meal. (Having milk with other sweet foods—fruit, grains, and sugar—is
good, however; in fact, milk is the best buffer for refined white sugar , which
enters the system in a rush if digested alone.) The major food groups all revolve around the rasa of sweet, but with the
five other tastes carefully blended in:Fruits—primarily sweet and astringent, with citrus fruits adding sour
Vegetables—primarily sweet and astringent, with leafy gr eens adding bitter
Dairy—primarily sweet, with yogurt and cheese adding sour and astringent
Meat—primarily sweet and astringent
Oils—primarily sweet
Grains and Nuts—primarily sweet
Legumes—primarily sweet and astringent
Herbs and Spices—primarily pungent, with all other flavors added
secondarily
Just as most foods are sweet, so is Kapha dosha, the builder of tissues; the
human body as a whole is therefore sweet, too. Herbs and spices fill in the
spectrum of tastes, but, more important, they evoke a complete range of
bodily responses. Black pepper makes your mouth water , fenugreek dries it
up; mustard heats the body , mint cools it off. The only blank space is salt,
which is provided by salt itself. Using its taste profile, every food can be described as either increasing or
decreasing one or more dosha s, as we saw. Since the three doshas are
connected, an increase of one is so crucial that Ayurveda has described every
food according to whether it will increase or decrease a particular dosha. Cabbage, for instance, is known  to increase Vata, onions to increase Pitta, all
oils to increase Kapha. Considering that half a dozen messages are being relayed to the body
simultaneously by any one food, you can get just as strong a headache
computing the six rasas as trying to compute every gram of fat,
carbohydrate, and protein. This complex job belongs to a Ayurvedic doctor . To him, food is medicine, and its properties must be scrutinized as closely as
any other medic ine. He needs to know that cabbage is sweet and astringent,
dry and cooling, and therefore a strong aggravator of Vata (that is whycabbage tends to form gas in the colon, the seat of Vata). He would then be
able to prescribe an offsetting food (such as fennel) to counteract Vata
aggravation. He also knows that every food delivers an “aftertaste” (vipak ) that affects
the body once the food has been digested. Cabbage’ s aftertaste  is pungent,
for example. Vipak is an important consideration when a doctor is
prescribing a therapeutic diet, because he needs to know every aspect of the
food that is affecting his patient’ s doshas. At home you do not have to be so
specific. The aftertaste of food once it has been digested is something we
will leave to the doctor , but for the sake of completion, vipak is classified as
follows:
Sweet and salty tastes lead to sweet vipak
Sour taste leads to sour vipak
Pungent, bitter , and astringent tastes lead to pungent vipak
Thus the six tastes are reduced to three after digestion is completed. In the following pages we delve more deeply into the six rasas and what
they say to your doshas. I hope you will read this section at least once, but
do not memorize it. Your taste buds, not your mind, should be the final judge
of taste. Sweet is a taste that strongly increases Kapha. Eating sweet foods will
bring on Kapha qualities in the body—coldness, heaviness (by adding fat),
steadiness, and physical energy. Just as Kapha people are naturally the mosteasily satisfied, sweet is the most satisfying taste. It is very Kapha to be
sweet-natured and motherly—from childhood on, two Kapha foods, milk
and sugar , represent motherlines s. Any food that feels nourishin g and brings
satisfaction generally has a sweet component. For instance, all meats, oils,
and most grains are considered sweet. Ayurveda looks upon rice and wheat,
the two grains that are the staff of life in the East and West, as sweet in taste. Ghee (clarified butter) is another sweet food, being derived from milk; it is
considered the best remedy for balancing Pitta. Sweet foods are also soothing and relieve thirst. If you are in a nervous,
unsettled mood,  which is a sign of aroused Vata, sweet will calm you; it also
puts out the fire of Pitta (an angry baby is pacified by givin g it milk or
sugar). However , too much sugar is not stabilizing; it makes the mind dull
and drow sy. Complacency , greed, and emotional dependency come from too
much sweet. Too much sweet becomes cloying. It leads to negative qualities  that come
from pushing Kapha too far: sluggishness, overweight, mental dullness,
excess mucus, congestion, and sleepiness. Kapha people are endowed with
qualities of satisfaction and well-being that Vata and Pitta types  have to seek
through sweet tastes. However , in the case of any Kapha imba lance, sweet
foods are considered undesirab le and should be reduced or avoided. Only
honey is an exception to this rule. It is better than any other sweet food for
balancing Kapha. Salt increases both Pitta and Kapha. It sparks digestion, a Pitta function. Its taste adds savor to food, stokes the appetite, and starts the flow of saliva
and stom ach juices. Salt is hot like Pitta (all the digestive processes heat up
the body). Too much of it, however , and the other tastes are overwhelmed,
making nothing taste good. The Kapha connection is through two otherqualities Ayurveda associates with salt—oiliness and heaviness. By attaching
itself to water molecules, salt makes your tissues heavier . Excessive salt will
make it harder to control food cravings, which Kapha types  must do to
remain on a balanced diet. By making you eat too much, salt adds fat and
leads to overweight. In the West, the connection between salt and hypertension has been
convincing enough that many patients with high blood pressure have been
forbidden to eat any but the smallest amounts of salt. This implied that salt
was somehow an enemy . Now it is known that such restrictions were too
severe—a norm al person can eat moderate amounts of salt without harm to
his blood pressu re. The basic reason not to overindulge is that a moderate
diet promotes health in every way, not just by averting hypertension. Ayurveda would point out that salt doesn’ t raise blood pressure , the doshas
do. It takes a dosha imbalance before the salt will do any harm. Too much salt also leads to Pitta-related skin inflammation, acne, and
overheating. If there is a Pitta or Kapha imbalance in the body , salty food is
considered undesirable. Emotionally , salt gives life its zest, but too much salt nullifies this effect,
just as too many  potato chips kills the appetite instead of stimulates it. If you
overuse salt, it takes more and more of it to register at all—this is why salty
foods are compulsive. Excess salt in general is associated with cravings and
compulsive desires. Like salt, sour is a Pitta-Kapha taste that sparks the digestion and adds
savor to food. It is refreshing to eat sour food, but it increases thirst, which is
connected to Pitta—the heat generated by extra Pitta has to be slaked with
lots of water . Sour food can therefore add to fluid retention, making the body
heavier (more Kapha). Pitta’ s sharp qualities, such as sharp intellect and
wittiness, are increased by sour foods, but “turning sour” is also possible,
since too much Pitta is connected with resentment and envy , popularly called
“sour grapes.”
Cheese and yogurt derive their sourness from fermentation. In small
quantities, sour foods make the digestive juices flow. However , Ayurveda is
distinctly opposed to fermented sourness in general—vinegar and fermented
alcohol are considered toxic, reflecting the Pitta-Kapha quality of this taste. Out-of-balance Pitta brings toxicity to the blood; out-of-balance Kapha
makes the tissues stagnant with ama. Excess of sour foods leads to acidic difficulties in the body , such as ulcers,
disturbed blood chemistry , skin irritations, and heartburn. If there is a Pitta
or Kaph a imbalance in the body already , sour foods are considered
undesirable. Fermented foods are undesirable at any time except in small
amounts. Bitter is the most Vata of tastes, being light, cold, and dry in its effects on
the body . It is a corrective taste, bringing the cravings for sweet, sour, andspicy foods back into balance. Bitter quickens the palate by waking it up, not
by satisfying it, a very Vata property , since Vata is responsible for alertness. A dash of bitters  or a glass of tonic water is effective in getting the digestion
going for people with slow digestion; the bitterness instantly makes the
palate want the more satisfying tastes. Bitter tones the tissues, a proper ty that gave tonic water its name. Bitter is
the best taste, along with sweet, for cooling you off in hot weather . When the
body has beco me toxic, inflamed, hot, or itchy as a result of Pitta
aggravation, bitter is considered the best corrective. (Bitter quinine bark
soothes fever , for example.) In excess, bitter aggravates Vata, leading to typical Vata complaints—loss
of appet ite, weight loss, headaches, unsteadiness, dry skin, and a hollow
feeling of weakness. The braci ng alertness associated with bitter turns to
bitter feelings in excess, associated with lack of satisfaction—anything that
is too Vata is not satisfying, because Vata’s nature is constantly to seek
change. Grief, which destroys the balance of Vata and makes life seem
completely without satisfaction, is bitter . In Ayurveda, hot, spicy food is considered to have its own taste, called
pungent. Pungen cy is immediately recognizable because it causes a burning
sensation (the increased Pitta) and thirst (the drying effect of increased Vata). Pungency heats up the body and makes fluids flow out of it. As a result,
digestion is increased and congested tissues are cleaned out. Sweat, tears,
saliva, mucus, and the blood all start flowing when pungency is present.Because it flushes out your sinus cavities, pungent food is the best for
balancing Kapha, which when aggravated leads to congestion of mucous
membranes. Western medicine long thought that spicy food must be bad for
anyone with irritated mucous membranes, but the effect of opening and
flushing out the tissues is now considered extremely beneficial; sufferers of
chronic bronchitis and asthma have sometimes been put on Mexican food
laden with chili pepper . The antitoxic effect of pungent is said to help clear
the skin, even though Pitta is increased—the Vata dryness clean s out the oily
pores that exacerbate acne. In excess, pungency turns to pain—eating a raw chili causes swollen lips
and eyes, burni ng skin, and hot sweat. Too much spicy food makes you
overly thirsty , dizzy , and unsett led, reflecting the Vata influence (too much
Vata makes for light-headednes s and dryness). The sharpness of pungent, if
pushed too far , will not excite the body but irritate it. The same is true of the emotio ns. Pungent humor is invigorating, but it
can also be sharp and hurtful. Excitable, extroverted people  are already
inclined to be pungent—if you add more, they turn feverish. If a Vata or Pitta
imbalance is present in the body , pungent food is not desirable. Astringent, the taste that makes your mouth dry and puckered, is the least
familiar of the six rasas. It is an alkaline taste, equal but opposite to the
puckering of sour lemons. Like bitter , astringent is Vata—the gas produced
by boile d cabbage and the dry, mealy taste of beans are both Vata effects. Astringency is light like bitter but more appetizing; traditional cultures
around the world have subsisted on beans, and in the Middle Ages, cabbagewas a staple food throughout Europe. Astringency is settling; potatoes,
carrots, and other earthy foods bring out this satisfying ef fect. Astringent is cooling and constr ictive; it stops the flow of secretions such
as sweat and tears (making beans a good pairing for chili peppe rs, since they
offset each other). In excess, its constricting effect may lead to Vata
complaints of constipation and dry mouth, along with gas or distension in
the lower abdomen. People who have a dry wit are astringent. It is a quality that dampens
excitement and brings you back to yourself. Taken too far, however ,
astringency becomes shriveling. The sudden constriction when you are
seized by fear and the dry mouth that anxiety brings are both negative
astringent qualities. Astringent emotions lack warmth in general; to be old,
cold, and shriveled up is what makes people into old prunes if they age
badly . If there is a Vata imbalance in the body , astringent food is undesirable. AGNI—THE DIGESTIVE FIRE
Most people have never consulted a physician about their digestion. As a
society used to good health, we take for granted our ability to process food,
and, in the absence of a seriou s problem like peptic ulcers or colitis, we
ignore the occasional upset stomach or uncomfortable night spent after
“eating the whole thing.”
Ayurveda, on the other hand, considers poor digestion a major factor in
the disea se process and extols good digestion as the giver of health. Every
cell has been created from food. If the food has been used well, then the cells
will be built well; if it has been used badly , then the disease  process has
already started. The Ayurvedic sages liked to say that if you could digest it
properly , poison  would be good  for you, while with poor digestion, a person
can die from drinking nectar . DIGESTION AND THE DOSHASAyurveda says that there are no absolutely good or bad foods, only food
that is good or bad for you. Being able to extract every life-giving value
from what you eat is of the utmost importance. People are not born equal in
this regard— the three major body types have very different powers of
digestion. Vata digestion tends to be variable and often delicate. Pitta digestion tends to be str ong and intense. Kapha digestion tends to be slow and often heavy . As with everyth ing that the doshas touch, each style of digest ion has its
advantages and drawbacks. Vatas may not be thrilled to discover that they
tend to have delicate or unreliable digestion, but this makes them more
discriminating eaters, and they rarely have to worry about the runaway
appetites of Pittas or the discouraging slide into overweight experienced by
many Kaphas. The important thing is to make maximum use of the digestion
you were born with and improve it as much as possible. The digestive tract not only extracts nutrition for your body , it is highly
responsive to your emotions. Your “gut feelings” have been put there by
nature so that the mind and body can communicate. Vata imbalance often
shows up as disturbed feelings that create pain in the intestines. Pitta dosha
is responsible for correct metabolism and “pure blood” (absence of toxins) ;
it is also the dosha that controls the proper rate of digestion. This is called
agni, or “the digestive fire.”
