Role of Taste

It is as important to realise that every food's unique combination of attributes will influence its taste and the action it causes in the body. With every taste having a different action – as detailed below. Astanga Hrdayam clearly describes the characteristics of each of the six tastes and problems that might be experienced from its habitual over-consumption. Most foods being a combination of two or more of these tastes e.g. coffee is bitter and pungent.

Sour

Comprised of the elements earth & fire, it increases pitta and kapha and is good for heart and digestion. Stimulates agni, moves inactive Vata energy down the pelvic cavity, sets the teeth on edge and increases salivation. Excess use may cause looseness and flabbiness, loss of strength, giddiness, itching, irritation, a whitish yellow pallor, herpetiform lesions, swelling thirsts and fever, and diseases arising from excess pitta and kapha.

Sweet

Related to earth & water, it mitigates pitta and vata, producing greater strength in the tissues and of value to the aged, wounded, emaciated and children. Universally liked, it often adheres to the inside of the mouth, giving a feeling of pleasure, contentment and comfort. Good for the complexion, hair, senses and ojas, it also increases breast milk and helps unite broke parts like bones. By its virtue it prolongs life and helps life activities. In excess however it may cause diseases arising from fat and excess kapha e.g. obesity, dyspepsia, unconsciousness, diabetes, enlargement of neck glands or malignant tumors.

Salt

The water & fire in salty taste increases pitta and kapha. It clears obstruction of channels and pores and increases the digestive activity and salivation. Also responsible for lubrication and sweating, it penetrates the tissues. An excess of it may cause baldness and graying of the hair, wrinkles, thirst, skin diseases, blood disorders, herpetiform leisons and loss of body strength

Pungent

Fire & air in pungent increases vata and pitta and mitigates kapha. Increases hunger, is digestive, causes irritation, brings secretion from the eyes, nose & mouth, and gives a burning sensation to the mouth. Dilating the channels and breaking up the hard masses. But an excess use of it may cause thirst, depletion of reproductive tissue and strength, fainting, contracture, tremors, pain in the waist and back, and other disorders related to excess of pitta and kapha.

Bitter

Air & space being its elements, it mitigates pitta and kapha. Drying up moisture from fat, muscles, faeces and urine. It cleans the mouth and destroys the perception of taste. It is said to cure anorexia, worms, bacteria, parasites, thirst, skin diseases, loss of consciousness, fever, nausea, burning sensation. But in excess, it increases vata, causing diseases of vata origin and depletion of tissues.

Astringent

Air & earth increases vata and mitigates increased pitta and kapha. It cleans the blood and causes healing of ulcers. Like bitter, it too dries up moisture from fat. It absorbs water, causing constipation and hindering digestion of undigested food. Its excess use causes stasis of food without digestion, flatulance, pain in the cardiac region, emaciation, loss of virility, obstruction of channels and constipation.

(See also: Diet , Ayurveda, Ayurvedic Dictionary, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Uneasy Food Combinations

The next important factor requiring attention in the planning of diet is the incompatibility of certain combinations of food that disturb the normal functioning of gastric fire and interfere with the equilibrium of the three doshas, thereby creating toxins (am) – the root cause of all ailments. A suggestive sample of the same is indicated below:

Milk

fish, meat, curd, sour fruits, bread containing yeast, cherries, yogurt

Melons

grains, starch, fried foods, dairy products

Starches

eggs, tea, dairy, bananas, dates, most fruits

Honey

when mixed with an equal amount of clarified butter, boiled or cooked honey

Radishes

milk, bananas, raisins

Nightshades

potato, yogurt, milk, melon, cucumber, tomato, eggplant

Yogurt

milk, sour fruits, melons, hot drinks, meat, fish, mangos, starch, cheese

Eggs

milk, meat, yogurt, melons, cheese, fish, bananas

Fruit

with any other food

Corn

dates, raisins, bananas

Lemon

yogurt, milk, cucumbers, tomatoes

These guidelines are by no means an exhaustive list. It must be remembered that a proper Ayurvedic diet should consider nutritional value, constitution, seasons, age and any disease condition.

