Everyone knows the importance of including protein rich foods in their daily diet. What we are not made aware of by nutritionist and even clinicians is the wrong approach towards this powerful nutrient. We roughly require 0.8 gm of proteins per kilogram of our body weight. But do we require as much for our daily consumption?
Let’s have a look at the most common source of protein rich foods in our daily Indian diet for example. The list includes all kinds of Daals, Pulses, Chana, Rajma, Soybeans, all kinds of meat, seafood and eggs, yoghurts etc.
From the point of view of Ayurveda, these foods are heavy to digest and require a good digestive fire to digest and assimilate.
I have noticed in my clinical practice that people are blindly following diet rules and prefer to go by numbers (how much protein) given to them by their dietician / nutritionist. It is observed that if you don’t improve your overall Agni or the digestive fire, the unscientific consumption of these type of food intake dulls the digestive system and creates problems like acid indigestion, slow digestion, constipation, fatigue, difficulty in sleeping and even low mental energy.
What you should do to prevent such situations?
1. Understand your Constitution known as the Prakruti before planning on the dietary requirements. Eg. Kapha constitution people may not require a protein rich diet as compared to Pitta Constitution.
The main source for finding a precise constitution (prakruti) is Nadi Pariksha. Ravana Nadi Pariksha is a powerful diagnostic tool used by Siddhas to read a person’s vibratory frequency of body, mind and soul. These frequencies are expressed through doshas in various organs, tissues, chakras as well as Prakruti and Vikruti.
A well trained Nadi Vaidya can read the state of health of 12 organs, tissues and their functional efficiency in the form of their energy. Also, the health of chakras and their subtle positive effects on the body can be read successfully. It is a wonderful science which not only diagnoses but also guide and helps to give a remedy based on the conclusion, which also includes a perfect diet program that can be followed by an individual for a lifetime. It further leads to developing immunity, maintaining body-mind-spirit balance.
2. Observe your hunger and make sure that you are not emotionally eating. When you are not hungry, consume simple foods.
Make an effort to be aware of your physical and mental energy and plan your meals accordingly. Āyurveda says that food is a source of energy. All human beings are deeply connected with food. The food is the easiest and the quickest way to emote with. Whenever we are happy, we celebrate with food. When we are sad or emotionally low, we grab food that can quickly satiate us. But at the same time, we take our food for granted and assumes that our body will digest it anyhow.
All the religions in the world teach us to offer our prayers to the Almighty for giving us food. It is said that our digestive fire or Agni is our God and eating food is like an offering to him. But many of us prefer to watch TV, check our mobiles or gossip while consuming our meals! By doing so, we are killing the whole intent of consuming food. This can lead to poor secretion of digestive enzymes which is responsible for good digestion, absorption and assimilation of the food. The metabolic rate can go down leading to slow digestion, weight gain, constipation, lethargy, acid indigestion and so on.
Taking up Vedic counselling will help to gain control over emotions and bring balance between the mind and body. Vedic counselling is applying the knowledge of Vedic wisdom to help you to cleanse your mind and gain control over your emotions. Thus, you can attain a higher state of consciousness. Vedic counselling helps you to attain higher productivity in your life too.
The essence of Vedic counselling is a process of self-discovery. By enabling you to dive inward, you are empowered to visit your core. Thus, when your core is nourished you can lead a meaningful and fulfilling journey in this lifetime.
As an Ayurvedic counsellor for mental health, we can assist you in bringing clarity and balance on an emotional and energetic level. Not only will we help you to heal past issues to facilitate release and create a safe and protected space for you to open in, but we also empower you with follow-up tools to do all of this yourself.
3. Certain protein rich diet like Black Daal / Rajma / Chana/ Soybeans, when unscientifically consumed lead to bloating, hyperacidity etc.
It is important to note that a Vaidya (Ayurveda Doctor) can guide you to understand what you can eat based on your psycho-physiological constitution (prakruti), season, the environment in which you are brought up, profession etc.
He or she may suggest you Panchakarma procedures to enhance your digestion and pacify the mind. Most of the therapies in Panchakarma are designed in such a way that they not only release toxins accumulated due to various reasons like wrong eating habits etc but also help in releasing a lot of unwanted emotions and thoughts which have accumulated without our knowledge.
4. Do not consume a protein rich diet at the night.
Ayurveda suggests that everyone must maintain their energy integrated with nature. The biggest source of energy in nature is the sun. When the sun is at its peak, our physical energy, our digestive fire and our mental energy is also at their peak. So, Ayurveda suggests that you should take your largest meal of the day at this time. When the sun sets, our emotional and physical energy also starts going down. Some of you must have noticed that you get an episode of dullness or a bout of ‘feeling low’ at this time. Ayurveda suggests that we should take dinner during this time or within one hour after the sunset and should go to sleep within three hours after dinner.
Ayurveda has firmly specified that if you follow this lifestyle, there are chances that you may not fall sick at all or even if you fall sick you can recover much faster. Please understand that even for medicines to go in the body and work; it requires a certain environment in the body. There are no quick fixes when it comes to your health and immunity.
5. Make sure that dinners should happen around 7:30 PM and it’s the lightest meal of the day.
Foods that are lighter on your digestion like Khichdi, lentil soups (these are protein rich foods) should be consumed at night and there should be a gap of 2-3 hours between the meal and the sleep. This practice will give enough time to our system to assimilate and digest the food. Having early dinners also help to reduce acid reflux and promote sound sleep.
Gentle pranayama practices (before hitting the bed) are recommended for the person struggling to sleep. The only criteria are one should take early dinners. Pranayama should be strictly practised under the guidance of a trained Vaidya.
Our faulty perceptions and thoughts influence our bodies. There are clear references in classical texts of Ayurveda about the connection between various emotions and organs. Eg. Anger with the liver, fear with the intestine, sorrow and sadness with lungs, and so on. When you control your thought wave you can go beyond the thought itself. Thought can form a barrier, an obstacle, or a block. Pranayama is one of the ways to go beyond. It is the fourth limb of ashtanga yoga and Ayurveda has accepted the philosophy of yoga for healing purposes.
Pranayama practices for overall health have great therapeutic value. These practices help to heal the deep-seated scars in the mind by quietening and stilling the mind. The body starts responding positively and starts bringing harmony within which initiates the healing process.
Do not blindly follow free advises given in newspaper / social media. There is nothing called “one size fits for all”
A meritorious alumna of the prestigious RA Poddar Ayurvedic College with profound spiritual understanding. She is trained in Nadi vidya by a strict guru-shishya lineage and has clinical experience with more than 15 years. An excellent orator who has been invited to various national and international platforms that empower audiences with the knowledge of Āyurveda. Dr. Rushalli Nair is the first-ever lady Vaidya who has been invited to Swaminarayan temple to offer her services to Sadhvis and devotees.
Ayurveda suggests that everyone must maintain their energy integrated with nature. The biggest source of energy in nature is the sun. When the sun is at its peak, our physical energy, our digestive fire and our mental energy is also at their peak. So, Ayurveda suggests that you should take your largest meal of the day at this time. When the sun sets, our emotional and physical energy also starts going down. Some of you must have noticed that you get an episode of dullness or a bout of ‘feeling low’ at this time. Ayurveda suggests that we should take dinner during this time or within one hour after the sunset and should go to sleep within three hours after dinner.
