All You Should Know About Ayurvedic Diet?

The Ayurvedic diet is an important part of kidney treatment in Ayurvedea for a faster recovery. Since years the Ayurvedic diet has been around to help patients on balancing different types of nutrients your body needs to improve health. Unlike other diets, the Ayurvedic diet has more to do with your body type and energy. 

An Ayurvedic diet can promote not only your body but also the mind. Through this blog, you will know about Ayurvedic diet and what are the foods you should eat or avoid during the chronic kidney disease. 

What is the Ayurvedic diet?

The Ayurvedic treatment works on influencing the balance between the mind and the body. As per Ayurvedea, our body is made up of five basic elements- Air, Water, Space, Fire, and Earth. These elements are believed to make three basic doshas, known to be the energy levels of the body. Everyone has different levels of such doshas, and the predominant nature of such doshas makes the physiological nature of an individual. 

For instance, the Pitta dosha controls hunger, thirst, the Vata dosha controls the electrolyte balance, and the Kapha dosha promotes the healthy function of the join. 

The Ayurvedic diet is an important part of the Ayurvedic treatment and has been in practice for thousands of years. The Ayurvedic diet determines the dominant dosha and eating foods based specifically on it. 

How does Ayurvedic diet work?

Here are some of the characteristics of doshas that may help determine your predominant dosha:

Vata: A combination of air and space elements. People with such doshas are usually energetic, lively, and thin but may have digestive issues or anxiety when they get out of balance. 

Pitta: Fire and water element when combined together makes Pitta dosha. Such people are intelligent and hard-working but are short temper and more at the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure. 

Kapha: Grounded, loyal, and calm are such people who have Kapha dosha, the earth, and the water element. They tend to be obese and have issues related to depression, diabetes, and asthma. 

The doshas help to determine which food to tout the inner and outer balance. For instance, those with a Vata balance like dried fruits, herbs, and warm and moist foods. 

The Kapha dominating people like heavy foods, such as seeds and oils. Similarly, those with Pitta doshas focus on cooling and energizing foods. 

During the Ayurvedic diet, healthy whole foods are suggested to the patients, while artificial sweeteners, poultry, and some dairy foods are restricted during the diet.

Benefits of Ayurvedic diet

Here are a few of the benefits of taking Ayurvedic diet

Help in weight loss

Here are a few of the benefits of taking Ayurvedic diet

The Ayurvedic diet focuses on nutrient-rich foods, which help in your weight loss program. Following such a restricted diet for three months can lead to a significant change in weight. Ayurvedea based lifestyle recommends the patient to consume less fatty food and take only high-quality nutrition, which is healthy for the body. 

Encourages whole foods

There is a specific diet for each dosha balance; the diet only allows eating whole foods like fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes. They are the essential nutrients your body gets greatly affected. The diet allows the minimized consumption of processed foods and a low of fiber with important vitamins and minerals. Thus, the Ayurvedic diet help protects against chronic kidney disease and the risk of developing heart problems. 

Promote mindfulness

Mindfulness means how you pay attention to what is happening around you. When you consume unhealthy foods, the waste that gets produced along, make the body lazy, and calls for various diseases. Mindful eating minimizes distractions during the meals to focus on what you are eating. Those who practice mindful eating can work on depression, stress, and anxiety very easily.. 

Are there any negative effects of the Ayurvedic diet?

As everything comes with pricing, there are some negative effects of indulging in an outright Ayurvedic diet. These might include:

You may feel over restricted

There are foods you need to be restricted about depending on your dosha. This means cutting out even healthy foods that are believed to impair other doshas.  Those who follow a non-vegetarian diet are also restricted to hold red meat out and do some modifications in the current diet 

Confusing or difficult to follow

During the Ayurvedic diet, there are some rules that you need to follow wisely for the overall well being. For instance, the limitation to consume certain foods change throughout the season and how often and how much should you eat also changes.

Foods to eat during the Ayurvedic diet

Based on the physical qualities, you need to eat the food that works the best for you and your dosha. But, if you are kidney patient and on a renal diet, make sure you take the help of your dietician given your health state. 

