Imrpoving Digestion and Maintaining Health

 SPARK VASI YOGA ALCHEMY 🔱 🧘‍♀️ 

Improving digestion & maintaining health

In the west the majority of people suffer from everyday digestion problems such as gas, bloating, 

stomach pain, constipation, heartburn, and fatigue after eating. Ayurveda provides simple solutions to 

these common complaints by considering not only what we eat but how we consume our meals.

To ensure food is properly digested, assimilated and metabolised by the body it is important to follow 

these guidelines:

• Eat at the times when the body has the necessary enzymes available to cope with the digestion of food. 

The peak time for enzymatic production is mid-day and this is the time to eat the largest meal of the day. By ensuring that the heaviest foods and largest quantities are eaten at this time, the bodily tissues are able to fully utilise the nutritional value of foods consumed. This helps reduce the amount of food required by the body and reduces food cravings between meals. It also goes a long way to helping reduce weight and maintaining hormone balance. The evening meal should be light as the body produces far less enzymes to help digest food at this period of the day. You should aim to eat at least three hours before going to bed and this should therefore be between 5-7pm.Have you ever gone out for a late dinner and found that it was a strain to wake up the next morning or that it was difficult to be efficient during the following day? These are often the side effects of 

improperly digested food. The best way to avoid these problems is to follow nature's prescription of suitable times to eat. When the sun is strongest the digestive fire is also strongest. Agni is associated with the Sun. This is one of the ways ayurveda seeks to connect our mind and body with the 

environment. As the sun goes down so does our agni. Late night meals interfere with sleep and after 10:00 p.m. the body is working to burn off toxins and continue to digest food from the day. If you eat after 10:00 p.m., the food may cause toxins to accumulate in the system, and as a result the next day you wake up tired. If you are not able to wake up fresh and clear, then it is important to analyze the quantity of food and the time of night you are eating dinner.

• Each meal should be taken in a peaceful, pleasant environment and should not be consumed when irritated, angry or stressed as this hinders the digestive process and leads to bloating, gas and the build-up of toxins in the gut. Excessive talk or a noisy environment hinders the digestion and leads to undigested food remaining in the body causing wind and bloating. Watching television or reading during eating can also have similar effects. Our bodies need an uplifting and settled environment in 

order to process and absorb the nutrients from our meals. If that is not available then we should at least be sitting down to eat - not standing, walking or driving. The act of eating is life-giving. The process of eating, according to ayurveda, is something reverent and important for the development of consciousness as well as our physical health. When we sit down to eat our stomach is in a relaxed posture and our awareness is on the taste, texture, and smell of the food. This will greatly improve the digestion. 

• Whilst it is important to drink between 1-2 litres of water per day, liquid should not be consumed half an hour before or one hour after eating as this ensures that the digestive enzymes responsible for digesting food aren’t diluted by excessive water intake. It is, however, useful to sip small amounts of hot water with a meal as this aids the digestive process. Ayurveda recommends taking a small cup of ‘Post-digestive’ tea (see ‘herbal teas’) to help with the digestive process. Hot water with fresh ginger, 

lemon, fennel seeds or mint leaves should be sipped throughout the day.

• The next ayurvedic recommendation also addresses agni. Ayurveda recommends avoiding cold drinks at meals and ice cold foods in general. This is like putting cold water on the burning logs. Iced water,normally served at restaurants, extinguishes the digestive fire. Even juice or milk right out of the refrigerator is too cold for the digestion. Juice should be taken at room temperature and water without ice. Once you get into this habit of drinking beverages at room temperature you will notice a dramatic 

improvement in your digestion and the way your body feels while eating and after the meal. Cold drinks and foods mixed with warm cooked foods can cause stomach cramps, bloating and general discomfort in the stomach area. If you have a pitta imbalance you can take cool drinks in-between meals. Cold or frozen foods are not recommended for pitta either because even though they may temporarily cool down the heat, the agni is still being over stimulated and the imbalance will continue. Try slightly cool 

drinks made with rose water, or milk blended with dates or fresh mangos.

