Incompatible foods ?

Viruddha ahara  is an unique concept explained in Ayurveda, which refers to food- food interactions, food processing interactions etc. Foods which are wrong in combination, wrong process of production, consumed in incorrect dose or at incorrect time, can lead to interruption in normal metabolism and growth of tissues.
When two or more foods having different tastes, energy and post digestive effect are combined, agni becomes overloaded, inhibiting the enzyme system and resulting in the production of toxins, these combinations of food are called as incompatible foods (Viruddha ahara) . At the same time these foods, if eaten separately, might well stimulate Agni (digestive power), be digested more quickly and even help to burn or remove toxins.

The literal meaning of word Viruddha is opposite. It sounds that the food combination of certain type of food may have -

• Opposite properties
• Opposite activities on the tissues
• May exert some unwanted effect on the body when processed in a particular form
• May exert undesirable effects, when combined in certain proportion
• May have unwanted effect if consumed at wrong time.

Nutrition science attributes consumption of acid ash producing foods (sugar, fats, and colas), acid residuals in the body and improper digestion as the root cause of all disease.  Similarly, in Ayurveda, it is said that improper food combinations produces weak acids leading to various disorders.

These foods in less quantity are harmless, if you have good digestive power and if you are used to it for years.

Effect of incompatible food on body: 

• Incompatible food combinations can lead to flatulence, indigestion, and fermentation. 
• Prolonged intake of such combinations can lead to toxaemia. 
• Those substances which when consumed, cause aggravation of the doshas but do not expel them out of the body and bring about abnormalities in the rasa,rakta, mansa,meda, etc (dhatus) and give rise to diseases.
• Impotency, various skin diseases, digestive disorders or it can lead to even death.

Ayurveda literature has described 18 types of Viruddha Ahara, which can be summarized as follows:

Viruddha word here denotes opposition. So, it can be understood that any procedure, combinations, dose, amount of food, opposite properties of food if consumed regularly for a longer period can lead to number of disorders.

Examples of viruddha ahara:

1.Place Incompatibility (Desha Viruddha) :

 To eat dry and tikshn (which are of sharp taste e.g. sour,salty tastes)) substances in dry region and  unctuous substances in Marshy land. To normalise doshas you should have unctious and hoot foods in dry region and dry and tikshna foods in marshy region.

2.  Time Incompatibility (Kala Viruddha): 

Intake of cold and dry substances in winter, Pungent and hot substances in summer.

3. Digestive Power Incompatibility (Agni Viruddha): 

Intake of heavy food when the power of digestion is low, intake of light food when the power of digestion is good. You should eat according to your digestive power otherwise indigestion takes place.

4. Quantity Incompatibility (Matra Viruddha): 

Intake of honey and ghee in equal quantity have notorious effect on health.1

5. Habit Incompatibility (Satmya Viruddha): 

Intake of sweet and cold substance by person accustomed to pungent and hot substances because body is used to such habits and when you go out of the way allergy or indigestion can develop.

6. Dosha Viruddha: 

Utilization of drugs, diets and regimen having similar qualities with Dosha, but at variance with the habit of the individual.

7. Processing Incompatibility (Sanskar Viruddha): 

Drugs and diets which, when prepared in a particular way produced poisonous effects. E.g. meat of peacock roasted on a castor spit or heated honey2.

8. Potency Incompatibility (Veerya Viruddha): 

Substances having cold potency in combination with those of hot potency. e.g. Milk and Fish 3.

9. Bowel Incompatibility (Koshtha Viruddha): 

To give less quantity,  less potency and less stool forming food to a person of costive bowel as it will lead to more constipation. Administration of more quantity heavy and more stool forming food to a person having laxed bowel, for him it shall be difficult to digest and can cause loose stools.

10. Avastha Viruddha:

 Intake of Vata aggravating food (cold and dry)  by a person after sexual act, physical exertion or intake of Kapha aggravating food(unctious, heavy foods)   by a person after sleep or drowsiness. Increased dosha will exert it's effect on body.

11. Sequence Incompatibility (Kram Viruddha): 

If a person takes food before his bowel and urination or when he is not hungry  or  too long after his hunger has been aggravated. 

12. Caution or contraindication Incompatibility (Parihar Viruddha):

Consuming cold water immediately after hot tea or coffee.