Below are the foods for different dosha

Pitta 

• Protein: Egg whites, cottage cheese (In small amounts)

• Dairy: Milk (tonned)

• Fruits: Ripe fruits like pineapple, melons, etc

• Vegetables: Vegetables like cucumber, zucchini, carrots, cabbage, etc

• Herbs and spices: Small amounts of black pepper, cumin, cinnamon, cilantro, dill, turmeric

Vata

• Protein: Only small amount of poultry

• Fruits: Blueberries, strawberries, red grapes, etc

• Vegetables: cooked vegetables, onions, radishes, turnips, carrots, and green beans

• Herbs and spices: cardamom, ginger, cumin, basil, cloves, thyme, black pepper

Kapha

• Protein: Egg whites only in small amounts

• Dairy: Skimmed milk

• Fruits: Apples, blueberries, pears, cherries, etc

• Vegetables: asparagus, onions, potatoes, mushrooms, radishes, etc

• Herbs and spices: any, including cumin, black pepper, turmeric, ginger, basil, oregano, and thyme

Disclaimer: Depending on your dosha level and your kidney’s function, you need to follow specific guidelines about the diet for unhealthy kidneys.  A renal diet, when not followed strictly or properly, can worsen kidney function. 

Foods to avoid

Here are some of the foods you should not eat or limit during kidney disease based on your dosha

Pitta

• Proteins: red meat, seafood, egg yolks

• Dairy: sour cream, cheese, buttermilk

• Fruits: sour or unripe fruits, such as apricots, and sour cherries

• Vegetables: Chili peppers, beets, tomatoes, eggplant, etc

• Grains: brown rice

• Herbs and spices: any spices not included in the list above

Vata

• Proteins: Red meat

• Fruits: dried, unripe fruits having seeds such as raisins, pomegranates, mangoes, bananas, oranges, etc

• Vegetables: Any vegetables in its raw form, along with cooked broccoli, okra, and tomatoes

• Herbs and spices: bitter or astringent herbs like parsley, and coriander seed

Kapha

• Proteins: red meat, egg yolks, etc

• Fruits: bananas, coconuts, mangoes, fresh figs

• Vegetables: Sweet potatoes, tomatoes, okra, etc

Make sure to consult your dietician before you adopt any changes in your diet. 

The takeaway

The Ayurvedic diet is a diet following the principles of Ayurvedea, a form of traditional medicine that can cure every ailment in the body of its roots. 

This same science can be used to treat kidney problems based on the causes of kidney damage and is known to be the permanent cure for such conditions.

With the help of kidney treatment in Ayurvedea and a renal diet, you can revive the damage to the kidneys, achieve a healthy eight, and mindfulness. However, the diet should be followed after suggestions from an Ayurvedic doctor because the diet is based on your dosha level. 

Consult Karma Ayurvedea for more information about kidney treatment in Ayurvedea and a renal diet according to the health of the kidneys. 

Protecting Your Kidneys Through The Ways Of Ayurveda

The kidney is the organ that regulates the filtration of toxins from the blood and performs the most important function of keeping the inside of our body tidy. Any damage to kidneys can bring your life in danger. Even if the starting stage of kidney disease is not very troublesome, the progression makes it worst. Nobody likes to spend this life depending upon the medications and ruining this body. It is the primary duty of the person to take care of our body and the organs. Nothing is as precious as this body. Nowadays, the routine and the lifestyle of people affect health in numerous ways. It takes lots of effort to keep this body fit, and a healthy kidney is a key to it. Karma Ayurveda is taking care of many of such unhealthy kidneys each year to provide a sense of relief to the patients. Dr. Puneet Dhawan has taken the initiative through his hospital to educate the people about the risks and issues related to the kidneys and also the positive impact of ayurvedic treatment on the body rather than the dialysis and transplant.

Working of the Kidney:

The two bean-shaped organs and the size of the fist control the hygiene within the body. A kidney can filter about a half cup of blood each minute. It removes waste and forms urine. From the process of filtration to the excretion, there are three parts of the urinary tract involved in the process; these are kidneys, bladder, and the uterus. Once the filtration process is done, the urine flows towards the bladder through two thin muscular tubes known as the ureter. During the process of filtration, many acids get produced by the cells, and the kidneys also help in the removal of such harmful acids. It maintains the balance of minerals like sodium, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium inside our blood, and it also maintains salt and water balance.