(See also: Diet , Ayurveda, Ayurvedic Dictionary, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Mucusless Diet Healing System: Subject of Prof. Arnold Ehret's book of the same name. The Mucusless Diet Healing System encompasses the mucusless diet, fasting, enemas, eugenics, nude sunbathing, and sex psychology.

Ehret's formula of Life is V = P - O, where

• V stands for vitality,
• P for the power that keeps one alive, and
• for obstruction: all internal impurities.

(see: Bentonite Clay)

(See also: Mucusless Diet Healing System , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

2005-04-23

mucusless diet: Centerpiece of Ehretism. The mucusless diet consists of all green vegetables and all fruit. In an essay titled My Mucusless Diet and Naturopathy, Ehret held that internal impurity (mucus) was the only disease, and that unusable food elements, mainly from mucus-forming foods, caused it.

Mucus-forming foods, according to one of Ehret's articles, include dairy products, eggs, fats, meat, and all starchy foods. In one of the 25 lessons that constitute the text of Mucusless Diet Healing System, Ehret, citing Genesis, called fruits and starchless greenleaf vegetables the natural food of man (see: Bentonite Clay)

(See also: Mucusless diet , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

Chinese Diet for Weight Loss: Part of the Chinese System of Food Cures. Examples of suggested measures to lose weight include:

(a)           eating meat cooked in a sauce whose warm, hot, and pungent ingredients have rendered it very yang; and

(b)           increasing the burning fire of one's kidneys by ingesting a yang tonic, such as liver, pork kidneys, mussel, shrimp, walnuts, or dried green raspberries.

(See also: Chinese Diet for Weight Loss , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

Ayurvedic nutrition (Ayurvedic diet): Nutritional phase of Ayurveda. It involves eating according to

(a)           one's body type and

(b)          the season.

The activity of the doshas - three bodily humors, dynamic forces, or spirits that possess - determines one's body type. In Ayurveda, body types number seven, eight, or ten, and seasons traditionally number six. Each two-month season corresponds to a dosha; for example, the two seasons that correspond to the dosha named Pitta (see Raktamoksha) constitute the period of mid-March through mid-July. But some proponents enumerate three seasons: summer (when pitta predominates), autumn, and winter (the season of kapha); or Vata season (fall and winter), Kapha season (spring), and Pitta season (summer).

According to Ayurvedic theory, one should lessen one's intake of foods that increase (aggravate) the ascendant dosha.

(See also: Ayurvedic nutrition , Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Diet Planning

Since diet, along with daily habits, is crucial to the health of an individual, it must be made clear at the outset that there is no standard ideal diet for all people in general. The various factors that need to be kept in mind while working out the ideal diet for each person, which will be distinctly different based on the person’s specific constitutional characteristics, are as listed below:

·      The natural qualities of each food.

·      How those natural qualities can get altered.

·      The effects of combining foods – proper and unacceptable combinations.

·      The quantity of food intake.

·      Individual differences in food intake.

·      The places & climate where the food is grown, prepared and consumed.

·      The effects of the seasons and time of day.

·      Avoidance of artificial flavors, chemicals, preservatives and colours.

Diet Composition

One other factor that has remained a matter of great debate worldwide over the ages has been the vegetarianism vs. non-vegetarianism controversy. Initially it was common belief that non-vegetarian diet is superior in that it is full of energetic ingredients and thus provides more strength and stamina. But now it has been scientifically established that vegetarian diet is more natural and useful to human nature.

Non-vegetarian diet contains cholesterol saturated fatty acids that are the root cause of diseases as coronary heart problems, cerebro-vascular accidents (strokes), eye disorders & high blood pressure. With only about 60% of its contents useful for human body, the rest 40% contains harmful toxins. In addition, such diet is usually heavy for the stomach and produces acidity, which in turn can cause problems in the gastrointestinal system.

Another significantly important difference between the two is that fruits & vegetables (cereals & grains, legumes, seedy fruits, citrus fruits, carrot, cabbage, celery, green leafy vegetables, apples, melons, peaches, pears etc.) are rich in dietary fibers that reduces incidence of coronary heart diseases, cancer of intestinal tract, piles, obesity, diabetes, constipation, hiatus hernia, diverticulitis, irritable bowel syndrome, dental caries and gallstones.

