Wellness Curated
On Wellness Curated, Anshu Bahanda gets world renowned experts on physical and mental health to guide you pro bono. Packed with content that helps people to understand their bodies and minds better and to find relief from the pain and restrictions that have long prevented them from living their best lives, this show is a go-to resource for anyone who wants to improve their quality of life.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this podcast is for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Wellness Curated
The Ayurvedic Path to Wellness: Aligning body, mind, and spirit for optimal health
In this episode, we sit down with Dr Dimple Jangda, a renowned Ayurvedic expert who takes us through the fascinating world of Ayurveda, where age-old wisdom meets modern wellness. As the founder of Prana Healthcare Centre in Mumbai and a bestselling author of the book Heal Your Gut, Mind & Emotions: 5 Steps to Reset Your Health with Ayurveda and Food Chemistry, Dr Jangda shares her insights on integrating Ayurvedic principles into our daily lives.
In this conversation, we talk about how to use Ayurvedic principles in daily life to help with everyday health problems and boost overall well-being. We discuss key concepts like inflammation, detoxification, and syncing with nature’s rhythms, and how a personalised approach can address our unique needs, making it easier than ever to find balance and health.
Get ready to hear some amazing stories about how Ayurveda has successfully managed chronic conditions. Whether you’re curious about alternative medicine or looking to enhance your wellness routine, this episode will expand your understanding of how Ayurveda can work alongside modern healthcare. Learn how this ancient practice can help you achieve harmony in body, mind, and spirit, and find out about specific herbs and practices that can bring lasting vitality.
As we get into Ayurvedic practices, don't miss Dr. Jangda's recommendation of chyawanprash:
India:
- https://shop.aryavaidyasala.com/chyavanaprasam-chavana.html
- https://www.sitaramayurveda.com/product/chyavanaprasa/
- https://www.1mg.com/otc/nagarjuna-chyavanapraasham-otc822930
- https://sdlindia.com/product/chyavanprash-ashtavarga/
Oversees:
- https://www.ayurvedabay.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=chyawanprash
- https://pushmycart.com/search?type=product&q=chyawanprash&options%5Bprefix%5D=last
For a transcript of this show, go to https://wellnesscurated.life/the-ayurvedic-path-to-wellness-aligning-body-mind-and-spirit-for-optimal-health-2/
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Anshu Bahanda: Have you ever felt restless and anxious for no apparent reason? If so, you might be governed by the Vata dosha. Or have you ever experienced an intense craving for, say, spicy food and found yourself irritated? Then you could be governed by the Pitta Dosha. Or do you feel lethargic and sluggish? Which means that the kapha dosha is influencing you. Welcome to Wellness Curated. This is your host, Anshu Bahanda, and we're going to be discussing a fabulous topic today, one of my favourites. We're going to be talking about the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda and how it can help you address the everyday issues in your life and how it can help you with overall well being. Please do subscribe to Wellness Curated on all the podcasting channels and on YouTube, Wellness Curated by Anshu Bahanda.
Please do that. This is how we manage to give you all these wonderful podcasts for free.
Now, Ayurveda is one of the oldest holistic healing systems in the world. It comes from India and it's governed by three fundamental body energies, or vata, pitta and kapha as they're called. We talked a little bit about it at the beginning, but vata is associated with movement and creativity. Pitta Dosha governs metabolism and digestion. Kapha is related to structure and stability. So the healing methodology of ayurveda is a holistic one and it takes into account your body, your mind and your spirit. So we have a special guest with us today..
We have Dr Dimple Jangda. She's an ayurvedic expert and the founder of Prana Healthcare Centre in Mumbai. Thank you for being here with us, Dr. Dimple, and thank you for taking the time to be here.
Dr Dimple Jangda: Thank you so much for having me and for creating the space and platform for a healthy conversation.
AB: Thank you. I am very excited because this is one of my favourite topics, as I said. So thank you again. Now, you know, Dr. Dimple, according to our mythology, and as legend goes, when the ocean of milk was churned, then Dhanvantari came out and he was holding two things. On one hand he was holding nectar of immortality amrit, and on the other hand he was holding sacred texts of Ayurveda. Can you explain that? How do you actually think Ayurveda started?
Dr DJ: You know, so that's like a mythological explanation, right? We're trying to understand, like how Ayurveda was born. Now, Ayurveda is not a science limited to one religion, earth, which is inhabited by such a diverse set of flora, fauna, human beings, animals, plants, and birds and billions of microbes and thus diseases. So when human beings and life was created on earth, bacteria was also created and diseases also became an outcome of that process. So when human beings were plagued with diseases, they were suffering a lot.
