October 16, 2024 • 23 mins
Radhi Devlukia is a plant-based cook, author of the book JoyFull: Cook Effortlessly, Eat Freely, Live Radiantly, host of A Really Good Cry podcast, and Co-founder of Juni Tea. In this installment of Wellness Wednesday, she breaks down the essential practice of eating a plant-based diet according to the principles of Ayurveda, an ancient, holistic system of medicine. She breaks down what it is, how to incorporate it into your daily life, and why it brings her joy.
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hey fam, Hello Sunshine.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Today on the bright Side, it's a Wellness Wednesday, and
we're tapping into a three thousand year old holistic approach
to finding harmony and balance with your mind, body, and spirit.
We're talking about are Euveda today with dietitian, plant based
cook and New York Times best selling author Roddy Devlukia.
It's Wednesday, October sixteenth. I'm Danielle Robe.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
And I'm Simone Voice, and this is the bright Side
from Hello Sunshine, a daily show where we come together
to share women's stories, laugh, learn and brighten your day.
Today's Wellness Wednesday is presented by Coliguard.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
So today we're diving into the world of Ariuveda with
Roddy dev Lukia. She's a clinical dietitian, a podcast host,
and the author of the New York Times best selling
cookbook Joyful. I also personally love her social media. She's
a happy person to follow, and she has a degree
at are Euveda Health Counseling from the California Call of
Our Youveda. So Today's she's here to share how we
(01:02):
can apply our Euveda principles to our everyday lives.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Especially when it comes to our diets.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Yeah, this conversation with Roddy has us wondering what if
the key to our well being lies not in our
latest microtrend, airwon smoothie or infrared device, but what if
it lies in the ancient wisdom of Ayrveda, a holistic
approach to health and wellness that began in India more
than three thousand years ago. It's based on the idea
(01:29):
that each person has certain life forces or doshas, and
that everything, every element in the universe is connected. So
that means an imbalance in one area can affect another,
and when the imbalance goes unchecked, disease and illness can arise.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
It's basic practices are designed to promote harmony within nature
and prevent illness in our bodies. So in twenty twenty four,
what does that mean? Ayrveda taps into seasonal foods and recipes.
It speaks to the importance of eating and the time
of day and the healing power of the spices that
we add to our foods.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Well, let's get spicy with Roddy dev Lukia. Welcome to
the bright side.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Thank you so much. I'm so happy to be on.
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Well, we're really excited to dive into our Euvedic nutrition
and the benefits of an r Euvedic lifestyle. So to
kick things off, if nobody's ever heard of that term,
can you define our euveda?
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Yeah, of course, So ira means life or longevity and
veda means knowledge and so essentially it's the essence and
all the knowledge that you need to just live a vibrant, abundant,
beautiful life. It originates in India, but it's something that
is all the principles are just relevant to every single human,
like it's not specific to culture or type of person,
(02:46):
and it's just a universal health language that is really magical.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
What do you think are the guiding principles of our Juveder?
Speaker 4 (02:53):
The one thing I absolutely fell in love with when
I first started studying Iveda was that every single person
is unique. And I think that is one of the
key principles. That it's not one size fits all. What
you will eat will be different to what I eat,
What will nourish you will be different to what nourishes me.
And in Western culture that's not true. Whereas the advice
that's given in I reda. Not only is it specific
(03:16):
to the person, it's actually helping you to understand your
body better. And so I say, the second principle that
I love about Irada is that you have to know
your body like it's not you go to somebody and
they will tell you how to fix yourself. Irata teaches
you how to look at the science the symptoms of
your own body and help you understand every part of you,
from your hair, your skin, to your digestion to your mood.
(03:38):
And I say, the third one at the top of
my head is it's not just about what you're eating
or what you're thinking, it's every single thing. Irather incorporates
every single part of life, every single thing that comes
into your sens is like what you're hearing, what you're seeing,
what you're touching, who you're around, the energy that you feel.
It's not just one thing that will fix everything. It's like,
(03:59):
how can I change my internal and external environment to
really create optimal health.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
When did you first start studying and living in aervedic lifestyle.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
So, I actually grew up in an Indian house, and
so you know, I was born into a vegetarian family.
I don't even know my grandma, my great grandma, her grandma.
Everyone's been vegetarian as far as I know. There was
also about an energetic composition of what we're eating and
how it affects our body. Or if I was unwell
or if I got cut on my leg, my mom
would like make up a teamwic paste and like stick
it on my leg instead of putting on a plaster.
(04:30):
And so, you know, I didn't realize it was iraveda
at the time. It wasn't a you know, a term
that I grew up hearing about. When I was in
New York, so I would have been five, six, seven
years ago. I just was feeling quite lost about what
I wanted to do in my life. I studied nutrition
to be a dietitian in the UK, but when I
got to New York, I actual couldn't use any of
that because I was on a spouse visa and so
(04:51):
I was like, what can I do? And so there
was a yoga teacher training, so I did that, and
then I met this iravadic teacher called Divia. She has
a restaurant in New York called Divia's Kit. It's a
full irratic restaurant. It's amazing, and she was teaching irateic
principles irdy cooking, and I was like, I have nothing
to do with my life. Can I just follow you
around and just learn whatever and be your sidekick? So
(05:11):
I actually am such a biginners still an iveda like
I did my irabated Health Council degree with California College
of Aravada, But I would say I learned the basics
that you could possibly learn about Aravada, and I feel
like I've just skimmed the surface.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
I mean, it's ancient, so the philosophy goes just so deep.
