February 7, 2024 • 58 mins
Food plays a critical role in our health and well-being. Learning what to eat, how to eat and how much to eat can simplify the complexities around food consumption to stay healthy. In this episode of FitnessProChat with Fiterobic, we discuss with our guest Himalayan Yogini Apeksha Nautiyal, how we can improve our food habits through the Ayurvedic approach.
Apeksha Nautiyal is an Ayurvedic Nutritionist, Yoga Coach and Chakra healer. She underscores the significance of mindful eating, the importance of fresh, seasonal produce, and the unique brinkmanship of Ayurvedic cooking in this episode.
In this enlightening conversation, Learn about the interconnectedness of our mental, physical, and spiritual health and how different foods influence our well-being. Apeksha debunks common misconceptions around fad diets and highlights the importance of adopting a diet that suits individual needs, ensuring we intake maximum nutrients and energy.
Key takeaways from the episode are,
- How Ayurvedic nutrition tailors food choices based on individual doshas
- Adjusting diet according to different seasons
- Specific spices or herbs that have a noticeable impact on our health
- How to satisfy your cravings if you have a sweet tooth
- The idea of snacking for corporate employees
- Detoxifying the body naturally through food
- How does eating seasonal fruits and vegetables impact our gut health
- Ayurvedic blends that are recommended for different health concerns or dosha imbalances
- Diet modifications for someone with persistent fatigue or low energy levels
- Diet recommendations for someone who has chronic diseases, such as CKD and/or diabetes
This episode is a comprehensive guide to making informed food choices while still satisfying your cravings, a must-listen for anyone eager to improve their dietary habits and overall health.
Follow Apeksha on Instagram: yoginiapeksha
About the host:
Alok Ranjan is the Founder & Chief at Fiterobic. Fiterobic helps people stay healthy and fit and live a fulfilling life. After leading global marketing function for the past 20 years for Corporate majors like ITC, Tata Communications, and Essel Group and advising global ICT Ministry in Africa and Asia, Alok has set on a journey to empower individuals to become healthy and fit holistically.
Alok is a National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) Certified Fitness Trainer and Certified Nutrition Coach, an American Council of Exercises (ACE) Certified Yoga Expert and a Half-Marathoner.
Connect with Alok at,
Email: alokr@fiterobic.com LinkedIn: ranjanalok Instagram: thealokr Twitter: thealokr
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
If you're calling something junk food, why would you put it into yourself?
Yes. You are accepting and seeing it as junk. Why are you putting it?
Hi, I am Alok and I'm your host at Fit Aerobic.
Welcome to Fitness Pro Chat, the podcast by Fit Aerobic.
Welcome to Fitness Pro Chat by Fit Aerobic.
(00:20):
If you're looking to improve your health and well-being to lead a healthy,
fit and fulfilling life, Whether
you're an amateur or a professional athlete, this podcast is for you.
Good morning, good afternoon, good evening to you all. I am joined today by
Apeksha Nautayal for Fitness Pro Chat with Pictorope.
Apeksha is a yoga teacher, spiritual counselor, chakra healer,
(00:44):
Ayurvedic nutritionist and a writer. Welcome to the show, Apeksha.
Thank you. Thank you so much. Good evening, good afternoon, good morning to
everyone who is listening. My first question to you is Ayurveda considers food
as medicine and obviously when consumed properly.
Can you help us understand from the Ayurvedic nutritionist perspective,
(01:10):
what are the food choices that an individual should make so that their doshas
are taken care of and it impacts their health positively?
So, let me start with this. I read this quote a long time back,
which says that if we don't consume food as medicine, as a lifestyle,
(01:34):
if we don't consume food as medicine, we will end up consuming medicine as food later in our life.
Very true. Which is basically what Ayurveda also says.
So, Ayurveda doesn't consider food as medicine. Food is nutrition, alright?
Yes. But if we consume it like medicine, which means how do we consume medicine?
(01:54):
We consume medicine in proper proportions as per the dosage as recommended by the doctor for our body.
So if we consume food that mindfully, then we will not need medicine.
It will react in our body like a medicine. It will cure our diseases.
(02:15):
It will not let us fall sick. So that is what the purpose is.
Now, Ayurveda, as I've said in the previous podcast as well,
there are two things that Ayurveda says.
One is if you're already healthy, for you to remain healthy so that you don't
contract any diseases. That is the main thing.
But Ayurveda also has medicinal science. It's a medicinal science also,
(02:38):
right? It's a curative science as well.
So first purpose is always if you're living the Ayurveda lifestyle.
Then you will not contract the diseases.
Diseases second yes you have if you have end
up coming up with diseases or you know
because of your bad lifestyle or because of your bad eating
habits then ayurveda has the solutions in
(02:59):
terms of medicines herbs lifestyle changes which
it will give you to cure these diseases so both ayurveda
does so that is what ayurveda says
about food and when you talk
about how to eat what to to
eat what is the right food so ayurved it's
a beautiful science and it's a very very customized science
(03:22):
so ayurved like i've always said you
know two people go with the same disease they will not get the same medicine
or the same treatment because they are different body types so ayurved starts
by recognizing yourself your body understanding your body understanding what
what is required for your body. Second, understanding food.
(03:44):
How does food react in your body? What happens?
So everything is made of five elements. So we start from there.
We start from the basics.
And yet every person is different. Why? Because the ratio of the elements is different in our body.
Similarly in food. Similarly in a water bottle.
(04:06):
In everything. Because the ratio of five elements differs for every item, every material.
And this is materialistic stuff what we are talking about, because we are talking
about our physical health and all of this is mass, it is material.
So, we understand what the material is made of and once we understand what it
is made of, we know what it needs and then we give it that.
(04:29):
Having said that, not just this, the science is so deep that it goes on and
talks about not just the doshas but the kalas also.
But it also talks about, you know, which time period of the day has which dominant doshas.
These are things that, you know, people from previous generations already knew
because they were following this lifestyle.
(04:51):
Side it was part of our life so they
didn't have to be taught that you know you should not eat.
After the sunset their lifestyle was such
that they always maintained it so.
You will see that is why our ancestors were
not falling sick so often they were not needing
surgeries they were not dying out of cancer they didn't
(05:12):
have autoimmune diseases they didn't have stress
because food is your fuel and
everything food is what converts into energy
and this is the energy you are using for every function
of your body whether it is physical or mental so
if this energy if you're supplying the right kind of energy
right kind of food or fuel or you will
(05:34):
function better and once you function better when your
body is healthy so will your mind be and mind is
also part of your body physically there is a
structure right for you to most people
don't understand when we go into diets when we
want to lose weight we the first thing we cut
down is on fat and our brain is 60
(05:55):
fat our brain is made of 60 fat
you are shutting down and you're saying my bill
could fat make home so you're not choosing healthy fats you
are saying fat is bad i want to
be thin fat is bad you have decided yes
you are then you are depriving your
brain of nutrition why do you think you are so stressed out your brain is not
(06:17):
getting nutrition how will you handle it it's not able to function you are not
supplying it with the fuel so to understand that our body needs everything i
would in fact another misconception about ayurveda is that ayurveda is against.
Non-veg or you know ayurveda prefers only
vegetarian yes as a lifestyle of course
(06:39):
ayurveda says that it is not necessary to
have a non-veg but it is not restrictive because
a lot of therapies in ayurveda a lot of you know disease management medicines
are made out of animal parts and animal milk and things that you may not even
have thought about yeah that kind of science so So Ayurveda,
(07:02):
this is the concept that Ayurveda gives.
Understand your body, understand how to consume food, how much to consume, when to consume.
And all of that will start only when you understand yourself first.
So once you know you and then you know your food, you know where you are living.
(07:23):
And it's not just what time of the day, which season, which season.
What is the natural habitat of the
place that you are living in every single thing is
considered what is your age everything is
considered in ayurveda so it is
a very deep science and the beauty is it is also very simple if you understand
(07:46):
the logic you don't have to really memorize i don't have to i can look at a
popcorn and i can say that you know it will increase vata in me because it is
life so i know know that it is made of air element.
So it is very, very logical. If somebody teaches you like that,
or that's what we try to teach also in the Ayurved courses that we do online,
(08:07):
we try to make it simple for you because once you've understood it,
you don't have to go back and refer your book.
You will know, you will look at a food item, you will know what it's going to
do to you and you will make that conscious effort of choosing the right thing
for your body type. Absolutely.
Hope that answers the question.
So that was brilliantly put together and very detailed. So that brings to next
(08:32):
question that I have is you talked about seasons and since childhood,
we have been hearing that we should always have either seasonal fruits or seasonal vegetables.
How exactly, if we take references from Ayurveda, how exactly one can plan their
(08:53):
diet around these seasonal fruits and vegetables?
So that their life is simplified and then they are disease free. Exactly.
So again, it's a very simple thing.
What we are told about having seasonal fruits, if we understand why,
if we understand the logic, and I absolutely believe in this concept.
(09:16):
If we understand the why behind what we are doing or what we are eating or whatever
it is, then we will make conscious choices on our own.
So let's just understand why we say that eat seasonal fruits.
What are seasonal fruits? Now, right now, what is happening?
Everything is available every time in this global economy.
(09:38):
Exactly. If I want to have a summer fruit in winters, I can source it.
And forget about, I don't even have to source it. I live in Bangalore.
I am telling you outright that everything is available every time.
Even if I want to eat an apple from New York, I will get it.
It is available in some store in Bangalore.
Right. That's true. So, when we say seasonal, it is season as per that place where you are living.
(10:05):
It is not just seasonal, it also has to be local.
And we need to understand why are we saying that it has to be local.
Whatever grows in this soil, this is the beauty of nature.
Nature the only thing
that is able to grow in a particular place
is is what will be suitable to be consumed in that place because it is growing
(10:30):
because the atmosphere the climate of that place is suitable for that kind of
a fruit or a vegetable whatever it is or a grain now when we We consume it.
We are living in the same atmosphere.
So nature is giving us what we need to eat.
But because now I am in South India and I'm a North Indian who's used to having Sipati every day.
(10:55):
But if I'm living here, that is not going to suit my body. The climate is different.
That is the whole logic. And again, like I said, it is very, very simple.
The beauty lies in its simplicity that, you know, why do I need to eat seasonal food?
Because nature has given me this. This is the right food to eat for this season.
(11:15):
If I follow this simple practice, I will not contract diseases.