They didn't know how to come back or overcome those diseases because they did not have the knowledge of what was going on. Right. Just like how a child doesn't know what to do with a toothbrush and a toothpaste, you slowly teach them right till it becomes a muscle memory. So Dhanvantari, at the point in time called the God of Ayurveda, he was also the physician, as you said, was holding a pot of golden coloured liquid. And we celebrate that day as Dhanteras, the day of wealth, of celebrating wealth, which is the birthday of Dhanvantari, the day Dhanvantari arrived on earth with a pot of golden coloured liquid.
So many people mistake it for wealth, but it's actually health. What he was holding was basically a hundred washed ghee, or Shata Dhauta Ghrita, as we call it. Hundred washed ghee basically helps in pulling out all kinds of toxins, heavy metals, and poison out of the body.
So the ghee, the clarified butter, you place it on a rock and you take another piece of rock and keep moving it round and round 100 times and keep washing it while moving it.
So when you move 100 times, the ghee is becoming thicker and the heavy metals or any kind of pollutants or toxins are surfacing and you're using water to wash it off. So it has been washed and churned a hundred times.
AB: Oh, fantastic. I didn't know that it was ghee that came out. That was the nectar. Fabulous. That explains a lot of ayurveda to me, suddenly.
Dr DJ: Now, the hundred washed ghee is just one product, okay? One byproduct of ayurveda. There are thousands of herbs which we've still not wrapped our head around. We're still discovering. Western medicine has just discovered turmeric, curcumin, has just discovered pepper, and has just discovered the magic of papaya leaf extract for jaundice, right? Western medicine is still work in progress. So when I say western medicine, it's not the western world, it's human beings. Human beings like to work on the basis of discovery, okay? Or inventions. Now, discovery is discovering something from the past. Invention is you creating something from scratch. Right? Now, modern medicine works on the basis of research and development, proof and evidence. So it will do research on that same subject hundreds of times till it arrives at a conclusive evidence that this indeed works. So it took them several weeks, months, years to understand that turmeric has anti-inflammatory benefits, which was taught in Ayurveda 5000 years ago. Haldi doodh, turmeric latte.
AB: Absolutely. We've all grown up drinking haldi doodh. Yes.
Dr DJ: Turmeric latte has become a rage in the west now.
AB: Yes, yes. They call it golden milk or something like that. Yeah. And it's become a rage everywhere. But I'm so glad that you made one comment when you were explaining Ayurveda at the beginning, and that is that it's not based on religion, because that is something that I go blue in the face trying to explain to people that this has nothing to do with any religion. There are two healing systems that a lot of us grew up with. I grew up in Delhi, and I've grown up with ayurveda and homoeopathy, and those are my primary go to healing systems. Now, homoeopathy is religion agnostic, as people believe, and it was discovered by a gentleman called Samuel Hahnemann. But Ayurveda, people believe, is associated with Hinduism. So will you explain that to me? How does that mythological story you've just explained to us fit into our modern times?
Dr DJ: So, you know, Sanatana Dharma, which is now called Hinduism, very loosely, roughly translated, Sanatana Dharma is supposed to be one of the oldest religions that humanity knew. Now, when I say religion, it doesn't mean praying to a certain God, okay?
Religion by itself has been very misconstrued, misunderstood. Politically, religion is a way of life. Okay?
AB: So can I just interrupt you here? The way I understand Hinduism and the way it developed, it was actually a philosophy. And you're saying exactly that, a way of life, it was meant to be a philosophy rather than a religion? At the beginning.
