New Delhi, December 6 (IANS). Food is not just a means to fill the stomach but is a natural way of providing energy and strength to the body.
Eating three meals a day is like nectar for the body and protects from diseases, but in today’s time it is believed that eating little by little is a sign of good health, but this belief is wrong. In Ayurveda, food has been linked to rituals, meditation and strength.
Ayurveda says that health is not determined by the quantity of food, but by the timing of food. It takes time for food to be digested in the body and if something is eaten again during that time, the digestive fire of the stomach becomes weak. The digestive fire of the stomach determines whether the food, after being properly digested, will produce digestive juice or will rot. If the digestive fire is strong then there will be no problem in digesting the food and if the digestive fire is weak then the food starts rotting in the stomach itself, because the enzymes of the stomach are not able to break down the food properly and convert it into digestive juice.
This then causes stomach related problems like gas formation, flatulence and constipation.
Now the question is how the digestive fire of the stomach becomes weak. Ayurveda says that the habit of eating small and frequent meals affects the digestive power. Apart from this, eating without feeling hungry, eating late at night, and taking excessive stress also weakens the digestive power. Every time after a meal, it takes time for the digestive power to calm down and then it takes both energy and time to start the digestion process again. In such a situation, if you eat little by little, then the new food gets mixed with the old food and only half of the digestive juice gets mixed in the blood, because the digestion of the first food was not yet complete.
Due to this, toxins start accumulating in the body and gradually the body weight starts increasing, hormones become unbalanced, and acidity, gas, and skin related problems start occurring. According to Ayurveda, food should be taken only 2 to 3 times a day. You should eat only when you feel hungry, allow at least three hours for food to digest, and drink water one hour after eating.
–IANS
PS/AS