Childrens Natural Health and Herbs

Ayurveda in Sanskrit means the “science of life”. Their nutritional philosophy dates back about 5000 years. This system views the process of food preparation, eating, and digestion as the keys to maintaining health and ensuring a long life.

Ayurveda teaches that diseases of the body and mind occur because of poor diet, including bad food combining, inappropriate food for that individual, and a weak digestive fire.

What follows is a summary of some basic Ayurveda principles about how our digestion is affected by the food we eat and how that ultimately affects our well being.

What is Agni?

The concept of Agni is very important. It is seen as the metaphor for all metabolic functions in the body. It includes the digestive function, sense perception, cellular metabolism and mental assimilation. Agni is involved in many functions: absorption, assimilation, metabolism, digestion, perception, taste, touch, hearing, vitality, clarity, alertness, regular appetite, and chemical combustions. It gives immunity, a sparkle in the eyes, and luster to the whole body. When it is balanced it causes emotions that are beneficial to health: courage, cheerfulness, lucidity, optimism, enthusiasm, and intelligence. It also provides energy, vitality and a system able to maintain homeostasis and health. When it is out of balance it causes emotions that are destructive to our health: anger, fear, confusion, and depression. This also leads to low energy, congestion and an accumulation of wastes and toxins.

What is Digestion?

The concept of digestion in Ayurveda is very comprehensive. The Digestion can be compared to the preparation and cooking of food. The stove represents the Small Intestine, and the Fire is called Agni. Agni in Sanskrit means “to ignite”. The cooking pot is the stomach. The fuel is yesterday’s digested food, which gives its energy to the wall of the intestines to discharge digestive enzymes. These enzymes are the fuel that kindles Agni. The ventilating air is the caloric energy required to conduct the heat, while the water is the gastric mucosal secretions in the stomach. The person cooking is called prana in Ayurveda (or spirit, consciousness, will etc.). Without the chef, nothing can happen.

Six Stages of Digestion.

The first step in the digestive process is salivation. Salivation is triggered by prana or Consciousness. It is like the chef putting on an apron or laying out their ingredients. Salivation prepares the molecules to get ready to digest.

After this initial preparedness, there are 6 stages of digestion. Every stage of digestion has a distinct taste associated with it. The six tastes are: Sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent. Every food and drink we ingest has a taste, an energy, and a post-digestive effect. The 6 stages of digestion always occur in a certain order and usually require 6 or more hours to complete. One hour for each stage and taste.

Stage 1, hour 1: The sweet stage.

The process of digestion begins when you put food into the mouth and you chew. The food becomes soft, warm, oily and easy to swallow. The digestion of carbohydrates begins in the mouth, with the help of an enzyme ptyalin in the saliva. Saliva makes food easy to swallow and helps perception of taste. It aids the digestion of carbohydrates, maintains water/electrolyte balance, and with the help of Agni stabilizes oral temperature. Saliva also helps kill bacteria in the food.

All 6 tastes are present during the first hour, but the sweet taste dominates. The sweet receptors are on the front of the tongue, and correspond to the organs of the Thyroid and upper lungs. The moment the food enters the stomach, digestive juices from the fundus (or greater curvature) of the stomach is released, making the food sweet. The food is broken down into smaller and smaller pieces, so Agni can contact every food particle. Simple sugars are digested at this stage and released by the stomach into the blood stream, so blood sugar rises.

The sweet taste is related to the Water and Earth elements in nature. Because of this, one may feel heavy and dull after eating. Although not yet digested, the ingested food brings contentment and groundedness; along with a feeling of fullness and satisfaction by stretching the stomach wall. Since the sweet taste is the first taste to be digested, eating dessert at the end of a meal can lead to digestive upset, as it triggers the start of the digestive process over again and in a way “messes up the timing”. So there is a good reason to have your dessert first.

