Vegetarian Vitality

Recently a Nutri-Jyoti News subscriber contacted me with a request for Ayurvedic nutrition advice. The subscriber has been a vegetarian for many years and complained of

• chronic low agni
• getting severe pains on the left side of … stomach
• waking up at night with this sharp pain and also vomiting
• returning pain after fasting all day and eating fried food followed by a banana in the evening

The subscriber had also noted that the pains come when digestion did not work properly or when “I am eating too much late at night or perhaps bad food combinations.”

The Ayurveda nutrition suggestions I made were as follows.

• Include more fresh ginger in your diet to help to improve agni levels. It is also good for nausea.
• Avoid eating fried food in the evening. It is heavy on your digestive system especially if no other food has been eaten all day.
• Fruit should be eaten away from meals or before meals (see  post on this topic).
• Eat heavy foods or your largest meal between midday and 2pm when your digestive capacity is highest.

I also suggested that the subscriber consult with an Ayurvedic doctor in their area for an examination and specific information about their particular case.

Learn how simple holistic  strategies can improve your health. Visit http://keystovitality.nutrijyoti.com to get your free e-course  AND your free subscription to the Nutri-Jyoti News.

Most common health issues such as colds, sinus issues, fatigue, at this time of year are associated with the winter season. In Ayurveda this is the season of Kapha and we have a tendancy to feel sluggishness at all levels. Because of the wet, cold and heavy energy of Kapha it’s a time when many of us feel sluggish and tired.
Good nutrition is only one aspect on the path to achieving fuller health. Cleansing or a detox of the body is also important, especially if you’re feeling tired and drained. Let me share with you 3 longstanding simple strategies that I use on a regular basis to boost vitality and relieve fatigue.

Doing neti
This is a technique I do practically every morning and one which has been used for a long time by yoga practitioners, particularly to enhance deep breathing.

Benefits of doing neti

* By enhancing breathing capacity, it increases general vitality and prevents fatigue.
* It clears out blockages, for example, during a cold, asthma, thereby relieving breathing difficulties
* It cleanses the sinuses and the mucous membrane of dust and allergens, i.e. pollen.
* It regulates the nasal secretion so that the mucous membrane, important for the immune system, can move out invading particles and micro-organisms.
* It can help to give us breathing space to deal with emotional and psychological issues in our lives.

Benefits of using a neti pot when doing neti

* It is an important tool for cleansing the sinuses, increasing breathing capacity and enhancing general vitality.
* It is easy and safe to use
* It is much more pleasant to pour lukewarm than cold water into your nostrils.
* It’s ecological.
* It’s good value for money

When to use your neti pot
The best time to use it is first thing in the morning shortly after getting up.
You can also use it before going to bed to help prevent snoring and produce a deeper and more relaxing sleep.
However, you can also use it whenever you feel congested and want to breathe more easily.

Skin brushing

This second technique is another favourite of mine which I do primarily in the winter and spring. Let me explain why.
Skin brushing

* can help maintain healthy muscle tone
* stimulates the circulation and the lymphatic system, important for the immune system
* removes dead skin cells for smoother and more radiant skin
* invigorates the body through the massaging strokes of the bristles
* can be used in a cleansing programme. Excess waste moves into the solar plexus area, where the toxic fluid is drained into the intestines and excreted from the body.

What type of brush?
A brush that is good quality and made with a natural fibre. One with a long handle is great to get to those hard-to-reach areas of the back.

When?
The best time to skin brush is in the early morning, before washing and dressing, although any time is fine. For some people it’s too stimulating before bedtime. You’ll feel invigorated and refreshed each day after just five minutes’ skin brushing.

Epsom Salts Bath

This third technique is one I use regularly throughout the year. Some of the benefits include:

* it is inexpensive and easy to buy – from any chemist
* it relaxes the blood vessels and the muscles and, for ladies, it is good for period pains.
* it is a highly alkalizing mineral, so great for a detox programme
* it can help to alleviate stress
* it results in deep refreshing sleep

When?
Do this at night before going to bed. Have a relaxing bath. In morning do skin brushing to remove dead cells from the bath, then take a shower.

These techniques are simple and important first steps if you want to overcome fatigue in 2010. The important thing is to get into a rhythm. And for those of you who want to take faster steps towards fuller health I can help you with this programme.

What next? Fix a time to get the tools you need to start these techniques.
Start doing them. Feel free to post further questions or share your comments below.

With the holiday season most of us would have eaten not only more frequently and more than usual but probably much richer foods so we can easily answer this question for ourselves. However, what can we do when we’re feeling bloated and tired?

