Have you ever felt confused about what you should be eating? You’re not alone. Ayurveda offers another perspective on food—food as medicine. Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t say the obvious, so I’ll just get that out of the way: we all know that whole foods, without additives and freshly made, are best for us. Yet it is practically impossible to cook every meal fresh for ourselves. If you have the time—or a chef in your life—to accomplish this, kudos to you, because this is ideal for health.
The list of additives in most packaged foods goes largely unnoticed by the majority. We’re also led to believe these additives are benign. Yet day after day, consuming these fillers adds up. Death by a thousand paper cuts, isn’t that what they say? You get the point.
So the reality is that we pick and choose the best we can from restaurants, delis, and packaged or pre-prepared meals to supplement our homemade food.
If you want to go down the rabbit hole of additives, you can find informative YouTube videos on nearly every ingredient listed on a label to get a clearer picture of what we’re consuming—and feeding to our animals, for that matter. It’s nearly impossible to completely avoid the following: natural flavors, citric acid, maltodextrin, gums, canola oil, and enriched flour. These are common even in organic packaged foods at the health food store. The list gets longer otherwise.
I know not everyone agrees with me on all of these ingredients, but my point is this: the further we get from nature, the further we get from health.
Let me switch gears. As we enter warmer weather—what about smoothies?
From an Ayurvedic perspective, smoothies can be difficult to digest. We are not what we eat (or drink); we are what we can digest. The good news is there are a few Ayurvedic smoothie hacks that let you enjoy your smoothie and digest it too. I’ll name three. If you can pull these off, your gut will thank you—and you’ll be supporting your microbiome in the way you intended.
First, keep it simple. Too many ingredients equals too much confusion in the belly. Choose one fruit, maybe two. Not all fruits combine well in the gut, even if they taste great together. Stick to one or two powders at a time as well. If you have a half dozen superfood powders, rotate them. One day choose one or two, the next day choose a different pair. Try to avoid putting all of them into your smoothie every day. Give your stomach a break.
Next, consider temperature. Many of us use frozen fruit and a cold liquid straight from the fridge. Nut milks, grain milks, dairy milk, yogurt, juices—all delicious, and all often cold. This cold quality is not easy to digest. A cold smoothie dampens your digestive fire—the very fire that now has to deal with multiple fruits, powders, maybe greens, and yogurt…oh my.
Do yourself a favor and opt for fresh, in-season fruit when you can. If you’re using frozen fruit, try warming your liquid base before blending. This simple step can turn your Arctic beverage into a more soothing, room-temperature glass of medicine. Frozen fruit also carries less prana than fresh.
Lastly—the golden ticket—add a digestive spice. Ginger, cinnamon, or cardamom are great options. About ¼ teaspoon or a few shakes from the jar is enough. Help your belly do its job with all those raw ingredients and combinations.
I could go on, but I’ve come to the end of my column space. Please come to my talk to learn more digestive hacks—like snacking, where timing is everything.
Monday, April 6th from 6–7:30pm
Inner Path, 200 Commercial Street, downtown Nevada City
Two weeks later, Monday the 20th from 6–7:30pm, A Healing Collective will host an evening with Devorah Sacks: Ashtanga Yoga—Beginning a Practice. To register, email Devorah@DevorahSacks.com. More information can be found at aHealingCollective.net.
Kim Kinjo is a Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist. She can be reached at 530-559-0845 or Kim@KimKinjo.com. For more information about Ayurvedic Consultations, visit KimKinjo.com.