What do you think are the wellness benefits that we
can gain from following in our euveadic lifestyle.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
I think there's a lot more presence in your life.
Like for me, when I started learning about how I
can tune back into my body, you become more present
in every moment, and so it really teaches you not
just presence with other people, but presence with your own body,
whether it is through your mindfulness practices in the morning,
whether it's through eating something and noticing the different feelings
(05:55):
that you should have. Is just making my body feel heated?
Is it feeling cooling? Is it feeling heavy, is it
feeling light? Like really tuning into what am I doing
and how is it affecting my body, even if you're
doing it for nothing else except for being present in
your body and tuning back into it. I think that's
an incredible health benefit because I know so many people
and me included, I was I could go through life
(06:17):
where I wasn't noticing aches and pains, I wasn't noticing
why I was getting skinishues, I wasn't noticing why my
hair was falling out, and I was just like, Oh,
it's just vitamin Let me just add more vitamins into
my life, let me add this. And obviously sometimes it
is that, but there's also so many other elements. So
definitely presence in your body and then being able to
curate your entire environment around you. So, for example, me
(06:42):
and my husband have completely different body types. And that's
really how Aravada distinguishes between people. It's a unique composition
of elements in your body. So the elements earth, water, fire, air,
and ether, and so it says in Aravader that we
are all a composition. We have all of them in us,
but all in different quantities. Not one person has the
(07:02):
same makeup as another. So now I know, when I'm
cooking for myself, I can cook the same meal, but
I have to use different spices for both of us.
I have to use a different amount of truly for
both of us depending on the weather. I need to
include the different types of oils or spices depending on
when I'm cooking, whether it's winter, summer. Awesome, and so
it allows you to be more specific to the smaller
(07:24):
changes in your body.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
We've got to take a quick break, but we'll be
right back with Roddy dev Lukia and we're back to
Wellness Wednesday with Roddy dev Lukia. I'd love to get
more specific with you about food and how broader aervevic
(07:49):
principles show up in the ways that we eat, because
you're also a clinical dietician and nutritionists.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
As you mentioned, I studied that when I was at
university and it was amazing because I got to learn
the body from a Western perspective, and that was really useful.
You know, I worked in a hospital for a couple
of years when I was using the things that I've
learned there, but I always felt like something was like
somewhat missing because I wasn't the biggest fan of how
(08:14):
there was just a framework that you have to follow
for every single person, even if it didn't make sense
to each individual. But in terms of food, we go
just live in nature. We are part of it, and
I think that's something that we often forget, where when
the seasons are changing outside of us, we also need
to change what we're putting inside our body. And so
one simple thing is eating seasonally. That is an irate
(08:36):
principle too, to make sure that we're eating food that
has grown in the soil that we are living on.
And so farmers markets like going and getting the fresh
bodies from the places that you are living in rather
than a lot of the times now in stores you
can get anything and everything from all around the world,
which is great, but it really does kind of disrupt
our own internal environment by doing that. So definitely eating
(08:58):
seasonally and then spices are a huge part of irata.
There's one blend which is like the Queen of blends
and iradors called CCF coriander, humen and funnel seeds, and
you can grind them up, use them in your curries
and lentils and whatever you're making. Each spice has different properties,
but overall they help to stimulate your digestion. But also
(09:19):
they do so many things energy focus and it's definitely
my first line whenever I'm feeling under the weather.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
So one thing that jumps out to me immediately is
that you say that different foods have different flow states
and energies. I've actually never heard of that in terms
of food. What is a flow state? In regards to food, every.
Speaker 4 (09:40):
Single thing has a specific energy state. There's three different kinds.
We call them the modes of nature. And so there
is satvik which is mode of goodness, rightstick which is
a mode of passion, and thumbsick, which is mode of ignorance.
And so these three modes, everything can fit into that,
whether it's music you're listening to, the foods that you're
eat saying, they all create a specific energy inside of us.
(10:03):
Even if you think about if you're listening to aggressive music,
that would be considered mode of ignorance, and how do
you feel. You feel angry, you feel agitated, And in
the same way, if you're listening to to their meditative music,
it's in the mode of goodness. It makes you feel
elevated and uplifted. So let's apply that to then food
mode of goodness. Foods are the foods with the most
amount of prana. Parana means vitality, what brings the most
(10:26):
amount of vitality nutrients into your body. Imagine the freshest
fruit that's picked from a trade, that has the most
amount of vitality from it. It's in its most purest form.
That's everything from fresh fruits, virtuals. Everything that you know
is good for you essentially is in the mode of
goodness mode of ignorance. Foods, those would be the foods
that essentially make you feel heavy energetically in your mind
(10:49):
and your body. So that would be things like anything
that doesn't have life left in it. They make you
feel heavy, lithagic, They make you feel foggy, and your
digestion feels unstable when you eat them, whether it's process
things that have stayed in the can for too long,
deep fried foods where all the nutrients have been taken
out of it, something that's stale, leftovers in your fridge
for too long. And then in iromid, it also considers
(11:11):
most meat or anything that is animal derived in that
way in the mode of ignorance, purely because there is
no life left in that and the mode of passion
foods are the ones that are in the middle that
don't necessarily harm you, but they do stimulate you and
maybe make you a bit too like on edge. So
that's things like caffeine. If you eat a lot of
spicy foods, and by spice, I mean like chili spice,
(11:32):
then having too much spice can cause inflammation in the body.
