WHAT IS A CORRECT DIET?

Ayurvedic cooking and dietic approaches are mainly concerned with physical health and do not always address the issues of Sattva. Hence they may discuss certain food types that are not very Sattvic in nature. Yoga, on the other hand emphasizing a Sattvic diet, may include foods that can aggravate certain doshas. For an optimal dietary regimen one should combine a Sattvic diet with a diet appropriate for one's doshic type.

The correct diet additionally emphasizes natural foods, food grown in harmony with nature, on good soils, ripened naturally, cooked in right manner and with right manner and with right attitude of love. Such foods are carriers of Prana and consciousness. Correct diet, further, is a matter of timing of meals as well. One should avoid heavy food in the morning or in the late evening, as it is more likely to clog the system at these times. The morning meal should be light & stimulating. The main meal should be at noon (not afternoon) and in the early evening. Eating late at night, except some light food like fruits or milk, weights the body and mind down. We can divide the food into five categories in terms of the Prana – ‘the vital force'. In Ayurveda Prana is divided into five namely Prana, Apana, Udana, Samana and vyana. Each of them has different duties in our system, which in combination will energize the physical body, mind and the subtle body. Our food intake hence should be to activate all Pranas in balance. The following tabulation will give a study of activities of each prana in our system and food that would activate each prana.