Ayurvedic Insight

Issue #16, January 2003

In this Issue

Ten Tips For Achieving a Healthier Diet
Healthy Digestion – Healthy Body by: Dr. Marc Halpern
Recipe: Split Pea Soup

“I am now convinced that most chronic medical conditions can be helped significantly by a healthy diet.”

–Robert S. Ivker, M.D.

Member of the American Holistic Medical Association

Ten Tips For Achieving a Healther Diet

An Ayurvedic Approach To Achieving and Maintaining Your Ideal Weight

Is losing weight at the top of your new year’s resolution list yet again?

For many people that struggle to maintain a healthy weight, the proof is in the pudding… and the cake, pies, cookies and chocolate, as well as in the pile of candy wrappers that compete with the holiday wrapping paper now overflowing the kitchen trash can. For others, a sluggish metabolism and slow digestion are equal contenders for blame.

In fact, at a recent lecture Dr. Robert E. Svoboda said, “it is not what you eat that matters – it’s really what you are able to digest.” That is precisely why those with strong digestive fire (agni) can get away with an occasional overindulgence in a box of holiday chocolates; waking up happy and refreshed, still thin and radiant – while those with poor digestive fire may experience a kind of sugar hangover… having a bellyache or noticeable weight gain after just a couple of candies.

In Ayurveda, strengthening digestion is crucial to achieving and maintaining your ideal weight. Digestion has been strengthened for thousands of years with great success, through the use of herbs, yoga postures, breathing techniques and diet.

Here are ten basic tips to help you improve your digestion:

- Do not drink iced or cold beverages as they “put out” the digestive fire. Stick to room temperature or warm drinks only.

– When food shopping stick to the perimeter of the market. The fresh foods found there require less work of your digestive system. A diet of freshly cooked, whole foods (organic if possible) will keep your system working most efficiently.

– Eliminate canned and processed foods from your diet, especially those that contain refined sugar or corn syrup; they have the least available “prana” (vital life energy) of all foods.

– Avoid leftovers. Foods that are cooked and then refrigerated or frozen lose their vital energy and are much more difficult to digest.

- Determine whether you have a vata, pitta or kapha imbalance and then begin altering your diet and/or lifestyle to restore your health. For example, if you are prone toward gas and constipation and would like to gain weight, you may be dealing with a vata imbalance. If you are prone toward acid indigestion, heartburn, diarrhea, rashes and other skin disorders you may have a pitta imbalance. If you are prone to colds, congestion, asthma and conditions of chronic weight gain or obesity, you are likely to have a kapha imbalance. Visit our website to learn more at www.banyanbotanicals.com.

- Use herbs to enkindle the digestive fire. For vata types, consider Hingvastak. Pitta types can use cumin, coriander and fennel (all which can be found in Digest Ease). For kapha individuals, the best choice is Trikatu.

- Create a routine time for meals. Most people do best to take the largest meal at around noon, when digestive fire is strongest.

– Eat all meals in a peaceful environment and be sure to take a deep breath after swallowing your last bite and heading off to your next activity.

– Remember that like increases like, so if you are trying to become lighter, you will do best to avoid heavy and oily foods (e.g. cheese, pudding, nuts, cake) and avoid overeating as well.

- Incorporate exercise into your daily routine. Avoid stagnation. Stimulate your body and mind on a daily basis.

- Meditate daily. Even five minutes a day will help the body relax into a state of calmness that supports healthy digestion.

“There is no end to the learning of Ayurveda. Hence you should carefully and constantly devote yourself to it. The wise regard the whole world as their teacher, whereas the ignorant consider it to be their enemy.”

- From Charaka Samhita, one of the most important fundamental works on Ayurveda. It is based on the teachings of the sage Atreya, initially written by Agnivesa around 800 BC, and rewritten by sage Charaka, around 200 BC.

Healthy Digestion – Healthy Body

By Dr. Marc Halpern, D.C., C.A.S., P.K.S.

According to Ayurveda, the traditional medicine of India, the digestive system is the physical root of most diseases in the body. In other words, as disease develops, its early signs are often seen as digestive problems. Gas, constipation, diarrhea, indigestion and bloating are all considered to be warning signs of future problems that are more serious. If the digestive system is properly cared for, many diseases can be averted and diseases that are present have a better chance of healing.

