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| What does Ayurveda has to do with the food we eat ? |
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Thursday, September 6, 2007
It is attributed to Dhanvantari, the physician to the gods in Hindu mythology, who received it from Brahma. Its earliest concepts were set out in the portion of the Vedas known as the Atharvaveda (c. 2nd millennium BC). The most important Ayurvedic texts are the Caraka samhita and Susruta samhita (1st-4th century AD). These texts analyze the human body in terms of earth, water, fire, air, and ether as well as the three bodily humors (wind, bile, and phlegm). To prevent illness, Ayurvedic medicine emphasizes hygiene, exercise, herbal preparations, and yoga. To cure ailments, it relies on herbal medicines, physiotherapy, and diet. Ayurvedic medicine is still a popular form of health care in India, where it is taught in roughly 100 colleges, and it has gained popularity in the West as a form of alternative medicine. Ayurvedic foods are often links to it healing power that have medical-health benefits, including prevention and treatment of disease. Yet choosing the right combination of foods has never been easy. Food has a powerful effect on the mind, emotions, physical and immune responses of the body. The effect of a particular food has on a person's depends on many factors, such as body mass, allergy etc. The ayurvedic food system is base on a variety of rich fruit and vegetables (phytochemical). Other equally important foods are those that contain mineral, carbohydrates, protein and vitamins. Ayurvedic nutrition has always been based on the physiological, psychological and spiritual beliefs that in practice for a couple thousand of years. Using six tastes (sweet/sour/salty/pungent/bitter/astringent) to determine the right food for our body. Sweet Taste Sweet taste food is considered the most nourishing. They pull valuable vitamins and minerals from the body that are needed to assimilate the sugars. Food that fell under these categories is whole gain cereal, breads, pasta, rice, seeds, nuts, freshwater fish and poultry. Many fruit and vegetable are also sweet as well. Eating something sweet satisfies our immediate hunger, it increase the energy level in our body and also has a calming effect. But excessive use of sweet food unbalances the cycle, and leads to obesity and diabetes. Sour Taste Sour taste food that fell into these categories is buttermilk, sour cream, yogurt and cottage cheese. Most half ripe fruit are also sour. Consumption of sour food increases your appetite, it also increase your saliva flow and digestive juices. Over eating sour food will render our body more prone to aches and cramps. Salty Taste Naturally salty food such as kelp, seaweed helps cleanse the body and tone the adrenal glands, kidneys, prostate and thyroid gland. It contains potassium, iodine that helps balance sodium. Process salt, which devoid of it natural balancing elements, it increased retention of fluids in the body, thus affecting the kidneys, and put pressure on the blood vessel and all organ system. Overall it cause toxin to be retain in the body. Pungent Taste Most people don't like this taste. Food that are pungent include onion, brussels sprouts, horseradish, ginger, mustard, chili powder and rosemary. Pungent foods have high healing properties, it have the opposite effect from salty foods. It reduces the fluid content of tissues, improve breathing and improve concentrating power. Over consumption of pungent taste food will cause the body to be heaty, cause insomnia. Bitter Taste Bitter foods are normally associate will green leaf vegetable, tea. Bitter taste food aid digestion, increase metabolic rate. Astringent Taste Astringent taste is a sensation we no so fond of. Celery, cucumber, eggplant, lettuce, mushroom are astringent food. Fruit like apple, avocados, berries, grapes, pear and pomegranates are also astringent. Astringent Taste fruit are often associate with cleansing of body fluids, blood, lymph and sweat. It also prevent capillary leakage, helps heal skin and mucus membranes. Food have specific properties from the molecules they contain and this determines their effect on the body. Our innate wisdom guides us in selecting food and fruit that are best for our type. The best thing about knowing your food is that it will help you to overcome the tendency to grab what's most convenient and instead to stop and consider the impact a particular food will have on you. Author Info... Feel free to use this article on your website or ezine as long as the following information about author/website is included. Hypertension Prevention in Six Simple Steps. Author Info ... Feel free to use this article on your website or ezine as long as the following information about author/website is included. Hypertension Prevention in Six Simple Steps. http://www.hypertensionprevention.com Experience is a Great Motivator Copyright 2006 Ainsley Laing Do you know the saying, "we are all a product of our experiences"? If you have gone through a major life change or trauma which created the physical symptoms of anxiety or grief, you understand how physically uncomfortable this can be with stomach aches, elevated heart rates and such. Not only do these symptoms happen at the time; but often months or years later, a memory of the event can trigger these symptoms again. These are strong emotions associated with big events. Most of us like to avoid uncomfortable feelings whenever possible, right? I know I do. With big, life altering events, it's easy to recognize memories and events that "trigger" bad feelings. The emotions are strong and hence the physical response is strong as well. But what about lesser events? AND…What does this have to do with fitness? Ok, Ok...I'm getting there! Let's say you are a 35 year old man who was an athlete in High School. You developed a nice athletic body that has served you well. But lately, you are feeling like you look a bit "soft" and feel sluggish. So you decide that you should work on your body some. So, off to the gym. After all, you used to be very fit, so it should be easy to get it back. You enter the gym. It's big, busy and intimidating. But, the people working out don't look like professional body builders, just normal people. You begin to feel comfortable. Since it's your first time at the gym, you are assigned a Fitness Trainer to help you get started. You don't really need help, you tell yourself…after all you are in pretty good shape for 35. The trainer helps you to a treadmill and asks you to walk for 5 minutes to warm up. Instead of walking, you jog. It hasn't been that long since high school, has it? After that, the trainer takes you through a series of machines and free weights and explains how to use them and what weight levels to start with. The trainer then hands you your card record, wishes you luck and encourages you to ask for help anytime. Off you go… Now the moment of truth: you are worn out from the treadmill, and barely strong enough