Ayurvedic Diet A Healthier Approach To Life

In India all Ayurvedic doctors know how to cook, and know intimately the different effects that foods can have on individual constitutions, pre and post digestion.This also includes a variety of cooking methods which help to transform and enhance the digestive quality of the food. A whole science revolves around this one subject, because incorrect eating and poor digestion creates ama or toxins in the body and this ama is the root cause of most diseases. Everthing begins with good digestion, absorption of nutrients and proper elimination of waste products. Only then can the body produce healthy tissues and a balanced nervous system. Good health or Svasthya predominately revolves around a diet rich in fresh unprocessed foods, mostly based around grains, pulses and vegetables and fruits.

However Ayurvedic diet is not bland or boring, it is something which gets the digestive juices flowing and is so delicious that it leaves the individual happy and content and well nourished. So even before you see the food you can smell it, and it's this first sense that helps to stimulate the appetite, we even say something smells "Mouth watering". It should also look appetising and contain different textures, some liquid, like a soup and other vegetable and rice dishes. Flat bread like Chappati also adds to the texture and nutritional content.

The balance of flavor and variety of tastes in Indian cooking leave us feeling satisfied. This is because they contain a balance of the six tastes. When all the six tastes are present in a meal, then we can say it's truly balanced and this balance of flavors helps us to enjoy our food and at the same time it helps us digest the food more easily.

• Sweet - Milk, fruits , grains, sweet fruits, sweet potato
• Sour - fruits, Yoghurt, sour cream, mature cheese, pickles
• Salty - salt, sea fish, seaweed, asafoetida
• Bitter - Radichio, bitter gourd, green leafy veg
• Astringent - pulses, lentils, beans
• Pungent - ginger, pepper, mustard, tender radish

The importance of the six tastes in each meal is something we tend to overlook in the western diet. Our diet in the west is mostly made up of "Sweet, Sour and Salty" If you look at fast food like a big mac or fish & Chips these are the main flavors. The trouble is too many of these flavors leaves our diet wanting, and often these tastes are high in sugars, salts and fats.

They can also aggrevate some of the doshic types like Pitta and Kapha. And something that we tend to eat more of here is chocolate, I've noticed in India that people really don't eat that much of it if at all. They do like sweet without a doubt! but often that tatse will be within the meal and balanced by the others. Once you get to knows your own constitution better, you can eat more of the foods that are good for you, and eat less or avoid the ones which upset you.

In the Workshop that Dr. Verma is presenting, you will not only learn how to cook six delicious vegetarian dishes, but you will also gain much insight into the ritual and methodology of Ayurvedic cookery and nutrition. It is something that everyone here in the west should know about. After all "You are what you eat"

By Tanya Bradbury.