The cause of every disease, it is well established, lies in the stomach or weak digestion. Let’s be honest in admitting that ‘lifestyle disease’ is a euphemism for overindulgence in mindless eating. Strong digestion is essential for building good health, and its foundation comes from good nutrition, easily digestible food, and mindful eating. When we eat with awareness, we choose our food very carefully. At the same time, we can use the same food articles to build health or to destroy it. But first, let us define food and understand its purpose and various dimensions.
Biological Context
Food is any substance consumed or absorbed by an organism to provide structural materials and regulatory components necessary for survival, growth, repair, and reproduction. Its purpose is to sustain life by maintaining metabolism, supporting development, and enabling activity.
Human Context
Food is a substance that provides for bodily functions and activities, growth and repair of tissues, and regulation of physiological processes. It is also a means of pleasure, culture, tradition, and social bonding.
Spiritual or Philosophical Context
Food is nourishment not only for the body but also for the mind and the spirit. It connects beings with nature (plants, animals, elements) and cultivates gratitude, mindfulness, and compassion. In Indian traditions, food is also prasadam (sacred offering), symbolizing divine sustenance or grace.
Ecological Context
Food is a nutrient transfer medium within ecosystems, flowing from producers (plants, algae) to consumers (animals, humans) and decomposers (fungi, bacteria). Its purpose is the circulation of matter, maintaining balance and diversity, and driving evolution through predator-prey and mutualistic relationships.
In all the above contexts, food, even at its grossest, aids in the growth and repair of tissues and in metabolic and physiological processes, allowing life to continue. A problem in any of these processes will throw our body and life off track. Simply put, the first, foremost, and true purpose of food is to sustain and preserve the structural integrity of the body so that other, more significant objectives can be attained by the living organism. This is biologically ordained by Nature.
To view food as a mere object of satisfying taste buds or hunger satiation is not just gross but a crime against the very process of life—creation, preservation, and evolution. Food is life-sustaining. When something that is life-sustaining becomes life-destroying, there has to be something drastically warped in our understanding of its true dimensions.
Just as incompatible foods can create trouble in the body, compatible foods can more effectively fulfill the purpose of food. The right food combinations and conscious eating together lay a sound foundation for wholesomeness and abiding health. Though food is only one of the many ingredients that contribute to building a truly sound body and mind, it still holds the greatest attention of the human species—but not necessarily in biological and spiritual contexts. No wonder that what is the source of nourishment and sustenance becomes the nemesis of what could go into making a wonderful life.
Good food combos: Amla and lemon enhance the assimilation of herbal tea benefits. Milk goes well with dates, honey, and turmeric. Salads can be combined with sprouts and herbs.
Compatible Foods: The Right Choice
A true health seeker would always follow the principle of mono dieting, which is the best way to keep our digestive system efficient and strong till the body lasts. The body’s digestive mechanism gets confused when we load it at one time with a variety of foods that have different digestive time frames. Mindful eating involves taking in one thing at a time.
Thus, fruit, milk, and nuts are complete foods on their own and should be consumed separately for the best results. This means that they are a meal by themselves. However, there are certain exceptions where these foods can be combined in the following manner: milk and nuts, or milk with fully ripened sweet fruits like dates, mango, chikku (sapota), figs, and raisins. These are best for growing children and physically active youth.
For good health, dairy milk is advised not to be taken after the age of five years. After growing up, milk is best taken at night, the last before going to bed. Milk from pure-bred indigenous cows is always the best. However, the sooner we substitute dairy milk with coconut milk and milk extracted from seeds and nuts, the better it is for our health.
Fruits, too, should be taken one variety at a time without mixing them with other foods. However, those with a strong digestive system can mix some seeds and nuts with ripe, pulpy fruit. Ripe and sweet fruits can also be combined with yogurt or buttermilk. Pomegranate is compatible with buttermilk/curds.
Compatible foods are those that can be combined or taken together without any harm or much burden on the digestive system. On the other hand, certain foods, when combined, draw out the best nourishment from each other. Such combinations can improve nutrient synergy and digestion. For example, milk and honey, milk and turmeric, vegetables and cereals, vegetables and sprouts, raw salads with herbs, sprouts and green salads, seeds and sprouts, and some herb/flower teas with either lemon or amla (Indian gooseberry).
To view food as a mere object of satisfying taste buds or hunger satiation is not just gross but a crime against the very process of life—creation, preservation, and evolution. Food is life-sustaining. When something that is life-sustaining becomes life-destroying, there has to be something drastically warped in our understanding of its true dimensions.
Enriching Tea Experience
Add lemon or amla to your warm cup of tea for an enhanced experience. Being rich in Vitamin C, both lemon and amla help increase antioxidant levels and improve absorption of plant-based polyphenols and iron. Polyphenols have been widely studied for their health-promoting effects, including anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, and protective actions against chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers.
Overall, both amla and lemon enhance the assimilation of herbal tea benefits in different ways. While lemon gives digestive and detoxifying sharpness to teas, amla enhances nourishing and rejuvenating subtlety. However, lemon goes better with stimulating, warming, digestive teas like ginger, mint, tulsi (holy basil), and green tea, whereas amla blends beautifully with cooling, calming, and rejuvenating teas like rose, chamomile, brahmi, hibiscus, and fennel.
One word of caution: Since high temperatures can degrade Vitamin C, always add lemon/amla juice after the tea cools slightly and not when it is boiling. The same goes for honey. Also, do not add them to milk-based teas.
Conclusion
There is a tendency to look at the nutritional facts label while picking up a food packet at a grocery store without considering the essential nature of the ingredients. We must remember that healthy food is not defined by the x number of calories, y number of proteins, z number of vitamins, etc. Healthy food is that which helps us maintain the structural integrity of all our body organs and their functions. Nutrition can only be absorbed when our body is functioning efficiently at all levels. It is of utmost importance that we choose our dietary intakes sensibly. So, choose wisely.