And so funnily enough, onion and garlic, which are obviously
very commonly used, they sit in the mode of passion
category because they actually cause a lot of blood flow
in the body. They also stimulate, can cause inflammation when
eaten in excess, and they recommend that when you're practicing meditation,
(11:52):
it's recommended not to have a diet with onion and
garlic in it because it also agucates the mind. When
I learn this, like ten years ago, I stopped cooking
with onion garlic. Searchingly, my cookbook actually has no onion
garlic in it. People don't really know that, but all
the recipes are onion garlic free. If you think about
anything in life, like garlic and onion have incredible medicinal properties.
Back in the day, they were used as medicine. They
(12:13):
have so much potency. The problem is, just like with
night shades, like with tomatoes and pepper, you end up
making it the base of everything, and then instead of
having the positive effect, it end up having a negative effect.
So tomatoes are actually fine in small quantities, but now
it's the base of everything that's what's causing most people's
acid reflux inflammation in the body. Whenever anybody has any
kind of IBS symptoms. Even as a dietician, one of
(12:36):
the first line things was take out anything which is
in the food maps, which is onion, garlic, tomatoes, and
so there's so many things that actually are wonderful and
smaller quantities, but we just end up having excess of
them and then they cause irritation to the girl.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
This reminds me of a book I was gifted after
I gave birth called The First Forty Days. It's a
postpartum recipe book and guide for new moms based on
the teachings of Chinese medicine, and it suggests that warm
foods are really what the womb needs in order to heal.
What do iervedic principles say about digestion healing and the
temperature of our foods.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
When you're eating the warmed foods versus raw foods. If
you think about it, it's more that raw foods if
your digestion is already weak, which, by the way, when
you've given birth, usually your body's gone into almost like
a shock mode. Everything is a little bit weaker. Your
body's focusing on healing. Your gut is already trying to
heal itself, and so raw foods actually are much more
(13:33):
difficult to digest for your gut than cooked foods. It's
essentially thinking you've done a bit of the digestion outside
of your body, and you're bringing foods and your body
has to do way less work. And so one of
the things I Rada recommends if you do find that
you're getting ill a lot or you've got gut issues,
is do a cleans of kitchery. Kitcheny is like rice, lentils, veggies,
(13:53):
all cooked down really well with spices, and essentially says
when you have a mono dyet where you're just eating
the same thing for three days in a row, it's
actually almost sometimes better than a fasting diet because you're
giving your gut the ability to exercise and to be
able to use the muscles, but at the same time,
you're allowing your gut to rest because it's not time
(14:14):
to do as much work because everything is already cooked down.
And then the spices are enhancing the digestion.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
Right now, are you?
Speaker 2 (14:20):
Veda teachers that when we eat is just as important
as what we eat. So in the practice, the day
is broken down into four hour periods. I'd love to
go through those togethers starting in the morning.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
It's three phases really, but they duplicate around the clock.
So viveta is two am to six am. Idia. You're
not eating during that period. It's governed by air and ether.
That's the creative zone, so that's when you're getting the
most amount of dreams. It's also the time that they
say you feel the most connects to God, and so
what they recommend is waking up in this time period
is when your sleeper is usually at its lightest and
(14:56):
having your meditation start from like five am. Like I
normally wait cup around five five thirty, and my meditation
practice is so different during that time than it is
if I did it at nine ten am or during
the day.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
Yeah, the distractions just increase, I think as the day goes.
Speaker 4 (15:13):
On exactly six to ten in the morning, it's tougher,
which is why they say that you should try and
wake up before the sun rises, because as soon as
the sun rises, which is the six am to ten am,
your mind starts to become active. And so really using
that period to do your energetic work, which is getting
your workout and going for a walk. Your body's already
(15:35):
stimulated because as soon as the sun comes out, you
still the sun's energy is go, go, go. And then
the pita time, so pitter is ten am to two pm.
Pitter is governed by fire. Now, fire, if you think
about it, is when you have the most amount of energy.
So when the sun is at its highest, it's when
your digestion is its strongest. So I radly recommends having
(15:56):
your largest meal, heaviest carbohydrate load like all of that
in the afternoon, and then at night you have a
light and meal before you sleep. I mean, I'm sure
you've seen so many studies about eating three hours before
you sleep, making sure that your gut is able to
rest when you're sleeping, Otherwise you're not really sleeping, like
you're not really resting if your guts still working. So
(16:16):
the six pm to ten pm zone. Six pm to
ten pm is essentially kafer is governed by earth and water.
It's heavy stagnant energy. That is when your body actually
wants to sleep. That's essentially the cycle, and then it
repeats through the day again where those energies keep continue
going around. The next window, which is the ten to
two am, which is the pit of time, which is energetic.
(16:38):
That's really the time period that our body needs to
do all the processing at night. It also is the
time that we process our thoughts, our feelings, our memories.
And I think there's been so many studies to show
it makes such a difference not just how long you sleep,
it's what time you're sleeping, and so does essentially the cycle,
and then it repeats through the day again where those
energies keep continue going around.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
We have to take a short break, but we'll be
right back to wellness Wednesday with Rady Devlukia.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
And we're back with Rady dev Lukia.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
What's the perfect Irvevik snack? And maybe there's one based
off of a favorite recipe of yours from the book.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
So Irate is not really a snacking lifestyle. It's recommended
you should have at least three hours between your meals.
It says that allowing your body to fully digest one
meal before you add something else on. And it refers
to as almost like a pressure cooker or a rice cooker.
