The Amazing Ayurvedic Diet Plan That Ayurveda Recommends (Men & Women)

Ayurvedic diet plan that ayurveda recommends for both men and women and In this article we will talk about what you should eat the right way.

There is this one, just one ayurvedic diet plan that Ayurveda suggests in all its scriptures. And it recommends it with the promise that if one follows it religiously, he or she would not need many doctors in life. Not only this, even the damage that one has done by eating the things which were not really meant for the human body, it can be reversed and the body can be healed if one just sticks to this Ayurvedic diet plan.

So what is this ayurvedic diet plan where the food that you eat works like a medicine? Ayurveda is perhaps the only system of medicine that places an extraordinary emphasis on not just the food itself but when and how it is to be eaten.

Even the healthiest of foods when eaten at wrong times can lead to the accumulation of toxins in the body which then results in diseases. This is what makes Ayurveda so deep and successful in treating ailments from its very root cause. How do we eat daily so that we can treat the diseases just with the food that we eat?

Eating window

The number one thing that you should know before you begin eating on any given day is the time of sunrise and sunset at your location. It is between this time duration that you should eat. This is because our digestion is largely dependent on the sun.

Digestive Fire

According to Ayurvedic texts, our digestive fire rises as the sun rises, gets to the peak when the sun is at its peak and it dampens as the sun sets. Ayurveda warns that any food which is eaten after the sun has set won’t properly get digested in the body. This undigested food then leads to accumulation of toxins in the body which then results in short to long term health issues.

So, now you know that there is a specific eating window for you the other times you are on a fast. Here it may sound like intermittent fasting, a popular diet in the modern era. However, it is much different as the eating window is not decided by you but the nature decides it for yourself.

Modern intermittent fasting may help you with weight loss for a while but this diet which is in order with the laws of the nature will nourish your mind, body and soul at the deepest levels. Weight loss is just a positive side effect of it.

After sunset

After sunset, the only thing recommended by Ayurveda in ayurvedic diet plan is milk.

This is because the specific digestive enzymes required to digest the milk are secreted in the right quantities only then. Milk also has sedative properties so drinking warm milk before bedtime also helps you calm down, inducing a deep sleep.

Meals of the day

Now that you are familiar with your eating window, you can place your breakfast, lunch and dinner accordingly.

While choosing the three meals you must know that even Ayurveda recommends you to eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince while dinner like a pauper. However, it has a slightly different annotation to it.

Breakfast like king

Breakfast like king signifies that you should be picky and choosy about the foods that you eat to break the fast.

They should be well balanced with all the major macronutrients and satiating too.

Lunch like a prince

Then lunch like a prince. Since the prince is young and has better digestion than the king, he would eat the heaviest meal of the day.

Yes, according to Ayurvedic scriptures, lunch should be the heaviest meal of the day. Now you know the reason behind it. Yes, because the sun is at its peak.

So, here is the thing. If you want to indulge in sweets, eat that outside meal once in a while. Lunch time is ideal.

Dinner like a pauper

Next, dinner like a pauper. Since the sun is about to set, one cannot afford to digest a lot of food. So, the dinner should be kept light.

Prohibited foods during dinner

According to Ayurveda, there are some foods which are strictly prohibited in ayurvedic diet plan during dinner. These are bananas, radish, curd, and cucumbers. These are extremely cold-natured foods which the body fails to digest properly when the sun is down.

What to Eat in Ayurvedic diet plan

The next question arises. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner is all fine. But what exactly should I eat? Don’t worry.

Ayurveda has very specifically mentioned the ideal characteristics of ahar included in ayurvedic diet plan. The food that you eat should check the five boxes. It should be Sattvic. It should be seasonal.

It should be local. It should be fresh. And it should be tasty.

What is sattvic?

Derived from the word sattva, food full of goodness is called sattvic. The traditional system of Ayurveda divides foods into three kinds. Sattvic, rajasic, and tamasic.

Sattvic foods

Sattvic foods in ayurvedic diet plan are synonymous to modern-day wholesome foods. These include fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, fresh cow dairy, whole grains, and legumes. They come directly from the mother nature and are nourishing for the mind, body, and soul.