to do the weight levels and exercises on your card! After a few minutes, you feel so tired, discouraged and even embarrassed because all the people around you suddenly seem to be SO much stronger and more accomplished than you. The next day, you are too sore to move! An emotionally negative experience for sure. There are 2 ways to go here: you can tell yourself that it's just not for you. This way, you don't have to go back and face those negative feelings again. OR you can use those emotions to galvanize you to action! Fitness is what I like to call a "great equalizer". In other words, if you do it, you get stronger and better. If you don't do it, you will not get stronger and better. Like painting a house, each trip to the gym is another coat of paint. It gets easier both physically and emotionally with each workout. Very quickly, it feels good to be there. Then it feels good to see changes and get stronger. Then, you start seeking the next challenge with excitement. Not to mention that after a while, you start to make friends at the gym and feel a part of something. I have used a gym workout as an example, but the same holds true for the sports you choose to be involved in. You do it, you get the physical benefits. Getting the physical benefits leads to positive emotions. The positive emotions motivate you to repeat the experience rather than avoid it. Repeating the experience causes you to get fitter which brings more positive emotions…and so on. So, if you are having trouble starting or staying with a fitness activity, take a visit inside yourself to see if past experiences and emotions are holding you back. You might be surprised what you learn. ------ About the Author: Ainsley Laing, MSc. has been a Fitness Trainer for 25 years and writes exclusively Body for Mind eZine. She holds certifications in Group Exercise, Sports Nutrition and Personal Fitness Training. To see more articles by Ainsley visit http://www.bodyformind.com Simple Tips to Help You Lose More Fat in Less Time If you're looking to lose some unwanted body fat, this article will show a few simple, proven ways to shed more fat in less time. Drink more water throughout the day. Drinking water will help you feel fuller throughout the day. You will be less likely to be hungry and less likely to snack. Try drinking an 8 ounce glass of water or flavored water before you eat. The water should help you feel less hungry so you will eat less during the meal. If you are new to drinking water each day. Start out drinking one quart of water per day. Slowly increase your water intake up to a total of 64 ounces per day. If you are not use to drinking water and then you suddenly start to drink a lot of water, you can mess up your electrolytes. So start out drinking water slowly, just as you would start an exercise program slowly and slowly increase as the days go on. Did you know you can live for weeks without food, but only a few days without water? Water is essential to overall good health and helps to carry out the toxins from the body through the urinary tract and bowels. Eat five to six small meals each day. One good rule to follow is to fuel the body with something small and nutritious every 5 hours. This helps to keep your metabolism running smoothly and efficiently, which in turn helps your body to burn more fat. If you eat one or two large meals each day will cause your metabolism to slow down. Skipping meals will cause your body to hold onto stored fat as a defense mechanism. Your body becomes unsure of when it will get its next meal. The body will conserve stored fat in case of future calorie needs. Each meal should be a combination of high protein, carbohydrates and a dash of fat. Your plate should contain more fruits and vegetables than the protein or fat. A good rule to follow with how much protein to consume at mealtime is just enough that would cover the palm of your hand. Anymore protein than this eaten at one meal will automatically turn into stored fat, which is exactly what you doesn't want to happen. Never skip breakfast. You should eat a well-balanced breakfast within two hours of awakening from an 8 to 10 hour sleeping period. Good sleep is also important for good overall health and burning fat. Sleep that has some dreams throughout the period of sleeping is a good indication that you are getting the kind of sleep you need. High quality protein is found in foods like chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, milk and cheese. Quality carbohydrates are fruits and vegetables. Berries are especially good for antioxidants. Use breads, cereals and pasta sparingly and only as condiments. Take Fish Oil everyday. Cardiovascular workouts 3 to 4 times per week are highly recommended to help you burn fat and calories. The safest exercise for bones and joints is a moderately brisk walk, 30 minutes at least per session, and 3 to 4 times per week. Cardiovascular exercise increases your metabolic rate and helps you to burn more calories throughout the day even while you are resting. Anymore than 30 minutes per day of cardiovascular exercise can lead to overtraining. Weight train three to four times per week. Weight training helps you burn more calories and fat in the future. Weight training does not burn a sufficient amount of fat while you're training. It is important to add lean muscle to your body. You burn more energy/calories just to maintain that lean muscle tissue. If your body has lean muscle you will burn more calories even while sleeping. The more calories you burn, the more fat you lose. This is why weight training is an important part of a weight loss program. With all exercise programs, always remember to begin slowly. Reduce your calorie intake slowly. In order to lose body fat, you need to burn more calories than you consume. Begin by reducing your daily calorie intake by 150 to 300 calories. Start cutting out extras like butter, cream, mayo, sugar and high-calorie dressings or condiments. Try using spices to add flavor to your food. As you reduce your daily calories, you should be able to observe in the mirror what effect it is having on your body composition and shape. If you don't see results after a couple of weeks of reducing your daily calories, reduce than again by 150 to 300 calories per day. A slow, methodical drop in calories will allow you to find the number you need to keep losing fat without sacrificing lean muscle tissue. If you eat too few calories, your metabolism will also slow down and you will stop adding lean muscle tissue. Over time, you will fine the number of daily calories you need to keep losing body fat without losing lean muscle tissue. Author: Connie Limon. Please visit us online at: http://www.selfimprovementbook1.com We are an article and resource directory all about self improvement. Our mission is helping you overcome the difficulties of life and re-making these challenges into strengths. Sign up for our bi-weekly newletter. This article is FREE to publish with resource box. |
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