Introduction
The three gunas or qualities of Nature are sattva (purity or transcendence), rajas (exercise and distraction), and tamas (inertia or ignorance). These qualities are current in all meals and have a profound affect on the thoughts and non secular improvement.
Tamasic meals are processed, synthetic, devitalized, overcooked, or putrefied. Not solely do they destroy bodily well being, additionally they promote non secular unconsciousness, psychological unhappiness, and violence. Examples embrace canned meals, white sugar and flour, alcohol, and manufacturing unit meat and dairy.
Rajasic meals are stimulating and develop energetic qualities. These meals usually are not essentially dangerous, and are sometimes strengthening and helpful for the physique. In extra, they will create disturbance within the thoughts and feelings and need for worldly issues. Examples embrace spicy meals, garlic, and meat.
The sattvic weight loss program promotes and peaceable, clear thoughts. As issues which might be related in nature improve each other, the meals that make up the sattvic weight loss program are themselves peaceable (non-stimulating) and clear (free from impurities). Sattvic meals are correctly ready in keeping with conventional strategies. Many trendy strategies of meals preparation have an affect on meals that make them rajasic or tamasic and deteriorate well being.
The sattvic weight loss program emphasizes entire organically grown meals which might be uncooked or freshly cooked (not micro-waved), in addition to “raw-cooked” or lacto-fermented meals. Ideally, the weight loss program will embrace many domestically produced meals, particularly meals that you’ve personally performed a task in producing and that subsequently strengthen your attunement together with your pure surroundings.
It’s predominantly a lacto-vegetarian weight loss program that extremely values dairy, however avoids different animal merchandise together with eggs, fish, and meat. A sattvic weight loss program excludes synthetic meals processing and altering as a lot as doable. Sadly, this features a disturbing share of contemporary meals staples.
It ought to be famous that although pure, the avoidance of meat implies that this isn’t essentially the best bodily strength-promoting weight loss program, neither is it meant to be, as its focus is primarily non secular, not bodily. The exclusion of animal merchandise aside from dairy additionally excludes some necessary vitamins obtainable solely from animal merchandise. For that reason, it won’t be proper for all folks all the time, however can usually be safely adopted with fantastic advantages for shorter or longer time durations for various constitutions, particularly along with non secular retreat or seclusion.
Whether or not meat is included within the weight loss program or not, everybody will reap bodily and non secular advantages from together with a higher quantity of contemporary, native, organically and sustainably grown meals, making ready meals correctly, and avoiding commercially produced and processed meals.
Classes of Sattvic Meals
Complete Grains
Paramhansa Yogananda on processed white flour: “…there isn’t a excuse for any sane and clever particular person killing himself or dragging about half alive because of the consumption of devitalized or wrongly chosen meals.”
Complete grains are usually fairly sattvic, however ought to be soaked to neutralize unhealthy and devitalizing components (primarily phytic acid) and make them simpler to digest. Within the case of flour, grains are greatest freshly milled to keep away from rancidity. The flour can then be soaked with the moist components, or flour from sprouted grains can be utilized. Gradual cooking is mostly most well-liked, and strain cooking isn’t really helpful because the excessive warmth might overly denature proteins.
Chilly breakfast cereals and granola ought to be prevented as their cooking and manufacturing processes render the grains considerably poisonous and indigestible.
Soaked porridge is a superb solution to put together grains. Rinse and soak the grains at the least in a single day in pure heat water with a bit of natural yogurt, kefir, whey, or buttermilk. The cooking time will depend upon hardness of the grain. The porridge will be served with flax seeds or nuts, uncooked butter or cream, and a pure sweetener. Selfmade bread can be fantastic.
Uncooked Dairy
Sattvic dairy meals embrace: uncooked milk, cream, butter, ghee (clarified butter), mushy raw-milk cheeses, and fermented dairy corresponding to yogurt, kefir, buttermilk, or whey.
Dairy is a really non secular meals with fantastic well being advantages for physique, thoughts, and soul. In its pure state it may be taken abundantly. Its qualities are modified dramatically by trendy practices nonetheless, and switch a sattvic meals right into a tamasic meals with deleterious results on well being. These practices embrace torturous environments for cows, grain and chemical feed, further development hormones, pasteurization and homogenization.
The patron then takes within the bodily, emotional, and non secular toxins related to these practices.
The perfect supply of milk is from natural pasture fed cows, particularly within the spring and fall seasons when the cows feed on the fast-growing grass. It ought to be taken uncooked, but when uncooked milk isn’t tolerated, it is usually glorious cultured.
Of all dairy merchandise, ghee (clarified butter), is very necessary. It’s the most refined essence of milk, and the transformation from milk to ghee is likened to the transformation from rasa (plasma) to ojas (very important non secular pressure). Ghee serves as a automobile for a lot of medicines in Ayurveda, carrying their qualities deep into the tissues. It’s particularly rejuvenating for the mind and nervous system, contributing to non secular apply and improvement. Ghee is among the 4 mahasneha (nice fat) revered in Ayurveda. Sneha, or fats, is a synonym of affection, and ghee nurtures the standard of our love and devotion.
Pure Sweeteners
Sattvic pure sweeteners embrace: uncooked honey, jaggery, dehydrated cane sugar, stevia, date sugar, molasses, malted grain syrups, and sorghum syrup.