You know if there is rainy season there
is a reason why you know ancient practices are such
that even the diet which is given for example
even if you take festivals indian indian
festivals have we all have our indian festivals are basically about food it's
(11:40):
a celebration of food all our festivals are you know kind of they have their
own items that we eat during those festivals and you You know,
we enjoy relish, all of these things.
But if you really dig deep into it, there is a proper Ayurvedic logic behind
what to be eaten in which festival.
(12:02):
And these practices were not started because, you know, just to enjoy.
It is not a food that has to be eaten for that day.
It is a food that has to be eaten for that season. Because if you notice,
most of our festivals are a start of something.
They're either a start of season, they're either a start of harvest season,
(12:25):
they're either a start of, you know, it's either winter is ending or summer
is starting, full moon is happening.
So, all the festivals, if you see Indian festivals, because these rituals which
have now become rituals are actually based on these Ayurvedic principles and logic.
Because ancient Indians did have that knowledge of the stars,
(12:49):
of the planets, of the earth.
And we started losing out on it because we started disconnecting with it.
But we can completely reconnect because it is very very simple certain things.
Certain things that may be used to grow in a particular place 20 years back,
(13:10):
they are not able to grow there now because the climate has changed.
Global warming has happened.
Now that thing is not growing here. You know, that thing is not growing here.
If it's not growing, no matter how much you're used to it, it will not suit your body.
Because the climatic conditions of the place are not good for it.
They are not suitable. so what and another thing
(13:33):
besides that why we need to eat seasonal or
you know also because it is fresh if
it is seasonal it is freshly grown and you
have to look at it in a very simple way when you
keep a banana out when it's fresh and you leave
it out for a long time it will decay it
will basically decay whatever food we
(13:55):
are consuming it is going inside us and
then it is processing means it is decaying it's not
like if i have a fresh orange it's going to stay fresh
in my stomach that's not going to happen but why
am i eating fresh because when it is fresh that is when
it has the maximum nutrients the maximum energy and
that is the whole basic reason why we
(14:16):
need to have fresh food freshly cooked fresh ingredients because
the life in the food is only
there up to a certain time when it is
on a tree when the fruit is on a tree
it is growing beyond a point it cannot grow
which is when it falls which is when we should consume it but we store it in
(14:38):
cold storage the longer you keep it the life is just going away that is why
we say don't have packaged food not because it's not tasty it is definitely
very tasty but it does not give you It doesn't have life.
So how you get energy, you won't get that energy from it.
You may like it, you may enjoy it, but there is no life in it.
(15:02):
If you're eating something which has life in it, it will give you more life.
That's the simple logic of it.
That is why we are eating fresh fruit. That is why we are trying to eat seasonal
fruit because that is the most suitable.
Again, different for different body types that we need to understand.
And because we need to understand our body.
(15:22):
So it is for a person, for one person, having a lot of mangoes may be suitable.
For another person, although it is mango season, mangoes may not suit.
You really have to integrate all of that together and then mindfully make choices in your food.
And when you do that, in terms of quantity, quality, or what you are eating,
(15:47):
then you will essentially live a healthy life.
So hopefully, when you don't have diseases, you will also be less stressed out.
So even your mental health will depend on what food you are consuming.
Because it's all interrelated. We can't separate our mental health from our
physical health or our spiritual health.
(16:07):
Everything is, you are containing everything. things so you should and must
work on all of these things.
Absolutely. I think that was brilliantly put together. A lot of insights there
because food forms a connection with our mind and what we eat gets reflected
in the way we behave and how we treat others or how we deal with things around us.
(16:32):
Very interesting part about food.
Ayurveda also tells about how you should cook food, which is not just the process.
Also, what emotional state you are cooking your food in will impact because
that energy will be carried down to your food.
So what happens when we go out and eat
if you're going out you don't know what
(16:54):
ingredients they are using how fresh they are suppose
you go out to a good five-star restaurant also
but what energy they are putting into the food you
you will not know yes you cannot control
it you know maybe i had a really bad fight
at home and i still have to go to work that energy
the food is going to carry not only that the
(17:16):
fruit that you eat the energy with which the
tree was planted even that is carry yes
it is so you'll be surprised to know
when ayurvedic when true authentic ayurvedic doctors
practitioners have to make medicines or they
take or they have to you know pluck a fruit or pluck a herb from a tree they're
(17:38):
actually supposed to pray to the tree before and ask for for permission to take
this branch and to use it for healing and take that permission that,
you know, I need this from you.
I will have to hurt you a little bit and I need to use it for somebody's healing.
Please give that healing energy.
And that's how, that is how the medicine is supposed to be made.
(18:00):
Now, I don't know how many people are practicing it honestly now,
but I know someone who is, and I'm glad to be associated with him.
But yeah, that is how I have learned everything.
And these are the things that completely took my breath away when I was learning Ayurveda.
That it is so deep and it is so simple if we just understand it.
(18:22):
So even when we, if you notice, sometimes, you know, I'll follow the same process.
My cook will follow the same process. But, you know, a child will feel like,
you know, mummy ke haath ka zyada acha lag raha hai.
Because the emotion with which I'm cooking for my child,
the book will have that emotion so it's
very logical and if you really think about it these
(18:44):
are things that you genuinely experience in your life you just
don't have time to probably take a pause and think
about this stuff but if you do then it will
start relating to you it becomes a part of how
you think so yeah i can
very much connect with what you have said and one of
the a very good example that comes to my mind is when
(19:04):
we talk about food and energy is prasad that
we get at temples or at various religious places
it's it's very ethereal in
in in taste yes it's very different from
the usual food that i could put folks or whatever
we eat maybe the best of restaurants the five stars
seven stars that we go and try nothing compares to
(19:27):
that kind of of taste and then the energy that's
that's where i feel that that was brilliantly put
together example i'm going to start using this example
absolutely thank you so much other thing which i want to understand from you
is spices and india is a land of spices different states have different spices
(19:49):
i want to understand the role of spices in our food system specifically when
we look from From Ayurveda's perspective.
How does Ayurveda look at spices in the way to treat, say, internal systems,
doshas within the body?
Right. So, the basic thing what Ayurveda says is that there are five rasas,
(20:13):
five kinds of, sorry, seven kinds of tastes or flavors.
Western has five, Ayurveda has given seven because Western doesn't recognize astringent taste.
So, we have seven. And what Ayurveda says is that every person needs all of
these seven in their diet.
In what proportion is different?
(20:36):
Where spices, so spices is, if I pick up one particular spice,
suppose I pick up a cardamom.
It is not that every spice is very heating in nature.
Some spices, spices essentially are heating, but some will be more heating.
Some can also be cooling and all of them you need to understand what taste it
(20:58):
carries and use it accordingly.
Having said that, if you really go by traditional ways and you cook local,
you cook as per prescribed in your, you know, in that locality,
in India, specifically in India.
Local recipes and traditional recipes were always as per Ayurvedic principle
(21:21):
and suitable for that place.
For what differs is body type to body type.
The proportion of the food will change. The proportion of how much carb or how
much sweet you need versus a different person need will change.
But essentially, the recipe and what ingredients are being put,
what spices are being used, because they were all local.
(21:42):
They could not import from America or somewhere else. So everything was local,
which means it was suitable.
And in what proportions to use was decided.
And most of the recipes, local recipes, you can almost blindly follow because they're suitable.
Suitable for that place where we where
(22:03):
spices come in for treatments also spices
are used a lot now spice most of
the spices carry agni they are
heating most of them yeah but some are cooling also like if i mix cardamom it
has a cooling impact it is not a heating spice but it is still spice so it does
so for example if i have to treat someone with acidity issues yeah right so So I need to...
(22:30):
Give them something which is which has to be
cooling yes if they have burning agree
right but if they don't have burning then
i don't need to give this cooling true to them
you know yeah so it is very
detailed and it is very customized for every situation there will be a different
(22:51):
spice most of see spices are most of the spices are locally available and spices
are something thing that we add to our food frequently and they are available
in every kitchen in an Indian household.
So using spices correctly becomes medicinal itself.
You know, you would have heard so many people, if you see our natural way of
(23:17):
cooking, like we use hing ka tadka in dal, right? Yes.
Hing is a digestive, dal is heavy protein, it helps.
Logically, it's making sense. you know so
if we follow our tradition and
we don't try to you know mess it up with our own creativity unless
we have some logic to it most of the recipes are suitable
(23:39):
for that place for that location most
of the spices used are correct we not only use
spices in our food we use for especially
for home remedies i think spices play a
very important role because again like i said it
is available in every household and it is easily you
only have to just you know maybe make a
(24:00):
decoction or boil it make a kada now kada
again actually indian tea was always kada this yes chai milk tea came with britishers
and messed up our whole system and so i don't have tea and coffee now milk tea
and coffee now but i loved it when i had it and.
(24:22):
It's only now we realize that it's not an
indian concept we used to make tadas and there were
different spices were used for different seasons so
our morning drink was warm water with certain spices and what spices keeps differing
season to season and it's not that you know we can't have sweet if you want
(24:42):
to if you or your body type is tougher or you know your body type is cold and
you You need to increase the heat.
You will add jaggery to your tea. But if you need some cooling, then you must add sugar.
People just avoid sugar as if, you know, jaggery is a great replacement for
sugar. But they are both opposites.
(25:02):
Jaggery increases heat. Sugar cools you down.
When you need cooling, if you keep having jaggery, it's, you know,
it's going to mess up your system. This is lack of knowledge.
You are not trying to understand the logic behind it.
You are just following these either trends or
something you've heard somewhere everything is
not suitable for everyone understand yourself let's just
(25:24):
start with ourselves understand what we need
to do how we need to use our spices our spice is
even good for our body type you know some people are able
to digest even the spiciest of chilies
some people are not you can't give
both of them the same thing saying even if they're living in
the same locality you cannot give them the same
(25:45):
food because it's not suiting their body type
they are different people so i think it all comes down to that spices again
play a very important role in our food and also in in home remedies i would
say that is where spices because it's always available and yes we must learn
(26:06):
how to use them to our favor.
And you also talk about each body type should choose their own spices or food
type that they should learn to identify.
And sweet, majority of people have sweet tooth of some kind.
I mean, even I love to have sweets many a times.
In the present context, if we look at packaged food or food that we order from
(26:31):
restaurants or hotels or any other place, typically most of these foods have added sugar.
