by Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, ND | Feb 2, 2012 | Asian Medicine, Ayurvedic Medicine, Digestion, Food
According to Ayurveda, disease is a result of poor digestion and poor assimilation of food into the body. Therefore, when we take care to attend to our digestive health, we prevent the occurrence of disease.
Here are some tips from an excellent book a classmate lent me; The Path of Practice: A Woman’s Book of Ayurvedic Healing by Bri. Maya Tiwari, taken from page 355. These suggestions also happen to coincide with a talk that Erica gave to a group of colleagues at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine and so I have to give her credit as well!
1) Meal Sizing:
The largest meal of the day should be lunch. This is a very European method of eating and I practiced this tip while living in Colombia. It helped me feel balanced and nourished throughout the day. It also ensured I had a restful sleep in which I didn’t need to digest a large dinner. The size of the largest meal, according to Ayurvedic practice, should be the size of two anjali, two hands cupped together, or two cups (500 ml) of food. This is the maximum volume of food that the average human stomach can hold at a time.
The size of the other meals should be one anjali (one cup) or less. If you are a mentally and physically active person and eating this way over time results in hunger, then it is suggested that you increase the amount of meals in your day, limiting each one to the size of one anjali.
2) Food combining:
Fruits are best eaten alone, one hour before or after a meal. Fruit tends to ferment in the digestive tract and can interact with the digestion of other foods. Eating fruit and dairy products together should also be avoided (e.g.: fruit and yogurt or ice cream) because the acidity of the fruit can rot the milk in the stomach, leading to poor digestion and assimilation.
Avoid combining sweet and sour foods in the same meal. The two tastes counteract one another and irritate the digestive tract, which interferes with proper digestion. Also avoid complex combinations of food, which include dairy (basically every Standard American Diet food staple): tacos, lasagna, meat lover’s pizza, poutine, chili cheese fries and so on.
3) Preparing meals:
A nice tip from Matthew Remski, teacher of my “Everyday Nectar” Continuing Education Ayurvedic class (at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine) is that you should limit meals to no more than three different foods at a time. Making more complicated meals also complicates digestion. A great rule of thumb, especially as we move into Fall, is to try to cook all of your food in the same pot; think stews, soups, curries and rice dishes. This allows your stove to partially “digest” the food for you, making it easier on your body, which should conserve all the energy it can during this stressful season.
4) Stoking the digestive fires:
Drink 1/2 a cup (125 ml) of warm water before eating each meal. This helps to activate agni, the digestive fire that helps “burn” food and increase it’s absorption. Avoid drinking during or after a meal, especially cold water. This can affect the digestive fire in the stomach, prevent proper food breakdown and even lead to weight gain.
5) Eating mindfully:
Practice eating mindfully and chewing eat bite of food thoroughly. In naturopathic medicine it is common to hear people say “drink your food and chew your water”, meaning that food is chewed into a liquid before being swallowed. My family and I eat like wolves and this practice is extremely difficult for me to adhere to. However, I find that, when I try to chew properly, I experience less abdominal bloating after meals. I also feel more satisfied after eating and experience less food cravings. According to ayurveda, proper chewing ensures thorough digestion and assimilation, which also satisfies emotional cravings for food. This is especially helpful for people who crave unhealthy foods or who tend to binge eat.
Lastly, Bri. Maya Tiwari tells us to “practice eating our meals in a spirit of harmony and gratitude.” When we engage in serious, stressful conversation at the dinner table or eat on the run we are essentially wasting our body’s digestive juices and preventing their secretion. Digestion is a very difficult, energy-consuming task for the body. It is essential that we acknowledge the effort our body is making to break down our food and absorb the nutrients. Food should be eaten slowly and mindfully, sitting down, and preferably in silence. In many cultures grace is given before a meal. It may help you to silently say your own grace, giving thanks for the opportunity to eat the food before you and to your body for the ability to digest and assimilate the nutritious food that you have prepared for it.
I’ll admit that these tips are not easy to incorporate into one’s busy lifestyle, especially if you love to inhale your food (like me) or if you tend to rush through meals on auto-pilot. At first, these tips can be daunting, however, giving each one thoughtful consideration and taking the time to mindfully assimilate each one into your daily routine can have profound effects on your health, preventing gut irritation, bloating, food cravings and weight gain.
This article was also featured on active.com, and received by many dissenting commenters! Feel free to check it out and become part of the debate.
*This article is not meant to diagnose or treat any disease. Please visit a naturopathic doctor or ayurvedic specialist for a complete assessment and treatment plan.
by Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, ND | Jan 31, 2012 | Asian Medicine, Ayurvedic Medicine, Family, Homeopathy, Law of attraction, Love, Spirituality
We’ve all heard the Golden Rule before: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”, and its many variations. But, how valid is this rule and it’s impact on leading a happy, healthy and morally sound life? I look at lessons in homeopathy and ayurvedic philosophy for insight.
