13 years ago
What is a Healthy Diet?
Healthy eating is essential to your health and well being. Healthy eating builds a healthy body and is important for maintaining a healthy body weight. Many people are very confused as to what really constitutes a healthy cuisine; Is it with less spices? No oil? Lots of sprouts and salads? Most of us genuinely want to eat healthy but the thought of what constitutes healthy food confuses us so much that we give up even before trying!
Eating healthy is a long-term lifestyle choice, something you are going to do for your entire lifetime. The key to a healthy balanced diet is not to ban or omit any foods or food groups but to balance what you eat by consuming a variety of foods from each food group in the right proportions for good health. According to Ayurveda, there are three different types of foods groups: Satvik, Rajsik and Tamsik foods and depending upon your emotional nature you would be attracted to similar foods.
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Satvik foods: These foods have a great calming effect on the emotions and the mind. They were preferred by the people who were in intellectual pursuits where they needed to be emotionally very calm in order to think and analyze without emotions coloring their judgments. Such foods were lightly cooked with few spices and mostly containing fresh fruits, sprouts, rice, dairy, wheat and lightly cooked vegetables. These foods are good for resting and healing the mind and body. But contrary to common thinking, they are not boring or bland and any person who has eaten the simple food at a Temple or Gurudwara will understand that how delicious it can be!
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Rajsik foods: They are foods which are rich and well cooked with many spices and also contain many non-vegetarian foods. But unlike today's fried foods, they are not made in an unhealthy way. Such foods were recommended for the people engaged at the emotional level, people who had worldly duties and were involved in administration like kings, statesmen, businessmen etc.
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Tamsik foods: They are foods which are highly processed, highly preserved or made in an unhealthy fashion. People who eat such foods also suffer from negative thinking, cravings, anxiety, fears etc. They are not recommended to eat because it leads to creating toxins for the mind and body.
Some basic tenements of good eating are:
* Always eat fresh foods and do not eat leftover foods.
* Vegetables should be lightly sautéed to preserve nutrition.
* Fruits should be eaten alone and not with or after meals. Do not cook fruits because they loose their flavor and nutrition.
* Honey should not be cooked.
* Spices are healthy and should be used as needed.
* Overcooking and deep frying should be avoided.
* Once a week, one should have light meals like fruits, soups and khichdi to rest the system.
* One should eat only one heavy meal in a day which preferably should be lunch. Rest of the meals should be light.
* Food should not be bland as that decreases the appetite. They should be well presented and with enough flavors.
* There should be variety in day to day food.
* At one meal, one should not eat too many types as many conflicting foods may upset the digestion.
Following these basic steps doesn't mean that you have to give up your favorite foods. As long as your overall diet is balanced and rich in nutrients and fiber, there is nothing wrong with an occasional paani puri. Just be sure to limit how frequently you eat such foods, and try to eat small portions of them. You can also view healthy eating as an opportunity to expand your range of choices by trying foods especially vegetables, whole grains, or fruits. A healthy diet doesn't have to mean eating foods that are bland or unappealing. The secret to a healthy diet and a healthy life is living food. The answer to a healthier you is summed up in three words, breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Healthy eating is essential to your health and well being. Healthy eating builds a healthy body and is important for maintaining a healthy body weight. Many people are very confused as to what really constitutes a healthy cuisine; Is it with less spices? No oil? Lots of sprouts and salads? Most of us genuinely want to eat healthy but the thought of what constitutes healthy food confuses us so much that we give up even before trying!
Eating healthy is a long-term lifestyle choice, something you are going to do for your entire lifetime. The key to a healthy balanced diet is not to ban or omit any foods or food groups but to balance what you eat by consuming a variety of foods from each food group in the right proportions for good health. According to Ayurveda, there are three different types of foods groups: Satvik, Rajsik and Tamsik foods and depending upon your emotional nature you would be attracted to similar foods.
*
Satvik foods: These foods have a great calming effect on the emotions and the mind. They were preferred by the people who were in intellectual pursuits where they needed to be emotionally very calm in order to think and analyze without emotions coloring their judgments. Such foods were lightly cooked with few spices and mostly containing fresh fruits, sprouts, rice, dairy, wheat and lightly cooked vegetables. These foods are good for resting and healing the mind and body. But contrary to common thinking, they are not boring or bland and any person who has eaten the simple food at a Temple or Gurudwara will understand that how delicious it can be!
*
Rajsik foods: They are foods which are rich and well cooked with many spices and also contain many non-vegetarian foods. But unlike today's fried foods, they are not made in an unhealthy way. Such foods were recommended for the people engaged at the emotional level, people who had worldly duties and were involved in administration like kings, statesmen, businessmen etc.
*
Tamsik foods: They are foods which are highly processed, highly preserved or made in an unhealthy fashion. People who eat such foods also suffer from negative thinking, cravings, anxiety, fears etc. They are not recommended to eat because it leads to creating toxins for the mind and body.
Some basic tenements of good eating are:
* Always eat fresh foods and do not eat leftover foods.
* Vegetables should be lightly sautéed to preserve nutrition.
* Fruits should be eaten alone and not with or after meals. Do not cook fruits because they loose their flavor and nutrition.
* Honey should not be cooked.
* Spices are healthy and should be used as needed.
* Overcooking and deep frying should be avoided.
* Once a week, one should have light meals like fruits, soups and khichdi to rest the system.
* One should eat only one heavy meal in a day which preferably should be lunch. Rest of the meals should be light.
* Food should not be bland as that decreases the appetite. They should be well presented and with enough flavors.
* There should be variety in day to day food.
* At one meal, one should not eat too many types as many conflicting foods may upset the digestion.
Following these basic steps doesn't mean that you have to give up your favorite foods. As long as your overall diet is balanced and rich in nutrients and fiber, there is nothing wrong with an occasional paani puri. Just be sure to limit how frequently you eat such foods, and try to eat small portions of them. You can also view healthy eating as an opportunity to expand your range of choices by trying foods especially vegetables, whole grains, or fruits. A healthy diet doesn't have to mean eating foods that are bland or unappealing. The secret to a healthy diet and a healthy life is living food. The answer to a healthier you is summed up in three words, breakfast, lunch and dinner.
