Ayurvedic Principles of Healthy Eating

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Ayurvedic Principles of Healthy Eating

JoAnn Guest

Mar 10, 2005 18:49 PST

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Flavors of Health Online recently spoke with Dr. Nancy Lonsdorf,

Medical Director of the Raj in Fairfield, Iowa, and co-author of A

Woman's Best Medicine, about the general dietary habits of Americans

today and

ways to incorporate ayurvedic principles of healthy eating into one's

daily dietary schedule.

 

 

Dr. Lonsdorf: Ayurveda considers lunch to be the most important meal

of the day. Lunch is better called dinner. In our American culture,

when we were more of an agrarian or rural culture, we had the main meal

at noon. And that was called dinner. And there was a lighter meal in the

evening called supper.

 

This schedule is actually more in tune with nature and the natural

rhythms of digestion in the body.

 

The main meal should be at noon, which means we should eat a full

meal-- cooked food, a warm meal-sitting down in a relaxed environment

around noon.

 

FOH Online: What would the ideal ayurvedic lunch include?

 

Dr. Lonsdorf: It should have some vegetables, some whole grains, and

some

higher-protein foods like legumes, lentils, chickpeas, tofu or

paneer,which is a type of fresh cheese.

Persons who are non-vegetarian should eat their free range chicken or

cold water fish or other organic meats at lunch only.

 

Pure water is the best beverage with the meal, and it should preferably

be at room temperature or warm, not ice-cold.

 

Ice water cools down digestion and turns off enzymatic activity, which

is temperature dependent and works best at body temperature, around 99

degrees.

 

Ayurveda also suggests that we should have lassi, which is an organic

yogurt drink, at lunchtime -- it supplies good bacteria and extra help

for

digestion.

 

FOH Online: What about spices?

 

Dr. Lonsdorf: Spices are crucial to the ayurvedic diet, and

unfortunately the typical American diet does not contain enough

spices as a rule.

Turmeric, for example, is a potent antioxidant, known to

contain anti-cancer properties, and is good for detoxification of

the body. It's an incredibly powerful spice.

It works best if you sauté it

in a little olive oil you might add a little bit to soups or stews.

 

It has water-soluble and fat-soluble components like most spices.

 

So you should have a little bit of this spice sautéed in some olive

oil at lunch and you should have a little bit in

a soup or water-based sauce poured over cooked vegetables or other

foods.

 

FOH Online: We see some individual herbs and spices being offered in

capsule form-what is your opinion on that?

 

Dr. Lonsdorf: Spices are really best eaten as food rather than in a

capsule. Today, many people are taking capsules of turmeric or

ginger or garlic in hopes of gaining their beneficial effects.

However, that can sometimes be quite harmful actually because they're

too concentrated.

 

Powdered turmeric, by itself, for example, can be very hard on the

liver, creating a " heating " or irritating effect that can worsen

Pitta related problems.

 

You should sprinkle spices on your food, cook them in olive or sesame

oil,

or add them to your soups or your lentils, etc., while they are cooking.

 

 

FOH Online: Tell us a little bit about how eating properly can help

health and well-being.

 

Dr. Lonsdorf: Just having the main meal at noon -- a very balanced

meal that includes spices and lassi -- would go a long way towards

counteracting the damage caused by the stress and wear and tear on

the body from day-to-day life.

 

Digestion would improve dramatically.

This would help people get rid of a lot of problems associated with

ama-constipation, gas, bloating, and heartburn.

 

Good eating habits that aid digestion will also help people sleep

better at night because then they are not eating heavy at night, which

disturbs sleep and often will wake people up at 2-3 in the morning.

 

FOH Online: What about energy levels?

 

Dr. Lonsdorf: If you eat a balanced diet, at the proper times each

day,and are able to get a good night's sleep each night, you have the

basis for a stable, balanced physiology and your mind and body will

function at optimum levels.

 

If you digest your food properly, your body can use

the nutrients to build the different types of body tissue and

replace worn cells and tissues quickly.

 

When ama is not building up in the body, energy levels are high --

you don't experience post-lunch fatigue or early-morning lethargy.