Dr DJ: Yes. I had the luxury of studying five different religions growing up, and was able to get myself exposed to Jainism as I was born in a Jain family. I learned the scriptures as a young child, and then I went to a hindu school. So I was taught the Hindu scriptures, which is, you know, Bhagavad Gita, Vishnu Sahasranama, Aditya Hridayam, Ramayana, and Mahabharata. We learned all of this in detail. And then I also had the luxury of going to a convent school. So I read the Bible there, and I went to the church piously every single day for two years. And we also were exposed to some parts of the Quran because it was taught to us on Fridays. And moving on, during my travels I explored Buddhism, you know, because it seemed like a very liberating form of religion, which doesn't hold you down with any rules and philosophies, right? And then I came back to Jainism and I started re-reading the scriptures again this time. And what I found was basically a tonne of health tips, health remedies. It said, rise with the sun, set with the sun, don't eat meals after sunset. And it aligned with what Harvard and Stanford was teaching about the circadian rhythm. It was aligning with what the blue zones were already practising for longevity, which is basically eat 80% of your appetite, don't stop yourself, don't eat late night meals, you know, have a 95% plant slant. So I found a lot of coherence, a lot of similarities between the blue zones, the best in medicine and some of the religions that I was exposed to. And when I started publishing content on social media, I was amazed with the number of people from the Islam community that started writing to me saying, may allah bless you, because you're saying allah's words, you know, right now when you say drink three sips of water slowly sit down and drink, you know, don't gulp it fast and all of that. And I was like, really? It's written in the Quran. And they were like, yes. I said, oh well, you know, it's written in Ayurveda as well.
Ayurveda by itself is very interesting because ayurveda, the word itself means ayu plus veda, which means ayu means life and veda means knowledge. So even though it's a sanskrit term, ayurveda itself means knowledge of life or science of life, which is applicable to all 8.5 billion people in the world, irrespective of which community, religion or caste you come from. It's not just 5000 years old, it inspired a lot of Greek physicians at that point in time who borrowed a lot of information from India. It inspired our neighbours as well, China, yes, by the way, borrowed a lot from Ayurveda. It also inspired a lot of European physicians who developed naturopathy at that point in time inspired by Ayurveda. You know, like you have Ayurveda and then you have its sub branches like naturopathy and homoeopathy, which is a single herb or a single medicinal formulation. Whereas Ayurveda is like a formulation of many herbs in one medicine, right? You see, all these sub branches had moved out, but they were all inspired from Ayurveda. So you see how the origin or the root, was somewhere here in part of India, and then it branched out to the rest of the world and took different names, different meanings.
AB: Right, right. No, that's… That's fascinating.
Dr DJ: And all sciences somewhere have an origin in Ayurveda, because Ayurveda is the oldest of all sciences and it was documented. And in fact, 3000 years ago, years ago, Sushruta, one of the physicians, you know, one of the most knowledgeable, accomplished physicians at the point in time, conducted the first set of surgeries back in the day, like cataract surgery, c section surgery, cosmetic surgery, rhinoplasty, you know, my goodness, fixing broken bones. And they also came up with protocols on surgical equipment at that point in time, how to sterilise wounds, the pre surgery protocols, the post surgery protocols, all of these were documented back in the day. Most of it was destroyed during the colonial era. Some of it remains. And back in the day, ayurveda was also verbally taught from one generation to another school system.
AB: How is it different from allopathy?
Dr DJ: For many years, schools and colleges were shut down due to lack of funding because of the English Education act, which basically set aside funding only for sciences taught in English. That is, western medicine that promoted the use of allopathy drugs to push these products into big countries, subcontinents like India was a profitable motive and a profitable idea. Right? So to push chemicals into India, they pushed western medicine into India. And thus drugs and steroids and antibiotics have become like an integral part of our well being now, or, you know, health itself. But it's one part of science. Remember that allopathy, western medicine, is a complementary medicine to lifestyle medicine. So ayurveda is like a lifestyle medicine. Allopathy is a complementary medicine for acute health conditions.
AB: So on that note, what I wanted to ask you is we come across a lot of people who say, okay, they only resort to ayurveda maybe as their last resort when conventional medicine hasn't worked for them. And the other thing that I hear a lot of, I hear a few things about ayurveda, one of them being, it takes too long, to show effect, you know, I don't have that much time. What is your view on that?
Dr DJ: So that's largely a misconception. Okay. Unless you tried it, you wouldn't know it. I have been using ayurvedic medicines or herbs. Whenever I get sick, I try to stay away from antibiotics as much as possible because you're destroying all your good and bad bacteria, and then you have to start from scratch, and you have to rebuild your gut microbes. Your gut microbes, such an integral part of your immunity, your well being, your mental, emotional health as well. Not just your physical health, right? And I have seen very fast results because my body is also receptive to it because I prepared my body to receive those herbs. You, of course, have to be patient. You cannot just use an antibiotic to shut down your body.
