Ayurveda believe that the 3 gunas (basic qualities of the universe) work together on a mental, physical and emotional level. Everything in this universe consists of (a combination of) these gunas, including your food.
Guna is a Sanskrit word that could be translated by something like “what binds,” it can also be defined as “String, thread, or strand,” or “quality, peculiarity, attribute, property” or “virtue, merit, excellence”. These 3 Guna qualities are present in all human beings, even though the percentages are different in each and in each case, are Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.When we speak of Sattva, we are talking about intelligence, the main maker of balance. Rajas would be, on the other hand, the attribute related to energy, to change, to activity and turbulence.
This Guna is the maximum responsible for any type of imbalance. Finally, Tamas is the quality of substance, of darkness, of drowsiness. Tamas brings loss of perception and is in the end, to burden that prevents us from freeing ourselves from the most material.
The Three Gunas in Ayurveda Diet
The most important thing when maintaining a good state of health both physical and mental, first of all, it is necessary to promote, the Satuva Guna. For this, there is nothing like meditation and, of course good nutrition.
Both instruments, together with the practice of Yoga, will serve to calm the Guna Rajas and to eradicate the Guna Tamas. In this post, you will learn some basic several indications on the most suitable diets for each Guna.
It goes without saying that from the Tam as diet you have to flee like the Devil. What would be the point of maintaining a diet that would only serve to enhance in the most negative attributes of our nature.
1. Sattvic diet
The ideal Ayurvedic diet for good health, therefore it is fundamentally sattvic diet. Thanks to it as it would improve our mental energy, our good mood and as a rule, our balance.
The sattvic foods serve to provide lengthen life and health. This diet also serve to cleanse and purify our body, would therefore be the basis of a correct Ayurvedic diet.
The sathwic food should be natural and fresh, preferably organic food and should be taken from the most natural way, raw, boiled or steamed lightly cooked. Among the sattvic foods we can find the following:
1. The cereals will serve to provide our body with carbohydrates and amino acids that serve the body to synthesize proteins.
- Cereals such as quinoa, oats, rice, millet, corn, etc.
2. When consuming dairy products you have to do it in moderation. An excess of dairy increases the production of mucus and hinders breathing.
- Legumes that provide proteins.
- Spices, fundamental in Ayurvedic food.
- Dairy products such as milk or butter.
3. When we talk about fruits we also talk about juices from them. The juices contribute to our body vitamins, minerals and fiber. In addition, they contain alkaline substances that serve to cleanse the blood.
4. Sweeteners that are used in the sattvic diet should be natural sweeteners such as honey, molasses or maple syrup.
- Nuts such as nuts, almonds, etc.
2. Rajastic diet
The rajastic diet, which pursues the union between mind, body and spirit, is especially indicated for people who perform a great physical exhaustion. Even so, it must be borne in mind that rajastic foods are bitter, sour, salty or too spicy foods.
The person endowed with a rajastic personality is a fundamentally very active and emotionally unstable person. Restless and passionate, the rajas person are a person often uncontrolled, a person who acts by impulses.
Among the rajastic foods are garlic, onion, radish, coffee, tea and all the exciting. According to the principles of Ayurveda, rajastic foods foment anger, greed, violence, selfishness or lust. Of all the Guans, Rajas is ultimately responsible for disputes and wars.
3. Tamasic diet
The worst foods you can imagine for your health are precisely, Tamasic foods. The Tamasic diet makes the person a lazy person, devoid of motivation and tending to depression.
Giving up Tamasic foods is always a decision that should be made by anyone who decides to improve their way of life. Body, emotional and mental dullness is the main characteristic of the person who abuses Tamasic foods .
What foods are those? Meat and fish are for example. It also alcohol or the fruit that are unripe green or too ripe. Or fried food grilled or reheated many times.
And the dishes that are not at their point, that is, those that are too raw or too cooked. Tamasic foods are, for example, precooked dishes. And the canned food, the vinegar, the mushrooms, the refined foods, the Chocolate and the pasta of course.
As you see, there are many foods that we usually eat and that, if we wanted to maintain a healthy ayurvedic diet, we should eradicate from our pantry.