Food

What happens to food & drink in the body
Ayurveda considers food as fuel to the digestive fire, called ‘Jadharagni’ and also the fires which characterise each constituent in the body. It fortities the body and invigorates the mind. As the food & drink are burnt by Jadharagni, they give out two products – Ahara rasa (chyle) and kitta (waste matter).

Food as a whole, serves three main functions

1. It provides the energy required for the body and the mind.
2. It regulates body functions and protect it from diseases.
3. It nourishes and energises the body tissues and cause the growth of the body.
The chyle produces substances like rasadhatu, blood, muscle, fat,
sperm, bone, marrow, ojas etc.
According to Ayurveda, the waste matter also replenishes products of excretion. These induce sweat, Urine, feces, ear wax, eyedirt, saliva, hair follicles etc.
Over digested food vitiates ‘Pitta’ dosha while under – digested food causes vitiation within the body. Properly digested food augments ‘vata’.
In this context let us listen to the discussions between Agnivesa, the disciple and Punavasu Athreya, the Guru, described in Caraka Samhita. Agnivesa starts “Respected sir, some persons who eat good food also get afflicted with diseases, some others who eat unwholesome food are found healthy. How do we explain this?” Acharya Athreya replies “Agnivesa, Wholesome food alone can not prevent or remove diseases. There are other factors involved. Some of these disease causing factors are changing seasons, exposure to obnoxious lights and sounds, slights, tastes and imprudent conduct and smells. Similarly un – wholesome food may not have a harmful effect on individuals who have innate immunity / resitance to disease. This innate resistence to disease varies from person to person. For example, persons who are obese or weak, feeble in mind and whose bones, blood and muscle are not healthy enough, are more prone to diseases”
Qualities of food:
There are innate properties of food – like heavy or light, cold or hot, thick or diluted etc. The quality of food, lightness or heaviness are attributed to food containing animal products. Heavy foods are essential for the weak, and ill. The prominent factors that determine the quality of an animal meat are – habitat of the animal, part of the body, constitution, gender, size, cooking method, and quantity. In general, active animals produce light meat. Food processing also can vary quality.
Food and Taste: In Ayurveda “rasa” means taste. It describes 6 types of taste – Madhura (sweet), Amla (sour), Lavana (Saline), Kata (Pungent), Tikta (bitter) and Kashaya, Astringent.
Each taste has a series of activities and actions. Caraka says that an established principle is that three specific rasas perturb a dosha while three opposing rasas assuage it. It the tastes are utilised judiciously, the body is kept healthy. If tastes are abused, doshas get vitiated and cause illness. Vata dosha is perturbed by pungent, bitter and astringent tastes but is assuaged by sweet, sour and salty tastes. Pitta dosha gets perfurbed by pungent, sour, salty rasas but assuaged by sweet, bitter and astringent rasa. Kapha dosha is perturbed by sweet, and salty tases and is assuaged by pungent, bitter and astringent tastes.
Another basic rule of Ayurveda is that substances with similar properties as that of dosha will lead to increase whereas those with opposite properties will cause decrease. In practice, however, a good physician does not blindly follow this theory but makes a collective study the proper union of doshas with rasas so that patient could benefit.

Guna of Foods

Guna means quality. The three gunas, Rajas, Tamas and Sattva are psychic dosas which refer to individual mode of conduct. Sattva guna makes a man virtuous and good. Rajas and Tamas are responsible for negative emotions like anger, lust, greed, envy, fear, conceit etc. Rajas and Tamas are always seen in combination.
Sattvic foods:- Foods that are bland and mild in taste and are not irritating are sattvic foods suitable for sattvic persons.
Rajasic food:- These foods provoke over eating, irritate and injure the digestive orgens. Salt overused is Rajasic and injurious to even a healthy person. Excessively sour and sweet foods, stimulants like coffee, tea are Rajasic food and must be cosumed sparingly.

Tamasic foods: These include tobacco, alcholic drinks, such foods are foul smelling and weaken the brain and damage body organs. Acharya Caraka thus confirms that food makes a man good or bad.
Herbal sources of Vitamins & Minerals
Vitamin A: Alfalpha, Cayenna, Saw Palmetto, Yellow Dock, Rose
Vitamin B: Licorice, Papaya, and Fenugreek
Vitamin C: Garlic, Amla, Peppermint, and Bee Pollen
Vitamin D: Alfalpha, Sarsaparilla,
Vitamin E: Wheat, Gram, and Comfrey
Vitamin K: Gotukola, Alfalpha

Minerals
Calcium: Aloe, Cayenne, Chamomile, Fennel and Sage
Iron: Peppermint, Rosemary, Ginseng, Parsley, Chickweed, Wheat
Magnesium: Alfalpha, Ginger, Gotukola, Rosemary, Valerian
Potassium: Aloe, Cayenne, Fennel, Golden Seal, and Valerian.
Zinc: Licorice, Marshmallow, Chamomile, and Sarsaparilla
The body can digest vitamins and minerals much easier through plant origin than from animal origin.
Herbs for Healing
The use of plants for medicinal purposes probably dates bach to pre – historic stage. In India, use of herbs has a very long history. The oldest Veda – Rigveda – describes, morphology, habitat, therapeutive values, uses in various ailments, of several herbs. It is estimated that 50,000 herbal formulations are documented in Indian medical texts and treatises.