4 Ayurvedic Concepts for Optimizing Balance & Nutrition in Our Diet

Everything in moderation. Everyone is unique. Those are two clichés we have all heard, and that many of us have come to dismiss as we’ve grown old and skeptical. In many cases, perhaps we are right in doing so. But over time, I have discovered a topic of discussion in which these clichés prove generally infallible: our health and diet. This is why I have become fascinated by the concepts championed by the Ayurvedic diet.

The Ayurvedic diet preaches two main principles, the first being that a balanced diet is the foundation of good health. Any exclusivity or strict dietary constriction lends, by its very nature, to unbalanced nutrition. Second is that no dietary plan is one size fits all; instead, Ayurveda emphasis that we all have a unique dietary balance, but that the optimal food plan consistently incorporates an abundance of healthy foods.

These principles are incorporated into a larger scheme of spirituality inherent to the Ayurvedic tradition. For me to tell the full story would mandate expertise I don’t possess. However, through my study I have discovered four concepts within Ayurveda’s dietary wisdom that I found particularly interesting, and applicable to my everyday life. They focus on optimizing our diet by finding balance, rather than simply loading up on healthy foods & vitamins. They are also spiritual in nature. Enjoy:

1. Processed foods lack Chetana and Prana.  ‘Chetana’ means living intelligence, while ‘Prana’ means life energy. Ayurvedic practitioners say that processed food lacks both, because they have been either stripped of their nutritive value, or did not possess nutritive benefits to begin with. I find the term chetana especially interesting. Dr. Mark Hyman often discusses how the food we eat affects the way our genes are expressed, and it is those genes that dictate our chemical balances downstream. To think of our food as possessing ‘intelligence’ or ‘chetana’ gives credence to the idea that food has the power to dictate our body’s genetic expression.

Ayurvedic Concept: Food is Medicine

2. There are six Rasas (flavors) of food, and they are equally important. The Ayurvedic diet incorporates six key flavors – sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent, and astringent (meaning sharp or bitter).  Each ‘Rasa’ has a unique impact on your physical and emotional self, and if consumed in excess, each will cause detriment. For optimal health, a balance of each flavor should be consumed at your primary meals. In the western diet, an excess of foods falling under the flavors sweet, sour, and salty are consumed.  Here is a run down of how each flavor affects the body:

- Sweet- nourishes & builds body tissues, and calms the mind.
- Salty- lubricates tissues and maintains minerals, enhances enthusiasm and calms nerves.
- Sour- Stimulates digestion & strengthens heart, enhances intellectual activities.
- Pungent- Warms body, improves metabolism, relieves nerve pain, and opens mind.
- Astringent- cleanses blood & maintains blood sugar, dries fat, clears senses & emotions, and removes lethargy.
- Bitter- Detoxifies body, reduces fat excess, relieves thirst and fever, manages food cravings, and clears senses.

A fantastic chart, including recommended foods for each Rasa, is linked here: 6 Rasas

3. Herbs & Spices are concentrated forms of healing intelligence. Herbs and spices are revered in Ayurveda because they possess ‘yogavahi’ properties – they enhance the delivery of nutrients to the body’s cells, tissues, and organs. Furthermore, they are especially important for digestion. Unfortunately, not all of us have experience using the eclectic set of herbs and spices used in Indian cooking, so integrating them into our everyday lives would be difficult. Fortunately, there are two simple tactics that can help our progress:

- Eat fresh ginger & lemon 30 minutes before your meal. These will kick-start your digestion. Learn about other health benefits here: ginger & lemon.
- Chew fennel seeds after eating. This helps digestion, while also serving as a natural breath freshener. Learn about other health benefits here: fennel.

4. Food impacts the mind as much as the body. Ayurveda actually has a food pyramid of its own, except that it emphasizes the daily dietary needs for a productive mind. Sattvic means balance, and foods within the category encourage neutral energy, curiosity and enthusiasm. Rajas, meaning motion, includes foods that support physical and mental endurance. We need Rajasic foods to stay productive, but they shouldn’t take priority over Sattvic foods. The top of the pyramid is occupied by Tamas, meaning resistance. Tamasic foods demand high-energy loads for digestion, and usually cause laziness and can dull the mind. However, in small doses they can have a grounding effect. Learn more what kinds of foods fall into the three categories: Three Gunas

If you have any thoughts on the Ayurvedic diet, on how to incorporate more herbs into our foods, on the relationship between spirituality and food, or anything else, please share!

Learn more about Ayurveda at FoundHealth – Ayurveda Overview