by Sheela Rani Chunkath
The more I delve into the literature of our ancient acharyas, the more I see their almost obsessive concern with what we eat. For them good health and good eating habits were synonymous.
Charaka, the ancient wandering sage of ayurveda, has in the Vimana Sthana part of his treatise dwelt at length on the ‘Aharavidhi Vishesha Ayatanani’ meaning the factors which determine utility of food.
We have through the years become familiar with the rather simple Western classification of foods into carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals and vitamins.
Charaka, on the other hand, looks at food from say the guna or nature of the food, whether it is light or heavy. For example, both blackgram and greengram may be proteins but blackgram is heavy and more difficult to digest than greengram, which is considered light and often used as food for convalescents.
Again, Charaka has gone on to talk about how the quality of the food is affected by the way it is processed. For most Western nutritionists there is no great difference between yoghurt and yoghurt churned with water. In ayurveda when yoghurt or curd is churned and the butter removed, the resulting buttermilk is of a very different character from the curd we started out with. Curd aggravates oedema while churned buttermilk alleviates it.
Similarly, Western nutritionists and dieticians do not pay attention to the combination of foods. For example, while milk is great by itself and mango is a nourishing fruit, the combination of the two is said to be Viruddhaharam or an incompatible food combination. When milk is combined with a sweetish sour fruit, it will imbalance the doshas. Ever since I learnt about this many years ago, I have with great reluctance at first and with growing acceptance later, given up taking milkshakes with fruits.
The quantity of various ingredients in a particular dish can also affect the digestive process. For example, the proportion of ghee and flour will affect the digestibility of a dish. Charaka goes on to talk about the habitat from which a particular food item is collected. According to him, herbs collected from the Himalayas would be far more efficacious than herbs grown in the desert. To take a modern example, vegetables grown in a clean environment would be healthier to eat than those grown in a chemically polluted area.
Kala or time is also a useful concept when considering what to eat when. Ice creams eaten during peak summer days are less likely to cause disease than if it is consumed in the spring or rainy days. Our diet must be in tune with the seasons and kala. Eat lightly in summer, eat more heavier foods in winter could be a general rule.
Charaka calls these rules the ‘Ashta Aharavidhi'. The last two rules govern eating practices and habits to be cultivated by individuals. Talking or laughing when eating is to be generally avoided. Food is not to be eaten in a hurry nor very slowly. It should be eaten with concentration and with an awareness of one’s digestion. Ultimately the individual is responsible for the way he eats and he should foster good eating habits to keep healthy.
Eating is serious business and one of the main determinants of good health.
--- The writer is retired Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu. She can be reached at Sheelarani.arogyamantra@gmail. com. Earlier articles can be accessed at http://arogyamantra.blogspot.com/