So imagine rice cooker where you're cooking rice and it's
been cooking for fifteen minutes and then you add in
some raw rice just as that's finishing, and then you
(17:43):
have to keep it in for list for longer. But
it says if you are going to have it, then
try something like food or something a bit like to
or in between. So one of my favorite ones, stewed apples,
is meant to be one of the best things that
you can have, especially in the morning to stoke your digestion,
but I love having it throughout the day as well.
You stew the apples, you literally put some water in,
adding some spices like cinnamon or nutmeg, and you boil
(18:06):
down these apples in the water and it just becomes
this delicious like it's one is so yummy, and two
it helps with your digestion. The spice is also ignite
your digestion in that way. That's definitely a go to.
I normally adding like a bit of nut butter on
top and either like that. It's so good, especially when
we're getting into autumn and winter. It's a great one.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
Sounds so yummy.
Speaker 4 (18:27):
Oh, it's so good.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
You're making me hungry, rady, it's so good.
Speaker 4 (18:32):
It's so good.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
As we're coming in to fall.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
What vegetables should we be looking out for to be
cooking with and eating?
Speaker 4 (18:40):
All the orange bed just the pumpkin, the squashes, alsos
zuchinias in season. Everything that you see at your farmer's
market is basically, oh, the leafy greens, kale, spinach, charred,
a lot of root vegetables. They're all in season at
the moment. Pomegranate is in season during this autumn as well.
All the foods that you know you want to, like,
(19:01):
have a stew with a curry, you want to bake
in the oven. I personally think it's the food that
you end up going towards during the season. Anyway, I'd
say it's the season that's the most the easiest to
you want that comfort.
Speaker 3 (19:13):
I'm so embarrassed to admit, Roddy that I just a
few years ago discovered that spices expire. I thought they
lasted like decades.
Speaker 4 (19:22):
Yeah, well, here's the tip. The best thing is to
buy spices whole. So what happens with spices are that
as soon as they are ground from their whole form,
they start to lose nutritional value, they start to lose
their smell, the potency of their flavor, and so ideally
buying spices whole as much as possible and then grinding
them fred There is such a difference between like, if
(19:43):
you get cardamom pods and you grind them up, can
you smell that versus cardonom that's been ground already. H
It's just a completely different experience, and so in the
same way, even you may smell it, but it's also
the nutritional value of it and the strength of the
flavor of it completely changes. So I think they really expire,
but they just become gross all for a while.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
Rady.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
One of my favorite things about your cookbook is that
you say you're supposed to eat dessert first.
Speaker 4 (20:09):
I know, I love that one too. I might have
just written that for myself, but so it was a
funny one that I ed didn't because I loved when
I learned about that, and I made it. The actual
science behind it is just that when you end up
eating sugar, your body prioritizes digesting sugar before anything else.
And so it says, if you end up eating your
meal and then you end up eating sugar, it will
(20:29):
basically avoid digesting the main food that you've eaten with
the nutrients, and it will start to digest the sugar first.
And so it's saying, okay, instead of doing that, have
your sweet thing fast so it's digested and done.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
I love this rule.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
I feel so seen because when I sit down at
a restaurant, I asked to see the dessert menu first.
That way I can start planning for the meal after, for.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
The dessert after, so now I can just order it first.
Speaker 3 (20:57):
Exactly. Radie, I feel like you talked about this little bit,
but I'm so curious. How do you think all of
these learnings have changed your life?
Speaker 4 (21:06):
Oh my gosh, I'm like, every single way, I don't,
I honestly always say this. I'm like, I wonder who
I would have been if I didn't learn about Iraader.
And what I've learned is discipline and control are not restricting.
And I think that's what Irader has taught me the most.
That when I have discipline, and I have control in
my everyday lifestyle, whether it is what I'm doing from
(21:28):
morning to evening, whether whether it's the food that I'm eating.
It's taught me how to be more in control of
my senses, and that for me has been the biggest
game changer, whether it is in my senses of like
being a bit too feisty and saying things that I
don't mean, whether it is eating things just out of
the worst thing is when you feel like something else
controls you, and I think, whether that's food, whether that
(21:50):
is your mindset, whether that is the worlds that are
coming out of your mouth. It's really taught me how
to have sensory control. And I think when I started
transitioning into this and be like, oh, why do you like,
don't you want to stay out later? And don't you
want to eat this and eat this and do this?
And I'm like, I honestly don't because I know how
it's going to make me feel. And so tuning back
(22:12):
into my body has allowed me to feel freedom through discipline,
and that's something that I would never want to give
up because I remember a life where I wasn't like that,
and it was just like everything would pull me from
one side to another. There was no regulation, there was
no ability to stay in control. I've been in better
health year after year, and that's only testament to all
(22:34):
the information that I've been absorbing through our vada.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
I think what you're getting at is the concept of
delayed gratification too, which is a really underrated principle in
our society.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
Yes, exactly. Not everything has to be right here, right now,
and just because it's in front of you doesn't mean
you have to have it.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Roddy, thank you for joining us today and helping us learn.
Speaker 4 (22:55):
Thank you, Thank you so much. You guys are amazing.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
Roddy dev Lukiya is a plant based cook and author
of the New York Times best selling cookbook Joyful. You
can listen to our podcast, A Really Good Cry wherever
you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
That's it for today's show.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
Tomorrow, model and entrepreneur Camilla Alavis McConaughey tells us what
it means to be a woman on a mission. Thank
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(23:36):
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coligard dot com slash podcast
Hey fam, Hello Sunshine.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Today on the bright Side, it's a Wellness Wednesday, and
we're tapping into a three thousand year old holistic approach
to finding harmony and balance with your mind, body, and spirit.
