By Gerry Matthew Villegas (IAM Intern).
This week’s lesson was on Ayurveda’s science of healthy eating (Khorsand, 2024). In accordance with my last blog entry, this lesson allowed my transition into the Ayurveda dietary lifestyle to be much simpler than previously internalized. This additionally was made possible through a practitioner’s confirmation that I was a Vata and closely a Pitta, in which this lesson expanded on the dietary recommendations for each of the doshas.
For instance, the meal plate of a Vata should consist of 25% grains, 25% protein, and 50% veggies and greens. Moreover, a Vata’s meal schedule should integrate a small breakfast, a moderate lunch, a small evening meal, and small snacks. As shown in the photo above, the types of foods that Vatas should seek are those that are heavy, warm, and moist and have sweet, sour, and salty tastes (Dhanya et al., 2019). I noted that an innapropriate food for Vata’s was a raw salad particularly because a few months ago when I decided to attempt to eat healthier, I began to frequently eat salads for lunch (Ailawadi, 2018). However, Khorsand (2024) explained in this lesson that this actually harms Vatas as opposed to benefitting them. On the other hand, a healthy food for Pittas was a raw salad, which was a close second in my doshas, so this evoked partial confusion. I plan to follow up with a practitioner to clarify this conflicting finding and others that may arise when an individual has two or more predominant dosha typologies.
The following slide displays a breakdown of specific foods that I can consider incorporating into my breakfast, lunch, and dinner which is extraordinarily helpful for my practical application.
References
Ailawadi, P. (2018). “Ayurvedic Cuisine.” IOSR Journal of Business and Management
(IOSR-JBM). https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Pawan-
Ailawadi/publication/325102792_Ayurvedic_Cuisine/links/5c8211c8458515831f8f4380/
Ayurvedic-Cuisine.pdf.
Dhanya, S., Ramesh, N. V., & Abhayakumar, M. (2019). Traditional methods of food habits and dietary preparations in Ayurveda—the Indian system of medicine. Journal of Ethnic Foods, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s42779-019-0016-4.
Khorsand, A. (2024). The Science of Healthy Nutrition [Powerpoint Slides].
Institute of Ayurvedic Medicine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8-Od19XDHo&t=2s.
