We have discussed culprits in our kitchen in our last vlog so today lets know about our food processing and consumability.
Ahara/food is one of the supporting pillar for our life sustenance and have said as one of traya upastambha’s (3 supporting pillars of life i.e food/ahara, nidra/sleep and brahmacharya/celibacy)
Some special conditions to be followed to obtain complete benefits of food they are known as Ahara vidhi vishesha ayatanaani in ayurveda.
8 factors to be considered before taking food :
- Prakriti ( Natural quality of food )
- Karana ( Processing the food )
- Samyoga ( Combination of food substances )
- Rashi ( quantity of food )
- Desha ( Food grown and cultivated )
- upayoga samstha ( Rules of taking food )
- Upayokta ( Person who consumes the food )
- Kala ( Time of intake of food )
1. Prakriti -Nature of food
The inborn quality of food is prakriti for example urad dal is heavy/guru in nature and green gram is light/laghu similarly all food contains inborn quality in them which in turn has effects on our digestion.
If our digestion capacity is good, we can consume both quality food but if it is poor guru/heavy food may cause difficulty in digestion which in turn leads to metabolic disorders resulting in ama/toxins in the body which is causative factor for various diseases.
2. Karana/method of processing the food
Food needs to be properly processed and cooked which changes the inherent qualities of the food and makes them ideal for consumption.
This transformation is called as “samskara” which bring “gunantara aadhana” or change in the qualities of the substance.
Methods of processing food
- Toyo sannikarsha : cleaning and beating with water
- Agni sannikarsha : application of heat and processing (heating, boiling, cooking)
- Soucha : cleaning and washing
- Manthana : churning and grinding
- Disha : place, region of food / geography
- Kala : time period of processing season too brings changes
- Vasana : adding the flavoring agents
- Bhavana : impregnation, dipping in certain liquids
- Bhajana : container which the food is stored/cooked
3. Samyoga / combination of food
Combination/mixing of two or more food substances the qualities which were not present in the individual components are induced in the combination
example : Honey and ghee which mixed in equal proposition is proved to be fatal but when mixed and processed as panchamrutha is not lethal.
4.Rashi/Quantity of food
Quantity of intake of food is very important to stay healthy there is no particular fixed quantity to be consumed as different individuals have different capacities to consume food
Therefore the quantity taken should not imbalance the tridosha’s or hamper the agni/metabolic rate/digestion.
5.Desha/place where food/crops are grown
Now a days we don’t even known whether our food is cultivated in proper manner @proper season, in the right soil with favorable conditions. In such a case it is better to go with seasonal substances than this one more doubt arising our mind is what are seasonal foods because we find all sorts of veggies and fruits available throughout the year.
Better idea is to consume more of cheaper veggies available in the market as we are get plenty during that season.
6.Kala/Time of consumption of food
Good time to consume food is when you feel hunger however there is lot of difference in hunger and cravings etc….. we can says 2 types of time of consumption of food nitya kala and avastha kala nitya kala is daily consumption methods avastha kala is during the diseased condition, age, pregnancy etc…..