That obviously increases sugar cravings and
most people are to multi diseases
including diabetes and being overweight or
obese and all of that so how from
ayurvedic perspective someone can look at
(26:54):
adopting or consuming sweets that
does not affect their body type
negatively and it's very difficult to completely take
them off sugar so as an
ayurvedic practitioner or rather nutritionist what
ayurved says is like i said earlier also
ayurved says that you need to have all kinds of tastes in your food in your
(27:21):
daily food not even like once a week so i these are all made because Because
you need what is holistic food? What is holistic health?
Everybody needs it. You know, everybody needs it. Yes, in different proportions. True.
Mindfully chosen. Definitely.
But to assume or to think that, you know, my body doesn't need fat or my body
(27:47):
doesn't need sweet is wrong.
Your body needs sweet. Your body needs fat.
Your body needs protein. Your body needs carb. Your body needs everything.
Thing all kinds of tastes also essentially if
if we have balanced doshas our body
actually gives us signal so when we are having sweet
craving it is because there is a need for
(28:07):
sweet but to understand that you
know is it because of imbalance or is it because my
body genuinely needs that sugar for energy
because sugar will give you energy right so
your body's like i said more deeply you
understand your own body you will start connecting with
it and listening to the signals more mindfully and
(28:30):
understand what it's asking for people exactly
so mindlessly that they don't
even know the difference between when they are feeling hungry versus
thirsty so many times you start eating and
what your body is asking for is water but you start eating you start to pick
whatever's in front of you and you just start eating so many times you eat not
(28:51):
because you're you're hungry but because you're bored you know out of boredom
or out of habit that you know you put on the tv and you feel like munching because
you've just it's like a muscle memory for you,
So, being mindful is very important. Let's come back to sweets.
So, different, again, when we come to sweets, Ayurveda is very specific that
(29:12):
preferably use less processed sweets.
Understand what kind of sugar is suitable for your body.
Of course, when we have sweets in the form of fruits or dried fruits,
those are healthy because those are the least processed. Having said that,
it's not like you cannot have jaggery or you cannot have sugar.
(29:33):
It is important that your body knows how to digest every kind of food.
But have it in moderation.
Understand whether your body type, you know, accepts jaggery or needs jaggery or needs sugar.
Understand that both these things are opposites. They will give you maybe similar
taste, but their impact is absolutely opposite in your body.
(29:54):
Understand that. And the only way to understand that is if you have mindfully
or at least try to study it, you know, and Ayurved principles are completely simple to understand.
And once you have understood, then you'll be able to make better choices.
And then, of course, there are other rules like having sweet during the Pitta
(30:15):
Kal, which is from, you know, morning between morning 10 to afternoon 2 o'clock.
That's when the fire in your
body as well as in the environment is really
high okay okay so when the fire
is high fire is basically let's if
your digestive fire which is required for you to digest the food even in the
(30:38):
atmosphere during that time the fire is high if you will notice the sun is also
at its peak between 10 to 2 yes so it's very logical right there is completely more heat Eat.
In that phase, when you have sweets,
your body will be able to digest it better. It is as simple as that.
So, if you like to have sweets, have it at that time.
(31:01):
That will help you. If your body will digest it, convert it into energy, good energy.
Choose good sweets, of course. But choose a good time to eat sweets.
Be controlled in your quantity. Don't overeat sweets.
Don't overeat anything. In fact, it's not just sweets. another
thing another simple thing that people can also follow
is that have your sweet before your meal and
(31:24):
this is this is we are used to having this again western concept of dessert
where it comes at the end of a meal but if you notice when you go to these traditional
places where food is served on banana leaf and you know yeah in south india
specifically even Even in Maharashtra, during festivals,
they serve the sweet before.
(31:45):
They place the sweet in your plate before.
And the way they place it, if they are following the traditional practices,
the way they place it is how you're supposed to consume it as well.
Now, what happens? From a very logical perspective, let's just understand why we are doing it.
If I'm, first of all, I'm coming for a meal because I'm hungry, right? Yes.
(32:08):
What is hunger? Hunger is my digestive fire has increased and it needs food.
So I'm feeling hungry. My stomach is giving me that signal that, you know, give me food.
I'm hungry means my digestive fire is at its peak. Correct?
Now, when my digestive, sweet essentially is little more difficult to digest
(32:30):
than a salad or than food.
Right? It is heavier to digest. Sweets are essentially heavier.
So when I eat this heavy when should I eat this heavy thing when my digestive
fire is at its peak at its peak so I eat it in the beginning of my meal,
clenches my sugar craving it clenches my it
satisfies my digestive fire and then when
(32:53):
i eat food afterwards i will eat according
to how hungry i am so what happens
is when we have a dessert at the end of our
meal because it is so tasty and because
we genuinely most of us have sweet is
the most pleasant taste so that's why most of us
have sweet cravings or a sweet truth tooth right
(33:14):
yeah because it's a very pleasant taste it's the
most pleasant taste you know we grow up a
child grows up for the first six
months only on mother's milk it is essentially sweet and sweet is the most nourishing
also so whatever nourishment your body gets whatever happiness your body gets
comes from sweet so don't ignore it you you're going to become a miserable person
(33:37):
and if you completely delete sweet from your diet,
you will not feel as healthy, you know.
So once I've eaten this sweet, if I eat it at the end of my meal.
Because it's so tasty, I will maybe have two rasgullas instead of one because I'm feeling good.
And at that time, I already have food in my belly. My belly is full.
(33:59):
I have food in my stomach.
My digestive fire is already engaged in digesting that and now I'm adding heavier things on it.
So putting more pressure on it so then it doesn't get
digested so easily and that is
how it starts getting converted into fat starts giving you health problems if
you just follow the simple thing about you know just having your sweet before
(34:21):
your meal that itself impacts your health so much you will start losing weight
only with this one practice i think that that's very insightful for people who are busy,
specifically people who work in different organizations.
It is very difficult for someone who is busy in the corporate life,
who's spending 12-14 hours in office, to be.
(34:44):
Track of the diet that they need to follow and especially
they with with so much of processed snack that's
available around it it is very difficult to track diet
how you look at at this
aspect of life for corporate people where they can address and try and identify
(35:05):
right kind of snacking item and i'm sure this will also be useful for people
who are not in corporate but but engaged in their own personal lives.
So see, Alok, it again comes back to just making mindful choices,
which you'll only be able to make if you have understood your body and if you
have understood food in general.
(35:26):
So I don't have to give you a specific diet plan or I don't have to give you
rules to follow that there is a certain lifestyle.
You make conscious, mindful choices out of whatever is available to you.
So if I say that you know home
cooked sweets are the best you don't have time to
cook at home what is the next best option you go
(35:49):
to a local halwai and you pick up local sweet freshly prepared hopefully and
in ghee instead of oil you just have to switch you are still eating sweet or
you are still taking that snack you because of this busy lifestyle you need.
What is what is fast food food that
(36:12):
just comes fast you don't have to cook it why is
junk food called junk you are yes you
are openly saying that you enjoy junk food how
can you enjoy putting junk into yourself it's the
sentence itself is not mindful at all if
you're calling something junk food why would
you put it into yourself yes if you
(36:35):
see it as junk if you don't see it as junk it's a
different thing but you are accepting and seeing it
as junk why are you putting it it's you
know you're not respecting your own body it basically comes
down to that you are harming yourself and it
is impacting your mental health it is impacting your physical
health so just making better choice i
(36:55):
i am hungry and i need fast food because
i don't have time have a fruit have dry fruits
it is available local things go
have even if you cannot if you are like
hungry for food go to your local vendor have a local food if you are in maharashtra
have a vada pav nothing wrong in it if you are that hungry but in that also
(37:18):
you can pick up healthier choices most of our charts if they are prepared properly
they have a lot of So like misal and all these things,
they are also healthier options than having a burger.
I'm not saying that, you know, vada pav is a healthy snack per se because it is fried.
Unless you are in rainy season when your body needs that fried,
(37:39):
that oil, then vada pav is healthy.
So understand when to eat. Pick up from whatever available choices you have.
Pick the better ones. Just put in a little bit of effort in picking because
if you tell me, I understand that, you know, a lifestyle has become like this. Nobody has time.
Nobody has probably time to cook also anymore.
(38:01):
But if you tell me that nobody has choices, I will completely disagree.
We have so many choices. It is just about consciousness to pick up the right thing.
It is not that you don't have choice. You have a choice.
You know you can you can go out
and instead of having a chat you can
have boiled corn that is better it will satisfy
(38:23):
your hunger so when you go to
a restaurant suppose you are going out for office parties and
you have to eat outside you don't have a
choice you go home you're not going to get dinner
because your dinner was out so yes you don't have
a choice now today you have have to eat at a restaurant you need
to eat chicken don't pick up the fried chicken ask
(38:43):
for a tandoori chicken you know yes it
has less oil it has been cooked in a
different process absolutely so make
that choice for yourself choices are available whether it
is a restaurant whether it is your home whether it
is the street try to choose local try to
choose whatever is most fresh freshly prepared you know instead of having a
(39:07):
burger at a McDonald's where they use frozen food which has absolutely no life
energy go to your local vendor and have bunty it will satisfy sure it is fresher
it is I'm not saying bunty is a healthy snack to have.
Don't deprive yourself of anything, whether it is sweet or any food item.
(39:27):
Because once you start depriving yourself, it creates misery for you.
Yes. It will create. I agree. Whether you like it or not, it will create that misery.
And because of that misery, you will not enjoy what you are eating.
If you're not genuinely enjoying and if you're not eating with a happy state of mind,
(39:49):
with the like emotional state while cooking
second is emotional state while eating and all
these things concepts are given in ayurveda we have
just not studied it neither did i did our school teach it so we have lost out
on it but if we were learning it if we understood it it's very logical you would
(40:11):
you would also see like when you have a big fight with someone close or you
You don't feel like eating even if you are hungry.
You don't feel like eating. Why? Because your emotional state is so disturbed.
Your gut is not ready to digest the food.
You don't feel like eating because if you eat at that time, you're going to
end up with a disturbed gut.
(40:31):
That food will not digest because that energy is disturbed because it's the
same energy that you are using for your emotions or for your digestion or for anything else.
Energy is one flowing throughout your body. and food
is what becomes that energy same energy consumed
for mental processes same energy consumed for
(40:52):
physical process when you're mentally disturbed your
body will not be able to digest food that is why you don't feel like eating
so you listen to your body and you don't eat at that time and when you settle
a little bit when then you eat you will not end up with a gut issue or you know
a disturbed bowel movement.