Agni is one of the most impor tant principles in Ayurveda, equal to the
doshas. A primary sign of good health is that your agni is burnin g bright, that
is, you are digesting your food efficiently , distributing all the necessary
nutrients to every cell, and burning off waste products without leaving
deposits of toxins. Therefore, by balancing agni, one keeps all these things in
balance at the same time. Nature has set up everyone’ s body in such a way that agni follo ws a cycle
throughout the day; unless agni’ s daily rhythm is correctly set, digestion willsuffer. One of the most valuable things to know is how to reset a flickering
agni and coax it back into its natural groove. HOW  TO RESET  AGNI
Agni’ s daily rhythm rises and falls, making you slightly hungry in the
morning, very hungry at noon, and moderately hungry in the early evening. In between these times, agni shuts down your appetite so that it can proceed
to diges t the food you have already eaten. When your stomach is empty
again, agni renews your appetite once more. If this basic cycle is thrown off, the body becomes confused—ap petite and
digestion start to overlap. Your agni will tell you if this has happened by a
wide range of symptoms:
Heartburn and acid stomach
Fluttering stomach or nervous digestion
Loss of appetite at mealtimes
Constipation or diarrhea
Lack of interest in food
Overweight or underweight
Serious digestive disorders: irritable bowel syndrome, ulcers,
diverticulitis, et cetera
The first and most important thing to do if any of these symptoms appears
is to reset your agni to its natura l cycle. It is also a good idea to do this just
to tone your digestion, even if you have no digestive problems. Vata types can reset agni once a month.Pitta types can reset agni twice a month (it is also good to do it when ever
your appetite has become ravenous and you begin to overeat). Kapha types can reset agni up to once a week, unless there are serious
digestive compl aints. Kapha dosha benefits from this routine more than the
other doshas, since digestion tends to be heavy and slow . No matter what your body type, do not attempt to reset your agni if you
are feeling sick. Being sick usually indicates that agni is down (or at least
not running correctly); that is not a good time to be tampering with it. If you
have an ulcer , colitis,  or any other serious digestive complaint , do not restart
agni, except under a doctor ’s care. The method for resetting agni is as follows:
Weekend Pr ogram
It takes roughly two days to reset agni. Since rest is one of the
requirements on the day you do not eat, doing the program over the weekend
is best for most people. FRIDA Y ROUTINE
Eat normally at breakfast and lunch. Do not have an afternoon snack or
any alcohol after noon. Eat a light dinner of nourishing food, making sure
that it is satisfyi ng but not heavy; exclude spicy food and cheese . Just before
bedtime, take a laxative—three tablets of senna (Sennokot®), followed by a
small glass of hot water . Go to bed early . Some people will wake up during
the night for a bowel movement , others will wait until morning —either way
is normal. SATURDA Y ROUTINEBefore you can reset your agni, it is necessary first to lower it. This is
done by not eating meals and only drinking liquids during the day. Vata and
Pitta types shou ld drink fruit juice diluted with warm water . Apple or grape
juice are good; orange juice is too acidic. Drink one glass of juice at
breakfast, at lunch, and at dinnertime; three or four more can be taken
between meals, but do not drink more than that unless it’s water . The aim is
to have no appe tite and only a minimum of calories to digest. Kapha types
can follo w this routine or drink only warm  water , if they are comfortable
with that. Spend the day reading, watchin g TV, or performing light activi ty. A short
walk in the morning and in the afternoon is a good idea. Do not travel any
distance or undertake heavy physical tasks. If you run or exercise heavily ,
skip it for a day and relax. If you feel faint with hunger , take one tables poon of honey with a glass of
warm water and lie down for five minutes. It is normal to feel lightness in your limbs, but if you start to tremble or
feel dizzy , lie down and rest. If the feeling persists, eat a small meal. You
may be unsettled from unusually high stress that has thrown you of f balance. SUNDA Y ROUTINE
Now you want to restart your agni and let it adjust itself to its normal
cycle. To do this, eat a light breakfast of hot cereal (oatmeal, cream of rice,
or cream  of wheat) with a little butter , milk, and sugar . Herb tea is also good
in the morning to soothe the stomach—licorice root for Vatas, peppermint
for Pittas and Kaphas. If you followed the program correctly on Saturday ,
this will be all the breakfast you’ll want. If you still feel very hungry , have
more cereal or a glass of juice. Coffee, tea, and cigarettes will throw off your
agni rhythm and defeat your purpose. (Kapha types, who are slow starters in
the morning, can drink gotu kola tea as a stimulant—this herb is sold in
health-food stores.) Do not eat again until noon.At exactly noon, have a good lunch, one that satisfies you without being
heavy or immoderate. It is best not to excite your digestion with salty or
spicy food or alcohol, but do not have just a salad and water , either . Ginger
tea is a good idea. If you are Vata and have no appetite, drink it before the
meal; otherwise, during or after the meal is fine. If you do not have ginger
tea, sip a glass of warm water with your meal. Do not eat again until dinner . Have an early dinner (at least three hours before you go to bed), eating a
nourishing meal that suits your body type. Make this meal smaller than
lunch. Rice, lentils, and steamed vegetables are good. Even a repeat of
breakfast would  be good for most Kaphas and Pittas, or for anyone who
tends to overeat. Now that your agni is reset, your hunger cycle will naturally tend to make
you want
a light breakfast
a substantial lunch, eaten at the same time every day
a light supper , eaten early and at the same time every day
The following things will throw your agni off again and should be
avoided. Eating between meals. The rule here is not to stimulate your appetite if
you are not going to eat. Agni likes to finish what it starts; therefore, it
is thrown of f by empty stimulation from chewing gum, hard candy , or
breath mints taken throughout the day . However , having tea and
cookies in the afternoon is a good idea for Vata types or for anyone who
gets fatigued at the end of the workday . Strong stimulants . Caf feine, salt, and alcohol are strong stimulants and
should be taken moderately . The indigestion most people feel at a
cocktail party comes from the mixing of salty food, alcohol, and noise.If you like to drink cof fee, always have it with food, not alone. The
same applies to salt and alcohol. Being addicted to any of these
stimulants makes it impossible to balance the digestion. Skipping meals. Agni wants something to do three times a day and
resents it if you do not eat. Kapha types can skip meals because their
agni moves slowly and burns low , but it is still a good rule to eat three
times a day . AGNI AND AMA
The Ayurvedic ideal is that agni be kept operating efficiently under all
conditions; it must not be so cold that food is not complete ly digested. Partially digeste d food turns into ama, a cold, foul-smelling residue whose
“stickiness” prevents the doshas from circulating freely as they should. There is also the opposite dange r that agni will burn too high, in which case
the nutrients in food will not be extracted but burned away . Then digestion
becomes feverish, leading to weakness instead of strength. Agni and ama form the most important pair of opposites in the body ,
making the difference between a state of dynamic health and a state of slow
deterioration. The most obviou s difference between the two is that agni
makes you feel well, while ama makes you feel sick. There are some specific
signs as well. Agni gives one:
Glowing complexion and bright eyes
Strong digestion without constipation or diarrhea
Ability to eat all foods
Clear , straw-colored urine
Normal feces without strong smellIf there is ama in the body , it can vary from a minor to a major serious
condition. Among the earlier signs are:
Dull skin and eyes
Unpleasant taste in the mouth, with coated tongue in the morning
Strong bad breath
Urine that is cloudy , dark, or discolored
Weak digestion, chronic constipation and/or diarrhea
Loss of appetite (food tastes bad)
Aching joints
Once the digestive fire has returned to normal and the collected ama from
the past is flush ed out, agni by itself will continue to purify the body . Your
digestion is self-correcting, because nature has set things up so that agni
burns ama. This is another example of how you can trust your body to know
what to do. IMPROVING YOUR AGNI
Certain foods, spices, and herbs  are effective in improving the quality of
agni in everyone, according to Ayurveda. They are used to stimulate appetite,
increase the power of digestion, and remove ama. GINGER
Dried into a powder or used fresh, ginger is praised as the best spice for
helping the agni of all body types. Powdered ginger , sold in grocery-store
spice racks, is stronger , more drying, and more pungent than fresh
gingerroot, which is sold in the fresh produce department (or in health-foodstores if your supermarket does not carry it). Fresh ginger is considered the
better digestive aid. Ginger can be used in various ways:
As a tea. Boil a large pinch of dry ginger in a cup of water over a low
flame until a quarter of the water boils away , then strain. This tea is drunk
before meals to whet the appetite. A small glass of it can be sipped during or
after meals to aid digestion. Fresh ginger tea is made by first boiling your water and then, with the heat
off, dropping in a few thin slices of unpeeled gingerroot (about one
tablespoon per cup of water). Allow to steep for five minutes, then strain. You can make a much stronger  tea by boiling the slices of gingerroot with
the water , but this would be considered a medicinal tea, not to be drunk
every day . As a spice . Ayurveda recommends a variety of ways to use ginger in
cooking. Either the powder or the root can be added to recipes for steamed
vegetables, curri es, gingerbread, cakes, and cookies. You can lightly sprinkle
ginger on your food at the table or chew on a sliver of fresh ginger during
the meal. Although it may be too strong for everyone, scatter ing chopped
gingerroot over your food as a garnish (like parsley) is also considered
worthwhile. Try one approach at a time, however; it does not take much
ginger to kindle agni.Fresh ginger  tea aids digestion. Different body types are advised to take ginger in slightly different ways:
Vata types can mix the choppe d fresh root with salt. Pitta types need less
pungency , so weak ginger tea is enough for them, sweetened with sugar to
make the ginger less spicy . Kapha types (and anyone who is overweight)
want it for eliminating excess Kapha from the system, so they can take a
good deal of ginger tea sweetened with honey . If your appetite and/or digestion  become poor as the result of nervousness,
stress, or illness, an excellent way to restore it is with the following ginger
routine. Ginger Routine
In a small glass, metal, or ceramic bowl, mash four tablesp oons each
powdered ginger , brown sugar , and ghee (melted, clarified butter , see page
304). Mix to a uniform consistency , cover , and store in a cool place.Take a little bit of this ginger mixture every day before breakfast, making
sure that you follow it with a good breakfast (hot cereal, grape juice,
muffins, and herb tea with cinnamon in it is a good menu). Consume the
ginger mixture according to the following schedule. After finishing the ginger routin e, your digestion should be norm alized. If
you still experience digestive difficulty , see a doctor; at the first sign of
digestive cramps and pain, do not attempt this routine—consult a physician
instead. Ginger Follow-up
If you are trying to cure a long-standing Vata imbalance or want to keep
your digestion at its peak, takin g a little fresh ginger every day is a good
idea. It is also considered the best preventive against build ing up ama
through improper digestion. Cut a thin, nicke l-sized slice from the end of a fresh gingerroot, cut off the
peel, and chop very fine. Add a few drops of lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Eat this mixture a half-hour before lunch and dinner to stimulate your
digestion. If that is incovenient, the mixture can be eaten just before the
meal. GHEEGhee, or clarified butter , is prized because it increases agni without
simultaneously fueling Pitta. Ghee in fact is considered excellent for
balancing Pitta. Kapha types generally need to avoid too much oil of any
kind, but ghee is the best for them, too. Ghee is used:
As a cooking oil. Small amounts of ghee are good for sautéing vegetables
(not for deep-fr ying). Ghee does not work as well as butter in baking—
breads and desserts need the moisture and milk solids in regular butter . As a flavoring in place of butter . Since ghee is a prepared food, using
butter is not the same as using ghee. Where you would ordina rily butter a
vegetable dish or a baked potato or mix it into your oatmeal, ghee is a better
choice. As a digestive. Drizzle a teaspoon of ghee over food at the table (more is
not better , since too much oil of any type is not healthy). How to Make Ghee
Place one pound unsalted butte r in a one-quart saucepan over low heat. Allow to melt completely , then raise heat to medium. Skim off foam as it
rises. When the butter starts to boil, giving off its water conten t, lower heat
again and cook slowly for abou t ten minutes. The ghee is done when all the
moisture has cooked out and the milk solids at the bottom of the pan have
turned light golden brown (there will also be a nutty aroma, but no hint of
burning). Remov e from heat, let cool, and pour into a clean glass jar or bowl. Ghee keeps indefinitely in the refrigerator but can also be stored at cool or
even room temperature for several weeks. OTHER SPICES FOR GOOD AGNI
Herbs and spices can be selected for each body type, as we did in the
Vata-, Pitta-, and Kapha-pacify ing diets. But certain ones are good for
generally improving the quality of agni. (Pitta types have to be careful to use these in small amounts, since they
tend to increase Pitta dosha.) Building up excess Kapha will make digestion difficult by decreasing
agni; it is also bad for buildin g up ama, since both are cold, heavy , and
viscous. Using bitter and pungen t herbs will reduce Kapha and also “scrape”
ama out of the tissues. Ayurve da specifically recommends bitter taste for
purification. Among the more common spices that attack ama are:
As you can see, these are some of the spices recommended for stimulating
agni. The regula r but moderate use of these flavorings in your cooking will
help prevent ama from forming. Chewing fennel seed after a meal and
sweetening your herb tea with raw, uncooked honey are also standard
practices for balancing agni. A BLISSFUL  DIET
If bliss is basic to life, there should be a physical counterpart for it in the