 

FOH Online: Food, indeed, is powerful medicine. Thank you, Dr.

Lonsdorf,for speaking with us today on this important issue.

 

 

http://www.annieappleseedproject.org/flavofhealay.html

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Eating Earlier Decreases Daily Food Consumption

By Maureen Williams, ND

 

Healthnotes Newswire (April 8, 2004)—Eating large amounts of food early

in the day, but not late in the day, is associated with decreased total

food consumption, according to a study published in the Journal of

Nutrition (2004;134:104–11).

 

Changing eating patterns might therefore be helpful for people trying to

lose weight.

 

Eating is influenced by a complex set of factors such as hunger, mood,

biorhythms, habits, cultural norms, food availability, and genetics.

 

A number of studies have examined the rhythm of food intake in humans

and

found that, in general, significantly more food is eaten in the evening

than in the morning. Furthermore, the time between finishing eating and

eating again has been shown consistently to become shorter as the day

goes on, suggesting that food intake is less filling (satiating) in the

evening than at other times of the day.

 

This reduced satiation value of

food eaten late in the day, combined with the tendency to eat the

greatest proportion of a day’s food in the evening, may contribute to

overeating and therefore to overweight and obesity.

 

More than 60% of adults and 25% of children in the United States are

overweight or obese, and excess weight has become an increasing problem

over the past 30 years.

 

The health implications of such an overweight

population are so great that the U.S. government has recently warned

that overweight will soon pose a more serious threat to public health

than smoking. There is an ongoing search by healthcare organizations and

 

other groups for effective measures to control overeating.

 

The current study analyzed food diaries of 867 people. Participants were

 

given diaries and instructed to record every item they ate or drank, its

 

size or amount, the time it was eaten, how it was prepared, the eating

environment, and the attractiveness of the food. They were also asked to

 

document their mood and level of hunger and thirst at the time each item

 

was consumed. Participants kept these food diaries for seven days. Food

consumption patterns were analyzed for five four-hour time periods of

the day.

 

The amount of food consumed was found to increase with successive time

periods until 10 P.M., with the least amount of food being eaten between

 

6 and 10 A.M. and the greatest amount of food eaten between 6 and 10

P.M. As meal sizes increased, the time between finishing eating and

eating again became significantly shorter. Finally, eating a greater

proportion of a day’s food early in the day was linked with

significantly lower total daily intake than was eating a greater

proportion of a day’s food late in the day. Even for individuals, daily

food consumption was lower on days when a greater proportion was eaten

in the morning than it was on days when a greater proportion was eaten

in the evening.

 

The results of this study are consistent with those of other studies

that have shown that food intake increases and its satiation value

decreases as the day progresses. Additionally, this study identified a

link between increased food intake in the morning and decreased overall

daily intake. Future studies are needed to determine whether changing

eating patterns to increase morning food intake will result in long-term

 

reductions in overall food intake and weight loss.

 

 

Maureen Williams, ND, received her bachelor’s degree from the University

 

of Pennsylvania and her Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr

University in Seattle, WA. She has a private practice in Quechee, VT,

and does extensive work with traditional herbal medicine in Guatemala

and Honduras. Dr. Williams is a regular contributor to Healthnotes

Newswire.

 

http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/centers/int/article.jhtml?relativePath=%2Fcontent%2\

Fnewswire%2Fcurrent%2Fnewswire_2004_04_08_2.htm & title=Healthnotes+Newswire%3A+Ea\

ting+Earlier+Decreases+Daily+Food+Consumption & description=

 

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-Mediterranean Lifestyle Could Be Answer to Our Diet Woes

 

http://www.nowfoods.com/?action=itemdetail & item_id=41677

 

Republished with permission from Dr. Patrick B. Massey, Alternative

Approach, Daily Herald, September 27, 2004

 

Do you eat to live or live to eat?

 

Given that the United States is the fattest country in the world and we

probably buy more diet books than anyone else, it seems that we are more

interested in how we eat than in what we eat: High-fat diets, low-carb

diets, low-fat diets, high-carb diets, counting calories, food based on

blood type - the list goes on.

 

I think we might have missed the whole idea.