The above sweeteners ought to nonetheless be utilized in moderation in order to not upset blood sugar ranges, a first-rate explanation for psychological and emotional instability. As with all meals, select natural sources to your sweeteners.
The next sweeteners are rajasic or tamasic and ought to be prevented: white sugar, brown sugar, concentrated fruit juice, excessive fructose corn syrup, and synthetic sweeteners corresponding to aspartame.
Wholesome Non-Animal Fat
Sattvic non-animal fat embrace: further virgin olive oil, coconut oil or butter, palm oil, flax oil, and sesame oil.
Keep away from the usage of safflower, cottonseed, sunflower, canola, soy, cottonseed, and corn, and particularly hydrogenated and partially-hydrogenated trans fat. These oils all contribute to plenty of well being challenges.
Fruits
Fruit is especially sattvic, as fruit, together with flowers, are essentially the most developed elements of the plant kingdom. Fruit helps develop the non secular coronary heart. It’s best to give attention to domestically grown and in-season produce, as this serves to assist join you with the rhythms of Nature in your native surroundings.
The non secular grasp, Paramhansa Yogananda, attributed particular non secular qualities to sure fruits:
Peaches – selflessness
Oranges – reforming zeal
Grapes – non secular love
Banana – humbleness
Apple – self-control
Strawberry -dignity
Pineapple – braveness
Cherries – pleasure
Fruit ought to be eaten contemporary, freshly cooked, or lacto-fermented as chutney. Canning will increase the tamasic high quality, as does freezing, although to a lesser diploma.
Greens
Most greens are pretty sattvic. It’s nice to have some uncooked, however calmly cooked could also be greatest (steamed, blanched, baked, or stir fried in butter, olive oil or coconut oil) as many greens include dangerous substances that have an effect on digestion, assimilation, and mobile capabilities, and these substances are neutralized with cooking. Cooking improves the digestibility of greens, however on the similar time destroys enzymes and sure vitamins.
So, what to do?
Uncooked-cook your greens! Embody some lacto-fermented greens (corresponding to sauerkraut). This course of truly will increase dietary worth, and provides enormously enhanced enzyme exercise and pleasant bacterial flora, optimizing digestion and assimilation of vitamins.
Uncooked onions, leeks, and garlic have extra of a rajasic high quality, and although they’ve a lot medicinal benefit, mushrooms are thought of tamasic. Canned, frozen, or reheated greens additionally improve the tamasic high quality.
Nuts and Seeds
As with the grains, nuts and seeds are usually sattvic, however require some preparation to neutralize dangerous substances.
Begin with uncooked natural nuts. These will be sprouted, or soaked in a single day with a bit of pure salt (Celtic sea salt if the perfect) after which eaten moist or dried within the oven at a low warmth (lower than 150 levels), or within the solar, for 12 to 24 hours.
Nuts ready as above can then be eaten by themselves (chew properly) or cooked with meals. They can be blended to create fantastic nut butters.
Legumes
“Beans, beans, the magical fruit.
The extra you eat, the extra you toot.
The extra you toot, the higher you’re feeling.
So, let’s eat beans for each meal!”
– My Elementary College
Legumes are identified for his or her challenges with digestibility, however many conventional societies have largely subsisted on beans with out problem. This once more, is principally because of the technique of preparation.
Soak all legumes in pure water with whey, lemon, or lime juice and go away them in a heat place for twenty-four hours. Subsequent, pour off the soaking water and rinse properly. Prepare dinner the beans till they’re mushy and skim off any foam that rises to the floor. Lastly, rinse the beans once more and add acceptable spices and pure salt, lemon juice or liquid from lacto-fermented greens, and uncooked butter or olive oil.
Essentially the most sattvic legumes are mung beans and aduki beans. Small quantities of tofu are all proper, however soy ought to in any other case be taken solely in fermented type corresponding to miso, tempeh, and natto, as these preparations neutralize naturally-occurring dangerous substances.
Improperly ready beans are irritating and rajasic, and canned beans improve tamas.
Spices
Essentially the most sattvic spices are delicate and are typically candy with pungent and bitter notes. They are often taken liberally as they assist in the digestion of different meals and have quite a few well being advantages. These spices are quite a few, however a couple of examples embrace: cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, fennel, ginger, and turmeric.
Very pungent spices corresponding to scorching peppers or chilies and garlic are extra rajasic and stimulating, and spices which were irradiated are lifeless and tamasic.
Drinks
Sadly, the majority of contemporary beverage decisions are unhealthy. Espresso, tea, and different caffeinated drinks are overly stimulating and rajasic. Pastuerized juices, soda pop, and alcohol have an total tamasic high quality. Even the trendy “well being drink” soy milk has some well being challenges as a result of it has dangerous substances and never neutralized in its preparation.
Sattvic beverage decisions embrace: pure spring water, uncooked milk, sattvic herb teas corresponding to chamomile and mint, sattvic fruit and vegetable juices diluted with pure water, correctly ready seed, grain, or nut milks (see associated sections above), and lacto-fermented drinks produced from dairy, grains, fruits, and nuts.
Tailored from Dietary Dietary supplements for Enlightenment: Steering for Internal Peace and Self-Realization, by Jacob Griscom, CAS
Originally posted 2023-05-30 18:47:48.