Food and Health
Food has been given a very
significant place in our lives because it is our primary requirement. It is
our basic need because it is the source of mental and physical energy. The
food that we eat, not only effects our body and the efficiency of our mind but
directly effects our nature and habits. The Knowledge of balanced diet is
therefore indispensable to "Good health".
"Balanced diet" has also been
discussed in Yoga science. However its reference is not akin to the diet
tables provided to us by the modern day dieticians giving daily requirements
of fat, proteins and minerals etc. We will discuss briefly the relation
between Food and health.
"Aahar" ( Sanskrit for food) as
described in Yoga.
Aahar or food not only means
the intake of food orally but it also incorporates the air and the sunlight
received by us through the pores of our skin.
The energy requirements for all
our physical and mental activities is derived from the food we eat. The brain
requires 20 volts of power for its day to day functioning which is assimilated
from glucose and oxygen. Excessive intake of food requires more energy for
digestion. Energy is limited, the surplus consumption of energy by the
digestive system means less energy for all our mental activities. The
excessive temptation towards food is accompanied by our dwindling intellectual
activities. Would any sensible man like it ?
According to medical science
anger, moodiness, immoderacy of temperament, short temperedness are diseases
of the human mind. They originate due to an increase in the percentage of uric
acid in the body which is caused due to the reduction of enzymes in the body
which in turn depend upon a balanced diet.
According to Yoga science a
balanced diet is important but what is more important is excretion. Food is
essential as it is the source of all life activities. The body absorbs the
essential ingredients from food and then excretes the waste. But if there is
any imbalance in the food intake, it results in disrupting this natural
process. The large intestines are not the only place where waste accumulates,
it does so even in each and every tiny cell of the body. Modern dieticians
believe that good health requires 80% Alkaline acids and 20 % acidic ones.
Excessive eating, eating at short intervals and eating without hunger i.e.
lacking the appropriate knowledge of food results in increase of the
concentration of the acidic ........ acidic... are negative and alkaline.
.......are positive elements.. In order to maintain the right proportion
between the two a third important aspect comes into picture, which is Anshan(
According to yoga science human
body organs such as kidney, heart and liver are capable of functioning for a
span of 300 years. But due to improper food intake their life span decreases.
The digestive system is over burdened when there is an excessive acidic
elements in the body. Ways have been suggested to excrete the foreign
particles in the body, they are-
2) Restrained eating.
3) Forgoing the desire of the
It is true that energy is
derived through food, but then dullness is also caused due to excessive
eating. Eating more than what is needed by the body reduces the benefits of
food. To digest food the digestive organs will have to work more, the energy
of the body is thus lost on this and the other body organs are thus deprived
of this essential body energy. Due to the excessive work load the discretory
organs become weak and are unable to perform their functions, and so a lot of
toxic waste accumulates in the body. To give rest to the digestive system it
is important to fast (Anshan). At least once a week it is important to give
the digestive system some rest. Not every body can perform a full day fast,
for that purpose restrained eating(unodari) or overcoming the temptations of
the taste buds ( Ras Parityag ) can also be a solution. Some other factors
that can determine the healthiness of your internal organs are age, seasons,
exercises etc. In addition to all this the place and the way the food is taken
is also very important. Food should be eaten in healthy, clean surroundings,
it should not be eaten under any sort of stress, sorrow, anxiety of any sort,
nor should food be eaten in an untimely hour. If any body eats under such
circumstances then the food will not get properly digested.
In ancient days people kept a
fast on full moon nights. The astrologists believe that human mind gets
directly effected by the moon. Curiously enough according to many researches
it has been found that the number of crimes committed on full moon nights is
much more then ordinary.
Why is it is so?
This means that the moon has a
direct impact on human body. The reason is that human body is consisted of 80%
fluids. And moon is a well known to effect the motion of water on earth, on
full moon nights there are high tides. Henceforth the human body is most
effected on a full moon night. It is believed that during these days the mind
and the body should be given adequate rest and a good way to perform this is
Fasting. If we have want to keep our digestive system healthy then we will
have to understand the importance of food. A day before performing Dhyana
(meditation) a light meal should be taken. On fast days it is advisable to
drink lukewarm water , lime water or a fruit juice. The next day breakfast
should be very light preferably something liquid followed by a light lunch as
A meal should be divided into
four parts, two parts for food, one part for water and one part for air. This
means that one should eat less then stomachful. After eating the stomach
should feel light because then there is not too much pressure on the digestive
system. There should be atleast 3-4 hour difference between every meal,
otherwise the digestive juices will not be formed and the digestion would thus
remain incomplete thus resulting in constipation. The waste will get collected
in the large intestines and kidneys and cause acidity. Sometimes patients
suffering with gas problem complain of having heart trouble, this is merely
due to gas. This might result in breathing disorders, the immunity sytem of
the body gets reduced and the mood becomes irritable.
