The gut in Ayurveda: tips for gut health
Hippocrates coined the famous phrase 2,500 years ago: „A healthy gut is the root of all health.“ Ayurvedic teachings also recognise the gastrointestinal tract as the source of health and illness, happiness and suffering, life and death. Accordingly, it is important for a healthy, happy life to promote intestinal health. Ayurveda offers [...]
Food supplements in Ayurveda
Some call them herbal pills, others spice powders, healing schnapps or medicines. No matter what name we want to assign to Ayurvedic products, one thing is certain: no health system in the world has a variety of herbal products and formulations comparable to Ayurveda. The science behind these products is called „Dravyagunavijnana“, which translates as the „science of substances and their properties“. The basis [...]
Turmeric in Ayurveda: the yellow gold
Curcuma has been used as a spice and medicinal plant in traditional Ayurvedic medicine for over 5000 years. Over 3,000 scientific studies prove that curcuma is one of the three most important medicinal plants on our planet with a dizzying array of possible uses. However, there are a few rules to follow in order to maximise the health benefits: Curcuma is not just curcumin, the spice powder [...]
Snacks in Ayurveda
How many meals a day are healthy? Many nutrition experts differ on this question. Ayurveda has a crystal clear position on this. The fact is: In Ayurveda, food is only considered beneficial if it a) has an optimal nutrient composition according to individual needs and b) is easily digestible. The seemingly „healthiest“ foods can harm us, [...]
Sweets in Ayurveda: Are sweet sins allowed during the Christmas season?
Every year, our resistance to sweet temptations is put to the test at Christmas markets, company parties and family gatherings. Gingerbread, biscuits, stollen and cinnamon stars are irresistible to many and are as much a part of winter as the barbecue is to summer - often followed by a guilty conscience about weight gain or the unnecessary health burden. How beneficial [...]
Dal and mungdal: lentil dishes in Ayurveda
Dal refers to dishes made from peeled and split pulses such as lentils or chickpeas. Dal is a delicious staple food in India and an indispensable part of Ayurvedic cuisine. As Ayurvedic cuisine is predominantly vegetarian, dal dishes are the most important source of protein. A typical Ayurvedic main meal consists of the triad of grains, vegetables and dal. Raw vegetable side dishes or [...]
Trikatu: The three hot ones - ginger, black and long pepper
No Ayurvedic kitchen or pharmacy should be without it - it consists of dry ginger (shunthi), long pepper (pippali) and black pepper (marica) and is one of the most famous three-spice recipes in Ayurveda: Trikatu means „the three hot ones“. Trikatu is more than the sum of its three individual spices, the combination potentises its effect. The pungent flavour has a [...]
Therapeutic fasting in Ayurveda - Things to know about Ayurvedic fasting cures
„Fasting is as old as the peoples of the world“, wrote Otto Buchinger in 1935 in his book „Therapeutic Fasting“, taking into account the three dimensions of the human being (medical, psychosocial and spiritual). Buchinger fasting using special fasting drinks (water, tea, vegetable broth, fruit or vegetable juices and honey) is one of the most frequently used fasting methods today. In the guidelines for [...]
Hot water in Ayurveda
„I only drink hot water!“ Many people have incorporated this „Ayurveda tip“ into their lives and developed it to perfection: they don't leave the house without a thermos flask. Hot water is not just „hot water“. What kind of water at what temperature are we actually talking about? The fact is: water is our most important foodstuff! Depending on their age, humans [...]
Ayurvedic drinks: focus on fruit juice
When I squeezed my own orange juice from halved fruit at the breakfast buffet in a trade fair hotel a few days ago, I was surprised once again: to fill a 200ml glass with juice, I needed 6 halved oranges! I would never have eaten this amount as fruit, but I could certainly have drunk more glasses of the juice. Many people [...]