The issue of being bloated and tired is one which I teach clients to solve throughout the year. And to help you enjoy the rest of the holiday season, let me share ny 5 favourite solutions from Ayurveda nutrition and yoga:

1. Leave 3-4 hours between meals so that your digestive system has time to rest.
2. Go for a short walk  or sit in the yoga pose, Vajrasana for 10-15 minutes after eating your meal.
3. Drink as little as possible while eating.  If thirsty sip on some warm water or herbal tea.  Add a slice of lemon for your tastebuds and your liver!
4. Take your time to savour each mouthful and to give your stomach time to indicate that it is full to your brain.
5. Spice up each meal to improve digestion and stop you feeling bloated and tired.  If you’re out sprinkle a generous amount of black pepper or ask for the tabasco sauce.

Use these solutions to help you feel less bloated and tired over the holiday period and in the coming New Year. I’d love to know how you get on so please share your comments below.

Do you feel bloated and tired all the time? Are you ready to deal with why you ask yourself “Why am I bloated and tired” to get your 2010 off to a dynamic start?
Sign up to receive the FREE report “5 Nutritional Keys to Vitality in Your Life“.

Growing up I always associated cinnamon with sweet dishes and still like to add it to cooked apple. Apart from its very pleasant flavour, this spice is a strong anticeptic and can be used to sweeten the breath, purify the mouth and throat and strengthen the gums. It is also considered to lower blood sugar levels and ease colds.

Cinnamon is said to originate from the cinnamon tree, a small tree mainly grown in Sri Lanka. However, the dried bark of the cassia tree is native to South India. Cinnamon is one of the oldest spices because it is mentioned in the Egyptian scrolls, sanskrit texts and the Bible.

Ayurveda Advice

In Ayurveda it is good for Kapha and Vata because it is heating. Cinnamon has the sweet, pungent and astringent tastes. It helps to promote digestion and eases flatulence and indigestion. Useful for those of a weak constituion, it can be used with chamomile for stomach upsets.

Tip: Once bought store your cinnamon sticks in the dark in an air-tight jar. The taste of cinnamon powder is stronger but its flavour fades more quickly.

Recipe Time! – Spice Tea Muffins

2 handfuls dried fruit e.g. raisins, apricots, dates, figs (soaked – overnight if possible – and cut into pieces)
125 mls non-refine olive oil
125 grs unrefine cane sugar
200 mls Rooiboish tea
300 grs spelt/kamut flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1.      Pre-heat the oven at Gas Mark 4 (350-375°F,180 – 190°C).
2.      Put individual paper muffin cases in a muffin tin.
3.      Put all the dry ingredients – flour, cinnamon, cardamom, bicarbonate of soda – (except the sugar) into one bowl and mix.
4.      Put the wet/moist ingredients – soaked dried fruit, oil, water,  – and the sugar into another bowl and mix.
5.      Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl containing the wet ingredients.
6.      Mix well. The mixture will fall easily from the spoon.
7.      Pour the mixture into the baking tin.
8.      Bake the muffins for about 20 minutes. You will be able to smell the muffins when they are ready.

What’s next?

1. Go shopping for the ingredients you don’t have – organic if possible.
2. Make and start enjoying the cake and share your experiences with us.

Cumin is a popular spice in Indian and Caribbean cooking, where it is also known as jeera/gheera. It is typically used with other spices such as ginger and turmeric to make a curry – a mixture of spices.

When consumed cumin has a heating effect in the body. It is pungent and bitter in taste and is suitable for easing stomach disorders, flatulence, colic and indigestion. It also stimulates the appetite, increases digestion and absorption and is a blood purifier.

Originally it came from the Mediterranean and its seeds are often confused with those of its relative caraway. The black cumin used in Indian or Caribbean cooking is smaller and stronger in flavour and grows wild in the Himalayas.

Uses in Ayurveda

In Ayurveda cumin is typically used in a simple dish called kitcharee (see “Spice up Your Life – II) that is part of a cleansing diet. Its energy is fine for all body types.

Tip: Buy cumin seeds whole because they have more flavour and keep for longer. When you need cumin powder you can dryroast ehm and grind them into powder.

Recipe Time! – Red lentil dahl (taken from “Recipes for Autumn” booklet)

150 gr red lentils
½ litre water
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp cumin powder
Fresh ginger, cut into fine slices
Sesame oil
Salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper

Wash the lentils until the water is clear.

Put them in a pot with the water and turmeric.

Bring to the boil and leave boiling for 10 to 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes add the salt, fresh ginger and the spices and a generous quantity of sesame oil.

Cover and leave to simmer for approximately 10 more minutes.

