Ayurvedic foods and their benefits

Now more than ever, it is clear that building a healthy foundation, both in our minds and bodies, is the key to long lasting health.

My continuous quest to instill better habits led me to look at our own food theories and history, where I came across an approach that could be useful for a lot of us. Accessible, natural and super healthy.

The Ayurvedic diet is an eating pattern that has been around for generations. It revolves around Ayurvedic medicine as a holistic approach to achieve a healthy balance between the mind, body and soul.

According to Ayurveda, five elements make up the universe — vayu (air), jala (water), akash (space), teja (fire), and prithvi (earth).

These elements make up three different doshas (types of energies that circulate your body)– Vata(air), Pitta(fire) and Kalpha(water and earth). Each dosha is responsible for different physiological bodily functions.

An Ayurvedic diet involves finding your dominant dosha and eating foods to balance all three.

The practice of following an ayurvedic diet includes the consumption of whole foods and discourages processed foods.

Whole foods include a wide range of nutrients, while processed foods lack fibre, important minerals and vitamins.

Keep in mind, Ayurveda is subjective and doesn’t really have any scientific evidence to back its studies, however, this practice originated in the Indian subcontinent over 3 millennia ago and has holistically improved a number of lives.

Curious to know more? Read on.

Svasthya, “to be established in one’s self or own natural state,” is optimal health according to Ayurveda.

Ahara (food) is one of the three pillars of life, the other two being sleep and a regulated sexual life.

The classic texts of Ayurveda contain elaborate sections of food. Different foods and beverages, foods classified according to taste, therapeutic qualities, etc., food safety and measures for the same, different incompatibilities of food based on their tastes, processing, dose, time, place, etc., prescriptions of consumption, food qualities and intake based on the digestive ability of an individual, and the nature of food that is being consumed.

We all know what superfoods are. Worldwide superfoods, such as avocado and salmon are rich in nutrients and have an overall positive impact on our health and wellbeing.

Ayurveda has 3 such superfoods.

Ceylon Cinnamon-

This is the truest form of cinnamon and contains polyphenol antioxidants. Cinnamon has anti-inflammatory properties and may fight infection.

A study shows that if you eat half a teaspoon of cinnamon per day you can reduce “bad” cholesterol but at the same time supports “good” cholesterol.

Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s patients have shown a buildup of a protein in the brain called “tau”. In studies conducted on mice, cinnamon has shown to reduce the negative impacts of tau on the brain.

Amla or Amalika-

Amla is a rich source of Vitamin C and iron — a 100-gram serving of Amla contains as much Vitamin C as 20 oranges.

Amla is rich in flavonols, chemicals associated with improved memory and cognitive function. Because of its high antioxidant content, Amla is a favorite with Ayurvedic practitioners for improving hair and skin condition.

This fruit is also known to support food absorption and balance digestion — it is an ingredient in the classical Ayurvedic Triphala formula for this reason.

Moringa-
Is a plant filled with multivitamins, and is better known as “the Drumstick Tree” in India. It is a potent source of vitamins B6, C, B2 and A, and has a huge content of minerals.
Twenty-one grams of Moringa contains 2 grams of protein and 8 percent of the recommended daily allowance of Magnesium. Moringa is common in developing countries where diets lack vitamins, minerals and proteins.
Moringa can balance the blood sugar levels in our body and may play a positive role in our cardiovascular health. Studies also show that Moringa can reduce cholesterol levels and protect against liver damage.
There are many ways to get these superfoods into our diets. You can add them to your daily smoothie, have them as supplements and even find recipes to add them into your meals.
So while Ayurveda may not be backed by facts and figures the way a lot of us would like (myself included), the overarching theme seems to encourage natural, non processed and whole foods.
Scientifically, we know that those principals alone have numerous benefits for every human being, especially in our heavily processed world
It might be worth experimenting with Ayurveda— it could very well be the key to get you on the right track.

Writer: Tarsha Kohli