You have to address the root cause of that particular disease, which is toxins, undigested food, heavy metals, unhealthy bacteria, or parasites that are trapped in your body. You need to first get rid of the root cause. You can't suppress it. Second, yes, a lot of people try the modern medicine methods, and then when they can't find the answer, they come to ayurveda. So it has to work hand in hand. Allopathy, Western medicine, is an amazing science for emergencies. It's great for emergencies. Heart attack, fractures, accidents, deliveries of babies, right? Ayurveda is the solution for chronic lifestyle diseases.
You know, if you've had a cold, cough, sinus allergy, allergies too frequently, that means your immune system is weak. You need to boost it by changing your lifestyle, by changing your diet, by improving your physical movement, and improving your sleep quality. There are three pillars of health, which are nutrition, sleep and exercise and ayurveda. Lifestyle medicine says there are six pillars. You should also identify your stress factors, get rid of them, build positive connections, and get rid of negative habits like alcohol, smoking, drugs. So we're evolving. Lifestyle medicine marries the best of both western medicine and ayurveda. That's an amazing place to be. It is.
AB: Lifestyle medicine. What is lifestyle medicine?
Dr DJ: Lifestyle medicine is like, again, an invention or a byproduct of humanity. Researching how to strike a balance between traditional sciences and modern science. Modern science helps in addressing the problem when it has gone out of control. So say you need a liver transplant or a kidney transplant. You have to make kidney stones or gallbladder stones. Lifestyle medicine and ayurveda basically helps you prevent it in the first place. How can I prevent having a kidney stone and a gallbladder stone? By having a healthy digestion, by not eating foods that cause bile to get trapped and converted into stones right in my gallbladder. How do I keep my cardiovascular health good so that I don't end up having to go to a surgeon for, you know, heart surgery? How do I change my dietary habits so that I don't have elevated blood pressure, cholesterol levels, or a pre diabetic body type instead of ending up in the hospital and then having to take metformin or other kinds of medicines to address the disease. So why wait to get sick? Lifestyle medicine basically drives a balance between traditional sciences and western medicine and tells you to address the root cause of your disease.
AB: No, that's fabulous. Thank you for that. But you also mentioned chronic diseases. Right.
Ayurveda also is known to have reversed incredible chronic diseases like diabetes and arthritis and hypertension, for which there's no cure, so to say, in allopathy. So can you explain to us how that's worked and give us some examples of something you've come across?
Dr DJ: So my mother had thyroid, you know, which is quite chronic, and she was taking about 100 milligrams of the medicine thyronorm. Right. She tried all particular, you know, all methods and solutions that were available out there, and she spiritually chose to start fasting on alternate days. So she eats food on alternate days. So she fasts for about 36 hours and then eats for, you know, 12 hours, then fast for 36 hours, eats for 12. Has given her digestive health the complete rest to rebuild damaged tissues, muscles and nerves. Her liver and kidneys are working at optimal levels. They were able to pull out all the heavy metals and toxins that were causing the thyroid to malfunction. And her thyroid medicine has now been reduced to just 25 milligrams, which is also negligible and not required if she didn't have it.
AB: Fantastic.
Dr DJ: Right, So she has it only 15 times a month. She doesn't have it 30 days a month. Right. And her thyroid levels have completely reduced. It's completely under control. I also had another young boy who came to me with thyroid. He was 13 years old from London. And his family, you know, later came back to me and they said, you know, it just turned around the entire family's life. So I explained to the boy during consult what he needed to do to compete with his fellow football players and be at the same level as them. You know, that was his inspiration, that was his motivation. So how do you get to that level? I said, first of all, we're going to cut out all the aerated drinks and the burgers and pizzas and, you know, the junk food, the chips that was causing a lot of toxic damage to your organs. We removed that, and I started explaining to him what it was doing. Potato chips was carcinogenic in nature. Then I spoke to him about how, you know, aerated drinks was literally, you know, dissolving the mucosa, which is a protective layer in his gut. Then I spoke to him about how bread, you know, anything made with refined flour, pizzas and pastas, would stick to his gut, his intestines, for days together like a sticky, glue like substance. And then the shift was to move from an animal based diet to a plant based diet. So he was primarily inspired to go on a plant based diet to improve his energy level. So he was having two bowls of fruits, two bowls of boiled vegetables, a bowl of soup, two bowls of grains, pulses, lentils, legumes, nuts and seeds, and barely 5% of clarified butter or ghee in his diet. There was no other forms of dairy, no meat, no seafood, no eggs. In less than a year, the boy reversed his thyroid.
