How Can This Ayurvedic Food Make You Feel Great?

AYURVEDIC ANALYSIS

Honey - The Nectar of the Gods

This pure and natural heavenly gift from nature was the first sweetener known to man. Honey's sweet goodness has been an icon of abundance for centuries. It's golden syrup seems to capture the very rays of the sun, reflecting nature in its purest form, and delighting your senses. Honey is a favorite ingredient in food, as a delivery vehicle for medicine, and topically in cosmetics for natural skin beauty.

Many cultures consider honey sacred. Ayurveda, the vital science of life, has appreciated honey's healing qualities for thousands of years. It is honored as an ingredient in an ancient formulation called Panchamrita, literally "The Five Nectars of Immortality". Consuming honey daily as a food is advocated in Ayurveda to promote good health and strength.

Lose Weight with Honey

Bees tirelessly visit flower after flower preparing this natural sweetener from nectar. The secret behind honey's health benefits? Bees actually pre-digest honey, giving it qualities of heat, astringency, and a little dryness, qualities you won't find in any other sweetener. Yet, these qualities are essential to balancing the normally cold, damp weight gaining properties of other simple sugars.

You can experience the warmth of honey as a mild pungency that stimulates your tongue, raises your heart rate, and warms your metabolism and entire body after consumption.

Honey is quickly and efficiently used and absorbed by the body, and tolerated more so than other sweeteners such as sugar / sucrose / glucose used on their own. As it helps stimulate the metabolism, it helps your body burn fat. You can combine honey and lemon juice in luke warm (not hot) water for a quick morning detoxifier. A special cleansing quality of honey also suggests that it helps to lower cholesterol and clear plaque from arteries.

Energizing Tonic

Feeling tired? Try a spoonful of honey to wake you up. For centuries, people have swarmed to honey for its tonic properties. The ancient Greeks used honey to prevent the breakdown of muscles after heavy physical strain, to rebuild strength, virility and to improve endurance.

Honey is often a key ingredient in rejuvenating and re-energizing formulas, as well as to enhance the healing properties of other herbs. The proverbial "land of milk and honey" offers us all things good and is often described as richness, abundance, and joy. Honey has even been used to increase fertility.

For a delicious energy building home remedy, mix one tablespoon coconut butter with 1 tsp honey. Honey is a key ingredient in the famous Ayurveda formula chywanprash. Ayurveda also combines shilajit with honey to combat low energy in the elderly or those with weak constitutions.

Colds & Coughs

Studies have shown that honey is as effective (if not more so) as common over-the-counter cough suppressants. Honey won't produce mucus like other sweeteners that tend to make your congested, especially the morning after consumption. Instead, honey's 'heat' has the ability to liquefy and expectorate mucus, as well as disperse fluids that have collected in your upper respiratory system. It's a time-honored solution for soothing sore throats as it provides a rich coating effect on the back of your throat. One teaspoon of honey taken orally should do the trick. Honey's immune stimulating qualities are appreciated in popular cold and flu formulas like ginger honey, and lemon tea. It is featured in famous lung tonics such as osha and honey.

External Uses for Honey

Honey has anti-bacterial, anti-septic, and anti-fungal properties, which make it a superb healer and protector for skin infections, burns, wounds and even scarring. Spread liberally over wounds to prevent infection, including diabetic ulcers. Honey is a hemostatic that has been used to stop bleeding for both wounds and stomach ulcers.

If your skin and hair is lacking moisture consider using honey to bring back the luster. A small dab of honey may even sooth acne and pimples, as well as speed up the healing process of your skin. Honey was also used in an ancient middle-eastern practice of sugaring hair removal, which is again becoming quite popular.

A spoonful of honey restores rosiness to the cheeks. Honey has been used for allergies, insomnia, constipation and to improve vision.

Contraindications

As sweet as it is, honey is not recommended for infants under a year old as it may hold the risk of botulism, a type of bacterial poisoning. Diabetics or sugar-addicts may like to stay from honey due to its concentrated levels of sweetness that will affect blood sugar levels.

BUYING & PREPARATION

For the highest medicinal and nutritional value, purchase raw, unprocessed honey. Conventional grocery store honey is mostly corn syrup, so try to find a local source if at all possible. Cooked honey is considered a poison in Ayurveda, but for unclear reasons. Impure honey seems to be commonplace in shops today, so please check the label, and if possible taste the honey. Honey is also evaluated for clarity, aroma, flavor, and the absence of sediments such as honeycomb particles. If you can support your local farmers markets, they may allow you to taste test the honey before you purchase it. Honey holds different properties depending on the type of flora used to produce it. Buckwheat honey is considered best for coughs.

