6 Reasons You Should Never Be Sorry For Eating Healthy Meals
Being committed to a healthy diet and lifestyle is one of the smartest decisions you can ever make. But what is healthy eating and what is a healthy lifestyle?
If you feel overwhelmed by all the conflicting nutrition and diet advice out there, you’re not alone. It seems that for every expert who tells you a certain food is good for you, you’ll find another saying exactly the opposite. North American opinions on food change on a regular basis; on the contrary, Ayurveda has not changed its principles and ideas on healthy eating and lifestyle in 3000 years!
By using these simple Ayurveda principles, you can cut through the confusion and learn how to create a healthy body, mind and spirit.
- Healthy diet doesn’t need to be unpleasant. In Ayurveda, food products are chosen for an individual based on the tastes and qualities present in the food and how those react with their constitution, rather than for its calorie or fat content. Meals that are prepared using all six tastes (sweet, sour salty, bitter, pungent and astringent) are considered ideal because the body is receiving a variety of nutrients.
- Everything you eat has an effect on your body, which Ayurveda categorizes in a simple and easy way, using gunas or qualities. Gunas are qualities (like cold and hot) that describe the effect a food or herb has on your body. Cooling foods like cucumber, decrease metabolism. Heating foods like chili pepper, stimulate your body and increase metabolism and may create anger.
- The food we eat has a significant influence on our minds and hearts. You could even say that the nature of our mind and feelings depends on the food we have eaten. And conversely, the state of our mind, emotions, intellect and senses — and our overall state of contentment — all these, in turn, affect the digestion, absorption and elimination of the food we have eaten. So follow the digestive tips from the last newsletter.
- Did you know that the food you choose directly affects your mood? You should know that every morsel we put into our body has energy connected to it. Consider it mood food.
SO! What food creates good moods?
Plants! Veggies! Grains! Fruits! Ghee and dairy if it comes from a good place. Always buy full fat and local organic dairy, if possible. In addition to foods, make sure to drink plenty of water. Plants wither and animals throw their water dish around when there’s not enough! Your body withers too, but your mood will be affected first, as a warning sign. Aren’t our bodies so smart to give us warning signs? So, be thankful for being an evolved being who gets moody enough to know that you’re not eating the right things. Incorporate more natural foods that are full of sun, nourished by water and prana and nature will give you peace, happiness, and an innate knowing that all is well.
Eating healthy makes you Sleep better using Food and lifestyle choices: You don’t even need sleeping pills.
A glass of raw, warm milk or almond milk with ginger before bedtime nourishes the mind and relaxes the body – add a small amount of nutmeg and ghee for an added sleep benefit.
At bedtime rub warm sesame oil on your feet, put on socks, and have a good night’s’ sleep.
Put that phone or iPad away an hour before bed. Go for a walk in the moonlight.
A healthy diet will definitely make you live longer. Making just a few Ayurveda changes in your lifestyle can help you live longer.
Healthy diet is not about food alone but what elements and qualities make up the foods you are eating. If you want to feel great, having more energy, improving your health, and stabilizing your mood, eat Ayurvedically!