A Complete Guide to Ayurvedic Diet

What is an Ayurveda Diet?

The Ayurvedic diet is a meal plan based on Ayurveda's principles. These diets have been around for centuries and the underlying principle of an Ayurvedic diet is to balance the different energies that help a human body. An Ayurvedic diet is known to have lots of health benefits. 

The best thing about the Ayurvedic diet is that you can personalise it to suit your body and meet your health requirements. It has recently gained popularity as it focuses not just on an individual's physical well-being, but also their mental well-being. Before you start the journey of taking on an Ayurvedic diet, you should try to understand the components and the principles behind it. 

Eating Principles of the Ayurvedic Diet

The Ayurvedic diet works on a set of principles. These principles define the selection of food that will be a part of your diet, and the meal timings. It also focuses on making you aware of your body and its needs. Let’s look at some basic principles on which the Ayurvedic diet is based.

• Choose Foods Based on Dosha
• Eliminate snacks from your diet
• Try eating till a point till you are satisfied and not ful
• Eat whole and fresh foods that come with nutritional value
• Include six kinds of tastes in every meal
• Cut down on cold food products and beverages
• Try to stay away from any distractions while eating
• Avoid eating at least three hours before you go to bed
• Try to include herbal teas between every meal 
• Have your heaviest and most filling meal during lunchtime

These principles will help you curate a diet that nourishes your body and improves your health. 

How does Ayurvedic Diet Plan work?

An Ayurvedic diet plan gives you direction on how and when to have your meals. It also recommends foods based on your dosha. Understanding the characteristics of every dosha will help you understand how the entire system works. 

• Pitah (fire and water): This dosha can be found in hard-working people who can make their own decisions. This dosha is characterised by a short temper coupled with health conditions like heart disease, blood pressure issues, etc.
• Vata (air and space): This dosha is mostly found in energetic people with creative minds. The Vata dosha comes with digestive issues and a feeling of anxiety when things don’t go as they were planned.
• Kapha (earth and water): Grounded and calm people can be affected by a Kapha dosha. It comes with issues like weight gain, depression, etc. 

The diet works on a simple principle: your dosha will define the foods you should have in your meal. For instance, the primary focus of pitah dosha is to cool you down. Hence, it focuses on limiting spices and focusing more on foods that energise your body.

What to Eat on Ayurvedic Diet?

Before starting your Ayurvedic diet, you must try to identify your dosha. You can get in touch with an expert in Ayurvedic medicine to understand your dominant dosha. Only when you know your dosha will you be able to pick the things you can include in your diet. The expert usually recommends a combination of foods you can have throughout the day as a part of your meals. 

How to Eat on Ayurvedic Diet?

The Ayurvedic diet also tells you how to eat. If you want to stick to an Ayurvedic diet, you should adhere to these habits to ensure you get the best results. A few of the eating principles of the Ayurvedic diet include:

• Intake the six tastes for every meal. You must try to add sweet, astringent, pungent, salty, sour and bitter foods
• Start your meal with a sweet food item, like a fruit
• Next, you must have salty food, followed by something with a sour taste
• You must end your meal with pungent food like onions or peppers
• You should try to avoid any kind of distractions while having your meal 
• Also, eat slowly so that you can enjoy and feel the taste of the food
• Try eating in adequate quantities and look for hunger signals, if any
• You must only have your next meal only when your last meal is digested
• The primary focus should be on having a good breakfast and lunch. You may or may not have dinner based on your hunger levels

Ayurvedic Food List - Vata, Pitah, Kapah

The Ayurvedic diet categorises foods based on their physical qualities. It also focuses on different doshas. Let’s have a look at the list of things that you must eat based on your dosha:

These foods are picked to address your doshas and help you lead a better lifestyle. 

Benefits of the Ayurvedic Diet

There are several benefits of taking on an Ayurvedic diet and following a Ayurvedic Detox Regime with Foodhak. Some of these benefits include:

• The diet focuses on whole foods that are healthier than processed ones
• The best thing about an Ayurvedic diet is that no food groups are restricted. Hence, balanced nutrition is ensured
• The diet allows you to eat mindfully and pay attention to what goes into your body
• It brings balance to your body and encourages wellness
• An Ayurvedic diet also aids in weight loss

The Ayurvedic diet is a food plan based on the ideas of Ayurvedic medicine, an age-old system of traditional medicine.

According to the diet intended to promote weight loss and increase mindfulness, you must eat or refrain from consuming specific foods according to your dosha or body type. By Subscribing to Foodhak's Ayurvedic Meal Delivery, you can eat healthy foods everyday.

Also read: 5 Myths of Ayurvedic Diet, 7 Tips to Ayurvedic Diet