body , and indeed there is. According to Ayurveda, the body’ s counterpart to
pure joy is a subtle substance called ojas, which is extrac ted from food once
it has been perfectly digested. Like the doshas, ojas is just on the edge of
being physical; one could call it a subtle substance that registers on both
mind and body . The final and most valuable result of eating a good diet is toextract every drop of this subtle  substance from your food. That enables the
cells to “feel happy ,” to experience the cellular equivalent of bliss. Twenty years ago, the idea of a happy cell would have made little sense in
scientific terms. Now we know that the body in fact is capable of generating
a complex network of chemic als (neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, and
related molecules) that the brain uses to communicate emotions throughout
the body . It is also known that a single meal can change  the brain’ s
biochemistry quite radically . A brain chemical connected with feelings of
well-being, such as serotonin, goes up and down in response to the food
being digested in the intestinal tract. This has opened up the exciting
possibility of a “food pharmacy ” to correct depression, anxiety , and other
mental disorders, just as fiber helps to correct cholesterol. In Ayurveda we can bypass the bewildering complexity of brain
chemistry . Natur e has given us ojas, a single substance for happiness that the
body makes all the time. THE SA TTVIC DIET
Ideally , any food you eat is turne d into ojas. At the breast, a baby naturally
turns his mother ’s milk into ojas, but it would take a remarkable digestive
tract to produc e ojas from three-day -old leftover pizza. An excellent,
balanced diet can be planned around the foods that turn into ojas with the
least effort on your body’ s part. Ayurveda calls these the sattvic, or pure,
foods. To this list one often sees added wheat, mung beans, coconut , oranges,
dates, and honey . You do not need to be compulsive about these few foods,
or eat them exclusively . Just include them in your diet on a regular basis. On
a more general level, a sattvic diet contains:
Light, soothing, easily digested food
Fresh produce
Spring water
Balance of all six tastes
Moderate portions
According to Ayurveda, this is the best diet for physical strength, a good
mind, good health, and longevi ty. It is conducive to happines s and loving
emotions becau se it is in tune with nature as a whole. The list of sattvic
foods is short and would not fulfill a normal person’ s dietary requirements,
although if well managed, a diet limited to milk, vegetables, rice, and fruit
would certainly be excellent for one’s health. The famous Duke University
rice diet, based only on boiled rice and fruit, is recognized as an effective
therapeutic regime for heart patients, diabetics, and obese people. Milk is currently unfashionable among health-conscious people, who tend
to link it with digestive problem s, allergies, and high cholesterol. Ayurveda
holds that most of the objections to milk have to do with consuming it
improperly . Milk should be boiled before drinking, which makes it more
digestible. It can be drunk hot, warm, or cool, but never ice cold, straight out
of the refrigerat or. Milk should not be taken with tastes that conflict with it
(pungent, sour, salty) but only with other sweet foods (such as grains, sweet
fruits, and cereals). Whenever possible, drink milk from organic dairies that
do not use hormones or pesticides and have a stated commitment to treat
their cows compassionately . Sweet foods aside, it is recomm ended that you drink milk alone rather
than with your meals, since this is easier on your digestive tract. Low-fatmilk may be best for Kapha types, but whole milk is preferred for all other
body types (unless there is a problem with high cholesterol, in which case
skim milk is best). If you still have trouble digesting milk after it is boiled,
or if it seems to create mucous congestion, try adding two pinches of either
turmeric or dry ginger before boiling (adding a little raw sugar or honey will
cut the bitter taste of the turm eric). These measures remove most of the
current objections to milk, which Ayurveda traditionally considers an
excellent food for bodily strengt h, longevity , and peace of mind. Cow’ s milk
is favored above others as the most sattvic. To move  in the direction of a more sattvic diet, try having your next plate
of pasta  with butter , cream, and Parmesan cheese instead of tomato sauce
with meat, onions, and garlic. Any such change, even for one or two meals,
should amply demonstrate that sattvic eating makes digestion easier , gives
you more energy after you eat, and infuses a light, buoyant feeling
throughout the body . (If you want to measure this difference accurately ,
don’t drink alcohol with your meals while you are experimenting.) If your
cholesterol is elevated, go easy on the butter and cream; tossing the pasta
with olive oil, fresh basil, and a touch of Parmesan is a delicious substitute. Another example of a sattvic food is sweet lassi, an excellent digestive aid
that can be drunk during mild or warm weather (it may tend to promote
excessive Kapha in the chill of winter). Sweet Lassi
For four people , place a scant quarter teaspoon of cardamom, a pinch of
saffron threads, and three tablespoons of hot water in a blender . Blend for
ten seconds. Add two cups plain yogurt, two cups cool water , and two
tablespoons sugar; blend until smooth. If your mixture tastes too sharp, add a
quarter cup heavy cream. Adding a few drops of rose water at the end is
quite sattvic and cools Pitta (rose water is available at Indian and Middle
Eastern groceries and many health-food stores).BITS—BODY  INTELLIGENCE TIPS
In Ayurveda, how you eat is just as important as what you eat. The reason
goes back to ojas, which is the end product of all the signals that reach your
body during a meal. Although eating food that tastes good is important, the
other senses— sight, hearing, touch, and smell—also need to send signals
that make your body happy; that is the only way to completely make use of
the mind body connection. An attractive plate of food served steaming hot
from the kitchen sends all the right signals to nourish the doshas, but if you
leave that plate on the table for five hours, it will be unfit to eat, despite the
fact that its raw nutrients have not significantly changed. Your whole body is tremendously alert while you are eating. Your
stomach cells are aware of the conversation at the dinner table , and if they
hear harsh words, the stomach will knot with distress. Then everything you
digest at that meal will be affected, because you have taken in indigestible
sounds. Your stomach cells cann ot literally hear, but the brain, taking in what
the ears hear, sends out chemical messages to update the stomach and every
other organ. So you cannot fool any part of your digestive tract into thinking
that a tense meal is a happy one; your “gut feelings” know better . According to Ayurveda, your duty to your body is to nourish every cell in
it in every way— that is the larger purpose of a sattvic diet. If you are careful
about nourishing your cells completely , they will reward you with ojas, the
perfect expression of their satisfaction. To make that happen, I have provided
sixteen BITS, or Body Intelligence Tips, each of which helps to expand the
satisfaction your body derives from eating. As you follow these BITS, you will be surprised at how much more
enjoyment every meal can give you. Your body can bubble with joy after
every breakfast, lunch, and dinner , once you know the secret of turning food
into ojas. BITS—BODY  INTELLIGENCE TIPS
Eat in a settled atmosphere.Never eat when you are upset. Always sit down to eat. Eat only when you feel hungry . Reduce ice-cold food and drink. Don’ t talk while chewing your food. Eat at a moderate pace, neither too fast nor too slow . Wait until one meal is digested before eating the next (i.e., intervals of
two to four hours for light meals, four to six for full meals). Sip warm water with your meal. Eat freshly cooked meals whenever possible. Minimize raw foods—cooked food (preferably well cooked) is much
easier to digest. Do not cook with honey—heated honey is considered to produce ama. Drink milk separately from meals, either alone or with other sweet
foods. Experience all six tastes at every meal. Leave one-third to one-quarter of your stomach empty to aid digestion. Sit quietly for a few minutes after your meal. This concise list gives you a great head start on getting the most out of
any diet. The basic principle here is that food that is easiest to digest is best
for you, which explains why well-cooked food is preferred over raw, hot
over cold, fresh over processed . Making digestion easier is also the reason
for sipping warm water with your meal, eliminating milk, and sitting brieflyat the table once  you are finishe d eating in order for your body to settle into
its digestive rhythms. Another important principle is moderation. Moderate amounts of food are
taken at regular mealtimes—the Ayurvedic texts consider a double handful
of food to be an ideal portion. Take this amount as a first serving and go
back for more if you still feel hungry . It is advisable to leave  one-third to
one-quarter of your stomach empty at the end of your meal. Your digestive
tract will work more efficiently on smaller portions, and your body will find
it much easier to control its weight automatically . Don’ t be afraid that you
will walk away from the table hungry . Being satisfied is not the same as
being stuffed. If you leave a little empty room in your stomach, you will feel
light, buoyant, energetic, and much fresher an hour after you eat. That is how
a properly eaten meal feels, leading naturally to a properly digested one. BITS for Weight Loss
If you have a problem with overweight, try using these BITS before going
on any kind of calorie-cutting diet. You will be surprised to find that your
excess weight is caused not just by what you’ve been eating but by how
you’ve been eating it— carelessly or compulsively , on the run instead of
sitting down, between meals instead of at regular hours. These are simple
things, of course, but they make a big dif ference. Leaving aside the very small minority who actually have a hormone or
metabolic problem, most overweight people are the victims of conditioning
—bad habits that have been unconsciously built into their bodies over time. Everyone’ s body  has the intellig ence to know the right amount to eat; nature
gave us the hunger reflex to tell us when our bodies want food and its
opposite, the satiation reflex, to tell us when our stomachs are satisfied. People who have lost these instincts have surrendered an important aspect of
their body’s intelligence. They eat like machines, switched on by automatic
cues—the sight and smell of food, or just the thought of it. But by following
these BITS they can return to “conscious eating,” guided by their body’ s
inner intelligence.WHEN OJAS IS LESS
Besides overeating, other abuses at the table can suppress our healthy
instincts for eating. If you consume a meal while feeling angry , an Ayurvedic
doctor would say that you are producing mental ama from your food, while a
Western physici an would say that a stress reaction is throwing off your
endocrine balanc e. The end result is the same, a damaging chemical message
going straight to your cells. Even before you eat the first bite of food, disturbances in the doshas can
negate your body’s attempt to produce ojas. As usual, Vata dosh a comes into
play here—wha tever throws off Vata dosha also damages ojas—worry , loud
noise, going without sleep, and drastic diets and fasting. On the positive side,
anything that calms Vata during mealtimes is good for ojas. Most people do not eat a strict ly sattvic diet in this country , so I would
like to give a few more reasons why changing to one would benefit your
health. You will notice that a sattvic diet is vegetarian, and it is now common
knowledge that vegetarians have excellent blood pressure (18 percent lower
than average) and lower rates of heart disease and cancer . In addition, the
federal governm ent has warned us for twenty-five years that Americans eat
far too much salt, protein, and animal fat, most of which come s from meat
(much of the excess salt also comes from processed foods). If you started
reducing your meat intake today , moving gradually in the direction of a
meatless diet, you would almost certainly lessen your chance of having a
heart attack in the future. By including sweet foods on the list, Ayurveda
does not mean to condone the huge amounts of refined white sugar that most
of us now consume. The sweetness of pasta, rice, and bread is enough. Like everything else, there are two extremes in diet. Certain foods are not
easily turned into ojas; among them are the following:
Non-Ojas Diet
Meat, poultry , and fishHeavy and oily foods
Cheese
Leftovers and processed food
Excess of sour , salty tastes
Overeating
For the sake of economy and convenience, many cooks like to save
leftovers, but Ayurveda frowns on this practice. Food is meant to be eaten
fresh, right off the stove if not right out of the garden—the fresher the
produce, the more the ojas. Old, cold food, even when reheated, will not
produce ojas in the same amou nts. Frozen food in general is also good to
avoid. Drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes destroys ojas and prevents
other foods from producing it. Air and water pollution are equally
detrimental. All of these influences are called tamasic, which means that
they produce dullness and inertia by promoting the buildup of ama. Kapha
types should be especially wary , since their naturally slow digestion makes it
easier for ama to form. Finally , here are a few time-ho nored rules about a blissful diet handed
down in the Ayurvedic tradition, each aimed at maximizing ojas. Eat fresh food suitable to the season and your geographical area. The
best possible foods for the body are fruits, vegetables, and dairy
products raised in your area— foods have thrived on the same air ,
water , nutrients, and sunlight that you grow on. Have your lar gest meal at lunch, when digestion is strongest. Dinner
should be a modest meal that can be digested before bedtime; breakfast
is optional and in any case should be your smallest meal of the day . Eat at the same time every day . Besides not snacking, avoid eating at
night, which disturbs your digestive rhythms and easily promotes ama
as you sleep from the food that is undigested.Dine either alone or with people you genuinely like. Negative emotions,
whether yours, the cook’ s, or those of the people around you, have a
harmful ef fect on digestion. Be grateful for nature’ s unending gift of food, and respect it as you do
yourself. OceanofPDF .comCHAPTER 13
EXERCISE—THE MYTH OF “NO P AIN, NO GAIN”
From an Ayurvedic standpoint, much of the exercise recommended today
falls short of ideal. Why do we need physical activity in the first place? Charaka, the greatest writer on Ayurveda, gave this answer: “From physical
exercise one gets lightness, a capacity for work, firmness, tolerance of
difficulties, elimination of impurities, and stimulation of digestion.”