Ayurvedic philosophy states that the reason for abstaining from morally unsound deeds (lying, stealing, killing, etc.) is because, once one begins to engage in these acts, one begins to create a world in which these acts become feasible. In essence, the ayurvedic philosophers claim that we create our own reality: once we begin to steal and lie, we create a reality in which stealing and lying becomes possible and we run the risk of other people beginning to steal and lie to us.
This concept of creating your own reality is inherent in homeopathic theory as well. In homeopathy, in order to understand the case that a patient presents with we must examine every minute detail about the patient. If someone expresses a frustration about something or someone that appears distinct from themself (“people are liars” or “you can’t trust anyone”) they are really expressing a statement about themselves. Our professor Dr. Nadia Bakir tells us that in order to recognize something about our environment we are really recognizing it from a point deep within ourself. If we didn’t already embody this characteristic then we wouldn’t be able to observe it in others – it wouldn’t be a part of our reality. In some ways it makes sense, those who embody the characteristic of cynicism tend to see the negative side of life, ignoring the positive and even managing to manifest negative outcomes in their own life situations.
This means that, in order to live in a world where people are honest, thoughtful and generally concerned about others we must first work to cultivate those characteristics in ourselves. As Gandhi says “Be the change you wish to see in the world”.
It must be said that these concepts can be dangerous if we take them a step further and claim that people who are the victims of unfortunate accidents or deadly diseases “brought it on themselves”. However, there is some evidence that suggests people who think positively about their cancer diagnoses, for example, experience greater quality of life and a better prognosis.
This philosophy is not meant to undermine those who have experienced loss or are going through a difficult time. It only serves as an inspiration for those who wish to cultivate a better world and take some responsibility for their outlook on life. It’s important to understand that we don’t each live in our glass bubble. Our personal views manifest as actions and our actions affect other people, which in turn affect how those people react to us. So, in a sense there is some truth to “doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
by Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, ND | Jan 26, 2012 | Asian Medicine, Ayurvedic Medicine, Balance, Diet, Digestion, Exercise, Finding yourself, Meditation, Preventive Medicine, Self-care, Yoga
This is the third part of the Ayurvedic Dosha Series. In Part 1 we discussed Vata Dosha and, in Part 2, Pitta Dosha.
While most people are predominant in one constitution, there are a number of people who represent a combination of two Doshas – I myself am Pitta-Kapha dosha – and even a very small number of people who identify as being Tridoshic (people who represent an equal proportion of the three constitutions). Each constitution has its own strengths and weaknesses. In balancing a person’s Doshas, the goal is to reduce any aggravations and tendencies towards imbalance so that we can experience the strengths that are present in our individual personalities.
Kapha, the third and final dosha, is made up of earth and water element. Kapha is wet, grounded, slow and substantial. People who are predominant in Kapha dosha embody the following characteristics:
– Larger body size and tendency to gain weight easily
– Moist, oily skin and thick hair
– Rounded facial features: large, calm eyes, full lips and large, bright teeth
– Slow metabolism: little hunger, cold temperature, slow digestion and elimination
– Relaxed, calm and humorous demeanor
– Tendency towards laziness and lethargy
– Sentimental and loyal with a tendency towards attachement
– Slow and constant with excellent endurance
Kapha dosha tends to be slow, steady and constant. People of this dosha are relaxed and easy-going but have a tendency to be overly lazy. Kapha types do well working with people and are often loyal and nurturing friends and family members. People of this constitution have the tendency towards disorders of congestion: edema, weight gain and depression.
Kaphas can achieve balance by engaging in vigorous physical activity such as brisk walking, running or weight-lifting. When doing yoga, Kaphas benefit from the more sweat-inducing Ashtanga or Bikram yoga types. People of Kapha constitution should avoid sleeping in late and eating greasy, heavy foods. They should instead focus on eating pungent and astringent foods (think spicy rice crackers and salads). A good restorative yoga pose for relieving Kapha-like congestion in the lower body is to lie on the ground, with a pillow under the sacrum and the legs straight, at 90 degrees above the hips (or against a wall).
Balanced Kapha has a strong sense of well-being, steadiness and affection. Kapha types learn slowly but have a great ability to retain information and have a great memory.
For more information on Ayurveda and the 3 Doshas (and other Ayurvedic theories and lifestyle tips) click on the following resource:
http://www.ayurveda.com/
You can also check out the Continuing Education Ayurveda educator, Matthew Remski’s beautifully written blog at:
http://matthewremski.com/
by Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, ND | Jan 25, 2012 | Asian Medicine, Ayurvedic Medicine, Balance, Diet, Digestion, Exercise, Finding yourself, Mental Health, Yoga
This is the second part of a series I am writing on the ayurvedic Doshas: a combination of natural elements that characterize our unique physical, emotional and mental constitutions.
