Food Combination Rules in Ayurveda

One of the most common concerns I get with my new clients is indigestion.

They might eat healthy, but still gas, heartburn, and bloating are present.

The answer might be improper combination of foods. Learn today the food combination rules in Ayurveda so you can have a strong digestive fire and a healthy assimilation.

Bad food combinations can cause indigestion, fermentation, putrefaction, and gas.

And since our digestive system is at the core of our health, when we do poor combinations, we are also fostering disease, changing our intestinal flora, producing toxins, harming the elimination process, and creating allergies.

When the foods you are cooking have a different taste (rasa), post digestive effect (vipaka), or energy (virya), you are confusing your system and that may result in mild imbalances at the beginning, and then, more serious issues if it is recurrent.

IMPROPER FOOD COMBINATIONS

This food…	Doesn’t go with…
Fruit	Any other food.
Beans	Fruit, cheese, eggs, fish, milk, meat, yogurt.
Lemon	Milk, yogurt
Grains	Fruit, tapioca
Eggs	Fruit, beans, cheese, fish, kitchari, milk, meat, yogurt.
Melons	Any other food, including other fruits.
Cow Milk	Bananas, cherries, melons, sour fruits, fish, kitchari, meat, yogurt.
Nightshades	Melons, cucumber, cheese, and milk.
Radishes	Bananas, raisins, milk.
Tapioca	Fruit, beans, raisins.
Yogurt	Fruit, cheese, eggs, fish, hot drinks, meat, milk, nightshades.
Hot drinks	Mangoes, cheese, fish, meat, yogurt.
Honey	Equal amounts of ghee by weight. Never cook it, bake it, or boil it.

My advice?

Start with the fruit rule, and keep adding from there.

I try to never combine raw fruits with other foods. However, I do love cooked fruits (my favorites are mangoes, guayabas, and blueberries) on breakfast cereals. Cooking them, approximate their properties to the other foods, particularly, if I add the right spices.

Cultivating a strong agni or digestive fire is the most important step you can take towards achieving optimal health, and it can be done by being mindful on what you eat, and by combining compatible organic, whole foods that are good for your current body type.

Have you tried any of these?