In Ayurveda it is recognised that every health condition starts with incorrect digestion:
When something is not properly digested, undigested food then travels around our channels and lodges in the tissues that are familiar to it.
Let me explain in brief... Every food has it's own elemental constitution and so does each one of our tissues. So if I have a kapha imbalance and am eating a lot of kapha foods (earth and water) for example, such as potato, dairy and refined grains/sugars and my digestive fire is low (due to kapha imbalance) the foods are not properly digested and this undigested substance is then likely to accumulate in our kapha tissues (fat and/or muscle) depending on any other imbalances we may have of course.
Or if I was to eat tomatoes (fire and water) everyday and was under a lot of stress so my digestive fire became too high (I had an excess of pitta - fire and water in my body) these undigested tomatoes would go and lodge in the pitta tissues and sites such as blood, eyes, skin, head and stomach causing things like heartburn, diarrhea, headaches and hot flushes (and eventually leading to more serious health conditions).
There are lots of ways to take out the lodged toxins and re-balance the digestive fire with the help of an Ayurvedic practitioner but it is important to know some foods that will not further aggravate the condition while you are working on recovery.
Pasta sauce is always an easy meal but it tends to be made with tomatoes, like much of our food. Tomatoes are extremely aggravating to an impaired digestive fire so is likely to worsen a problem. Instead this pasta sauce recipe avoids extremely aggravating foods such as tomatoes, raw foods and chilli and focuses on neutral soothing foods like squash and coconut. If you have a particularly aggressive digestive disorder avoid the things with a star next to them and remember that this condition does not have to be for life, Ayurvedic medicine can support your recovery, contact us now to start your treatment.
Pasta sauce recipe:
Nice alternative to tomato sauce
Ingredients:
1/2 of a large squash or cauliflower or a bit of both!
2 tsp coconut oil
2tsp coriander
½ tsp cumin
A pinch of nutmeg
1 tsp fennel seeds
½ tsp Himalayan rock salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp cinnamon
½ inch of fresh ginger
*1 garlic clove
1 Packet of silken tofu (can use firm but add more water)
1 can of coconut milk
*1 tbsp of nutritional yeast
1-2 cups of water or more milk depending on preferred consistency
*¼ tsp mustard (optional)
*1 tsp soya sauce (optional)
Broccoli
Peas
Spinach
1. Chop the squash into slices, put the coconut oil on a roasting pan and let it melt in the oven.
2. Put the squash and garlic clove in the roasting pan with the oil and all the spices and mix together and roast at gas mark 6 until soft (about 30 mins).
3. Meanwhile put some boiling water on for the pasta or noodles and follow instructions on the packet. Put in the chopped broccoli, and near the end of the cooking process add the peas and spinach.
5. Blend half the squash and the garlic in the food processor with all other ingredients (except pasta and greens). Make sure you use enough liquid to make the mixture in to a sauce.
6. Drain the pasta and mix everything together including the left over squash.
Enjoy!
Here is list of some foods to choose and what not to have so regularly if you are finding digestion PAINFUL:
Condiments:
Avoid:
Vinegar
Margarine (salted)
Pickles
Ketchup
Mayo
Mustard
Eat:
Small amount of sunflower oil, coconut oil (can cook with this), sesame oil, olive oil
Miso
Pesto
Soya sauce
Preserves
Avoid:
Peanut butter
Cashew butter
Nutella
Marmalade
Marmite
Eat:
Maple syrup
Small amount of jam
Small amount of almond butter
Vegetables
Avoid:
Generally raw, dry and pungent
Onions (raw)
Garlic (raw-don’t put too much in to cooking either)
Radish
Carrots (well cooked is fine occasionally)
Swede
Parsnip
Turnip
Beetroot (well cooked fine to have occasionally)
Celery
Lettuce
Tomato
Peppers
Chilli pepper
Mushrooms (fine to have occasionally)
Olives (green)
Kohlrabi
Cucumber
Aubergine
Eat:
Seasonal veg is always best.
