Avoid these foods from breakfast menu : Ayurveda

As cravings for processed and packaged foods increase, people these days easily fall prey to lifestyle diseases.  Those who are aware of the harm caused by these food items seek natural and holistic dietary habits. It leads them to   the ancient Indian method of medical practice called Ayurveda which is generally considered the best existing therapeutic method in terms of naturalness.

According to Ayurveda, foods are categorized as three in terms of quality and there are foods which can be categorized as consumed daily, occasionally and never. This classification seems to be meaningful, given the fact that food habits nowadays cause serious health issues.

Importance of whole grain over polished grain

Whole grain consumption which is called “Rakta Shali’ in Ayurveda, is an advisable way towards good health. Though whole grain is rich in health substances like fibre, minerals, vitamins, plant phenols, phytoestrogens and other bioactive phytochemicals, very few people are ready to consume such food items. This can be easily understood in terms of the popularity and demand for processed foods in the market.

Polished grain refers to the grain which has been milled to remove the husk and  bran    and germs, but, all the nutrients in the whole grain are also removed while milling, sparing a core comprised mostly of carbohydrates. Milling actually means “whitening” that removes the outer bran layer of the rice and it affects the nutritional quality of the rice.  The more polished the grain, the greater the loss as the removed bran layer has vital nutrients which are essential for good health. In reality, fibre -less grain is very harmful.

The Indian National Cancer Institute recommends 25 grams of fibre a day. A cup of brown rice contains nearly 3.5 grams, where as an equal amount of white rice does not even provide 1 gram.

In addition, different components of the oils present in rice bran have been proved to be capable of decreasing the risk of heart diseases.

Ayurveda recommendations for daily consumption

According to Ayurveda it is advisable to consume lower calorie nutriments daily such as wheat, brown rice, legumes, mung bean, vegetables etc. In Ayurveda lower calorie foods are called ‘Laghu’ where as higher calorie is known as ‘Guru’ and unfortunately it is found that we are  accustomed to take more Guru nature foods these days which cause obesity diabetes etc.

Foods for occasional consumption

Carbohydrate-rich foods like white rice, urad dal etc are considered of Guru Nature and advised to be consumed occasionally. With the scientific name Vigna mungo, urad dal is Masham in Ayurveda and daily intake of it causes obesity and other health problems. Urad dal is extensively used as an ingredient in many Ayurvedic medicines and Maha Masha Thailam was one of such medicines which are prepared using urad dal as the main ingredient. However, Ayurveda does not advocate urad dal as a daily nutriment where as mung bean is highly favourable to consume daily as it is less in calories.

In South India, Urad dal is extensively used as main ingredient in breakfast dishes such as the famous Dosha, Idly and Vada. Ayurveda, in its ancient texts, had already mentioned that it is not advisable to consume urad dal like Guru Nutriments daily as it is rich in carbohydrate and protein unless the person who consumes it has been engaged in the process of hard labour.

Therefore, as Indians are concerned, it is high time for them to swap out white rice and urad from their daily menu for natural foods and vegetables.

courtesy:Ministry of Ayush,Dr.Shabu Pattambi