5 Basics of Balanced Eating

Food and Nutrition
 

                                           

5 Basics of Balanced Eating

By Thérèse Baran, August 14, 2013


Balance your diet—and your body—with these yogic rules for eating

• 1 Overview
• 2 Don’t Mix Cooked And Raw Foods
• 3 Top Your Salad Right
• 4 Use Oil, Not Vinegar
• 5 Avoid Ice-Cold Beverages
• 6 Eat Ripe Fruits

                                 

• Overview

  Keep your body balanced with foods that promote better digestion. Follow these 5 rules of Ayurveda—the ancient system of health and wellness—for the most balanced diet.
  

• Don’t Mix Cooked And Raw Foods

  Don’t put cooked and raw foods in the same dish. The hot and cold combination can lead to stomach cramps and discomfort.
  

• Top Your Salad Right

  Top cool salads with little bit of goat cheese or sunflower seeds instead of hot chicken. Though cheese is typically not recommended for kapha types, unsalted goat cheese is acceptable in moderation.
  

• Use Oil, Not Vinegar

  Try cooled, cooked bean salads dressed with oil, not vinegar. Though some sour foods can get your digestive juices flowing, foods like vinegar, that taste sour as a result of fermentation, should be avoided. These foods are believed to bring toxicity to the blood and ama to the body’s tissues. (Looking to pack on muscle? Try this Tower of Muscle Foods for guidance.)
  

• Avoid Ice-Cold Beverages

  Drink warm or room temperature beverages with your meal rather than ice-cold ones, which inhibit agni.
  

• Eat Ripe Fruits

  Eat raw, ripe fruit separately from other foods; have it in the morning or as a snack. It shouldn’t be under or overly ripe—at peak ripeness, it requires the least amount of processing from your body.