The sweet taste is strongly present in foods such as sugar, honey, dates, and maple syrup. As well as more mildly in foods such as milk, rice, and wheat. Sweet or madhura in Sanskrit means, pleasant, charming, beautiful, and agreeable. The emotion of the sweet taste is Love. That is why you call your spouse “honey” not “salty”. The sweet taste is also seen as a “comfort food”. As when we are rejected by a lover or friend, we run for chocolate or sweet stuff to fill that emotional “love” digestively.

When used moderately, the sweet taste is very wholesome to our body. It is very soothing and benefits the mucous membranes lining the mouth, lungs, digestive, urinary and reproductive systems. The sweet taste can help to clear a dry throat and lungs by enhancing expectoration. It also has cooling and anti-inflammatory properties. It benefits the complexion, improves hair and nail quality and is known by Ayurveda to be the best flavor for making a smooth voice.

If the sweet taste is used in excess however, its heavy, oily and cold qualities can reduce the digestive fire, increase mucus, and promote congestion. This often causes a feeling of fatigue after eating. It can also cause toxins, fever, chest and breathing problems, swollen lymph glands, flaccidity, heaviness, worms, fungal infections, candida, obesity, and diabetes. Exceptions to this effect (due to different qualities besides heavy, oily, and cold) are raw honey, mung beans, and barley. Emotionally, excess sweet will create attachment, greed, and possessiveness. Sweet in moderation is nectar, but in excess it’s poison.

Stage 2, hour 2: The sour taste.

The second stage of digestion is the sour stage. During this stage, the Earth and Fire elements of nature dominate and the food continues to break into smaller and smaller pieces. Food in the stomach becomes sour because of the secretion of hydrochloric acid from the lesser curvature of the stomach, as well as other enzymes. Mucosal secretions provide the lining that protects the stomach from these acids. If these secretions are decreased, heartburn, gastritis, and gastric ulcer can result. Agni secretes sour taste into the tissues. So during this stage, sour taste can aggravate any hives, rashes, urticaria, itching, or eczema. If you have such conditions it is important to limit intake of sour foods. In the sour stage, the hormone gastrin stimulates the release of pepsin, which is an enzyme that begins the digestion of proteins. Rennin is a specialized enzyme also released at this time to coagulate milk protein. It is produced in high amounts in babies and children, but much less is present in adults. This is one reason why most adults can’t tolerate milk as they did when they were a child.

In Sanskrit, sour or amla is sour, acidic, and that which easily ferments. Sour foods are light, heating, oily, and liquid in nature and stimulate metabolism. Sour taste is found in foods like sour cream, yogurt, vinegar, cheese, citrus fruits (lemon and grapefruit, unripe mango, green grapes), and fermented foods like kefir and sauerkraut. The receptors for the sour taste are found on the frontal sides of the tongue and correspond to the Lungs.

The sour taste increases salivary secretions, stimulates appetite, and to some extent it enhances secretions of digestive enzymes. A moderate amount of sour taste is anti-flatulent and antispasmodic. It's refreshing, it energizes the body, nourishes the heart, and enlivens the mind. In a small quantity, the sour taste increases secretions that help eliminate excess congestion. This is the reason why a regular small dose of apple cider vinegar works well for some people, balancing cholesterol and eliminating congestion. However, in large quantity the sour taste dries the membranes and creates congestion.

If one consumes the sour taste in excess, it can cause sensitive teeth, excessive thirst, hyperacidity, heartburn, acid indigestion, gastritis, ulcerative colitis, and ulcers. As sour taste has a fermentation action, it is toxic to the blood and can cause skin conditions like dermatitis, acne, rashes, eczema, boils, and psoriasis. It may lead to acidic pH in the body and cause burning in the stomach, throat, chest, heart, bladder, and urethra. Excess sour can also lead to diarrhea, edema, congested lungs.

Emotionally, sour taste brings comprehension, appreciations, recognition, and discrimination. Sour is sharp, so it makes the mind alert, sharp, and enhances the span of attention. However, excess sour can induce judgment, jealousy, criticism and hate. It agitates the mind and causes it to become hyperactive.

