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magyarCrash Course on Ayurvedic Food
The only way ayurvedic food is otherworldly is because of all the health benefits you end up with. Here is our Crash Course to get you up to speed about the basics of this diet.
What is it?
To put it simply, the Ayurvedic Diet is a mindful eating plan that keeps your body in balance. That was the simple part. Now, to elaborate a bit. It is a system based mostly on whole foods (processed food are quite frowned upon). The success of this diet lies in recognizing your “type” (explained later) and sticking to the foods recommended for that specific type. Now, eating ayurvedic food does not guarantee that you’ll lose weight. Rather, it promotes being healthy, inside and outside.
A Bit of Ayurveda History
Ayurveda has been around ever since the 2nd Century B.C. The word itself comes from two phrases: “Ayu,” meaning life and “Veda,” which signifies knowledge. Ayurveda can be found in the Vedas, long religious texts originating from India. More specifically, it is considered to be the fifth Veda, alongside Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda.
The belief is that Ayurveda emerged from Brahma (the source of the whole universe). He passed on the knowledge to Indra, the king of gods. Charak Samhita says that in those times, the sages were falling ill because of an unhealthy lifestyle. So, in order to elongate their life (to be able to continue their spiritual journey and reach salvation), they sent one of theirs to King Indra. Sage Bharadwaja succeeded: he received all the knowledge that Indra had. In possession of this divine knowledge, he became the father of Ayurveda.
Ayurvedic Food Linked to Your Dosha
“My what?” You might be asking yourself right now. Fret not, the explanation is ever so simple. Your “dosha” entails your metabolic type. According to the ayurveda teachings, all things are a combination of five base elements. These are ether, water, air, fire and earth. Humans, too, are made up of combos of elements, the three doshas. Every person has more dominant doshas, it just depends of the type of person you are. Once you have found your main dosha conforming to your dominant characteristics (LINK to DOSHA article), you will know what types of foods to eat. It is also possible that you have two prevailing doshas. That’s okay, you can still combine the foods according to Ayurveda easily.
The Ayurvedic diet also gives you pointers on what kind of vitamins and minerals your body type needs most. Once you have the list on what foods to eat and what to avoid, you can safely form your personalized diet plan. Important note: the ayurvedic diet is not vegan, nor vegetarian! It simply avoids eating over-processed foodstuffs. Give it a try – teachers at some yoga studios in Budapest can even advise you on how to go about it.