Aerobics for your heart or weight training for your muscles achieve some of
these goals, but these are not comprehensive enough activities to fit
Charaka’ s description. The ideal is to balance the whole system , mind and
body . It is also vital that exercise give more energy than it takes, a
consideration that people tend to ignore. One very simple exercise, walking, comes close to being ideal because it
is a natural activity that satisfies  all three doshas. Vata types find that taking
a long walk tranquilizes them. Pitta types react quite differently . They like
being slowed down from the driving pace that so often overtakes them
during their workday . Kaphas feel stimulated and lighter; a brisk walk
clears out any minor congestion  they might have built up and makes their
typically slow digestion more efficient. For these reasons, a brisk half-hour
walk every day is one of the prime recommendations we make to patients at
the Chopra Center . Patients are also taught a new approach to exercise in which the aim is
not to strain or to pound their muscles into shape. They are shown that
exercise is meant to forge a closer link between themselves and their
quantum mecha nical bodies—it thus becomes a powerful tool for balance. We call this approach “three-d osha exercise.” It is embodied in a set of
short, connected routines:The Sun Salute ( Surya Namaskara )—a morning exercise that
combines stretching, balance, and calisthenics (1 to 6 minutes)
Neuromuscular integration—a set of gentle yoga positions (10 to 15
minutes)
Balanced breathing—a simple form of Pranayama , a traditional yogic
breath exercise (5 minutes)
The description of these exercises begins on page 325. Performing them
in connection with meditation, for which they are ideally suited,  raises mind
body integration to a new level. To begin with, these exercises are natural
and comfortable forms of activity that the doshas welcome. They can also
be performed by all age groups and do not require you to be in shape. From the very first session, people discover the intimacy that nature has
established between awareness and physiology . The body is not just a shell
or a walking life-support system. It is your self intimately clothed in matter . Getting back in touch with this intimacy is very reassuring and delightful,
particularly for people who have given up on exercise and become virtual
strangers to their bodies. SUCCESS WITHOUT  PAIN
Before explaini ng these points further , let’s consider conventional
exercise. Since life is generally meant to be comfortable and happy ,
Ayurveda views exercise as a means to that end. It holds that exercise
should always leave you ready for work. Exercise shouldn’ t be work itself. Yet, many Americans see it that way. They feel that without a grim and
determined attitude, they are not doing much good for themse lves. (Go to
the park early tomorrow mornin g and count how many frowns there are on
the faces of the runners you see.) If you get only one benefit from
Ayurveda’ s approach to exercise, it should be that “no pain, no gain” is a
myth.A good way to see this is in terms of Vata dosha. All physica l activity
increases Vata. A moderate increase makes you feel more vigorous, alert,
and clearheaded, as well as stronger physically . You are getting  mental and
physical benefits together , in a natural balance. But overstimulating Vata
destroys all these benefits. It makes you feel restless, fatigued, and shaky . How much is enough, then? As a general rule, Ayurveda wants us to
exercise to 50 percent of maximum capacity . If you can bicycle ten miles,
go for five; if you can swim twenty laps, make it ten. These lower limits are
not detrimental to fitness; in fact they make exercise more efficient, because
you are not givin g your body so much repair work to do afterwa rd, and your
cardiovascular system will have an easier time returning to normal after
your workout. Another simple guideline has to do with exertion. Rather
than exerting yourself to the point where you are sweating heavily and
panting for breath, just go until you break out into a light sweat and start to
mouth breathe. Those are natural signals that you are at the right limit. You are going too far if you begin to pant or sweat profusely , if you feel
your heart pounding violently , or if your knees feel rubbery . At the first sign
of overe xertion, stop exercising , give yourself a few minutes of walking
around to let the system cool down by stages, and then rest for another few
minutes until your pulse and breathing are back to normal. In the heat of
competitive sports such as tenni s and racquetball, you may not notice how
strenuously you are exerting yourself. If it is fun to play, then keep on. But
if you are pushi ng yourself to win the game or to prove that you can keep
up with someone else, your attitude is needlessly punishing your body . Vata types especially should be careful not to overdo; their constitutions
generally have lower exercise thresholds than Pittas, and Pittas lower than
Kaphas. Exertio n also needs to be adjusted for age: over the age of 45 or 50,
everyone begins  to have increased Vata, which should be comp ensated for
by not exercising as hard as before. As in everything else, you need to
respect your doshas.
Perfect_Health_-_The_Complete_Mind_Body_Guide_by_Deepak_Chopra.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        Warm milk before going to
bed is a good idea, but eating very late at night is not—it may help you
fall asleep, but your body will feel worse in the morning. Lassi, a traditional Indian drink, is good for ridding the body of excess
Vata. To make it, whisk together one-half cup plain yogurt and one-half
cup water; flavor with a pinch of powdered ginger, salt, or cumin. Sweet mango lassi, made from equal parts yogurt and mango pulp
(fresh or canned) is particularly delicious and also balances Vata. For a
lighter beverage, either lassi can be diluted with between one-half and
one cup of water. One ef ficient and instant way to settle Vata is to
sprinkle a special spice powder, called a Vata churna, over your plate at
the table. An Internet source for churnas is on page 378. Vata-Pacifying FoodsDairyAll dairy is acceptable, unless you have a known lactase deficiency. Pitta-Pacifying Diet
Favor:
Cool or warm but not steaming-hot foods
Moderately heavy textur es
Bitter, sweet, and astringent tastes
Less butter and added fat
 Pitta types are born with naturally strong, efficient digestion that remains
that way unless disturbed. They come closest to the ideal of being able to eat
a little of everything. Therefor e, they need to be careful to avoid dietary
abuses. The continued use of too much salt, overindulgence in sour and
spicy food, and overeating are the most common aggravating influences. Being the only hot dosha, Pitta appreciates cool foods, particularly in
summer. It is a good idea to be especially scrupulous about having bitter and
astringent tastes in your meals (supplied mainly through  salads and
legumes). These  two rasas curb the appetite, dry up excessive moisture, and
keep the palate sharp. They also counteract the dulling effect of too much
salt and sugar on the taste buds,  making it easier for Pittas to be moderate in
their appetites, as nature intended them to be. Anything that makes dining a
more soothing and orderly experience will also help to pacify this dosha. The Pitta-pacify ing diet given below is the natural choice for Pitta types,
unless a Ayurvedically trained physician has indicated otherwi se. Our Pitta
patients report that they feel more balanced on this diet, still energetic but
with a “softer” energy. Their roaring appetites calm down, too. If you suffer
from mild symptoms of Pitta imbalance, such as heartburn, irritability, or
excessive thirst,  this diet is also good. Try it for a month and see if your
symptoms are alleviated. Some general points to help you implement this diet are as follows. Cool, refreshing food is best for Pitta types in summer, with a decrease
in salt, oil, and spices, all of which are heating to the body. Salads
contain two tastes, bitter and astringent, that balance Pitta and are also
cold and light. Milk and ice cream are good, too. Excessive Pitta makes the body too sour; to counteract this, you should
generally avoid pickles, yogurt, sour cream, and cheese. Fresh lemon
juice is an exception and can be used, sparingly, instead of vinegar in
your salad dressings. Fermented foods and alcoholic beverages are
aggravating to Pitta because of their sourness, as are the acids in cof fee. Learning to drink herb tea, either mint, licorice root, or the specialPitta-pacifying tea you can order (see page 378), will often make a big
difference in smoothing your moods. A breakfast of cold cereal, cinnamon toast, and apple juice is a good
replacement for cof fee, doughnut, and orange juice, all of which disturb
Pitta. The fat in red meat, which also heats the body, is not needed by Pitta
people. Although they like to eat meat, particularly if they are high-
powered movers and shakers, Pittas do better on a vegetarian diet than
any other body type. If you are not vegetarian, make sure that your diet
includes abundant amounts of milk, grains, and vegetables. All of these
make Pittas feel extremely good. Once they become accustomed to
health-food restaurants, Pittas like them better than their old steak
houses because they feel calmer and more satisfied afterward. Fried foods are oily, hot, salty, and heavy, all qualities that Pittas need
to avoid. On the other hand, starchy foods—vegetables, grains, and
beans—are satisfying and cut ravenous Pitta hunger. The steady ener gy
of a high-carbohydrate diet will counteract the tendency to overeat
under stress. Processed and fast foods lean heavily on salt and sour tastes; it is a
good idea for Pitta types to avoid them as much as possible. Since Pittas
are fond of luxury, a subdued, elegant restaurant brings out the best in
them. Japanese and Chinese food, being relatively low in fat and meat,
are good choices for Pittas. When you eat out, order cool, not iced,
water, take salad instead of hot soup, have the bread with a small
amount of butter, and feel free to order dessert. Spicy food is too
intoxicating to Pitta; if you like Mexican food, minimize the cheese and
sour cream, and have a cool guacamole salad to counteract the heavy
aggravation of Pitta caused by chilies. Pittas respond well to low-salt diets, but if forced to eat tasteless food,
they will quickly rebel. Keeping salt of f the table and adding it only in
the kitchen while you cook is a good compromise. Cocktail hour with
salty snacks is worse for Pitta types than anyone else. The dry, saltyfood and the alcohol combine to inflame their appetites and stomach
linings. To bring down aggravated Pitta, a standard recommendation is to take
two teaspoons of ghee (clarified butter) in a glass of warm milk. This
also acts as a laxative, which helps flush excess Pitta from the system. Have your ghee and milk in place of dinner or two hours after a light
dinner. You can also have it in place of breakfast. (Do not take ghee,
however, if you have a problem with elevated cholesterol. ) One ef ficient and instant way to settle Pitta is to sprinkle a special spice
powder, called a Pitta churna, over your plate at the table. An Internet
source for churnas is on page 378. Pitta-Pacifying Foods
SweetenersAll sweeteners are acceptable, except honey and molasses. Plus small amounts of cumin and black pepperKapha is a slow dosha to be affected by food, but over time, Kapha types
become imbalan ced as a result of eating too many sweet, rich foods. Other
problems can develop, but in Western society, where sugar and fat account
for more than half of the calories consumed by the average person, Kaphas
have to be on guard against this influence. Salt also needs to be watched,
since it too is greatly overused and promotes fluid retention in many Kaphas. Anything that increases lightness should be favored—a small, light meal
at breakfast and dinner, lightly cooked foods (no deep-frying), raw fruits and
vegetables. Eating spicy food will promote better digestion and warm your
body; bitter and astringent foods will help to curb your appetite. In general,
anything that makes eating stimulating will help balance Kapha and avert the
danger, ever -present with most Kapha types, of overindulging at the table. The Kapha-pacifying diet given below is the natural choice for Kapha
body types, unless contrary advice has been given by a Ayurvedically trained
physician. Switc hing to this diet helps many of our Kapha patients feel more
balanced, energetic, lighter, and happier about themselves. If you suffer from
mild symptoms of Kapha imbalance, such as a stuffed or runny nose, being
slow to start in the morning, or oversleeping, this diet is also good. Try it for
six weeks and see if your symptoms are alleviated. The following suggestions will help people implement a Kapha-pacifying
diet. Given a choice, pick hot food over cold at every meal—a hot luncheon
entree instead of a sandwich, hot apple pie instead of ice cream, grilledfish instead of tuna salad. Warming up cold Kapha digestion is always
good for balance. Dry cooking methods (baking, broiling, grilling,
sautéing) are better for Kaphas than moist ones (steaming, boiling,
poaching). Before you eat, stimulate your appetite with bitter or pungent tastes
instead of salty or sour. The bitterness of romaine lettuce, endive, or
tonic water will wake up your taste buds without encouraging you to
overeat. Ginger tea or even a pinch of fresh gingerroot is also highly
recommended. In general, you want to be sure that bitter and astringent
tastes are present in every meal. To get them, it is not necessary to seek
out bitter food in quantity. A little bitterness in a salad or the
astringency of herbs supplies enough. Among the household spices,
cumin, fenugreek, sesame seed, and turmeric are both bitter and
astringent. Adding pungent tastes to your diet with spices is one of the best ways to
balance Kapha. Anything spicy is good, including very hot Mexican or
Indian food that makes your eyes water. This action flushes out all the
mucous membranes. Contrary to what we tend to think, hot, spicy food