He's off his medicines, and for the first time, he achieved the correct BMI in his life. And his doctors were so impressed. To support him, the entire family turned the title. And a year later, the whole family is healthy, happy, and now they're moving to Mauritius to set up home there, close to nature, in mother nature, because the priorities have shifted.
AB: Yeah.
Dr DJ: You see how-
AB: Fantastic.
Dr DJ: Little change can change your destination forever. I say this forever, you know, because
AB: You've given me goosebumps. What an amazing story.
Dr DJ: It makes me so happy to say the story, you know, and I never get tired of saying the story. Your life is like a compass. One little change, one degree of shift, you will end up in a different destination altogether. So one, change your destination forever. Make a new health habit every day. Choose. You know, like tonight I'm going to sleep by 10:00. I'm going to sleep for 7, 8 hours. I'm not going to scroll on social media. Rise with the sun, set with the sun. Or I'll do intermittent fasting for 14 to 16 hours between sunset and sunrise. I'll cut out all processed meats and packaged foods, alcohol and any kind of drugs or steroids that you might be taking and give your body the opportunity to heal. Take it up as a 90 day challenge because it takes 66 days to make a habit. So if you give yourself 90 days, it becomes part of your personality eventually, that habit.
AB: So tell us about the cleansing rituals and about the detoxification and how is it different? Should people do it on their own? Should they go to a, an ayurvedic centre and do it?
Dr DJ: So you definitely have to go to an ayurvedic centre. There are some things that you can do at home. Abhyangam, which is a full body massage with any oil that's available in your house. Take cold press oils, you know, because that helps your body absorb that oil better.
Second is a couple of treatments like nasyam, introducing medicated oil through the nostril. You can do that on your own. Vamana is vomiting. You do that only if you've been trained on that process. Vamana is something you don't try at home because you need an ayurvedic hospital with access to drips, IV drips, in case you have any kind of side effect or a reaction, like low blood pressure and stuff. Rakta motion is bloodletting, which is done with leeches or sterilised needles only in an ayurvedic clinic. If you've been trained in the process of how to do self anaemia, you can try. Otherwise, it's best to go to a clinic again because you cannot do it anymore. So if you have biles, fissures, internal bleeding, haemorrhoids, it can make the situation worse. You know, your body's so complex, there are so many tissues and channels, you can't just have one medicine to cleanse it. Series of steps and protocols.
AB: And it's made specifically for you. Right? The protocol.
Dr DJ: Yes. Ayurveda is a personalised science, unlike western medicine. Again, we're not trying to compare the two. Western medicine helps in dealing with mass morbidities, okay? Say a pandemic or a COVID virus. We have like one size fits all solution, the vaccine or a medicine, which unfortunately did show side effects for some people, right? Or large numbers. Ayurveda is a personalised science. One size doesn't fit all. One man's nutrition is another man's poison. So the science basically allows you to personalise your diet and nutrition, your lifestyle, based on your unique body constitution, which is called your unique biological blueprint, or prakriti. In ayurveda, they identify which doshas are dominant, which doshas are out of balance. And based on your age, based on your topographic factors, the city that you live in, based on your genetic factors, your family history, you probably carry some information in your DNA that is probably getting triggered. It takes into consideration all of this. Your gender, your health goals, which phase of life are you in? It takes into consideration so many factors. An ayurvedic consult can be anywhere between 30 to 60 minutes because that's the number of questions that they ask before they prepare your diet plan, before they prepare your medicines.
AB: You know, the thing that I get a lot also about ayurveda, then I have also experienced that myself. Like I went to a vaidya outside Delhi, who's quite well known. But he gave me so much to do. And then coming back to my life in London, it was very difficult to do, you know, to have something every 1 hour or every one and a half hours. Something had to be mixed with milk, something had to be mixed with ghee, something had to be mixed with pomegranate juice. Is there an easier way to have ayurvedic treatments or not?
Dr DJ: See, ayurvedic treatments are something that you do once a year, okay? So don't wait for that end of the year, ayurvedic treatment. Instead, start following ayurvedic rituals on a daily basis. You know, simple rituals to cleanse your body on a daily basis. Rather than waiting for a mass detoxification at the end of the year, like a massive cleanse, don't wait for that on a daily basis. You can do stuff like oil pulling, which is called Gandusha. You can gargle with warm water, turmeric, and salt. You can brush your teeth with a bitter toothpaste. You can scrape your tongue every single day. You can do a full body massage at least a few times every week. Okay? You take warm water baths when needed. A cold water bath is only for those who have inflammation and arthritis or bone related pain related ailments, right? You can do mono dieting when the season changes. That's called ritucharya. Okay?
