Why Did He Tell Me Not To Eat Salad?!

We need to talk about salad.

When many have come to see me about their health, I have advised them to stop eating raw, uncooked foods such as salads as part of their diet and rebalancing plan. Everyone's jaws then hit the Clinic floor (lucky we are in an environment with 3 Osteopaths on hand!) in shock and bemusement. As such, here is a little explainer about why this advice is being given from an Ayurvedic perspective.

First, before proceeding, we must establish that when it comes to diet and lifestyle practices (and with anything else really), we must train ourselves to use our own discernment. We must be in control of our own minds and be able to distinguish in any given moment in time, what might be ‘good’ or ‘bad’ for us (for want of better terms). Even more so when we are using the doshic system. With Ayurveda, we are looking at two parts – one’s dosha when they are in balance, and one’s dosha when they are out of balance. For those who come to see me, we are looking mostly at the doshic imbalance and this point must be clearly understood – that’s perhaps an article to discuss in more detail another time.

When we are in a state of imbalance, usually but not always, our agni, digestive fire is too low to be able to process food and separate it into nutrition and waste. The idea behind cooking all foods is to make it easy as possible for digestion to take place at every stage in the gastrointestinal tract and avoid any unnecessary surplus use of energy.

Think of it in terms of cooking on a gas stove, with the flame representing agni. When the gas is too high, the food we are cooking is likely to end up burnt. (Too high agni is also not good as this creates toxins in the body as well as low agni and can contribute to health issues).

When the flame is too low, the food isn’t going to be cooked very well, if at all. The same process is happening inside the body. When our digestive fire or capacity is too low, the body struggles to separate food into nutrition and waste and toxins may begin to form through fermentation and putrefaction. If the body’s elimination (defecation, urination, sudation) processes are not working correctly, then this can become an issue as time progresses. Ayurvedic describes undigested food as ama, or toxins.

Logically then, we need to ensure that the flame is just right for us. By avoiding the consumption of raw, uncooked foods, this allows the body to adjust the flame to where it needs to be. Use of particular herbs and spices can help to support the agni too.

Having said this, let’s use our discernment here. If the body, mind and agni are in good working order, then occasional consumption of raw, uncooked foods is unlikely to be a significant issues. When we are imbalanced and already experiencing some kind of health issue, then this is likely to be of a greater concern. Constant diet and lifestyle practices that are not in alignment with our natural constitution carried out over a significant period of time is likely to manifest as a problem at some point.

Gut health is key to everything in Ayurveda as one particular shloka (verse) says:

Roga Sarvepi Mandagnau - All disorders are due to low digestive fire.

Yet, we can delve further into this, as is the beauty of Ayurveda with many levels and perspectives of looking at the same thing.  

 It is said that agni has the following characteristics:

·       Hot

·       Dry

·       Light

·       Fragrant

·       Subtle

·       Mobile

·       Penetrating

Thinking about raw, uncooked foods, we can generally say that they are cold, wet and sometimes heavy – the opposite of agni (there are nuances here between foods, so this is a general statement).

Let's think about this using a similar analogy to the cooker above. We can think of a campfire burning gently at optimum temperature keeping us warm and well regulated. Then we come along and put a bunch of fresh, wet leaves on top that have just fallen from the trees above. Doing this once or twice might not have a substantial effect as the fire is able to cope by drying it out and burn it away relatively quickly, though it may take a little bit of time. Then we add more fresh, wet leaves on top and smother the fire continually three times or more a day, because we are told this is a good thing to do. Eventually the fire is going to struggle, smoke is going to billow out from it and eventually give up. The same is happening inside your body.

This briefly explains in general terms, the thinking and knowledge behind raw, uncooked foods. However, we must use our discernment once again - sometimes someone might present with a health issue where it might be advisable for them to include such foods in their diet. Ayurveda is a complete system where it is able to suggest which foods might be helpful in particular scenarios.

There isn’t a one size fits all approach, just as we all come in different shapes and sizes. Ayurveda systematically applies logical, universal concepts to each individual. It can also be applied further depending on the time (seasons) and location in the world too, and so the above just gives a flavour as to the reasoning behind such advice.

In essence, the point of avoiding salads and other such uncooked foods is to be able to rekindle the agni and get it going again so that the body can come back into it's natural balance and carry out all its functions correctly as it is meant to.

Look after your agni, and your agni will look after you!

Agni