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Ancient Ayurvedic texts explain clearly how to build natural resistance to disease. Our body has three basic organisations – vata, pitta and kapha. Vata is the principle of movement; pitta is the energy of heat, digestion, complexion and intelligence – pitta has the important function of transforming food into energy and thus forming our bodily tissues. Nourishment, nutrition and all metabolic activity is governed by pitta. Kapha is the building blocks material for the body. These three doshas are governing our unique psychophysiology throughout our life. Each of us will have the three doshas in a unique combination, which gives rise to our natural constitution. Our job is to keep the different doshas balanced.
However, we are constantly bombarded by our outer environment, diet, lifestyle, seasonal changes, the type of work we do, our daily routines, change in relationships and emotions. These changes are constantly bombarding our body. Excessive movement can cause the vata to go too high, as we engage in too much exercise, running, cycling; vata can also be affected by listening to loud music, or staying up late at night, missing meals and so on. Pitta can go our of balance in the summer season with too much heat or when our diet is over spiced with chilli pepper, or laden with tomatoes or cheese, or if we eat too much fried foods or fermented food, or when we indulge in too many sour or citrous fruits, leading to acidity and burning sensations in the body. Too many heavy foods can lead to a kapha imbalance, such as eating too much wheat, dairy and meat products, indulging in rich foods such as desserts and ice cream, coupled with too much inactivity. These factors can make the doshas to go out of balance which causes diseases related to the out of balance doshas. Ayurvedic texts list 20 disease related to kapha dosha, 40 diseases related to pitta dosha and 80 diseases related to vata dosha.
How can we maintain our immunity? In ayurveda every individual has a unique way to maintain their own immunity. What is the method to maintain strong immunity? The immunity or the biological strength resides in your gut – it is your digestive fire called agni (translates as ‘fire’). In fact, there are a total of 13 agnis in our bodies – the major one is in the gut, which controls all the other agnis. Five agnis reside in the liver which transform nutrition into elements that the body can utilise; another 7 agnis reside in the 7 bodily tissues, translated into English as plasma or circulatory fluid, blood, muscle, fat, bones, bone marrow and reproductive tissues. According to Ayurveda, it takes the nutrition 28 days or a moon cycle to be fully incorporated into all the tissues, the final product of digestion is eight drops of ‘ojas’ which reside in the heart and then circulate through the body. These ojas bring us immunity, a sense of satisfaction, patience and love. Hence immunity and a peaceful mental state are inextricably interconnected and are a result of a good meal, properly digested! This is the secret to longevity in Ayurvedic teachings. Anything that causes an imbalance to our agni, will lead to lower immunity. Therefore, all treatments in ayurveda include digestive herbs to bring our digestive fire into balance. Best meals are cooked, moist, light meals that incorporate the six tastes: sweet, sour, salty., pungent, bitter and astringent. How is this achieved? Through including in a meal a variety of vegetables, pulses and grains, cooked with added spices and herbs. Cold drinks and cold foods negatively affect our digestive fire. Instead warm herbal teas made with carminative spices such as cumin, cinnamon, cardamom and ginger can stoke the digestive fire.
Lastly, there is the age old practice of taking ‘rasayana’ or rejuvinative herbal preparations to maintain immunity and strength. Herbs such as ashwagandha, amla, shatavari and guduchi are taken AFTER the person’s digestion has been balanced. The first component to any effective rasayana therapy is purification of the body and channels through a series of body purification techniques. Afterward, herbal formulations are administered to support rejuvenation. We recommend that you consult an ayurvedic practitioner before taking rasayana treatments.
A safe practice anyone can do is to cook a simple meal at home using fresh ingredients to enjoy with friends and family. Here are some ayurvedic tips to make sure that your meal is not a strain on your digestive fire and leads to good ojas and immunity:
- Take cumin and honey remedy before the meal (see recipe here).
- Avoid heavy ingredients such as hard cheese, yoghurt or too much oil (a little oil is recommended instead of no oil).
- Use some herbs and spices.
- Limit the use of sharp ingredients such as chilli powder or garlic, using them sparingly, and add softer spices such as cumin, cinnamon and ginger.
- Try to cook without tomatoes, which are acidic and disturb all doshas; instead you can use lime juice for the sour notes along with a few tablespoons of coconut milk to add creaminess.
- Avoid incompatible combinations such as fruits with the main meal, fruits with milk or yoghurt, meat/fish with dairy products.
- Avoid raw foods as they are too difficult to digest.
- Take time to eat with attention and avoid over-eating.
So many of us are living hectic lives, rushing from one task to the next. If there is one thing we could allow ourselves as self-care, it should be once in a day to take time to sweep our kitchen, clean the work tops and then allow an hour of cooking a simple meal, to be enjoyed with loved ones in a peaceful environment. If we could do this one thing, our health and strength would come back!