You do dinacharya, which is daily rituals, daily cleanse, head massages, foot massage— padabhyanga, shiro abhyanga— head massage, ear pulling or ear oiling. Okay?
Then introducing medicine through the nose. Nasyam, change your dietary protocol based on your unique body constitution so you're not eating anything that makes you sick in the first place, right? Sickness is inevitable because of the bacteria that's available outside, right? Everybody's carrying like a multitude of permutations and combinations of bacteria, right? So falling sick is inevitable. But can you boost your immunity to combat that sickness really, really fast and recuperate from it to the point that it doesn't make you sick ever again?
That particular bacteria or virus? Can you build your own antibodies? That will happen when you boost your immune system. Your immune system is like a defence army. Build that first.
AB: So on that note, I want to ask you about your book on gut health. The one that was an Amazon bestseller, “heal your gut, mind and emotions”. Now, ayurveda approaches gut health differently from, say, western medicine. Can you explain that?
Dr DJ: So, you know, actually, let me tell you the similarities rather.
The approach sounds different, but it's not. It's actually very, very similar. That's how I was intrigued by this whole concept. My book is called “heal your gut, mind and emotions” because the gut has a direct impact on your mental and emotional health. Okay.
Now, western medicine is excellent at R&D. They found, you know, Harvard, Stanford, Atlanta, Georgia, Midland universities, many universities coming together that 90% of diseases are caused due to an unhealthy colon and a leaky gut syndrome. Unhealthy colon is a root cause of 90% of the diseases. Ayurveda says that vata, air in space, lives in the colon and large intestine. Vata is responsible for 90% of the diseases. So the language is different, but the conclusions are the same, the observations are the same. Ayurveda says that your agni is the first thing you need to rectify and heal if you want to address your health. It's called your Jatharagni, your digestive fire. There are seven kinds of digestive fires or metabolic fires in our body. They are transformative fires. The digestive fire and the metabolic fire in our body transforms the food we've eaten into the various tissues that we see. How is it that I ate a banana today and it's already become part of my brain within a few days, or my heart or liver? The body knows how to transform the nutrients like vitamin A, K, D, E, into the skin, hair, nails, teeth, bones, muscles that we see and the intelligence that we cannot really put a finger on as to what is contributing to our intelligence. Western medicine also speaks heavily on gut health. It has become like the new norm. Fix your gut, everything else will fall into place. Gut health has become like the new age conversation when it comes to prevention...
AB: Yes.
Dr DJ: Ayurveda has been saying it for 5000 years— fix your Jatharagni, fix your digestive fire.
AB: Okay. And you also mentioned a whole load of things we can do, a whole load of daily rituals which will keep us healthy. Can you tell us about two or three out of that that people can incorporate into their lives which will help with gut health?
Dr DJ: Okay. Rule number one, which works like a charm. Okay? Rise with the sun. Set with the sun. Your metabolic fire directly corresponds to the position of the sun. Now, this has been also proven in the blue zones, the longevity secrets. It has been proven even by lifestyle medicine that your metabolic fire changes through the day. So eat a small breakfast, eat a big lunch and a small dinner before sunset. Don't consume food after sunset. The intermittent fasting that we all rave about was actually invented by ayurveda 5000 years ago. They said, don't eat food after sunset. Wait till after sunrise before you start eating again. That gives your digestive system a complete break and a call. Because your digestive system doesn't create digestive juices after sunset, your metabolic fire is very weak. So you don't want a pile of undigested food sitting in your stomach all night long until the next morning.
The second point, this is something I say to everyone. Whether you believe in religion or not, at least you believe in nature. You come from nature, you go back to nature. So only nature can give birth to humans, and nature can heal humans, and nature can also take away life. Must respect that force of nature that lives inside of you and lives outside of you. The more you bring the nature inside of you, the intuitive intelligence inside of you, your gut health and your circadian rhythm, and sync it with the nature outside of you, the healthier you will be.
AB: So you said meals based on the circadian rhythm. So bigger lunches, small breakfast, small dinner, and eat before sunset. And to live in harmony with nature and embrace it into your life as much as possible. Fabulous. What about inflammation, Dr. Dimple? There's so much inflammation, you know, whether it's bloating or acid reflux, indigestion.
