Vibrant health

DR. PRASAD VELUTHANAR describes the roles of the three doshas – the natural elements in our system – in our health and well-being. He also shares what can be done if one or more doshas are out of balance in order to restore health. 

Ayurveda is one of the world’s oldest systems of medicine. In Sanskrit, ayur means “life,” and veda means “knowledge;” so it means “knowledge of life.” It was developed over 6,000 years ago in India and is still widely practiced all over the world. The main principle behind Ayurveda is that the mind and body are inextricably connected. Ayurveda promotes good health through balancing the body, mind, and spirit as a preventative to having to fight diseases through medicine and treatment.

Ayurveda is based on the premise that we consist of three governing elements of nature - vata (air), pitta (fire), and kapha (earth). Everyone is a unique combination of these elements or doshas, containing different proportions of each. The combination dictates our eating habits, sleeping habits, and overall way of living life. Symptoms of mental and physical illness are signals that one or more of the doshas is not in balance.     

1. "Healthy” means something different to everyone

We all know the fundamental rules of eating healthy – stick to natural clean foods. Simple, right? So why is there so much debate over diets? Ketogenic, paleo, Whole30, Mediterranean, low-carb, raw, vegan, dairy-free – the options for healthy eating are overwhelming these days. The debate is probably because everyone responds to foods and diets differently, something that Ayurveda discovered thousands of years ago.

If you’re working on becoming healthier, eat what’s best for your body, knowing that something different might work for someone else. Ayurveda tells you to eat according to your dosha, or which of your doshas is imbalanced – warm heavy foods balance vata; cool refreshing foods balance pitta; and lightly cooked or raw foods balance kapha.                                 

2. Use six tastes in every meal

Ayurveda recognizes six different tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent, and astringent. Every fruit, vegetable, grain, nut, etc., has a particular taste, or a combination of tastes. The idea is that each taste has a specific connection with one of the doshas. Here are the foods and their tastes.

Sweet: carbohydrates and natural sugars

Sour: organic acids and fermented foods (probiotics)

Salty: salts (that contain crucial minerals)

Pungent: spicy foods (promote digestion)

Bitter: dark leafy greens and herbs (antiseptic and detoxifying qualities)

Astringent: legumes, raw or dry produce

When you include all these tastes in each meal, it balances the doshas and ensures you’re getting all the nutrients your body needs. Biologically speaking, it makes perfect sense, as each taste represents a different set of nutrients our bodies need.

If you’re working on becoming healthier, 
eat what’s best for your body, 
knowing that something different 
might work for someone else. 

3. Focus on how you eat

Digestive problems include Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), indigestion, nausea, stomach pain, weight gain/loss, constipation, diarrhea, and bloating; but they also show up as skin blemishes, hair loss, and sluggishness. Ayurveda suggests that digestive problems occur because the digestive fire (agni) is weak, so igniting it before meals is crucial to improve digestion, e.g. adding spices like cumin or turmeric to meals will help; a teaspoon of fresh ginger with a few drops of lime juice and a pinch of salt before meals can activate the salivary glands to produce the proper amounts of digestive enzymes. Ayurveda focuses on proper digestion, as it recognizes that it’s how our bodies absorb nutrients. 

So, eat slower, better, and drink ginger tea every single day to keep your digestive system on track!

Ayurveda focuses on proper digestion, 
as it recognizes that it’s how our bodies absorb nutrients. 

4. Lifestyle (Vihara)     

Daily routine (Dinacharya), seasonal routine (Ritucharya), and behavioral routine (Sadvritta) are measures of an ideal lifestyle in the classic Ayurvedic texts. They promote a long, healthy, active life, and provide relief from pain and disease. 

Daily routine

I have described the Ayurvedic approach to the daily cycles in depth in “Living with Nature’s Rhythms.”  Seasonal routine 

In Ayurveda, the year is divided into six seasons, and a detailed dietary regime is prescribed for each season: 

In the spring, a bitter, hot, and astringent diet is advised, avoiding salty, sour, and sweet food. 

In the summer, due to the heat, a pitta-pacifying cold, liquid, sweet, and oily diet is advised. Excessively hot, spicy, sour, and salty foods are avoided. 

In the rainy season, aggravation of vata occurs, so vata-pacifying sweet, sour, and salty food and drinks are preferred. Food should be hot, dry, oily, and easily digestible. 

In the autumn, aggravation of pitta occurs. Diets dominant in bitter, sweet, and pungent foods are advised in this season. 

In the pre-winter and winter seasons, aggravation of vata occurs due to the cold, dry climate. Hence a vata-pacifying diet of hot, sweet, sour, and salty food, oils and fats is advised.

Whenever possible, 
devote your services to God, 
to the wise, and to respectable 
and elderly individuals.

Behavioral routine 

Ayurveda prescribes certain guidelines for maintaining a healthy mind that have come from yoga. These principles are applicable to all people at all times and places. Practicing them brings balance and harmony to the mind.
They are: 

• Whenever possible, devote your services to God, to the wise, and to respectable and elderly individuals.
• Speak the truth.
• Do not lose your temper.
• Do not get addicted to sensory pleasures. 
• Do not harm anyone. 
• As far as possible, do not expose yourself to hardship. 
• Try to control your passions. 
• Endeavor to speak pleasant and sweet words. 
• Meditate every day for tranquility of mind. 
• Observe cleanliness in all things. 
• Be patient. 
• Observe self-control.
• Try to distribute knowledge, good advice, and help to others. 
• Be straightforward and kind. 
• Avoid irregularity in daily activities. 
• Avoid overeating, overdrinking, too much sexual activity, and too much or too little sleep. 
• Behave according to the time and place where you are residing. 
• Act in a courteous and polite manner. 
• Control your sense organs. 
• Make a habit of doing all that is good and avoiding all that is bad.