In Ayurveda, there is an important concept called Viruddhaahara. This term referrers to the incompatibility of certain food articles when consumed together. The concept of Viruddhaahara has important practical implications because incompatibility causes a lot of disturbances to the physiology of the body and gives rise to the diseases of varied nature.

Over 20 different kinds of Viruddhaahara have been identified in Ayurveda. Some of these are:

Rasaviruddha: Substances having a sweet taste ( like milk) should not be consumed with substances having a sour taste ( fruits like grapes) in a very strict sense, it is hence unhealthy as per the norms of Ayurveda to drink the popular milkshakes of today.

Samskaraviruddha: These are food articles antagonistic in the way they are processed. Samskara means processing a food item to change its qualities, for example, by roasting, frying, steaming etc. some healthy food substances produce harmful qualities when they undergo specific processing methods. Curds or honey on heating become harmful to the body.

Viryaviruddha: This refers to food articles that must not be mixed together owing to their virya. Virya is the potency of food that can produce either hotness or coldness in the body while undergoing digestion. For instance, a food item prepared by using milk/ buttermilk and fish together becomes antagonistic as milk is sheethavirya (producing coldness) while fish is ushnavirya (producing heat).

Samyogaviruddha: This refers to food substances antagonistic due to the process of mixing. For instance, a mixture of fruits with sour taste and milk is contraindicated. Also, a mixture of fish with curd, or of alcohol with milk products is antagonistic to each other.

Pakaviruddha: These are articles antagonistic in the way they are cooked. Uncooked food or partially cooked food is unhealthy.

Agniviruddha: This means incompatibility due to a difference in the food ingested and digestive capacity of an individual (agni). For instance, if a person with mandaagni (diminished digestive power) consumes a lot of food then it keeps piling up, leading to indigestion and disease. This will require him to fast. Similarly, a person with pitta predominance will have tikshnaagni (increased digestive capacity) and has to take food articles which are Guru (heavy), Snigdha (oily) and Manda (foods requiring a long time for digestion).

Satmyaviruddha: A person acquainted with certain food habits should not change his food habits all of a sudden. An abrupt change to a new food regimen is known as satmyaviruddha.

Doshaviruddha: Every person has a normal constitution and due to this, he is prone to certain likes and dislikes from birth. The Vata constitution types can stay healthy by taking foods which are oily and heavy in nature and stable. Foods of these qualities help Vata function normally. But, if a person consumes a diet that is bitter, pungent, astringent and light then it will lead to the manifestation of disorders of Vata.

TIPS ON DIET FOR HEALTH

Every person should select a diet conducive to his nature, habitat and age. Such a course of action will help to maintain health and prevent disease.

• An improper diet results in abnormal doshas (Vata, Pitta, Kapha) which in turn vitiates the body tissues, causes obstruction of the channels of nutrition, weakens the digestive fire, accumulating toxins in the body ultimately causing disease.
• The quantity of food ingested should be moderate and adequate and taken at the proper time.
• It is important to be conscious of cleaning one’s hands, feet and mouth before eating food. The dining table dishes, spoons, bowls, water containers and cooking utensils should be cleaned scrupulously.
• The surroundings and the atmosphere of the dining room should be clean, airy and fragrant. The clothes worn while doing the outdoor duty should be changed and clean attire should be worn whenever eating at home.
• Ideally, the food should be freshly prepared and warm. It should contain the six rasas or tastes (sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent) in adequate proportion.
• Fatty content in proper quantity is essential in the diet while making the food tasty, it bestows strength and promotes secretion of digestive juices. It also prevents excess production of Vata dosha, nourishes the seven dhathus, increases strength, gives lustre to the skin and causes easy expulsion of stool and gas.
• Food should be taken after complete digestion of the previously taken meal. Roughly, the interval between breakfast and lunch should be around 4-5 hours and the gap between lunch and dinner should be around 5 to 6 hours. Dinner should ideally be taken before sunset and it is advisable to retire to bed 2-3 hours after taking dinner.

