Thursday, January 5, 2012

Food For Thought: The Ayurvedic Kitchen



All of the above pictures show Ayurvedic dishes. The word "Ayurveda" means "the science of life". It is an ancient medical system with a holistic approach. Ayurveda treats the whole person, not just the illness. The individual takes an active, responsible role in his or her own living and healing process. The concept of Ayurveda is to maintain  a balance between body, mind, spirit and environment, and by doing so , to prevent sickness. This involves a natural diet to suit your constitution (more on that in another blog), herbal cleansings, yoga, relaxation, and therapeutic massage. The purpose of Ayurvedic healing is not just treat the cause, but to bring out-of-balance elements back into harmony. Treatments using foods based on the six tastes or rasas: sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent. All foods including spices are ayurvedic from the pomegranate with lychees, hazel nuts and garlic to the whole and powdered spices and greens with crushed peanuts pictured above. Food, as the ancients knew, is the best medicine for health.
To learn more about this ancient traditional Indian system there is a free lecture tomorrow night, January 6th at 7 p.m. by Dr. Bapat at the Miami Beach City Hall, 1700 Convention Center Drive (first floor). Dr. Bapat is a senior faculty member and Academic Dean at Sai Ayurvedic College and Wellness Center in Miami. The free lecture is sponsored by H3 (Health, Hope and Healing) in support of breast cancer survivors.

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