Ayurveda places a lot of emphasis on the care of the digestive system. In doing so, Ayurveda addresses not only what food is best for an individual but how food is eaten and how it is combined. If proper food is taken and it is taken in the proper manner, most digestive problems go away. For those that do not, Ayurveda utilizes herbs to normalize the function of the digestive system.

How do you know if you have digestive problems that may cause future challenges? Most of the signs are obvious. If you have gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea or cramping you have mild but important signs of imbalance. If you have been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome, ulcers, ulcerative colitis, diverticulitis or GIRD (gastrointestinal reflux disorder), your challenges are more serious but can still be helped. The knowledge of Ayurveda is important to the correction of all digestive imbalances.

Proper digestion begins not with what you eat but how you eat! Here are five simple but important guidelines to assure that your digestion is optimal.

Begin meals with a moment of relaxation or grace: When the body is relaxed and focused on the food, digestive enzyme secretion is maximized.
Eat in a calm environment: When the mind is involved in drama and emotion, digestion is disturbed. Turn off the TV, don’t discuss intense issues at the dinner table and avoid eating while driving in the car.
Chew your food well: Digestion begins with chewing. Proper chewing allows enzymes in the saliva to begin the digestive process. Food should be chewed until it is an even consistency.
Eat until you are satisfied, not until you are full: overeating is one of the major causes of digestive upset and subsequent disease in Western countries. The surest way to extend life for most people is to eat less! It is important to learn the difference between genuine hunger and the desire for pleasure through taste.
Rest before going on to the next activity: For optimal digestion, it is important to rest after eating. Failure to rest means that the body’s physiology will switch away from digestion and toward the activity of the muscles of the body. This leaves poorly digested food in the digestive system. It is best to wait at least 20 minutes before going on to the next activity.

Simply eating food properly will alleviate a lot of chronic digestive problems, thereby preventing more serious disease. When this is combined with a healthy diet, the effect is even more dramatic and almost all digestive problems disappear. Ayurveda teaches that the best diet is the one that is proper for a person’s constitution, or unique balance of body energies.

People with a more vata nature or those who suffer from constipation
and gas tend to need more cooked foods taken with some oil and spices, including salt. It may come as a surprise to find that raw salads can cause more gas.

Those with a more pitta nature or those who suffer from burning indigestion and loose stools need to eat more raw foods and take food that is less spicy and less oily. Deep fried foods are the worst food for people with pitta imbalances.

Those with a kapha nature or those who tend to feel heavy and sluggish and sometimes get nauseated after eating; you require food that is dry, light and spicy. People with a kapha nature thrive as vegetarians. What food should you eat? Ayurveda teaches that everyone is unique.

Nothing is right for everyone but everything is right for someone. Ayurveda is a path of finding out what is right for you. For the best personalized dietary plan, consult a Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist. In addition to supporting dietary and lifestyle changes, your Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist may design individualized herbal formulas to give your digestive system and the rest of your body its best chance of getting well.

Dr. Halpern is founder and director of the California College of Ayurveda and Ayurveda Healthcare Center located at 1117A East Main in Grass Valley, CA, where students are trained to become Clinical Ayurvedic Specialists (C.A.S.). He is also a founding director of the both the California Association of Ayurvedic Medicine and the National Ayurvedic Medical Association.

The California College of Ayurveda offers both full and part time clinical training leading to certification as a Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist. To receive a catalog or reach Dr. Halpern and the California College of Ayurveda email: info@ayurvedacollege.com or call 530.274.9100. You can also visit their web site at www.ayurvedacollege.com.

Recipe: Split Pea Soup

Preparation time: 1 1/2 hours, most of it unattended

Serves: 3 – 4

Ingredients:

Bring to boil in a medium saucepan:

1 cup dry split peas
6-8 cups water (or more as needed)
1 large carrot, sliced in rounds
1 inch fresh ginger root, peeled and finely minced
½ tsp. whole cumin seeds
½ tsp. turmeric powder
1 pinch hing
Fresh ground black pepper (to taste)
1 tsp. salt

Cooking Instructions:

Reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered until tender, an hour or more. Add water as needed. When good and soupy, add salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.

This is an unorthodox, but quite flavorful and digestible, version of standard pea soup. Great with a light salad.

According to the Charaka Samhita when you cook with legumes, it is best to add some pungent spices and oil to enhance digestion (otherwise they may be difficult to digest). Therefore, if you do not have a kapha imbalance, you may want to add a 1-2 tsp. of ghee to offset the naturally drying effects of peas.

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