The only diet plan that Ayurveda recommends (for both men and women)

You might be well aware of you that you have been eating the wrong way as per Ayurveda. But this blog is different. In this blog, we’ll talk about what you should eat the right way

There is just one diet plan and that Ayurveda suggests in all its scriptures and it recommends

it with the promise that if one follows it religiously. He or she would not need any doctors in life.

Not only this even the damage that was done by eating the things which were not really meant for the human body. It can be reversed and the body can be healed just stick to this ayurvedic diet plan. So what is this diet plan? where the food that you eat works like a medicine. 

Ayurveda is perhaps the only system of medicine that places an extraordinary emphasis on not just the food itself but when and how it is to be eaten. Even the healthiest of the foods when eaten at wrong times can lead to the accumulation of the toxin of the body which then results in diseases.

This is what makes Ayurveda so deep and successful in treating elements on its very root causes. How do we eat daily so that we can treat the diseases just with the food that we eat. That’s what this article is all about.

The #1 thing that you should know before you begin eating on any given day is a time of sunrise and sunset at your location. It is between this time duration that you should eat this is because our digestion is largely dependent on the sun. According to ayurvedic text, our digestive fire rises as the sun rises and gets to its peak when the sun is at peak and it dampens as the sunsets

Ayurveda wants that any food which is eaten as the sun has set moon properly digested in the body. This undigested food then leads to the accumulation of the toxins in the body which then results in short to long term health issues. 

So now you know that there is a specific eating window for you the other times you are on fast here it may sound like intermittent fasting a popular diet in the modern era. However, it is much different as the eating window is not decided by you, but nature decides it for yourselves.

Modern intermittent fasting may help you with weight loss for a while but this tide beaches in order with the laws of nature will nourish your mind body and soul at the deepest level. Weight loss is just the positive side of it.

After sunset the only thing recommends by this Ayurveda is milk this is because the specific enzymes to digest the milk are secreted in the right quantities by our body only then.

So drinking milk before bedtime also helps you calm down inducing deep sleep. Now that you’re familiar with your eating window you can place your breakfast, lunch, and dinner accordingly.

Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper

While choosing a clean meal you must know that even Ayurveda recommends you to eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper. However, it has slightly different from than otition to it. 

Breakfast like a king signifies you should be choosy about the foods that u eat to break the fast they should be well balanced with the macronutrients satiating too. Then lunch like a prince. Since the prince is young and has better digestion than the king he would eat the heaviest meal of the day.

According to ayurvedic scriptures lunch should be the heaviest meal of the day. Now you know the reason behind it. Yes, the sun is at its peak so here is the thing if you want to indulge in sweet that outside meal once in a while is ideal. And next dinner like a proper since the sun is about to set one cannot afford to digest a lot of food. So the dinner should be kept light. 

According to Ayurveda, there is some food that is strictly prohibited in dinner. These are bananas, radish, curd, and cucumber these are extremely cold nature foods that the body fails to digest properly when the sun is down.

The next question arrives breakfast lunch and dinner is all fine but what exactly should I eat. Don’t worry Ayurveda has specifically mentioned the ideal characteristics of a heart. 

The food that you beat should check all the boxes

• It should be sattvic
• it should be seasonal 
• it should be local 
• it should be fresh
• it should be tasty.

What is sattvic, derived from the word satva. Food full of goodness is called sattvic. The traditional system of Ayurveda divides food into 3 kinds-

• Sattvic
• Rajshik
• Tamsik

Sattvic foods are synonymous with modern-day food some food, this food include, vegetable nuts, seeds, fresh cow dairy, whole grains, and legumes. They come directly from the mother nature and are nourishing for the mind-body and soul.

Now when the same foods are cooked in excess of salt, sugar, spices or eaten too cold or hot to satisfy the palette they make the mind restless. These cooked foods are termed Rajshik

And then there are Tamsik foods these are foods of ignorance. They include frozen foods, stale food, intoxicating foods, preservative-laden, packaged foods, and all nonveg foods. When these are eaten they reckon physically as well as mentally. So the more sattvic food you eat the better it is.