is best not in the summer but in the winter; it of fsets the cold, damp
quality that Kapha resents. Kaphas need to eat breakfast mainly to get them started in the morning,
not for solid nourishment. Rather than relying on a jolt of caf feine from
coffee, wake your body up with light, Kapha-reducing foods, such as
hot spiced cider, buckwheat pancakes with apple butter, corn muf fins,
and bitter cocoa made with skim milk and a touch of honey. In general,
anything hot and light is good, while anything cold, heavy, or sweet is
not so good. Cold cereals, cold juice or milk, and sugary pastries tend to
create congestion, particularly in damp winter weather. Bacon and
sausage are Kapha-aggravating because of their salt and oil. If you
don’t feel hungry in the morning, it is all right to skip breakfast, which
Ayurveda considers optional, especially for Kapha types. If you wake up feeling congested in the morning, a sign of excess
Kapha, the best things to take are honey, hot water, lemon juice, andginger. Hot ginger tea (page 301) is excellent for Kapha types in
general, since it stimulates the system and flushes out excess Kapha. If
you occasionally skip a meal—a good idea for many Kaphas—a
spoonful of honey in hot water will tide you over. Cutting back on sweets is dif ficult for many Kaphas, but a trial week on
a low-sugar diet generally does result in feeling lighter and more
energetic. Honey is extensively recommended for Kapha types, but you
should not take more than a tablespoon or so per day; honey is not
suitable to cook with, either, since heating honey makes it
unwholesome, according to Ayurveda. Out-of-balance Kapha types overindulge in dairy products, but butter,
ice cream, and cheese are among the worst for you, since they make
your system colder and more congested. Low-fat milk is best,
preferably pre-boiled to aid digestion, with only a minimum of other
dairy products. Sesame seeds on rolls and bread help to counteract the
sweet, heavy quality of the wheat, which is not the best for Kapha,
either. Because they combine too much heavy sweetness, a hambur ger
and milkshake, or even a sandwich with milk, should be eaten only
infrequently. Raw fruits, vegetables, and salads are extremely good, since their fiber
tones the intestinal tract, in addition to the benefits of their astringent
tastes. Generally speaking, Ayurveda prefers all food cooked, but we
find that this is an exception that helps most Kapha types. Deep-fried foods of any kind will aggravate Kapha; they are among the
few things you should try to eliminate from your diet. There is no need
to banish all fats, but make an ef fort to use less butter and oil in your
cooking. Corn oil is heating to the body; it is a good choice for you in
small quantities, along with almond and sunflower oils. Crisp-steamed
vegetables with a little ghee (clarified butter) drizzled over them is
good for a light supper; anything crisp, fresh, and stimulating balances
Kapha. Restaurant food has to be carefully chosen by Kapha people. Fast food
is far too oily, salty, and sweet—head for the salad bar and use a
minimum of salad dressing. If you are eating out in better restaurants,
Oriental cooking is the lightest, particularly if you concentrate on more
vegetables than meat. Wherever you go, order a glass of hot water
instead of iced, take salad instead of hot soup (except in cold weather),
avoid the rolls and butter, and make dessert small and not too rich—hot
fruit pies are probably the best choice. One ef ficient and instant way to settle Kapha is to sprinkle a special
spice powder, called a Kapha churna, over your plate at the table. An
Internet source for churnas is on page 378. Kapha-Pacifying Foods
THE SIX TASTES
Each of the six tastes speaks directly to the quantum mechanical body, and
each carries a different message. Our tongues know this instinctively. The
voluptuous sweetness of vanilla custard is diametrically opposed to the bitterbite of lemon peel; one is soothing, the other is a shock. Your whole body
reacts to the difference, which begins on your tongue but continues
throughout your body. Taste leaves a trail of reactions from your mouth to
the food’ s final destination, your cells. Without knowing about nutritional balance in terms of fats, carbohydrates,
and proteins, native cultures around the world have realized that their diets
had to be dynamic. They had to have tastes that wake up the body, like bitter
and astringent, and others that soothe it, primarily sweet. Digestion
sometimes need ed to be increa sed with “hot” tastes—pungen t, sour, and
salty—and at other times decreased with “cold” tastes—bitter, astringent,
and sweet. All of this was understood instinctively. In Mexico, the limited fare of
corn and beans could not by itself have supported a healt hy, balanced
existence, but with the addition of red chilies, it has served the native people
for many centu ries. Red chili adds vitamin C to a diet, but the more
important additi on it brings are the sweet and pungent tastes that round out
the six rasas. Curry spices serve the same purpose in India, where the staples
of rice, lentils, and wheat bread would be dramatically limited without them. MESSAGES FROM NA TURE
Every food has its own profile of tastes. Simple foods, such as white sugar
or vineg ar, have  only one taste, but most others have at least two: lemon is
sour, but also sweet and bitter; carrots are sweet, bitter, and astringent;
cheese is sweet  and sour. Milk  is considered a complete food, having the
subtle presence of all six rasas besides its obvious sweetness; for this reason,
Ayurveda recommends drinking milk alone rather than combin ing it with a
meal. (Having milk with other sweet foods—fruit, grains, and sugar—is
good, however; in fact, milk is the best buffer for refined white sugar, which
enters the system in a rush if digested alone. ) The major food groups all revolve around the rasa of sweet, but with the
five other tastes carefully blended in:Fruits—primarily sweet and astringent, with citrus fruits adding sour
Vegetables—primarily sweet and astringent, with leafy gr eens adding bitter
Dairy—primarily sweet, with yogurt and cheese adding sour and astringent
Meat—primarily sweet and astringent
Oils—primarily sweet
Grains and Nuts—primarily sweet
Legumes—primarily sweet and astringent
Herbs and Spices—primarily pungent, with all other flavors added
secondarily
Just as most foods are sweet, so is Kapha dosha, the builder of tissues; the
human body as a whole is therefore sweet, too. Herbs and spices fill in the
spectrum of tastes, but, more important, they evoke a complete range of
bodily responses. Black pepper makes your mouth water, fenugreek dries it
up; mustard heats the body, mint cools it off. The only blank space is salt,
which is provided by salt itself. Using its taste profile, every food can be described as either increasing or
decreasing one or more dosha s, as we saw. Since the three doshas are
connected, an increase of one is so crucial that Ayurveda has described every
food according to whether it will increase or decrease a particular dosha. Cabbage, for instance, is known  to increase Vata, onions to increase Pitta, all
oils to increase Kapha. Considering that half a dozen messages are being relayed to the body
simultaneously by any one food, you can get just as strong a headache
computing the six rasas as trying to compute every gram of fat,
carbohydrate, and protein. This complex job belongs to a Ayurvedic doctor. To him, food is medicine, and its properties must be scrutinized as closely as
any other medic ine. He needs to know that cabbage is sweet and astringent,
dry and cooling, and therefore a strong aggravator of Vata (that is whycabbage tends to form gas in the colon, the seat of Vata). He would then be
able to prescribe an offsetting food (such as fennel) to counteract Vata
aggravation. He also knows that every food delivers an “aftertaste” (vipak ) that affects
the body once the food has been digested. Cabbage’ s aftertaste  is pungent,
for example. Vipak is an important consideration when a doctor is
prescribing a therapeutic diet, because he needs to know every aspect of the
food that is affecting his patient’ s doshas. At home you do not have to be so
specific. The aftertaste of food once it has been digested is something we
will leave to the doctor, but for the sake of completion, vipak is classified as
follows:
Sweet and salty tastes lead to sweet vipak
Sour taste leads to sour vipak
Pungent, bitter, and astringent tastes lead to pungent vipak
Thus the six tastes are reduced to three after digestion is completed. In the following pages we delve more deeply into the six rasas and what
they say to your doshas. I hope you will read this section at least once, but
do not memorize it. Your taste buds, not your mind, should be the final judge
of taste. Sweet is a taste that strongly increases Kapha. Eating sweet foods will
bring on Kapha qualities in the body—coldness, heaviness (by adding fat),
steadiness, and physical energy. Just as Kapha people are naturally the mosteasily satisfied, sweet is the most satisfying taste. It is very Kapha to be
sweet-natured and motherly—from childhood on, two Kapha foods, milk
and sugar, represent motherlines s. Any food that feels nourishin g and brings
satisfaction generally has a sweet component. For instance, all meats, oils,
and most grains are considered sweet. Ayurveda looks upon rice and wheat,
the two grains that are the staff of life in the East and West, as sweet in taste. Ghee (clarified butter) is another sweet food, being derived from milk; it is
considered the best remedy for balancing Pitta. Sweet foods are also soothing and relieve thirst. If you are in a nervous,
unsettled mood,  which is a sign of aroused Vata, sweet will calm you; it also
puts out the fire of Pitta (an angry baby is pacified by givin g it milk or
sugar). However, too much sugar is not stabilizing; it makes the mind dull
and drow sy. Complacency, greed, and emotional dependency come from too
much sweet. Too much sweet becomes cloying. It leads to negative qualities  that come
from pushing Kapha too far: sluggishness, overweight, mental dullness,
excess mucus, congestion, and sleepiness. Kapha people are endowed with
qualities of satisfaction and well-being that Vata and Pitta types  have to seek
through sweet tastes. However, in the case of any Kapha imba lance, sweet
foods are considered undesirab le and should be reduced or avoided. Only
honey is an exception to this rule. It is better than any other sweet food for
balancing Kapha. Salt increases both Pitta and Kapha. It sparks digestion, a Pitta function. Its taste adds savor to food, stokes the appetite, and starts the flow of saliva
and stom ach juices. Salt is hot like Pitta (all the digestive processes heat up
the body). Too much of it, however, and the other tastes are overwhelmed,
making nothing taste good. The Kapha connection is through two otherqualities Ayurveda associates with salt—oiliness and heaviness. By attaching
itself to water molecules, salt makes your tissues heavier. Excessive salt will
make it harder to control food cravings, which Kapha types  must do to
remain on a balanced diet. By making you eat too much, salt adds fat and
leads to overweight. In the West, the connection between salt and hypertension has been
convincing enough that many patients with high blood pressure have been
forbidden to eat any but the smallest amounts of salt. This implied that salt
was somehow an enemy. Now it is known that such restrictions were too
severe—a norm al person can eat moderate amounts of salt without harm to
his blood pressu re. The basic reason not to overindulge is that a moderate
diet promotes health in every way, not just by averting hypertension. Ayurveda would point out that salt doesn’ t raise blood pressure, the doshas
do. It takes a dosha imbalance before the salt will do any harm. Too much salt also leads to Pitta-related skin inflammation, acne, and
overheating. If there is a Pitta or Kapha imbalance in the body, salty food is
considered undesirable. Emotionally, salt gives life its zest, but too much salt nullifies this effect,
just as too many  potato chips kills the appetite instead of stimulates it. If you
overuse salt, it takes more and more of it to register at all—this is why salty
foods are compulsive. Excess salt in general is associated with cravings and
compulsive desires. Like salt, sour is a Pitta-Kapha taste that sparks the digestion and adds
savor to food. It is refreshing to eat sour food, but it increases thirst, which is
connected to Pitta—the heat generated by extra Pitta has to be slaked with
lots of water. Sour food can therefore add to fluid retention, making the body
heavier (more Kapha). Pitta’ s sharp qualities, such as sharp intellect and
wittiness, are increased by sour foods, but “turning sour” is also possible,
since too much Pitta is connected with resentment and envy, popularly called
“sour grapes. ”
Cheese and yogurt derive their sourness from fermentation. In small
quantities, sour foods make the digestive juices flow. However, Ayurveda is
distinctly opposed to fermented sourness in general—vinegar and fermented
alcohol are considered toxic, reflecting the Pitta-Kapha quality of this taste. Out-of-balance Pitta brings toxicity to the blood; out-of-balance Kapha
makes the tissues stagnant with ama. Excess of sour foods leads to acidic difficulties in the body, such as ulcers,
disturbed blood chemistry, skin irritations, and heartburn. If there is a Pitta
or Kaph a imbalance in the body already, sour foods are considered
undesirable. Fermented foods are undesirable at any time except in small
amounts. Bitter is the most Vata of tastes, being light, cold, and dry in its effects on
the body. It is a corrective taste, bringing the cravings for sweet, sour, andspicy foods back into balance. Bitter quickens the palate by waking it up, not
by satisfying it, a very Vata property, since Vata is responsible for alertness. A dash of bitters  or a glass of tonic water is effective in getting the digestion
going for people with slow digestion; the bitterness instantly makes the
palate want the more satisfying tastes. Bitter tones the tissues, a proper ty that gave tonic water its name. Bitter is
