Ayurvedic-inspired lifestyle tips to reduce inflammation
What do you know about Ayurvedic medicine? This style of medicine began in India, thousands of years ago, and it’s one of the world’s oldest healing systems. Many of their principles are still used today! They really do work!
Our bodies should mimic rhythms of nature’s cycle for optimal health. Eating the way nature intends us to eat can create the best diet for energy, weight management and mood, but also can improve digestion and reduce inflammation. It is why Integrative Health Practitioners (such as myself) are still teaching some of these principles today.
Ayurvedic medicine says that are 3 principles when it comes to food:
How you eat
When you eat
What you eat
How you Eat
The way you eat food starts with how you cook it! Cooking in a calm, relaxed manner allows you to be in tune with your body and relaxed when you enjoy your meal. This will result in realizing how your body feels as you eat, and developing a connection with your food. Where it came from, how nourishing it is for you, etc. Put on some relaxing music before you start cooking dinner!
When You Eat
I once believed that eating small meals throughout the day was best. We now know that this has contributed to an increase in insulin resistance, obesity and type 2 diabetes, where increased inflammation seems to be the culprit. Three meals a day has proven to be best. Timing them with our own circadian rhythm is best as well. We eat as the sun comes up, finishing our last meal as the sun goes down. Your digestion is strongest at lunch time, so this should be a bigger meal for the day. Breakfast should be easy to digest and something that gives you energy quickly … it’s why I prefer a smoothie to start my day! Dinner should actually be a small meal and easy to digest as well, as you are preparing your body for reduced activity and rest for the evening. Finishing dinner early also allows digestion to be complete before you go to bed so your body can detox and repair through the night.
What You Eat
You are best off consuming in-season foods to stay in the rhythm of nature. Fall and winter are cooler seasons, so enjoy warmer, higher fat comfort foods. Examples would be soups, root vegetables, nuts, tea, and fatty fish. Spring usually brings moisture, so go for dry, bitter roots and vegetables such as leafy greens, beets, and pomegranates. These foods also help with detoxification. For summer foods that balance out the heat, try eating fruits, vegetables and salads and smaller meals.
Now that you know a little more about these principles, you can start implementing them into your daily routine! Try it for a week or two and let me know how you feel!