Also many disease causing organisms are transmitted through and thrive in animal protein – serious ailments as Encephalopathy and Mad Cow diseases are caused by Bovine Spongi. Similarly the Salmonella Typhimurium bacteria can be passed on through consumed eggs, causing diseases like pneumonia, bronchitis and typhoid.

Given that the body of non-vegetarian animals contains 10 times more amount of hydrochloric acid than that of vegetarian ones, and that the human body should not be having such a high concentration of hydrochloric acid, it is reasonable to assume that the fact human body is basically meant for a vegetarian diet.

(See also: Diet Planning , Ayurveda, Ayurvedic Dictionary, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Grape Cure (grape diet): Mono-diet advanced by Johanna Brandt, N.D., Ph.N., author of The Grape Cure ((c) 1928). The front matter of the 1967 edition, a paperback published by Benedict Lust Publications, quotes the author: My discovery of the Grape diet is the direct result of Divine Illumination.

The grape diet consists of grapes or grape juice. Brandt held that the mind operated through magnetism and that the Grape Cure contributed to the purification and buildup of magnetism. She recommended it for appendicitis, cancer, diabetes, gout, pyorrhea, rheumatism, scurvy, sex problems, tuberculosis, unnatural cravings (as for alcoholic beverages, coffee, tea, and tobacco), and other conditions. Under the heading Sex Problems, she stated: By the magical purification of the blood the nerves are stabilized, self-control is established and our God-given heritage of sense and desire is transmitted into divine creative power.

(See also: Grape Cure , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

See also these related archives:

Cross-Over exercise, Crude herb moxibustion, Cruise Ship Spa, Cryotherapy, Crystal Healing, Crystal healing, Crystal Therapeutics, Crystal Therapy, Crystledyne Therapy, Cupping, Curanderismo, Curative eurhythmy, Cuy ritual, Cybex, Cymatic therapy, Cymatics, Dance & Movement Therapy, Dancercise, Daniel's Diet, Daoyin, Day Spa, Dayan Qigong, De la Warr system, Dead Sea Mud Treatment, Deep Emotional Breathwork, Deep Emotional Release Bodywork, Deep Memory Process, Deep Muscle Massage, Deep Muscle Massage / Primmer Deep Muscle Therapy, Deep Tissue Bodywork, Deep Tissue Massage, Degriefing, DeHypnotherapy, Depossession, Descending Sun, Destination Spa, Detoxification, Detoxification Therapy, Developmental Manual Therapy, Dhatus, Diagnosis, Diagnosis Process, Diagnostic acupressure, Diamond Approach, Diamond method, Dian xue, Dianetics, Diathermy, Didgeridoo vibrational healing, Diet #7, Diet Planning, Dietics, Dimensional clearing, Dinacharya, Direct Bi-Digital O-Ring Test Method, Direct Command, Direct healing, Direct image substitution, Direct moxabustion, Directed Esoteric Toning, Distant Healing, Distant pranic healing, Distant pulse diagnosis, Divine Healing from Japan, Divine therapy, Divine will healing, Dna Activation And Healing, Dna Repatterning, Do-in, Do-In, Dolphin Therapy, Dolphin-assisted therapy, Dong gong, Doshas, Doshic Imbalances, Double Circle, Double Dosha Body Types, Dowsing, Dph, Dr Lynch's Holistic Self-Health Program, Dragon Style, Drama, Dream Changing, Dream counseling, Dream Learning, Dreamwork, Drisana, Drown radio therapy, Dulse Scrub, Dynamic Self Inquiry, Dynamic Spinal Therapy

Taoist five element nutrition (Taoist healing diet): Component of the Healing Tao System. It is a system of food combining based on astrology and the Chinese theory of the Five Elements.

(See also: Taoist five element nutrition , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

Hallelujah Diet: Theistic vegetarian diet developed by Rev. Dr. George H. Malkmus, the author of Why Christians Get Sick (Treasure House, 1995) and Y2K: The Hallelujah Acres Way (Hallelujah Acres, 1998) and the coauthor of God's Way to Ultimate Health: A Common Sense Guide for Elimination of Sickness Through Nutrition (Hallelujah Acres, 1996).

