Ayurveda Article - Ayurvedic Detox Diet For All

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The Ayurvedic Detox Diet

 

The cusp between winter and spring is the ideal time to do an at-home

internal cleansing program, to allow your body to release the toxins

that may have built up over the long cold winter.

 

A complete ayurvedic cleansing program includes 15 days of

preparation and 45 days of actual cleansing. Ayurvedic healers

recommend paying special attention to your diet during these two

phases to avoid overtaxing your digestion and to enable purification

to occur easily and completely. Maharishi Ayurveda does not

recommend fasting or entirely liquid diets such as juices, because

that may cause your digestive agni to become imbalanced.

 

Here are some suggestions from Vaidya Rama Kant Mishra, Director of

Research and Product Development at Maharishi Ayurveda, for diet

management during detox:

 

Avoid ama-producing foods

 

Ama is the product of incomplete digestion-it represents sticky toxic

matter that can clog the channels of your body that carry nutrients

to the cells and waste out of the body. Since cleansing is done to

clear ama out of the body, you'll want to stay away from foods that

build more ama in the body. From the ayurvedic perspective,

leftovers, and "dead" foods such as processed, packaged, canned and

frozen foods all create ama because they are very hard for your body

to digest.

 

Non-organic foods, genetically modified foods, foods grown with

chemicals, pesticides and chemical fertilizers, and foods with

chemical additives also introduce toxins into your body and are

confusing for the natural "intelligence" of your digestive system and

should therefore be avoided.

 

Avoid heavy dairy products such as aged hard cheese or yogurt, foods

that are deep-fried or oily, raw foods of any kind, heavy desserts,

and foods that contain refined sugar and honey as these are harder to

digest and create ama. Avoid yeasted breads and dry breads such as

crackers, and fermented foods.

 

Eat ama-reducing foods.

 

Favor vegetarian foods that are light, warm, cooked and easily

digestible. Freshly made flat breads, freshly made light soups and

dhals, organic vegetables cooked with spices, and freshly made grains

such as quinoa are ideal. Mung bean soup pacifies all three doshas

and is nutritious yet easy to digest. For the recipe for Mung bean

soup, please visit the foods section at http://www.mapi.com.

 

Certain fruits, vegetables and spices are especially helpful during

cleansing, so you'll want to eat a serving or two every day during

the preparation and cleansing phases:

 

Fruits: Eat cooked prunes and figs at breakfast along with a stewed

apple or pear. In general, most sweet juicy fruits are excellent

cleansers.

 

Vegetables: Eat lots of cooked leafy greens. Chop the greens and

cook them with detoxifying spices for best results. Brussels sprouts

and cabbage are also helpful.

 

Grains: Light yet nutritious whole grains such as quinoa, barley,

amaranth and small helpings of rice are recommended. Kanji, made by

boiling rice with lots of water (see http://www.mapi.com for recipe)

is an excellent hot beverage and helpful for flushing toxins out of

the body through the urine.

 

Spices: Ginger, turmeric, coriander, fennel and fenugreek help open

up the channels of the body and support the flushing of toxins via

the skin, urinary tract, colon and liver. Add spices to soups and

dahls as they cook, or sauté the spices in a little Ghee and add to

dishes when the cooking process is completed.

 

Lassi, made by combining fresh yogurt with water and digestion-

boosting spices, is an excellent lunchtime beverage.

 

Choose foods according to your body type or imbalances

Ayurvedic healers recommend tailoring your diet year-round to your

constitution and your imbalances. This is particularly true during

cleansing to help regulate your digestive fire (agni). For detailed

information on diets and foods for pacifying each of the three

doshas, visit the foods section at http://www.mapi.com.

 

Drink plenty of hot water through the day

Warm water helps flush toxins out of the body through the urine. To

derive healing benefits from the water you drink, add detoxifying

spices to the water. Here is a recipe for Detoxifying "Tea" from

Vaidya Mishra:

 

Detoxifying Tea

 

Boil two quarts of water in the morning.

Add 1/4 t. whole cumin, 1/2 t. whole coriander and1/2 t. whole fennel

to the water and let steep for ten minutes with the lid on.

Strain out the spices and pour the water into a thermos.

Sip throughout the day.

Make a new batch of tea every morning.

 

After the 45 days of cleansing are over, take a few days to gradually

introduce heavier foods and ease back into your regular diet. This

is also the perfect time to start taking rasayanas (ayurvedic

formulations for overall health and vitality) like Amrit, Amla-Berry

or Vital Man or Woman. Now that the channels of your body are clear,

your body will make maximum use of the overall healing benefits of

these tonics.

 

Note : This ayurvedic information is educational and is not intended

to replace standard medical care or advice.

Copyright MAPI, 2002.

 

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