Eating a well balanced meal is a good start to staying healthy. PHOTO/FILE
I have known for quite some time that
onions and garlic do not suit me. Not only does my mind race when I am
supposed to be having a restful sleep, but I sometimes even come out
with what appears to be a heat rash on my palms.
So
while I do indulge on occasion, I tend to steer clear of them — even
though I did not really understand why. And that brings me to Ayurveda,
the Indian system of medicine, and my New Year’s resolution.
As
a new year begins, I am never very sure about what I should be focusing
on health-wise. After all, there are so many areas a diet and lifestyle
can be improved.
This new year was slightly different
from others with the birth of my son two months earlier. He suffered
from terrible colic, so my diet was promptly given an overhaul to see
how I could improve his little tummy.
NEW YEAR, NEW THINGS
It
was during this time that I took to reading, not just more about
colic-causing foods and allergens and their effect on Baby Mukherjee,
but also other diets and how they affect the body.
The
one that pretty much jumped put at me was the Ayurvedic way of eating —
not because it was new or particularly exciting, but because I was
already doing so much of it already.
Like the omission of onions and garlic, many of the suggestions were ones I had adopted without understanding why.
Unlike
nutritional medicine which talks in umbrella terms about foods (e.g.
brown rice good, white rice bad), Ayurveda makes a distinction depending
on the kind of constitution you have (there are three).
For
example, if you have a kapha or more sluggish constitution, spices are
really great for you — to get you moving. Similarly, vigorous exercise
would also be good for this kind of person.
If you
have a more fiery nature like me (pitta), spices (and things like onions
and garlic) are likely to make you more aggressive. It is cooling herbs
like coriander and mint that would be beneficial here, as would a
calming yoga practice.
For vata types, the
recommendations are different once again. One of their recommendations
is to avoid salads and eat mainly cooked food — not a recommendation I
normally make in my practice unless someone is very ill.
PROGRESS?
It
has only been a few weeks of me being more mindful of pitta-balancing
foods, but the difference to me is apparent. Most noticeable is that I
am calmer and that allows me to get so much more done — essential with a
new baby in tow.
For most of us, when we approach
changes, or rather improvements in our lifestyles, we tend to do it the
same way: “I won’t eat chocolate”, “I’ll eat more greens”, or “I promise
I’ll go to the gym from next week”.
We tend not to
look at the whys and the reason certain adjustments can improve our
wellbeing. Rather we concentrate on weight loss.
So
this year, I will ask you to look at things differently. What are you
going to change that is going to make a lasting difference?
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