Stage 3, hour 3: The Salty taste

The third stage of digestion is the salty stage and occurs in the duodenum, the first part of the small intestine. The Water and Fire elements of nature dominate in this stage. Its association with the Water element makes it a mild laxative and with the Fire element a digestive stimulating antispasmodic.

Once the pyloric valve opens and food enters the duodenum, bile is released from the gallbladder and pancreatic enzymes (Agni) mix with the food. Bile and pancreatic juices are alkaline and the food coming from the previous stage in the stomach is sour, which is acidic. Acid plus alkali is like salt and water. This is how the food becomes salty. The salty taste has a buffering action which assists further digestion of fats and protein. Enzymes such as amylase, trypsin, and lipase are released in the pancreatic juice. All of these enzymes are governed by Agni. The receptors for the salt taste are located in the back of the tongue. The correspond to the Kidneys. If there is low kidney energy, there will be edema and swelling at this stage of digestion.

The salty taste stimulates salivation, aids digestion, absorption, and assimilation, and helps the elimination of wastes. Salty taste has an anti-flatulent action, removing gases from the colon. When taken in moderation, it promotes growth, gives energy, and maintains the water-electrolyte balance. A pinch of salt in food will equalize the blood pressure and enhance energy. People who work hard under the hot son, sweat a lot, or live in tropic places need more salt in their diet. However, too much salt in the diet may cause sodium retention, leading to edema and high blood pressure. Heat sensations, fainting, wrinkles, ulcers, bleeding disorders, and hyperacidity may all be caused by overuse of the salty taste, and it often worsens skin conditions. Frequent salt consumption can also cause hair loss by increasing the fire element in the body.

Emotionally, the sinking and heavy effect of salt is very grounding for the nervous system and this encourages stability. People who are solid and reliable become known as “the salt of the earth” (this is an old Ayurvedic adage). Salt enhances spirit, confidence, courage, enthusiasm, and interest. An inquiring, probing mind comes from the salty taste. If you remove salt from your diet you will feel tired, fatigued, lack interest, and your whole life will become bland. However, excess consumption of salt can create temptation, addiction, attachment, greed, possessiveness, and irritability.

There are actually 5 kinds of salt according to Ayurveda; rock, sea, black, pink, and soncala. Rock salt is considered the best as it is very high in minerals and, unlike the other salts, does not cause much water retention and is not detrimental to the eyes. Rock salt is also the exception to the rule that salt is heating, since it has a cooling energy due to the high mineral content.

Stage 4, hour 4: The Pungent Taste.

The fourth stage relates to the pungent taste, and takes place in the jejunum, the second portion of the small intestine. The Air and Fire elements of nature dominate in this stage. The taste receptors are found along the center of the tongue and correspond to the heart and stomach. The Fire component makes the food more yellowish-brown. The enzymes in the upper part of jejunum are more pungent are controlled by our Agni. The Fire component of the pungent taste also causes increased heat and circulation, and this can irritate hemorrhoids, skin rashes, and bleeding disorders. Air makes the bones porous and is necessary for absorption of nutrients. Most absorption happens in the ileum and colon, but initial absorption begins in the jejunum. Air also results in production of gases.

The pungent taste is present in many common spices, such as cayenne pepper, chili pepper, black pepper, mustard, ginger, and hing or asafoetida; as well as foods like onion, radish, and garlic. When used in moderation it kindles Agni, improves digestion and absorption, and cleans the mouth. That is why you find Ayurvedic toothpastes containing pungent herbs like neem. The Pungent taste clears the sinuses by stimulating nasal secretions and dissolving congestion. It aids circulation, breaks up clots, removes fat from the body, dissolves lumps, and helps with the elimination of waste products. Most pungent substances are blood thinners, antispasmodic, anti-parasitic, and anthemlintic (dewormers).

