People all over the world suffer from digestion problems such as the pain, gas, bloating, constipation, indigestion, heartburn, and heaviness of the stomach after eating. Ayurveda offers simple ways through which we can improve digestion. Mindful eating Ayurvedic way helps to deal with the digestive problems.
The act of eating is very important. The process of eating is important for the development of our mind as well as our physical health. When you sit down for eating food, the stomach is in a relaxed position and our mind is on the taste, texture, and smell of the food. This helps to improve digestion.
Another Ayurvedic way of improving digestion is to stimulate the Agni or digestive fire before we start eating. If you have weak digestive Agni, you may suffer from fatigue after eating. Therefore, Ayurveda says to eat a one-inch piece of fresh ginger with a few drops of lemon juice and a few pinches of salt on it before eating food. It will activate the salivary glands and will produce the necessary enzymes so that the food is easily digested in the body.
If you have an overactive Agni, which may cause too much internal heat and acid, you should avoid the ginger and lemon juice combination. You can try the pomegranate chutney instead to improve your digestion.
Ayurveda recommends avoiding cold drinks at meals and ice-cold foods. If you drink iced water before meals, it will extinguish the digestive fire. Even cold juice or milk is also not good for your digestive system. It can cause bloating. Juice and milk kept at the room temperature are good.
Also, it is not recommended to eat cold or frozen foods. You can get temporary relief from the heat in your stomach, but the imbalance will still be there. Therefore, it is recommended to eat slightly cold food.
Another recommendation for eating the food ayurvedic way is to deal with the time of the day that you eat your food. If you eat late at night, the food is not properly digested and you will feel sluggish and weak in the morning. The best time to eat food is the time when the sun is strongest that is between 12 and 2:00 PM. The lunch should be the largest meal of the day. Dinner should be light and should be eaten before 8:00 PM. Late night dinner will interfere with your sleep. If you eat after 10:00 PM, the body will start producing toxins from the food and you will feel tired and weak the next day.
Another tip to keep your digestive system function properly is to drink a fresh yogurt drink during or after the meal. Yogurt contains lactobacilli that is a necessary bacterium and helps in proper digestion of the food. It also helps in reducing gas and bloating.
It is important to eat natural foods instead of processed foods for healthy living. Products sold in the grocery stores contain genetically modified ingredients or synthetic ingredients that can cause many health problems.
Avoid food fads. There are fad diets that come up with the media hype on new research on certain foods, drinks, etc.
Use natural spices in your food as they add flavor and aroma to the food. Some spices also have therapeutic value and help in proper absorption and assimilation of the nutrients in the body. According to Ayurveda, your meal should contain all six flavors: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, astringent, and pungent.
