Diet tips per Ayurveda and Modern Nutrition
General dietary guidelines as per Ayurvedic Principles
Gratitude
Cooking with love and dedication
Don’t drink cold beverages
Eat foods high in Prana: house building (look fresh and energizing)
Chew thoroughly (Eat less, chew more)
No TV, radio, reading or other distractions
Listen to body’s hunger signals
Scrape your tongue daily or weekly at least.
Organic versus Inorganic
Don’t suppress body’s natural urges sweat, bowel or urine
Eliminate processed foods
Read labels.
Do not eat when you are not in a good mood, sad, depressed, upset, angry etc.
Some food combinations should be avoided. Fruit should be eaten alone and not combined with anything else.
Genaral dietary guidelines as per Modern Nutrition Principles (some tips based on ADA recs for 2014)
Vyayama - Practice of exercise in the form of Yoga, breathing etc
Eat smaller portions. Moderation is the key.
Some disease conditions call for smaller meals 4-5 times per day.
Drink a glass of water before every meal so you don’t eat too much.
Don’t go for seconds. Fill your plate the first time.
When you have eaten, wait at least 10 minutes to see if you are satisfied.
Cooking methods – Choose baking, broiling, and steaming versus frying.
Eat a balanced diet based on MyPlate. Eat a variety of meals.
Exercise regularly
Cook fresh and avoid processed and frozen dinners, canned soups etc.
Watch portion sizes
Read labels.
Pack healthy lunches and snacks if working.
Avoid emotional eating.
Do no skip meals often.
There are a lot of common recommendations between both systems. Although the belief is that Modern Nutrition focuses on Macronutrients like Carbs, Pro and fats and Micronutrients, there is more focus on Behavior Modification nowadays given the fast paced lifestyle that we all live in.
Encouraging children to follow at a young age will teach them good habits to follow throughout their life. Food used be an important part of all cultures and lifestyles but with the advent of technology and computers food has taken a back seat. A quote I read said, "Treat food as medicine or soon medicine will become your food."
Practicing a healthy eating habit and lifestyle will provide balance in all aspects of life including the physical, mental and spiritual being. Disease is the body's response to years of unhealthy eating and lifestyle. If you are sick the body can heal itself naturally given the right food and lifestyle. There is no quick fix. It took time for the disease to manifest so it will take time for it to heal, Just as we tell women after delivery, 'it took you 9 months to gain the weight, so you need that much time to lose it.'
