AYURVEDIC PERSPECTIVE ON SNACK-DESSERT
Is snacking good for you? What about grazing, which is continuously snacking throughout the day?
Ayurveda stresses the importance of both regular mealtimes and of fasting between meals.
Fasting between meals encourages your body to digest fats. It also gives your GI tract a chance to rest & reset.
So does that mean snacking is bad for you?
Let's see what Ayurveda has to say.
Why Fasting Between Meals is Essential
Your ancestors survived long periods without food, and were used to the feeling of an empty stomach. However, this is likely not the case for most people today.
In fact, if you are a grazer, your body may have actually forgotten how to survive fasting. Even fasting between meals will be a challenge as your blood sugar and energy levels will become very unstable.
And when your snacks are missing or unavailable, your blood sugar levels will crash. You may feel hypoglycemic, depressed, and very vulnerable to food cravings.
Waiting until dinner could seem like an eternity, and binging and emergency trips to the vending machine may become almost inevitable.
Snacking makes you dependent on more snacks.
When you fast between meals your digestive organs have a chance to rest. This, in turn, improves your body's willingness to digest fats, a more stable source of energy than a late afternoon "pick me up" of vending machine food.
Why You Get the Munchies
When trying to unravel the mystery of your snacking habits, consider these questions:
- What kinds of snacks do you crave?
- What time of day do you feel the desire to snack?
Having the munchies doesn't always mean you are hungry. Sometimes, other unmet needs trigger hunger instead. Notice how the following discomforts often masquerade as hunger.
- Are you thirsty instead of hungry? As thirst masquerades as hunger, give drinking a little water a try. Then reassess your hunger.
- Maybe you are cold instead of hungry? The sensation of cold makes you crave "something," though you may not be sure what it is. If you need something to warm you up, try hot ginger tea instead of a cookie. Then see how you feel.
- Could you be exhausted instead of hungry? If you are at work and your mind is getting tired, you might need a fifteen minute walk to perk up your circulation and freshen up. This will improve your productivity as well as your clarity.
- Are you tired, bored, stressed or lonely? Food is a tempting way to nurture or avoid painful emotions. Instead, sit with the emotion and feel it for a few minutes - then return to your day more free of distraction.
What Are the Best Snacks for Your Body Type?
If you must snack, snack strategically. Wheat crackers, cheese, granola and nuts are generally too heavy for snacking.
Instead, eat light foods for your dosha choosing the ones that are easy to digest.
Vata Snacks
Many Vata people cannot digest large meals and may need to supplement their diets by snacking once a day, and
at a regular time.
Vata should avoid snacking on drying foods like popcorn, crackers, chips, granola, dried fruits, and nuts. Avoid heavy foods like bread as well. Ideal Vata snacks are liquid and easy to digest:
Pitta Snacks
Pitta people have strong agni (digestive strength) and fewer restrictions on snacking. Ideal Pitta snacks are cooling, sweet, and heavy.
Kapha Snacks
Kapha can snack on drying, light, unsalted foods, as well as appetite suppressants like raw apples.
Click here for a detailed outline of the healthiest
Meal Times according to Ayurveda. Click here for
snack options on Joyful Belly.
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