Mastering healthy eating habits: your guide to long-term health and wellness.

What constitutes healthy eating habits? When we eat nutritious food it’s good for health but it is more good when we take care of the timings of eating food.

It is said and directed by Ayurveda that consuming nutritious food on the correct timing will act as a medicine but if we consume food at the wrong timings whether it is nutritious will act as toxins for your body and therefore following healthy habits is important.

Table of Contents

Healthy Eating Habits

Why do we eat food?

It seems like a funny question, but it is really important to ask ourselves and the answer should be honest.

Why do you eat?

Is it to gain weight or to combat obesity?

Or is it to obtain sustained energy and promote overall good health?

There is no doubt, we all derive energy from the food we eat and that is why it is crucial to be thankful and grateful for it.

According to Ayurveda, it is vital to treat our meals with reverence and gratitude, recognizing them as the source of the energy that propels our lives. 

Additionally, Ayurveda encourages us to choose a 'satvik' diet - one that promotes complete nutrition derived from plant-based foods that cause no harm to society or nature.

Unlocking the Digestive Secrets of Ayurveda: The Role of Dosha’s:

According to Ayurveda, our bodies are composed of five elements: fire, water, earth, space, and air. Each person's body has a dominant element, which is determined by the presence of "Doshas." 

These ‘Doshas’ are indicative of imbalances in the elements and can manifest in three major types. By addressing these imbalances, we can optimize our diets and more effectively derive energy from the food we eat.

Vata Dosha: Individuals with this type of ‘Dosha’ may experience a range of issues including bloating, gas, body pains, irregular periods, overthinking, and dryness of the skin, which can significantly impact digestion.

To address this, it is essential to maintain a consistent eating routine with a focus on nutritious foods, including ghee. Additionally, massaging the body with oil can be beneficial in removing this ‘Dosha’ from the body.

Pitta Dosha: Pitta dosha is characterized by a variety of symptoms, including hair fall, stomach acidity, acne, grey hair, rashes, headache, ulcers, dry throat, and excessive sweating.

To address this condition, it is important to reduce the body's internal heat. One effective method is through hydrotherapy. 

Additionally, drinking "Tandulodaka," which is made by soaking rice in water for four hours, stirring it, and sipping it twice a day, can be beneficial. Eating watery fruits such as watermelon and cucumber can also aid in balancing pitta dosha.

Kapha Dosha: If you are experiencing seasonal allergies, a white coating on your tongue, significant weight gain or difficulty in losing weight, brain fog, and lethargy, it may indicate an imbalance in your Kapha dosha.

To restore balance, you can eliminate this dosha from your body by increasing your fluid intake and purging toxins. Additionally, incorporating fresh fruits and hot beverages such as health teas and other nutritious drinks may be helpful.

By achieving a balance of all the doshas, one can enhance their digestion process and extract more beneficial energy from the food they consume. 

It is crucial to improve our eating habits, and equally essential to balance these doshas. Individuals should eat by keeping in mind their dominant dosha’s for maintaining good health.

Ayurvedic principles:

By following these principles and techniques can lead your life to greater health and long lifespan.

Ayurveda offers guidance on proper and effective ways to consume food that can provide the body with energy and nourishment, promoting a positive mindset, let's understand it.

Bless Your Own Food:

Ayurveda and its culture believes that the food we consume has a power to nourish you and also provides you energy which is why it is important to show gratitude to the food you are going to consume.

This energy is believed to be transferred to our body, providing us with the necessary drive to carry out our daily activities.

Ayurvedic principles also hold that every individual and object possesses a unique energy that never truly dissipates, but instead travels from one entity to another.

By expressing gratitude towards our food and maintaining a positive mindset towards it, we can increase the vital energy present within the food. 

This practice can prove to be immensely beneficial for those who consume it.

Empty Your Mind:

In this busy life we always have something to fill our mind with thoughts and in every activity we think but while eating we should empty our mind and be relaxed.

By doing so, you can fully engage with your food and prepare yourself to receive its energy.

Studies have shown that taking deep breaths and releasing any mental or physical tension can induce relaxation and stimulate the digestive system.

Hence, it is necessary to have your meal with a calm and relaxed mind so that you can have its benefits and it will nourish your body and soul.

Practicing this technique can help promote a healthier digestive process and enhance the overall experience of consuming food.

Touch And Feel Your Meal:

The human body is an intricate and sophisticated system, and it is challenging to comprehend fully. 

It is scientifically proven that senses such as touch, smell are responsible for hormonal changes in the body.

For example, when we touch and feel our food while eating, our digestive system responds accordingly. 

The texture of the food we consume, whether hard or soft, prompts the release of bile enzymes in the digestive tract.

Enzymes work on what we are eating which is sensed by our body and helps in accelerating the digestion process.

This phenomenon highlights the importance of being mindful of our food intake and utilizing our senses to enhance the digestive process.

By paying attention to the textures and characteristics of the food we consume, we can facilitate the digestive system's smooth functioning and promote overall health and wellness.

Understand Your Taste And Chew Properly:

Our tongues possess a sense of taste, which can distinguish between five primary flavors: sweet, sour, spicy, salty, and bitter.

Interestingly, the digestion process commences with the sense of taste. The salivary glands located within the tongue mix with every bite of food, initiating the digestion process.

Ayurvedic principles emphasize the importance of properly chewing food and allowing sufficient mixing of saliva within it. 

Food in which Silva does not mix while eating is just waste for our body which will not digest in your body.

Therefore, it is crucial to chew food until it breaks down to a jelly-like consistency, allowing for proper mixing of saliva.

By chewing food thoroughly, we can enhance the digestive process and ensure that the body receives the maximum nutritional benefit from the food we consume. 

Eating with Mindfulness

The act of chewing also facilitates the breakdown of complex molecules into simpler forms, making it easier for the body to absorb essential nutrients.

Do Not Distract Yourself While Eating:

Ayurveda emphasizes the need to concentrate on the food we consume to facilitate better absorption of energy. 

Properly chewing food enables us to experience all five tastes present in the food, indicating that we are eating correctly.

To overcome this, it is necessary that we should avoid using mobile phones and televisions because this acts as the biggest distraction.

Instead, it is advisable to sit in a calm and positive environment to enhance the eating experience and promote mindfulness.

Water:

Ayurveda says that drinking water before 30 min of your meal can act as "nectar of life" or "Amrut." And by cleansing your intestines water makes the intestines ready to absorb nutrients in the body.

And, drinking water immediately after meals is harmful for human’s health and referred to as a toxic act by Ayurveda.

Hence, it is advised to avoid drinking excessive water after meals.

Advisable time to have water is after 40 min of meal.

In bottom line

You should keep in mind these crucial points.

Eat according to your type of Dosha.

Be grateful and thankful for your food.

Bless your food.

Empty your mind and concentrate on your food.

Touch and feel your meal to activate your digestion process.

Understand your taste and chew your food properly.

Do not be distracted by TV or Mobile.

Note: Drink water before 1 hour of your meal and after 40 min of your meal for better absorption of nutrients.