the best taste, along with sweet, for cooling you off in hot weather. When the
body has beco me toxic, inflamed, hot, or itchy as a result of Pitta
aggravation, bitter is considered the best corrective. (Bitter quinine bark
soothes fever, for example. ) In excess, bitter aggravates Vata, leading to typical Vata complaints—loss
of appet ite, weight loss, headaches, unsteadiness, dry skin, and a hollow
feeling of weakness. The braci ng alertness associated with bitter turns to
bitter feelings in excess, associated with lack of satisfaction—anything that
is too Vata is not satisfying, because Vata’s nature is constantly to seek
change. Grief, which destroys the balance of Vata and makes life seem
completely without satisfaction, is bitter. In Ayurveda, hot, spicy food is considered to have its own taste, called
pungent. Pungen cy is immediately recognizable because it causes a burning
sensation (the increased Pitta) and thirst (the drying effect of increased Vata). Pungency heats up the body and makes fluids flow out of it. As a result,
digestion is increased and congested tissues are cleaned out. Sweat, tears,
saliva, mucus, and the blood all start flowing when pungency is present. Because it flushes out your sinus cavities, pungent food is the best for
balancing Kapha, which when aggravated leads to congestion of mucous
membranes. Western medicine long thought that spicy food must be bad for
anyone with irritated mucous membranes, but the effect of opening and
flushing out the tissues is now considered extremely beneficial; sufferers of
chronic bronchitis and asthma have sometimes been put on Mexican food
laden with chili pepper. The antitoxic effect of pungent is said to help clear
the skin, even though Pitta is increased—the Vata dryness clean s out the oily
pores that exacerbate acne. In excess, pungency turns to pain—eating a raw chili causes swollen lips
and eyes, burni ng skin, and hot sweat. Too much spicy food makes you
overly thirsty, dizzy, and unsett led, reflecting the Vata influence (too much
Vata makes for light-headednes s and dryness). The sharpness of pungent, if
pushed too far, will not excite the body but irritate it. The same is true of the emotio ns. Pungent humor is invigorating, but it
can also be sharp and hurtful. Excitable, extroverted people  are already
inclined to be pungent—if you add more, they turn feverish. If a Vata or Pitta
imbalance is present in the body, pungent food is not desirable. Astringent, the taste that makes your mouth dry and puckered, is the least
familiar of the six rasas. It is an alkaline taste, equal but opposite to the
puckering of sour lemons. Like bitter, astringent is Vata—the gas produced
by boile d cabbage and the dry, mealy taste of beans are both Vata effects. Astringency is light like bitter but more appetizing; traditional cultures
around the world have subsisted on beans, and in the Middle Ages, cabbagewas a staple food throughout Europe. Astringency is settling; potatoes,
carrots, and other earthy foods bring out this satisfying ef fect. Astringent is cooling and constr ictive; it stops the flow of secretions such
as sweat and tears (making beans a good pairing for chili peppe rs, since they
offset each other). In excess, its constricting effect may lead to Vata
complaints of constipation and dry mouth, along with gas or distension in
the lower abdomen. People who have a dry wit are astringent. It is a quality that dampens
excitement and brings you back to yourself. Taken too far, however,
astringency becomes shriveling. The sudden constriction when you are
seized by fear and the dry mouth that anxiety brings are both negative
astringent qualities. Astringent emotions lack warmth in general; to be old,
cold, and shriveled up is what makes people into old prunes if they age
badly. If there is a Vata imbalance in the body, astringent food is undesirable. AGNI—THE DIGESTIVE FIRE
Most people have never consulted a physician about their digestion. As a
society used to good health, we take for granted our ability to process food,
and, in the absence of a seriou s problem like peptic ulcers or colitis, we
ignore the occasional upset stomach or uncomfortable night spent after
“eating the whole thing. ”
Ayurveda, on the other hand, considers poor digestion a major factor in
the disea se process and extols good digestion as the giver of health. Every
cell has been created from food. If the food has been used well, then the cells
will be built well; if it has been used badly, then the disease  process has
already started. The Ayurvedic sages liked to say that if you could digest it
properly, poison  would be good  for you, while with poor digestion, a person
can die from drinking nectar. DIGESTION AND THE DOSHASAyurveda says that there are no absolutely good or bad foods, only food
that is good or bad for you. Being able to extract every life-giving value
from what you eat is of the utmost importance. People are not born equal in
this regard— the three major body types have very different powers of
digestion. Vata digestion tends to be variable and often delicate. Pitta digestion tends to be str ong and intense. Kapha digestion tends to be slow and often heavy. As with everyth ing that the doshas touch, each style of digest ion has its
advantages and drawbacks. Vatas may not be thrilled to discover that they
tend to have delicate or unreliable digestion, but this makes them more
discriminating eaters, and they rarely have to worry about the runaway
appetites of Pittas or the discouraging slide into overweight experienced by
many Kaphas. The important thing is to make maximum use of the digestion
you were born with and improve it as much as possible. The digestive tract not only extracts nutrition for your body, it is highly
responsive to your emotions. Your “gut feelings” have been put there by
nature so that the mind and body can communicate. Vata imbalance often
shows up as disturbed feelings that create pain in the intestines. Pitta dosha
is responsible for correct metabolism and “pure blood” (absence of toxins) ;
it is also the dosha that controls the proper rate of digestion. This is called
agni, or “the digestive fire. ”
Agni is one of the most impor tant principles in Ayurveda, equal to the
doshas. A primary sign of good health is that your agni is burnin g bright, that
is, you are digesting your food efficiently, distributing all the necessary
nutrients to every cell, and burning off waste products without leaving
deposits of toxins. Therefore, by balancing agni, one keeps all these things in
balance at the same time. Nature has set up everyone’ s body in such a way that agni follo ws a cycle
throughout the day; unless agni’ s daily rhythm is correctly set, digestion willsuffer. One of the most valuable things to know is how to reset a flickering
agni and coax it back into its natural groove. HOW  TO RESET  AGNI
Agni’ s daily rhythm rises and falls, making you slightly hungry in the
morning, very hungry at noon, and moderately hungry in the early evening. In between these times, agni shuts down your appetite so that it can proceed
to diges t the food you have already eaten. When your stomach is empty
again, agni renews your appetite once more. If this basic cycle is thrown off, the body becomes confused—ap petite and
digestion start to overlap. Your agni will tell you if this has happened by a
wide range of symptoms:
Heartburn and acid stomach
Fluttering stomach or nervous digestion
Loss of appetite at mealtimes
Constipation or diarrhea
Lack of interest in food
Overweight or underweight
Serious digestive disorders: irritable bowel syndrome, ulcers,
diverticulitis, et cetera
The first and most important thing to do if any of these symptoms appears
is to reset your agni to its natura l cycle. It is also a good idea to do this just
to tone your digestion, even if you have no digestive problems. Vata types can reset agni once a month. Pitta types can reset agni twice a month (it is also good to do it when ever
your appetite has become ravenous and you begin to overeat). Kapha types can reset agni up to once a week, unless there are serious
digestive compl aints. Kapha dosha benefits from this routine more than the
other doshas, since digestion tends to be heavy and slow. No matter what your body type, do not attempt to reset your agni if you
are feeling sick. Being sick usually indicates that agni is down (or at least
not running correctly); that is not a good time to be tampering with it. If you
have an ulcer, colitis,  or any other serious digestive complaint, do not restart
agni, except under a doctor ’s care. The method for resetting agni is as follows:
Weekend Pr ogram
It takes roughly two days to reset agni. Since rest is one of the
requirements on the day you do not eat, doing the program over the weekend
is best for most people. FRIDA Y ROUTINE
Eat normally at breakfast and lunch. Do not have an afternoon snack or
any alcohol after noon. Eat a light dinner of nourishing food, making sure
that it is satisfyi ng but not heavy; exclude spicy food and cheese. Just before
bedtime, take a laxative—three tablets of senna (Sennokot®), followed by a
small glass of hot water. Go to bed early. Some people will wake up during
the night for a bowel movement, others will wait until morning —either way
is normal. SATURDA Y ROUTINEBefore you can reset your agni, it is necessary first to lower it. This is
done by not eating meals and only drinking liquids during the day. Vata and
Pitta types shou ld drink fruit juice diluted with warm water. Apple or grape
juice are good; orange juice is too acidic. Drink one glass of juice at
breakfast, at lunch, and at dinnertime; three or four more can be taken
between meals, but do not drink more than that unless it’s water. The aim is
to have no appe tite and only a minimum of calories to digest. Kapha types
can follo w this routine or drink only warm  water, if they are comfortable
with that. Spend the day reading, watchin g TV, or performing light activi ty. A short
walk in the morning and in the afternoon is a good idea. Do not travel any
distance or undertake heavy physical tasks. If you run or exercise heavily,
skip it for a day and relax. If you feel faint with hunger, take one tables poon of honey with a glass of
warm water and lie down for five minutes. It is normal to feel lightness in your limbs, but if you start to tremble or
feel dizzy, lie down and rest. If the feeling persists, eat a small meal. You
may be unsettled from unusually high stress that has thrown you of f balance. SUNDA Y ROUTINE
Now you want to restart your agni and let it adjust itself to its normal
cycle. To do this, eat a light breakfast of hot cereal (oatmeal, cream of rice,
or cream  of wheat) with a little butter, milk, and sugar. Herb tea is also good
in the morning to soothe the stomach—licorice root for Vatas, peppermint
for Pittas and Kaphas. If you followed the program correctly on Saturday,
this will be all the breakfast you’ll want. If you still feel very hungry, have
more cereal or a glass of juice. Coffee, tea, and cigarettes will throw off your
agni rhythm and defeat your purpose. (Kapha types, who are slow starters in
the morning, can drink gotu kola tea as a stimulant—this herb is sold in
health-food stores. ) Do not eat again until noon. At exactly noon, have a good lunch, one that satisfies you without being
heavy or immoderate. It is best not to excite your digestion with salty or
spicy food or alcohol, but do not have just a salad and water, either. Ginger
tea is a good idea. If you are Vata and have no appetite, drink it before the
meal; otherwise, during or after the meal is fine. If you do not have ginger
tea, sip a glass of warm water with your meal. Do not eat again until dinner. Have an early dinner (at least three hours before you go to bed), eating a
nourishing meal that suits your body type. Make this meal smaller than
lunch. Rice, lentils, and steamed vegetables are good. Even a repeat of
breakfast would  be good for most Kaphas and Pittas, or for anyone who
tends to overeat. Now that your agni is reset, your hunger cycle will naturally tend to make
you want
a light breakfast
a substantial lunch, eaten at the same time every day
a light supper, eaten early and at the same time every day
The following things will throw your agni off again and should be
avoided. Eating between meals. The rule here is not to stimulate your appetite if
you are not going to eat. Agni likes to finish what it starts; therefore, it
is thrown of f by empty stimulation from chewing gum, hard candy, or
breath mints taken throughout the day. However, having tea and
cookies in the afternoon is a good idea for Vata types or for anyone who
gets fatigued at the end of the workday. Strong stimulants. Caf feine, salt, and alcohol are strong stimulants and
should be taken moderately. The indigestion most people feel at a
cocktail party comes from the mixing of salty food, alcohol, and noise. If you like to drink cof fee, always have it with food, not alone. The
same applies to salt and alcohol. Being addicted to any of these
stimulants makes it impossible to balance the digestion. Skipping meals. Agni wants something to do three times a day and
resents it if you do not eat. Kapha types can skip meals because their
agni moves slowly and burns low, but it is still a good rule to eat three
times a day. AGNI AND AMA
The Ayurvedic ideal is that agni be kept operating efficiently under all
conditions; it must not be so cold that food is not complete ly digested. Partially digeste d food turns into ama, a cold, foul-smelling residue whose
“stickiness” prevents the doshas from circulating freely as they should. There is also the opposite dange r that agni will burn too high, in which case
the nutrients in food will not be extracted but burned away. Then digestion
becomes feverish, leading to weakness instead of strength. Agni and ama form the most important pair of opposites in the body,
making the difference between a state of dynamic health and a state of slow
deterioration. The most obviou s difference between the two is that agni
makes you feel well, while ama makes you feel sick. There are some specific
signs as well. Agni gives one:
Glowing complexion and bright eyes
Strong digestion without constipation or diarrhea
