My Vedic Kitchen

Osteoporosis and Maharishi Ayurveda - By Monica Kar

Osteoporosis means, on a simple level, the thinning of bones or bone mass, so that fractures and bone deformations become more frequent.

Ayurvedically, this is a Vata disorder. In order to help this condition with an Ayurvedic diet, then, it makes sense to eat foods that balance Vata dosha and are also rich in calcium.

Since prevention is always better than cure, that would mean keeping the Vata in balance throughout the growing years. Vata is cold, dry and irregular. To balance this, you would need warmth, wetness or the qualities of Kapha and regularity. This would be true of food, sleep, routine…in short, life.

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Prevention means, of course, to start this regimen early in life as most practitioners agree that our bodies create bone mass until we reach our mid-thirties.

This would mean, of course, 3-4 small, regular, daily meals including Vata pacifying foods, rich in calcium.

Given below is a day's menu which should help. This is only an example, and by no means all inclusive.

Early Morning:

The calcium source that is most revered in Ayurveda is white sesame or til seeds. These seeds are extremely 'pitta' in nature. During summer, soak one teaspoon of white sesame seeds in some water and leave it overnight on your kitchen counter. The next morning, drain the water and chew the seeds slowly. During winter, don't soak the seeds. Every morning, just chew one teaspoon slowly. You can top this with a half glass of warm milk, if you like.

Breakfast:

Fruit Smoothie: In a blender, put about 1 cup of freshly squeezed sweet orange juice. Add either fresh or frozen berries of choice – blue, black, boysen, cran, or raspberries. Peel and add a kiwi. Add either fresh, organic, well-washed apricots or peaches to this mix. Blend and enjoy fresh. Avoid making this with ice or sour fruits as both are intolerable to Vata.
Alternate fruits you can enjoy are sweet melons, grapes, oranges, pineapples, mangoes, gooseberries, fresh figs, avocados.

Lunch:

• Brown Rice
• Sprouted Mung Dal
• Cooked Okra
• Ginger Lassi

Lunch should be the largest meal of the day, eaten at a regular time, in a relaxed, quiet atmosphere.

Brown Rice: Wash brown rice, in at least 3 changes of water and leave to soak, the previous night. The next day, cook as follows:

Discard the water in which the rice is soaking. Put rice in a saucepan. Fill with water. The ratio should be 1:3, rice: water. Add sea salt to taste and ½ tsp ghee. Bring to boil on high heat, lower heat to low-medium and cover ¾ and let cook till soft and fluffy. Brown rice usually takes longer to cook than white rice, so don't despair the first time you try making it!

Sprouted Mung Dal: Refer to my earlier article on Dal, substituting sprouted mung beans for yellow mung dal.

Cooked Okra: Buy okra which is supple, medium width (not too wide) and a uniform green in color. Wash under running water and spread out on a kitchen towel. Dry with the towel. This is important! Cut okra into uniform bite-sized pieces. Place a wok with sunflower or canola or sesame oil on high heat. Add cumin seeds, wait until they splutter. Add okra and keep on high heat. Stir fry. Okra emits a 'lacey' or 'gummy' substance when heated. Let this cook on high heat, stirring at intervals. When most of this has cooked away, or when you think the okra is getting burnt – whichever comes first!!!! – reduce the heat to medium-low and let the okra cook until soft, stirring only occasionally. When soft, add sea salt to taste with a few pinches of coriander powder. If you enjoy spicy food, add red chilli powder, stir a couple of times and turn off the heat.

Ginger Lassi: Top the above meal with a small glass of this digestive lassi. Take ½ cup of organic full cream yogurt and put in blender with 11/2 cups of water, sea salt to taste, 2 pinches of dry ginger powder and 2 pinches of roasted cumin powder. Pulse a few times. Pour and enjoy. Again, remember, avoid too cold or too sour!

Early Dinner:

Amaranth Grain & Vegetable Soup:

Ingredients:

• Amaranth grain: a handful
• Carrots: 2-3 peeled and cut into medium pieces
• Green Beans: 10-15 pieces, cut into medium pieces
• Butternut Squash: 1 small, peeled and cut into medium pieces
• Fenugreek leaves: fresh or frozen, a very small bunch, as can be bitter.
• Ghee: 1 tsp
• Bay leaf: 1
• Cumin Seeds: ½ tsp
• Ginger Root: one small piece, peeled and chopped fine
• Sea Salt & Black Pepper to taste

IMPORTANT: The ratio of vegetables: grain should be 2:1

Method:
In a soup pan, heat the ghee and add the bay leaf and cumin seeds until they splutter. Add the ginger root and stir. Add all vegetables and stir a couple of times. Add Amaranth grain. Add enough water, so the ratio of vegetables: water is 1:3. Bring to boil on high, lower heat, cover and cook until soft. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Turn off heat. Serve hot with a dash of lemon or lime juice.
This same soup can be used as lunch. Just add black, cooked beans to this to increase the protein value!

Bed Time Drink:
Boil milk with a couple of strands of saffron, cut, pitted dates and roughly cut almonds – make sure the weather is really cold when you drink this as it can be quite heaty! Drink this without straining, chewing the dates and almonds. Anyone with a sleeping disorder will benefit from this drink. This is usually a great hit with growing kids as they love the sweetness of the dates and the 'bite' of the almonds and can be served for breakfast!

Milk, as everyone knows, is a rich source of calcium. Ayurveda cautions us on how to incorporate this richness into our diets, however. Milk builds and therefore is wonderful for growing kids, teenagers, pregnant women , nursing mothers and recovering patients, Vata types, and at times for Pittas, as well. Mostly, as R. Svoboda points out in his book, Prakruti, Your Ayurvedic Constitution, it needs to be served properly and used in limited quantities. Ayurveda recommends raw cow's milk, boiled before serving.

The addition of warming spices added to the milk, especially during late fall, winter and early spring will be beneficial. The spices to add to the milk, while it is boiling, are cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, turmeric root, and cloves. Strain, add raw honey to dry out the natural Kapha of the milk and enjoy.

I hope this gives you a sample of what kinds of foods are good for Vata types and Vata disorders. What is most important, however, is not to get anxious or tense; to try to stay in a regular routine, getting enough sleep on a daily basis. Most importantly, eat small meals, and sit down to eat, chew and enjoy….no meals on the run for you!

Enjoy your daily routine. This is not a burden, rather a small way of saying 'thank you' to your body for being the incredible phenomenon it is!!!

Wishing you all warmth, sweetness and 'Rasa' or good taste in your lives!