COOKING HONEY

Browse Recipes A teaspoon of honey drizzled onto creamy yoghurt transforms it into a decadently sweet and low-fat treat. Honey mixed into warm milk is a nurturing treat to soothe difficult emotions. Exercise caution with honey-butter, especially when the butter is salted, as it may be tempting to the point of addiction. Honey is celebrated as a glaze on nuts, found on many street corners in large cities, as well as at country backyard celebrations in barbecue sauce. It is featured in many salad dressings, including the the spicy yet sweet honey mustard. Honey appears in many dessert foods and snacks such as granola, as well as in breakfast cereals. Drizzle it on bananas with a dash of cinnamon for a tasty treat.It is ideal in the preparation of emulsions such as home-made ice-creams. Or, try fermenting honey to make honey-wine, otherwise known as mead, a popular beverage in Ethiopia. Honey wine is especially drying and Kapha pacifying. You will find honey in most tea and coffee shops. The list goes on - use your imagination.

WHY EAT AN AYURVEDIC DIET?

Eating Ayurvedically makes you feel nourished and energized. An Ayurvedic diet is tailored to your individual body type and the specific imbalances you are working with at any given time. Ayurveda shows you your specific body type’s needs and what should be favored in your Ayurvedic menu. Watch as you eat less but feel more satisfied because what you are eating truly nourishes you. Since Ayurveda believes all disease begins in the digestive tract, food is your first medicine. By eating a healthy diet that’s ideal for your body, you experience optimal health.

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Is Honey Good for My Ayurvedic Diet?

Find out by taking this free, easy quiz. You'll learn your body type, and whether Honey is a good fit for you. Time to complete: approximately 1 minute.

AYURVEDIC MEDICINAL BIOCHARACTERISTICS

What is the biocharacteristic theory of medicine?

INCREASES Increases These Biocharacteristics (Gunas) Functional Ayurveda helps you assess imbalances through 20 main biocharacteristics (gunas). Aggravating these characteristics weakens your body and causes imbalance. By knowing which characteristics are habitually imbalanced in your body, you will be able to identify and correct imbalances before you get sick. Every characteristic has an opposite which balances it (i.e. hot balances cold). You restore balance by favoring diet and lifestyle choices that increase the opposite characteristic. Learn More	CLEAR ABOUT CLEAR BIOCHARACTERISTIC Clear refers to anything that cleanses or flushes out wastes, or that digests ama. LEARN MORE ABOUT CLEAR HOT ABOUT HOT BIOCHARACTERISTIC Hot is identified by increased body temperature, metabolism, or inflammation. LEARN MORE ABOUT HOT LIQUEFIED ABOUT LIQUEFIED BIOCHARACTERISTIC Liquid is identified by thin fluids (low viscosity). LEARN MORE ABOUT LIQUEFIED MOBILE ABOUT MOBILE BIOCHARACTERISTIC Mobile refers to anything that stimulates the nervous system, muscles, or activity. LEARN MORE ABOUT MOBILE DRY ABOUT DRY BIOCHARACTERISTIC Dry is identified by lack of moisture, lack of fat, or anything that causes diuresis. LEARN MORE ABOUT DRY LIGHT ABOUT LIGHT BIOCHARACTERISTIC Lightness is identified by reduced weight. LEARN MORE ABOUT LIGHT
TASTES The 6 Tastes Taste is used to sense the most basic properties and effects of food. Each taste has a specific medicinal effect on your body. Cravings for food with certain tastes indicate your body is craving specific medicinal results from food. Taste is experienced on the tongue and represents your body's reaction to foods. Sweet taste causes physical satisfaction and attraction whereas bitter taste causes discomfort and aversion. Kapha should use less sweet taste while Vata and Pitta would benefit from using more sweet taste. One of the first signs of illness is that your taste and appetite for food changes. The six tastes are sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent. Do you crave foods with any of the tastes below? Learn More	SWEET ABOUT SWEET BIOCHARACTERISTIC Sweet refers to anything builds tissue, including macronutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins and fats. LEARN MORE ABOUT SWEET
DOSHAS The Three Doshas / Body Types According to the biocharacteristic theory of medicine, people tend to get sick, over and over again, due to habitual causes and imbalances that are unique to the person. Your body type summarizes this tendency, showing you the 'type' of conditions and imbalances that frequently challenge your health & wellness. Using body type, you can also identify remedies likely to improve your strength and resiliency. Your body type identifies physical and mental characteristics as well as your personal strengths and weaknesses. The calculation of your body type is based on your medical history. The 3 functional body types (doshas), are Catabolic (Vata), Metabolic (Pitta), and Anabolic (Kapha). Catabolic individuals tend to break down body mass into energy. Metabolic individuals tend to burn or use energy. Anabolic individuals tend to store energy as body mass. Catabolic people tend to be easily stimulated, hyperactive, underweight and dry. Metabolic people tend to be rosy-cheeked, easily irritated, focused, driven, and easily inflamed. Anabolic people are heavy, stable and grounded, but if they store too much energy, they could gain weight easily and have congestion. Learn More	PACIFIES AGGRAVATES
HAS THE FOLLOWING	EFFECT: Ojas OJAS Ojas is the essence of healthy tissue, immunity, stable energy and happiness. Substances that improve ojas are recommended after long-term illness, debility, emotional and physical trauma, and even sadness. LEARN MORE ABOUT OJAS , Rajasic RAJASIC Rajasic foods stimulate desire or nervous energy. Red meat, high protein food, garlic and onions stimulate desire. Rajasic foods include chili peppers, coffee, and anything that stimulates movement. LEARN MORE ABOUT RAJASIC , Sattvic SATTVIC Sattvic foods promote awareness and a refreshed mind by nourishing the body without taxing digestion. Sattvic foods do not stimulate desire or nervous energy. They create clarity instead of drowsiness or heaviness. LEARN MORE ABOUT SATTVIC , Acidifying ACIDIFYING An herb that creates an acidic pH in the blood chemistry. LEARN MORE ABOUT ACIDIFYING TYPE: Sweeteners ELEMENT: Fire FIRE Resembles fire (tejas) in quality - hot, sharp, penetrating, light, dry. LEARN MORE ABOUT FIRE COLOR: Brown