Ability to eat all foods
Clear, straw-colored urine
Normal feces without strong smellIf there is ama in the body, it can vary from a minor to a major serious
condition. Among the earlier signs are:
Dull skin and eyes
Unpleasant taste in the mouth, with coated tongue in the morning
Strong bad breath
Urine that is cloudy, dark, or discolored
Weak digestion, chronic constipation and/or diarrhea
Loss of appetite (food tastes bad)
Aching joints
Once the digestive fire has returned to normal and the collected ama from
the past is flush ed out, agni by itself will continue to purify the body. Your
digestion is self-correcting, because nature has set things up so that agni
burns ama. This is another example of how you can trust your body to know
what to do. IMPROVING YOUR AGNI
Certain foods, spices, and herbs  are effective in improving the quality of
agni in everyone, according to Ayurveda. They are used to stimulate appetite,
increase the power of digestion, and remove ama. GINGER
Dried into a powder or used fresh, ginger is praised as the best spice for
helping the agni of all body types. Powdered ginger, sold in grocery-store
spice racks, is stronger, more drying, and more pungent than fresh
gingerroot, which is sold in the fresh produce department (or in health-foodstores if your supermarket does not carry it). Fresh ginger is considered the
better digestive aid. Ginger can be used in various ways:
As a tea. Boil a large pinch of dry ginger in a cup of water over a low
flame until a quarter of the water boils away, then strain. This tea is drunk
before meals to whet the appetite. A small glass of it can be sipped during or
after meals to aid digestion. Fresh ginger tea is made by first boiling your water and then, with the heat
off, dropping in a few thin slices of unpeeled gingerroot (about one
tablespoon per cup of water). Allow to steep for five minutes, then strain. You can make a much stronger  tea by boiling the slices of gingerroot with
the water, but this would be considered a medicinal tea, not to be drunk
every day. As a spice. Ayurveda recommends a variety of ways to use ginger in
cooking. Either the powder or the root can be added to recipes for steamed
vegetables, curri es, gingerbread, cakes, and cookies. You can lightly sprinkle
ginger on your food at the table or chew on a sliver of fresh ginger during
the meal. Although it may be too strong for everyone, scatter ing chopped
gingerroot over your food as a garnish (like parsley) is also considered
worthwhile. Try one approach at a time, however; it does not take much
ginger to kindle agni. Fresh ginger  tea aids digestion. Different body types are advised to take ginger in slightly different ways:
Vata types can mix the choppe d fresh root with salt. Pitta types need less
pungency, so weak ginger tea is enough for them, sweetened with sugar to
make the ginger less spicy. Kapha types (and anyone who is overweight)
want it for eliminating excess Kapha from the system, so they can take a
good deal of ginger tea sweetened with honey. If your appetite and/or digestion  become poor as the result of nervousness,
stress, or illness, an excellent way to restore it is with the following ginger
routine. Ginger Routine
In a small glass, metal, or ceramic bowl, mash four tablesp oons each
powdered ginger, brown sugar, and ghee (melted, clarified butter, see page
304). Mix to a uniform consistency, cover, and store in a cool place. Take a little bit of this ginger mixture every day before breakfast, making
sure that you follow it with a good breakfast (hot cereal, grape juice,
muffins, and herb tea with cinnamon in it is a good menu). Consume the
ginger mixture according to the following schedule. After finishing the ginger routin e, your digestion should be norm alized. If
you still experience digestive difficulty, see a doctor; at the first sign of
digestive cramps and pain, do not attempt this routine—consult a physician
instead. Ginger Follow-up
If you are trying to cure a long-standing Vata imbalance or want to keep
your digestion at its peak, takin g a little fresh ginger every day is a good
idea. It is also considered the best preventive against build ing up ama
through improper digestion. Cut a thin, nicke l-sized slice from the end of a fresh gingerroot, cut off the
peel, and chop very fine. Add a few drops of lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Eat this mixture a half-hour before lunch and dinner to stimulate your
digestion. If that is incovenient, the mixture can be eaten just before the
meal. GHEEGhee, or clarified butter, is prized because it increases agni without
simultaneously fueling Pitta. Ghee in fact is considered excellent for
balancing Pitta. Kapha types generally need to avoid too much oil of any
kind, but ghee is the best for them, too. Ghee is used:
As a cooking oil. Small amounts of ghee are good for sautéing vegetables
(not for deep-fr ying). Ghee does not work as well as butter in baking—
breads and desserts need the moisture and milk solids in regular butter. As a flavoring in place of butter. Since ghee is a prepared food, using
butter is not the same as using ghee. Where you would ordina rily butter a
vegetable dish or a baked potato or mix it into your oatmeal, ghee is a better
choice. As a digestive. Drizzle a teaspoon of ghee over food at the table (more is
not better, since too much oil of any type is not healthy). How to Make Ghee
Place one pound unsalted butte r in a one-quart saucepan over low heat. Allow to melt completely, then raise heat to medium. Skim off foam as it
rises. When the butter starts to boil, giving off its water conten t, lower heat
again and cook slowly for abou t ten minutes. The ghee is done when all the
moisture has cooked out and the milk solids at the bottom of the pan have
turned light golden brown (there will also be a nutty aroma, but no hint of
burning). Remov e from heat, let cool, and pour into a clean glass jar or bowl. Ghee keeps indefinitely in the refrigerator but can also be stored at cool or
even room temperature for several weeks. OTHER SPICES FOR GOOD AGNI
Herbs and spices can be selected for each body type, as we did in the
Vata-, Pitta-, and Kapha-pacify ing diets. But certain ones are good for
generally improving the quality of agni. (Pitta types have to be careful to use these in small amounts, since they
tend to increase Pitta dosha. ) Building up excess Kapha will make digestion difficult by decreasing
agni; it is also bad for buildin g up ama, since both are cold, heavy, and
viscous. Using bitter and pungen t herbs will reduce Kapha and also “scrape”
ama out of the tissues. Ayurve da specifically recommends bitter taste for
purification. Among the more common spices that attack ama are:
As you can see, these are some of the spices recommended for stimulating
agni. The regula r but moderate use of these flavorings in your cooking will
help prevent ama from forming. Chewing fennel seed after a meal and
sweetening your herb tea with raw, uncooked honey are also standard
practices for balancing agni. A BLISSFUL  DIET
If bliss is basic to life, there should be a physical counterpart for it in the
body, and indeed there is. According to Ayurveda, the body’ s counterpart to
pure joy is a subtle substance called ojas, which is extrac ted from food once
it has been perfectly digested. Like the doshas, ojas is just on the edge of
being physical; one could call it a subtle substance that registers on both
mind and body. The final and most valuable result of eating a good diet is toextract every drop of this subtle  substance from your food. That enables the
cells to “feel happy,” to experience the cellular equivalent of bliss. Twenty years ago, the idea of a happy cell would have made little sense in
scientific terms. Now we know that the body in fact is capable of generating
a complex network of chemic als (neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, and
related molecules) that the brain uses to communicate emotions throughout
the body. It is also known that a single meal can change  the brain’ s
biochemistry quite radically. A brain chemical connected with feelings of
well-being, such as serotonin, goes up and down in response to the food
being digested in the intestinal tract. This has opened up the exciting
possibility of a “food pharmacy ” to correct depression, anxiety, and other
mental disorders, just as fiber helps to correct cholesterol. In Ayurveda we can bypass the bewildering complexity of brain
chemistry. Natur e has given us ojas, a single substance for happiness that the
body makes all the time. THE SA TTVIC DIET
Ideally, any food you eat is turne d into ojas. At the breast, a baby naturally
turns his mother ’s milk into ojas, but it would take a remarkable digestive
tract to produc e ojas from three-day -old leftover pizza. An excellent,
balanced diet can be planned around the foods that turn into ojas with the
least effort on your body’ s part. Ayurveda calls these the sattvic, or pure,
foods. To this list one often sees added wheat, mung beans, coconut, oranges,
dates, and honey. You do not need to be compulsive about these few foods,
or eat them exclusively. Just include them in your diet on a regular basis. On
a more general level, a sattvic diet contains:
Light, soothing, easily digested food
Fresh produce
Spring water
Balance of all six tastes
Moderate portions
According to Ayurveda, this is the best diet for physical strength, a good
mind, good health, and longevi ty. It is conducive to happines s and loving
emotions becau se it is in tune with nature as a whole. The list of sattvic
foods is short and would not fulfill a normal person’ s dietary requirements,
although if well managed, a diet limited to milk, vegetables, rice, and fruit
would certainly be excellent for one’s health. The famous Duke University
rice diet, based only on boiled rice and fruit, is recognized as an effective
therapeutic regime for heart patients, diabetics, and obese people. Milk is currently unfashionable among health-conscious people, who tend
to link it with digestive problem s, allergies, and high cholesterol. Ayurveda
holds that most of the objections to milk have to do with consuming it
improperly. Milk should be boiled before drinking, which makes it more
digestible. It can be drunk hot, warm, or cool, but never ice cold, straight out
of the refrigerat or. Milk should not be taken with tastes that conflict with it
(pungent, sour, salty) but only with other sweet foods (such as grains, sweet
fruits, and cereals). Whenever possible, drink milk from organic dairies that
do not use hormones or pesticides and have a stated commitment to treat
their cows compassionately. Sweet foods aside, it is recomm ended that you drink milk alone rather
than with your meals, since this is easier on your digestive tract. Low-fatmilk may be best for Kapha types, but whole milk is preferred for all other
body types (unless there is a problem with high cholesterol, in which case
skim milk is best). If you still have trouble digesting milk after it is boiled,
or if it seems to create mucous congestion, try adding two pinches of either
turmeric or dry ginger before boiling (adding a little raw sugar or honey will
cut the bitter taste of the turm eric). These measures remove most of the
current objections to milk, which Ayurveda traditionally considers an
excellent food for bodily strengt h, longevity, and peace of mind. Cow’ s milk
is favored above others as the most sattvic. To move  in the direction of a more sattvic diet, try having your next plate
of pasta  with butter, cream, and Parmesan cheese instead of tomato sauce
with meat, onions, and garlic. Any such change, even for one or two meals,
should amply demonstrate that sattvic eating makes digestion easier, gives
you more energy after you eat, and infuses a light, buoyant feeling
throughout the body. (If you want to measure this difference accurately,
don’t drink alcohol with your meals while you are experimenting. ) If your
cholesterol is elevated, go easy on the butter and cream; tossing the pasta
with olive oil, fresh basil, and a touch of Parmesan is a delicious substitute. Another example of a sattvic food is sweet lassi, an excellent digestive aid
that can be drunk during mild or warm weather (it may tend to promote
excessive Kapha in the chill of winter). Sweet Lassi
For four people, place a scant quarter teaspoon of cardamom, a pinch of
saffron threads, and three tablespoons of hot water in a blender. Blend for
ten seconds. Add two cups plain yogurt, two cups cool water, and two
tablespoons sugar; blend until smooth. If your mixture tastes too sharp, add a
quarter cup heavy cream. Adding a few drops of rose water at the end is
quite sattvic and cools Pitta (rose water is available at Indian and Middle
Eastern groceries and many health-food stores). BITS—BODY  INTELLIGENCE TIPS
In Ayurveda, how you eat is just as important as what you eat. The reason
goes back to ojas, which is the end product of all the signals that reach your
body during a meal. Although eating food that tastes good is important, the
other senses— sight, hearing, touch, and smell—also need to send signals
that make your body happy; that is the only way to completely make use of
the mind body connection. An attractive plate of food served steaming hot
from the kitchen sends all the right signals to nourish the doshas, but if you
leave that plate on the table for five hours, it will be unfit to eat, despite the
fact that its raw nutrients have not significantly changed. Your whole body is tremendously alert while you are eating. Your
stomach cells are aware of the conversation at the dinner table, and if they
hear harsh words, the stomach will knot with distress. Then everything you
digest at that meal will be affected, because you have taken in indigestible
sounds. Your stomach cells cann ot literally hear, but the brain, taking in what
the ears hear, sends out chemical messages to update the stomach and every
other organ. So you cannot fool any part of your digestive tract into thinking
that a tense meal is a happy one; your “gut feelings” know better. According to Ayurveda, your duty to your body is to nourish every cell in
it in every way— that is the larger purpose of a sattvic diet. If you are careful
