A diet having all flavors in one meal, which doesn’t mind about calories and considers important even the weather and seasons to define a menu.
Nutrition under Ayurveda principles, the ancient and complex Indian medicine, has started to catch attention among Brazilian people because of its holistic approach.

“It is not possible to maintain vitality or to avoid a disease, without the knowledge about the effects our diet has on physical and mental health”, says the ayurveda therapist Jussara Corrêa, who has been working in this branch for six years.

Who wishes to follow this science and philosophy needs to be prepared to face specific recommendations for each of the 3 energetic constitutions (Doshas), with this tradition classifies people. In such case, some food can be better to somebody and not indicated for another.

"When finding the constitution of a person, a personalized diet can be designed for each case, even to treat diseases", says the ayurveda doctor Mr. Bokulla Reddy, who got his degree in India. In this particular approach of gastronomic values, aspects such as temperature and texture of food and its digestive (virya) and post digestive (vipak) effects are more important. “The nutritional values and calories of food are known, but they are not the most important point”, says the therapist Jussara Corrêa.

For the ones who have weight problems, a comfort: the portions of each meal are small. “To ayurveda, each meal must have an amount of food, which can be put on the palm of your hand”, the therapist teaches.

Therapeutic flavors

Among the principles, the most important is that the “follower” must have a natural diet, the more organic the better and that each meal offers six flavors (rasa) in the same plate. To ayurveda, hot and adstringent are as important – as the sweet, bitter, sour and salty flavours. There is where spices reign in recipes.

According to ayurveda, flavours also have their own therapeutic functions. While sweet acts to color skin and increases breast milk, salty, for example, helps the cleansing of pores. However, in excess, it can increase wrinkles of skin.
This kind of ideas makes traditional nutritionists shiver. “The Eastern concepts of energy can’t be considered scientific. They are more related to religion and cultural tradition”, affirms the doctor in nutrition
Marle Alvarenga. Drinking liquid during a meal, for example, practice less indicated by ayurveda is not condemned by western medicine. “The digestion will only be slower”, she says.

While western and eastern approach to nutrition has some opposition, they agree about flavours – the ayurvedic dishes are for all tastes. Trying to reach the 3 “doshas”, the therapist Jussara Corrêa created a special recipe for Equilíbrio.

Check the recipe related to this interview on the page “Nutrition” on this website.