You can also check the what food to eat in this article from verywellfit

The next important quality of food is that it should be seasonal. Ayurveda stresses that one should eat food which is in-season, not in fashion. Consider mango if they are out of season they will be sour and eating them will cause acidity. Similarly, every food which is in season will provide the best possible nourishment. So go to a local vegetable market no whats in season buy it and eat it.

Thirdly food eaten should be local that is why I recommend you to choose coconuts over avocados. No doubt avocados are healthy but they are foreign to Indians. There is a reason why nature grows certain foods in a specific region. It is to suit the people of that region. Foods that grow within the 100 kilometers radius of your location are local and that food, when eaten, gets properly assimilated by your body.

How to find your food is local or not?

Don’t know how to find which food is seasonal and local, a simple is to go to a local and nearest market, or shop and look for the cheapest fruits and vegetables. 

Next, the foods should be fresh while eaten, even the Bhagavadgita in one of its shloka (17.10) clearly mentions that food prepared should be eaten within 3 hours. The fresher the food you eat the more it will coster your health. So eating refrigerated so-called food more harm than good.

Finally, the food should be tasty, Ayurveda makes it clear that no matter how nutritious the food maybe if you don’t find it delicious you cant receive all its benefits. This breaks the myth that a healthy diet isn’t palatable. This doesn’t mean that you hop on Maggi or any other noodles.

Anyway just check the below 4 boxes-

• sattvic
• seasonal 
• local
• fresh

How much food you should take? (quantity)

I guess this makes it very clear that what food is best for us to eat. Subsequently, the question arises how much food should I eat, for this Ayurveda confirms that you don’t need to ask any dietician but your own stomach. The ancient text affirms that if one eats consciously focused on eating, chewing and relishing every bites the stomach itself signals when it’s full. 

On the contrary, if you eat in front of the screen, talking over the phone, in between the conversation you will miss out on satiety signals and as a result, you will overeat. So save yourself from the hassle of counting every calorie that you intake just listen to your body and eat according to your appetite.

And what about the water quantity?

The same goes through for water as well. How much water you should take on a daily basis depends upon person to person, again listen to your body. If you’re thirsty drink it slowly sips by sip, our body gets a good amount of water from other food sources like fruits and vegetables as well. However, there is one time when water should be drunk even if you are not thirsty. That is the first thing in the morning upon waking up. In ayurvedic scripture, it is referred to as USHPAAN. It is mentioned that at night when we sleep the body gets to the healing process accumulating the toxin. Then upon waking up when we drink before brushing it flushes the toxin of the body cleansing the intestines. At this time it is ideal to drink over one liter of water. After drinking water you should freshen up and then proceed to the main meals of the day.so that give you deep insight as to why and how you should manage your diet in tune with nature.

Summary

If we summarize it, first thing in the morning upon waking up – Drink a lot of water, freshen up after this every food that you intake should be in the window of sunrise and sunset. Then plan your breakfast like a king, it should be full of nutrition but still not very heavy. Lunch should be the heaviest, dinner should be light. Some foods are prohibited in dinner – banana, radish, cucumber, curd.

Food eaten throughout the day should check these five boxes-

• Satvic – wholesome food
• Seasonal – for proper nourishment
• Local – within 100km of your location
• Fresh – eat within 3 hours of preparation
• Tasty – receive all benefit

You can include fresh fruits and vegetables like whole grains, proteins, healthy fats, seasonal veggies for breakfast. Whole grains, pulses, curd or buttermilk for lunch which is heaviest. Soup, khichdi or one-bowl meal for dinner. 

So this completes your full-day ayurvedic diet plan if you’re lying with the laws of nature and eat according to what is prescribed in our ancient text something powerful will happen.

Every day your body will have ample time to heal the damage done before and slowly all your health issues will come to end.

As it is rightly said in Chandogya Upanishad –

Aahar Suddhau Satva Shuddhi”

(It means “From the purity of food comes the purity of mind)