Ayurveda: Joy Raj Inspirations

Ayurveda is an ancient Indian system of natural and holistic medicine. Translated from Sanskrit, Ayurveda means ‘the science of life’ (in Sanskrit veda means ‘science’ and ayur means ‘life’ or ‘longevity.’

Ayurveda places great importance on one’s pathya or lifestyle, especially eating habits. The most important principle in the Ayurvedic diet is that your food is fresh (without pesticides, additives and other chemicals), seasonal, and (as often as possible) local. Best of all are freshly cooked, whole meals like the freshly cooked Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi fusion dishes we serve at Joy Raj.

Ayurveda recognizes six tastes and it’s quite important to have all of these six tastes in your diet every day. The six tastes are:

• Sweet — sugar, honey, rice, pasta, milk, etc.
• Sour — lemons, hard cheese, yogurt, vinegar, etc.
• Salty — salt, any salty food
• Pungent — chili peppers, cayenne, ginger, any hot spice
• Bitter — leafy greens, turmeric, lettuce, etc.
• Astringent — pomegranate, beans, lentils, etc.

According to Ayurveda, cravings are often caused by not having all of the six tastes in your daily diet, so including all six tastes in your diet will contribute to feeling satisfied at the end of a meal. If you want to explore more about Ayurveda, you can even use the principles to personalise the sorts of foods that are right for you. Start by discovering your dosha type and if you want to give it a go, use this to favour and avoid the foods that are right for you.

Ayurveda suggests that warm temperatures are important to keep both Kapha and Vata balanced. At this time of year, it isn’t warm so lots of people are prone to colds, sore throats and sneezing. Ayurveda suggests that this may be due to an imbalance of the Kapha and Vata doshas.

Aromatic Spices

The recommended remedy is ginger, said to reduce excess Kapha. Ginger is known to stimulate circulation, making it a great medicine for colds and flus. Aromatics like cinnamon, licorice, black pepper and cloves are said to help restore balance to Kapha, while turmeric is said to stimulate the liver and help keep lungs clear. Honey and cinnamon (used in many traditional cold remedies like hot toddy) strengthen the immune system and protect the body from bacterial and viral attacks.

If you’ve been feeling a bit under the weather yourself, come and enjoy a meal in our warm cosy Indian restaurant in Bristol. Because garlic in particular helps to build up the immune system, we would recommend that you order a side dish of one of our delicious warming lentil dahls, all of which contain garlic and ginger to restore you to mint condition.