We're talking about are Euveda today with dietitian, plant based
cook and New York Times best selling author Roddy Devlukia.
It's Wednesday, October sixteenth. I'm Danielle Robe.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
And I'm Simone Voice, and this is the bright Side
from Hello Sunshine, a daily show where we come together
to share women's stories, laugh, learn and brighten your day.
Today's Wellness Wednesday is presented by Coliguard.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
So today we're diving into the world of Ariuveda with
Roddy dev Lukia. She's a clinical dietitian, a podcast host,
and the author of the New York Times best selling
cookbook Joyful. I also personally love her social media. She's
a happy person to follow, and she has a degree
at are Euveda Health Counseling from the California Call of
Our Youveda. So Today's she's here to share how we
(01:02):
can apply our Euveda principles to our everyday lives.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Especially when it comes to our diets.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Yeah, this conversation with Roddy has us wondering what if
the key to our well being lies not in our
latest microtrend, airwon smoothie or infrared device, but what if
it lies in the ancient wisdom of Ayrveda, a holistic
approach to health and wellness that began in India more
than three thousand years ago. It's based on the idea
(01:29):
that each person has certain life forces or doshas, and
that everything, every element in the universe is connected. So
that means an imbalance in one area can affect another,
and when the imbalance goes unchecked, disease and illness can arise.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
It's basic practices are designed to promote harmony within nature
and prevent illness in our bodies. So in twenty twenty four,
what does that mean? Ayrveda taps into seasonal foods and recipes.
It speaks to the importance of eating and the time
of day and the healing power of the spices that
we add to our foods.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Well, let's get spicy with Roddy dev Lukia. Welcome to
the bright side.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Thank you so much. I'm so happy to be on.
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Well, we're really excited to dive into our Euvedic nutrition
and the benefits of an r Euvedic lifestyle. So to
kick things off, if nobody's ever heard of that term,
can you define our euveda?
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Yeah, of course, So ira means life or longevity and
veda means knowledge and so essentially it's the essence and
all the knowledge that you need to just live a vibrant, abundant,
beautiful life. It originates in India, but it's something that
is all the principles are just relevant to every single human,
like it's not specific to culture or type of person,
(02:46):
and it's just a universal health language that is really magical.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
What do you think are the guiding principles of our Juveder?
Speaker 4 (02:53):
The one thing I absolutely fell in love with when
I first started studying Iveda was that every single person
is unique. And I think that is one of the
key principles. That it's not one size fits all. What
you will eat will be different to what I eat,
What will nourish you will be different to what nourishes me.
And in Western culture that's not true. Whereas the advice
that's given in I reda. Not only is it specific
(03:16):
to the person, it's actually helping you to understand your
body better. And so I say, the second principle that
I love about Irada is that you have to know
your body like it's not you go to somebody and
they will tell you how to fix yourself. Irata teaches
you how to look at the science the symptoms of
your own body and help you understand every part of you,
from your hair, your skin, to your digestion to your mood.
(03:38):
And I say, the third one at the top of
my head is it's not just about what you're eating
or what you're thinking, it's every single thing. Irather incorporates
every single part of life, every single thing that comes
into your sens is like what you're hearing, what you're seeing,
what you're touching, who you're around, the energy that you feel.
It's not just one thing that will fix everything. It's like,
(03:59):
how can I change my internal and external environment to
really create optimal health.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
When did you first start studying and living in aervedic lifestyle.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
So, I actually grew up in an Indian house, and
so you know, I was born into a vegetarian family.
I don't even know my grandma, my great grandma, her grandma.
Everyone's been vegetarian as far as I know. There was
also about an energetic composition of what we're eating and
how it affects our body. Or if I was unwell
or if I got cut on my leg, my mom
would like make up a teamwic paste and like stick
it on my leg instead of putting on a plaster.
(04:30):
And so, you know, I didn't realize it was iraveda
at the time. It wasn't a you know, a term
that I grew up hearing about. When I was in
New York, so I would have been five, six, seven
years ago. I just was feeling quite lost about what
I wanted to do in my life. I studied nutrition
to be a dietitian in the UK, but when I
got to New York, I actual couldn't use any of
that because I was on a spouse visa and so
(04:51):
I was like, what can I do? And so there
was a yoga teacher training, so I did that, and
then I met this iravadic teacher called Divia. She has
a restaurant in New York called Divia's Kit. It's a
full irratic restaurant. It's amazing, and she was teaching irateic
principles irdy cooking, and I was like, I have nothing
to do with my life. Can I just follow you
around and just learn whatever and be your sidekick? So
(05:11):
I actually am such a biginners still an iveda like
I did my irabated Health Council degree with California College
of Aravada, But I would say I learned the basics
that you could possibly learn about Aravada, and I feel
like I've just skimmed the surface.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
I mean, it's ancient, so the philosophy goes just so deep.
What do you think are the wellness benefits that we
can gain from following in our euveadic lifestyle.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
I think there's a lot more presence in your life.
Like for me, when I started learning about how I
can tune back into my body, you become more present
in every moment, and so it really teaches you not
just presence with other people, but presence with your own body,
whether it is through your mindfulness practices in the morning,
whether it's through eating something and noticing the different feelings
(05:55):
that you should have. Is just making my body feel heated?
