Month: July 2024

Doctor, I only eat at home. I don’t eat outside at all. Even at home, our meals are regular. We eat all the proper kinds of food. In spite of this, I experience problems such as a tight stomach, gaseous feeling and indigestion. Why is this happening? There are a lot of patients complaining about such problems. Actually, there is nothing wrong with the food or the dishes they eat. They are still facing problems related to digestion. In such cases, we need to consider their dietary habits. We also need to study their basic Prakruti (basic body type in Ayurveda) and eating habits. The outside rutu(season), the region we live in, the way the food is cooked, the color and appearance of food also need to be taken into consideration. All these factors affect our digestion and the nutrition we get from the food we consume. Thus, after talking about the science behind diet, we are going to discuss the factors that affect our diet.

Many people do not leave a gap between meals. They are accustomed to eating something after their meal, before the allotted amount of time has passed. By then, the food that was consumed first is not even fully digested. Due to this new stress on the digestive system, neither the first nor the present food get digested. Therefore, the problem of indigestion starts even if you are consuming the right food. It is therefore recommended to eat the new food only after the previously consumed food is digested.

There are certain indicators that can be used to confirm whether the previously consumed food is digested. These include a light stomach, feeling enthusiastic, a good bowel and urine movement. Also, the burp that occurs sometime after the meal should be free from any unpleasant odour. Symptoms like actually feeling hungry and thirsty appear only when the first food is digested properly. In fact, it requires three to four hours of time to generate such symptoms.

Therefore, it is compulsory not to consume any food between this suggested minimum time between meals. Even after this, if you feel hungry, do not eat as much to fill your stomach. If you are unable to control hunger, it is recommended to consume fruit or breakfast foods like Pohe and Upma in less quantities. If you feel hungry immediately after a proper meal, then most of the time it is just fake hunger. Therefore, everybody should consume the food only after making sure the previous meal has been completely digested.

Just as it is not appropriate to consume food one after the other, it is also not good to eat food at the wrong time, in excess or in less quantities. Many people have the habit of eating the meal just because it’s lunch time or dinner time. Also, many people avoid the meal even if they are actually hungry, giving excuses like heavy workload . Both these cases are harmful for our health.

We should analyze our daily schedule in order to bring regularity to our mealtimes. Therefore, we must manage our mealtime considering the time when we feel hungry, our workload and the available time. We have already discussed this in our Prime Lunch time article.

There are a few specific foods, which when mixed and consumed are considered harmful for our health. These include dishes mixing fruit with milk such as fruit salad, Shikran(milk with banana), milk and fish and honey mixed with hot water. When we mix these foods, it can create properties that are harmful to our health. Consuming such foods for long periods of time can create diseases like fever, skin diseases, swelling on the body and piles.

Therefore, it is advised that rather than mixing such foods, it should be consumed separately keeping sufficient time interval. Many people have the habit of consuming hot and cold foods together or one after the other. Habits such as consuming coffee and ice cream together, drinking cold drink or buttermilk after tea are very harmful for our health. Many a times we unnecessarily drink water before tea or immediately after drinking tea.

When we consume two different foods having totally opposite properties, it can create a harmful mixture when it enters our stomach. This is very harmful for our body. This gradually starts creating diseases. Friends, all of us are doing such things unconsciously. The purpose of this article is just to make you aware of it.

Dr Mayuresh Aagte

Sangeeta’s face wore a tired look. She sat in front of me and started narrating her list of complaints. She was sick and tired of the various issues she was facing such as indigestion, burping, burning sensation in the abdomen, acidity and vomiting. She had been facing these problems for the past two days. When I heard that this was the case for the past two days, I asked only one question, “Sangeeta, it seems you have rigorously fasted for Ashadhi Ekadashi.” She nodded in agreement. “Doctor, as  I was fasting that day, I had eaten a little more of the fasting foods. Then, why am I facing these problems even after eating fasting food?” she asked. To answer this question, I had to explain to her the scientific meaning of ‘Upwas’ i.e. fast, and the expected method of fasting. We are now going to look at ‘What exactly is fasting’ and the diet to be considered.

Diet is our basic necessity. However, rather than consuming it according to our need, we treat it as ‘Supplying food that fulfils our craving!’. This habit of overeating leads to different kinds of diseases. It is important to eat beneficial food in the right quantities to avoid problems like obesity and Diabetes. Hence, we need to exercise a lot of control over our tongue and cravings. 

The concept of ‘Fasting’ was created to achieve exactly this purpose. We generally eat the way we like. However, it is expected to control this craving on days like Chaturthi, Ekadashi and follow ‘Langhan’ or fasting completely. This complete fasting or ‘Langhan’ has a lot of importance in Ayurveda as it has many benefits. It helps avoid stress that is generally given to our digestion power. It provides rest to the digestive system. Not eating any new food gives our body time to digest the previously undigested food. We feel lightness in the body. It makes us feel enthusiastic and inspired. Complete fasting(‘Langhan’) helps to prevent diseases caused by overeating. Therefore, this tradition of fasting(‘Upwas’) was created to get all these benefits. Keeping in mind the religious mindset of Indians, this science was conveyed to us in the name of ‘religious practice’!

To get all the benefits of fasting, we are expected to eat in less quantity on that day. Also, the food we are consuming should be easy to digest. Those who cannot do strict fasting can follow this kind of fasting. They can eat food that is easy to digest during the day.

The real question is what kind of food to eat during fasting. The fasting foods that we eat such as Sago(Sabudana), Potato, Yams and Peanuts, are heavy to digest. Also, foods like Vari(Bhagar), Potato chips, Sabudana Vada and the above mentioned foods increase acidity(Pitta). In addition to this, we tend to eat more than we usually do, on the occasion of Ekadashi. In Marathi we call this ‘Ekadashi duppat khashi’. Therefore, a lot of people face the same problems like  Sangeeta after fasting. Amidst all this, the main purpose of fasting is lost.

Basically, it is difficult to track how this rule is set that one should eat this kind of food while. Maybe, these foods have been added to the menu to provide a change from our regular food. However, these foods do not provide the health benefits expected of fasting. Foods like Rajgira are an exception to this. That is why we should change this existing method of fasting. Foods like Rajgira, Nachni (Ragi), Puffed rice (saalichy Lahya), Moong dishes and Phulke, which are easy to digest, should be included in the diet, as this is very important for maintaining our health. 

The main purpose of fasting is to give rest to the stomach. Therefore, whenever overeating happens, there is no harm in doing ‘Real’ fasting. We do not have to wait for days like Chaturthi and Ekadashi. Although fasting is beneficial for our health, frequent fasting is also not good. It creates problems like weakness, fatigue and loss of strength. We have seen examples of such problems caused by continuous fasting during Navratra and Shravan. It is better to do it according to one’s own capability. Just as fasting helps in maintaining health, it is also used as a treatment for many diseases. This is called ‘Langhan Chikitsa’ in Ayurveda. It is beneficial in treating diseases like fever, indigestion, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and obesity. However, it is necessary to seek medical advice for such kinds of diseases. For both the sick and healthy, this scientific practice is useful.

This is not the platform to present the spiritual side behind fasting. However, real fasting is absolutely capable of keeping the body healthy, which is a necessity for spiritual practice.

Dr Mayuresh Aagte