Many of us have heard of the 5000 year old Ayurvedic life science, and some of us also practice it in our day to day lives unknowingly, thanks to the food culture and eating habits inculcated during our childhood.
It is now a lifestyle trend to retreat into an ayurvedic centre for a yearly cleanse, to rid the body of toxins, undigested metabolic cellular waste, oxidative stress and damages done through the year. Quite often, we approach ayurvedic treatments as a last resort when all other treatment protocols may have failed. But ayurveda is not just a curative healthcare life-science for chronic lifestyle diseases. It is predominantly a preventive healthcare life-science, with defined set of principles for each body type. Each of us have a unique biological blue print that is unique to us like our finger print. Ayurvedic lifestyle recommendations and dietary advice are designed based on your unique body type, age, phase of life, genetic information, family history, season, ailments, and the topographic condition of the city you live in. A personalised ayurvedic lifestyle addresses all aspects of your health like nutrition, exercise, sleep, daily rituals, seasonal rituals, yearly panchakarma detoxification to preserve your health and prevent diseases.
What is Virudda Ahar
Ayurveda also has a defined set of principles on food science. It recommends seasonal foods for various ailments and organ health and has a detailed study on the concept of “Virudda Ahar” which is the science of “food-combining” or “food-chemistry”. This science educates us on the healthy combinations of foods as well as the unhealthy combinations that may slowly poison or weaken your body.
All food groups have a unique reaction with the stomach acids. For example, chillies can stimulate or aggravate the digestive fire, whereas basil leaves can cool the stomach acids down. Oily foods can create an acidic environment, whereas boiled or cooked vegetables and sweet fruits can have an alkalising effect on the stomach. Watermelon and cucumber, has a diuretic effect, whereas Triphala has a laxative effect on the system. Similarly, foods also react with the air and oxidise, and react with each other creating metabolic by-products based on their unique nature. Citric fruits like lemons, oranges, grapes that are rich in Vitamin C, react with milk causing a curdling effect. Chillies when mixed with coconut milk overnight, will trigger a fermentation process leading to formation of coconut yoghurt.
Unhealthy combinations
Lemon and milk curdling process in fact, leads to the formation of a by-product called cottage cheese or paneer which is a staple dish in Indian cuisines. However the process of curdling is completed outside our digestive health, and the by product which is a finished food dish is then consumed directly or used in further cooking. However, if one was to consume a glass of milk and follow with a glass of lemonade or others citric juices, it could lead to the curdling process been triggered inside the stomach and gut, causing the gut lining and mucosa to get ruptured. It can further trigger symptoms of allergies, GERD, burning sensation, acidity, bloating, indigestion, diarrhoea or even IBS. In fact, as a defence mechanism, the body in a desperate attempt tries to evacuate this unstable metabolic by-product by triggering symptoms of IBS or diarrhoea, in order to prevent further harm to our gut from within.
Similarly, we use culture from curd and mix it with warm milk overnight to make fresh curd or yoghurt. But if one was to consume milk and yoghurt together in the same meal, it can lead to indigestion, because the fermentation process gets triggered and accelerated within the stomach due to the warm environment which is conducive for fermentation. This fermentation activity within the stomach and gut, can cause discomfort and further trigger symptoms of allergies, burning sensation, acidity, bloating, indigestion, or diarrhoea.
Wrong food combos
In the long run, repeatedly consuming wrong combination of foods, at the wrong time, and wrong cooking methods, can cause a serious impact on our digestive health. Our gut health is critical for our overall well-being, and has a direct impact on our neurological, bronchial, gastro intestinal, skin, bone and even mental health. Repeated mistakes in food combining, can cause serious digestive health issues right from indigestion to chronic colon health issues, and can erode the protective layer of mucosa lining the gut walls, causing leaky gut syndrome.
Leaky gut syndrome is a condition, where the cell walls of the gut becomes loose, and instead of releasing digested nutrients into the blood stream, it starts leaking even undigested foods, larger particles, toxins, unhealthy bacteria into the bloodstream triggering an auto-immune response. This can cause inflammatory response and further ailments in the body like colon health issues, gut health issues, skin disorders like psoriasis, eczema, urticaria, brain health issues like ADHD, lack of coordination, concentration and even depression. Leaky gut syndrome also has been linked to Hashimoto’s, thyroid and graves, frequent cold, cough; weak immune system, fibromyalgia and bone related disorders. Wrong food combinations can disrupt digestive health, metabolism, and prevent healthy tissue formation in the long run.
How can we become cautious of the food combinations on our plate and prevent leaky gut syndrome and its symptoms? What are the incompatible food combinations we must be cautious of? In the forthcoming articles, we will dwell deeper into various food combinations that are compatible, incompatible, or toxic to the body and learn how to preserve our health. We will combine the information from traditional ayurvedic science and back it with modern research based evidence to arrive at reasonable conclusions.
(Dimple Jangda is a Lifestyle medicine advocate, gut health and Ayurveda coach, and author of the ‘Heal Your Gut, Mind & Emotions: 5 Steps to Reset Your Health with Ayurveda and Food Chemistry’)
