Yoga and Food

Yoga is the only science that has laid great emphasis on food over centuries. In fact, there is a whole branch called Anna Yoga devoted to food for health and happiness. Yoga over centuries has developed a concept of a balanced whole foods diet and an eating philosophy. These principles of good eating use powerful techniques which help in maintaining a strong and health body, a stress-free mind and a positive spirituality within this mixed up world.

Never has this yogic philosophy of a balanced whole foods diet been felt more than today when 97% of all health disorders can be traced to a faulty nutrition and diet. It has been observed that (East) Indian civilizations suffer least from bowel problems, constipation, indigestion and other food related disorders such as obesity. Do you know why? Because the Indian philosophy of cooking and eating draws heavily from the yogic philosophy of eating! Yoga does not dissect food into vitamins, minerals, protein etc. The yogic philosophy is that the true benefits of these ingredients can be had only when they are NOT isolated but as much in their natural form as possible.

The key to true health is to have a balanced whole foods diet. A balanced diet ensures that all the faculties of digestion work smoothly absorption, assimilation and elimination. A balanced whole foods diet ensures a healthy you!! It is extremely important that all these 3 aspects work well together. If all these aspects work in harmony it is extremely unlikely that you’ll suffer from health disorders and even obesity. Often synthetic or processed foods create conditions that disrupt this balance. This leads to several physical and psychological problems. Over years, this can have dangerous consequences.

Read this report on how the rapidly increasing incidence of cancer can be traced down to faulty nutrition.

So what are Whole foods?
Whole foods are edible substances which are as close to their "whole" or natural state as possible. They have not been pre-processed in any way which would disturb their nutrition or flavor. They are therefore free of all processing additives or subtractions.

The overall idea of whole foods, is to buy foods which are - 

* As whole and in their most simple form as possible
* In season from as close to the source as possible
* As chemically and additive free as possible
* In bulk and not pre-packaged

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