Once I was with a group of parents discussing how much they plan and take efforts in providing nutritious foods to their children, each mother expressing the recipes and taking credits for the same. One of the mother was so happily saying that as their child has to leave early in the morning she would give her child milkshake which contains both fruits and milk and thus according to her was the preferred choice, another mother said she prefers giving salty Parathas along with milk as she considered it as nutritious, one more added that she considered bread and biscuits filling and nutritious. So on and so forth about packed foods, processed foods and many more Â….well I cringed and felt sad to know that people really do not take time to understand the basics of food.
It’s a trend and true reality that people are becoming victims of consumerism in one way or the other, the food industry too is luring the consumer in such an attractive manner that one forgets the merits and demerits of the product. Unbelievable varieties of packaged foods are marketed intelligently and carefully making the consumer impossible to resist. Similarly, the influence of western culture has also brought in certain woes. Also in a desire to keep oneself high in the rat race of professional life the common man has become a victim of mechanized life with no time left for proper healthy diet and exercise routine.
Ayurveda – the science of life imparts deep knowledge in understanding food in various ways which is one of the basics of our life. One such concept in Ayurveda is about INCOMPATIBLE FOODS, to our dismay many of us knowingly or unknowingly have become the victim of these kind of food. Incompatible foods are foods which do not provide any kind of nutrition but on contrary damage the tissues gradually leading to many diseases.
It is truly said that a person is what he eats. It is absolutely essential that one consumes food that is wholesome, at proper time, in adequate quantity. It does not end here, one should be able to digest the food that one has consumed so as to reap the benefits of the same.
One should refrain from trying out newer things without understanding the contents and concepts about the ingredients of food, Experiments with various food combinations is appreciable but at what cost. Nowadays it has become a common practice to feed the children with fresh fruit milk shakes considering it to be a healthy combination of essential proteins and minerals but on the contrary it is a incompatible food. Why? During the process of digestion as milk being sweet gets curdled with the sourness of the fruit giving rise to acid formation.
Incompatible foods are sources of many conditions like Skin allergies, Acid peptic disorders, food poisoning, respiratory allergies etc.
Some of the incompatible foods combinations which we need to avoid are:
- Cooking fish with milk
- Using curds to marinate or cook chicken
- Consumption of milk following garlic, radish
- Repeated heating of the cooked food
- Reusing oil for frying
- Consuming milk products with alcohol
- Consumption of hot and cold together
- Consuming salt biscuits and Salty snacks along with milk and tea/coffee
- Honey along with hot water
- Consumption of honey and ghee in equal parts
- Sprouts should not be a part of daily diet
- Fruit salad
- Fruit milkshakes
- Soft drinks with ice cream
- Processed foods
- Canned Foods
These are some examples, which we commonly encounter in our practice.
Regular consumption of these kind of foods leads to malfunctioning of Agni (Digestive fire) leading to formation of potentially hazardous toxins called Ama which becomes the basic cause of various diseases. Based on the combination and duration of consumption of such incompatible foods the toxins settle down in the susceptible locations causing various diseases.
Incompatible foods do not affect immediately, but gradually later in life we see the person suffering the consequences under the name of diseases of unknown etiology.
The above list looks foolish for a common man as we see many such combinations being catered in a very attractive way and has become a trend in the young and old alike. With health perspective one should resist such foods which are packaged and presented in a tempting way and thus avoid becoming a victim.
Let’s understand more in our next blog “Keep a vigil about what you eat!”
Dr. Geetha Patil, AyurCentral, Gubbalal outletÂ
21, Balaji Complex, Off Kanakapura Road, Gubbalala, Near Mantri Tranquil Apartments, Bangalore- 560061, Ph: 9482639633