13. Treatment Incompatibility (Upachar Viruddha): 

Having cold water after ghee. It is advised to take warm water after ghee as it helps in it's digestion.

14. Cooking Incompatibility (Paak Viruddha ): 

Under cooked, over cooked  or burnt food, all of them are not good for health.

15.Combination Against ( Samyoga Viruddha): 

Intake of sour substance with milk. Fruit salad or milk + banana.

16. Incompatibility in Interest (Hridaya Viruddha):

 Intake of unpleasant food.

17. Richness of Quality Incompatibility (Sampad Viruddha):

 Intake of substance that are not mature, over matured or altered taste.Now a days we see artificially ripened fruits and veges with Calcium carbide, it is a corrosive agent and can cause ulcer in stomach and is carcinogenic as well.

18. Against rules for Eating (Vidhi Viruddha): 

Taking meals in public place, while chatting or watching TV.

Frequent intake of virudhha ahara (incompatible food) leads in to toxins. Then, in the alimentary tract this toxins provoke all doshas and which get mixed with digestive juice and then rasa dhatu and so on, it spread from one dhatu to next dhatu. 

Some other examples of  incompatible foods:

Related research:

A new branch called topography (a science related to combination of food) is emerging, which tells about the combination of basic categories of the food. 

• As per this science proteins must not get combined with starch and carbohydrates and may be consumed differently. This is because starches require an alkali medium and the amylase in saliva contains ptylin, an enzyme that breaks down starch into maltose. 
• Consuming proteins and starches together will result in absorption of one being delayed by the other. 
• Similarly, eating sugars and acid fruits hinder the action of ptylin and pepsin, reducing the secretion of saliva, and delaying digestion.

Viruddha Ahara is an important aspect of today's improper dietary habits. This can lead to several hazardous diseases unknowingly to the patients. Therefore, it is important to enlist the causative incompatible dietary factors and train the patients to avoid such etiologic factors.

Six tastes...!

• Madhura (Sweet)
• Amla (Sour)
• Lavana (Saline)
• Katu (Pungent)
• Tikta (Bitter)
• Kashaya (Astringent)

These are the six tastes. Different tastes are due to different compositions of 5 elements i.e. Prithvi, Jal, Agni, Vayu and Aakash. So, these tastes have specific effect on our body.

Taste	Constitution of 5 elements	Properties
Sweet (Madhur)	Prithvi + Jal	Snigdha(unctuous), Shita(cold), Guru(heavy)
Sour (Amla)	Prithvi +Agni	Snigdha (unctuous), Ushna(hot), Guru(heavy)
Saline (Lavana)	Jal + Agni	Snigdha (unctuous), Ushna(hot), Guru(heavy)
Pungent (Katu)	Agni + Vayu	Laghu(light), Ruksha(dry), Ushna(hot)
Bitter (Tikta)	Aakash - Vayu	Laghu(light), Ruksha(dry), Shita(cold)
Astringent (Kashaya)	Prithvi-Vayu	Laghu(light), Ruksha(dry), Shita(cold)

Sweet taste (Madhura rasa) :

• Sweet taste is cooling, nutritive, gives pleasure and satisfaction. 
• Promotes growth of body elements, improves strength and lactation. 
• It is good for wound healing and fracture healing.
•  Promotes eye sight and other sense organs.
•  It is conducive to pleasant feeling and longevity.
• Especially good for kids and old people.

e.g. Milk, sugar, cereals, potato, etc.

Over intake of sweet taste:

• Having excess of sweet things can lead to obesity, heaviness in body, laziness, loss of appetite, nausea, vomitting, asthama(shwasa), goitre(galaganda) , Diabetes etc. 

Sour taste (Amla rasa) :

• Sour taste is carminative(pachaka) and appetizer. 
• It gives strength to body and senses. 
• It relieves constipation and bloating.
•  It has cooling effect and satisfies the taste buds and heart. 
• e.g. Fruits like lemon, orange, curd, alcohol etc.

Over intake of sour taste:

• Excess intake of sour taste can cause sourness in teeth, morbid thirst, burning sensation in chest, fever, itching, pustules and other skin diseases etc. 
• Excess sour taste is not good especially for eyes.