Is it feeling cooling? Is it feeling heavy, is it
feeling light? Like really tuning into what am I doing
and how is it affecting my body, even if you're
doing it for nothing else except for being present in
your body and tuning back into it. I think that's
an incredible health benefit because I know so many people
and me included, I was I could go through life
(06:17):
where I wasn't noticing aches and pains, I wasn't noticing
why I was getting skinishues, I wasn't noticing why my
hair was falling out, and I was just like, Oh,
it's just vitamin Let me just add more vitamins into
my life, let me add this. And obviously sometimes it
is that, but there's also so many other elements. So
definitely presence in your body and then being able to
curate your entire environment around you. So, for example, me
(06:42):
and my husband have completely different body types. And that's
really how Aravada distinguishes between people. It's a unique composition
of elements in your body. So the elements earth, water, fire, air,
and ether, and so it says in Aravader that we
are all a composition. We have all of them in us,
but all in different quantities. Not one person has the
(07:02):
same makeup as another. So now I know, when I'm
cooking for myself, I can cook the same meal, but
I have to use different spices for both of us.
I have to use a different amount of truly for
both of us depending on the weather. I need to
include the different types of oils or spices depending on
when I'm cooking, whether it's winter, summer. Awesome, and so
it allows you to be more specific to the smaller
(07:24):
changes in your body.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
We've got to take a quick break, but we'll be
right back with Roddy dev Lukia and we're back to
Wellness Wednesday with Roddy dev Lukia. I'd love to get
more specific with you about food and how broader aervevic
(07:49):
principles show up in the ways that we eat, because
you're also a clinical dietician and nutritionists.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
As you mentioned, I studied that when I was at
university and it was amazing because I got to learn
the body from a Western perspective, and that was really useful.
You know, I worked in a hospital for a couple
of years when I was using the things that I've
learned there, but I always felt like something was like
somewhat missing because I wasn't the biggest fan of how
(08:14):
there was just a framework that you have to follow
for every single person, even if it didn't make sense
to each individual. But in terms of food, we go
just live in nature. We are part of it, and
I think that's something that we often forget, where when
the seasons are changing outside of us, we also need
to change what we're putting inside our body. And so
one simple thing is eating seasonally. That is an irate
(08:36):
principle too, to make sure that we're eating food that
has grown in the soil that we are living on.
And so farmers markets like going and getting the fresh
bodies from the places that you are living in rather
than a lot of the times now in stores you
can get anything and everything from all around the world,
which is great, but it really does kind of disrupt
our own internal environment by doing that. So definitely eating
(08:58):
seasonally and then spices are a huge part of irata.
There's one blend which is like the Queen of blends
and iradors called CCF coriander, humen and funnel seeds, and
you can grind them up, use them in your curries
and lentils and whatever you're making. Each spice has different properties,
but overall they help to stimulate your digestion. But also
(09:19):
they do so many things energy focus and it's definitely
my first line whenever I'm feeling under the weather.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
So one thing that jumps out to me immediately is
that you say that different foods have different flow states
and energies. I've actually never heard of that in terms
of food. What is a flow state? In regards to food, every.
Speaker 4 (09:40):
Single thing has a specific energy state. There's three different kinds.
We call them the modes of nature. And so there
is satvik which is mode of goodness, rightstick which is
a mode of passion, and thumbsick, which is mode of ignorance.
And so these three modes, everything can fit into that,
whether it's music you're listening to, the foods that you're
eat saying, they all create a specific energy inside of us.
(10:03):
Even if you think about if you're listening to aggressive music,
that would be considered mode of ignorance, and how do
you feel. You feel angry, you feel agitated, And in
the same way, if you're listening to to their meditative music,
it's in the mode of goodness. It makes you feel
elevated and uplifted. So let's apply that to then food
mode of goodness. Foods are the foods with the most
amount of prana. Parana means vitality, what brings the most
(10:26):
amount of vitality nutrients into your body. Imagine the freshest
fruit that's picked from a trade, that has the most
amount of vitality from it. It's in its most purest form.
That's everything from fresh fruits, virtuals. Everything that you know
is good for you essentially is in the mode of
goodness mode of ignorance. Foods, those would be the foods
that essentially make you feel heavy energetically in your mind
(10:49):
and your body. So that would be things like anything
that doesn't have life left in it. They make you
feel heavy, lithagic, They make you feel foggy, and your
digestion feels unstable when you eat them, whether it's process
things that have stayed in the can for too long,
deep fried foods where all the nutrients have been taken
out of it, something that's stale, leftovers in your fridge
for too long. And then in iromid, it also considers
(11:11):
most meat or anything that is animal derived in that
way in the mode of ignorance, purely because there is
no life left in that and the mode of passion
foods are the ones that are in the middle that
don't necessarily harm you, but they do stimulate you and
maybe make you a bit too like on edge. So
that's things like caffeine. If you eat a lot of
spicy foods, and by spice, I mean like chili spice,
(11:32):
then having too much spice can cause inflammation in the body.
And so funnily enough, onion and garlic, which are obviously
very commonly used, they sit in the mode of passion
category because they actually cause a lot of blood flow
in the body. They also stimulate, can cause inflammation when
eaten in excess, and they recommend that when you're practicing meditation,
(11:52):
it's recommended not to have a diet with onion and
garlic in it because it also agucates the mind. When
I learn this, like ten years ago, I stopped cooking
with onion garlic. Searchingly, my cookbook actually has no onion
garlic in it. People don't really know that, but all
the recipes are onion garlic free. If you think about
anything in life, like garlic and onion have incredible medicinal properties.
