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Want to speed up your metabolism and get your dodgy digestive system back on track? Then you need to know about these Ayurvedic principles. Not only will they get your digestive fire stoked, they’ll help flush toxins too.
What is Ayurveda?
It’s one of the few indigenous sciences that still thrive; it shapes India’s self-care landscape much like visiting a GP is the norm here. Digestive health is an essential component of Ayurveda, and without addressing digestive health, you can’t address any other issue. Stress anyone? Yup, stress and your emotional state are directly correlated.
This is a mainstay of Eastern medicine that the West has only recently bought into, with research into the relationship between mental health and diet among the most exciting areas… So, are you ready to sort out that wonky tum? Here’s how…
Make it a warming glory
Start the day with hot water or a herbal tea and, if you can, a hot breakfast. Heat will help your "agni", or digestive fire, burn stronger.
Use your body temperature as a guide
Eat warming food when you’re cold – including spices, like cumin – and cooling food when you’re hot – think mint and coconut milk, as well as food that’s cold in temperature.
Read more: 10 metabolism boosters, ranked according to effectiveness
Let lunch lead the way
Your digestion is at its strongest between 10am and noon, so try to make lunch your main meal of the day. A light and early supper to follow will allow plenty of time for digestion before you go to sleep.
Ripe = ready
Eat food when it’s ripe or "sattvic" for easier digestion and good "prana" – Sanskrit for “life force”. This is fresh, organic food, rather than reheated or processed food. The latter can make you feel lethargic.
Read more: 6 foods that fire Up your metabolism and burn more fat
Spice things up
Aside from offering flavour, herbs and spices have potent properties and they’re best enjoyed as part of a meal, rather than as a supplement. Think ginger for digestion and cumin for flushing toxins out of the body.
This article was originally published on www.womenshealthsa.co.za
Image credit: iStock