According the diet's theory, the only substances that nourish the human body are pure air, pure water, raw food, and moderate amounts of sunlight, and anything else is a contaminant to the body.

(See also: Hallelujah Diet , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

See also these related archives:

Cam, Candle Gazing, Candle magick, Candles, Cathiodermie, Cayce Approach to Health and Healing, Cayce diet, Cayce Reilly massage, Cayce-reilly Massage, Celestial Soul Clearing, Celestial Training, Cell salt therapy - tissue salt therapy, Cellular Theta Breath, Celtic magic, Chair Massage, Chakra & cellular memory healing, Chakra Armor Release of Emotions, Chakra balancing and energizing, Chakra breathing, Chakra Energy Massage, Chakra healing, Chakra healing & light energy implantations, Chakra Innertuning Therapy, Chakra System, Chakra yoga, Chakral pranic healing, Chakras, Champissage, Chan Mi gong, Channelling - Mediumship, Characteristics Of Body Types, Chelation Therapy, Chelation therapy, Chen style, Cherokee healing, Chi Gong, Chi Healing, Chi Kung, Chi Kung / Chi Kong / Qigong, Chi Kung Empowerment, Chi Kung Meditations, Chi Lel, Chi Nei Tsang, Chi Nei Tsang II, Chi Self-Massage, Chi Weight Lifting, Chi yoga, Chi-gong, Chinese aromatic Qigong, Chinese auricular therapy, Chinese Chikwando, Chinese Diet for Weight Loss, Chinese dietotherapy, Chinese Energetic Healing, Chinese Energetic Technique, Chinese hand analysis, Chinese herbal medicine, Chinese Herbalism, Chinese herbalism, Chinese Massage, Chinese Medicine, Chinese medicine, Chinese physiognomy, Chinese Qigong massage, Chinese System of Food Cures, Chinese traditional food therapy, Chinese Traditional Medicine, Chinese Wushu, Ching Lo, Chirognomy, Chiropractic Manipulation, Chiropractic Network, Chiropractic Practice, Chi-Therapy, Chitshakti:, Chocolate Therapy, CHOI KWANG DO, Choice Of Partner, Choice Of Pet, Christian counseling, Christian hypnotherapy, Christian Positive Thinking, Christian psychology, Christian Science, Christian Yoga, Christopher Method, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome,

DIET: Conventional medicine has finally acknowledged the central role diet plays in a person's overall health. But achieving a good diet is not as simple as it sounds.

Eating the right foods no longer insures proper health due to toxins contaminating the earth's food supply. Therefore, it is important to pay attention not only to what food to eat, but to where that food was grown or raised, and to what chemicals it might have been exposed to before it reaches the table.

(See also: Diet , Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

acu-diet (Dr. Bahr's acu-diet): Subject of Dr. Bahr's Acu-Diet: Weight Loss at Your Fingertips (William Morrow & Company, Inc.), by Munich-born Frank R. Bahr, M.D. The acu-diet is a combination of diets, exercises, and self-applied acupressure. According to acu-diet theory, one can influence the compulsive eating center in one's brain by massaging specific acupressure points.

(See also: Acu-diet , Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Living Foods Lifestyle (Hippocrates Diet): Dietetic variation of self-healing originated by Ann Wigmore (1904-1994). It is the centerpiece of the Hippocrates health program.

The Hippocrates Diet comprises seven categories of uncooked (living) foods:

(1)           specific fruits;

(2)           specific vegetables;

(3)           fresh juices extracted from fruits, vegetables, and sprouts;

(4)           specific sprouts;

(5)           nuts and seeds;

(6)           fermented foods such as sauerkraut and miso; and

(7)           unfiltered honey.

In The Hippocrates Diet and Health Program (1984), Wigmore stated that life energy is the active agent of enzymes and claimed that the diet stops unnecessary wastage of enzyme energy.

