The Art of Ayurvedic Food Combinations
Learn the art of Ayurvedic food combinations which plays a vital role in causing an imbalance in the body.
Proper food combining can dramatically improve the quality of digestion, support the body in receiving a deeper level of nourishment, and impact your overall health in a positive way.
rasa | Taste
Virya | Potent Energy
Vipaka | Post digestive effect
Each food has its own taste (rasa), a heating or cooling energy (virya), and a post-digestive effect (vipaka). When two or more foods having different taste, energy, or post-digestive effects are combined, Agni can become overloaded, inhibiting the enzyme system and resulting in the production of toxins. Yet these same foods if eaten separately, might well stimulate Agni, be quickly digested, and even help to burn ama.
Combinations to Avoid and Favour
BEANS
Incompatible: fruit, milk, cheese, yoghurt, eggs, meat, fish
Compatible: grains, vegetables, other beans, nuts, seeds
________
CHEESE
Incompatible: fruit, beans, eggs, milk, yoghurt, hot drinks
Compatible: grains, vegetables
MILK
Incompatible: bananas, salt, cherries, sour fruits, yeasted breads, eggs, yoghurt, meat, fish, kitchari
Compatible: milk best enjoyed alone. Exception: with rice, pudding, porridge, dates, almonds
________
YOGHURT
Incompatible: fruit, beans, milk, cheese, eggs, meat, fish, nightshades
Compatible: grains, vegetables
EGGS
Incompatible: dairy, yoghurt, fruit, legumes, potatoes, meat, fish
Compatible: grains, vegetables, other beans, nuts, seeds
________
NIGHTSHADES
Incompatible: fruit (especially melon), cucumber, milk, cheese, yoghurt. NOTE: Nightshades include, peppers, eggplant, potatoes, and tomatoes.
Compatible: other vegetables, grains, beans, meat, fish, nuts, seeds
Take It Slow
Some of these may be a staple in your everyday diet and you may have not felt any difference with your digestive system or felt any discomfort. Over time this will hinder to the bodily intelligence of your digestion, creating a build up of toxins and Ama which will move into channels and tissues and create bigger diseases down the tract.
Let's begin to shift some of these habits slowly. You don't need to start with everything all at once unless that's your style. Take a few at a time and work towards that. If we begin to look at food in the sense of qualities (hot, cold, wet, dry, light, heavy),
when combining all types of food if they all have such different qualities it's quite hard and confusing on your digestion. That's not too say that we need to eat everything that is light or hot (same quality), however there is a system to understand when combining food which is outlined above with certain foods to reduce and avoid together
Milk And Salt
The combination of milk and salt together is undigestible due to it's antagonistic qualities. Milk is cooling and salt is heating. Combining the two vitiates the blood and causes obstruction of the body’s channels (called srotas). So when your having your morning chai or golden drink at night with your meal either have it before or after your meal. Generally there needs to be a break of about 45 minutes to make sure food has digested.
Banana And Milk
Combining bananas and milk is a little more complex than their opposing qualities - banana is heating and milk is cooling. Banana becomes sour during the process of digestion when it begins to start breaking down. So not only does our digestion have to digest a sour taste but also the qualities of milk also. Ever squeezed lemon with some milk? What happens to both these substances together is that they will curdle straight away when combined.
When bananas and milk are eaten together, they’re opposing qualities tend to smother the digestive fire and can disrupt the balance of intestinal flora, which results in the creation of toxins. This combination also frequently causes congestion, colds, coughs, allergies, hives, and rashes. The similar principle with yoghurt and banana as well. Best to eat them all alone and not combine such difficult things together.
Eating Fruits Alone
Fruit is best eaten alone and not eaten with other food as it can cause serious disturbance and digestive issues. Not only are we combining such different qualities but we are interrupting the natural flow of the digestive process.
Inhibited by the more complex food, the fruit tends to move through the digestive tract too slowly and can cause fermentation, gas, and bloating. In addition, the combination typically introduces a number of conflicting qualities into the digestive tract all at once, which has the potential to overwhelm or stifle the digestive fire.
If you want to eat fruit with meals best to have 45-60 mins before food or as a snack in the afternoon.