THE THREE PILLARS FOR GOOD HEALTH
According to Ayur veda there are three main causes for disease- overeating, uncleanliness and anxiety. Respectively, these three are preventable by the observance of a simple diet, cleanliness, and regular recreation. All three give important stress relief to the body and mind.
To begin with below are some things I've learned, either from the Ayur Veda (which involves different versions and authors) and HDG Srila Prabhupada, as well as other sources in regards to healthy eating:
SIMPLE DIET DEFINED
Simple diet involves both moderate eating as well as the avoidance of unnecessary or difficult to digest foods, especially meat products and highly processed convenience and junk foods. Also it means trying not to overfill the belly at meals or eating needlessly in-between meals.
SIMPLE DIET TIPS
One should eat until they feel satisfied, but also leave room in the stomach for liquids and air. Belching may be taken as a signal that the body has had enough. Stop stuffing more in. As for me, I try to leave taking seconds for younger people.
Extra rich, sweet and opulent preparations will be more appreciated if they are only like once a week such as on Sunday feasts or while celebrating holy days. Otherwise, a very small amount of any sweetmeat, about a teaspoon, after a large meal (especially a spicy one) is satisfying. Meanwhile, it's best to eat more simply the rest of the week, although there can be countless variations of rice, dhal, chapatis, subji and so on.
Giving enough time in between meals for the body to digest is important. Proper digestion will not leave “am" (pronounced "um") which is undigested food within the system that can lead to many kinds of problems. Allow about 4 hrs.(for adults) to digest a large meal, depending on body size and amount eaten last. Also, it is best to avoid taking bath after a meal because it cools the body down, thus slowing digestion. Bathing before taking a meal, on the other hand, can stimulate the appetite.
Eating is yet another form of stress relief for body (and because it is prasadam, nourishment for the soul). In this regard, the atmosphere for meals should be as pleasant as possible.
It is recommended to lie on one's left side, if possible, for about 10 minutes after eating or at least to relax a bit before working again, to get the body focused on digestion.
It is best to feel hungry before eating again.
IF YOU DO OVEREAT
Prabhupada suggests skipping the next meal. This gives the body a chance to better digest the excess food.
Notice how prasadam tastes better when there is hunger, and it will be digested properly.
EATING AT REGULAR TIMES
So much valuable time can be saved by not eating between meals. Also it is better for healthy teeth, because one may forget to wash their mouth afterwards when eating indiscriminately.
Take enough breakfast prasadam to make it until lunch. The largest meal is recommended around noon when the sun is still high and the fire of digestion is too. In the evening, a lighter evening meal is best before it gets dark. And all persons, young and old, can benefit from a hot cup of sweetened milk before retiring.
EATING PRASADAM ONLY
Prasadam helps to pacify the tongue, the most voracious and uncontrollable of all the senses.
One should avoid eating in non devotee restaurants or preprepared foods. These things only increase the demands of the tongue. Also one cannot see what is happening during the preparation or manufacturing. It is not uncommon to hear news reports about food contaminating, something that is less likely to occur when one eats their own cooking.
Furthermore, the consciousness of the cook goes into the cooked foodstuffs they prepare. There are several warnings about this in the sastra regarding the eating of foodstuffs, especially grains, prepared by materialists..
Ideally, eat only what you lovingly prepare for Krsna or what was cooked by His loving devotees. Otherwise, it's advised to accept only non grain food items from anyone else such as fruit, milk, juice, simple salad...if offered.
It's nice to learn to cook and offer foods that Krishna likes instead of personal preferences only.
AVOIDING JUNK FOODS
If you don’t want to be tempted to eat or overeat unnecessary foods, don't keep them in the house. Then, you'll be forced to snack on simpler, healthier foods such as a banana or apple. And remember:
Your body is not a garbage can.
EATING FOODS THAT ARE FRESHLY COOKED
Freshly cooked preparations from scratch are germ free, more nutritious, and easier to digest compared to foods prepared in a factory and then left to sit on a shelf or in a freezer.
If eaten at all, yeast bread should be taken when very fresh. Otherwise, yeast attracts yeast, which is known for creating health problems.