Click here to read Part 1 – Vata Dosha. Identifying your own constitution helps you learn more about your tendency towards imbalance so that you can develop lifestyle practices to bring yourself back into a balanced state of health.
Pitta Dosha is a mixture of fire and water elements. People who are dominantly of Pitta constitution exhibit some or all of the following characteristics:
– Muscular, average build
– Firey temperament: competitive, tendency towards anger and frustration
– Oily complexion that is sometimes reddish (red-tinged hair, rosy skin)
– Possession of a fast metabolism: the ability to digest food quickly, feeling ravenous if forced to skip a meal
– Aversion to heat
– Tendency towards inflammatory disorders
– Inspirational speaker, concerned with themes of justice and “sticking up for the little guy”
– Hard-working, ambitious, organized and achievement-oriented
Pitta types are firey in both personality and physical constitution. They are often leaders in society, hard-workers and can be competitive. They are very intelligent but have the tendency towards anger and frustration at others’ incompetence. Pitta types rarely suffer from digestive complaints because of their strong, firey digestion (unless they abuse spicey foods or alcohol). They mainly suffer from inflammatory complaints such as arthritis, acne or migraines. Pittas have the tendency to overextend themselves. They represent the constitution that is most susceptible to conditions of the over-stressed (stomach ulcers, high blood pressure, etc).
Balancing Pitta involves cooling down. As with Vata dosha, Pitta benefits from meditation and slow movement. Creamy, cooling foods such as fruits and smoothies help Pitta people lower their revved up body temperature. An exercise that is recommended for those who are feeling agitated and frustrated is to lie outside (preferably in decent weather) and gaze at the open sky. Performing this routine for 30 minutes greatly reduces Pitta agitation and helps re-balance an otherwise firey, overly stressed constitution.
I firmly believe that most students at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine are of predominantly Pitta constitution! This Dosha is predominant in high-profile business people and politicians (think Jack Layton). When balanced, Pitta people have the potential to become very successful leaders and make lasting changes to society.
Visit this blog tomorrow (Thursday) for Part 3 – Kapha Dosha.
by Dr. Talia Marcheggiani, ND | Jan 24, 2012 | Asian Medicine, Ayurvedic Medicine, Balance, Diet, Digestion, Exercise, Finding yourself, Meditation, Preventive Medicine, Self-care, Yoga
Ayurveda is the ancient Indian science of healing meaning “Science of Life” (maybe that’s why I was drawn to a degree in Life Sciences!). Similar to Traditional Chinese Medicine, ayurveda uses the elements as a means of understanding certain properties of nature.
Ayurveda’s 5 elements differ from those of The 5 Element Theory of TCM. They are: ether (space), air, water, fire and earth. Distinct combinations of these elements form to create 3 Doshas: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. These Doshas characterize various properties of nature and, in humans, combine to form a unique constitution. Achieving a perfect health balance has much to do with pacifying the dominant Dosha that characterizes your individual self and enhancing less dominant Doshas.
Vata Dosha is made up of the elements air and ether. A person who is predominantly Vata will have some of the following characteristics:
– Thin build, difficulty putting on weight
– Shorter or taller than average
– dryer hair that may break easily and is typically curly
– Tendency towards nervousness or anxiety
– Digestive problems (excess gas, bloating)
– Tendency to move or fidget
– Naturally creative and spontaneous
– Has a hard time staying on task
Vata is airy and like the wind. Therefore, people who are dominant in this dosha tend to have drier skin and hair, feel ungrounded and anxious at times, often get distracted and have a harder time staying on one task. When balanced, Vata types are very creative, sensitive individuals who are full of ideas and inspirational energy. They thrive as artists and working in creative think tanks, in a setting where they can generate a million ideas at once.
Balancing Vata dosha involves setting a routine. Vata should wake up, have meals and go to bed at the same time everyday. Sleeping in (if possible) to the later hours of the morning is beneficial. Vatas are balanced by eating lots of warm, cooked and oily foods (soups, stews and curries), which help combat their tendency towards dryness and flighty digestion. This constitution also benefits from slow, constant, repetitive exercise such as restorative or yin yoga and long, gentle walks. Lying in “corpse pose” with pillows across the thighs will help weigh a Vata aggravated person down. That, combined with meditation, can help balance a nervous Vata mind and help ground Vata’s airyness.
Visit my blog tomorrow (Wednesday) and Thursday for Part 2 – Pitta Dosha and Part 3 – Kapha Dosha!