MEDICINAL PROPERTIES

Experiences are Personal

Experiences vary according to the person and constitution. Individual results may vary. The list of herbal-actions below has not be approved by the FDA and should not be used to treat a medical condition.

Here are the herbal actions of Honey:

Energy Vitality Strength:

Stimulates energy

STIMULATES-ENERGY

This category groups thyroid and adrenal stimulating herbs

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Nutritive

NUTRITIVE

An herb that is strengthening and nourishing.

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Tonic

TONIC

A tonic herb strengthens tissue, often restoring healthy function. Tonics usually target a specific organ, tissue, or system ie: brain, muscle or respiratory tonic.

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Heart & Circulation:

Hemostatic

HEMOSTATIC

An herb that stops bleeding.

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Styptic

STYPTIC

A herb that contracts tissue or blood vessels. Generally styptics are astringent. They are often used to stop bleeding.

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Vulnerary

VULNERARY

An herb used for the treatment of wounds. Promotes healing of skin lesions and wounds/promotes cell growth and repair

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Lung and Sinus:

Soothes throat

SOOTHES-THROAT

Soothes throat discomfort, including from a sore or ticklish throat.

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Antitussive

ANTITUSSIVE

Cough suppressant, particularly for dry coughs or a tickle in your throat.

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Demulcent

DEMULCENT

Herbs that coat or form a soothing film over a mucous membrane, relieving minor pain and inflammation of the membrane.

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Expectorant

EXPECTORANT

Herbs that help you cough up and eliminate mucus. These herbs often work by increasing the quantity of mucus, or thinning the mucus.

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Reproductive Health:

Male Tonic

MALE-TONIC

Generally increases male reproductive strength and stamina.

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Promotes Virility

PROMOTES-VIRILITY

Encourages virility and potency.

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Weight Loss:

Hypolipidemic

HYPOLIPIDEMIC

Scrapes fats / cleanses blood vessels

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Bowel-Poop-Elimination:

General Laxative

GENERAL-LAXATIVE

Promotes a bowel movement. General laxative is an umbrella term that refers to several different types of laxatives...

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Strengthening-Tonics:

Muscle Tonic

MUSCLE-TONIC

Herbs that strengthen and tone muscle tissue. Helpful for people recovering from long term illness and debility, or after a sprain.

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Joyful Belly is a recognized school of biocharacteristics medicine.