(41:13):
So we need to understand this at a deeper level.
The way food is cooked is very important because that's where the problem starts to happen.
If it's too deep fried or the kind of oil that is used to cook that food is
not good or it has been used multiple times, then obviously it does not classify
as a healthy food, whether you're getting it from anywhere.
(41:36):
It's something that people need to understand. Even if we eat something which we are craving for.
We obviously have it in moderation, but try and
identify a place which does not overcook it
or which uses right kind of oil
to cook or fry that particular food be
more mindful about what you are eating what you are
(41:58):
choosing that's about it it's not about depriving yourself
be wise or make your exercise make
your gut strong so that you don't end up so
that even if you do end up having something which
is not so healthy your gut is strong enough to digest it
and process it and not create toxins out of
it absolutely it's our job to
(42:20):
you know strengthen our gut also we should
be able to digest everything ideally absolutely and
since you talked about toxins my follow-up question is
on detoxification and today we see
a lot of detoxification diets and there
are a lot of smoothies that are being promoted as detoxification and
from whatever i have read and understood and researched is
(42:42):
most of these detox diets are bad they do
not work in long term people spend a
lot of money to get their body detoxed it's not very healthy way to look at
look at things or improve things how people can remove toxins from the body
by eating right kind of food that they should consume on day to day basis.
(43:07):
Interestingly if people are eating
the right kind of food the body will
not create toxins you will not need a
detox the best way to detox is not to add toxins to your body eat mindfully
your body will not create toxins for you you will not have to detox you will
not need detox drinks right yes as you keep adding toxins to your body you will
(43:32):
keep needing detox yes the best way to To avoid.
Essentially, if you are genuinely following Ayurvedic principles in diet,
in the way you eat, in the way you consume food, you will not need any kind
of detox because the diet itself.
And now Ayurveda is not only about diet. It is about lifestyle.
(43:53):
So Ayurveda specifically gives a Dhinacharya.
What is a Dhinacharya? How your day should go. very
difficult for people today to follow it because the lifestyle
has changed the way they work has changed job
timings all over the place but if
you choose to follow and if you try to do the best out of whatever has been
(44:15):
prescribed you will not need detox or you will not your body will not create
toxins very simple you know when you talk about toxins in ayurveda the concept of toxin is called AMA.
AMA is a much larger, broader concept than just toxin.
But toxin is also, so basically AMA is something that whatever you put in your
(44:39):
body which is unnecessary.
Uh yeah and and you're
not able to release it to either through urine
or through your bowel movement if you're
not able to release it it stays in your body and it becomes toxic for your body
it starts becoming either fat or it manifests in some other kind of you know
(45:02):
issue or disease or cancerous growth whatever true whatever you are putting
inside which is not required it's like Like, you know,
if you have a petrol vehicle and you put diesel also in it,
you're putting unnecessary things.
It's going to mess up the vehicle, right? Yes, absolutely.
That is what it is with your body also. If you're putting unnecessary things,
(45:25):
then these things are getting stored as toxins in your body.
Something as simple as when you get the urge to urinate and you hold it,
the moment you hold it in, it starts creating toxins in your body.
You are absolutely not supposed to hold, you know, urine or urge to go to the washroom, whatever.
(45:46):
Similarly, even when you feel that urge to eat something, if it is really hunger,
you can deprive your body because that also creates toxin in the form of gas.
That will still be toxin, right? Yes.
So you have to be mindful enough to understand. And these are very little things.
If you start practicing that, you know, eat when you are hungry,
(46:07):
go to the washroom when you get the urge.
Don't put your, when your body is telling you something, understand it and react to it.
So yes ayurveda also as medicinally
it gives a lot of you know recipes and depending
on what your health issue is we'll give you a detox
drink or something to follow as a lifestyle but
(46:29):
the purpose is never to clear the toxins and there are of course there are processes
there is panchakarma which is like complete detox of your body from all the
parts right so there are therapies there There are processes and these are all
the medicinal therapeutic part of Ayurveda, not nutrition.
But I'm just talking about it because of course there are solutions.
(46:50):
But the solution is not that you keep eating wrong and you keep going for a
panchakarma therapy every year. That cannot be your solution.
That is, your solution is only your lifestyle. When it comes to Ayurvedic nutrition,
if you're following it, you will not need this.
It is as simple as that. if you need you
go to an ayurvedic doctor he will give you 10 types of precautions
(47:12):
to eat to drink or to consume and
why do these not work over a long term
because yeah you you can't keep doing the wrong things and you know that's the
wrong way to live absolutely the idea and ayurved essentially the way it cures
diseases is by treating the cause not the symptom yes once Once you are balanced,
(47:37):
you need to follow a lifestyle so that it doesn't recur.
Otherwise, there's no point of chikitsa or cure. We have not cured anything.
We are just treating the symptoms and Ayurveda absolutely doesn't believe in
it. Absolutely. Absolutely.
Who are suffering from chronic diseases and say chronic kidney disease is one, diabetes is another.
(48:00):
There are a lot of health-related aspects that we see in our lives today.
What are the aspects that we need to take care of, specifically seeing food
as a medicine, the type of food that we should add for people who are suffering from CKD or diabetes,
(48:21):
that they can add to their food so that they start to see some positive results.
Because obviously they are deprived of a lot of food items sometimes.
Times they have been asked to stick to a restrictive diet so that their body
can recover and cooperate better to that kind of food.
From Ayurveda's perspective, what are the food items that you see are beneficial for these patients?
(48:48):
Right. So again, I would say that, you know, if I tell you certain food items
that you can include, how you are supposed to eat it, what is the condition
of that particular patient, everything is going to be different.
For me to say, for example, to say that, you know, if you're diabetic,
wake up in the morning, have methi seeds, yes, it will work for you.
(49:10):
But I don't know if you are a pitta body type and it's too heating for you, it might harm you also.
So one size fits all never works with Ayurveda because logically it's not making any sense.
So when you go to treat especially these autoimmune diseases,
which are essentially lifestyle diseases, you understand that the cause is your
(49:33):
lifestyle, you need to fix your lifestyle, you need to fix the way you eat.
The object of an Ayurvedic doctor will never be a solution that stops eating sweets altogether.
For some time, you might have to stop till your sugar comes into control and
then you come to a health state that your body is able to consume at least some
(49:55):
amount of sugar without creating any more harm.
That happen if you have made the necessary
lifestyle changes if you have added exercise if
you have added yoga to your practice you need to
be able to do this otherwise like i said if
you don't consume food like medicine you will consume medicine
like food your plate will have you know lots
(50:16):
of old people it's very disheartening to see they please
have one bowl of different different
colors of tablets you know medicines it's not
it nobody can feel good about it you know
it's not a nice way to live and i
believe the lifestyle science so we are trying to make you understand to make
(50:38):
conscious decisions i would not like to give you any particular food items because
as for the logic that i've only been talking about it's different for every
person and And lifestyle changes are the only solution to all these diseases.
Especially autoimmune diseases, or I would say any kind of disease.
In fact, physical manifestation of disease is always mental.
(51:01):
Even your mental health, it is very important. It is affected and impacted by
the kind of food you are eating, the kind of energy you are giving, putting into the food.
Why do we have this practice of praying before we eat?
You'll see a lot of ayurvedic practitioners and your
practitioners do it because it's very
simple you know yoke says that your body is
(51:23):
the temple which carries the spirit the eternal you know the higher energy and
like you keep a temple clean the way yeah same way you are supposed to keep
your body clean whatever you cannot take to a temple don't put inside your body
so why do when When I pray to food, to my plate,
what essentially happens is I'm putting a certain energy into the food.
(51:47):
I'm dedicating it as a prasad to the God which is inside me,
to the energy which is inside me.
So, when I consume this food, it becomes like a blessing to my body, right?
These things can completely change the way food reacts in your body, you know?
Absolutely. So that brings me to the penultimate question for today's episode.
(52:10):
What are the top three recommendations that you would have for everyone looking at food medicine?
So one is, of course, start by understanding yourself, please. It is a humble request.
Understand your body type and understand what suits you. Do not follow diets. Do not follow fads.
Do not follow what you watch on Instagram or YouTube because everything doesn't suit everybody.
(52:35):
So understand what suits you. Eat mindfully.
Select options which are suitable for you and don't overeat.
Eat when you're hungry. Don't deprive yourself.
Don't overeat also just be mindful about
what you are eating how you are eating it and is it
suitable so whenever you eat something please ask
(52:56):
yourself this question yes is it required for
me so if i want to follow something like oh
having soaked almonds in the morning is good yes
it is good yes do you need it yes do you need it
true if you don't need it don't eat it i think
that's important question to ask good for you yeah if it's
not good for you please don't it's not necessary that everything that's
(53:19):
good is good for everyone that's not it's not
so understand it be mindful about it that is
the only solution and make it part of your lifestyle so that you don't have
to follow any diet yeah you don't have to make rules for yourself deprive yourself
you're eating mindfully you can eat whatever you want to eat you know you don't
have to think So the last question that I have is more of a personal question.
(53:43):
What keeps you busy apart from work?
Apart from work, I don't have so much time.
Honestly, I do enjoy doing a lot of creative things.
I like to listen to good music, occasionally dance, maybe alone also.
(54:06):
I don't read much. I would love to read a lot, but I don't know.
Somehow I'm not an avid reader, but I write a lot.
So I enjoy, I do spend watching content,
but I very consciously watch content,
spiritual content on mindfulness and
things like that because it keeps me it does some
(54:27):
more positive thoughts and then i write yes exactly right about it i you know
kind of process it and other than that i don't get much time so to say so yeah
i try to do live mindfully and And weekends,
I try to do activities that enhance myself.
(54:50):
Again, this whole concept of, you know, a weekend, we just, instead of meeting
friends over a coffee or over a lunch, you know, we try to mindfully meet over
a trek or over a small, you know, something, some activity.
I think it helps. It is, it's a good way to connect and be more creative about,
(55:11):
you know, how you can connect with friends.
I'm not saying don't connect. i try to sleep on time
so i don't watch tv at night because honestly am
i i wake up very early i try to stick to
my meditative practices because it helps whatever
i try to or i'm preaching i try to first follow it i i wouldn't say i don't
(55:33):
have a lot of time but i all the time is consumed in either teaching or planning
the sessions or watching some you know spiritual content anything Anything that.
