Are you eating these dangerous food combinations?

In olden days, people use to ‘EAT TO LIVE’ but now it is more about ‘LIVE TO EAT’. But wait a minute, are we actually eating what we should not. Do we know what we should not eat at all? There are various debates over food. One says this is good and other strongly opposes that.
I (Dr. Vibhuti Rao) am just trying to help you get over the confusion with food principles of ancient medical science –Ayurveda. If this can give you some food wisdom then please give it a try in to your food routine. Once you are on it, you will discover the hidden health wonders and this all will start making sense to you. Dangerous food combinations are on every restaurant’s menu. Read this article to know such dangerous food combinations .

Who is not foody a now a days. The kind of fast food and different restaurants we are having around us, it is hard to resist ourselves from these delicacies, especially, if you are living in a metropolitan city like Bengaluru, where all world’s cuisines are available to satisfy your senses. The banana milkshakes, Dahi chaat, Dahi vada, etc. you love to eat are actually causing all your health issues.  Mouthwatering food can cause an eye tearing disease in future.
It is rightly said in Ayurvedic medicines- “Food can be poison or it can be medicine—it all depends on what we eat and when we eat it.” The food which is wrong in combination, has undergone wrong processing, consumed in incorrect dose, and/or consumed in incorrect time of the day and in wrong season can lead to Viruddha Ahara. Incompatible foods are everywhere: in restaurants, on cooking shows and even cookbooks are filled with these unhealthy combos. Allergies can stem from eating ice cream, iced drinks, pickled/fermented foods, and incompatible food combinations, especially in the spring when kapha dosha is highest.
Also, ‘when two or more foods having different tastes, energy and post digestive effects are combined, agni becomes overloaded, inhibiting the enzyme system and resulting in the production of toxins. At the same time these foods, if eaten separately, might well stimulate agni, be digested more quickly and even help to burn or remove toxins’.
Ayurveda says, that every food has it’s own taste, post digestion effect and heating or cooling potency. Agni of an individual determines how well or poorly the particular food can be digested, metabolize, eliminate and absorb. Therefore, right combination of food is important for a balanced digestion process. For example, some Ayurvedic scholars believe that eating banana with milk can hamper your agni, causes undigested foods and formation of toxins (AMA) and disturbing the healthy intestinal flora which may further cause various bodily symptoms- allergies.

​On the other hand, the incompatibility gets neutralized somewhere down the line if-
the incompatibility is slight, 
the person has a strong digestive power, 
the individual is young, 
 the individual is habituated to regular exercise.
Thumb Rules:

• Eating fruit by itself
• Eating raw and cooked foods together
• Eating leftovers and fresh food together
• Have milk alone
• Have one type of meat at a time

Taking care of self if ingested incompatible foods

• Seasonal Ayurveda detox (Panchakarma)
• Drinking warm water during food
• Help your digestive fire
• Having ghee, ginger and rock salt help Agni.
• Eat Ayurvedically

 
List of some of Ayurvedic incompatible foods
 
Food Item
Should not be taken with/in

CURD
Hot season, in hot form (putting curd in curry), At night, Without sugar, pepper, ghee, salt or honey

MILK
With fish, meat, melons, sour fruits (Shakes, smoothies, milkshakes, fruit cream), Bananas, Kitchari, Bread containing yeast,  Cherries

BANANA
with milk, curds or buttermilk

FRUITS
Sweet and sour fruits, Milk or banana, Grains, Starch, Fried foods,  Cheese

CHICKEN AND FISH
Milk, sesame, or sprouted grains 

COLD DRINKS
during or directly after a meal.

SALADS
raw and cooked foods together.

HONEY
Not to be heated or taken with hot water
With ghee in equal quantity

STARCHES
Eggs, Chai, Milk, Bananas, Dates, Persimmons

RADISHES
Banana, milk and raisins

LEMON
Cucumber, milk, tomatoes

GRAINS
Fruits and tapioca

EGGS
Fruits (melons), beans, cheese, fish, meat, milk, yogurt,

 
Embracing the wisdom of food combining slowly helps us to cultivate a refined awareness around how our dietary choices affect us. Proper food combining tends to awaken the body’s innate intelligence. Remember, food combining is not about imposing black and white rules. You might find it helpful, on occasion, to take a moment to reflect on how your digestion and your overall sense of wellness have changed over time. From my next articles I will be focusing on Ayurvedic foods recommended for various diseases. Until then take care and start avoiding these dangerous food combinations.  


Namaskara,
Vaidya Vibhuti Rao