What next?

1. Go shopping for lentils and cumin – organic if possible.
2. Start enjoying the dahl soup and share your experiences with us here.

What an enthusiatic group of participants for my seasonal brunch workshop on Ayurvedic nutrition today, the last day of Swiss Taste Week!

After covering  the basic principles of Ayurvedic nutrition, the participants enjoyed a brunch of 8 dishes to illustrate the theoretical points raised and had a chance to get their questions answered.  Among others I had questions about the merits of eating particular foods including garlic & onions, wine, milk.

In Ayurveda, foods can be considered as a medicine, as nourishment or as poison. It depends how they are used. The  action of particular foods within your body is very important. That’s why it’s important to be conscious of what you eat, how you eat and how you feel after eating it.

I was fortunate to have a concrete case to deal with during the workshop. The oldest participant, a lady of eighty, commented, while partaking of dishes 6 & 7 (kitcherie and cucumber raita) that she felt that one of these dishes was  too acidic for her since she was feeling the effects in her body. She felt that the raita was to blame since there had been other dishes with an acidic taste that she had eaten without problem.

The acidity she felt could have been a result of eating too much of the sour taste from various dishes. It could also have been that she was particularly sensitive to natural shop-bought yogurt (I suggested that freshly made home made yogurt could be an alternative since it would be less acidic). However, after further enquiry it, it turned out that she didn’t normally eat dairy but was enjoying herself so much that she had eaten the raita anyway.

I had a quick think, looked at what I had accesible and, since, cucumber is sweet and cooling, offered her a little cucumber juice to neutralise the acidity.  A short time after she reported that she felt much better.  By her immediate awareness of the effect of the food on her body, this lady was able to get help in a simple natural way.

How often do we ignore “alarm bells”  from our digestive systems only to find them ringing even more loudly a few hours, days, weeks, months or years later?

Share your comments below!

Turmeric is one spice which has received a lot of good press, particularly for its role in helping to beat cancer. In his book “Anti-cancer“, the doctor David Servan-Schreiber indicates that turmeric is
« a spice with astonishing properties … one of the most common ingredients used in Ayurvedic medicine for its anti-inflammatory properties. »

Turmeric has a heating action on the body but it also cleans the blood and stimulates the formation of new blood tissue. It is good for hyperacidity and helps heal stomach ulcers.

This root spice probably came from Indonesia and Malaysia where it has been consumed for thousands of years. Arab traders then brought it to Europe.

It is sold in powder form after being cooked and dryed. With the balancing effect it has on all, turmeric enhances digestion, especially of proteins, and increases the metabolism. Black pepper improves turmeric’s action to help it pass through the intestinal wall and thus be much easier to assimilate into the body.

Advice in Ayurveda

In Ayurveda, it has long been know that turmeric has many healing properties which include antiseptic, antibiotic and anti-inflammatory especially for arthritis and skin disorders. It is pungent and bitter in taste and can ease liver and stomach complaints and improve intestinal flora. A pinch of turmeric is also said to make it easier to digest milk.

Tip: Once you have bought turmeric it’s best to store it in the dark.

Recipe Time!

- Simple kitcharee (or rice & lentils)

(adapted from my book “Plans for dinner?”)

Serves 4 (as side dish)

100 grams basmati rice
100 grams red lentils
pinch salt
water (2x the amount of rice and lentils)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1. Wash the rice and the lentils until the water is clear (at least 4 times).
2. Put the rice, lentils, salt, turmeric and water into a pot and stir well.
3. Bring everything to the boil and keep boiling for 5 minutes.
4. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Cover, turn off the heat and leave to rest.
6. Serve with sautéed vegetables or salad for a simple meal.

What next?
1. Enjoy this dish and share your experiences with us below.

In Ayurveda spices and herbs play a special role in maintaining health because they enhance digestion, and thus our ability to absorb nutrients and energy from our food.

As we move towards a cooler season, ginger is an excellent spice to include in our diets. Not only is it a spice that most people enjoy in one form or another – fresh, dried, in power form, crystallised – it is also versatile. It stimulates the appetite and also provides relief for allergies and other respiratory complaints. And its heating effect on the body helps to improve circulation.

Ginger originally comes from South-East Asia but is now grown in most tropical countries. For centuries this root has been well known for its aromatic and medicinal properties, which include relief from flatulence and, when in the form of a herbal tea, relief from colds or coughs.

It works on all the tissues, enhances protein digestion and reduces the effect of uric acid after eating proteins. It aids digestion by promoting the secretion of gastric juices and eases swelling, rhematic pain and migraine headaches.

