MahaSiddhas Ayurveda

Don't Eat Late
It is best to not eat after the sun begins to set. Ideally we shouldn’t eat after 6pm in the summer, and not after 4 or 5pm in the winter. If you feel the need to eat after dark, instead take herb teas and herbal supplements. You can put about one half a teaspoon of ghee or other oil in your teas to make it more satisfying. Be sure not to go to bed at night when there is food in the stomach. Wait 3 hours before going to bed after a meal. This is extremely important for keeping your channels clear and for keeping your spine and body flexible. Plus, if you don't eat late, then you will have energy in the morning! A very light, soup dinner, without heavy protein is the best dinner.

Sit Down and Take Your Time
It is essential to eat when sitting down, otherwise the digestive organs are stressed and only partially digest the foods, resulting in much unnecessary toxins. Eating while calm and relaxed will allow you to extract enough energy from food that you will feel fueled and strong for several hours.

Chew, Chew, Chew
Your system will extract more nutrition from less food if it is chewed well. Food chewed well is more moist and is well saturated with enzymes from your saliva, making it easier for your tissues to get nourished by it. Don’t swallow until the food is like juice. If you have to drink liquids to wash down your food then you are not chewing long enough or you are eating food that is too dry for you. Put your fork or spoon down between bites and chew, chew, chew.

Have Drinks Separate from Meals
You should have limited liquid during meals so as to not dilute the gastric juices (agni, fire). It is appropriate to sip warm/hot teas/water during the meal.

Eat What You Can Digest
If you have good digestion, then favor live foods (cooked below 212) and raw foods that have been washed well. If you have issues of weakened digestion or dehydration/constipation then it is essential that your meals be soupy, cooked with plenty of water so that the whole dish is quite wet and soft. Be sure to spice your foods well. For those with low digestive power: before each meal chew some fresh ginger that has been marinated in lemon or lime juice and lightly salted. This stimulates appetite. If you have a lot of inflammation issues (heat/pitta) then this may not serve you well.

Avoid Snacking
Don’t eat anything until the previous meal has completely left the stomach, you will be able to feel this exact instance eventually. Heavy proteins take 3 to 4 hours to leave the stomach. Fruit takes about 1 hour. If you feel the need to eat again between meals, sipping warm teas and taking your herbal supplements between meals is very helpful to carry the previous meal deep into the tissues for added nourishment and to remove any toxins that are obstructing digestion of this meal.

Avoid OverEating
If you compulsively overeat: Serve your plate with the appropriate amount of food for your sized stomach, which is about the size of both your hands held together in the shape of a bowl. Then do not return to refill your plate once it has been eaten. If you are still not satisfied with a full plate of food, I can recommend some herbs, since this is probably due to poor nutrition, toxins in your system or parasites. Only having this one serving will allow your stomach to return to normal size and it will remind the muscles of your digestive system of the appropriate amount to ingest at one meal.

Keep Simple Sugar to 10% of Your Diet
Having less or no sugar in the diet can often significantly increase one's appetite and ability to digest and eliminate food. This includes natural sugars and the very sweet fruits like mango, dates, etc.

Say Your Mantras
The power of prayer and mantra is well known to change the quality of any situation. This is necessary to honor the previous life of the food, and to align the life-force of the food with your own, also we pray to acknowledge the gift of receiving food from the Universe.

Lay On Your Left Side
After eating a meal and allowing your stomach to 'settle'. Laying on your left side is very helpful as is breathing through the right nostril. Never exercise or engage in sex within an hour after eating. Though be sure to take a short walk after the stomach has settled for 15 or 20 minutes. This helps your system to begin deriving energy from the meal and increases your ability to digest all of the meal.

Walk At Least 100 Steps After Each Meal
If you walk after each meal you will feel more satisfied more often with less food.

Eat When You Are Hungry
Never eat when don't have a strong appetite. Find another way to invest your energy and some productive activity to calm your discomfort. Eating out of emotional need can bring many unwanted side effects, food should certainly be enjoyable but it is used to give the body fuel and energy, not to suppress unresolved emotions. Do not skip meals when you are hungry during the day. It is important to not under-eat during the day. This can result in weakening or provoking your digestion.

Fast One Day A Week
Fasting one day a week is very helpful in cleansing the digestive organs and revitalizing the entire system. This allows for the organs to deeply rest and clear any residue each week. Over time the effects of doing this each week are tremendous for keeping you young and energized. On the chosen day, skip dinner, then skip breakfast, and then skip lunch (just three meals, and then early in the evening have a very light soup as the breaking of the fast. Be sure it is very light, no meat, though be sure there is some oil in the soup for hydration. This constitutes a potent weekly fast.