Ayurvedic Hangover Remedies

Ayurvedic Hangover Remedies

If you’ve ever indulged in alcohol, you’re going to have to the odd day where it just felt a little too much. Signs of hangover include dehydration, dizziness, blood sugar fluctuations, (cravings), fatigue, weakness, thirst, headache, muscle aches, stomach pain, nausea, sensitivity to light/sound, anxiety, irritability, body shakes, bloodshot eyes, increased sweating and palpitations and a lowered immunity.

Ayurveda defines the illnesses caused by improper consumption of alcohol as ‘Madatyaya’ or Alcoholism and broken down into 4 categories.

Read More

Benefits of Self Abhyanga (Ayurvedic oil massage)

Benefits of Self Abhyanga (Ayurvedic oil massage)

The sanskrit word sneha translates as ‘oil’, but another very deep and meaningful translation of this word is ‘love’. Self abhyanga (self massage) is a daily rituals that happens as part of our self care regime - It is essentially an act of self-love, self-care and self respect. It balances the doshas and cultivates optimal wellbeing.

It is believed that abhyanga invokes similar sensations to those we feel when one we are immersed in the feelings of love such as warmth, relaxation and safety.

Read More

Shad Rasa - the 6 essentials tastes in Ayurveda

Shad Rasa - the 6 essentials tastes in Ayurveda

When it comes to nutritional balance in Ayurveda, taste plays a key role. We look beyond the functional levels of nutrition and a balanced meal surpasses calorie-counting or balance of fats, carbs and proteins on your plate. Healthy balance in Ayurveda starts with attention to the 6 tastes.

Read More

Gandusha - the original 'oil pulling'

Gandusha - the original 'oil pulling'

Gandusha is traditional ayurvedic technique is an integral part of our daily morning cleansing rituals known as 'dinacharya' and now fashionably known as ‘oil pulling’. Regular cleansing practices can really help maintain alignment with our circadian rhythms and with nature, It really is the original 'self-care' guidebook and for me this IS healthcare at the roots by means of prevention as a cure. Taking good care of our sensory organs as part of our healthcare routine in ayurveda is just as important as dosha's, digestion, mental health and sleep.

Read More

Do your foods create digestive toxicity?

Do your favourite food combinations create digestive toxicity? Amongst many foods eaten together, if you particularly love fruits and yoghurt for breakfast then the answer I am afraid is yes.

No individual food is considered intrinsically good or bad in Ayurveda. However, it is said that ‘one man’s meat is another man’s poison’. What we really pay attention to in Ayurvedic nutrition is how foods are processed, how and when foods are eaten, how foods digest and if hunger for the food is there in the first place. When we soak, cook, cure, ferment, blanch, freeze or preserve we change the properties of foods in the processing of it. For example, the processing of butter to ghee, yoghurt to takra and soaking nuts, lentils and grains etc. make these foods much easier to digest. For me this is the art of eating healthy that is aligned to nature and our body.

What’s more Ayurveda suggests an approach for a correct diet based on the individual’s doshic constitution (vata, pitta, kapha) rather than focus on a breakdown of foods into groups such as carbs, proteins and fats and eating based on recommended daily allowances. Every food has its own taste (rasa), a heating or cooling energy (virya) and post-digestive effect (vipaka) and based on this every food can either balance us or imbalance us if we have too much for our mind body type.

Although I do encourage diversity in our diet, our gut was not designed for overly complex varieties of foods in any one meal, as it can over work our digestive system.  The focus of healthy digestion is to minimise ama (toxins) and keep our agni (digestive fire) nice and strong. Some food combinations are incompatible and subsequently disturb our digestive fire and causes toxins to accumulate because they require conflicting digestive processing.

Not only can incompatible foods remain in the stomach for several hours, combining foods improperly can cause indigestion, fermentation, putrefaction and gas formation. If prolonged it can lead to toxemia and lead to various other diseases.

When foods are eaten correctly or separately, they can aid digestion. Eating bananas with milk; egg with fish; radishes with milk, bananas or raisins; lemon with yoghurt; melons with any other foods; raw foods with cooked foods; fruits and grains, are some examples of incompatible foods. Some common western food combinations that get the thumbs down in Ayurveda include, berry cheesecake, salmon and cream cheese bagel, fish pie and many more. You can find a list of incompatible foods in my book Ayurveda – Ancient wisdom for modern wellbeing.

What happens when we eat for example lemon and milk? If you squeeze lemon in hot milk it causes the milk to curdle and this also happens in the stomach. The digestive enzymes required to digest lemon cause the milk to curdle due to the sourness. This type of constant digestive confusion can be the cause of many diseases, especially related to respiratory or skin conditions.

Enough to make you think about how you combine foods?