Pathya or Diet regimen

Till now we took into consideration, the general rules regarding diet.

'Pathya' means the regime(dietary & behavioural) which is beneficial to maintain health or to restore it after illness. Ayurved stresses the importance of diet thus-Why would a person need medicines who is particular about his diet, also what is the use of medicines for him who does not follow the diet regime? In short, it has also been considered as an alternative for medicine by the ancient sages. Dietetics has been described in great detail in the ancient texts.
This diet or behavioral regime differs according to the stages of life, the seasons , the time of day-night and also according to the diseases.
Some food items which can be had during the day can be harmful if taken at night. The regime also changes according to the season. In winter the appetite is good while in rainy season the appetite is very weak. Hence in winter the food gets digested easily and one tends to feel hungry after short intervals. At such times it is necessary to eat food. Milk or milk products, dates, almonds, walnut, resins, black gram, green gram, chicken soup, mutton soup can be easily digested.

In rainy season it is advised to take food light to digest. Boiled water should be used for drinking. Grains should be roasted before use. Avoid over eating. As far as possible avoid non-veg. food.

In summer, it is advisable to take buttermilk, butter (unsalted), milk, ghee(clarified butter), cooling drinks like rose syrup, sweet fruits or juices should be taken. Liquids should be included in the diet to quench the excessive thirst.

In illhealth it is very important to avoid the causative factors of the disease.For e.g in ulcers it is important to avoid oily, spicy, deep fried food which can disturb the gastric mucosa.

Certain food items have been mentioned as 'sada patyakara' means those which are beneficial at all times. For e.g rock salt, cumin seeds, ginger, cow's milk, rice, wheat, mudga(green gram), vegetables like bottle gourd, snake gourd etc. These food items increase appetite, improve digestion, impart taste to the food, hence should be included in the daily diet irrespective of the changes in the climate.