Seasonal changes are part of the cyclical nature of life.
During the fall season when the weather becomes colder and the sun isn’t as often a daily companion, Vata dosha dominates. Vata is wind. The more it increases the more we are subject to nervousness, anxiety, insomnia or headaches, joint pains, constipation and dryness of the skin. It is all a result of the workings of Vata dosha.
It is very important to know that during this time of the year you should consume warm foods and drinks – more than in any other season. It’s recommended to increase the consumption of nuts and dairy as well.
Even though Omega-3 fatty acids are so popular to take as supplements, it is far better to ingest them with the food rather than in the form of a pill. Our bodies will get everything they need from food if we include a variety of minimally processed, high-quality nutritional fats and oils in our daily menu. Olive oil, grape-seed oil, coconut or linseed oil, ghee (clarified butter), sunflower oil should be your best choices of quality fats. Some can be used for salads, others for baking and/or frying.
Ghee is one of the most good-for-you products that can be taken by everybody. It is clarified butter made by evaporating the water in the butter together with the proteins, especially casein. Clarified butter has an amazing, gentle taste and is truly unique! It is so beneficial to health that it is a crime to not use it!
Culinary speaking, ghee gives a very specific taste to the food. It has a very stable structure which means it doesn’t get oxidized and deformed during heating which makes ghee the perfect fat for cooking. You can fry in ghee as it is the only fat that doesn’t become cancerogenic when so heated. In addition, clarified butter has no cholesterol. But ghee is so valued because due to its structure, it easily gets through cell membranes and feeds the cells. It also lubricates and cleanses the organs and the tissues form toxic built-up. Ayurveda has put ghee on a pedestal because it carries a very subtle fire called tejas within itself. Ghee (and tejas) is what maintains immunity, speeds up digestion and metabolism.
Avoid fresh salads except on fasting days.
Remember to eat fruit as a meal of itself and not to mix it with any other foods or even mix different fruit. It is a big mistake to consume fruit as a dessert or in the form of a fruit salad. The only fruit that you can actually eat with another fruit is apples.
If food is giving us half the energy we need, the other half comes from the cook himself. The cook is as important as the food that he cooks! That said, take a look at where you eat and who is cooking your food. And take care when cooking our own food.
Master in Sports Pedagogic and director at Bulgarian Ashtanga Yoga Academy.
Irina is the author of the first Bulgarian book for Ashtanga Yoga and trusted Yoga Guru for TV series, produced by Bulgarian National Television.
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