The Principle of Ayurvedic Eating

Feb 7

Photo is of a brightly lit wooden table with two earthenware bowl filled with food on them.

Western culture often gets caught up in what we eat. There are so many options for fixating on the what—counting calories, switching to a keto diet, consuming nutrients by way of smoothies.

However, Ayurveda teaches us that what you eat matters but where, why, when, and how much you eat matters more. I call this idea “The Principle of Ayurvedic Eating.”

What you eat is only part of the whole picture when you use diet as a remedy for your health. So let’s break down these 4 other factors.

Why you eat.

Of course, we all need to eat to live but our relationship with food is often about more than just survival.

If you subconsciously eat to buffer or suppress your emotion, you aren’t treating food as something that can heal you. Food that is anxiously eaten becomes health-weakening instead of health-supporting.

When you intend your food to nourish and heal you, you become more aware naturally of what’s entering your system and whether or not it supports your health.

You can support this mindset by paying attention to where you eat, when you eat, and how much you eat.

Where you eat.

In Ayurveda, eating is more than just consumption...it's really about nourishment. To maximize your nourishment, you want to engage as many of your senses as you can.

So, you want to sit down to eat in a nourishing environment. If you’re at home, set your table with nice dishes, cloth napkins, and add flowers and candles. If you’re at work in a shared kitchen, you can get a set of nice dishes just for your office meals and use real silverware.

The healing power of food diminishes when we eat on the go or when we're not paying attention to the meal.

When and how much you eat.

These two factors are linked to the path of the sun through the sky. Your digestive fire, or agni, follows the path of the sun which means it’s strongest in the middle of the day.

In the morning, the sun is rising and starting to heat up. You want to eat a smaller and easy-to-digest meal for breakfast while your digestive fire is weaker.

In the middle of the day, the sun is at its hottest and your digestive fire is at its strongest. So, your lunch should be your largest and most difficult-to-digest meal.

In the evening, the sun is setting and beginning to cool down as is your digestive fire. Again, you want to eat a smaller and easy-to-digest meal for dinner.

Be well.

Avanti Kumar-Singh, MD

P.S. If you liked this post, you might enjoy my podcast episode on the same topic, The Principle of Ayurvedic Eating: Using Food as Medicine. Plus, check out these recipes: