Best Breakfast According To Ayurveda

Breakfast an ayurvedic concept

Do not eat breakfast like a King, says Ayurveda! Ayurveda doesn’t stick to breakfast.

It may sound weird to you. But it’s a matter of fact that breakfast is optional for everyone. It depends upon your hunger. You shouldn’t skip breakfast or any meal if you are hungry enough. Instead, kickstart your day with a light and warm breakfast according to your appetite.

Rushing is one of the biggest mistakes we make with our breakfast or any meal, and we either eat too irregularly or too often, and the food we eat is either too cold or unsuitable for our type.

The traditional teachings of Ayurveda promote food as a remedy.

Many health problems start in the gut, and according to Ayurveda, these can be regulated and prevented with the appropriate diet.

The digestive fire, or “Agni,” is a core concept of Ayurveda and is centered around the tridoshas Vata, Pitta, and Kapha, which differ depending on body type – and therefore require personalized foods.

But nutritious, light, and warm porridge form the basis of an Ayurvedic breakfast.

But you can skip it if you feel better and mentally fitter without breakfast.

At the start of the day, sometime between 6:00 and 10:00 am, agni is relatively low, and it’s not easy for most bodies to digest a big breakfast.

Eating breakfast according to Ayurvedic principles will give you more energy throughout the day.

As a result, you’ll be more productive at work and have healthier relationships.

Likewise is the situation inside our body. Imagine throwing a lot of fuel into your digestive furnace upon awakening, as it will cut off the fire.

Without an intense fire, your body might make it through the day, but it’s likely to surge and crash.

This means eating warm, well-spiced, easy-to-digest foods, emphasizing hot cereals and cooked fruits rather than cold cereals, raw fruits, or heavy meals.

The Ayurvedic approach feeds the body and helps the mind achieve a sharp but calm focus.

These junk foods are of deficient quality.

Our tendency to go for a pastry or junk food before work only does a little to create sustained energy. 

Cold, uncooked milk and refined sugar are considered to have “cooling” properties, acting like buckets of water thrown over your digestive fires. They may provide quick energy, but it will not last.

Agni’s strength follows the sun’s path, so you should eat according to the sun’s movement, as this is an indirect signal of your digestive fire capacity.

In the morning, it’s still heating up. In the evening, it’s cooling down. At noon, when the sun is highest, Agni is the strongest. Hot breakfast as the day’s first meal decreases the disturbance of waking from a deep sleep and respects the quieted Agni and the newly awakened digestive system.

A balanced morning meal with a dash of warming spices helps to increase metabolism. 

Spices are selected according to the dominant dosha in your Prakriti (constitution).

Ayurveda takes a highly individualized approach to eating, so consider your predominant dosha and modify your meal accordingly.

You will find a personalized breakfast according to your Prakriti at the end of this article.

Best time for breakfast

The best time for breakfast is different for everyone. Usually, it should be around 8 am and not after 9 am. Eat your course of breakfast when you feel hungry. 

How to Ignite your Hunger

Ignite your Agni instead of looking for an ideal breakfast platter

A perfect breakfast should be warm and light, depending on the body’s constitution.

To give your agni a kickstart, try a few Ayurvedic morning practices half an hour before your breakfast:

• Drink a herbal tea made of cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and black pepper.
• Do a few minutes of pranayama.
• Yoga or walking.

These simple acts will flush toxins out of your body, activate your Agni, and ignite your hunger. If you’re hungry enough, your digestive fire is active. 

What should be included in breakfast 

Are you longing to eat idli or dosa every day? You shouldn’t! According to Ayurveda, the recipes made with grinding rice are known as “pishtanna” and cannot be consumed regularly as it can hamper your digestion and may cause various disorders.

You can include barley, wheat, brown rice, green gram, milk, ghee, honey, pomegranate, pink salt, green leafy vegetables, fiber-rich foods, ragi, amla, grapes, etc., in your daily diet.

What should be avoided according to Ayurveda

You should avoid heavy foods, excess salty and spicy foods, including pickles, broiler chicken, red meat, black gram, dehydrated foods, maida, junk foods, packaged foods, prawns, radishes, food products made with grinding rice, etc., for your breakfast.

How to choose a personalized breakfast 

Vata Prakriti Breakfast plan

• Include ghee and milk in your diet
• Choose warm, unctuous foods
• You can go for a warm porridge made of moong dal and rice with a dash of ghee in it
•  Nuts are excellent Vata pacifiers; you can soak ten almonds or walnuts overnight and have it in the morning

Pitta Breakfast Plan

• A Pitta Prakriti person has a comparatively faster rate of metabolism, and they should include sweet, bitter, and astringent tastes in their diet.
• Avoid spicy and sour foods.
• You can go for a lukewarm porridge made of rice and moong dal with a dash of ghee.
• You can include almonds (soaked & peeled), flaxseeds, coconuts, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds in your breakfast according to the hunger level.

Kapha Breakfast Plan

• People with the Kapha body type have a slower rate of metabolism; therefore, they should consume strictly according to their hunger level and avoid milk and its products, oily foods, and meat products.
• Include astringent, spicy, and bitter foods
• You can go for a warm porridge with rice, wheat, ragi, barley, and moong dal.

Tips for ideal breakfast

1. Drink a glass of lukewarm water when you wake up. This activates your digestive system and balances out fluid loss. You can add lemon juice to taste.
2.  Warm food is quicker to digest, as the gastrointestinal tract requires less energy.
3. Try natural, fresh, regional, and seasonal produce.
4. Eat a little. Chew slowly so you quickly feel when you are full and don’t overload your stomach.
5. Include ghee and milk in your diet
6. Try to avoid mixing milk products with acidic fruits.
7. Do not rush, have it corrected. 
8. Avoid incompatible foods such as milk with sour fruits, fish with curd, heated curd, grilled meat, etc. Consuming incompatible foods can cause allergies, cancer, infertility, hemorrhoids, etc.

Conclusion

If your Agni is healthy, you will have tremendous energy, says an eminent ayurvedic physician Dr. Vasant Lad. So consume your breakfast accordingly, and don’t let the customary afflict your metabolism. Always consume warm and light foods for breakfast, irrespective of your dosha type.

Make sure you avoid incompatible foods as they can cause you a lot of health issues, including allergies, infertility, hemorrhoids, digestive problems, etc.,

Book an appointment with our doctors at Saatwika which provides the best Ayurvedic Treatment in Kerala, and get scheduled your breakfast.