
It takes a strong digestion to get thirsty. Otherwise, water will feel heavy in the stomach. Vata individuals often forget to drink water, or fail to notice they are thirsty. Excess mucus and insufficient acids can also drown healthy thirst. Your sense...
Your body craves particular foods when in need, whether to fulfill nutritional needs, or to relieve physical or emotional discomfort. Interpreting your cravings and the meaning they communicate about your physical or emotional state, instead of acting...
Both physical and emotional imbalances can masquerade as feelings of strong hunger, so there is no easy answer in Ayurveda. The most common causes for an excess appetite include a thick kapha blood, fiery pitta-type metabolism, malabsorption, and...
A steady, moderate appetite is a measure of balanced Kapha's stamina and resiliency. Unless a Kapha person has a habit of frequent snacking, they enjoy steady, stable blood sugar levels. When you snack between meals, your body slowly forgets how to...
You've probably heard the infamous phrase "your eyes are bigger than your stomach" and for those who struggle with large portions, this often rings true. There are diverse reasons for indulging in large portions, such as emotional eating, an attempt...
The appetite is often small when there is insufficient acid production in the stomach.
The appetite is often small when there is Insufficient acid production in the stomach. This may be due to chronic dehydration. In that case, drink a glass of warm water with a pinch of salt and a wedge of lime a half hour before meals to rehydrate your...
Fasting between meals gives the digestive organs a chance to rest, and improves the ability of the body to digest fat, a stable source of energy. Although recommended by western medicine, many small meals causes blood sugar instability and leads to...
Anorexia means a poor or irregular appetite. Anorexia nervosa refers to a psychological disorder where the appetite is suppressed. Anorexia has been associated with stress undereating, perhaps due to low agni and poor digestion. The root of anorexia...
Prevent stress from attacking the digestive tract with lower abomdinal exercises. This should help keep tension where it belongs - in the pelvic floor.
When an infant cries, one of your first impulses might be to soothe it with food or a warm bottle. Food is calming. Eating causes your blood sugar to rise, bringing you back to a state of balmy ease. Eating helps brings you down to earth, abating the...
Swelling, edema, and dehydration increase a person's thirst. Consider how your body is releasing the water. If the urine is clear, you may be over hydrated. According to Ayurveda, the urine should be a pale yellow, neither too dark nor too light. If...
It takes a strong digestion to get thirsty. Otherwise, water will feel heavy in the stomach. Vata individuals often forget to drink water, or fail to notice they are thirsty. Excess mucus and insufficient acids can also drown healthy thirst. Your sense...
The kinds of food you crave can give you clues as to what's going on internally When you eat, are you truly hungry for food?...
The body craves salt when it wishes to retain water. Swelling, inflammation, and edema draw fluids out of circulation and can actually increase salt cravings.
Sour cravings are a frequent desire to eat sour food. Sour is one of the six fundamentals tastes in Ayurveda. In balanced quantities, the sour...
Kapha people naturally crave crunchy foods because of internal dampness. In nature, most crunchy foods are drying or astringent. Most processed, modern crunchy foods like chips and bread actually provoke more dampness in the body.
Sweet food is comforting. Anxiety, past trauma, and other insecurities can make you hungry, and contribute to emotional eating. Emotional...
DISCLAIMER: The pathogenesis of each person's condition is unique, and so the diet must be fit to the individual and the unique root causes of the condition in your body. The information on this page is for educational purposes only and should not be used to treat a medical condition. It is not a substitute for medical care. Please check with your doctor before making any changes to your health and wellness routine.
On Joyful Belly, we've created an extensive categorization of food so you can easily match food to your imbalanced biocharacteristics. By eating an optimal diet that balances your biocharacteristics, your whole body is strengthened and the conditions that created the disorder are removed. Once the root causes of the disease are removed, the disease lessens in strength or disappears altogether. Additional remedies - such as herbs and lifestyle practices - focused on the specific disorder, can greatly enhance your healing.
Founder of Joyful Belly Ayurveda, John Immel, answers the question ‘What is Ayurveda?’