Advice in Ayurveda

Fresh ginger root is considered better for Vata and the dried root better for Kapha because the increased heat in the dried form helps to stimulate the inertia and dry the cool. Ginger has the pungent and neutral/sweet tastes and is considered good for all body types – (use very modestly for Pitta). It is useful to have handy when travelling since it provides relief from travel sickness and nausea, jet lag and general weakness.

Tip: When you are buying ginger look for a firm root that is not fibrous. Store in the fridge.

It’s Recipe Time!
Ginger & lemon tea
This is a cleansing and refreshing drink that can be drunk hot or at room temperature. It is best drunk approximately one hour before or after eating.

Juice of one lemon
3-4 cm fresh ginger root

1. Peel the ginger
2. Put it into approximately 2 litres water.
3. Boil for 15-20 minutes.
4. Add the lemon juice and serve.

What’s  next?

1. Go shopping for fresh ginger and lemons – organic if possible.
2. Start enjoying the tea and share your experiences with us below.

With the summer season, we often go for juices as a simple and healthy option. In Ayurveda it is considered preferable to consume the whole fruit or vegetable, but during the summer season and as part of a balanced diet, it could be useful for you to juice rather that eat fruit and vegetables whole.

Let me share with you 3 reasons why.

1.Each of us needs raw foods every day, and juicing is an excellent way to make certain you receive large quantities of such raw foods, probably more than you normally would otherwise.
2.Many of us have relatively compromised intestines as a result of poor food choices over many years. This limits our bodies’ ability to absorb all the nutrients from fruits and vegetables. Juicing tends to facilitate this absorption.
3.A few glasses of fresh juice each day is a great way to increase the nutrient density of our diets. There aren’t too many people who manage to eat a pound of raw carrots a day. But anyone can squeeze in an eight-ounce glass of juice.
Fruit juicing is certainly good for you, but it has one disadvantage over vegetable juicing: fruit juice tends to increase insulin levels when consumed. Carrot or beet juice function similarly to fruit juice.

So now you’re ready to have more juice, remember the following:

Avoid store-bought juices

Processed juices bear very little resemblance to fresh juice, either nutritionally or aesthetically. Store-bought juices tend to be pasteurized, a process that involves heating the juice at very high temperatures to maximize shelf life. While pasteurization is necessary to prevent spoiling, it destroys many of the juice’s fragile vitamins.

Drink juice as fresh as possible

Juice is best drunk freshly juiced. Vegetable juice is one of the most perishable foods there is and ideally it would be best to drink all of your juice immediately. Within a half-hour is best. Juices stored in the refrigerator lose their nutritional value rather quickly. As soon as a fruit or vegetable is processed in your juicer, the natural enzymes in the juice begin to break down the other nutrients.

Go for variety

It is very important to not have the same vegetables every day. The chances are quite high that if you keep juicing the same vegetables for any significant length of time you will become allergic to them. Variety is king.

Exercise:

1. Start the day with a freshly squeezed juice or a glass of fresh almond milk for the next 3 weeks.
2. Share your comments and experiences below.

When something is not going the way we want it to, when we’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed how many of us reach for a cake or something sweet?  I’d say we’ve all been there – and got the proverbial T-shirt.

Recently one of my followers on Twitter offered this quote:
“A contented mind is the greatest blessing a man can enjoy in this world.”~ Joseph Addison
It got me thinking about how to share the way that food can be (ab)used when our desire for contentment is involved.
In Ayurveda there is a simple formula as far as food is concerned: the 6 tastes – sweet, sour, salty, hot, bitter and astringent. It is considered important to include these tastes in at least one meal in a day to satisfy not only the tastebuds but also the mind.

Balancing examples of the sweet taste include ripe/ dried fruit, honey and maple syrup.

Balancing examples of the sour taste include lemons and yogurt.

Balancing examples of the salty taste include (sea/rock) salt and vegetables like celery.

Balancing examples of the hot taste include ginger, mustard seeds and cardamom (slightly).

Balancing examples of the bitter taste include turmeric and aloe vera.

Balancing examples of the astringent taste include pulses (legumes) and the tannins in tea.

I’ve given just a few examples from each group but there are many more. A good reference work with recipes is Ayurvedic Cooking for Self Healing - Vasant Lad

However, even if we diligently include all 6 tastes in our meal, it is equally important how we eat the meal.
Here are my 3 favourite tips:
1. take a few moments before the meal to give thanks for the food, its preparation and the substances that are going to nourish your body
2. chew each mouthful and savour each bite
3. wait a few moments after eating before getting up from the table.

What do you do to feel satisfied from the food you eat? Share your experiences below. Thanks!