Consciously, I also surround myself with people who have a positive influence
on me and I do not surround myself with a lot of people.
(55:55):
This is something I do. So you will not find me at a party because I like to
have meaningful connections.
So I consciously stay away from meaningful activities.
That is how I spend my time. So I do meet friends, but maybe not in groups.
I meet one friend at a time. and take out good time for them,
spend good time with them, and connect and talk about everything in life.
(56:18):
Absolutely. Brilliant, Ikhshan. It's lovely to talk to you once again. Thank you so much.
Thank you. It was lovely as usual, and I also enjoy talking about things that I'm passionate about.
So grateful for the opportunity, and take care. Namaste. Pranam. Live mindfully.
That's a wrap. Thank you for listening to Fitness Pro Chat by Fit Aerobic.
(56:43):
We hope you had key takeaways from today's episode and learned something new.
Don't forget to download and subscribe so you don't miss the next episode.
And leave us a rating and review on your favorite platform.
In the meantime, reach out to us on Instagram at Fit Aerobic or through our
website, fitaerobic.com.
And remember, failures will only make you strong and better learned.
(57:06):
Take care, stay healthy, and live a fulfilling life with Fit Aerobic.
If you're calling something junk food, why would you put it into yourself?
Yes. You are accepting and seeing it as junk. Why are you putting it?
Hi, I am Alok and I'm your host at Fit Aerobic.
Welcome to Fitness Pro Chat, the podcast by Fit Aerobic.
Welcome to Fitness Pro Chat by Fit Aerobic.
(00:20):
If you're looking to improve your health and well-being to lead a healthy,
fit and fulfilling life, Whether
you're an amateur or a professional athlete, this podcast is for you.
Good morning, good afternoon, good evening to you all. I am joined today by
Apeksha Nautayal for Fitness Pro Chat with Pictorope.
Apeksha is a yoga teacher, spiritual counselor, chakra healer,
(00:44):
Ayurvedic nutritionist and a writer. Welcome to the show, Apeksha.
Thank you. Thank you so much. Good evening, good afternoon, good morning to
everyone who is listening. My first question to you is Ayurveda considers food
as medicine and obviously when consumed properly.
Can you help us understand from the Ayurvedic nutritionist perspective,
(01:10):
what are the food choices that an individual should make so that their doshas
are taken care of and it impacts their health positively?
So, let me start with this. I read this quote a long time back,
which says that if we don't consume food as medicine, as a lifestyle,
(01:34):
if we don't consume food as medicine, we will end up consuming medicine as food later in our life.
Very true. Which is basically what Ayurveda also says.
So, Ayurveda doesn't consider food as medicine. Food is nutrition, alright?
Yes. But if we consume it like medicine, which means how do we consume medicine?
(01:54):
We consume medicine in proper proportions as per the dosage as recommended by the doctor for our body.
So if we consume food that mindfully, then we will not need medicine.
It will react in our body like a medicine. It will cure our diseases.
(02:15):
It will not let us fall sick. So that is what the purpose is.
Now, Ayurveda, as I've said in the previous podcast as well,
there are two things that Ayurveda says.
One is if you're already healthy, for you to remain healthy so that you don't
contract any diseases. That is the main thing.
But Ayurveda also has medicinal science. It's a medicinal science also,
(02:38):
right? It's a curative science as well.
So first purpose is always if you're living the Ayurveda lifestyle.
Then you will not contract the diseases.
Diseases second yes you have if you have end
up coming up with diseases or you know
because of your bad lifestyle or because of your bad eating
habits then ayurveda has the solutions in
(02:59):
terms of medicines herbs lifestyle changes which
it will give you to cure these diseases so both ayurveda
does so that is what ayurveda says
about food and when you talk
about how to eat what to to
eat what is the right food so ayurved it's
a beautiful science and it's a very very customized science
(03:22):
so ayurved like i've always said you
know two people go with the same disease they will not get the same medicine
or the same treatment because they are different body types so ayurved starts
by recognizing yourself your body understanding your body understanding what
what is required for your body. Second, understanding food.
(03:44):
How does food react in your body? What happens?
So everything is made of five elements. So we start from there.
We start from the basics.
And yet every person is different. Why? Because the ratio of the elements is different in our body.
Similarly in food. Similarly in a water bottle.
(04:06):
In everything. Because the ratio of five elements differs for every item, every material.
And this is materialistic stuff what we are talking about, because we are talking
about our physical health and all of this is mass, it is material.
So, we understand what the material is made of and once we understand what it
is made of, we know what it needs and then we give it that.
(04:29):
Having said that, not just this, the science is so deep that it goes on and
talks about not just the doshas but the kalas also.
But it also talks about, you know, which time period of the day has which dominant doshas.
These are things that, you know, people from previous generations already knew
because they were following this lifestyle.
(04:51):
Side it was part of our life so they
didn't have to be taught that you know you should not eat.
After the sunset their lifestyle was such
that they always maintained it so.
You will see that is why our ancestors were
not falling sick so often they were not needing
surgeries they were not dying out of cancer they didn't
(05:12):
have autoimmune diseases they didn't have stress
because food is your fuel and
everything food is what converts into energy
and this is the energy you are using for every function
of your body whether it is physical or mental so
if this energy if you're supplying the right kind of energy
right kind of food or fuel or you will
(05:34):
function better and once you function better when your
body is healthy so will your mind be and mind is
also part of your body physically there is a
structure right for you to most people
don't understand when we go into diets when we
want to lose weight we the first thing we cut
down is on fat and our brain is 60
(05:55):
fat our brain is made of 60 fat
you are shutting down and you're saying my bill
could fat make home so you're not choosing healthy fats you
are saying fat is bad i want to
be thin fat is bad you have decided yes
you are then you are depriving your
brain of nutrition why do you think you are so stressed out your brain is not
(06:17):
getting nutrition how will you handle it it's not able to function you are not
supplying it with the fuel so to understand that our body needs everything i
would in fact another misconception about ayurveda is that ayurveda is against.
Non-veg or you know ayurveda prefers only
vegetarian yes as a lifestyle of course
(06:39):
ayurveda says that it is not necessary to
have a non-veg but it is not restrictive because
a lot of therapies in ayurveda a lot of you know disease management medicines
are made out of animal parts and animal milk and things that you may not even
have thought about yeah that kind of science so So Ayurveda,
(07:02):
this is the concept that Ayurveda gives.
Understand your body, understand how to consume food, how much to consume, when to consume.
And all of that will start only when you understand yourself first.
So once you know you and then you know your food, you know where you are living.
(07:23):
And it's not just what time of the day, which season, which season.
What is the natural habitat of the
place that you are living in every single thing is
considered what is your age everything is
considered in ayurveda so it is
a very deep science and the beauty is it is also very simple if you understand
(07:46):
the logic you don't have to really memorize i don't have to i can look at a
popcorn and i can say that you know it will increase vata in me because it is
life so i know know that it is made of air element.
So it is very, very logical. If somebody teaches you like that,
or that's what we try to teach also in the Ayurved courses that we do online,
(08:07):
we try to make it simple for you because once you've understood it,
you don't have to go back and refer your book.
You will know, you will look at a food item, you will know what it's going to
do to you and you will make that conscious effort of choosing the right thing
for your body type. Absolutely.
Hope that answers the question.
So that was brilliantly put together and very detailed. So that brings to next
(08:32):
question that I have is you talked about seasons and since childhood,
we have been hearing that we should always have either seasonal fruits or seasonal vegetables.
How exactly, if we take references from Ayurveda, how exactly one can plan their
(08:53):
diet around these seasonal fruits and vegetables?
So that their life is simplified and then they are disease free. Exactly.
So again, it's a very simple thing.
What we are told about having seasonal fruits, if we understand why,
if we understand the logic, and I absolutely believe in this concept.
(09:16):
If we understand the why behind what we are doing or what we are eating or whatever
it is, then we will make conscious choices on our own.
So let's just understand why we say that eat seasonal fruits.
What are seasonal fruits? Now, right now, what is happening?
Everything is available every time in this global economy.
(09:38):
Exactly. If I want to have a summer fruit in winters, I can source it.
And forget about, I don't even have to source it. I live in Bangalore.
I am telling you outright that everything is available every time.
Even if I want to eat an apple from New York, I will get it.
It is available in some store in Bangalore.
Right. That's true. So, when we say seasonal, it is season as per that place where you are living.
(10:05):
It is not just seasonal, it also has to be local.
And we need to understand why are we saying that it has to be local.
Whatever grows in this soil, this is the beauty of nature.
Nature the only thing
that is able to grow in a particular place
is is what will be suitable to be consumed in that place because it is growing
(10:30):
because the atmosphere the climate of that place is suitable for that kind of
a fruit or a vegetable whatever it is or a grain now when we We consume it.
We are living in the same atmosphere.
So nature is giving us what we need to eat.
But because now I am in South India and I'm a North Indian who's used to having Sipati every day.
(10:55):
But if I'm living here, that is not going to suit my body. The climate is different.
That is the whole logic. And again, like I said, it is very, very simple.
The beauty lies in its simplicity that, you know, why do I need to eat seasonal food?
Because nature has given me this. This is the right food to eat for this season.
(11:15):
If I follow this simple practice, I will not contract diseases.
You know if there is rainy season there
is a reason why you know ancient practices are such
that even the diet which is given for example
even if you take festivals indian indian
festivals have we all have our indian festivals are basically about food it's
(11:40):
a celebration of food all our festivals are you know kind of they have their
own items that we eat during those festivals and you You know,
we enjoy relish, all of these things.
But if you really dig deep into it, there is a proper Ayurvedic logic behind
what to be eaten in which festival.
(12:02):
And these practices were not started because, you know, just to enjoy.
It is not a food that has to be eaten for that day.
It is a food that has to be eaten for that season. Because if you notice,
most of our festivals are a start of something.
They're either a start of season, they're either a start of harvest season,
(12:25):
they're either a start of, you know, it's either winter is ending or summer
is starting, full moon is happening.
So, all the festivals, if you see Indian festivals, because these rituals which
have now become rituals are actually based on these Ayurvedic principles and logic.
Because ancient Indians did have that knowledge of the stars,
(12:49):
of the planets, of the earth.
And we started losing out on it because we started disconnecting with it.
But we can completely reconnect because it is very very simple certain things.
Certain things that may be used to grow in a particular place 20 years back,
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they are not able to grow there now because the climate has changed.
