Friday, 17 April 2009 02:30

I had a stomach pain last night, not so intense but enough to discomfort my day. The dumb thing is I know and I can avoid it, but still it happened. So this post will help me remember the "how to" of eating right and in the same time share it with you

Eating should be written down a guide, maybe the tittle would be "Eating Right for Dummies!". For this topic there's a picture of human digestive organs below, just to make you remember of High School's stuff so called Biology.

A lot of us doesn't know the right way to eat, we just do it according our habit, sometimes.. impulsively. The guide here is based on ancient knowledge, the Ayurveda and some of the books and web articles I red. The Rules are:

1. Calm yourself down before eating, it's not good to eat while you're upset, sad or other emotional state. During emotional state your body produce hormones and substances that are bad to digestion process. That is why I had stomach pain, lately I had stressed out cause of works and I brought it in the lunch table. A short 1 minutes of closing eyes and intended slow breathing are recommended to release the tension before eating.
2. Eat while you're sitting down, in a peaceful environment. Preferably without TV or newspaper, books, magazines. Don't do anything else besides eating. Business talk during eating is not recommended, refer to rule #1.
3. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day, breakfast and dinner should be lighter.
4. Breakfast is important to start a day, so don't miss it. At least a glass of milk is enough, preferably another grains product will keep you forceful until lunch time.
5. Lunch should be eaten between 12 PM and 2 PM, these are the time when the digestive fire (Agni) is strongest. The Agni will be ready to process your main meal of the day.
6. Dinner should be eaten before 8 PM, after 8 PM the Agni would be weak, so the meal eaten after 8 PM will produce more Ama, a sticky waste-product of digestion that builds up in the digestive tract. Accumulation of Ama in the system will cause you wake up tired the next day or worst.. illness.
7. Avoid ice cold drinks or food, especially if it's combined with greasy foods. Ice cold drinks or foods are not good with the Agni, combined with greasy foods will produce more Ama, combined with hot meal can cause stomach cramps, bloating, or other symptoms.
8. Take a short rest after eating, don't get back to physical activity right away. If you have digestion problem or other uncomfortable symptoms after eating just lay down on your left side of the body for a few minutes.

I think I have summarize all of the general rules, if you have any more to add just leave a comment.