Ayurvedic Tips and Reminders

Dear friends,

With all the rich foods we have eaten over the holidays; enjoying sweet desserts, a few extra glasses of wine or champagne, combining foods we don’t normally eat together; now is the time to give our digestion a little “R and R”.

Here are “FIVE” simple Ayurvedic tips to “mend” a broken digestive system:

1. Sip hot water – sipping hot water every ten to twenty minutes ( not a full cup of tea) actually helps to loosen toxins and cleanse the lymphatic system. I like to make a pot of hot water and put it in a pump carafe so it stays hot for several hours. Watch the results! It even helps to burn fat.

2. Bump up the “triphala” at night from two to three tablets or take first thing in the morning with lemon water.
“Triphala” is a safe and gentle Ayurvedic colon cleanser providing both cleansing and restorative action to the intestinal tract. How easy is that? It also comes in tea form. Don’t leave home without it!

3. Take Banyan Botanicals “Vata Digest” before meals if you find yourself constipated , gassy or bloated. Take “Pitta Digest” if you find your gut a little fiery or acidic, and finally take “Kapha Digest” if you feel heavy and sluggish after eating. (By the way we have these products at Atlanta Center for Holistic Medicine in Brookhaven).

4. Eat “kitchari” for a day or even up to three to seven days for a digestive break. Kitchari is an Ayurvedic soup made with split yellow mung beans, basmati rice, ghee, indian healing spices and vegetables all cooked together into a gruel like soup. Being a full and balanced meal, kitchari can be eaten both to cleanse and rejuvenate your whole body. It is easy to make and good for the whole family. Feel free to email me @ gedaliahdoc@gmail.com for the recipe.
We have “Kitchari soup kits” at our office to make this an easy process.. no shopping for ingredients necessary!

5. And finally, eat your largest meal at lunch. What a simple shift to take the burden off your digestive tract. Our digestion is strongest between 12-1pm according to Ayurvedic philosophy. Just like the sun being hottest at this hour, our inner fire or “agni” as it is termed is strongest at this time too… makes sense! So switching what you might have eaten for lunch like a bowl of soup, now, save for dinner, and having what you might have had for dinner like chicken, fish with rice and veggies eat for lunch… and aim to avoid snacking between.. This is also an easy weight management tip one I’ve used for many years myself. Avoiding those big meals at night takes the burden off the gut and brings more restful sleep .Try it you may like it! It takes the hubbies getting used to though.

Happy New Year 2015.. may it be filled with good intentions to spend more time in what brings “You” joy.. then from this state “Your” joy will spread to others!

Namaste’
Gedalia