about nourishing your cells completely, they will reward you with ojas, the
perfect expression of their satisfaction. To make that happen, I have provided
sixteen BITS, or Body Intelligence Tips, each of which helps to expand the
satisfaction your body derives from eating. As you follow these BITS, you will be surprised at how much more
enjoyment every meal can give you. Your body can bubble with joy after
every breakfast, lunch, and dinner, once you know the secret of turning food
into ojas. BITS—BODY  INTELLIGENCE TIPS
Eat in a settled atmosphere. Never eat when you are upset. Always sit down to eat. Eat only when you feel hungry. Reduce ice-cold food and drink. Don’ t talk while chewing your food. Eat at a moderate pace, neither too fast nor too slow. Wait until one meal is digested before eating the next (i. e. , intervals of
two to four hours for light meals, four to six for full meals). Sip warm water with your meal. Eat freshly cooked meals whenever possible. Minimize raw foods—cooked food (preferably well cooked) is much
easier to digest. Do not cook with honey—heated honey is considered to produce ama. Drink milk separately from meals, either alone or with other sweet
foods. Experience all six tastes at every meal. Leave one-third to one-quarter of your stomach empty to aid digestion. Sit quietly for a few minutes after your meal. This concise list gives you a great head start on getting the most out of
any diet. The basic principle here is that food that is easiest to digest is best
for you, which explains why well-cooked food is preferred over raw, hot
over cold, fresh over processed. Making digestion easier is also the reason
for sipping warm water with your meal, eliminating milk, and sitting brieflyat the table once  you are finishe d eating in order for your body to settle into
its digestive rhythms. Another important principle is moderation. Moderate amounts of food are
taken at regular mealtimes—the Ayurvedic texts consider a double handful
of food to be an ideal portion. Take this amount as a first serving and go
back for more if you still feel hungry. It is advisable to leave  one-third to
one-quarter of your stomach empty at the end of your meal. Your digestive
tract will work more efficiently on smaller portions, and your body will find
it much easier to control its weight automatically. Don’ t be afraid that you
will walk away from the table hungry. Being satisfied is not the same as
being stuffed. If you leave a little empty room in your stomach, you will feel
light, buoyant, energetic, and much fresher an hour after you eat. That is how
a properly eaten meal feels, leading naturally to a properly digested one. BITS for Weight Loss
If you have a problem with overweight, try using these BITS before going
on any kind of calorie-cutting diet. You will be surprised to find that your
excess weight is caused not just by what you’ve been eating but by how
you’ve been eating it— carelessly or compulsively, on the run instead of
sitting down, between meals instead of at regular hours. These are simple
things, of course, but they make a big dif ference. Leaving aside the very small minority who actually have a hormone or
metabolic problem, most overweight people are the victims of conditioning
—bad habits that have been unconsciously built into their bodies over time. Everyone’ s body  has the intellig ence to know the right amount to eat; nature
gave us the hunger reflex to tell us when our bodies want food and its
opposite, the satiation reflex, to tell us when our stomachs are satisfied. People who have lost these instincts have surrendered an important aspect of
their body’s intelligence. They eat like machines, switched on by automatic
cues—the sight and smell of food, or just the thought of it. But by following
these BITS they can return to “conscious eating,” guided by their body’ s
inner intelligence. WHEN OJAS IS LESS
Besides overeating, other abuses at the table can suppress our healthy
instincts for eating. If you consume a meal while feeling angry, an Ayurvedic
doctor would say that you are producing mental ama from your food, while a
Western physici an would say that a stress reaction is throwing off your
endocrine balanc e. The end result is the same, a damaging chemical message
going straight to your cells. Even before you eat the first bite of food, disturbances in the doshas can
negate your body’s attempt to produce ojas. As usual, Vata dosh a comes into
play here—wha tever throws off Vata dosha also damages ojas—worry, loud
noise, going without sleep, and drastic diets and fasting. On the positive side,
anything that calms Vata during mealtimes is good for ojas. Most people do not eat a strict ly sattvic diet in this country, so I would
like to give a few more reasons why changing to one would benefit your
health. You will notice that a sattvic diet is vegetarian, and it is now common
knowledge that vegetarians have excellent blood pressure (18 percent lower
than average) and lower rates of heart disease and cancer. In addition, the
federal governm ent has warned us for twenty-five years that Americans eat
far too much salt, protein, and animal fat, most of which come s from meat
(much of the excess salt also comes from processed foods). If you started
reducing your meat intake today, moving gradually in the direction of a
meatless diet, you would almost certainly lessen your chance of having a
heart attack in the future. By including sweet foods on the list, Ayurveda
does not mean to condone the huge amounts of refined white sugar that most
of us now consume. The sweetness of pasta, rice, and bread is enough. Like everything else, there are two extremes in diet. Certain foods are not
easily turned into ojas; among them are the following:
Non-Ojas Diet
Meat, poultry, and fishHeavy and oily foods
Cheese
Leftovers and processed food
Excess of sour, salty tastes
Overeating
For the sake of economy and convenience, many cooks like to save
leftovers, but Ayurveda frowns on this practice. Food is meant to be eaten
fresh, right off the stove if not right out of the garden—the fresher the
produce, the more the ojas. Old, cold food, even when reheated, will not
produce ojas in the same amou nts. Frozen food in general is also good to
avoid. Drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes destroys ojas and prevents
other foods from producing it. Air and water pollution are equally
detrimental. All of these influences are called tamasic, which means that
they produce dullness and inertia by promoting the buildup of ama. Kapha
types should be especially wary, since their naturally slow digestion makes it
easier for ama to form. Finally, here are a few time-ho nored rules about a blissful diet handed
down in the Ayurvedic tradition, each aimed at maximizing ojas. Eat fresh food suitable to the season and your geographical area. The
best possible foods for the body are fruits, vegetables, and dairy
products raised in your area— foods have thrived on the same air,
water, nutrients, and sunlight that you grow on. Have your lar gest meal at lunch, when digestion is strongest. Dinner
should be a modest meal that can be digested before bedtime; breakfast
is optional and in any case should be your smallest meal of the day. Eat at the same time every day. Besides not snacking, avoid eating at
night, which disturbs your digestive rhythms and easily promotes ama
as you sleep from the food that is undigested. Dine either alone or with people you genuinely like. Negative emotions,
whether yours, the cook’ s, or those of the people around you, have a
harmful ef fect on digestion. Be grateful for nature’ s unending gift of food, and respect it as you do
yourself. OceanofPDF. comCHAPTER 13
EXERCISE—THE MYTH OF “NO P AIN, NO GAIN”
From an Ayurvedic standpoint, much of the exercise recommended today
falls short of ideal. Why do we need physical activity in the first place. Charaka, the greatest writer on Ayurveda, gave this answer: “From physical
exercise one gets lightness, a capacity for work, firmness, tolerance of
difficulties, elimination of impurities, and stimulation of digestion. ”
Aerobics for your heart or weight training for your muscles achieve some of
these goals, but these are not comprehensive enough activities to fit
Charaka’ s description. The ideal is to balance the whole system, mind and
body. It is also vital that exercise give more energy than it takes, a
consideration that people tend to ignore. One very simple exercise, walking, comes close to being ideal because it
is a natural activity that satisfies  all three doshas. Vata types find that taking
a long walk tranquilizes them. Pitta types react quite differently. They like
being slowed down from the driving pace that so often overtakes them
during their workday. Kaphas feel stimulated and lighter; a brisk walk
clears out any minor congestion  they might have built up and makes their
typically slow digestion more efficient. For these reasons, a brisk half-hour
walk every day is one of the prime recommendations we make to patients at
the Chopra Center. Patients are also taught a new approach to exercise in which the aim is
not to strain or to pound their muscles into shape. They are shown that
exercise is meant to forge a closer link between themselves and their
quantum mecha nical bodies—it thus becomes a powerful tool for balance. We call this approach “three-d osha exercise. ” It is embodied in a set of
short, connected routines:The Sun Salute ( Surya Namaskara )—a morning exercise that
combines stretching, balance, and calisthenics (1 to 6 minutes)
Neuromuscular integration—a set of gentle yoga positions (10 to 15
minutes)
Balanced breathing—a simple form of Pranayama, a traditional yogic
breath exercise (5 minutes)
The description of these exercises begins on page 325. Performing them
in connection with meditation, for which they are ideally suited,  raises mind
body integration to a new level. To begin with, these exercises are natural
and comfortable forms of activity that the doshas welcome. They can also
be performed by all age groups and do not require you to be in shape. From the very first session, people discover the intimacy that nature has
established between awareness and physiology. The body is not just a shell
or a walking life-support system. It is your self intimately clothed in matter. Getting back in touch with this intimacy is very reassuring and delightful,
particularly for people who have given up on exercise and become virtual
strangers to their bodies. SUCCESS WITHOUT  PAIN
Before explaini ng these points further, let’s consider conventional
exercise. Since life is generally meant to be comfortable and happy,
Ayurveda views exercise as a means to that end. It holds that exercise
should always leave you ready for work. Exercise shouldn’ t be work itself. Yet, many Americans see it that way. They feel that without a grim and
determined attitude, they are not doing much good for themse lves. (Go to
the park early tomorrow mornin g and count how many frowns there are on
the faces of the runners you see. ) If you get only one benefit from
Ayurveda’ s approach to exercise, it should be that “no pain, no gain” is a
myth. A good way to see this is in terms of Vata dosha. All physica l activity
increases Vata. A moderate increase makes you feel more vigorous, alert,
and clearheaded, as well as stronger physically. You are getting  mental and
physical benefits together, in a natural balance. But overstimulating Vata
destroys all these benefits. It makes you feel restless, fatigued, and shaky. How much is enough, then. As a general rule, Ayurveda wants us to
exercise to 50 percent of maximum capacity. If you can bicycle ten miles,
go for five; if you can swim twenty laps, make it ten. These lower limits are
not detrimental to fitness; in fact they make exercise more efficient, because
you are not givin g your body so much repair work to do afterwa rd, and your
cardiovascular system will have an easier time returning to normal after
your workout. Another simple guideline has to do with exertion. Rather
than exerting yourself to the point where you are sweating heavily and
panting for breath, just go until you break out into a light sweat and start to
mouth breathe. Those are natural signals that you are at the right limit. You are going too far if you begin to pant or sweat profusely, if you feel
your heart pounding violently, or if your knees feel rubbery. At the first sign
of overe xertion, stop exercising, give yourself a few minutes of walking
around to let the system cool down by stages, and then rest for another few
minutes until your pulse and breathing are back to normal. In the heat of
competitive sports such as tenni s and racquetball, you may not notice how
strenuously you are exerting yourself. If it is fun to play, then keep on. But
if you are pushi ng yourself to win the game or to prove that you can keep
up with someone else, your attitude is needlessly punishing your body. Vata types especially should be careful not to overdo; their constitutions
generally have lower exercise thresholds than Pittas, and Pittas lower than
Kaphas. Exertio n also needs to be adjusted for age: over the age of 45 or 50,
everyone begins  to have increased Vata, which should be comp ensated for
by not exercising as hard as before. As in everything else, you need to
respect your doshas. Section summary: 

This passage discusses aspects related to maintaining overall wellness via optimal consumption patterns tailored towards individual constitutional typologies, i.
Warm milk
What is a recommended drink to have with Pitta or Kapha imbalance?
Eat a light breakfast, then wait until noon to eat a satisfying lunch, and have an early and light dinner
What is the recommended way to reset the digestive fire (agni) on a Saturday?
Fermented foods, such as pickles, yogurt, and cheese
Which type of food is considered bad for Pitta or Kapha imbalance?
Eat when hungry, eat slowly, and chew your food thoroughly
What is the recommended approach to digestion, according to Ayurveda?
Exercise should not be overstimulating, and it's recommended to stop and rest if you feel the need to, as excessive exertion can lead to negative effects on the body.
What is the recommended approach to exercise, according to Ayurveda?