What Are the Basic Principles and Benefits of the Ayurvedic Diet?

According to Ayurveda, food is powerful medicine. The Ayurvedic diet believes you should eat according to the profile of your dosha and the benefits include a balanced mind, body, and spirit.

In India, people have been following the principles of Ayurveda for thousands of years. This ancient practice includes approaches to both diet and medicine as a complete wellness plan. While firmly rooted in Eastern beliefs, the Ayurvedic diet is becoming more and more popular in the West. Learn more about following the Ayurvedic diet and how it can benefit your health.

Ayurveda is an approach to health and wellness that has been practiced in India for more than 5,000 years. The word comes from two Sanskrit words: ayur (life) and veda (knowledge). The principles come from Hindu scriptures, the Vedas, which state that Ayurveda is a system to unite natural elements, diet, and spirituality. Ayurveda has influenced Buddhist, Eastern, and Western medicine and is now becoming more popular when it comes to diet and healthy eating.

Ayurveda is a holistic approach to physical, mental, and emotional health. The main tenet is that everything is connected, and the key to achieving optimal health is by achieving balance and harmony. Your body’s energy, or prana, has to be able to circulate and flow freely. Imbalance, caused by feelings of stress or negativity, is believed to affect your physical health. You can maintain balance by exercising regularly, getting good sleep, and following the Ayurvedic diet.

According to Ayurveda, food is powerful medicine. Food is a source of energy and health, but it can still be enjoyed. The Ayurvedic diet contains a wide variety of foods and flavor profiles that are rich in spices.

To guide your diet, you first need to understand the doshas. These are the three human constitutions that originate from the five elements: air, water, fire, earth, and ether. The three human doshas are vata (air), kapha (water), and pitta (fire). Your dosha is determined by your characteristics and body type. People are a blend of the three doshas, but everyone has one dosha that dominates the others. 

To implement Ayurveda, you should eat according to the profile of your dosha so that you can properly keep it balanced. Without balance, you’re prone to physical ailments.

There are several principles to keep in mind, but they basically fall into two categories: what to eat and how to eat. The Ayurvedic diet is based on the idea that good digestion is one of the key ways to maintain good balance and overall health. No matter what your dosha or metabolism is, the Ayurvedic diet principles were designed to optimize digestion and promote good health.

Include the six tastes in every meal. It’s recommended to include the six tastes in every meal since they are meant to balance each other out (and the doshas) and eliminate cravings for other food. The six Ayurvedic tastes are:

• Madhura (sweet)
• Katu (pungent)
• Tikta (bitter)
• Kashaya (astringent)
• Amla (sour)
• Lavana (salty)

You are advised to include plenty of spices and herbs in your cooking since they allegedly provide direct healing from nature. 

Eat seasonally. Choosing high-quality, seasonal ingredients ensures that your body is prepared to fight off the physical and mental changes that occur with the changing of the seasons. You should aim to buy local products that are free from chemicals, pesticides, and preservatives.

Eat regularly in moderation. The Ayurvedic diet advises eating moderately. To properly digest, you should only eat up to one-third of your stomach’s capacity. Enjoy three meals a day, and try not to snack between them. This lets your metabolism thoroughly digest each meal.

No cold drinks. Cold drinks at mealtime are believed to put out your digestive fire (agni). Drinking water or other drinks at room temperature, on the other hand, will improve your digestion. You should drink water frequently throughout the day in small amounts.

Consider the size and timing of your meals. Aim to have lunch be your largest meal. It’s thought that agni follows the sun, so your strongest digestion will be at midday when the sun has reached its highest point. Have your dinner be a lighter meal, and stop eating completely by 10 p.m. so that you can get a good night’s sleep. If you eat too late into the evening, your body will continue working to digest and clear out toxins, which interferes with the quality of your sleep.

Eliminate distractions. As mentioned, following the Ayurvedic diet means eating mindfully and purposefully. To do so, you should be focused on your meal. Find a calm, comfortable place where you can enjoy your meal and eat at a leisurely pace. Don’t chew quickly and force your food down. Pay attention to what you’re eating by putting your phone away and turning off the TV. 

The Ayurvedic diet aims to nourish the mind, body, and spirit. Even though Ayurveda has been practiced for thousands of years, it’s still seen as complementary medicine in the US since there isn’t yet any licensure for Ayurvedic practitioners. Even so, you can speak to your doctor about how the Ayurvedic diet or treatments can benefit you.

One of the benefits of the Ayurvedic diet is the emphasis on fresh, seasonal ingredients. While it doesn’t state that they need to be organic, it does say that you should buy foods that are local, unprocessed, and lacking in preservatives or pesticides. This ensures that the food is as healthy and nourishing as possible.

The Ayurvedic diet encourages you to connect your mind to the food you eat and how you feel. Along with other Ayurvedic principles, this diet encourages body acceptance, gratitude, and eating mindfully. This helps promote a healthy relationship with food and eating while you make mindful choices about what you eat.

The Ayurvedic diet can benefit anyone since it advocates eating a wide variety of foods while putting an emphasis on fresh produce, legumes, and grains. No food is off-limits, but you are encouraged to eat the best foods for your dosha while balancing flavors and textures. This way of eating teaches you how to pay attention to how you feel when you eat certain foods and learn how to check in with your body to see if it's satisfied.