Ayurveda’s Favorite Detox Beverage: CCF Tea Ayurveda's favorite detox drink, CCF Tea, is made using your simple kitchen spices like cumin, coriander, and fennel. CCF Tea is considered Ayurveda’s miracle tea when it comes to the gut and overall digestive health. Ayurveda reminds us that our spice cabinet can be our apothecary. If used wisely, spices [...]
The one must-have Ayurvedic Recipe for fall! There is a reason I want to share this Ayurvedic recipe (a massively adapted version from Kate O’Donnell’s “The Everyday Ayurveda Cookbook”) for red lentil soup. Hippocrates said,“Leave your drugs in the chemist’s pot if you can heal the patient with food.” This soup is delicious, healthy, includes all [...]
Three pillars of health according to Ayurveda According to Ayurveda, we can only enjoy an optimal health state of health or ‘Svastha,’ when the ‘Three Pillars of Health’ are in proper balance. In Sanskrit, the word for pillar is ‘Sthambha’. The three Sthambhas are the three doshas – Vata(ether and air), Pitta (fire and water), and Kapha (water [...]
Ayurveda and Incompatible Foods Incompatible foods wreak havoc on our mind-body eventually. Ever drink banana milkshake and feel congested or stuffy? Milk which contains lactogen and certain fruits, such as bananas, which also contain common allergen may aggravate an asthmatic attack. Did your grandma remind you to not mix dairy and fish together? Milk is cold [...]
Golden Milk: The drink that’s good for you Growing up in an Indian home, Haldi doodh (turmeric milk)—also known as Golden milk—was something I drank on a regular basis. It’s gained a lot of popularity in the west today because both yoga and Ayurveda have gained visibility and acceptance. But haldi doodh was a staple in most [...]
Cause of Disease According to Ayurveda Ayurveda teaches us that disease begins when we forget our nature or our own true Self. Ayurveda also teaches us that most diseases don't happen overnight. There are six stages to disease formation. But what is the cause of disease? According to Ayurveda, there are three main causes of disease: [...]
Agni and Ama: The foundation of Ayurvedic Digestive Health Did you know that several diseases and health conditions begin in the gut? Ayurveda teaches us that the health of our digestive system is the singular most important factor that determines our health and wellbeing in the long term. The same way as western medicine reminds us [...]
What is Ama in Ayurveda? The other day, a client asked me about, ama, a unique concept in Ayurveda. "Ms. Vikram, what is ama? What does it do? Why does it ammeter?" In Sanskrit, ama means toxin or undigested metabolic waste. Ama translates literally to mean things like “unripe,” “uncooked,” “raw,” “immature,” or “undigested.”[1] What causes ama? There are [...]
What is Agni according to Ayurveda? It is crucial to understand the role of Agni in Ayurveda and its impact on our bodies. In Sanskrit, our digestive fire, is known as agni, and it is responsible for transforming the food and beverages that we intake. Agni also absorbs, assimilates, and converts the food into energy. It regulates the body temperature. [...]
What are the six tastes in Ayurveda? The six tastes in Ayurveda has an effect on the three doshas of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. According to Ayurveda, every substance found in nature is made up of some combination of the 5 basic elements: space, air, fire, water, and earth. The same elements make up the Ayurvedic [...]
