Copyright – Wellcome Images.
There is so much confusing information out there about diet plans, so how do we decide which is best for us? Well, we need to become experts ourselves, and that’s not as hard as it seems… The key is to develop our intuition about our own bodies, and here’s how…
What most of the so-called nutrition experts miss is that we each have unique needs, so what’s good for one person is not so good for the next. Every time somebody announces that they have the very best new wonder diet, there is also a legion of people saying it’s rubbish. Well, this is not always entirely fair, because it might very well be a fantastic diet for somebody, somewhere, at this exact time, as long as they can recognise it!
However, so few people know how to pick a diet that’s good for their health at any particular time, so when they do come across something that works, usually purely by chance, they think it’s the only answer and stick with it. The problem with this is that very soon it can cease to be effective, and this can be very demoralizing until we understand that it’s always going to be like that – no eating plan can be perfect for any individual forever. Dietary needs change with all sorts of factors – bodily imbalances, seasonal changes, levels of activity, stress levels, age, different climates… The list goes on.
So how on earth do we ever keep up? Isn’t it hard enough already to decide what to eat without the goalposts shifting every few days? Well, at first this might seem daunting, but there is one very simple answer…
Ayurveda.
Ayurveda is the science of self-healing, a branch of the ancient Vedas, the Indian systems of knowledge. It has been around for thousands of years and offers an incredibly comprehensive system of classification, called the three ‘doshas’, which removes all confusion about what is good and what isn’t, and not only in diet, but in many other areas. These three doshas: vata, pitta and kapha, cover everything from body types to food types to the seasons themselves. Once understood, even in basic form, so much of the mystery of ‘good diet’ is removed, and your intuition will grow.
The result? Instead of getting demoralised and thinking all the diets out there are rubbish, you can pick and choose from all of them as you need them, sure in the knowledge of exactly why one might be appropriate for you at any particular time. This gives a tremendous sense of confidence, which is perhaps the key to successfully mastering one’s own health, leading to you feeling and looking the best you possibly could.
For more info see my book, Pure Activity.
Originally posted 2014-02-09 13:47:46.