If you want to learn to eat healthier and incorporate more vegetables in your diet, Ayurveda is surely of your interest. Ayurveda, or ‘science of life’ is the traditional way and the oldest healing system of India that treats the body, mind and spirit as a unit. The concept of life according to Ayurveda is not only limited to the body or its symptoms, but also it includes the mind and spirit.
Ayurveda’s sister science yoga upholds the principle that food is more than protein, carbohydrates and fat. In fact, an ancient hymn in Veda openly declares that ‘food is Brahma’ (Brahma is the Creator God in Sanskrit), and ‘food is consciousness’. When we nurture through food, we not only nourish our body but also our mind and spirit.
Ayurveda is called ‘The Mother of All Healing’ and its origins date back to the Vedic age, or more than 6,000 years ago. Through history, Ayurveda has had strong influence on ancient Greek medicine, Chinese medicine and Tibetan medicine, including Nepal, Sri Lanka, Burma and Thailand.
Currently, Ayurveda is more understandable and is in more alternative use in Western medicine. According to the World Health Organization, Ayurveda is the system of traditional and alternative medicine being more comprehensive in the world.
In the East, health is much more than the absence of disease; it is a state of consciousness in which one manifests his/her potential being able to find the essential meaning of life.
Ayurveda maintains that the causes of diseases stem from the loss of healthy balance of the integral unit and of being, or doshas, the lack of awareness of each individual. It also argues that the most healing foods are those that contain high concentrations of natural plant chemicals responsible for their flavor and color such as green vegetables. Ayurveda emphasizes the influence of the flavors of food in health and nutrition as the key to a full body, mind and spirit.
Classification of Taste
According to Ayurveda, all you can eat can be classified in six tastes as;
- Sweet
- Sour
- Salty
- Spicy
- Bitter
- Astringent
If your daily diet includes these flavors, you will achieve a wide variety of healthy and nutritious components. Healthy eating is a celebration of life. Unfortunately, due to the speed in which we live, eating has lost all sense of celebration.
Fundamentally, food is energy and is determined by the amount of calories. Digestion, which begins with chewing, is the process of metabolizing energy of food in our body. We have lost the ability to listen to our bodies and give them what they need. Therein lies much of the problem of disconnection between body, mind and spirit. Therefore, the next time you go to the market, choose healthy foods and listen to the needs of your body. In essence, one could say that Ayurveda is the medicine of consciousness, a perfect support and health tool for life.
