Wholesome And Vegetarian Yoga Diet
An important issue with regard to Yoga diet is vegetarianism. As per the precepts of Yoga, Sattvic foods form the ideal diet. They are nourishing and easily digestible.
Further, they create new energy and a clear, calm mind, enabling us to use all our mental, physical, and spiritual talents. Sattvic products include cereals, fresh fruit and vegetables, natural fruit juice, milk butter, beans, honey, and pure water.
The ideal Yoga diet is a vegetarian one, composed of pure, simple, natural and easily digestible foods that promote health and overall well-being. Simple meals are easy to digest and assimilate in the system. Further, there is a cycle in nature called the "food cycle" or "food chain". For life on our planet; the Sun is the source of energy. It nourishes plants (the top of the food chain) that are then eaten by animals (the vegetarian ones), that are then, in turn, devoured by other animals (the carnivores).
Being directly nourished by the Sun, food at the top of the food chain has the most Prana or vital life force. It also has the greatest life promoting attributes. Termed second-hand, the food value of animal meat, albeit a source of nutrition is inferior in nature. All natural foods (fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts and grains) have differing proportions of these essential nutrients, in varying quantities. They are easily absorbed by our bodies, as sources of protein. However, it has been proven time and again, that second-hand sources are often more difficult to metabolize and are, subsequently, of lesser value to the body.
Fish and meat are specifically listed among food injurious to the Yoga practitioner. Yoga even believes that fear of death permeates every cell of an animal when it is being slaughtered. This is why the traditional Yoga diet has always been lacto-vegetarian – it avoids eggs as well as all animal meats (including fish!). In fact, even modern research has proven that vegetarians are generally in better overall shape than non- vegetarians. Proteins that can be obtained from nuts, dairy products and legumes are, by and large, of a superior quality than those derived from meat and fish. Dairy products, legumes, nuts and seeds give vegetarians sufficient proteins.
Lacto – vegetarian yoga diet is ideal.
This means that it is entirely composed of non-animal foods, with the exceptions of milk and milk products, such as, cheese, yoghurt, and butter. Research studies suggest that primarily a vegetarian diet is better for overall health. Meat proteins take longer to digest and tend to be tougher on the kidneys and liver to eliminate.
Best part is that switching to a vegetarian diet isn't half as hard as you’d probably imagined. So long as you have tasty alternatives and don't insist on doing it overnight. You begin by cutting down on red meats, then gradually do away with it from your diet, altogether. Next go white meats. Further, as you find other tasty and nutritious vegetarian foods, you will gradually relinquish poultry, fish, and eggs.
Have as many fresh fruits and vegetables as you like. Remember, cooking vegetables destroys their vitamin and enzyme content. So you should try to have some raw vegetables as well. Whole grain foods are a definite ‘must’. Drink around 2 liters of water a day. You may step up your overall intake of fluids by having herb trees, fruit and vegetable juices, and milk and vegetable milks. These include coconut, Soya and rice milk. Likewise, have plenty of water-rich foods, such as fruits and vegetables. At all times, steer clear of processed foods, white flour, sugar and convenience or fast foods, pre-cooked meals or food in tins, jars and bottles.
