Proper combination of food substances, keeping in view the 5 factors given in the previous article, can enhance the process of digestion and aid in nutrition of body.If the negative effects of food items are known, they can be made wholesome by combining them with appropriate counteracting food items or “antidotes” as given below:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u2022 Cheese increases congestion and mucous. It aggravates pitta and kapha. To counteract this, you can add black pepper.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Eggs in cooked form increase pitta, and in raw form, increase kapha. Turmeric and onions are the antidotes.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Ice-cream increases mucous and causes congestion. If taking ice-cream is inevitable, then top it with clove and cardamom.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Curd increases mucous and causes congestion. Cumin and ginger will take care of the ill-effects of curd.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Fish increases pitta. Coconut, lime and lemon are the remedial measures to counteract the bad effects of fish.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Meat is heavy to digest. Cloves or pepper powder makes the digestion easier.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Alcohol has both stimulating and depressing effects. Chewing a pinch of cumin seeds or 1-2 cardamom seeds may minimise these undesirable effects.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The bad effects of tea can be lessened with ginger. In the same way, ill-effects of coffee can be kept at bay with nutmeg powder.<\/p>\n
\u2022 It is a known fact that sweets increase congestion. Addition of dry ginger powder (Sonthi\/soonth) to the sweetmeats will decrease the congestion.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Tobacco aggravates pitta and stimulates vaata. Brahmi, calamus root (vasa\/vacha) are used as antidotes to tobacco.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Rice and wheat increase kapha and fat. Clove and ginger are used to enhance the beneficial effects of these cereals.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Legumes produce gas and distention. Garlic, cloves, black pepper, ginger, rock salt or chilli powder are the antidotes.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Cabbage produces gas due to its sulphur content. Cook in sunflower oil adding turmeric and mustard seeds.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Garlic increases pitta. Grated coconut and lemon counteract this effect.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Green salad produces gas. Cooking reduces the gas formation but, at the same time, its therapeutic benefits may also be lost. If you want to have salad in raw form, add a little quantity of lemon juice to it.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Onion also produces gas. To prevent this either you should take it in cooked form or you should add salt, lemon, curd and mustard seed powder to it.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Potato, due to its high carbohydrate content, produces gas. This can be reduced with ghee and pepper.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Tomato increases kapha. Lime and cumin are the antidotes to it.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The ill-effects like increase in kapha of banana, can be counteracted with cardamom.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Mango produces diarrhoea. Adding ghee with cardamom is the remedy.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Melon causes water retention. Grated coconut with coriander is the solution to this.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Almost all those who consume nuts and peanuts, experience gas and burning sensation in the stomach. As a remedial measure, either you should soak them overnight or cook them with sesame oil, ginger, roasted cumin powder and pepper.<\/p>\n
Food faddism is robbing the joy of eating these days. Go ahead and enjoy varieties of roods by planning your menu. Bon appetite and bon health!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Proper combination of food substances, keeping in view the 5 factors given in the previous article, can enhance the process of digestion and aid in nutrition of body.If the negative effects of food items are known, they can be made wholesome by combining them with appropriate counteracting food items or “antidotes” as given below:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ayurveda"],"yoast_head":"\n