Nutrition as medicine: Strengthening immunity through diet

Ayurvedic medicine is known for its holistic approach and the importance it places on diet, as one of the pillars of good health. But how do we eat right according to Ayurveda?

If you are curious to know what principles make nutrition immune-boosting according to Ayurveda, read this article by our Ayurveda expert, Dr Ágnes Csizmadia!

Ayurvedic nutrition

Ayurveda recommends a diet that is qualitatively balanced, quantitatively moderate, and adapted to your genetic make-up (in Ayurvedic terms, your birth doshas) and the time of year.

The Ayurvedic way of life is sattvic. Sattva is a binder of goodness: pure, light, calming, harmonising. It opens the mind and promotes alertness. The sattvic diet was originally developed for the practice of yoga, for the development of the mind. It can be used to achieve a higher state of consciousness, but it is also excellent as a recovery diet after fasting.

The sattvic diet is light, with a slightly cool energy, so as not to disturb the mind or cause mental dullness. Foods rich in vitality (prana) fall into this group (e.g. fresh, organically grown vegetables, fruits).

The sattvic food list should not include foods whose ingredients are produced by abusing another living being. Also, crops that have been over-fertilised or over-sprayed, and stale, reheated foods that have been left out for several days should not be considered sattvic.

A sattvic diet is a healthy, balancing diet for all doshas. This diet is mainly for the mind and may not be nutritious enough for people who do strenuous physical work.

Sattvic types of food

Fruits:

In general, all fruits are beneficial for a yogic diet and for the development of the mind. Fruits are purely sattvic in nature. They are sweet, light, high in ether. They calm the heart, hydrate the body and have a stomach-harmonising effect. They improve perception and purify bodily fluids. It is best to eat fresh, preferably local fruits.

Vegetables:

Most vegetables are suitable for a sattvic diet, but less so than fruits. Mushrooms belong to the binder of ignorance, tamas, and spicy vegetables belong to the binder of passion, rajas.

Cruciferous vegetables may disturb the mind because of causing flatulence, but they are not classified as harmful. Their effect on the body varies from person to person.

Celery is the most beneficial vegetable for supporting the brain and mental processes.

Cereals:

Cereals are the most sattvic in nature. Basmati rice is particularly sattvic, but wheat, oats and barley are also important. Cereals are cleaner than the flour used to bake or cook pasta and bread, but bread itself is sattvic as well.

Legumes:

They carry the binding power of passion, and may make you irritable, bloated. Exceptions are mung beans, adzuki beans and tofu.

Seeds, stone fruits:

Seeds and nuts are sattvic. They can be eaten fresh or lightly roasted, but only in small quantities, as they are not easily digested.

Oils:

Most oils are heavy and not recommended for consumption in large amounts. Ghee (clarified butter) is sattvic, develops intelligence and perception.

Sweeteners:

Sweet taste is sattvic in moderation. However, refined sugars are dulling for the body and mind.

Herbs:

Ayurvedic herbs like Spirulina, Amla, Gotu Kola, Brahmi, Ashwaganda are sattvic.

A sattvic medicinal substance from the Himalayas: Shilajit

There is a balancing agent for all three doshas that enhances the effects of other herbs and helps to transport nutrients deep into the tissues. This medicinal substance is known as Shilajit or Mumijo.

Shilajit is a blackish substance similar to resin or peat that precipitates from the rocks of the Himalayas during the summer months. It is extremely high in trace elements and very rich in nutrients and amino acids. It has immune-strengthening and tonic properties and reduces chronic fatigue. Shilajit is adaptogenic, it improves memory, and aids the body's detoxification processes.

A conscious sattvic diet has immune-boosting effects and can be followed to achieve and maintain a balanced, peaceful, calm mental state!

Ágnes Csizmadia (Doctor of Ayurvedic Philosophy)

Ayurveda Expert

Expert of the Hungarian Ayurveda Medical Foundation, Garuda Trade Ltd. and Aryan Natural Medicine Training and Health Education Centre

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