Global warming has happened.
Now that thing is not growing here. You know, that thing is not growing here.
If it's not growing, no matter how much you're used to it, it will not suit your body.
Because the climatic conditions of the place are not good for it.
They are not suitable. so what and another thing
(13:33):
besides that why we need to eat seasonal or
you know also because it is fresh if
it is seasonal it is freshly grown and you
have to look at it in a very simple way when you
keep a banana out when it's fresh and you leave
it out for a long time it will decay it
will basically decay whatever food we
(13:55):
are consuming it is going inside us and
then it is processing means it is decaying it's not
like if i have a fresh orange it's going to stay fresh
in my stomach that's not going to happen but why
am i eating fresh because when it is fresh that is when
it has the maximum nutrients the maximum energy and
that is the whole basic reason why we
(14:16):
need to have fresh food freshly cooked fresh ingredients because
the life in the food is only
there up to a certain time when it is
on a tree when the fruit is on a tree
it is growing beyond a point it cannot grow
which is when it falls which is when we should consume it but we store it in
(14:38):
cold storage the longer you keep it the life is just going away that is why
we say don't have packaged food not because it's not tasty it is definitely
very tasty but it does not give you It doesn't have life.
So how you get energy, you won't get that energy from it.
You may like it, you may enjoy it, but there is no life in it.
(15:02):
If you're eating something which has life in it, it will give you more life.
That's the simple logic of it.
That is why we are eating fresh fruit. That is why we are trying to eat seasonal
fruit because that is the most suitable.
Again, different for different body types that we need to understand.
And because we need to understand our body.
(15:22):
So it is for a person, for one person, having a lot of mangoes may be suitable.
For another person, although it is mango season, mangoes may not suit.
You really have to integrate all of that together and then mindfully make choices in your food.
And when you do that, in terms of quantity, quality, or what you are eating,
(15:47):
then you will essentially live a healthy life.
So hopefully, when you don't have diseases, you will also be less stressed out.
So even your mental health will depend on what food you are consuming.
Because it's all interrelated. We can't separate our mental health from our
physical health or our spiritual health.
(16:07):
Everything is, you are containing everything. things so you should and must
work on all of these things.
Absolutely. I think that was brilliantly put together. A lot of insights there
because food forms a connection with our mind and what we eat gets reflected
in the way we behave and how we treat others or how we deal with things around us.
(16:32):
Very interesting part about food.
Ayurveda also tells about how you should cook food, which is not just the process.
Also, what emotional state you are cooking your food in will impact because
that energy will be carried down to your food.
So what happens when we go out and eat
if you're going out you don't know what
(16:54):
ingredients they are using how fresh they are suppose
you go out to a good five-star restaurant also
but what energy they are putting into the food you
you will not know yes you cannot control
it you know maybe i had a really bad fight
at home and i still have to go to work that energy
the food is going to carry not only that the
(17:16):
fruit that you eat the energy with which the
tree was planted even that is carry yes
it is so you'll be surprised to know
when ayurvedic when true authentic ayurvedic doctors
practitioners have to make medicines or they
take or they have to you know pluck a fruit or pluck a herb from a tree they're
(17:38):
actually supposed to pray to the tree before and ask for for permission to take
this branch and to use it for healing and take that permission that,
you know, I need this from you.
I will have to hurt you a little bit and I need to use it for somebody's healing.
Please give that healing energy.
And that's how, that is how the medicine is supposed to be made.
(18:00):
Now, I don't know how many people are practicing it honestly now,
but I know someone who is, and I'm glad to be associated with him.
But yeah, that is how I have learned everything.
And these are the things that completely took my breath away when I was learning Ayurveda.
That it is so deep and it is so simple if we just understand it.
(18:22):
So even when we, if you notice, sometimes, you know, I'll follow the same process.
My cook will follow the same process. But, you know, a child will feel like,
you know, mummy ke haath ka zyada acha lag raha hai.
Because the emotion with which I'm cooking for my child,
the book will have that emotion so it's
very logical and if you really think about it these
(18:44):
are things that you genuinely experience in your life you just
don't have time to probably take a pause and think
about this stuff but if you do then it will
start relating to you it becomes a part of how
you think so yeah i can
very much connect with what you have said and one of
the a very good example that comes to my mind is when
(19:04):
we talk about food and energy is prasad that
we get at temples or at various religious places
it's it's very ethereal in
in in taste yes it's very different from
the usual food that i could put folks or whatever
we eat maybe the best of restaurants the five stars
seven stars that we go and try nothing compares to
(19:27):
that kind of of taste and then the energy that's
that's where i feel that that was brilliantly put
together example i'm going to start using this example
absolutely thank you so much other thing which i want to understand from you
is spices and india is a land of spices different states have different spices
(19:49):
i want to understand the role of spices in our food system specifically when
we look from From Ayurveda's perspective.
How does Ayurveda look at spices in the way to treat, say, internal systems,
doshas within the body?
Right. So, the basic thing what Ayurveda says is that there are five rasas,
(20:13):
five kinds of, sorry, seven kinds of tastes or flavors.
Western has five, Ayurveda has given seven because Western doesn't recognize astringent taste.
So, we have seven. And what Ayurveda says is that every person needs all of
these seven in their diet.
In what proportion is different?
(20:36):
Where spices, so spices is, if I pick up one particular spice,
suppose I pick up a cardamom.
It is not that every spice is very heating in nature.
Some spices, spices essentially are heating, but some will be more heating.
Some can also be cooling and all of them you need to understand what taste it
(20:58):
carries and use it accordingly.
Having said that, if you really go by traditional ways and you cook local,
you cook as per prescribed in your, you know, in that locality,
in India, specifically in India.
Local recipes and traditional recipes were always as per Ayurvedic principle
(21:21):
and suitable for that place.
For what differs is body type to body type.
The proportion of the food will change. The proportion of how much carb or how
much sweet you need versus a different person need will change.
But essentially, the recipe and what ingredients are being put,
what spices are being used, because they were all local.
(21:42):
They could not import from America or somewhere else. So everything was local,
which means it was suitable.
And in what proportions to use was decided.
And most of the recipes, local recipes, you can almost blindly follow because they're suitable.
Suitable for that place where we where
(22:03):
spices come in for treatments also spices
are used a lot now spice most of
the spices carry agni they are
heating most of them yeah but some are cooling also like if i mix cardamom it
has a cooling impact it is not a heating spice but it is still spice so it does
so for example if i have to treat someone with acidity issues yeah right so So I need to...
(22:30):
Give them something which is which has to be
cooling yes if they have burning agree
right but if they don't have burning then
i don't need to give this cooling true to them
you know yeah so it is very
detailed and it is very customized for every situation there will be a different
(22:51):
spice most of see spices are most of the spices are locally available and spices
are something thing that we add to our food frequently and they are available
in every kitchen in an Indian household.
So using spices correctly becomes medicinal itself.
You know, you would have heard so many people, if you see our natural way of
(23:17):
cooking, like we use hing ka tadka in dal, right? Yes.
Hing is a digestive, dal is heavy protein, it helps.
Logically, it's making sense. you know so
if we follow our tradition and
we don't try to you know mess it up with our own creativity unless
we have some logic to it most of the recipes are suitable
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for that place for that location most
of the spices used are correct we not only use
spices in our food we use for especially
for home remedies i think spices play a
very important role because again like i said it
is available in every household and it is easily you
only have to just you know maybe make a
(24:00):
decoction or boil it make a kada now kada
again actually indian tea was always kada this yes chai milk tea came with britishers
and messed up our whole system and so i don't have tea and coffee now milk tea
and coffee now but i loved it when i had it and.
(24:22):
It's only now we realize that it's not an
indian concept we used to make tadas and there were
different spices were used for different seasons so
our morning drink was warm water with certain spices and what spices keeps differing
season to season and it's not that you know we can't have sweet if you want
(24:42):
to if you or your body type is tougher or you know your body type is cold and
you You need to increase the heat.
You will add jaggery to your tea. But if you need some cooling, then you must add sugar.
People just avoid sugar as if, you know, jaggery is a great replacement for
sugar. But they are both opposites.
(25:02):
Jaggery increases heat. Sugar cools you down.
When you need cooling, if you keep having jaggery, it's, you know,
it's going to mess up your system. This is lack of knowledge.
You are not trying to understand the logic behind it.
You are just following these either trends or
something you've heard somewhere everything is
not suitable for everyone understand yourself let's just
(25:24):
start with ourselves understand what we need
to do how we need to use our spices our spice is
even good for our body type you know some people are able
to digest even the spiciest of chilies
some people are not you can't give
both of them the same thing saying even if they're living in
the same locality you cannot give them the same
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food because it's not suiting their body type
they are different people so i think it all comes down to that spices again
play a very important role in our food and also in in home remedies i would
say that is where spices because it's always available and yes we must learn
(26:06):
how to use them to our favor.
And you also talk about each body type should choose their own spices or food
type that they should learn to identify.
And sweet, majority of people have sweet tooth of some kind.
I mean, even I love to have sweets many a times.
In the present context, if we look at packaged food or food that we order from
(26:31):
restaurants or hotels or any other place, typically most of these foods have added sugar.
That obviously increases sugar cravings and
most people are to multi diseases
including diabetes and being overweight or
obese and all of that so how from
ayurvedic perspective someone can look at
(26:54):
adopting or consuming sweets that
does not affect their body type
negatively and it's very difficult to completely take
them off sugar so as an
ayurvedic practitioner or rather nutritionist what
ayurved says is like i said earlier also
ayurved says that you need to have all kinds of tastes in your food in your
(27:21):
daily food not even like once a week so i these are all made because Because
you need what is holistic food? What is holistic health?
Everybody needs it. You know, everybody needs it. Yes, in different proportions. True.
Mindfully chosen. Definitely.
But to assume or to think that, you know, my body doesn't need fat or my body
(27:47):
doesn't need sweet is wrong.
Your body needs sweet. Your body needs fat.
Your body needs protein. Your body needs carb. Your body needs everything.