Back in the day, they were used as medicine. They
(12:13):
have so much potency. The problem is, just like with
night shades, like with tomatoes and pepper, you end up
making it the base of everything, and then instead of
having the positive effect, it end up having a negative effect.
So tomatoes are actually fine in small quantities, but now
it's the base of everything that's what's causing most people's
acid reflux inflammation in the body. Whenever anybody has any
kind of IBS symptoms. Even as a dietician, one of
(12:36):
the first line things was take out anything which is
in the food maps, which is onion, garlic, tomatoes, and
so there's so many things that actually are wonderful and
smaller quantities, but we just end up having excess of
them and then they cause irritation to the girl.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
This reminds me of a book I was gifted after
I gave birth called The First Forty Days. It's a
postpartum recipe book and guide for new moms based on
the teachings of Chinese medicine, and it suggests that warm
foods are really what the womb needs in order to heal.
What do iervedic principles say about digestion healing and the
temperature of our foods.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
When you're eating the warmed foods versus raw foods. If
you think about it, it's more that raw foods if
your digestion is already weak, which, by the way, when
you've given birth, usually your body's gone into almost like
a shock mode. Everything is a little bit weaker. Your
body's focusing on healing. Your gut is already trying to
heal itself, and so raw foods actually are much more
(13:33):
difficult to digest for your gut than cooked foods. It's
essentially thinking you've done a bit of the digestion outside
of your body, and you're bringing foods and your body
has to do way less work. And so one of
the things I Rada recommends if you do find that
you're getting ill a lot or you've got gut issues,
is do a cleans of kitchery. Kitcheny is like rice, lentils, veggies,
(13:53):
all cooked down really well with spices, and essentially says
when you have a mono dyet where you're just eating
the same thing for three days in a row, it's
actually almost sometimes better than a fasting diet because you're
giving your gut the ability to exercise and to be
able to use the muscles, but at the same time,
you're allowing your gut to rest because it's not time
(14:14):
to do as much work because everything is already cooked down.
And then the spices are enhancing the digestion.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
Right now, are you?
Speaker 2 (14:20):
Veda teachers that when we eat is just as important
as what we eat. So in the practice, the day
is broken down into four hour periods. I'd love to
go through those togethers starting in the morning.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
It's three phases really, but they duplicate around the clock.
So viveta is two am to six am. Idia. You're
not eating during that period. It's governed by air and ether.
That's the creative zone, so that's when you're getting the
most amount of dreams. It's also the time that they
say you feel the most connects to God, and so
what they recommend is waking up in this time period
is when your sleeper is usually at its lightest and
(14:56):
having your meditation start from like five am. Like I
normally wait cup around five five thirty, and my meditation
practice is so different during that time than it is
if I did it at nine ten am or during
the day.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
Yeah, the distractions just increase, I think as the day goes.
Speaker 4 (15:13):
On exactly six to ten in the morning, it's tougher,
which is why they say that you should try and
wake up before the sun rises, because as soon as
the sun rises, which is the six am to ten am,
your mind starts to become active. And so really using
that period to do your energetic work, which is getting
your workout and going for a walk. Your body's already
(15:35):
stimulated because as soon as the sun comes out, you
still the sun's energy is go, go, go. And then
the pita time, so pitter is ten am to two pm.
Pitter is governed by fire. Now, fire, if you think
about it, is when you have the most amount of energy.
So when the sun is at its highest, it's when
your digestion is its strongest. So I radly recommends having
(15:56):
your largest meal, heaviest carbohydrate load like all of that
in the afternoon, and then at night you have a
light and meal before you sleep. I mean, I'm sure
you've seen so many studies about eating three hours before
you sleep, making sure that your gut is able to
rest when you're sleeping, Otherwise you're not really sleeping, like
you're not really resting if your guts still working. So
(16:16):
the six pm to ten pm zone. Six pm to
ten pm is essentially kafer is governed by earth and water.
It's heavy stagnant energy. That is when your body actually
wants to sleep. That's essentially the cycle, and then it
repeats through the day again where those energies keep continue
going around. The next window, which is the ten to
two am, which is the pit of time, which is energetic.
(16:38):
That's really the time period that our body needs to
do all the processing at night. It also is the
time that we process our thoughts, our feelings, our memories.
And I think there's been so many studies to show
it makes such a difference not just how long you sleep,
it's what time you're sleeping, and so does essentially the cycle,
and then it repeats through the day again where those
energies keep continue going around.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
We have to take a short break, but we'll be
right back to wellness Wednesday with Rady Devlukia.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
And we're back with Rady dev Lukia.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
What's the perfect Irvevik snack? And maybe there's one based
off of a favorite recipe of yours from the book.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
So Irate is not really a snacking lifestyle. It's recommended
you should have at least three hours between your meals.
It says that allowing your body to fully digest one
meal before you add something else on. And it refers
to as almost like a pressure cooker or a rice cooker.
So imagine rice cooker where you're cooking rice and it's
been cooking for fifteen minutes and then you add in
some raw rice just as that's finishing, and then you
(17:43):
have to keep it in for list for longer. But
it says if you are going to have it, then
try something like food or something a bit like to
or in between. So one of my favorite ones, stewed apples,
is meant to be one of the best things that
you can have, especially in the morning to stoke your digestion,
but I love having it throughout the day as well.
