Vibrant Health

DR. PRASAD VELUTHANAR describes the roles of the three doshas the natural elements in our system - in our health and well-being. He also shares what can be done if one or more doshas are out of balance in order to restore health.

- DR. PRASAD VELUTHANAR

Ayurveda is one of the world's oldest systems of medicine. In Sanskrit, ayur means "life," and veda means "knowledge;" so it means "knowledge of life." It was developed over 6,000 years ago in India and is still widely practiced all over the world. The main principle behind Ayurveda is that the mind and body are inextricably connected. Ayurveda promotes good health through balancing the body, mind, and spirit as a preventative to having to fight diseases through medicine and treatment.

Ayurveda is based on the premise that we consist of three governing elements of nature - vata (air), pitta (fire), and kapha (earth). Everyone is a unique combination of these elements or doshas, containing different proportions of each. The combination dictates our eating habits, sleeping habits, and overall way of living life. Symptoms of mental and physical illness are signals that one or more of the doshas is not in balance.

1. "Healthy" means something different to everyone

We all know the fundamental rules of eating healthy-stick to natural clean foods. Simple, right? So why is there so much debate over diets? Ketogenic, paleo, Whole30, Mediterranean, low-carb, raw, vegan, dairy-free - the options for healthy eating are overwhelming these days. The debate is probably because everyone responds to foods and diets differently, something that Ayurveda discovered thousands of years ago.

If you're working on becoming healthier, eat what's best for your body, knowing that something different might work for someone else. Ayurveda tells you to eat according to your dosha, or which of your doshas is imbalanced - warm heavy foods balance vata; cool refreshing foods balance pitta; and lightly cooked or raw foods balance kapha.

2. Use six tastes in every meal