Saline taste (Lavana rasa) :

• Saline taste has cleansing , carminative, appetizer properties. 
• It is hot , suppresses all other tastes  and gives softness to body. 
• It relieves stiffness by reducing vata dosha, aggravates kapha and pitta. 
• Reduces strength of body and causes salivation and burning sensation in mouth.
•  It is very important in diet as it gives taste to the food.
•  e.g. Sea salt, black salt etc.

Over intake of saline taste:

• When used in excess It can cuase urticaria, discoloration(vivarnata), loss of virility  etc.
•  It aggravates pitta dosha and can lead to stomatitis, conjunctivitis, gout(vatarakta), raktapitta(bleeding from different parts of the body).  
• It can also cause  premature wrinkling, premature graying of hairs , baldness.

Pungent taste (Katu rasa):

• It reduces kapha, krimi(worms), kandu(itching), toxicity,  Stanya (lactation) , sperm count , meda(fat) and obesity . 
• It is improves digestive power, carminative and appetiser.
•  It deplets kleda( sticky substance in body), meda (fat), vasa (muscle fat), ,majja( bone marrow), feces and urine.
• It opens up channels of circulation and improves intelligence.
•  e.g. Black pepper, garlic etc.

Over intake of pungent taste:

• Excess intake of pungent taste can cause giddiness, intoxication, loss of strength and semen, feverishness, dryness of mouth, lips and diarrhea.
•  It can also cause pricking and cutting type of pain in abdomen, kampa( shivering) and pain in limbs and back.

Bitter taste (Tikta rasa):

• It is also an appetizer and carminative, expectorant and has cleansing effect on mouth , throat and lactation (removes impurities from mother's milk). 
• It deplets kleda, meda( body fat and obesity), vasa, majja, puya( pus from wound), sweda (sweat), mutra(urine), purisha(feces), pitta and kapha.
• It cures krimi (worms), kushtha (skin diseases) and daha ( burning sensation anywhere in body).
• e.g. turmeric, bitter gourd, egg plant etc.

Over intake of bitter taste:

• Over intake of bitter taste causes increase in vata dosha and lead to rigidity in body, stiff neck( torticolis), Convulsion, facial paralysis(ardita), headache, giddiness ad pricking pain in body. 
• Deplets all the dhatus i.e. rasa, rakta, mansa, meda etc and reduces strength and semen.

Astringent taste (Kashaya rasa):
                            

• Astringent taste has healing, constipative (grahi) and drying( drying of saliva, kleda etc.) properties.
•  It aggravates vata and causes sluggishness in tongue movement and obstructs throat as well as channels of circulation. 
• e.g. Triphala, green gram etc. 

Over intake of astringent taste:

• Excess intake of this taste can cause pain in cardiac region (Hritpida), gaseous distention of abdomen, difficulty in speaking, stiff neck, tingling sensation in body and convulsions. 
• It can also cause loss of potency, obstruct and dry up feces, urine and semen.

So from this description of six tastes we can understand the importance and action of all tastes. All the 6 tastes are equally important for our health but excess use of any 1 or more tastes have adverse effects on our health. In the same way unuse of 1 or more tastes is also not good for health.

So we should include all tastes in diet but in moderate quantity.


Ref. Su.Su.42
       Ch. Su.26























  

Agni- The digestive power

Agni is a digestive power of the body. According to Ayurveda, digestion has a vast meaning, it is not mearly about daily passing motion.

      Properly digested food leads to normal growth, energy and health whereas undigested food causes aama which is a basic cause of many diseases. So, daily accumulation of this aama can lead to some disease in a few daysor months. So it is important to discuss digestion. Our body is made up of five elements viz. Prithvi, Jal, Tej, Vayu and Aakash, and whatever we eat enriches these elements accordingly.  The Tej element comprises the digestive power i.e. Agni of body.

Good Agni is a is a reason for healthy body, vitality and longevity whereas less Agni is a reason of all the diseases. The food that we eat is acted upon by various Agnis of body and then it enriches the different dhatus of body i.e. rasa, rakta, mansa, meda, asthi, majja and shukra and the remaining waste products are excreted out of the body.

 There are different types of Agni e.g. Tikshna, Manda, Visham and Sama. Among the various factors required for proper digestion of food Agni is a major one. Other factors being, quantity of food, characters of food item etc. 

