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Recipes with Yogurt: Potato Salad with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce
Ayurveda recommends we limit the consumption of yogurt or consume diluted as in a lassi. Yogurt is mud or at least has the same qualities as mud: thick, viscous, earth element suspended in water. It provokes Kapha, is mucous forming, and is hard to digest. It clogs the subtle channels of the body (capillary beds). In general, all ferments including yogurt vitiate the blood because they contain metabolic byproducts of bacterial digestion.
About Yogurt
Lassis are a popular yogurt drink in India. A lassi is simply equal parts yogurt and water blended together, often with digestive spices like cumin and salt. Lassis aid digestion after a meal. Fruits and mangoes in lassis are a bad food combination.
Buying & Preparation
Fresh homemade yogurt pacifies Pitta. As it ages it continues to sour and ferment. Beyond 48 hours yogurt aggravates Pitta. All store bought yogurt aggravates Pitta.
Cooking Yogurt
It's easy to make your own fresh yogurt at home! Simply boil 1c milk, let cool till room temperature and add a tbsp of live culture yogurt. Most yogurts from the grocery contain live cultures. Place yogurt in a container and wrap in a warm towel. Store in a warm place. By morning you will have fresh yogurt. I make yogurt daily in small quantities one cup at a time. It takes very little preparation time.
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Find out by taking this free, easy quiz.
You'll learn your body type, and whether 'Yogurt' is a good fit.
Complete the basic quiz in 1 minute, or go deeper with additional quizzes
at your own leisure to learn more about your body.
AYURVEDA'S GUIDE TO VITALITY & WHOLESOME NOURISHMENT
Your Ayurvedic diet is tailored to your individual body and your specific imbalances.
With an Ayurvedic diet you feel joy and satisfaction because what you are eating truly nourishes and balances you.
Disease results from diets and lifestyles that are incompatible with your nature.
By eating a personalized diet matched to your body, you experience optimal health.
See How it Works.
Ayurveda assesses metabolic imbalances through 20 main biocharacteristics
(gunas).
Aggravating them weakens your body and causes imbalance.
By knowing which biocharacteristics are habitually imbalanced in your body, you will be able to identify and correct metabolic imbalances before you get sick.
Every biocharacteristic has an opposite which balances it (i.e. hot balances cold).
You restore balance by favoring diet and lifestyle choices that increase the opposite biocharacteristic.
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?
Ayurveda is a metabolic theory of medicine that explains individual health, tendencies, and disease patterns through the concept of doshas, which can be understood as your metabolic patterns and tendencies.
Each dosha reflects a distinct metabolic nature and describes strengths & weaknesses in bodily function, and how these affect energy levels, digestion, susceptibility to disease, and many other tendencies.
Your metabolic nature not only affects your physical characteristics, but also influences your mental thought patterns, confidence, and enthusiasm.
Ayurveda balances these metabolic strengths & weaknesses to support your body's vitality and prevent recurrent disease cycles. This support is a critical aid, especially in chronic or incurable disease conditions.
The 3 metabolic body types
(doshas),
are Catabolic (Vata), Metabolic (Pitta), and Anabolic (Kapha).
Through dosha, Ayurveda empowers people to identify metabolic imbalances early, break repetitive patterns of disease, and cultivate habits that support long-term vitality and well-being.
Ultimately, these metabolic patterns also provide a framework for understanding yourself, including body, mind, and spiritual tendencies.
Ayurveda & Greek Medicine were the dominant form of medicine along the Silk Road from England to China and South Asia.
They work by assessing your metabolic type, patterns, and nature.
Greek medicine recognizes 4 metabolic temperaments, Melancholic, Choleric, Sanguine, and Phlegmatic.
Cold and dry with a slow, variable or erratic metabolism. Colicky, tense. Withdrawn, pensive, anxious, and hesitant. Analytical, intelligent, detail oriented and creative. Prone to ojas depletion, dehydration, an overactive nervous system, and depression.
Has a hot and dry metabolic nature. Enthusiastic, vibrant and bright. In excess burns up fluids and ojas, irritable. Corresponds to high bilirubin in the blood that irritates and heats up the body and liver.
A Phlegmatic has a cold and wet metabolic nature. The coldness implies a slow metabolism, the moisture that you are well-nourished. Phlegmatics tend towards sluggishness and thickened fluids, including mucus.
A hot and oily nature with a moderate metabolism and a well nourished body makes Sanguine individuals vigorous, vivacious, outgoing and generous, and prone to impulsivity and self indulgence. Bullish and intense when out of balance.
Geriatric conditions typically involve low agni / metabolism, poor circulation, weakness & debility, muscle weakening, poor digestion, a drop in sex hormones, and connective tissue degradation in bones & skin.
Medicinal Benefits, Uses & Herbal Actions of Yogurt
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.
A tonic herb restores function through strengthening tissue. This can happen through a combination of nourishing the tissue, and invigorating tissue metabolism. The tonic should not be withering, as in caffeine.
An herb that strengthens the liver. It is helpful for people with a history of substance abuse, chronic liver issues from hepatitis and hemolytic anemias. Generally, liver tonics are oily, cool, sweet, mildly sour, or contain beta-carotene.
An enzyme in every cell of the body, that aids metabolism, fat & protein metabolism, and DNA synthesis. B12 comes from animal course, and is commonly deficient in vegetarians.
¼ to ½ cup (60-120 ml) per day, depending on age and tolerance
TRADITIONALLY INDICATED FOR THESE SYMPTOMS
Yogurt may be beneficial for these symptoms.
The suitability of any food for a condition is highly dependent on the individual.
Please see your doctor before using this food to treat a medical condition.
We will use this information to better predict food that helps you.
CONTRAINDICATED FOR THESE SYMPTOMS
Yogurt may be harmful or contraindicated for these symptoms.
Note this is not a complete list of all possible contraindications.
Please see your doctor before using this food to treat a medical condition.
Lactose Intolerance: Many people lack the enzyme lactase to digest lactose, the sugar in yogurt. Even though yogurt is often easier to digest than milk due to fermentation, it can still cause bloating, gas, cramps, and diarrhea.
Milk Allergy: Yogurt is a dairy product and contains casein and whey proteins, which can trigger allergic reactions in those with a milk allergy. Symptoms range from hives and itching to anaphylaxis in severe cases.
Eating Ayurvedically makes you feel nourished and energized. Food digests with ease when
right for your body type (dosha). Healthy digestion is seen as the cornerstone of well-being in
Ayurveda. Healthy digestion generally prevents illness. If you do get sick, a strong digestive fire
reduces the severity of illness and increases your resilience. It also improves your mood. Once
you begin eating Ayurvedically, you will feel refreshed, vital and strong.
John Immel, the founder of Joyful Belly, teaches people how to have a
healthy diet and lifestyle with Ayurveda.
His approach to Ayurveda is clinical, yet exudes an ease which many find enjoyable and insightful.
John also directs the Joyful Belly College of Ayurveda,
offering professional clinical training in Ayurveda for over 15 years.
John's hobbies & specialties include advanced digestive disorders, medieval Catholic philosophy,
& botany. He holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Harvard University.
John, his wife Natalie and their 7 kids live in Asheville, NC
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* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
The information and products on this website are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any
disease.