Some age-old practices are based on the idea that the earth has inherent wisdom – and one such system, Ayurveda, supports the principle of eating in accordance with Mother Nature.
“The Ayurvedic diet is a seasonal diet based on where you live and the foods available, but also on the needs of your body-mind constitution,” explains Susan Weis BohlenAyurvedic practitioner in Reisterstown, Maryland, and author of Ayurvedic Beginner’s Guide.
In Ayurveda, an ancient system of medicine from India, your physical and mental constitution correlates with your dosha (or energy) and the balance of this energy. Each dosha aligns with certain mind-body and self-care practices, food and nutritional habits, and more, which can be pursued to create and maintain a state of optimal health and well-being, through a review.
Simply put, there are three doshas, which are associated with five elements (air, water, fire, earth, and ether). Your dominant doshas are reflected in the way you feel, think, act and live. Basically, the characteristics of each dosha are the following:
- Vata Embodying the elements of air and ether, vata-dominant people tend to feel dry and cold and have slender bodies.
- Pitta A combination of fire and water, pitta-dominant people tend to be hot, feel angry, and are generally of medium build.
- Kapha Ruled by earth and water, kapha-dominant people tend to feel grounded and nurturing and can be heavier in build.
In the Ayurvedic diet, each dosha (or combination, if you don’t have a dominant dosha), has recommended foods to eat and avoid, according to each season, in order to stay in balance or regain harmony.
It’s not just what foods you eat that are important, but how and when to best feed your digestive system. If you eat according to Ayurveda, you can usually choose to eat three meals a day, making lunch the biggest meal and dinner the smallest. You can also dine earlier in the evening and avoid late-night snacking, to synchronize your meal times with your circadian rhythm, so your digestive system can rest while you sleep.
The focus of an Ayurvedic diet has a purpose: “Ayurveda [holds] that our gut health is the driver of our overall health,” says Laura LeadAyurvedic teacher in Coronado, California, and author of Ayurvedic cooking for beginners. “With optimized gut health, we [may] having more energy, mental clarity, stronger immunity and more comfort in our body.
Experts say the practices of an Ayurvedic diet — even the basic ones of seasonal eating and well-timed meals — could have many benefits. And while conventional scientific research on Ayurvedic diets, in particular, is limited, numerous studies support that its basic healthy eating principles are good for you.
Note: As always, if you have a chronic condition such as diabetes, be sure to consult your conventional healthcare practitioner before making any changes to your diet. With that in mind, here are some potential health benefits of the Ayurvedic diet, which can improve your overall health.
1. May Provide Digestive Relief for People With IBS
IBS, or irritable bowel syndrome, is characterized by abdominal pain and changes in bowel movements (diarrhea, constipation, or both), depending on the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). Life with IBS can make eating extremely uncomfortable, but there is evidence that an Ayurvedic diet can be a valuable tool for managing IBS symptoms.
A little study, published in a 2021 issue of Frontiers in Medicine, involved 69 people with IBS divided into two groups: one followed an Ayurvedic diet and the other followed conventional nutritional therapy, which included a low-FODMAP diet (a type of elimination diet that restricts foods that ferment in intestine and trigger symptoms). After three months, those in the Ayurvedic group saw their symptom severity scores drop more dramatically than the conventional group. (Overall, both types of diets have been shown to be effective.)
Because a low-FODMAP diet restricts many foods and may not be as intuitive to follow as Ayurveda (which simply specifies healthy, whole, and seasonal foods), researchers suggest Ayurvedic diets may be easier to follow and therefore potentially more effective for IBS. symptom management.
2. May Reduce Food Cravings
Mindful eating, similar to mindful eating, is another principle of Ayurveda. The idea is to sit back and relax while eating and fully enjoy the sensory experience of your food (how it smells, tastes and feels in your mouth), rather than eating on the go or rush through meals, says John Douillard, DC, certified Ayurvedic practitioner and founder of LifeSpa in Boulder, Colorado. Mindful eating is an approach that a meta-analysis of November 2019 Opinion on Obesity suggested may help with weight control and management. Furthermore, other studies found that mindful and intentional eating improved overall digestive function, although this research and the study below do not specifically address Ayurvedic diets.
