My diet prior to 2019 consisted of typical foods: tacos, pizza, pasta, veggie burgers, burritos, etc. I thought it was healthy and that I was healthy. I had developed persistent post nasal drip that stayed year round even in the summer I was blowing my nose. I had a slipped disc in my lower back. I started having dyspepsia with digestion issues. The issues were piling up so I asked the doctor, but she was not able to provide any solutions or causes for the issues.
Then I had an issue with my right hip, it was painful to walk. This time I didn’t go back to the doctor, but found a chiropracter. She suggested therapy excercises similiar to yoga or pilates. Once I started the therapy, I was amazed at how much it helped strengthen my body. I started the workouts at home, but wanted to do more so I found some yoga/pilates/dance workouts on youtube. I started spending most of my day excercising, I was doing 3 or 4 hours a day. I also did tai chi. the transformation that I felt was amazing. Four years later and I now have a yoga teacher training certificate and have healed from most of the physical issues.
Then I came across Ayurveda and what I read there challenged everything about the food we eat. Certain food combinations like beans and cheese, fruit and yogurt, cheese and tomato sauce, etc. creates toxins. So much of the food we eat creates only toxins, sluggish digestion, and sickness in the body. Iced drinks, cold salads/food, reheated/refrigerated leftovers, ice cream, etc. all creates toxins in the body. Our digestive systems are impaired or not functioning optimally to extract nutrients due to the food we eat.
Eating cold foods impairs digestion since agni (fire) becomes diminished. Especially when one has a cold/sickness or the weather outside is cold, cold/refrigerated foods should be avoided. Even water is better taken hot.
Salads and raw foods are hard to digest and create excess air in the body due to the light and cold quality. Excess air leads to anxiety, nervousness, tremors, dryness. Avoid salads unless its summer and your digestion is strong. Try cooked/sauted/steamed greens.
Leftovers create toxins and heaviness in the body, which is not good for meditation. Food should be fresh and not frozen or refrigerated. Microwaving destroys nutrients in the food so food should be only heated on a stove.
Cheese is difficult to digest, as well as milk straight from the refrigerator. Milk should be boiled with spices and taken hot without any other food. Fresh cheeses are better than hard cheeses for digestion.
Since studying Ayurveda for the past 3 years and changing my diet I have not been sick in years and feel lighter and healthier. I used to get sick all the time and would easily catch other’s cold, but now I can sit around other sick people and not catch it.