• Avoid caffeine, alcohol and carbonated soft drinks and switch to life-giving, vitality-boosting 

beverages. Water, that most basic yet most overlooked elixir of life, helps to rehydrate the system and flushes toxins from the body. Water that has been boiled and cooled has the added healing element of fire in it. Adding herbs and spices suited to your physiology or designed to correct a specific imbalance can enhance the healing quality of the water you drink. At bedtime, drink a cup of warm milk (boil and 

cool it for added digestibility) blended with a spoonful of ghee, a pinch of ginger, a pinch of cardamom and a pinch of nutmeg will aid sleep.

• Cut down on sugar, wheat, coffee, tea, alcohol and red meat as these hinder the digestive process, leach nutrients and water from the body or block the uptake of nutrients from food. This is especially so with sugar as this ‘feeds’ the ‘bad’ bacteria in the gut and helps them multiply – this leads to candida, bloating, wind and indigestion.

• Another way to improve the digestion is to stimulate the agni or digestive fire before we begin eating. 

Weak digestive agni may result in fatigue after eating so Ayurveda recommends eating a one inch piece of fresh ginger with a few drops of lemon juice and a few pinches of salt on it before a full meal. This starts to activate the salivary glands, producing the necessary enzymes so that the nutrients in the food are easily absorbed by the body. See ‘Ginger Pickle’ recipe. 

Balancing your digestive agni is a key principle in Ayurvedic medicine. That's why ayurveda 

recommends a number of general practices for better digestion. Digestive agni can be compared to a burning fire. If the flame is very low than it will take a long time to cook the food. In the same way if the fire is too big it can burn the food. If we put a huge log on a low fire it will extinguish it. Our digestive fires should be balanced so that we can digest our meals efficiently and smoothly.

• Ideally, each main meal should provide the six tastes of bitter, sweet, pungent, astringent, sour and salty. This ensures the nutritional requirements of the body are met and reduces the need for snacking and over-eating. Specific mixtures of herbs or ‘churna’s’ may be added during cooking or sprinkled over food to ensure a balance of the six tastes in each meal (see ‘churna’ recipes). Spices not only add flavour and aroma; they also bring therapeutic value to the meal. They help boost natural immunity, and most of them boost the digestion so that the body is better able to absorb and assimilate the nutrients from the foods you eat.

• Start the day with a stewed apple and raisins as this is light, warm and nourishing and breaks the fast of the night slowly. The digestive system needs warm, nourishing foods in the morning to stimulate it, but not too much. The digestive fire is just waking up, and will be at full capacity when the sun is high in the sky, at noon. Heavier proteins and larger amounts of food are best digested later in the day. A stewed apple also helps your elimination system, because it is easy to digest and contains lots of fibre.

It also contains vitamins, trace minerals, and antioxidants. This is also a good recommendation for weight loss as anything that is light on the digestion, and adds nutrients rather than empty calories,helps burn body fat.

It is important not to eat if there is no hunger/appetite present. Often the feeling of ‘needing something’ to eat is really a need for liquid intake – try and listen to the body’s signals. Often the body needs smaller, easily digestible soups and fruit/vegetable juices rather than a ‘full-blown’ meal, to gain energy and vitality.

• Eat slowly and always chew your food well - many digestive enzymes are added from the salivary glands and these are stimulated by the action of the jaw. Food that enters the stomach should be ‘soup like’ as the stomach has no teeth to do this for you. 

• At the end of a meal it is beneficial to wait for five minutes before taking seconds or a desert as this gives the body time to register fullness and to indicate whether it requires more. You should leave the table feeling light, refreshed and energetic. It you feel heavy and tired after eating this is an indication that you have eaten too much or that the food you ate was nutritionally poor. Allow five to ten minutes before leaving the table and then take a short walk for ten to fifteen minutes to aid the digestive process.