In general sweet, and astringent.
Only Cooked:
Any green leaf
Leek
Cauliflower
Green beans
Cabbage
Mange tout
Spinach
Watercress
Courgette
Squash
Pumpkin
Fennel
Artichoke
Chicory
Potatoes
Sweet potatoes (occasionally)
Cassava
Yam
Okra
Peas
Parsley
Sprouts (sweet)
Coriander leaf
Asparagus
Fruit
Avoid:
Generally sour fruit
Apricots
Citrus fruits (oranges, lemons, grapefruit)
Nectarine
Banana
Sour berries
Pineapple
Plums (sour)
Peaches
Kiwi
Mango (sour)
Persimmons
Rhubarb
Avocado
Eat:
Generally sweet, cooked and/or soaked fruit. Do not eat with other food.
Limes
Apple (sweet)
Grapes (red and purple)
Papaya
Prunes
Pears
Figs
Cherries
Plums (sweet)
Melon
Pomegranate
Coconut products
Soaked dates, raisins and figs
Sweet berries
Watermelon
Breads/Cereals
Avoid:
Oats
Yeasted bread
Buckwheat
Any cereals that are cold, dry or puffed
Corn
Millet
Quinoa
Crackers (of any type)
Rye
Muesli
Granola
Eat:
Amaranth
Rice (not wild)
Pitta bread
Chappati
Barley
Bulgur wheat
Couscous (wheat)
Pasta (spelt is good)
Teff
Sweets
Avoid:
Chocolate
Cocoa
Eat:
Soaked dates
Coconut sugar
Maple syrup
Rice syrup
Fructose
Small amounts of cane sugar
Jaggery
Plant protein
Avoid:
Brazil nuts
Hazel nuts
Macadamia nuts
Peanut
Cashew
Pistachio
Walnuts (occasionally ok soaked)
Corn
Eat:
Almond (soaked overnight)
Sunflower seed
Pumpkin seed
Coconut
Chia seed (soaked)
Psyllium
Halva
Sesame seed
Lentils
Mung beans
All beans (not if these cause pain!)
Chickpeas
Split peas
Soya
Tofu
Herbs and spices
Avoid:
Chilli
Wasabi/Horsradish
Asafoetida
Cayenne
Cloves
Mace
Mustard seed
Allspice (occasionally)
Bay leaf
Fenugreek
Paprika
Poppy seed
Salt (can have some just not excessive and of a good quality)
Turmeric
Rosemary (small amounts)
Eat:
(Nothing in supplement form)
Black pepper
Coriander
Fennel
Cumin
Cardamom
Small amount of Cinnamon
Curry leaves
Saffron
Dill
Fresh ginger
Parsley (small amounts)
Tarragon
Vanilla
Fresh basil
Beverages
Avoid:
Coffee
Green tea
Rooibos (ok occasionally)
Black tea (but better than coffee and add some sugar and plant milk if drinking)
Mint tea
Redbush
Caffeinated beverages
Carbonated drinks
Sour juices
Tomato juice
Carrot juice
Pineapple juice
Orange juice
Grapefruit Juice
Wine
Spirits (if having stick to sweet liquors or white spirits)
Drink:
Chamomile tea
Ginger tea (fresh)
Licorice tea
Lemon grass tea
Fennel tea
Lavender tea (occasionally)
Hibiscus tea
Chai tea (small amount)
5 herbs tea (from clinic)
Gotukola tea (from clinic)
Pomegranate juice
Prune juice
Rice milk
Soy milk
Almond milk
Coconut milk
Grape juice
Pear juice
(no concentrated juice, if consuming juice dilute with water)
This is just general advice for pain during digestion, it is important to listen to your body, everyone is different so this might not work for your perfectly, if you would like some personalised support and to gain a better understanding of what your uniques dosha or imbalance needs please contact the clinic:
samatherapist@gmail.com