Diets like the Atkins, gluten-free and Paleolithic diets have been all the rage within Dubai’s health-conscious community in the recent years. However, there is a new diet trend that has been emerging in the city, which could potentially prove to be far more promising.
Whether you are looking forward to losing the weight you put on during winter, or you simply want to lead a healthier life, an Ayurvedic diet is worth considering. This “science of life” not only a blueprint for how you should eat, it even advocates a better way of drinking water, and it recommends specific herbs that you can grow at home.
What Are The Core Principles Of An Ayurvedic Diet?
If you decide to adopt an Ayurvedic diet, you will essentially be modifying your cooking and your meals according to your particular body type. In Ayurveda, this is referred to as a dosha and there are three of them, namely:
Ayurveda Dubai based practitioners believe that any distressing physical symptoms that a person experiences are a result of a disruption in the harmony of one of their doshas. For instance, if you have a skin rash or suffer from gastrointestinal problems, there might be an imbalance in your kapha.
How & What To Eat To Balance The Doshas?
An Ayurvedic diet should not be mistaken for just eating food from the Indian subcontinent. However, you can still eat Indian foods that Ayurveda considers healthy, such as khichri, which is basically a light yet nutritious lentil and rice dish.
If the chair you are sitting on is uncomfortable, you will likely change it or go sit somewhere else. Ayurvedic eating is all about consciously. Unlike other diets though, you will not be left feeling deprived and unsatisfied.
Examples of what you should eat according to your dosha, include:
- If you have a vata body type, i.e. tall, slender, and perhaps a bit underweight, then you should consume hot and warm dishes like hot milk, cooked vegetables, and soupy foods. Cold, crunchy and dry foods, even raw vegetables, should be avoided.
- If you have a pitta body type, i.e. athletic, medium build and height, and toned, you should consume more juicy fruits and vegetables with high water content like cucumbers. Acidic foods, coffee and vinegar should be avoided.
- If you have a kapha body type, i.e. overweight yet physically strong, then you should consume high-fiber foods and lots of vegetables, and also use more spices in your cooking. You may have noticed that you have a slow metabolism, so fats, oil, and salt should be minimized.
As referred to in Forbes, Ayurveda Dubai -based practitioners also recommend growing these Ayurvedic herbs at your home, both to use in your cooking and as an activity to reduce the stress in your life.
- Chamomile
- Holy Basil
- Lavender
- Peppermint
How Should You Drink Water?
First and foremost, drinking water with a meal, right before or immediately after it, should be avoided. According to this “science of life,” our body contains “digestive fire” that must be periodically quelled. So, at least half a cup of water should be slowly sipped and consumed every half hour throughout the day, perhaps even more during summer. Drinking hot water, or tea prepared with a herb like lavender, before going to bed, is also recommended.
Conclusion – Eat Healthy Without Starving Yourself
People in Dubai often give up on a healthy diet because it makes them feel miserable. An Ayurveda does not want you to be famished and malnourished. Rather, it wants you to eat according to your body type, while also following common and well-known principles of a healthy diet, such as avoiding processed foods.
Alternative Health Center 