Doctor, actually the mistake is mine. There have been a number of weddings and celebrations in the last month. We constantly had a large number of visitors and family coming in. As a result, we have had delicious dinners almost every day. During this time, I couldn’t control my tongue. I ended up eating till my stomach was full, and now I’m paying the price for it. I’m frequently experiencing problems like sour water in my throat and acidic burps.
Makarand was talking to me with a frustrated face. “It’s okay, sometimes we eat such kinds of foods,” I said. “I understand that doctor. But can you please suggest what I should do henceforth to avoid such troubles? Sometimes, we feast on sumptuous meals during functions. However, how much food should we consume on normal days to avoid such issues?” Makarand asked.
Makarand had brought up an important diet-related issue. I’ll now discuss Makarand’s problem before moving on to our next topic. After talking about digestive capacity and meal timings, the next crucial subject that we will now discuss is the quantity of food in our diet.
To understand this better we should first take a look at our digestive process. After consuming the food, it enters our stomach. In order to digest the food, it is necessary to break down the food into smaller particles. Therefore, the food is churned and ground in the stomach. Later various digestive juices get mixed to these small particles and then they are digested. In this way various processes like churning, breaking down the food, mixing digestive juices are performed. In order to complete this process, it is necessary to have sufficient space in the stomach. For example, while cooking, if the utensil is filled completely till the brim, we cannot freely stir, sauté and churn. Also, if the amount of food is more, more energy is required to cook it properly.
Also, it takes more time to cook the food. Therefore, while cooking, we always keep some part of the utensil empty. The same thing applies to our stomach also. If our stomach is completely full then it is very difficult for the organs to perform the activities such as churning and digestion properly. This adds stress on the digestive power. It not only delays the process but there is also the risk of food not getting digested properly. Therefore, it is important to keep the quantity of meals limited.
‘Limited’ means exactly how much? The answer to this question will vary from person to person. We have seen the types of digestive power. We have also seen that the quantity of food in our diet changes according to that. However, our ancient authors have analyzed this question and described the answer very beautifully.
We should not consume the food to the full capacity of our stomach. Rather we must consume food up to 3/4th of this capacity. The 1/4th part should be kept empty. This empty place actually helps to complete all the activities related to digestion properly. Therefore, it is necessary for each of us to think about our diet capacity. It is possible to put this into practice. E.g. if four rotis can fully fill the stomach of a person then, he should consume 2.5 to 3 rotis. In this way we can find out how much 3/4 means by studying our diet. Then we can easily decide the amount of food in our diet. So, when we say ‘limited diet’ we can come up with the correct answer according to our own digestive power. In short, we should always eat two bites less than our full capacity. Whenever we finish our meal, we should feel like we’re still a little hungry.
In Marathi we always say that “Savkash Jeva” means we should eat slowly. At the same, another important meaning of ‘ Sa-Avkash’ which means that we should keep a little empty space remaining upon completing our meal.
Dr Mayuresh Aagte
Note : Please use all of the foods/medicines mentioned in this article after consulting with your doctor and taking into account your age and health.