Over use of pungent taste may cause negative reactions. It can kill sperm and ova, causing sexual debility in both sexes. It may induce burning, chocking, fainting, hiccoughs, and fatigue with thirst. Along with diarrhea, heartburn, nausea, giddiness, tremors, insomnia, and muscle pain. Peptic ulcers, colitis, and skin conditions may also result from excessive use. The sharp, penetrating action of pungent taste will create inflammation, irritation, and ulceration and can be carcinogenic. Anything that is a strong irritant is potentially carcinogenic. For instance, a chronic ulcer that is irritated by pungent chilies can result in cancer. For that reason a cancer patient should stay away from extremely hot, pungent food.

Emotionally, pungent brings enthusiasm, vitality, and vigor. It removes obstructions and brings clarity of perception. The mind becomes sharp, focused, attentive, and determined. However, too much pungent will make the mind angry, violent, irritable, envious, jealous, aggressive, and competitive.

Stage 5, hour 5: The Bitter taste.

The fifth stage of digestion is the bitter stage. It takes place in the ileum, the last and longest portion of the small intestine. Further digestion occurs in the ileum and there is still some presence of bile, which is bitter. Ether (space) and Air are the natural elements of bitter taste and they create most of the absorption of food through the villi of the ileum wall. Due to the light quality of ether and air, the stomach and intestines become light, which can create false hunger. However, this is not a good time to eat. One should try not to eat a full meal again until the completion of the astringent stage an hour or so later.

Bitter taste can be found in foods like bitter melon, bitter gourd, bitter cucumber, turmeric root, dandelion root, aloe vera, yellow dock, fenugreek, sandalwood, neem, and coffee. We must have all 6 tastes in our diet, but bitter is the taste most lacking in industrialized food, especially that of North America. Bitter taste improves all other tastes, because if you have a little bitter then any food will taste good. It is anti-toxic and kills germs. It helps relieve burning sensations, itching, fainting, and obstinate skin disorders. Bitter is anti-inflammatory, antipyretic (reduces fever), laxative, and cleansing to the liver. It stimulates firmness of the skin and muscles. In a small dose, bitter taste can relieve intestinal gas and works as a digestive tonic---as in the case of Swedish Bitters. Its drying to the system and causes a reduction in fat, bone marrow, urine and feces. Bitter is good supporting therapy to the pancreas, which is why bitter herbs and spices (like neem and turmeric) are given to a person with high blood sugar. Bitter is cleansing and scrapes away fat and toxins.

By itself, bitter is nauseating. Over-consumption of the bitter taste may be depleting and can induce dizziness and unconsciousness. Extreme dryness and roughness, emaciation, and weariness are often the result of excessive eating of the bitter taste. Bitter taste is antibacterial and antiviral. Over use of bitter taste reduces bone marrow and leads to osteoporosis. Certain antibiotics, such as chloramphenicol and tetracycline, are bitter and they can create blood disorders and bone marrow depression. Bitter taste inhibits sexual energy. Bitter kills worms; sperm is a micro-worm, so an excessive amount of bitter taste inhibits the production of sperm. In moderation, bitter taste can promote celibacy and aversion to worldly attachments.

Emotionally, bitter taste makes your mind celibate. You withdraw your mind from temptation and your mind becomes more introverted. It creates an aversion to desires and you become more self-conscious and self-aware. However, too much bitter taste will make a person cynical and boring and can lead to rejection. It can create aversion, separation, isolation, and loneliness.

Stage 6, hour 6: The Astringent taste.

The sixth and final stage of digestion is the astringent stage. When foodstuff comes to the ileocecal valve, the prana or Consciousness pushes the food through into the cecum. The cecum, a pouch that forms the first portion of the large intestine, is sometimes called the second stomach because the food stays there for a while. In the cecum, the food becomes astringent. The natural elements of astringent are Earth and Air. The Air element helps further absorption, while earth is heavy and rough and gives bulk to the stools. The liquid foodstuff becomes thicker and thicker as it passes through this stage. The astringent taste is necessary for the absorption of certain vitamins, minerals, and water, which takes place in the ascending colon and the first half of the transverse colon. True appetite returns during this stage, due to the Air component of astringent taste stimulating prana in the hunger center of the brain.

