Ayurveda is a holistic medicine system that began in India more than 3,000 years ago. One of the main aspects of it is a person’s diet, taking into consideration the foods they eat and what will best contribute to their overall well-being
While there are many nuances to an Ayurvedic diet, it generally encourages people to eat fresh, whole foods and discourages them from eating processed foods whenever possible. In doing so, it aims to balance the body’s energies to promote optimal health.
Ayurvedic medicine emphasizes how important the diet is to one’s well-being, as it’s a crucial aspect of maintaining health and preventing disease. In addition to specific foods, it also incorporates herbal supplements and fermented foods such as dahi into the plan.
The diet plan that will be recommended is based on each individual’s constitution, or dosha.
Understanding Dahi (Curd) in Ayurveda
Dosha, which is also known as Indian yogurt or curd, has a lot of beneficial properties for the Ayurvedic diet.
Its sour taste has a metabolic end-effect. In other words, it aids in digestion, helps to prevent diarrhea and constipation, and promotes positive gut health.
It can be served cold or hot as part of a dish and is heavy and filling. All of this satisfies the vata dosha, which is associated with the elements of air and space.
In addition, it contributes to a positive kapha dosha, which is associated with earth and water, by lowering lipids and helping prevent obesity, and by contributing to virility, strength and immunity.
Finally, it benefits the pitta dosha, which is associated with fire and water, by preventing edema, assisting in metabolism and by being haematinic — which means it provides nutrients that are essential for the body to form blood cells.
How is Curd Formed?
Curd is a fermented dairy product that’s made from milk. While buffalo milk is sometimes used, the traditional way to prepare it is to use cow’s milk.
The curd forms when lactobacillus bacteria ferments the milk. Once it’s formed, lactic acid bacteria that can be found in the air is also on the surface of the milk.
That process makes it more nutritious and beneficial for health than other types of yogurt, such as common commercialized yogurts or even Greek yogurt.
Health Benefits of Dahi
There are many recognized health benefits of dahi. It’s generally known to improve digestive health, which includes relief from affiliations such as irritable bowel syndrome.
Thanks to the fermentation process, dahi is an excellent source of probiotics, which are beneficial bacteria that are essential for digestive health. In addition to balancing the good and bacteria in your body’s intestines, probiotics also help reduce bloating, constipation and bloating.
Dahi is also known to boost immunity due to the fact that it contains lactic acid bacteria. An improved immune system helps to protect against disease and infection, which in turn makes your body more resistant to various pathogens.
Thanks to the fact that it’s an excellent source of Vitamin C, dahi improves skin health. Vitamin C helps to protect the skin from damage from free radicals, as well as helping to reduce inflammation, which can prevent signs of aging such as wrinkles.
Dahi enhances metabolism because it contains beneficial enzymes that help to break down foods and aid the body in absorbing nutrients from food much more efficiently. With a boost in metabolism, people may have an easier time losing weight.
Finally, dahi is known to have calming effects on the body, which helps to reduce people’s stress levels. Lactic acid helps to regulate hormones and improve mood — both of which play a crucial role in overall well-being.
Nutritional Benefits of Dahi
We’ve already discussed how dahi is full of probiotics, and all of the benefits that it provides. In addition, dahi is rich in protein and calcium, which helps to support muscle growth and bone health.
These are all reasons why dahi is considered a nutritious addition to any balanced diet.
Ayurvedic Diet and Dahi
One of the basic principles of ayurveda is that each person has an individual constitution, known as a dosha. To achieve optimal health, these doshas must be properly balanced, as an imbalance in even one can cause major issues for all three.
In this way, ayurveda stresses the importance of eating for your constitution.
To improve your Vata, ayurveda recommends foods that are warm, moist, oily and grounding, including potatoes, eggs, butter and avocados. You should avoid eating bitter foods and raw salads.
To balance your Pitta, ayurveda recommends cooling, watery foods such as freshwater fish, zucchini, cucumbers and coconut. At the same time, try avoiding overly spicy foods, vodka and red wine.
Eating for Kapha, according to ayurveda, means eating grains such as millet and quinoa, while consuming olive oil, butter and ghee in moderation. You should also avoid heavy, cold and wet foods such as avocado.
Cooking with the Ayurvedic Diet
Foods change with the season, and it’s always recommended to eat fruits and vegetables that are in season. This is because these are always the freshest produce, which means they not only taste their best but have the highest nutritious value.
In spring, you can focus on foods that are harvested in that season, such as fresh leafy greens. You can also drink dandelion tea.
Fresh produce is often abundant in summer, no matter where you live. This makes it much easier to eat fresh and light produce that’s rich in water, which helps to balance hydration.
In the fall, you should cook with end-of-summer produce as well as focusing on other items such as grains, nuts and seeds.
The winter months are perfect for eating warm soups, heavy stews and more nuts, all of which keep you warm and satisfied while the weather is colder.
No matter what season you’re in, ayurveda recognizes six major tastes — sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent. These tastes are then combined in specific ways to create meals according to an ayurvedic diet.
It’s important to avoid competing flavors, such as sour and sweet, as certain food combinations can be harder to digest and challenge digestive fire.
Preparing and Consuming Dahi
While dahi can be an important part of an ayurvedic diet, it’s recommended that you should only consume it in moderation, as it can obstruct microchannels of the body, which can lead to toxins accumulating.
One option is to prepare an alternative — consuming buttermilk that’s prepared by churning curd and removing its fat content. You can even add a pinch of rock salt and/or turmeric to add to the flavor.
Still, curd can be incorporated easily into traditional recipes such as raita, lassi and kadhi. All of these recipes can improve immunity, digestion and overall health.
One of the great parts about curd is that it’s a very versatile ingredient. It can be combined with different spices and herbs such as turmeric, coriander and cumin. This improves and changes the taste while also contributing different benefits to your health.
Rules for Eating Dahi
Ayurveda sets some basic rules for eating dahi.
One is that you should always consume it in moderation so that you can reap the health benefits it provides. If you eat too much curd, it can lead to imbalances in your body.
No matter how your dahi is prepared or in what recipes it’s used, ayurveda recommends eating it only in the morning or afternoon. That’s because eating curd at night can disturb digestion and sleep, since it’s a heavier food.
Another ayurveda rule is that you should not consume warm curd, again because it can be more difficult to digest. Instead, eat curd that’s either chilled or is at room temperature.
While curd is used in many Indian dishes to marinate meat, ayurveda says that meat and curd are incompatible and can lead to digestive issues. As such, this is one way that you should avoid consuming it.
Finally, it’s best not to consume curd in the scorching summer heat. Curd has a tendency to be hot in potency, which can exacerbate pitta imbalances in the summer.
Find Your Balance by Incorporating Curd into the Ayurvedic Diet
Ayurveda considers dahi to be a nutritious and beneficial food. Because it promotes digestive health, immunity and overall well-being, it’s recommended to incorporate dahi into a balanced Ayurvedic diet to reap all the health benefits it can provide.
Ayurveda is all about balance, and incorporating dahi into your diet can help you achieve balance in this way. It can help promote optimal health by balancing the body’s different energies.
Just make sure that you follow the basic rules of preparing and consuming dahi in an Ayurvedic diet.