• Food consumed should always be of the highest quality. Fresh, organic food is best and all refined, processed food is best avoided. Colour, taste and presentation are as important as nutritional content as the pleasure we get from smelling, seeing and tasting food determines the abundance of enzymes necessary for proper digestion.

• If raw foods are eaten these should be taken at the beginning of the meal and always in small quantities (less than one third of the total meal content). Whilst raw food contains an abundance of vitamins and enzymes the body finds it harder to break these down than cooked food and this can lead to severe digestive problems, especially if the body is already under stress and the digestion is working less than 

optimally. The best cooking method is to lightly steam vegetables as this ensures minimal loss of 

enzymes and maximum retention of nutrients.

• According to Ayurveda sweet, fruit deserts should be taken at the beginning of a meal rather than at the end. Sweet tastes satisfy hunger and quench the appetite and therefore reduce the need for large amounts of food. Fruit that is left sitting behind the main meal waiting to be digested (up to six hours) 

can ferment and produce large amounts of gas and bloating. This destroys the ‘good’ digestive flora and encourages the production of ‘bad’ digestive flora/bacteria.

• To properly digest a meal the stomach should be no more than a third full. A third should contain food, 

a third the liquid you have been consuming before the meal and a third air or space. This allows the digestive juices to fully break down the food contained there. 

• Another ayurvedic tip for digestion is to drink a fresh yogurt drink called Lassie either during or after the meal. This drink consists of 1/4 cup fresh homemade yogurt, 1 cup room temperature water and sugar to taste. Blend it for one minute in the blender. Lassie is light and contains lactobacilli, necessary bacteria that lubricate the intestines to help digestion go smoothly. Lassie drinks help to reduce gas and 

bloating. They also taste delicious and can make a meal more satisfying and nutritious. See ‘lassie’ recipes.

• Adequate intake of essential fatty acids (omega 3,6,9) will help reduce cholesterol, high blood pressure, 

diabetes and obesity. These can be found is fresh deep-sea fish such as mackerel, sardines and salmon and in many freshly-ground nuts and seeds. However, the best way to ensure an adequate intake is by adding oil to your food. Olive oil is good but flax oil, pumpkin oil and borage oil are better. Better still is a specially formulated blend called ‘Udo’s oil’ (see ‘Savant’ in the resources section) which contains all the essential fatty acids or omegas in their ideal ratios for optimum health and nutrition.

Fruits and vegetables contain lots of phyto-nutrients, and a variety of senses-pleasing colours, tastes and textures. Ayurveda has always recommended eating lots of fruits and vegetables, not only for their nutritional value, but also because they are natural internal cleansers. Modern research concurs that fruits and vegetables are powerful disease-prevention foods - in fact, it is now recommended that you 

eat nine servings of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables a day to prevent cancer and other free radical induced diseases.

• Eat naturally intelligent foods. Almost three-quarters of the products sold in supermarkets contain genetically modified ingredients and many of the chemicals and pesticides used in growing foods have been linked to numerous diseases. Processed foods, genetically modified foods, and foods to which additives or artificial preservatives have been added are no longer alive with the intelligence of nature.

According to ayurveda, the human physiology is a reflection of the laws of the universe, and the more in tune our lives are with nature, the healthier we are likely to be. Our digestive system is designed to process foods that are closest to nature - whole grains, pulses, fruits and vegetables. Help your digestion function optimally by choosing organic foods whenever possible - your health is worth the extra cost.

• Cook your food correctly. The purpose of ayurvedic cooking is to combine the intelligence of the spices, the intelligence of vegetables and the intelligence of the fat - all the different enzymes and energetics - in a way that is not confusing for your body's intelligence to break down and incorporate. 

