Definition of Diet

Broadly, diet refers to the foods and beverages we consume in order to get energy.

Ayurveda defines diet as the following:
- What you eat
- How you eat
- When you eat
- How much you eat

What you eat
The ancient Vedic scriptures classify foods into the following 3 categories :
- Sattvic (Mode of Goodness)
- Rajasic (Mode of Passion)
- Tamasic (Mode of Ignorance)

- Sattvic (Goodness) - these foods are wholesome, nutritious, fresh, juicy, mild, and agreeable to the body. It helps to bring one to the point of devotion or Bhakti - greater enlightenment, a greater sense of happiness, increases vitality, endurance, health, satisfaction and happiness, generally purifies one's existence.

- Rajasic (Passion) - foods that are too hot, too sour, salty, pungent, harsh, burning, and so on. These tend to cause misery, sorrow, disease, mental agitation and distress. It strongly binds an individual to fruitive actions, symptomised by unlimited desires, fears, longing, great attachment to mundane objects, selfishness, impulsiveness, restlessness, anger, agitation, greed, lust and power struggle.

- Tamasic (Ignorance) - foods that are nutritionally worthless, decomposed, putrid, stale, and impure. Has a malignant effect on the body and dulls the mind. Promotes ignorance, forgetfulness, lethargy, laziness, lack of drive or enthusiasm, oversleeping etc. Meat and meat products are tamasic in nature.

How you eat
- Consciousness while preparing the food is of utmost importance & something that most people overlook. When one cooks with a calm, happy frame of mind and a loving mentality, free from anger, frustration, envy etc, these qualities are imbibed into the food, and anyone who partakes of the food is affected by these positive qualities.

- The food that we eat is supplied by Mother Nature and The Supreme Being. Therefore, before eating, it is only proper that we offer the food to The Lord and give thanks for His generosity.

- It is also imperative to take time to eat our meals properly so we actually taste and relish the food. Avoid eating and working at the same time. Instead of watching TV while you eat, try listening to soothing music.

When you eat
- What is the right time to eat? When you're hungry!

- A healthy individual practices regulated timings, eating meals at a similar time each day, avoiding snacking between meals or eating very late at night.

How much you eat
- A general rule of thumb is to fill the stomach with food, with water and should be left empty (filled with air) to help digestion to take place.

- A clogged stomach means a clogged brain - precious words may be heard and not understood, because the mind is confused by an improper diet.

- Food should be simple, and less should be eaten so that the mind may be clear and vigorous to comprehend spiritual matters.

Spirituality

Choosing the right food i.e. sattvic & according to one's body constitution, encourages a feeling of vitality, energy and enthusiasm, which promotes good health. When the body & mind is healthy, the consciousness of the individual becomes purified i.e. the mind becomes clear, receptive, eager to learn and question. It enables the individual to rise beyond the daily grind, seeking higher goals & meanings to life and his/her purpose on earth.

There is also a greater concern about others & society at large, not just oneself, and a feeling of wanting to contribute to humanity and the environment. It awakens feelings of love, compassion and concern within us, and a desire to connect with The Supreme. It is a healthy cycle : the right diet helps to awaken our spirituality, and when we become more spiritually inclined, we in turn become more aware of how our diet affects ourselves and our environment.

- What makes a diet spiritual? Consider two points: Is your diet helping you in your spiritual practice? Is it one that is based on reducing pain and suffering in your personal world and the larger world in which you live?

- On a spiritual diet, you examine how your food choices are affecting your personal and planetary/environmental well-being.

- Are you practicing ahimsa (non-violence) when you eat? If you are eating animal products you must realize that an animal full of adrenaline and terror died for you to eat its flesh. You are what you eat! You are taking this suffering into your body.

- How can we be a truly compassionate spiritual being and go along with the mass terror inflicted on millions of animals a year and the unnatural treatment of animals?

- Science documents that all animal products as food choices lead indisputably to cancer, osteoporosis, heart disease, strokes, and diabetes.

- In addition, every healthy vegetarian choice brings greater wellbeing and less violence to our planet by putting an end to the epidemic killer diseases and to the rampant cruelty in the animal industry.

- The healthy vegetarian choices are whole grains, legumes, fruits, nuts, seeds, and vegetables.

A strong case for Vegetarianism

Effect on the Body:
- Healthier - Vegetables are fresh and easier to digest. Food does not remain in the intestines for a long time, so less decay & bacteria is accumulated in the system. Provides good roughage, facilitates easier bowel movement and toxin elimination.

- Merciful - many plants / trees don't need to be killed for obtaining vegetables & fruits. Animals on the other hand, are kept in inhumane conditions, loaded with antibiotics and other chemicals, and slaughtered while in fear & agony. These chemicals, hormones and feelings are ingested by humans when they eat the meat. Just imagine how this negatively affects the mind, consciousness & spirituality.

- Generally vegetables and fruits are disease free - on the other hand, chemicals are added to meat in order to freeze and store it. Meat contamination by virus and bacteria has led to diseases like avian/bird flu, salmonella poisoning, mad cows' disease etc. Has anyone ever heard of mad cauliflower disease?

- The mild qualities of fruits and vegetables help us to establish, in our inner life as well as in our outer life, the qualities of sweetness, softness, simplicity and purity.

- If we are vegetarians, this helps our inner being to strengthen its own existence. Inwardly, we are praying and meditating; outwardly, the food we are taking from Mother Earth is helping us too, giving us not only energy but also aspiration.

Effect on the Environment:
- Producing meat requires large amounts of grain, and most of the corn and soybeans harvested in the world are used to fatten livestock. If the grains were used for human consumption, we could feed millions and completely eradicate hunger from our world.

- Producing one calorie of flesh (beef, pork, or chicken) requires 11-17 calories of feed, so a meat eater's diet requires two to four times more land than a vegetarian's diet.

- Severe pollution in our lifeblood, the oceans - fast food wrappers, bags, and cups filling every available public garbage receptacle and littering our streets. What kind of a world will our children inherit from us?

Sri Radhika is the Director of AyurYoga International, an Ayurvedic health centre which she runs together with her husband. She is also the Communications Director for ISKCON Hong Kong (The International Society for Krishna Consciousness)