Eating not only nourishes the body but also mind. Following simple eating etiquettes make the eating lot more enjoyable and beneficial. Here are a few healthy eating rules.
Don’t watch TV while eating.
No facebook / twitter while eating.
No computer or laptops while eating.
No texting messages while eating.
No phone calls while eating
Do not eat hurriedly.
Eating together with family, at least at night or at least once a week.
No junk stuff or aerated drinks with food.
No anger, no sad feelings, no depressed mood while eating
Do not talk while eating.
Avoid negative feelings and talks.
Avoid disrespecting food.
Do not waste food.
Chew food well before swallowing.
Try drinking water in between meals.
Food quantity: Stop eating before full stomach. As per Ayurveda, heavy food that take long time to digest should be consumed till half of the satiation level. Food that are light to digest should be consumed just before stage of satiation. The right amount of food is that which undergoes digestion before the next meal time.
Ideally, Two parts of the stomach (half of its capacity) should be filled with solid foods, one part by liquids and the remaining one part should be kept vacant for accommodating air.
Consuming a very less amount of food / continuous fasting will lead to depleted body growth, immunity and strength. Consuming excess of food causes indigestion, obesity and a host of related disorders.
Food that can be consumed habitually - As per Ayurveda, the following foods can be consumed habitually. Wheat, rice, barley,
meat of deer, pigeon, Jivanti herb, young radish, Amla, dry grapes, Pointed gourd, green gram, ghee, clarified jaggery, milk, honey, pomegranate, rock salt (Saindhava).
Food that should not be consumed habitually are – dairy sweet products, curds, solid part of curds, Kshara (alkalis), fermented gruel, uncooked radish, meat of animals which are emaciated, dry meat, meat of boar, sheep, cow, fish and buffalo, black gram, germinated grains, dried vegetables, small variety of barley, half cooked molasses.
No curds at night. Have buttermilk instead.
No heavy sweets or oily food at night.
Eat 2 – 3 hours before going to bed.
If your meals contain sweets, better to eat it at the beginning.
Cold water is ideal to drink after having food with barley, wheat, curds and honey.
Warm water is ideal after consuming buttermilk, fermented gruel, dishes prepared with vegetables, green gram and other legumes.
If you have taken oily food, drink hot water and do not drink cold water
The ideal time for taking meals is after the elimination of feaces and urine, when the mind is clean, when the Doshas are moving in their natural paths, when belching are pure without and foul smell or taste, when hunger is well manifest, when the flatus is moving downward easily, when the digestive activity is keen, when the sense organs are clear functioning, when the body is light. Food should be consumed observing the rules and procedures of taking food.
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Follow Ayurvedic eating tips for good health
I’m a bad one for eating at the computer. I tend to snack all day. Not good, I know. Hopefully, your tips will help me change my ways.
I’d like to get into the habit of blessing/praying over my food and drink before consuming also. I’ve heard it is very good.
Thank you Dr. Hebbar
You are right. Prayer before food is a very good habit. Millions and millions of unfortunate people around the world don’t even get to smell what we eat. We should thank God for what we have at our plate.
Dear Dr Hebbar,
We must also thank the food grains and vegetables before eating that we eat for each meal for sacrificing their lives to keep us healthy.
All white stuffs such as rice, milk products and radish should be avoided after sunset since these stuffs are cold in nature and produce extra phlegm because of slow digestion in the night due to moon effect.
Best regards,
Kunwar Singh
Dear Kunwar Singh Sir,
We must also thank the animals that we eat. Mustn’t we? Ayurveda is not totally against non veg food. [Though I am a vegetarian.]
Thanks for your valuable addition.
Dear Dr Hebbar,
Since I am a pure vegetarian, I didn’t mention to thank animals but people eating animals should thank them before eating since animals also sacrifice their life to provide food for humans. Eating animals in extreme cold climate is fine for the body to get fats to face the cold temperature whereas eating animals in extreme hot climate should be avoided.
Best regards,
Kunwar Singh
Non veg eaters have their own perspective and I completely respect it. Non veg food that is light to digest can also be had in climate, other than winter.
Some non veg are easy-to-digest, some are hard to digest. Some have its effect on Vata, some on Pitta and some on Kapha. Hence, it can be generalized that non veg is not indicated in summer.
p.s. I am a vegetarian.
I like your article. I am not not doing a few things correctly, but now I will start doing it. Thanks again.
what do you mean when you say “Try drinking water in between meals.”
is it ok to sip water between two morsels ?
Drinking water between meals means, to drink half to one cup of water whenever you feel like, while taking the meals.
Sipping between morsels will be very impractical. Eating would become more like an exercise.
yeah i kind of meant the same. So its ok to sip water while eating and if the food already has lot of fluids like lassi or butter milk or dal i guess no need for water as well ?
By default, the rule is – drink water only when feeling thirsty. In relation with meals, it is good to drink water during meals, than before / after.