Threats to Kidney

As the kidneys perform the most vital function of removing toxins and waste, they are always at risk of getting in danger easily. There are specific threats to kidneys from which we should protect it. Some of these threats are-

Kidney failure- It is a situation when the kidney of a patient fails due to some other related disease and untimely treatment to it. Two leading problems cause kidney failure in a person, and these are diabetes and high blood pressure. The situation can be controlled by taking some natural ayurvedic medication as it does not leave any brutal side effects on the health.

Kidney stones- Our urine carries some crystal-forming substances like calcium, oxalate, and uric acid. Also, it contains a substance that prevents these crystals from accumulating altogether. But in the absence of the latter, sometimes these crystals get accumulated together and cause kidney stones.

Acidosis- When our blood starts to lose bicarbonate in an excess amount or begin to produce excess acid in the blood, it creates the situation of acidosis. Acidosis also occurs when carbon dioxide starts to buildup in the blood. It makes our lungs to function poorly and even prompt breathing problems. Some ayurvedic hospitals like Karma Ayurveda suggest a diet that will help the patients to control the situation of acidosis.

Uremia- In most cases, chronic kidney disease leads to uremia. We can say that the irreversible and long-lasting problem in kidneys causes uremia. In this condition, our kidneys are unable to filter the waste and form urine. Ayurvedic nephrologist Dr. Puneet Dhawan suggests that herbs like gokharu, punarnava, and kasni are beneficial in conditions like uremia. Baking soda, carrot leaves, cornsilk, and watermelon seeds are some of the basic home remedies suggested by the dietitians at Karma Ayurveda for the detoxification of the kidneys. It helps the kidneys to work properly in a situation like uremia.

Azotemia- Azotemia is an injury or disease, causing damage to the kidneys. It is associated with the poor removal of nitrogen wastes from the kidneys. Any blood or urine test helps in the diagnosis of azotemia. Herbal medications that carry herbs like gokshura and punarnava in it can help in the treatment of this condition.

Kidney cysts- It is common in people who are 50 or above. Kidney cysts are generally inherited or caused due to the weakening of the kidneys over time.

Nephrotic syndrome- When the tiny blood vessels or glomeruli in our kidneys form clusters, it causes nephrotic syndrome. The healthy blood vessels hold the protein in the blood and prevent it from leak through urine, but unhealthy blood vessels work inappropriately and cause leakage of protein in the urine. This is called nephrotic syndrome. Many ayurvedic nephrologists and patients themselves believe that ayurvedic treatment to the nephrotic syndrome is the best remedy for this disease as it will provide you with long term results.

Hydronephrosis- When the kidneys become unable to drain the urine, it results in hydronephrosis. It causes swelling in one or both of the kidneys.
Polycystic kidney disease- PKD happens due to genetic flaws. The PKD motivates the cysts to grow inside the kidneys and makes the kidneys grow more significant than its standard size. It also damages the underlying tissues that make up the kidneys.

Acute nephritis- Infections causes acute nephritis, but the most common reason that causes nephritis is autoimmune disorders.

Chronic kidney disease- Diabetes and high blood pressure are the leading causes of this disorder, and it is a long-lasting disease.

Urinary tract infection- This infection affects the organs involved in the urinary tract and hence have different names of the infection based on the organ it takes place in. Cystitis, urethritis, pyelonephritis are the names of the UTI infections that happen in bladder, urethra, and kidneys, respectively. Bacteria Escherichia coli cause this infection, and it is found in the digestive system of a human body.

Pyelonephritis- It is a kidney infection that happens all of a sudden. It occurs when bacteria enters our body and multiplies and destroys organs like bladder and kidneys.

Ayurvedic tricks for healthy kidneys

Ayurveda is the best way to keep the kidneys and the body detoxified and fit. Karma Ayurveda suggests 30 minutes walk and low workout to keep the kidney healthy. Also, when it comes to diet, the dietitian suggests limiting the intake of sodium in food and the intake of nutrients like phosphorus, potassium, and protein. Juices like apple and cranberry are good for health. It is also advised to drink a lot of water to keep you healthy during kidney problems and avoid the intake of soda. Sometimes the excess consumption of water may cause a problem to you depending on the kidney disorder.

Also, it is advised to ask your doctor before taking any herbs mentioned above, and it may cause problems for pregnant women.