Digestive Health with Ayurveda Siva Mohan, MD MPH www.svasthahealth.com
Session 1:Ayurvedic Diet agenda Quick ayurveda review What is ayurvedic diet? Assessing the energetics of your diet The 6 tastes, and the 3 doshas How your digestive system is communicating with you (poop, appetite, and digestive symptoms) Q&A 2
Ayurvedic review Everything in the universe is energy This energy can be categorized, or witnessed in patterned ways Ayurveda presents the universe and its patterns in the form of 3 primal energies (doshas): vata, pitta, kapha Doshas are flowing through everything in the universe including ourselves and our food We are unique manifestations of the doshas How we interface with the universe is in part determined by our energetic make-up, and in part by our current state of affairs There are patterned ways we experience this interaction with the universe, and we can see this in our digestive systems & health FREE INTRO VIDEO 3
Learning Objectives To begin to see how you can balance with your food To understand that ayurveda is applied dynamically, not a rigid system of rules To begin to understand how your digestive system is communicating with you 4
Q:What is ayurvedic diet? A: Choosing and preparing your food based on your energetic (doshic) needs 1. Based on vikruti 2. Based on constitution 3. Bring in the opposite qualities of what you are experiencing to balance with food 5
Assessing the energetics of your food What does it taste like? What does it feel like in your mouth, or gut? How does it make you feel after eating it? Food is energy. Untrain your mind from judging food as good bad Untrain your mind from labeling food as carbs, fats, anti-oxidants,etc. Just pay attention to the qualities. 6
Assessing the energetics of your food VATA PITTA KAPHA Dry Crunchy Raw Flaky Bitter Hard Spicy-hot Sour Tart Acidic Smelly Fried Oily Heavy Grounding Sweet Slimy Moist Ripe Soft 7
Tastes reveal the energetics of food. Taste E.g. Qualities Doshic Effect rice, Oily V- sugar, Cooling P- milk, Heavy K+ wheat, agave Sweet Earth Water Sour Earth Fire Salty Water Fire Pungent Fire Air Bitter Air Ether Astringt Air Earth citrus, yogurt, vinegar, cheese, pickles sea salt, rock salt, kelp cayenne, mustard, onion, garlic, ginger coffee, aloe, squash Sprouts, unripe banana Liquid Light Heating Oily Heating Heavy Oily Light, Drying, Heating Cooling Light Dry Cooling Dry Heavy V- P+ K- V- P+ K+ V+ P++ K- V+ P- K- V+ P- K+ Overall Effects Effect on Body In Excess* Increases ojas; Promotes growth of all tissues; Strength; Longevity; Stability Stimuting; Energizing; Nourish heart; Enlighten the mind Lessens spasm; Pain relief; Promotes Growth; Clarity; Perception; Extroversion Clears toxins; Desire to change; Grieving Clarity; Introversion Supports senses; Healthy skin, hair; Good voice; Relieves burning Stimulate appetite; Improve salivation and digestion; Increase energy Electrolyte balance; Stimulate salivation and digestion; Improves absorption of food and elimination of waste Improves digestion, eliminations; Clears congestion; Stimulates circulation; Kills pathogens Kills pathogens; Reduces fat, bone marrow and wastes Heals ulcers; Promotes clotting Congestion; Cough; Heaviness; Loss of appetite; Laziness; Obesity; Lymphatic Congestion; Tumors; Swelling; Diabetes; Fibrocystic changes Excessive thirst; Hyperacidity; Ulcers; Sensitive teeth; Skin conditions; Urinary tract conditions Hypertension, Hot flashes, Wrinkles; Hair loss; Swelling; Skin conditions; Hyperacidity Infertility; Diarrhea; Heartburn; Nausea; Colitis; Fainting; Tremors; Insomnia; Pain; Asthma; Skin conditions Depletion; Infertility; Dryness; Fainting Xerostomia; Speech disorders; Neuromuscular disorders; Constipation; Arrhythmia 8
My digestive system is talking to me? Yes, it is! Appetite Digestive symptoms Stool 9
How your digestive system is communicating with you Excess Vata Pitta Kapha Appetite Low; variable;full quickly Strong; excessive; hungry soon after eating Low in am; most active late night Symptoms Gas; bloating; cramping; pain Heartburn; heat; pungent gas; inflammation Sluggish digestion; food coma; heaviness; bloating long term; weight gain Stool Constipation; hard; dry; nuggets; lots of gas at night; darker color; least smelly Loose to diarrhea; yellowred-green; feels hot coming out; ribbony; pungent odor; urgency Easy movement; mucous; postprandial; smell of decay 10