(See also: Living Foods Lifestyle , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

Ritucharya

Given that the term prakriti denotes both body constitution and nature, it is only expected that with the changing seasons of nature there will be corresponding effects on the bhutas and thereby the doshas of the constitution. Cold, dry weather for instance enhances vata, hot humid climate increases pitta, while cold, wet weather aggravates kapha.

To avoid such continued aggravation leading to imbalance of the doshas, Ayurveda prescribes a seasonal routine to preserve the doshic balance as the seasons change. For each season therefore, there is a unique diet (ahar), a distinct mode of living (vihara) and routine living (karya). These keep your doshas in a state of equilibrium and help you cope with the stresses and strains of changing seasons.

In Ayurvedic literature the year is divided into six ritus (seasons) – varsha (monsoon), sharada (autumn), hemanta (winter), shishira (late winter), girshma (summer) and vasanta (spring). The effects of these ritus on the three doshas and the suggested lifestyle for each is as indicated below:

Monsoon:

Diet

·  Digestive power weakens and bodily vata is aggravated.

·  It is advisable therefore to be moderate in your diet.

·  Come rains, tuck into astringent, bitter and pungent food along with wheat & rice.

·  Never forget to boil & cool your water. And if possible, add a little honey.

Conduct

·  Go for oil massages and regular baths.

·  Do not indulge in daytime sleeping.

·  Avoid moving in the sun, and excessive physical exercise

·  Do not indulgence in excessive sex.

Autumn:

Diet

Yummy dishes with astringent, bitter or sweet tastes are for you to enjoy.

Have lots of rice, barley, wheat, along with curd, cabbage, cheese, milk.

Avoid meat, yoghurt.

Conduct

·  This is the right time to go through purgation & blood letting treatment. (for detail see Panchkarma)

·  Avoid excessive sunbathing

·  Do not expose yourself to easterly winds.

Winter:

Diet

·  Dig into piping hot, oily, sour & salty food along with rice. Also plenty of cow’s milk & cane juice.

·  Drink warm water and it will improve your life span.

·  Avoid light food to pacify vata.

Conduct

·  Don’t expose yourself to cold.

·  Go for an invigorating oil massage followed by tepid water bath.

·  Cover your body with sufficient warm wraps

·  Indulge in intense sexual pleasure.

Spring:

Diet

·  Kapha that has already accumulated is liquidified by the heat and disturbs your digestive system.

·  Avoid heavy, oily, sour & sweet food & drinks that may aggravate kapha.

·  Take in barley, wheat, rice, scrup, & bitter vegetables.

·  Go for vigorous exercises, and oil massages.

·  Cut down your smoking habit.

• Avoid day-time naps.

Summer:

Diet

·  Take in plenty of fluids. Avoid dehydration.

·  Avoid food with pungent, acid & salt tastes.

·  Tuck into sweet, cold & oily foods. Meat of birds & animals are good for you.

·  Avoid excessive physical exercises & excessive sex.

·  Avoid sunlight and harmful UV rays.

·  Enjoy the cool breeze of your garden & fragrance of flowers.

• Try to take a short nap.

(See also: Ritucharya , Ayurveda, Ayurvedic Dictionary, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

love-powered diet: Revolutionary system concocted by Victoria Moran and based on the Twelve Steps. In The Love-Powered Diet: When Willpower Is Not Enough (1992), Moran uses the expressions God, Goddess, Higher Power, Higher Self, Love, Nature, and Spirit interchangeably.

The first principles of her system add up to: People with eating-related problems (e.g., bingeing) cannot resolve them on their own; with their permission, however, a Higher Power will work some wonders in their lives. Moran advises writing, praying, and talking casually to God and provides anthroposophical, Christian, Hindu, Native American, and Sikh prayers.

(See also: Love-powered diet , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

apple diet (apple-cleansing regimen, apple-diet cleansing routine, apple-diet regimen, apple-diet therapy):  purificatory reducing aid inspired by the readings of religious seer Edgar Cayce (see The Cayce Approach to Health and Healing). The three-day regimen includes enemas and restricts food intake to raw apples (especially Delicious and Jonathan, and peeled unless they are organic), black coffee, and olive oil. Cayce recommended the diet for numerous ailments, including anemia, debilitation, and subluxations.

(See also: Apple diet , Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)