1. Tikshnagni: This agni can digest all type of foods i.e. excess quantity, heavy foods, Viruddha anna etc. Person who has Pitta predominancehas this type of Agni. After digestion it produces more Pitta and can lead to Pittaj diseases such as hyperacidity, headache, skin diseases with more of burning sensation etc
2. Mandagni: In this type the digestion is slow even if the food is less in quantity and light to digest. Kapha predominant people have this type of Agni. It produces more Kapha and can lead to Kaphaja diseases such as obesity, thyroid problems, tumour in any part of the body etc.
3. Vishamagni: Due to the predominance of Vata dosha in body, sometimes Agni digests food properly and sometimes not. This can lead to Vataja diseases such as joint pain, etc.
4. Samagni: When in a person the doshas are equal and no dominance of any dosha, then the digestion is proper producing equal amount of Vata, Pitta and Kapha. The even amount of vata, pitta and kapha is called as health (swasthya) according to Ayurveda. 

Other type of agni is called as Bhautik Agni, they are Bhaum, aapya, Agneya,Vayavya and Nabhasa i.e. agnis of 5 elements.

There are 7 more agnis , those of 7 body dhatus i.e. rasa, rakta, mansa, meda, asthi, majja, shukra.

How to improve agni (digestive power) ?

• Ghee is the best for increasing agni. Only ghee with added some salt or ghee mixed with food.
• If it is because of too much dryness in gut then have some oil or ghee.
• If it is due to too much oily  foods then have some digestive medicine like Chitrakadi vati or Lavanabhaskar churna.
• If it is due to some disease condition then also ghee will help you.
• If fasting for long time is a reason then have some Manda, Peya or Vilepi with added ghee to it.

Tikshnagni:

• If  on having food you feel better and on digestion of food you  feel debility, thirst, burning sensation,fainting etc then it is due to Tikshnagni.
• Guru, snigdha, pichhil food should be taken and before it is completely digested , next meal should be taken. This will normalise the increased agni. 

Samagni is best for maintaining health. 

Aaharmatra....How much should I eat?

We are always confused about how much should we eat? People browse different websites, run behind dietecians, follow someone or other's diet plan and sometimes end up with fad diets, monodiets , keto diet etc. Having certain limited calories is okay but it has more negative effect on your mental health, as  you don't feel satisfied . 
    
    Actually no one can tell you the exact portion of food that you need because it is only you who can wisely decide it. We should not eat too much or too less than our body needs as both the situations are not good for health.

Our digestive power is not same, according to that you have to adjust the amount of food intake. 

Factors affecting digestive power include:

• Seasonal variation - in rainy season(Varsha ritu) Agni(digestive power) is poor whereas in winter(Hemant ritu) agni is Tikshna or strong.
• Age wise variation- in kids and elderly people digestive power is less.
• Character of food you are eating - Some foods are easy to digest and some are difficult and heavy to digest. 
• When you are upset you don't feel like eating (mental state)
• Any disease state
• Active or sedintery lifestyle

So , the amount of food intake is a subjective thing. It is not possible to daily have same amount of food.

If we divide our stomach into 3 parts, solid food should be 1 part, water and other liquids 1 part and leave 1 part empty (for vata,pitta, kapha doshas)

How to decide the right amount of food?

• After meal you should not feel any heaviness or pain in abdomen and chest.
• You should not feel any difficulty in breathing, speaking, laughing, walking, sitting and sleeping.
• The food you had in morning should digest by evening and which you had in evening should digest by morning.
• Healthy growth and healthy appearance should be maintained.

In case of sweet and carbohydrate rich food i.e. pishtanna , have it only if you are hungry and that too in  less quantity and have double amount of water, so that it can digest properly. 

What happens when we eat too less?

1. Loss of strength
2. Stunted growth
3. Dissatisfaction
4. Bloating
5. Loss of health of skin, sense organs etc
6. Vatavyadhi  e.g. joint pain
7. Loss of potency 
8. Debility

What happens when we eat too much?

1. Vomitting, diarrhea
2. Pain in abdomen, loss of consciousness
3. Fever, thirst, intoxication
4. Indigestion, heavinessin body
5. Vata, Pitta and Kapha get vitiated

So be wise, think about your digestive power and then take your portion.