General Āyurvedic Diet Guidelines
for Health, Strength, Vitality & Connectedness
Sit down to eat.
Choose a quiet, pleasant, relaxed atmosphere.
Say a prayer, blessing or statement of appreciation to acknowledge the sacred life giving source of your food.
Eating when at ease and calm supports digestions. When emotionally distressed, anxious, or angry it is difficult to digest your food and your feelings.
Eat to your first burp. Eating moderate amounts of food and leaving room in the stomach allows for more easeful digestion. Pay attention. You will burp when you have had enough. It is approximately the amount of food that will fit in your 2 hands cupped together.
Eat local, organic seasonal food whenever possible.
Cooked food is easier to digest than raw.
Warm, soupy meals are lighter and more digestible than heavy, dry, solid foods.
A balanced plate includes 60% augmenting foods. Augmenting foods are nourishing, nurturing, grounding and vitalizing. They include whole grains, sweet vegetables, avocado, seaweed, dairy (only small amount of fresh, non-homogenized dairy), and fruit. The other 40% is made up of extractive foods, which are cleansing in nature or require the body give up something to digest them. This includes dark leafy greens, cruciforous vegetables, beans/legumes, nuts, meat or fish.
Have all 6 tastes in each meal (sweet, sour, salty, astringent, bitter, pungent) with the majority being naturally sweet like whole grains (rice, wheat, barley) and sweet vegetables.
Only eat when hungry and when the previous meal has been digested. This is generally 4-6 hours between meals.
Eat meals at regular times each day. 3 meals a day without snacks is generally recommended. If there is 6 hours or more between meals eat a piece of fruit.
Eat your heaviest meal around midday. This is when your agni (digestive fire) is strongest and is most able to digest harder to digest foods.
Generally eat fruit separate from other foods. It makes a good snack or a light breakfast.
Avoid ice-cold foods and drinks.
Avoid diluting the digestive juices by drinking 10 minutes before or 30 minutes after a meal.
Chew your food to liquid. Digestion starts in the mouth, so thoroughly cover it all with your digestive enzymes before swallowing.Do not eat large meals late at night. Leave at least 2 hours after eating before going to bed.
Eat food that has been freshly prepared. We are looking for foods that are filled with prāṇa (life force). These will be the most nutritious and satisfying. Avoid leftover food that is more than 24 hours old. Leftovers are preferred to fast foods.
Take ghee on a daily basis as part of your diet. 3-5 teaspoons is recommended daily. Ghee balances pitta and vāta, calms the mind, makes things flow the way they ought to flow and stimulates agni (digestive fire). It is considered augmenting.
Do not cook with honey. Once heated, honey becomes toxic to the body.
Sit a few minutes after finishing your meal before carrying on with your day calmly.
Take a relaxed, moderately paced stroll after eating.