Ayurveda stresses the importance of food as medicine to heal and optimize our health. It can be your guide to balancing yourself, so these issues of stress, insomnia, low energy, obesity, and illness fade away. You can wake up feeling clear with a natural glow!
We’ve all heard: “You are what you eat.” Ayurveda goes a step further in saying, “you are what you digest.” This means that no matter what we are eating, it is important to have the highest functioning Agni (digestive fire) and assimilation processes to get rid of Ama (toxins stored in our fat cells). As well as to get the most nutritive power from our food.
In Ayurveda you want to improve and regularize three main things: absorption, assimilation, and elimination. The next part is to see an Ayurvedic practitioner to correct any imbalances and find the best foods and herbs suited to your physical constitution.
To do this it is important to have a sattvic (balanced, pure, fresh) diet. This means avoiding any foods that are too rajastic (fiery) or tamasic (spoiled) foods. Sattvic foods are easy to digest and make you feel energized after consumption. The don’t make you feel heavy, lethargic, or over- stimulated. They are foods filled with prana (life force)! Not frozen or fried foods. Sattvic foods, naturally help build up your immunity and fight illnesses or inflammation.
Here are some tri-doshic grocery staples, meaning they work for most!
Ayurvedic Grocery Staples:
Spices:
Turmeric
Fresh ginger
Cumin seeds
Fenugreek seeds
Coriander seeds
Mustard seeds
Black pepper
Asafoetida
Ajwan
Grains:
Basmati rice
Split red-lentils
Split-mung bean
Oatmeal- steel cut or rolled
Quinoa
Barley
Oils:
Ghee (clarified butter) * the most highly recommended
Coconut oil (especially in summer)
Sesame oil (especially in winter)
Sunflower oil
Seasonal fruits and vegetables for winter into spring:
*check your local farmer’s market to see what’s in season!
Oranges
Beets
Broccoli
Kale
Dandelion Greens
Broccoli Rabe
Carrots
Cabbage
Brussel sprouts
Grapefruit
Cauliflower
Chard
Mandarins
Apples
Lemons
Mushrooms
Sweet potato