Thing all kinds of tastes also essentially if
if we have balanced doshas our body
actually gives us signal so when we are having sweet
craving it is because there is a need for
(28:07):
sweet but to understand that you
know is it because of imbalance or is it because my
body genuinely needs that sugar for energy
because sugar will give you energy right so
your body's like i said more deeply you
understand your own body you will start connecting with
it and listening to the signals more mindfully and
(28:30):
understand what it's asking for people exactly
so mindlessly that they don't
even know the difference between when they are feeling hungry versus
thirsty so many times you start eating and
what your body is asking for is water but you start eating you start to pick
whatever's in front of you and you just start eating so many times you eat not
(28:51):
because you're you're hungry but because you're bored you know out of boredom
or out of habit that you know you put on the tv and you feel like munching because
you've just it's like a muscle memory for you,
So, being mindful is very important. Let's come back to sweets.
So, different, again, when we come to sweets, Ayurveda is very specific that
(29:12):
preferably use less processed sweets.
Understand what kind of sugar is suitable for your body.
Of course, when we have sweets in the form of fruits or dried fruits,
those are healthy because those are the least processed. Having said that,
it's not like you cannot have jaggery or you cannot have sugar.
(29:33):
It is important that your body knows how to digest every kind of food.
But have it in moderation.
Understand whether your body type, you know, accepts jaggery or needs jaggery or needs sugar.
Understand that both these things are opposites. They will give you maybe similar
taste, but their impact is absolutely opposite in your body.
(29:54):
Understand that. And the only way to understand that is if you have mindfully
or at least try to study it, you know, and Ayurved principles are completely simple to understand.
And once you have understood, then you'll be able to make better choices.
And then, of course, there are other rules like having sweet during the Pitta
(30:15):
Kal, which is from, you know, morning between morning 10 to afternoon 2 o'clock.
That's when the fire in your
body as well as in the environment is really
high okay okay so when the fire
is high fire is basically let's if
your digestive fire which is required for you to digest the food even in the
(30:38):
atmosphere during that time the fire is high if you will notice the sun is also
at its peak between 10 to 2 yes so it's very logical right there is completely more heat Eat.
In that phase, when you have sweets,
your body will be able to digest it better. It is as simple as that.
So, if you like to have sweets, have it at that time.
(31:01):
That will help you. If your body will digest it, convert it into energy, good energy.
Choose good sweets, of course. But choose a good time to eat sweets.
Be controlled in your quantity. Don't overeat sweets.
Don't overeat anything. In fact, it's not just sweets. another
thing another simple thing that people can also follow
is that have your sweet before your meal and
(31:24):
this is this is we are used to having this again western concept of dessert
where it comes at the end of a meal but if you notice when you go to these traditional
places where food is served on banana leaf and you know yeah in south india
specifically even Even in Maharashtra, during festivals,
they serve the sweet before.
(31:45):
They place the sweet in your plate before.
And the way they place it, if they are following the traditional practices,
the way they place it is how you're supposed to consume it as well.
Now, what happens? From a very logical perspective, let's just understand why we are doing it.
If I'm, first of all, I'm coming for a meal because I'm hungry, right? Yes.
(32:08):
What is hunger? Hunger is my digestive fire has increased and it needs food.
So I'm feeling hungry. My stomach is giving me that signal that, you know, give me food.
I'm hungry means my digestive fire is at its peak. Correct?
Now, when my digestive, sweet essentially is little more difficult to digest
(32:30):
than a salad or than food.
Right? It is heavier to digest. Sweets are essentially heavier.
So when I eat this heavy when should I eat this heavy thing when my digestive
fire is at its peak at its peak so I eat it in the beginning of my meal,
clenches my sugar craving it clenches my it
satisfies my digestive fire and then when
(32:53):
i eat food afterwards i will eat according
to how hungry i am so what happens
is when we have a dessert at the end of our
meal because it is so tasty and because
we genuinely most of us have sweet is
the most pleasant taste so that's why most of us
have sweet cravings or a sweet truth tooth right
(33:14):
yeah because it's a very pleasant taste it's the
most pleasant taste you know we grow up a
child grows up for the first six
months only on mother's milk it is essentially sweet and sweet is the most nourishing
also so whatever nourishment your body gets whatever happiness your body gets
comes from sweet so don't ignore it you you're going to become a miserable person
(33:37):
and if you completely delete sweet from your diet,
you will not feel as healthy, you know.
So once I've eaten this sweet, if I eat it at the end of my meal.
Because it's so tasty, I will maybe have two rasgullas instead of one because I'm feeling good.
And at that time, I already have food in my belly. My belly is full.
(33:59):
I have food in my stomach.
My digestive fire is already engaged in digesting that and now I'm adding heavier things on it.
So putting more pressure on it so then it doesn't get
digested so easily and that is
how it starts getting converted into fat starts giving you health problems if
you just follow the simple thing about you know just having your sweet before
(34:21):
your meal that itself impacts your health so much you will start losing weight
only with this one practice i think that that's very insightful for people who are busy,
specifically people who work in different organizations.
It is very difficult for someone who is busy in the corporate life,
who's spending 12-14 hours in office, to be.
(34:44):
Track of the diet that they need to follow and especially
they with with so much of processed snack that's
available around it it is very difficult to track diet
how you look at at this
aspect of life for corporate people where they can address and try and identify
(35:05):
right kind of snacking item and i'm sure this will also be useful for people
who are not in corporate but but engaged in their own personal lives.
So see, Alok, it again comes back to just making mindful choices,
which you'll only be able to make if you have understood your body and if you
have understood food in general.
(35:26):
So I don't have to give you a specific diet plan or I don't have to give you
rules to follow that there is a certain lifestyle.
You make conscious, mindful choices out of whatever is available to you.
So if I say that you know home
cooked sweets are the best you don't have time to
cook at home what is the next best option you go
(35:49):
to a local halwai and you pick up local sweet freshly prepared hopefully and
in ghee instead of oil you just have to switch you are still eating sweet or
you are still taking that snack you because of this busy lifestyle you need.
What is what is fast food food that
(36:12):
just comes fast you don't have to cook it why is
junk food called junk you are yes you
are openly saying that you enjoy junk food how
can you enjoy putting junk into yourself it's the
sentence itself is not mindful at all if
you're calling something junk food why would
you put it into yourself yes if you
(36:35):
see it as junk if you don't see it as junk it's a
different thing but you are accepting and seeing it
as junk why are you putting it it's you
know you're not respecting your own body it basically comes
down to that you are harming yourself and it
is impacting your mental health it is impacting your physical
health so just making better choice i
(36:55):
i am hungry and i need fast food because
i don't have time have a fruit have dry fruits
it is available local things go
have even if you cannot if you are like
hungry for food go to your local vendor have a local food if you are in maharashtra
have a vada pav nothing wrong in it if you are that hungry but in that also
(37:18):
you can pick up healthier choices most of our charts if they are prepared properly
they have a lot of So like misal and all these things,
they are also healthier options than having a burger.
I'm not saying that, you know, vada pav is a healthy snack per se because it is fried.
Unless you are in rainy season when your body needs that fried,
(37:39):
that oil, then vada pav is healthy.
So understand when to eat. Pick up from whatever available choices you have.
Pick the better ones. Just put in a little bit of effort in picking because
if you tell me, I understand that, you know, a lifestyle has become like this. Nobody has time.
Nobody has probably time to cook also anymore.
(38:01):
But if you tell me that nobody has choices, I will completely disagree.
We have so many choices. It is just about consciousness to pick up the right thing.
It is not that you don't have choice. You have a choice.
You know you can you can go out
and instead of having a chat you can
have boiled corn that is better it will satisfy
(38:23):
your hunger so when you go to
a restaurant suppose you are going out for office parties and
you have to eat outside you don't have a
choice you go home you're not going to get dinner
because your dinner was out so yes you don't have
a choice now today you have have to eat at a restaurant you need
to eat chicken don't pick up the fried chicken ask
(38:43):
for a tandoori chicken you know yes it
has less oil it has been cooked in a
different process absolutely so make
that choice for yourself choices are available whether it
is a restaurant whether it is your home whether it
is the street try to choose local try to
choose whatever is most fresh freshly prepared you know instead of having a
(39:07):
burger at a McDonald's where they use frozen food which has absolutely no life
energy go to your local vendor and have bunty it will satisfy sure it is fresher
it is I'm not saying bunty is a healthy snack to have.
Don't deprive yourself of anything, whether it is sweet or any food item.
(39:27):
Because once you start depriving yourself, it creates misery for you.
Yes. It will create. I agree. Whether you like it or not, it will create that misery.
And because of that misery, you will not enjoy what you are eating.
If you're not genuinely enjoying and if you're not eating with a happy state of mind,
(39:49):
with the like emotional state while cooking
second is emotional state while eating and all
these things concepts are given in ayurveda we have
just not studied it neither did i did our school teach it so we have lost out
on it but if we were learning it if we understood it it's very logical you would
(40:11):
you would also see like when you have a big fight with someone close or you
You don't feel like eating even if you are hungry.
You don't feel like eating. Why? Because your emotional state is so disturbed.
Your gut is not ready to digest the food.
You don't feel like eating because if you eat at that time, you're going to
end up with a disturbed gut.
(40:31):
That food will not digest because that energy is disturbed because it's the
same energy that you are using for your emotions or for your digestion or for anything else.
Energy is one flowing throughout your body. and food
is what becomes that energy same energy consumed
for mental processes same energy consumed for
(40:52):
physical process when you're mentally disturbed your
body will not be able to digest food that is why you don't feel like eating
so you listen to your body and you don't eat at that time and when you settle
a little bit when then you eat you will not end up with a gut issue or you know
a disturbed bowel movement.
(41:13):
So we need to understand this at a deeper level.
The way food is cooked is very important because that's where the problem starts to happen.
If it's too deep fried or the kind of oil that is used to cook that food is
not good or it has been used multiple times, then obviously it does not classify
as a healthy food, whether you're getting it from anywhere.
(41:36):
It's something that people need to understand. Even if we eat something which we are craving for.
We obviously have it in moderation, but try and
identify a place which does not overcook it
or which uses right kind of oil
to cook or fry that particular food be
more mindful about what you are eating what you are
(41:58):
choosing that's about it it's not about depriving yourself
be wise or make your exercise make
your gut strong so that you don't end up so
that even if you do end up having something which
is not so healthy your gut is strong enough to digest it
and process it and not create toxins out of
it absolutely it's our job to
(42:20):
you know strengthen our gut also we should
be able to digest everything ideally absolutely and
since you talked about toxins my follow-up question is
on detoxification and today we see
a lot of detoxification diets and there
are a lot of smoothies that are being promoted as detoxification and
from whatever i have read and understood and researched is
(42:42):
most of these detox diets are bad they do
not work in long term people spend a
lot of money to get their body detoxed it's not very healthy way to look at
look at things or improve things how people can remove toxins from the body
by eating right kind of food that they should consume on day to day basis.