Mindful eating can help people who have cravings issues (for example, foraging for food to improve their mood). A study published on September 24, 2021 in mindfulness which examined the effect of negative mood on food cravings found that participants who used mindful eating strategies accessed with a smartphone app were able to tune into emotional cues that informed their eating habits. An awareness of triggers has helped some people lessen or prevent cravings. But because a mindfulness practice must be maintained consistently over time, it’s ultimately not a cure for food cravings, the authors noted. It’s possible that mindfulness could also be the X factor in helping someone diet for weight loss because, as the researchers note, many people give up on diets because of uncontrolled cravings.
3. May Play a Role in Weight Loss
Research has shown that meal planning and eliminating snacking, practices essential to most Ayurvedic diets, provide strategies to reduce calories and lead to weight loss over time.
A little, unpublished study conducted by Dr. Douillard sought to explore this issue in greater depth. Eighteen people were told to eat three meals a day with no snacking and then, over the course of two months, to start skipping dinner. They skipped dinner for half the week, on average. Over the course of the study, people lost 1.1 pounds per week and reported improvements in cravings, fatigue, and mood. “The time of your meals [may] make a difference in your ability to digest, as well as burn body fat for fuel,” says Douillard.
Other studies support the general conclusions of his research. For example, a study on overweight or obese women found that those who ate a larger meal for lunch had greater weight loss, reduced BMI and fasting insulin after three months than those who ate a larger meal For dinner. If you eat most of your daily calories when you’re alert and active, you’re providing your body with fuel when it needs it, rather than at night when your digestive system is trying to rest and recover.
Moreover, past research over 200 obese adults who had been treated in Ayurvedic clinics in India found that those who ate according to their dosha had up to 10% weight loss over three months. That said, more research on the relationship between doshic diet and weight loss is needed to substantiate the benefits, and the study has not been replicated.
4. May Reduce Chronic Disease Risk
One of the tenets of an Ayurvedic diet is to focus on “living foods,” Plumb explains, meaning plant and plant-based foods, and the diet limits highly processed options. “[I] recommend eating fresh foods as often as possible as part of an Ayurvedic diet,” she says. (This includes whole grains, rice noodles and dried lentils, for example, or fermented foods like sauerkraut and yogurt, which are fine because that’s how these foods have traditionally been preserved and stored.)
“There is a state called sattvameaning clarity, light, peace and balance [in Sanskrit]says Plumb. The focus is on eating foods like this – nutrient-dense whole foods – as opposed to those that are rajasic (overstimulating) or tamastic (exhaustion), which includes “ones that are made by a company that are too salty, spicy, or fried, and end up depleting our tissues,” she says.
This approach is also generally recommended in conventional nutrition: Research published in May 2019 in the BMJ found that eating larger amounts of highly processed foods was associated with an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. These foods tend to be lower in nutrients and higher in sodium, calories, fat and sugar, which can contribute to poor cardiovascular health. Additionally, the additives in these foods, including in their packaging, can also pave the way for metabolic dysfunction and weight gain, the authors note.
5. May Help Balance Your Microbiome
According Brittanica, your gut microbiome is home to trillions of organisms, including bacteria and fungi. There is a delicate balance between these organisms in your microbiome, which plays a role in nutrient breakdown and immune system function, for example. Harvard Healthand multiple factors affect this living system, including your diet.
Some research suggests that spices and herbs often present in an Ayurvedic diet can promote the growth of healthy organisms and limit the growth of unhealthy strains. These include ginger and turmeric, as well as Ayurvedic herbs like triphala – an herbal formulation that contains Indian gooseberry, haritaki and bibhitaki, and has been used to improve constipation and reduce heartburn. inflammation, although human studies are needed to support this, according to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Overall, listening to your body through Ayurveda can prepare you for a more harmonious relationship with food, your body, and Mother Nature.