 

What we eat should be contributing to our health and longevity. If we

keep that as our main focus, all of the different diet programs might be

unnecessary.

 

I believe it is safe to say that, for the majority of people, all diets

work for about one month and all diets fail after four months. Why?

Because we do not focus on what we need to eat to be healthy.

 

Is there a diet that fits that goal? Several studies have shown that a

Mediterranean-style diet leads to both health and longevity.

 

A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that

people who ate a Mediterranean-style diet had a 33 percent reduction in

mortality from heart disease and cancer. Their overall death rate was 24

percent lower than those who ate other foods. We don't have medications

that can begin to approximate these gains in health and long life.

 

In another study published in the American Journal of Clinical

Nutrition, nursing home residents who ate according to the Mediterranean

diet had a 31 percent reduction in overall mortality compared to peers.

 

The Mediterranean diet is not the all-you-can-eat pasta and bread combo

at the local Italian restaurant. It comes from the traditional fare of

Spain, southern France, Italy, Greece and the Middle East.

 

It includes a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, beans, unrefined

cereals, mono-unsaturated oils (olive oil), fermented organic cheese and

yogurt.

 

Fresh fish is the major source of protein and omega-3 fats.

 

This diet limits organic red meat to monthly servings and goes easy on

poultry, organic eggs and milk. This is in contrast to the

recommendations in the Food Guide Pyramid developed by the United States

Department of Agriculture and supported by the Department of Health and

Human Services.

 

The food pyramid recommends a lot of starch and dairy products. It does

not differentiate among red meat, poultry and fish or between good fats

and bad fats.

 

The success of the Mediterranean diet might not depend solely on what is

eaten. It is part of a culture that includes regular physical activity

and strong social and family bonds that are strengthened and enjoyed

around meals.

 

In contrast, for many Americans, meals are not that same

stress-reducing, family-bonding experience.

 

As an aside, if there is a strong association between good health and

proper diet, then why do the menu choices of so many hospitals and

school lunch programs promote a seemingly endless parade of starch, red

meat and fried foods?

 

Good nutrition is most important for those who are ill and those who are

growing. We should demand better.

 

Patrick B. Massey MD, PhD, is Medical Director of Complementary and

Alternative Medicine, Alexian Brothers Hospital Network. Dr. Massey is

also President of the ALT-MED Medical and Physical Therapy Program, Elk

Grove Village IL 60007 (847) 923-0046

www.alt-med.org

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An egg a day keeps obesity at bay:

http://news.newkerala.com/india-news/?action=fullnews & id=43860

 

[Health India]: Washington, Nov 21: A new research conducted by

researchers at The Rochester Center for Obesity Research in Michigan

suggests that having an organic egg for breakfast is more filling than

having anything else.

 

The team led by Nikhil Dhurandhar wanted to find out which breakfast was

more filling: a bagel, cream cheese, and yogurt (339 calories); or two

organic eggs, toast, and jelly (340 calories).

 

Thirty women aged 18-60 who were not diabetic participated in the study.

Their body mass index (BMI) was 25-35, putting them in the overweight to

obese range.

They tried the breakfasts on two test days, two weeks apart.

 

The researchers told them they were studying breakfast's effects on

blood pressure and alertness. The women were asked periodic questions on

satiety and their lunch and food journals were monitored.

 

The organic egg eaters felt fuller after breakfast and stayed full

longer than the bagel group that prompted them to eat less at lunch. The

egg group ate 568 calories at lunch, compared with 732 calories eaten by

the bagel group.

 

The egg breakfast " induced greater satiety and reduced energy intake at

lunch by 29 percent, " the researchers said.

The egg eaters ate 1,761 calories on the test day, compared with 2,035

for the bagel group.

 

" Till noon on the day after the egg breakfast, no compensatory increase

in energy intake occurred, which remained lower by 431 [calories] during

this time.

 

Eggs have a 50% greater satiety index than breakfast cereal or bread, "

the researchers added. (ANI)

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JoAnn Guest

mrsjo-

DietaryTi-

www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Genes

 

 

 

 

AIM Barleygreen

" Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future "

 

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