The receptors for the astringent taste are located in the rear of the tongue and correspond to the colon. The astringent taste is found in the outer rind of fruits and plants, unripe banana, pomegranate, chickpeas, green beans, yellow split peas, okra, goldenseal, turmeric, lotus seed, alfalfa sprouts, mango seed, arjuna, alum, and most raw vegetables. Astringent is cold, drying, and heavy in nature. The astringent taste helps bind the stool. So whenever a person has diarrhea astringent herbs (for example arrowroot) or food (like cooked apple pulp, applesauce, cooked unripe banana) will help correct the problem. Astringent is also anti-inflammatory and decongestant. It aids in healing ulcers. It also stops bleeding by promoting clotting and constricting the blood vessels.

In excess, astringent taste can create spasms, gripping sensations in the intestines, and constipation. If a person is prone to blood clots, astringent foods should not be eaten. The astringent taste is very drying and absorbs water and causes dryness of the mouth and difficulty of speech. Frequent use of astringent foods may cause choking, constipation, distention, cardiac spasm, and stagnation of circulation. It may affect sex drive and lead to depletion of sperm. It can give rise to emaciation, convulsions, Bell’s palsy, stroke paralysis, and other neuromuscular disorders.

Emotionally, astringent is supportive and grounding. It brings things together and makes the mind collected and organized, putting everything in the right place. However, too much makes the mind scattered and the person becomes disorganized. It can create insomnia, fear, anxiety, and nervousness, as well as fixation, rigidity, harshness, and emotional stagnation. Depression is also related to excessive use of astringent taste, because the person holds on to emotions and becomes depressed.

This digestive process is not fixated to a specific timeline. In some people, digestion takes longer, others (like children) shorter. In any case, the average time for digestion is from 6 to 12 hours after eating. However, the nutritional process inside the cells takes much longer. The nutrition from your food takes 5 to 35 days to be completely be processed by all the appropriate organs.

Now What?

So what to do with all this information? Ayurveda offers a logical approach for determining a correct diet based upon an individual’s constitution. One’s constitution is set at the time of conception and is determined from one’s ancestral lineage, physical attributes, mental tendencies, and habits of the mother and father. The most reliable way to determine your constitution is to have a pulse assessment done by an Ayurvedic practitioner. Determining what types of traditional foods are appropriate for your diet and in what amounts is the basis for Ayurvedic nutrition. This approach is quite different from the current Western definition of a balanced diet, based on eating proportionately from various food groups. Ayurveda believes that understanding the individual is the key to finding a truly balanced diet. It teaches that Agni in the digestive tract is the main gate through which nutrients enter the body and then pass along to individual cells, maintaining the life functions.

Ayurveda regards food and its role in daily life in a unique and integrated way. Understanding some basic principles will help one to recognize foods that keep the digestive system in balance and keep you healthy. Each kind of food is made up of certain qualities. For example, popcorn is light and dry, where as cheese is heavy and oily. The qualities in a particular person combine with the qualities inherent in the food to determine how the body accepts and digest that food.

In general, when the qualities of a food are similar to the qualities of a person, the food will tend to aggravate that person. Such as when a ‘dry-natured’ person eats popcorn (dry). Or a hot-tempered person eats chili peppers (hot). Opposite qualities tend to be balancing, such as when a “hot” type person drinks mint tea (cooling). Or a “heavy-congested” type person uses turmeric or eats anchovies or bitter melon (warming/drying, bitter). This fundamental principle can help you select foods that are balancing to your own unique constitution.

Food combining.