You stew the apples, you literally put some water in,
adding some spices like cinnamon or nutmeg, and you boil
(18:06):
down these apples in the water and it just becomes
this delicious like it's one is so yummy, and two
it helps with your digestion. The spice is also ignite
your digestion in that way. That's definitely a go to.
I normally adding like a bit of nut butter on
top and either like that. It's so good, especially when
we're getting into autumn and winter. It's a great one.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
Sounds so yummy.
Speaker 4 (18:27):
Oh, it's so good.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
You're making me hungry, rady, it's so good.
Speaker 4 (18:32):
It's so good.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
As we're coming in to fall.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
What vegetables should we be looking out for to be
cooking with and eating?
Speaker 4 (18:40):
All the orange bed just the pumpkin, the squashes, alsos
zuchinias in season. Everything that you see at your farmer's
market is basically, oh, the leafy greens, kale, spinach, charred,
a lot of root vegetables. They're all in season at
the moment. Pomegranate is in season during this autumn as well.
All the foods that you know you want to, like,
(19:01):
have a stew with a curry, you want to bake
in the oven. I personally think it's the food that
you end up going towards during the season. Anyway, I'd
say it's the season that's the most the easiest to
you want that comfort.
Speaker 3 (19:13):
I'm so embarrassed to admit, Roddy that I just a
few years ago discovered that spices expire. I thought they
lasted like decades.
Speaker 4 (19:22):
Yeah, well, here's the tip. The best thing is to
buy spices whole. So what happens with spices are that
as soon as they are ground from their whole form,
they start to lose nutritional value, they start to lose
their smell, the potency of their flavor, and so ideally
buying spices whole as much as possible and then grinding
them fred There is such a difference between like, if
(19:43):
you get cardamom pods and you grind them up, can
you smell that versus cardonom that's been ground already. H
It's just a completely different experience, and so in the
same way, even you may smell it, but it's also
the nutritional value of it and the strength of the
flavor of it completely changes. So I think they really expire,
but they just become gross all for a while.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
Rady.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
One of my favorite things about your cookbook is that
you say you're supposed to eat dessert first.
Speaker 4 (20:09):
I know, I love that one too. I might have
just written that for myself, but so it was a
funny one that I ed didn't because I loved when
I learned about that, and I made it. The actual
science behind it is just that when you end up
eating sugar, your body prioritizes digesting sugar before anything else.
And so it says, if you end up eating your
meal and then you end up eating sugar, it will
(20:29):
basically avoid digesting the main food that you've eaten with
the nutrients, and it will start to digest the sugar first.
And so it's saying, okay, instead of doing that, have
your sweet thing fast so it's digested and done.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
I love this rule.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
I feel so seen because when I sit down at
a restaurant, I asked to see the dessert menu first.
That way I can start planning for the meal after, for.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
The dessert after, so now I can just order it first.
Speaker 3 (20:57):
Exactly. Radie, I feel like you talked about this little bit,
but I'm so curious. How do you think all of
these learnings have changed your life?
Speaker 4 (21:06):
Oh my gosh, I'm like, every single way, I don't,
I honestly always say this. I'm like, I wonder who
I would have been if I didn't learn about Iraader.
And what I've learned is discipline and control are not restricting.
And I think that's what Irader has taught me the most.
That when I have discipline, and I have control in
my everyday lifestyle, whether it is what I'm doing from
(21:28):
morning to evening, whether whether it's the food that I'm eating.
It's taught me how to be more in control of
my senses, and that for me has been the biggest
game changer, whether it is in my senses of like
being a bit too feisty and saying things that I
don't mean, whether it is eating things just out of
the worst thing is when you feel like something else
controls you, and I think, whether that's food, whether that
(21:50):
is your mindset, whether that is the worlds that are
coming out of your mouth. It's really taught me how
to have sensory control. And I think when I started
transitioning into this and be like, oh, why do you like,
don't you want to stay out later? And don't you
want to eat this and eat this and do this?
And I'm like, I honestly don't because I know how
it's going to make me feel. And so tuning back
(22:12):
into my body has allowed me to feel freedom through discipline,
and that's something that I would never want to give
up because I remember a life where I wasn't like that,
and it was just like everything would pull me from
one side to another. There was no regulation, there was
no ability to stay in control. I've been in better
health year after year, and that's only testament to all
(22:34):
the information that I've been absorbing through our vada.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
I think what you're getting at is the concept of
delayed gratification too, which is a really underrated principle in
our society.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
Yes, exactly. Not everything has to be right here, right now,
and just because it's in front of you doesn't mean
you have to have it.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Roddy, thank you for joining us today and helping us learn.
Speaker 4 (22:55):
Thank you, Thank you so much. You guys are amazing.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
Roddy dev Lukiya is a plant based cook and author
of the New York Times best selling cookbook Joyful. You
can listen to our podcast, A Really Good Cry wherever
you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
That's it for today's show.
Speaker 2 (23:15):
Tomorrow, model and entrepreneur Camilla Alavis McConaughey tells us what
it means to be a woman on a mission. Thank
you to our partners at Coligard, the one of a
kind way to screen for colon cancer in the privacy
and comfort of your own home. Talk to your doctor
or healthcare provider or go to coliguard dot com slash
podcast to see if you are eligible to order online.
(23:36):
If you're forty five or older and at average risk,
ask your healthcare provider about screening for colon cancer with Coligard.
You can also request a Coli Guard prescription today at
coligard dot com slash podcast
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