Health and Food
Svasthya, “to be established in one’s self or own natural state” is optimal health according to Ayurveda. In order to achieve this, one has to have a balance of structural and physiological factors, metabolic and excretory processes, body tissues, senses, mind, and attain a state of self awareness and contented self (6). Ten factors (dasa vidha pariksa) are used to determine the state of health of an individual per Ayurveda namely, body tissues (dusya), residing location (desa), physical strength (bala), seasons/time (kala), digestive and metabolic processes (agni or anala), genetic and phenetic constitution (prakriti), age (vaya), mental strength or temperament (sattva), habituation (satmya), and food (ahara) (7). It is interesting to note that sattva is said to influence health. While these are mainly used for diagnostic purposes, these can also be used to measure the wellbeing of an individual.
Ahara, a Pillar of Life
Ahara is one of the three pillars of life according to Ayurveda; the other two being sleep and regulated sexual life. The classical texts of Ayurveda of 300 BC–700 AD dedicate elaborate sections on foods (6). Unique aspects include detailed descriptions of food and beverage, food classification based on their taste, therapeutic qualities, etc., food safety and measures for the same, different incompatibilities of food based on their tastes, processing, dose, time, place, etc., prescriptions of consumption, food qualities and intake based on the digestive ability of an individual, and the nature of food that is being consumed (3). Primary classification of food is based on its appropriateness to body and mental constitution based on the five elements and the tridosa theories. Five elements combine and dissociate in the natural transformation of any material, living or non-living (8).
Taste (Rasa) as an Indicator of Health Effects
One of the ways of food classification in Ayurveda is based on rasa. There are six major tastes according to Ayurveda, viz., sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent. There are primary and secondary qualities (guna) that increase the properties of a material. This is further augmented by potency (virya), post digestive effect (vipaka), and therapeutic action (karma). According to Ayurveda, the classification based on rasa, guna, virya, vipaka, and karma is not only applicable to foods but also for all materials, including medicines, and is dealt with under Dravya guna sastra (the science of materials’ properties), the Ayurvedic pharmacology (8).
Food and Physiological Processes and Actions
In Ayurveda, food has been classified based on morphological features and their corresponding physiological actions. For example, grains, pulses, processed foods, meat and products, leafy vegetables, fruits, salts, supplements, various forms of water, milk and milk products, oils, and alcoholic drinks have been elaborated based on their effect on the body. This is further elaborated in terms of place of origin and seasonal variation (12). Food processing is a topic that is dealt with in detail. Properties of raw, dried, smoked, grilled, pickled, steamed foods, various additives and adjuvants find mention based on the pancamahabhuta theory. The pharmacological properties of a substance get altered depending on the processing. For example, puffed rice is light on the system as compared to flaked or cooked rice that is heavy to digest (13). Curd, which is unwholesome in most situations, becomes a healthy drink when churned and the butter is removed. This sweet tasting buttermilk kept in an earthen vessel for 2 days develops astringent taste and becomes a wholesome food for the gastrointestinal system especially in conditions such as hyperacidity, irritable bowel syndrome, fissures, hemorrhoids, and certain types of diarrhea and dysentery (14).
Prakriti – A Guide to Personalize Diets
An individual’s prakriti is another important determinant of the effect of food on the system. Prakriti of an individual is characterized by a set of physical, physiological, and psychological attributes. For example, based on taste preference, individuals can be grouped as vata (having affinity for sweet, sour, and salty tastes); pitta (with liking for sweet, bitter, and astringent taste), and kapha (for pungent, bitter, and astringent tastes). Whereas these tastes mitigate any negative effects of the inherited constitution, usage of tastes in the reverse order can cause imbalance in the body. For example, if a vata constitution person continuously consumes pungent, bitter, and astringent tasting materials, it could lead to rapid aging and degeneration of the body (3, 15).
Incompatible Foods (Viruddha Ahara) and Processes
Several examples are provided in Ayurvedic texts in terms of wholesome supplements, pathya and apathya. These are particularly indicated in disease management. For example, pomegranate, amla (Indian gooseberry), buttermilk, etc. are mentioned as good pathya ahara in the management of iron-deficiency anemia (16). Processing of a material can change the potency, safety, and pharmacological effect of the material. Curd is considered unwholesome in most dosa imbalanced conditions. There are specific instructions to consume yogurt; that it should not be taken at night, or in seasons such as spring, summer, and fall. It should be taken with sugar candy or green gram soup or honey. There are also disease-specific or medicine-specific instructions that should be followed for consumption of food. As an example, a patient suffering from cough is advised to consume vegetables, such as coccinea; spices such as garlic and cardamom, long pepper, ginger, and condiments prepared with puffed paddy (16). It is indicated that certain tastes have direct correlation with disease manifestation, hence, they are avoided during treatment of those conditions. There are also detailed descriptions of convalescence foods (17).
From the above section, it is clear that Ayurveda has its own universally applicable principles, methods, and practices that are very different from biomedicine and modern nutrition concepts (Table 1). Several efforts are ongoing to understand and interpret Ayurveda on the basis of contemporary science. A recurring criticism has been that natural science research in Ayurveda has been not adequately effective and has been limited to ethnobotany, biochemistry, and pharmacology. Most research initiatives till last decade were restricted to looking for compounds or molecules from Ayurveda drugs that could be absorbed to the modern pharmacopeia. These have not resulted in any substantial contributions in terms of new diagnostic techniques, formulations, or treatment approaches in Ayurveda except for some minor outcomes of validating certain Ayurvedic practices. This illustrates a distinct need to focus on fundamental research based on Ayurvedic principles for identifying new pathways and for more holistic perspectives in preventive as well as curative healthcare. There is much to be researched into the unique Ayurvedic concepts in nutrition, including pathya, viruddha ahara, kala and desa vicara, agni, ama, etc. (6, 18).
Incompatible Foods (Viruddha Ahara) and Processes
Yet another distinctive feature of Ayurveda is its understanding of incompatibilities of food materials and processing. There are 18 forms of incompatibilities according to Ayurveda (3). Incompatibilities are explained based on the potency of materials, processing, quantity/dose, process of intake, time/season; combining materials, such as sour fruits and milk or honey and ghee (clarified butter) in equal quantities; milk along with horse gram, jack fruit, or fish; or even heating honey. Whereas we may not have a contemporary scientific explanation for these, this can be explained in Ayurvedic terms as incompatibility in the nature of the materials.
Read More : https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2016.00057/full
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