Ayurvedic cooking methods are easy on the digestive system. You can prepare ayurvedic vegetables in one of two ways. The first way is to steam the vegetables and then add the spices which have been sautéed in ghee, coconut oil or olive oil. The second way is to sauté the spices in ghee, coconut oil or olive oil and to then add the vegetables and sauté for a few minutes. Cover and cook at low temperature. If you are making a curry (vegetables with sauce), add a small amount of water to finish cooking the vegetables

• Give your digestive system a break. According to ayurveda, the build up of ama or toxins in the 

physiology is the root cause of most disorders. That's why ayurveda recommends internal cleansing at the change of each season for optimal health. During internal cleansing, eat light yet nourishing foods such as mung bean soup or kicharee and drink lots of warm water or ‘Detox Tea’ through the day. See ‘teas’ in recipe section. Fresh, sweet juicy fruits are excellent cleansers. Periodic internal cleansing gets rid of accumulated junk from inside the body and boosts the digestion for the next season.

• Triphala is an excellent aid to elimination and purification and will help strengthen and purify the digestive/immune system. It is best taken in the late evening. A herbal paste called Chywanaprash is also excellent in this regard.

• Water is essential for good, digestion, ridding the body of toxins, maintaining immunity and healthy skin. When the water is herbalised it has an even stronger, more beneficial action.

For kapha types: To a thermos of boiled water, add 2 thin slices of fresh ginger root, 2 basil leaves, 2 whole cloves, 1/2 teaspoon of whole cumin seeds and 2 pinches licorice powder. Sip hot, during and after meals. 

For pitta types: 2 pinches of Indian sarsaparilla powder, 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds, 2 pinches of licorice powder, 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds and 1/2 teaspoon of coriander seeds. Drink at body temperature throughout the day, alternating with plain boiled water. 

For vata types: 1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds, 1/2 teaspoon whole coriander seeds, 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, 3 pinches of ashwagandha root powder and 1 pinch whole root licorice powder. Drink warm.

Exercise each day as your body craves routine. If you exercise at fifty percent capacity at the same time every day, eat at the same time and sleep at the same time, your body will respond with better digestion, better sleep and overall better immunity. Yoga, walking, cycling, dancing and swimming are all excellent in this regard. The way to tell if you are exerting more than fifty percent capacity and starting to exceed your capacity is if sweat starts to form on your nose, forehead or under the arms. Another sign is if you can no longer breathe through the nose. Breathing through the nose is recommended for 

ayurvedic exercise. If you start to need to gulp air through the mouth, it's time to slow down or stop. If you follow this one guideline, you will always feel energized by exercise instead of exhausted. Each day, you will find that your capacity increases and that you can exercise more intensely or for a longer duration. Very naturally you will be able to handle more exercise without ever straining.

• The practices of meditation, chanting and pranayama will also help balance the mind, subtly tone the body, improve digestion and massively reduce stress.

• Retiring to bed early and waking early is necessary for the maintenance of hormone balance in the mind and body – this creates happiness and a stress-free mind; the prerequisite of proper digestion.

• Better relationships are formed when the mind and body are in harmony. The beauty of Ayurveda is that it takes into account all areas of life. While you may think that your problems with relationships start with the other person, the fact remains that you can change only yourself. Most relationships go wrong when the people involved start blaming each other. If you stop and look within, you will surely find that blame doesn't always lie with the other person. At the basis of all relationships is the human heart. The heart is the seat of Sadhaka Pitta, the sub-dosha of Pitta concerned with emotions. To use modern terminology, Sadhaka Agni is related to the neuro-hormones that are located in the brain and all over the body, including the heart. The neuro-hormones located in the heart send signals to the brain to register depression or happiness, depending on how the individual processes an experience.

It is important to understand and thereby respect the special psycho-emotional makeup of others.

Rather than blame others for reacting differently than we do, it's better to develop understanding and tolerance, based on the knowledge of Ayurvedic mind-body types. If you are feeling irritated with someone, it's best to look to your own physiology rather than blame him or her. Once we start to live more in harmony with nature we are naturally more tolerant and forgiving. Good digestion not only positively effects our physical health but our mental and emotional health as well but. This also works the other way round; better relationships create better digestion, better health and a happier life.