Another way to keep the
digestive system healthy is by overcoming the desire of the taste buds.
1) Sugar 2) Salt 3) Milk 4)Ghee
5) Oil are to be taken sometime and other times they should be avoided. For
example a day should be assigned for avoiding all foodstuffs in which excess
of ghee is present, other days should be assigned for avoiding salt or milk or
oil etc. If the percentage of any of these has increased then by performing
this the ratio of same would get balanced once again. At least once a week the
same should be performed conscientiously.
There is a deep founded
relationship between the sun and our digestive system as well. The digestive
system becomes slow and weak during the night. Avoid taking food an hour after
sunset and if at all keep to very liquid diet. According to Medical reports 10
percent of the population today suffers from acidity. In one time too many
different type of food stuffs should not be taken. The reason for this is that
the digestive system does not have the capacity to digest so many different
type of food Ras (properties).
Eating a proper diet is also an
art but today the life in the metropolitan cities has become so automated and
mechanical that the food we eat and the way we eat has also become mechanical.
Today’s man is so busy that he has time for everything but time to eat. While
eating he is performing multiple functions like reading the newspaper,
working, watching television or listening to and solving family or business
problems etc. By doing this the mind will not be involved with the act of
eating only the teeth and the stomach will be performing a function. The most
important thing that has to be taken care of is that food should be eaten in a
calm and relaxed state of mind. If the mind is tensed, angry, worried,
anxious, or if the food is taken very late at night then such food will not
get properly digested or not produce the digestive juices properly. Just like
our body needs health tonics so also does our mind. The food has direct impact
on our mind and our thinking. The mind is related to electric waves and
chemicals. These chemicals are formed from the food we eat. The food we eat
directly effects the body chemicals, these in turn effect all our mental
activities which effect our day to day behavior, thoughts and ultimately
actions/personality. This is all inter-related and goes in a circle, until and
unless this art is not properly understood we can ameliorate our health and
ultimately our personality.
"Food" should also be linked to
"Preksha", while having food only food should be eaten meaning complete
attention should be paid to it. Right from the first bite that is eaten and
chewed observe and feel the different taste of the food, then feel the food
passing down the throat food pipes to the intestines and the stomach. By doing
this one’s awareness towards food will also get increased, our chewing
capacity will get increased, the work that our teeth and jaw is to perform
will not be left on the intestines. We will become more cognizant to the taste
and the values of the food we eat, upon practice we can even get to know which
taste belongs to which particular food. By mixing other things in vegetables,
salad, milk or any other food stuffs to increase the taste of same we will
actually reduce the natural values of the food. Gradually with time one can
even appropriate the right values of food product. We will be able to perform
the function of a doctor for the self, we can get to know which food has what
effects on the body.
The circle of life directly
depends upon food we eat, just from the food one takes it is easy to know the
personality of a person. Only the food which has been taken with the right
knowledge Hit, Mit and Satvik (ie taking what is good for the self, the
quantity, and its effect on the body into consideration) is actually healthy.
Keeping this into mind, factors such as climate, one’s age, place and the
requirements of one’s body have to be kept in consideration. Quantity means
the awareness of what has to be eaten in how much quantity. Even if ambrosial
food is taken in too much quantity it will take tyhe form of poison. The food
which relaxes the mind and gives no immoral thought is innately good or Satvik./The
food which gives placidity and because of which no scathing thoughts come the
mind is satvik food.
For a better and healthy living
the practice of taking good food is of vital importance to the body, by and by
as the practice of good food increases so also do the juices in our body
undergo a change. With that there is a major change in one’s thinking and
behavior and thus a beginning to a new and beautiful life. Then one can freely
say that whatever has not happened till now has finally happened.
From the works of
Compiled by Vidya Jain