AVOIDING LEFTOVERS WHENEVER POSSIBLE
Leftovers are heavier by nature and thus harder to digest. Also they contain less nutrition than the first cooking. As one Ayurvedic doctor told me, "Life comes from life." That means living foods. In other words, less processed foods contain more life giving energy.
FASTING ON HOLY DAYS
Fasting improves the digestion, rids the body of impurities, prolongs life, gives spiritual merit, saves valuable time, and gradually awards control of the tongue.
During a fast, it helps to avoid quarreling, traveling, prajalpa, sleeping, hard labor, intense study or negative thoughts. Strength comes from increasing our hearing and chanting about Krishna , a service attitude and correct breathing. That's because air is also a type of food.
Start with simpler foods when first breaking a fast, such as fresh fruits.
EATING SUFFICIENTLY
We cannot artificially reduce our eating. It takes time before getting easier. Because of an increasing desire for the Lord’s service, we’ll gradually want to eat and sleep less. Meanwhile, undereating is not good either.(BG 6.16) One should eat sufficiently for executing Krishna's service.
PRASADAM DISTRIBUTION
Before eating, don't forget to say a prayer of thanks and call out for any other hungry persons nearby to join you. Prasadam is especially meant for distribution, for sharing with others the mercy.
DRINKING WATER
It is said that drinking water before a meal is like medicine, during a meal it is like nectar and immediately after a meal, it acts like poison. Also it is said a yogi or ascetic drinks water before a meal; a bhogi or householder drinks water during a meal and a rogi or diseased person is one who habitually drinks immediately after a meal. Furthermore, if one wishes to lose weight- drink before a meal; if one wish to maintain weight- drink during a meal, but avoid taking water directly afterwards.
Ideally, drink a glass of water one hour after eating and once every hour afterward until one hour before the next meal.
By replacing soft drinks and so on with fresh water, a natural thirst and taste for water develops which is very healthy.
SOME HELPS FOR A POOR APPETITE OR THE TOO THIN VEGETARIAN
“Life’s desires should never be directed toward sense gratification. One should desire only a healthy life, or self-preservation, since a human being is meant for inquiry about the Absolute Truth. Nothing else should be the goal of one’s works.” --SB1.2.10
“This is Äyurvedic law. Even if you think that you can eat so much, you should not voluntarily eat so much. You should eat half, and one-fourth you should fill up with water, and one-fourth you keep vacant for air ventilation. Then there will be no disease. “- lecture 8/26/73 London
According to Ayur veda there are three main causes for disease- overeating, uncleanliness and anxiety. Respectively, these three are preventable by the observance of a simple diet, cleanliness, and regular recreation. All three give important stress relief to the body and mind.
To begin with below are some things I've learned, either from the Ayur Veda (which involves different versions and authors) and HDG Srila Prabhupada, as well as other sources in regards to healthy eating:
SIMPLE DIET DEFINED
Simple diet involves both moderate eating as well as the avoidance of unnecessary or difficult to digest foods, especially meat products and highly processed convenience and junk foods. Also it means trying not to overfill the belly at meals or eating needlessly in-between meals.
SIMPLE DIET TIPS
One should eat until they feel satisfied, but also leave room in the stomach for liquids and air. Belching may be taken as a signal that the body has had enough. Stop stuffing more in. As for me, I try to leave taking seconds for younger people.
Extra rich, sweet and opulent preparations will be more appreciated if they are only like once a week such as on Sunday feasts or while celebrating holy days. Otherwise, a very small amount of any sweetmeat, about a teaspoon, after a large meal (especially a spicy one) is satisfying. Meanwhile, it's best to eat more simply the rest of the week, although there can be countless variations of rice, dhal, chapatis, subji and so on.
Giving enough time in between meals for the body to digest is important. Proper digestion will not leave “am" (pronounced "um") which is undigested food within the system that can lead to many kinds of problems. Allow about 4 hrs.(for adults) to digest a large meal, depending on body size and amount eaten last. Also, it is best to avoid taking bath after a meal because it cools the body down, thus slowing digestion. Bathing before taking a meal, on the other hand, can stimulate the appetite.
Eating is yet another form of stress relief for body (and because it is prasadam, nourishment for the soul). In this regard, the atmosphere for meals should be as pleasant as possible.
