Today I am writing this blog in line with World Digestive Health Day. I hope you find this blog useful and informative.
- You are What You Eat – This reflects through your behaviour and attitude
- You Are What You Digest – This reflects your immune quality and immune strength
- You Are What You Eliminate – This reflects through the tendencies of diseases or illness that you may you have.
You Are What You Eat
This actually indicates based on the kinds of foods you eat. This will be reflected in your behaviour, attitude and outlook. This mainly shows through tastes you predominantly have or foods that you eat.
The six main tastes in Ayurveda are:
- Sweet
- Sour
- Salty
- Spicy
- Bitter
- Astringent
Sweet: It’s nourishing but also heavy. So it may make one slow, heavy and yet more easy-going and loving. It’s a happy taste.
Sour: Sour taste is light and stimulates appetite. But in terms of behaviour this makes you more precise in your attitude, and also sometimes a bit irritable. It also shows through enthusiasm.
Salty: Salty taste is similar to sour, and helps to stimulate appetite and gives the attitude of wanting to get things done. This taste makes you more active. But it may also lead to drying of skin.
Spicy: It’s a heating taste so makes one feel hot and irritable but also sometimes short tempered. On the other hand spicy taste makes one more determined and ambitious.
Bitter: Bitter taste is drying and gives feeling of lightness. Hence it may lead to an attitude of dry behaviour, restlessness and detachment.
Astringent: Astringent is something similar to bitter taste and also give that dry quality to behaviour but also a sense of aloofness and restlessness.
You Are What You Digest
This relates to your digestive fire and in return determines your immune quality, immune strength and endurance.
When all the food ingested gets digested, no Ama or toxins are formed. This means that immune system is stronger and body can fight back.
But if your digestive fire is weak then not all food is digested and then Ama starts forming. This Ama makes your immune system weaker.
Therefore it’s essential to make sure that Agni is strong and no Ama is formed. Therefore based on how you digest your food you are also determining how you can protect your body mind and emotions through keeping your immune system strong.
You Are What You Eliminate
Depending on how your elimination is, this indicates what kind of illnesses you may be prone to or may be suffering from.
Elimination:
- Constipation
- Irregular elimination
- Dry stools with flatulence and gases
You may be prone to illnesses like
- Lower Back Pain, IBS, Sciatica
- Osteoporosis, Weak Bones
- Insomnia
- Depression, Mental Health Changes
Elimination:
- Liquid
- Diarrhea like
- More number of times during the day
- Loose stools
You may be prone to illnesses like
- Migraines, Headaches, High Blood Pressure
- Heat Related Psoriaisis, Rashes, Sensitive Skin
- Inflammations, Arthritis, Over Active Thyroid
- Multiple Sclerosis, Crohns, Colitis
Elmination:
- Heavy
- Sluggish and sticky
- Mucus or slime contained stools
- Usually constant
You may be prone to illnesses like
- Under Active Thyroid, Lymphatic Congestion
- Swellings, Water Retention, Edema
- Cysts, Mucus Congestion
- Weight gain, Lethargy,
The above are just some examples. But its important to remember that you observe your everyday habits:
- What you eat
- How you digest
- How you eliminate
One needs to take their own responsibility for their own health and the above are very easy pointers that one could follow towards self care and self help.