Yama 5A – Mitahaara (Controlled Diet)

Traditional belief is that we are what we eat. Food is a major source of nutrition. Nutrients that are absorbed by the body can only come from diet. Therefore, it is important that in order to preserve health, one adopt not just the right foods but also the correct eating habits. Poor food habits lead to ill-heath and contribute to stress.

It is important to understand the process of digestion.

• Food is broken down into manageable pieces in the mouth and mixed with enzymes for digestion. This is why chewing of the food and mixing it with saliva is so important. The food is then swallowed and goes into the stomach. As the food enters the stomach, signals are sent so that more enzymes are released into the stomach. Additional blood is sent to the stomach muscles to enable it to churn and mix the food and enzymes completely. So, the stomach should not be overloaded with food, there should be adequate space for gas to come out and sufficient water for elastic movement when the stomach muscles squeeze, churn and break up the food.
• The half-digested food then moves into the intestines where the nutrients are absorbed while food break up and churn continues. Food with adequate roughage ensures that food does not stick to the walls of the intestines but moves forward for absorption and evacuation.
• Expulsion of waste is a very important element of digestion and often determines the health of the person. Ensure that choice of food keeps this requirement in view.

Most religions prescribe a benediction before a meal is started. In what is now called Hinduism, the meal is started by a benediction which translates to “let food be consumed for ingestion (prana), let food be consumed for excretion (apana), let food be consumed for the circulatory system (vyana), let food be consumed for awareness (udana), let food be consumed for assimilation (samana) and let food be consumed for alignment with the source (brahman)”.  Very pragmatic benediction…

Share your opinion and experiences

• What are your favourite foods?
• Do you dislike any food?
• Are you allergic to any food?
• When eating at public places, does anything turn you off?
• How important is manners in a shared meal?
• What is your view on wasting food? Do you eat everything on your plate even if you don’t like all of it?