Rajasic foods

Now when these same foods are cooked in excess of salt, sugar, spices, or eaten too cold or hot to satisfy the palate, they make the mind restless. These foods are termed rajasic.

Tamasic foods

These are foods of ignorance. They include frozen foods, stale food, intoxicating foods, preservative-laden packaged foods, and all non-vegetarian foods. When these are eaten, they wreak a havoc physically as well as mentally.

So the more sattvic food you eat, the better it is.

Seasonal Food

The next important quality of food is that it should be seasonal. Ayurveda stresses that one should eat food which is in season, not in fashion.

Consider mangoes. If they are out of season, they will be sour and eating them will cause acidity. Similarly, every food which is in season will provide the best possible nourishment.

So go to a local vegetable market, know what’s in season, buy it, and eat it.

Local Food

Thirdly, food eaten should be local. That is why I have always recommended to choose coconuts over avocados.

No doubt avocados are healthy, but they are foreign to Indians. There is a reason why nature grows certain food in a specific region. It’s to suit the people of that region.

Food which grows within the 100 km radius of your location is local, and that food when eaten gets properly assimilated by your body. Don’t know how to find which food is seasonal and local? A simple hack is to go to a nearby shop and look for the cheapest fruits and vegetables.

Fresh Food

Next, the food should be fresh, Ayurveda suggests in ayurvedic diet plan.

A food prepared should be eaten within 3 hours. The fresher the food you eat, the more it will foster your health. So eating refrigerated, so-called health foods will do more harm than good.

Tasty food

Finally, the food should be tasty. Yes, Ayurveda makes it clear that no matter how nutritious a food may be, if you don’t find it delicious, you can’t receive all its benefits. This breaks the myth that a healthy diet isn’t palatable.

That doesn’t mean that you hop on Maggi. Anyway, doesn’t check the first four boxes. I guess this makes it very clear as to what food is best for us to eat.

How much food should I eat

Subsequently, the question arises, how much food should I eat? For this, Ayurveda confirms in Ayurvedic diet plan that you don’t need to ask any dietitian but your own stomach. Ancient texts affirm that if one eats consciously, focused on eating, chewing, and relishing every bite, the stomach itself signals when it’s full. On the contrary, if you eat in front of the screens, talking over the phone, or in between the conversations, you will miss out on satiety signals and as a result, you will overeat.

So, save yourself from the hassle of counting every calorie that you intake. Just listen to your body and eat according to your appetite. The same goes true for water as well.

How much water should you drink

How much water should you drink on a daily basis depends upon person to person. Again, listen to your body. If you are thirsty, drink it slowly, sip by sip.

Our body gets good amount of water from other food sources like fruits and vegetables as well. However, there is one time when water should be drunk even if you are not thirsty. That is first thing in the morning upon waking up.

In Ayurvedic scriptures, it is referred to as Ushapan. It is mentioned that at night, when we sleep, the body gets to healing process, accumulating the toxins. Then, upon waking up, when we drink water before brushing, it flushes the toxins off the body, cleansing the intestines.

At this time, it is ideal to drink over one liter of water. After drinking water, you should freshen up and then proceed to the main meals of the day. So, that gives you deep insight as to why and how you should manage your diet according to ayurvedic diet plan in tune with the nature.

Conclusion

If we summarize it, first thing in the morning upon waking up, drink a lot of water. Freshen up. After this, every food that you intake should be within the window of sunrise and sunset.

Then, plan your breakfast like a king. It should be full of nutrition but still not very heavy. Lunch should be the heaviest.

Dinner should be light. Some foods are prohibited in dinner. Food eaten throughout the day should check the 5 boxes.

You can include fresh fruits and vegetables before the main meals, not after. Milk is the only food which can be and should be consumed after sunset. So, this completes your full-day Ayurvedic diet plan.

If you align yourself with the laws of nature and eat according to what is prescribed in our ancient texts, something powerful will happen. Every day, your body will have ample time to heal the damage done before and slowly, all your health issues will come to an end.