Obesity

For modern science water is just H2O. t is either potable or contaminated. But Ayurveda has a lot to say about water, and its effect on health. The qualities of water, based on its source, time of collection and so on, are explained in great detail.

The purest water, according to Ayurveda, is rain water that has been collected after the first two showers of the rainy season. This is to avoid the impurities suspended in the air before the rain.

Water is also reverentially known as Gangambu because the water of the river Ganga which originates in the Himalaya is said to be the purest and holiest. According to the Hindu mythology, the Ganga is pure because it is believed to have originated from the heavens.

Among water frim the running sources, the water from the Ganga is considered the best, for it is sweet to taste and aids digestion. Ganga water balances the doshas. It is because of such qualities that the Ganga is reckoned to be divine.

People think that water in any form- cold, luke warm, warm and hot- has the same effect on the body. Ayurveda categorises water into different types. Warm water is easy to digest. It can bring down temperature, improve digestion and remove toxins from the body by enhancing the excretory process. For certain of types of fever, warm water is the only remedy for three days. Drinking just warm water with light food brings the temperature down.

Warm water spiked with a little dry ginger makes it carminative and digestive. People who lack appetite should drink a cup of warm water with dry ginger every day. Warm water taken with one spoon of triphala powder everyday at dawn and at bedtime helps to bring down obesity and ease bowel movement. Drinking water regularly in the morning on an empty stomach and at bedtime works as a Rasayana- a rejuvenator of body tissues.

Seventy- five per cent of our body mass consists of water. It is hence a very important factor in maintaining the body’s dynamic equilibrium. Ayurveda says water consumed before food makes you lean, water consumed after food makes you obese and drinking water while eating is good for health generally. Water is the only substance that has never been prescribed in any condition. Water is life saviour.

Bhojanakutuhalam, a 14th century treatise on dietetics by Sri Raghunatha Suri, extensively discusses different varieties of water: from a well, a pond, lake, the river and falls. The treatise states that the physiological actions of water from various sources affect the body differently.

So water from saline earth, or from clay and marshy areas, from rainfed areas, act differently on the body.

Many of you might have noticed that when you drink water from another source in another place, you get a sore throat, indigestion, headache or a feeling of heaviness in the chest. This effect has nothing to do with infestation but with the source of water.

Water collected when dew is still falling generates [phlegm in the body. Water collected after it has basked in the sun is lighter and easily digestible. Water collected at night is heavy and difficult to digest.

The depths to which our scientists of yore went to understand and document the things they saw and observed can be noticed in a simple substance like water.

Water has been so extensively understood in Ayurveda that many new ideas emerging in modern science on water today were already known in Ayurveda. The best example that I can recollect from memory is a study on Gangetic water published in an International peer reviewed journal. It was found that there is an inherent mechanism in Ganga water that purifies it. This is why the water of the Ganga was believed to be the purest, but in vain, as this quality of the Ganga has been eroded by industrial and human waste.

RECIPE STEAMED DELIGHT

Methi Kadubu

Ingredients:                                                                                                                                                                              Water: Sufficient quantity
Rice flour: 1/4 cup
Wheat flour: 1/4cup
Jowar flour:1/4 cup
Ragi flour:1/4cup
Salt: 1/2tsp
Green chillies:4
Methi leaves:2 cups
Onions: 2 cups finely chopped
Coconut: 1tbsp
Oil: To grease steamer

Method:
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and knead in soft dough, using a little water. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions, shape into rounds and flatten by pressing between palms. Place in steamer and steam cook for 5-8 minutes or bake in a preheated greased baking dish at 200degree centigrade for 7-8 minutes. Serve hot with some tasty coconut/ mint chutney.

Benefits:                                                                                                                                                                                    Multigrain flour: Benefit from nutritive values of a mix. Methi (fenugreek) is good for digestive problems such as loss of appetite, upset stomach, constipation and inflammation of stomach. It is also used for conditions that affect the heart such as hardening of arteries and for high blood levels of certain fats including cholesterol and triglycerides. Since the dish is steamed and very little oil is used, it is good for health.

Written by Prof Dr G G Gangadharan