EVERY SOUND, sensation, sight, flavor, and aroma we ingest from the environment influences our mind, body, emotion, and life.
Although the body appears to be fixed and stable, in reality it is continuously changing. Your stomach lining re-creates itself about every five days, your skin re-news every month and the liver cells turn over every six weeks. The vast majority of the cells in the body are derived from food.
Nature is our extended body. Each breath that is inhaled and exhaled is a reminder of the continuous connection taking place between our physical body andour environment. Thus, we must take responsibility tomake sure that nature is well cared for, like how we care for our very self.
You are what you eat!
A familiar saying which simply means, that the body cells are made from the food that you eat, therefore, choose your food wisely, for what is on your plate will later be a part of you.
In Ayurvedic and Yogic literature on food, the Sattvicis THE SACRED diet. Sattvic means pure, natural, clean, vital, and good quality. Sattvic foods brings peace and calmness to the mind, vitality and energy to the body, lightness and happiness to the emotion,gentleness and compassion, evolution of spiritual consciousness. This diet is strictly followed by thetraditional yogis and Jainism devotees, for they practice “Ahimsa” (non-violence) and believe in Karma (what you do, comes back to you). Sattvic diet is vegetarian.
Sattvic foods:
All fresh fruits in season and natural.
All vegetables, except for garlic and onions, for thesedisrupt the process of meditation, and mushrooms, because they are considered a fungi, therefore harmful to the body.
Legumes – red beans, mung, lentils, chickpeas, dal.
Whole grains – brown rice, quinoa, barley, oats.
Nuts – almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, macadamia, Brazilian.
Seeds – pumpkin, flax, hemp.
Dairy – fresh organic milk, home–made plain yoghurt, goat cheese.
Oils – cold pressed fresh coconut oil, olive oil, flaxseed oil.
Sweeteners – honey, jaggery or raw sugar (unprocessed).
Drink – fresh water, coconut, sugarcane.
Sattvic nourishment is a good preventive measure for cancer, heart diseases, diabetes, and obesity. What we eat now, predicts the condition of our future.
Eating is like a prayer. A union of the self, nature, and with the One who created it all.
Good Eating Habits:
Fix yourself, wash your hands or freshen-up before a meal.
Organize the table properly. Make it lovely to the sight.It will encourage tranquility.
Sit comfortably. Walking and standing while eating, impede the natural digestive flow and may lead to acidity or indigestion.
If you are eating with company (family/friends), make sure that conversations are positive and fun. A happymeal promotes good mood and enhances the energy in the food.
Eat in a peaceful frame of mind. If one eats while angry, acidity builds up in the stomach because of the tension, and consequently leads to a sympathetic glands and digestion concerns.
Eat slowly and chew your food thoroughly. The process of digestion begins in the mouth. Chewing your food right reduces the likelihood of overeating.
Eat moderately. ”Eat to Live” not “Live to to Eat”. The rule of the thumb in eating: Half fill your stomach with food and half with soup. Eating variety of food will result to hyperacidity. Practice self-control.
Eat only when hungry. Many people eat out of a regular habit. They eat even if not hungry. Ulcer, constipation, headache, heart burn, acidity, weight gain, are results of eating when not hungry.
Eat when hungry. Skipping meals and overeating on the next one is dangerous. Try to eat even a little when hungry to make sure that the juice secretions in the stomach will not bring issues in the digestive body.
Do not drink during meals. The gastric juices responsible for the digestion of food will be washedaway if you drink while eating. Wait for thirty minutes, after a meal.
Rest after meals. Hurrying to another appointment or immediately rushing for work, disturbs the nervous system and an invitation to indigestion. Sitting for a while after meals will greatly facilitate the digestion system and avoid stomach aches, cramps and other unpleasant side effects of hurried meals.
Allot plenty of time between meals. Try to wait at least five to six hours, before diving to another meal. It takes about four hours to completely digest and empty the stomach for vegetarians, and more time for non-vegetarians.
Do not eat late. Eating late at night causes weight gain, digestive disorder and increase the risk of heartdisease.
Go for a walk. A short walk after dinner will invigorate the digestive organs. It promotes serenity and peaceful night rest.
Keep awake. It is natural to feel sleepy after a meal. Sleeping right after eating can lead to a number of digestive and heart malfunction.
Bon Appetit!
