WHOLE HEALING AYURVEDA
  • Home
  • What is Ayurveda?
  • Services
  • Forms
  • FAQ
  • Dictionary
  • Blog
  • Bio

Understanding Food Combining

2/28/2013

1 Comment

 
Food Combining in Ayurveda is a huge key to your digestion. It is important to take into account the food and how it is prepared and combined. Always look at qualitiesof foods, herbs, seasons, etc. when it comes to balancing your system. Certain food combinations can disturb the normal functions of digestion and upset the balance of the doshas. This can produce indigestion, fermentation, putrefacation and gas. Ama is the end result and the root of most disease.

Foods that are light are easiest to digest and foods that are heavy are more difficult to digest. You can eat more of the light foods and they tend to stimulate appetite and digestion. The heavy foods are great for grounding, strengthening, nourishment but it takes more energy to digest (this can suppress appetite), so eat heavy foods in small quantities.  

Foods are also either hot or cold. Hot foods stimulate digestion and cold foods calm or slow digestion. Foods can also be either oily (used in moderation promotes lubrication of the digestive tract but in excess can overwork the liver and gallbladder) or dry (can inhibit digestion and cause dehydration), smooth (can soothe digestion) or rough (move digestion and elimination along). The list goes on and on but hopefully these few examples start to paint a picture for you.

Remember climate (NW CO), lifestyle (stress, for example), pesticides/herbicides and environmental pollutants also influence the effect of food on our digestive systems.

When two or more foods having different taste, energy, or post digestive effects are combined, digestion can become overloaded, slow down or inhibit the enzyme system and result in ama. These same foods though, eaten alone, might stimulate digestion, be quickly digested and might help to burn ama.

For example:
Milk (heavy, cold, sweet) is incompatible with bananas (heavy, heating, sour) and causes confusion to our digestive system and often results in diminished digestion and upsetting the balance of intestinal flora, which could result in congestion, cold, cough, allergies, hives, rash.

Now, you have a ton of information but how to apply it all? Here are few rules to eat by:
  • avoid eating a lot of raw and cooked foods together.
  • don't eat fresh foods with leftovers.
  • minimize eating leftovers but if you must then add some fresh spices or herbs to bring prana back to your food.
  • use spices and herbs often in your food. Try adding cilantro (cooling) to your hot, spicy food to calm the heat.

1 Comment

Stress Reducing Snehana Therapy SPECIAL!

12/21/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
Snehana Therapy for Winter and to calm Vata dosha. 3 snehana therapies (each 1.5 hours long) for $195 (a 25% savings!). A wonderful gift for you or a loved one this winter. Valid December 21, 2012 thru April 2013.


A regular Snehana relieves stress, anxiety, exhaustion and Vata (air) disorders. It nourishes the body, extends the life span, promotes sound sleep, improves skin texture and vision, and provides better physical stability. The Snehana therapy is the best way to control and balance Vata (air) in the body.

Vata (winter) season in NW Colorado is long, dry, rough, light and stressful to the mind and body and this therapy offers warmth, stability, lubrication, and calm to mind and body. Make your appointment today or buy a gift certificate for a loved one.  Call 970-846-4404 for details!

0 Comments

Vata Dosha

1/27/2012

1 Comment

 
Vata dosha is the elements of ether and air and lies in the empty spaces in the body and fills up the subtle channels. It has the qualities of cold, dry, light, mobile, rough, subtle. It governs sensory and mental balance. Vata affects the mind, nervous system and entire physical body. Vata is also in nature, in the seasons of fall and early winter, in the foods we eat, in our older years - learn more about this and the other doshas during the Feb 8 Steamboat Springs library lecture.
1 Comment

    Whole Healing Ayurveda

    The teachings of Ayurveda are as pertinent today as they were thousands of years ago.

    Archives

    January 2023
    March 2021
    March 2020
    February 2017
    September 2016
    April 2015
    February 2014
    January 2014
    October 2013
    May 2013
    February 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011

    Categories

    All
    Agni
    Ama
    Asafoetida
    Balance
    Bloating
    Cleanse
    Cold
    Constitution
    Copper
    Curry
    Damp
    Digestion
    Dosha
    Dry
    Enzymes
    Fall
    Food Combining
    Gas
    Ghee
    Heavy
    Hing
    Holidays
    Homeostasis
    Intuition
    Juice Plus
    Kapha
    Khavaigunya
    Light
    Love
    Mobile
    Nasya
    Neti
    Oil
    Oil Pulling
    Pranayama
    Recipe
    Slow
    Snehana
    Soft
    Special
    Spring
    Toxins
    Vata
    Water
    White Coating
    Winter
    Yoga

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • What is Ayurveda?
  • Services
  • Forms
  • FAQ
  • Dictionary
  • Blog
  • Bio