Gustatelo!

My first encounter with the word ayurveda was on a spa menu under the massage treatments, but along my journey here in India I have picked up some very interesting knowledge about this ancient art. I have come to feel that it aligns quite well with my own personal ideals for the way I live and take care of myself.
Ayurveda is a system of medicine and health that originated in India. It comes from the Sanskrit words ayus and veda meaning ‘life’ and ‘science’ or ‘knowledge’ respectively. Contrary to western health care, ayurveda concentrates a great deal on prevention and maintaining of healthy lifestyles.  What a novel concept!! (Catch the sarcasm there?) I cant even imagine how much the cost of health care would plummet if we could wake up tomorrow with a healthcare system that focuses on prevention instead of treatment. People just don’t want to give up their luxuries. This is a huge issue in our system of health care that often goes unaddressed. But never mind my agenda…


The lifestyle wellness practices are personalized and changed depending on the individual as well as the seasons.  All of this makes perfect sense to me. Obviously different bodies will react in different ways to the same therapies, but these therapies must also change according to how the environment changes. It’s the same logic that says we should eat the food that is in season because it has the most nutritional benefit at that time. Obviously!
Ayurveda says that there are five substances that compose the universe and everything within it: earth, water, fire, air and ether. A lovely concept that goes against my heavy science background. Although, I guess you could say that there are fundamental building blocks in the chemical elements, quarks etc.  Am I reaching here? Then there are three doshas, regulatory principals or divine forces within our bodies: vata (wind, spirit and air controls movement of and in the body), pitta (fire and water controls digestion and metabolism) and kapha (earth and water is linked to structure and moisture balance within the body).  Every person posses a unique blend of doshas and the goal of ayurvedic treatments and practices are to keep these doshas balanced. So to maintain the balance of these forces, the therapies and treatments for each person is different.  Focus is put on maintaining a healthy metabolic and digestive system, as well as amounts of exercise, yoga, meditation and massage.
Depending on your dominant dosha(s), your recommended diet changes. Dietary recommendations include eating more or less of a certain taste or type of food as well as methods of food preparation. Related to the ayurvedic focus on balance, it is considered unhealthy to suppress any natural urges your body may have, but at the same time moderation of food intake, sleep, sex and drugs is stressed. This is exactly what my mother always told me when I would ask if sweets were good for me, “anything is ok in moderation.” I have always found this to be true. No, that one McDonalds meal won’t kill you, but the weekly trip to the drive-thru lane might.  The way I live and eat now revolves around moderation and variety.  I have found these two ideas to be important to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Keep this in mind the next time you decide to try some extreme low fat or Atkins diet. Maybe a little more variation and moderation would be HEALTHIER for you, and a HEALTHY (not weight-loss) focused diet combined with an active lifestyle is the only real way to achieve your weight-loss goals for the long term. So try some new, seasonal and colorful plates, and don’t eat the same thing 3 times a week. Gustatelo!