Can you give us some simple tips for that based on ayurveda?
AB: So when does inflammation go up in the body? Inflammation is the root cause of 50% of our diseases and ailments. Okay. One of the many root causes is leaky gut syndrome. You know when your gut is leaking, not just the nutrition, but also undigested foods in your bloodstream, your autoimmune system comes into play. Your immune system is your defence mechanism. They are your soldiers, your WBC, they come forward and they say, okay, we need to attack this leaked, undigested food, unhealthy bacteria or harmful toxins that have come into the bloodstream, right, because to protect you. But they don't know the difference between the nutrients and the unhealthy foods that have, or the undigested foods that have leaked, right? So your autoimmune system starts attacking all the good cells, bad cells, or the good nutrients and the undigested food. And that attack that's happening inside your body creates an inflammatory response, like an after effect of a battle that just ended. Everything is in flames. Everything is up in smoke and flames, right? So that's what is happening inside your body. That broken battlefield scene is your inflammation. How do you get your inflammation done? There are a lot of anti-inflammatory foods in your diet. Cinnamon, cardamom, clove, grated ginger, pepper, star anise, cumin, fennel, coriander, carob seeds, fresh fruits and vegetables. They have all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals that help the body rebuild its immune system and repair its damaged tissues, muscles and nerves, right? So you go on a plant based diet and lean more towards fruits and fresh vegetables. Okay. And you also make sure to take enough good fats in your diet to repair your gut lining. The mucosa that has been damaged, that is allowing all the unhealthy, undigested foods to get leaked, rebuild that the good fats can come from avocado, clarified butter or cold pressed coconut oil. Cold pressed avocado oil, sesame oil, mustard oil, but all cold pressed, nothing refined. Stay away from all refined foods. Refined flour, refined sugar, refined salt, refined oils. Stay away from genetically modified foods, inorganic foods that are loaded with chemicals and pesticides. Food which is then again going to create an inflammatory response in your body because that chemical is not edible. Right? So remember that humanity unfortunately is a self destructive species. So you need to make wise choices at every step of the way.
AB: All those of us who've grown up in India, grown up with certain herbs being sacred, are there any herbs that you would recommend people can incorporate into their lives which will have huge benefits?
Dr DJ: You have a lot of herbs that we use in the kitchen. Cilantro or coriander. Then you have, you know, lemongrass, thyme, rosemary. In fact, I'm waiting to build my kitchen garden and have, you know, these tonnes of herbs in my house so that I can eat fresh, you know, microgreens and some of these herbs and spices. Try to lean more towards this and you can still satiate your cravings in a healthy way.
AB: Wonderful. Now, Ayurveda has this concept of rasayan, which is, correct me if I'm wrong, which is how to stay healthy. And, you know, it's about longevity, how to stay healthy when you're older. I want you to leave us with one food that people can take for longevity instead of popping in a million pills, one longevity food.
Dr DJ: It is definitely a scary situation when I see people popping pills every single day instead of eating a meal. You know, you're designed to eat food, not pills. Instead of food, I will prescribe a Rasayana, which you spoke about. You know, there are a variety of concoctions and formulations in ayurveda. You have Kashayam, Arishtams, Asavams, Thaila, Chikkanapakam, Churnams, Gulikas, Gutikas— these are different categories of medicines, you know. In that, there is one which is called Lehyams. Lehyam basically is a variety of Chyawanprash. Now we know Chyawanprash is one recipe but it's actually different types of chyawanprash for different types of bodies. That's Lehyam right. You could have different kinds of chyawanprash customised to your body type. It is basically made with Indian gooseberries. You know one gooseberry is equal to 20 lemons. It has so much vitamin C in it. It's one of the most powerful immunity boosters that you can have up there. It is made with cinnamon and cardamom and clove and ginger, pepper, ashwagandha, shatavari maybe in some cases, there are different varieties of lehyams that are given. Find one that is suitable or personalised to your body type from an ayurvedic doctor. Or if you don't have access to an ayurvedic doctor. Until then take one teaspoon of chyawanprash. It has all the goodness that you need of ayurveda in that one teaspoon every single day.
AB: Thank you Dr. Dimple. That was such an incredible, incredible chat. And we're going to put a link to some chyawanprash in our captions so people know where to access it.
Thank you so much for this amazing chat.
Dr DJ: Most welcome. Thank you so much for having me.
AB: Thank you for being here with us today and see you next time.
