What is a balanced digestion according to Ayurveda?

🔥 Food can get properly digested. Remind that everything is food! Thoughts, experiences, emotions, sensory perception, and of course the food and drink you take in;

🔥 Waste products are properly eliminated from the body through sweat, urine and stool.

The importance of our digestive capacity

The food that is healthy for you is the food that you can digest. That can vary through time, due to age, location, lifestyle, season, time of the day, quality of the food, quantity of the food, method of preparation and how you take the food.

In modern culture, we tend to analyse our food: counting calories, fats, sugars, proteins and other characteristics. But we don’t look at our digestive capacity. Food will not be nourishing you if you can’t digest it.

Creating awareness of your food habits

Becoming more aware of your lifestyle and food habits can help improve your digestion and therefore your overall health. For example:

• What kind of meals do you eat? Prepared, take away, or fresh? → Always favour fresh (preferably organic) ingredients above packed and processed foods.
• Where do you eat your food? At the table, in front of your computer or tv, in the car or while walking? → Make yourself available for your food. Sit at the table, in a calm or quiet clean space without distraction from screens or work.
• Do you eat the same meal all year long? → Your digestive system adapts to the changes of the seasons. In Winter, your digestive system is stronger than Summer and you might favour different types of foods during different seasons. Your body is super intelligent!
• Do you tend to eat too much, feeling tired or heavy afterwards, or not enough, feeling hungry (or h-angry)? → Making yourself available for your food can also help in becoming more aware of the quantity of food you take in and whether it is satisfying.

Photo: @_flauwer