It is best to feel hungry before eating again.
Prabhupada suggests skipping the next meal. This gives the body a chance to better digest the excess food.
So much valuable time can be saved by not eating between meals. Also it is better for healthy teeth, because one may forget to wash their mouth afterwards when eating indiscriminately.
Prasadam helps to pacify the tongue, the most voracious and uncontrollable of all the senses.
If you don’t want to be tempted to eat or overeat unnecessary foods, don't keep them in the house. Then, you'll be forced to snack on simpler, healthier foods such as a banana or apple. And remember:
Your body is not a garbage can.
Freshly cooked preparations from scratch are germ free, more nutritious, and easier to digest compared to foods prepared in a factory and then left to sit on a shelf or in a freezer.
Leftovers are heavier by nature and thus harder to digest. Also they contain less nutrition than the first cooking. As one Ayurvedic doctor told me, "Life comes from life." That means living foods. In other words, less processed foods contain more life giving energy.
Fasting improves the digestion, rids the body of impurities, prolongs life, gives spiritual merit, saves valuable time, and gradually awards control of the tongue.
Start with simpler foods when first breaking a fast, such as fresh fruits.
We cannot artificially reduce our eating. It takes time before getting easier. Because of an increasing desire for the Lord’s service, we’ll gradually want to eat and sleep less. Meanwhile, undereating is not good either.(BG 6.16) One should eat sufficiently for executing Krishna's service.
Before eating, don't forget to say a prayer of thanks and call out for any other hungry persons nearby to join you. Prasadam is especially meant for distribution, for sharing with others the mercy.
DRINKING WATER
It is said that drinking water before a meal is like medicine, during a meal it is like nectar and immediately after a meal, it acts like poison. Also it is said a yogi or ascetic drinks water before a meal; a bhogi or householder drinks water during a meal and a rogi or diseased person is one who habitually drinks immediately after a meal. Furthermore, if one wishes to lose weight- drink before a meal; if one wish to maintain weight- drink during a meal, but avoid taking water directly afterwards.
By replacing soft drinks and so on with fresh water, a natural thirst and taste for water develops which is very healthy.
- Hard work gives a good appetite, plus fresh air and moderate daily exercise. Strenuous exercise causes weight loss.
- Try to have a daily change of menu.
- Allowing sweets in moderation can build good eating habits.
- Fill up on lots of bread and grain.
- Dahl in some form at every meal (except dinner) is also good.
- Eat fruits and moderate amounts of simple sugars.
- Add high fat plant foods- nuts, seeds, avocado, olives...
- Some constitutions need to eat cold, raw foods sparingly. A study of Ayurveda goes into more details about these considerations.
- Chew your food well, digestion begins with the mouth, which also means to avoid eating in a hurry.
- Try eating with your fingers. Food mixing with one's fingers is said to also aid digestion
- Avoid eating while standing or walking. Prasadam should be honored nicely and the body given a break.
- "Walk at least 100 steps" after an evening meal, before retiring.
- Don’t waste- Try to eat everything on your plate. Leftovers can be distributed, given to animals, buried (compost) or put into water. Try to avoid storing them
“Life’s desires should never be directed toward sense gratification. One should desire only a healthy life, or self-preservation, since a human being is meant for inquiry about the Absolute Truth. Nothing else should be the goal of one’s works.” --SB1.2.10
“Actually, we should not eat unless we are very hungry. That is good eating..... When you are hungry, you can eat any ordinary things. Still, you feel very satisfactory. So not routine eating. Routine eating must be there. We should not eat more than that. But the best principle is that if we do not feel hungry, we should not eat. But if there is no hunger and at the same time no appetite and we eat, that brings indigestion, dysentery...”
“Prasadam is meant for distribution”
“So far attending pujas at the houses of the Hindus there we can go and hold our kirtana but we should not take prasadam there. We can accept raw materials and take them to our temple but we should not accept any prasadam prepared by them. However, if they insist then we can take fruits and milk and offer them to Krishna.”