Every food has its own taste (as discussed above), energy (either heating or cooling), and post-digestive effect. When two or more foods having different taste, energy, or post-digestive effects are combined, Agni can become overloaded, inhibiting the enzyme system, dousing the digestive fire, and resulting in the production of toxins. Yet these same foods, if eaten separately, might well stimulate Agni, be quickly digested and even burn toxins.

Poor food combining can produce indigestion, fermentation, putrefaction and gas formation, and if prolonged, can lead to toxemia and disease. An example of a bad food combination is dairy products with fruit, like bananas with milk. This combination can diminish Agni, change the intestinal flora, produce toxins and cause sinus congestion, cold, cough, and allergies. Bananas and milk both have a sweet taste. But their energies are different; bananas are heating, and milk is cooling. Post-digestively, bananas are sour, and milk is sweet. This causes confusion to our digestive system and results in those imbalances. Similarly, milk and melons should not be eaten together. Both are energetically cooling, but milk is a laxative and melon is a diuretic. Milk requires more time for digestion. The stomach acid required to digest the melon causes the milk to curdle. In general, one should avoid taking milk with sour foods and fruit should always be eaten by itself. See food combination table

Before you say “this is too confusing, how will I ever figure it out?” there are some useful guidelines to help you understand these concepts. Ayurveda is a strong advocate of the start-slowly school of thought. You can start introducing yourself to appropriate food combing by initially eating fruit by itself, as many fruits create a sour and indigestible “wine” in the stomach when mixed with other foods. Just make one change at a time and give your body a chance to adjust to a better way of eating. Here are more guidelines:

• As a general principal, avoid eating lots of raw foods. Raw foods are very hard to digest and require excessive energy from the body to “cook” or process. Raw foods should only be consumed by people with very strong Agni (digestion) and only in the summer.

• Don’t eat fresh foods with leftovers and minimize your use of leftover foods.

• When foods with different and possibly aggravating qualities are cooked together in the same pot, they are predigested together, so Agni can better handle them without problems. This concept has worked well in our family since some of us have different constitutions. We do a lot of one pot meals with rice, meat, spices, and vegetables all cooked together.

• Spices are added in Ayurvedic cooking to help make foods more compatible or ease undesirable effects. For instance, adding cooling cilantro to hot, spicy food can help it to be digested. Or adding cardamom and cinnamon or nutmeg (all warming) to yogurt or warmed milk.

• If we have become accustomed to a certain food combination through years of use, then it is likely that our body has made some adaptation to this. This is not to say that we should continue the practice, which still produces toxic effects. But the recommendation is to introduce the proper habits slowly to allow the body to go through “withdrawal” and release the toxins.

• Antidotes such as cardamom in coffee, or ghee and black pepper with potatoes, often help alleviate some of the negative effects inherent in those foods. Coffee is stimulating and ultimately depressing to the system, but cardamom slightly neutralizes these effects. Potatoes generally cause gas, but the ghee and black pepper stimulate Agni, helping to counteract that effect.

• Eating a bad combination occasionally probably won’t upset the digestion too much. Slow and steady is the best route to successful change.

• Some things to avoid: overeating, eating without real hunger, emotional eating, frequent drinking of fruit juice, excess water or no water during a meal, drinking chilled drinks at any time, eating when constipated or emotionally disturbed, eating a lot before 7am or after early evening, eating too much heavy food or too little light food.

The best questions to ask your self are “Are my meals balanced?”, “Am I eating too much or too little of one type of taste?” and “Do I feel good after I eat, whether that is one hour or 6 hours later?” The answers to these questions might lead you to examining your diet and digestion in a new light.

References

· Ayurvedic Medicine, The Principles of Traditional Practice; Sebastian Pole, 2006.

· Textbook of Ayurveda, Fundamental Principles of Ayurveda Volume One; Vasant Dattatray Lad, 2002.

Candice Davis is a medical herbalist specializing in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine. She currently has a practice in Phoenix, AZ.

You can learn more about Candice's practice by visiting her website http://globalbotanicals.net

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