(43:07):
Interestingly if people are eating
the right kind of food the body will
not create toxins you will not need a
detox the best way to detox is not to add toxins to your body eat mindfully
your body will not create toxins for you you will not have to detox you will
not need detox drinks right yes as you keep adding toxins to your body you will
(43:32):
keep needing detox yes the best way to To avoid.
Essentially, if you are genuinely following Ayurvedic principles in diet,
in the way you eat, in the way you consume food, you will not need any kind
of detox because the diet itself.
And now Ayurveda is not only about diet. It is about lifestyle.
(43:53):
So Ayurveda specifically gives a Dhinacharya.
What is a Dhinacharya? How your day should go. very
difficult for people today to follow it because the lifestyle
has changed the way they work has changed job
timings all over the place but if
you choose to follow and if you try to do the best out of whatever has been
(44:15):
prescribed you will not need detox or you will not your body will not create
toxins very simple you know when you talk about toxins in ayurveda the concept of toxin is called AMA.
AMA is a much larger, broader concept than just toxin.
But toxin is also, so basically AMA is something that whatever you put in your
(44:39):
body which is unnecessary.
Uh yeah and and you're
not able to release it to either through urine
or through your bowel movement if you're
not able to release it it stays in your body and it becomes toxic for your body
it starts becoming either fat or it manifests in some other kind of you know
(45:02):
issue or disease or cancerous growth whatever true whatever you are putting
inside which is not required it's like Like, you know,
if you have a petrol vehicle and you put diesel also in it,
you're putting unnecessary things.
It's going to mess up the vehicle, right? Yes, absolutely.
That is what it is with your body also. If you're putting unnecessary things,
(45:25):
then these things are getting stored as toxins in your body.
Something as simple as when you get the urge to urinate and you hold it,
the moment you hold it in, it starts creating toxins in your body.
You are absolutely not supposed to hold, you know, urine or urge to go to the washroom, whatever.
(45:46):
Similarly, even when you feel that urge to eat something, if it is really hunger,
you can deprive your body because that also creates toxin in the form of gas.
That will still be toxin, right? Yes.
So you have to be mindful enough to understand. And these are very little things.
If you start practicing that, you know, eat when you are hungry,
(46:07):
go to the washroom when you get the urge.
Don't put your, when your body is telling you something, understand it and react to it.
So yes ayurveda also as medicinally
it gives a lot of you know recipes and depending
on what your health issue is we'll give you a detox
drink or something to follow as a lifestyle but
(46:29):
the purpose is never to clear the toxins and there are of course there are processes
there is panchakarma which is like complete detox of your body from all the
parts right so there are therapies there There are processes and these are all
the medicinal therapeutic part of Ayurveda, not nutrition.
But I'm just talking about it because of course there are solutions.
(46:50):
But the solution is not that you keep eating wrong and you keep going for a
panchakarma therapy every year. That cannot be your solution.
That is, your solution is only your lifestyle. When it comes to Ayurvedic nutrition,
if you're following it, you will not need this.
It is as simple as that. if you need you
go to an ayurvedic doctor he will give you 10 types of precautions
(47:12):
to eat to drink or to consume and
why do these not work over a long term
because yeah you you can't keep doing the wrong things and you know that's the
wrong way to live absolutely the idea and ayurved essentially the way it cures
diseases is by treating the cause not the symptom yes once Once you are balanced,
(47:37):
you need to follow a lifestyle so that it doesn't recur.
Otherwise, there's no point of chikitsa or cure. We have not cured anything.
We are just treating the symptoms and Ayurveda absolutely doesn't believe in
it. Absolutely. Absolutely.
Who are suffering from chronic diseases and say chronic kidney disease is one, diabetes is another.
(48:00):
There are a lot of health-related aspects that we see in our lives today.
What are the aspects that we need to take care of, specifically seeing food
as a medicine, the type of food that we should add for people who are suffering from CKD or diabetes,
(48:21):
that they can add to their food so that they start to see some positive results.
Because obviously they are deprived of a lot of food items sometimes.
Times they have been asked to stick to a restrictive diet so that their body
can recover and cooperate better to that kind of food.
From Ayurveda's perspective, what are the food items that you see are beneficial for these patients?
(48:48):
Right. So again, I would say that, you know, if I tell you certain food items
that you can include, how you are supposed to eat it, what is the condition
of that particular patient, everything is going to be different.
For me to say, for example, to say that, you know, if you're diabetic,
wake up in the morning, have methi seeds, yes, it will work for you.
(49:10):
But I don't know if you are a pitta body type and it's too heating for you, it might harm you also.
So one size fits all never works with Ayurveda because logically it's not making any sense.
So when you go to treat especially these autoimmune diseases,
which are essentially lifestyle diseases, you understand that the cause is your
(49:33):
lifestyle, you need to fix your lifestyle, you need to fix the way you eat.
The object of an Ayurvedic doctor will never be a solution that stops eating sweets altogether.
For some time, you might have to stop till your sugar comes into control and
then you come to a health state that your body is able to consume at least some
(49:55):
amount of sugar without creating any more harm.
That happen if you have made the necessary
lifestyle changes if you have added exercise if
you have added yoga to your practice you need to
be able to do this otherwise like i said if
you don't consume food like medicine you will consume medicine
like food your plate will have you know lots
(50:16):
of old people it's very disheartening to see they please
have one bowl of different different
colors of tablets you know medicines it's not
it nobody can feel good about it you know
it's not a nice way to live and i
believe the lifestyle science so we are trying to make you understand to make
(50:38):
conscious decisions i would not like to give you any particular food items because
as for the logic that i've only been talking about it's different for every
person and And lifestyle changes are the only solution to all these diseases.
Especially autoimmune diseases, or I would say any kind of disease.
In fact, physical manifestation of disease is always mental.
(51:01):
Even your mental health, it is very important. It is affected and impacted by
the kind of food you are eating, the kind of energy you are giving, putting into the food.
Why do we have this practice of praying before we eat?
You'll see a lot of ayurvedic practitioners and your
practitioners do it because it's very
simple you know yoke says that your body is
(51:23):
the temple which carries the spirit the eternal you know the higher energy and
like you keep a temple clean the way yeah same way you are supposed to keep
your body clean whatever you cannot take to a temple don't put inside your body
so why do when When I pray to food, to my plate,
what essentially happens is I'm putting a certain energy into the food.
(51:47):
I'm dedicating it as a prasad to the God which is inside me,
to the energy which is inside me.
So, when I consume this food, it becomes like a blessing to my body, right?
These things can completely change the way food reacts in your body, you know?
Absolutely. So that brings me to the penultimate question for today's episode.
(52:10):
What are the top three recommendations that you would have for everyone looking at food medicine?
So one is, of course, start by understanding yourself, please. It is a humble request.
Understand your body type and understand what suits you. Do not follow diets. Do not follow fads.
Do not follow what you watch on Instagram or YouTube because everything doesn't suit everybody.
(52:35):
So understand what suits you. Eat mindfully.
Select options which are suitable for you and don't overeat.
Eat when you're hungry. Don't deprive yourself.
Don't overeat also just be mindful about
what you are eating how you are eating it and is it
suitable so whenever you eat something please ask
(52:56):
yourself this question yes is it required for
me so if i want to follow something like oh
having soaked almonds in the morning is good yes
it is good yes do you need it yes do you need it
true if you don't need it don't eat it i think
that's important question to ask good for you yeah if it's
not good for you please don't it's not necessary that everything that's
(53:19):
good is good for everyone that's not it's not
so understand it be mindful about it that is
the only solution and make it part of your lifestyle so that you don't have
to follow any diet yeah you don't have to make rules for yourself deprive yourself
you're eating mindfully you can eat whatever you want to eat you know you don't
have to think So the last question that I have is more of a personal question.
(53:43):
What keeps you busy apart from work?
Apart from work, I don't have so much time.
Honestly, I do enjoy doing a lot of creative things.
I like to listen to good music, occasionally dance, maybe alone also.
(54:06):
I don't read much. I would love to read a lot, but I don't know.
Somehow I'm not an avid reader, but I write a lot.
So I enjoy, I do spend watching content,
but I very consciously watch content,
spiritual content on mindfulness and
things like that because it keeps me it does some
(54:27):
more positive thoughts and then i write yes exactly right about it i you know
kind of process it and other than that i don't get much time so to say so yeah
i try to do live mindfully and And weekends,
I try to do activities that enhance myself.
(54:50):
Again, this whole concept of, you know, a weekend, we just, instead of meeting
friends over a coffee or over a lunch, you know, we try to mindfully meet over
a trek or over a small, you know, something, some activity.
I think it helps. It is, it's a good way to connect and be more creative about,
(55:11):
you know, how you can connect with friends.
I'm not saying don't connect. i try to sleep on time
so i don't watch tv at night because honestly am
i i wake up very early i try to stick to
my meditative practices because it helps whatever
i try to or i'm preaching i try to first follow it i i wouldn't say i don't
(55:33):
have a lot of time but i all the time is consumed in either teaching or planning
the sessions or watching some you know spiritual content anything Anything that.
Consciously, I also surround myself with people who have a positive influence
on me and I do not surround myself with a lot of people.
(55:55):
This is something I do. So you will not find me at a party because I like to
have meaningful connections.
So I consciously stay away from meaningful activities.
That is how I spend my time. So I do meet friends, but maybe not in groups.
I meet one friend at a time. and take out good time for them,
spend good time with them, and connect and talk about everything in life.
(56:18):
Absolutely. Brilliant, Ikhshan. It's lovely to talk to you once again. Thank you so much.
Thank you. It was lovely as usual, and I also enjoy talking about things that I'm passionate about.
So grateful for the opportunity, and take care. Namaste. Pranam. Live mindfully.
That's a wrap. Thank you for listening to Fitness Pro Chat by Fit Aerobic.
(56:43):
We hope you had key takeaways from today's episode and learned something new.
Don't forget to download and subscribe so you don't miss the next episode.
And leave us a rating and review on your favorite platform.
In the meantime, reach out to us on Instagram at Fit Aerobic or through our
website, fitaerobic.com.
And remember, failures will only make you strong and better learned.
(57:06):
Take care, stay healthy, and live a fulfilling life with Fit Aerobic.
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