Diet - The Facts to Know

The Diet

The common misunderstanding about diet is what to eat daily and how much?  The body is made in such a way that it can digest any edible food if taken in proper proportions is another theory which is misleading.  The fact is it is not how much it is not what you eat and it is not when and how much you eat that matters. It is how eat that matters most. Actually most of us do not know how to eat food. Only after we know how to eat we can concentrate on what to eat and then how much to eat and then when to eat.

The first and foremost requirement is emotionally how comfortable you are during food intake, what is your posture, what is your company. The body is more receptive to anything we take in only when you are emotionally fit and comfortable. We need to be in a pleasant state of mind, happy and never in a hurry while taking food. We must know how to enjoy food to the fullest. Take food with absolute acceptance and high regard. Even the most satvic food turns tamasic if eaten with bad temper or disturbed mind and vice versa. Finally as the common saying goes, the food that we have taken is what we are!

And the next most important physical requirement is proper chewing of the food. The most part of digestion happens while chewing… thereby reducing the burden on the stomach. Postural comfort is also of utmost importance to enable the stomach, intestines and other digestive organs to function normally. Quantity of water along with food also plays a crucial part in proper digestive process. Excess or too little water will not help good digestion. Optimum water intake should be ensured so that body does not feel uncomfortable in any way. Keep the body well hydrated and even water should not be taken in excess as anything in excess is a burden to the organs.

Then comes quantity. As per the popular Ayurvedic  prescription 1/4^th of the stomach should be empty. But how to measure it? The simple rule is if you feel energetic after food the quantity taken is not in excess and is optimum. The excess food taken requires stomach to function more vigorously which calls for excessive amounts of blood supply to stomach and reducing sufficient blood supply to some other organ in the body. The whole process of improper blood supply begins here and all the organs in the body are not kept nourished as required. Stomach has a very strong acid in it which can digest anything taken into it provided the food taken is not in excess which drastically reduces its efficiency.

With regards to what we have to eat: Now the recommendations come into picture. If all the above requirements are met with then we have time to bother about selection of food. Eat anything that you like genuinely and make practice of eating all kinds of food particularly vegetarian. But the simple rule again is moderation. Do not take anything in excess. Spices, salty, bland, acrid, sweet, fat anything can be digested if taken in moderate quantities and yoga practised regularly.

Shekhar TV

Vibronic Healer