“I have got practical experience, if you cook your own food, whatever it may be, it is healthy.” rm conversation, 8/2/76, New Mayapur farm
“Devotees should eat as simply as possible. Otherwise, attachment for material things will gradually increase, and the senses, being very srtong, will soon require more and more material enjoyment. Then the real business of life- to advance in Krsna consciousness- will stop.” SB 5.18.10 purport Bg lecture 7.16
“If we take food from the houses of others, such as karmis, we shall have to share the qualities of those from whom we take alms. Therefore Sri Chaitanya Mahäprabhu took prasädam in the houses of Vaisnavas. This is the general process. The members of the Krishna consciousness movement are advised not to take food from anywhere but a Vaisnava’s or brähmana’s house where Deity worship is performed. Sri Chaitanya Mahäprabhu has said....if a devotee takes alms or food from the house of a karmi who is simply interested in money, his mind will become unclean." -CC Antya 3.101p
TRANSLATION
“When one eats food offered by a materialistic man, one’s mind becomes
contaminated, and when the mind is contaminated, one is unable to think of Krishna properly.
PURPORT
"Srilla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvati Thäkura suggests that people who are
materialistically inclined and sahajiyäs, or so-called Vaisnavas who take everything very casually, are both visayis, or materialists. Eating food offered by them causes contamination, and as a result of such contamination, even a serious devotee becomes like a materialistic man.
"There are six kinds of association—giving charity, accepting charity, accepting food, offering food, talking confidentially and inquiring confidentially. One should very carefully avoid associating with both the sahajiyäs, who are sometimes known as Vaisnavas, and the non-Vaisnavas, or avaisnavas. Their association changes the transcendental devotional service of Lord Krishna into sense gratification, and when sense gratification enters the mind of a devotee, he is contaminated. The materialistic person who aspires after sense gratification cannot properly think of Krishna."--Antya 6.278 (also see CC Antya 6.279 and purport; Adi 12.50-51 and purport; NOI4, )
FASTING
“O learned brähmana, because of my drinking the nectar of the message of the infallible Personality of Godhead, which is flowing down from the ocean of your speeches, I do not feel any sort of exhaustion due to my fasting”.--SB 2.8.26
“When there is no food, disease and pests go away.”
“Because in the beginning, because we are accustomed to eat voraciously, so don’t try to eat less artificially. You eat. But try to minimize. Therefore there are prescription of fasting. At least two compulsory fastings in a month. And there are other fasting days. The more you can reduce your sleep and eating, you keep good health, especially for spiritual purposes. But not artificially. Not artificially. But when you advance, naturally you’ll (eat less).” --Bg 6.16.24 lecture
UNECESSARY FOODS
“Eating does not mean to fill up the belly with all rubbish things. Eating means that you become healthy, nice eating.” Morning walk, 5/4/73
“Hogs are very much attached to eating stools. So stool is a kind of foodstuff for a particular type of animal. And even stones are eatables for a particular type of animal or bird. But the human being is not meant for eating everything and anything; he is meant to eat grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, sugar, etc.” SB 2.3.19
“Cocoa and chocolate are not to be taken as they are intoxicants.”--letter from Srila Prabhupada to Surasrestha, 6/14/72 LA
"Furthermore, ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission (GBC) has outlawed the consumption of chocolate in the following resolution:
“31. That, as it contains various stimulants like caffeine (contained in coffee), theine (contained in black tea) and theobromine (contained in cacao), chocolate should not be eaten by ISKCON devotees.” (GBC Resolution 1993)
“With every bar of chocolate, every cup of coffee consumed, someone, somewhere on this small planet is denied his basic meal because of my greed, not need.” --author unknown
“When one eats food offered by a materialistic man, one’s mind becomes
contaminated, and when the mind is contaminated, one is unable to think of Krishna properly.
PURPORT
"Srilla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvati Thäkura suggests that people who are
materialistically inclined and sahajiyäs, or so-called Vaisnavas who take everything very casually, are both visayis, or materialists. Eating food offered by them causes contamination, and as a result of such contamination, even a serious devotee becomes like a materialistic man.
“O learned brähmana, because of my drinking the nectar of the message of the infallible Personality of Godhead, which is flowing down from the ocean of your speeches, I do not feel any sort of exhaustion due to my fasting”.--SB 2.8.26
“Eating does not mean to fill up the belly with all rubbish things. Eating means that you become healthy, nice eating.” Morning walk, 5/4/73